The present application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 22150991.2, filed on Jan. 11, 2022, and entitled “VEHICLE SEAT AND METHOD FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF A VEHICLE SEAT,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The invention relates to a vehicle seat and a method for the management of a vehicle seat.
The invention can be applied in heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, buses and construction equipment.
Vehicles include usually front and rear seat assemblies for supporting occupants within the vehicle. Seat assemblies typically include a seat base and a backrest perpendicularly connected to the seat base for supporting the occupant. The backrest is commonly pivotally connected to the seat base by a pivoting mechanism of the backrest between a plurality of inclined positions relative to the seat base. Vehicles also commonly include rear seat assemblies mounted to the floor of the vehicle by a rotating base for allowing the seat assembly to rotate with an angle around 180° about its vertical axis from a forward seating position to a rearward seating position.
Nevertheless, heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks, cannot comprise seat assemblies having a rotatable base. Indeed, such seat assemblies taking up a lot of space cannot be incorporated in a cab of a truck vehicle having a narrow place.
It remains desirable to provide an optimized and compact multi-positionable seat assembly positionable between forward and rearward seating positions. It remains also desirable to provide a seat assembly quickly and efficiently adjustable between both positions while allowing cost saving.
The object is achieved by a vehicle seat extending along a transversal axis, a vertical axis and a longitudinal axis characterized in that it comprises:
Said first and second pivot connections being pivotable in opposite direction around the transversal axis of the vehicle seat and said vehicle seat being configured to reach two positions:
By the provision of a vehicle seat according to the present invention, the advantage is to offer a high quality seat assembly that is multi-positionable between forward and rearward seating positions. Furthermore, the seat assembly is quickly and efficiently adjustable between both positions while allowing cost saving. Thus, the seat occupants of the front and the rear seats assemblies can have a face-to-face interaction inside the vehicle. In particular in a truck, the seat assemblies may pivot according to the present invention so that the seat assemblies face the bunk usually located behind the vehicle seats. Moreover, contrary to the seat assemblies that rotate at an angle of 180° and that are taken up place, the vehicle seats according to the present invention are compact and may be implemented in a wide range of vehicles such as trucks.
In another embodiment, the vehicle seat comprises a thighrest pivotably connected to the backrest through a third connection mean, said thighrest being configured to reach two positions:
In this embodiment, the extended thighrest comfortably supports the thighs of the seat occupant in the extended position.
In another embodiment, the thighrest extends along the transversal axis of the vehicle seat. In this embodiment, the thighrest having an elongated shape increases the comfort of the seat occupant.
In another embodiment, the thighrest includes a cushion.
In another embodiment, the third connection mean includes a pivot connection, for example a pivot axle, or a push/pull system.
For example, the pivot connection may comprise a pivot axle extending along the transversal axis (i.e. transverse to longitudinal axis and to the vertical axis). For example, the pivot axle may be attached to one end of the thighrest and configured to enable outward rotation. In another example, the pivot axle may be located almost in the middle of the thighrest. For example, the thighrest or the pivot connection may be spring loaded, in order to move (e.g. to rotate) the thighrest from the retracted position toward the extended position when released. For example, a locking mechanism may be configured to hold the thighrest in extended position. In another example, the connection may comprise a push/pull system. The thighrest may slidably move inwardly/outwardly went pushing the thighrest.
In another embodiment, the first and the second pivot connections include a gear wheels mechanism.
In another embodiment, both sides of the backrest have a seat shape. In this embodiment, both sides of the backrest match the back of the seat occupant to be more comfortable.
The object is achieved by a vehicle comprising the vehicle seat according to the present invention.
The object is achieved by a method for the management of a vehicle seat according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
By the provision of a method for the management of the vehicle seat according to the present invention, the advantage is to offer an apprehensible method that quickly and efficiently manages the vehicle seat to reach a forward or a rearward seating position.
In another embodiment, the vehicle seat in the first position reaches the second position by following the following sub-steps:
Said first and second directions being opposed around the transversal axis of the vehicle seat.
In another embodiment, the vehicle seat in the second position reaches the first position by following the following sub-steps:
Said first and second directions being opposed around the transversal axis of the vehicle seat.
In another embodiment, the method further comprises the following steps:
In this embodiment, the method permits to increase the comfort of the seat occupant by efficiently and quickly providing a thighrest.
In another embodiment, the thighrest in a retracted position is pulled and/or twisted to reach the extended position.
In another embodiment, the thighrest in an extended position is pushed and/or twisted to reach the retracted position.
Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.
With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention cited as examples.
In the Drawings:
As illustrated in
The vehicle seat 3 is configured to reach a first position and a second position.
c illustrate the second position in which the backrest B extends along the longitudinal axis AL and lies against the seat base C and the headrest A extends along the vertical axis AV and is substantially perpendicular to the backrest B. The second position corresponds to the rearward position when the vehicle seat 3 is present in the vehicle 1.
For example, the thighrest D extends along the transversal axis AT of the vehicle seat 3. In this embodiment, the thighrest D may have an elongated shape increasing the comfort of the seat occupant. For example, the thighrest D includes a cushion.
The method according to the present invention comprises a step A) in which the seat occupant selects a vehicle seat position chosen from the first and the second position. Then, in a step B), the seat occupant manages the vehicle seat 3 to reach the selected position. To this end, the vehicle seat in the first position (
When the vehicle seat 3 is in the second position (
The first and second directions may be opposed around the transversal axis AT of the vehicle seat.
Preferably, the seat occupant may in a step C) select a thighrest position chosen from the retracted and the extended position and in a step D), manages the thighrest D to reach the selected position. For example, the thighrest D in a retracted position is pulled and/or twisted to reach the extended position. For example, the thighrest D in an extended position is pushed and/or twisted to reach the retracted position. For example, the thighrest or the pivot connection may be spring loaded to assist such movement(s), for example to move the thighrest from the retracted position toward the extended position when released, e.g. moving the vehicle seat from the first position toward the second position.
The optimized vehicle seat and the method for managing such seat according to the present invention is multi-positionable between forward and rearward seating positions. Furthermore, the seat assembly is quickly and efficiently adjustable between both positions while allowing cost saving. Moreover, the vehicle seat according to the present invention is compact and may be implemented in a wide range of vehicles such as trucks.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.
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Entry |
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European Search Report for European Patent Application No. 22150991.2, completed Aug. 2, 2022, 3 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20230219469 A1 | Jul 2023 | US |