Foldable vehicle seat from a use position to a stowed position and related layout of a seat assembly

Abstract

A vehicle seat having a seat cushion and a seat back which are movably connected to one another by a vehicle seat support mechanism and which are also movably mounted to a support floor by said vehicle seat support mechanism, said vehicle seat being movable between a normal in-use position and a stowed position, said stowed position being located rearwards from said normal in-use position and said seat back, when said vehicle seat is in its stowed position, being located at a relatively lower height than when said vehicle seat is in said normal in-use position. When the vehicle seat is moved to its stowed position, a seat assembly can be converted from a 3-seater to a 2-seater condition for instance.

1 - 5 . (canceled) 
   
   
       6 . A seat assembly for a vehicle comprising at least two side by side seats, a first of said seats being movable to a stowed position and a second of said seats being movable rearwardly, and inwardly, of the vehicle body when said first seat is located in said stowed position. 
   
   
       7 . A seat assembly as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein said first seat having a seat cushion and a seat back which are movably connected to one another by a vehicle seat support mechanism and which are also movably mounted to a support floor by said vehicle seat support mechanism, said vehicle seat being movable between a normal in-use position and a stowed position, said stowed position being located rearwards from said normal in-use position and said seat back, when said vehicle seat is in it stowed position, being located at a relatively lower height than when said vehicle seat is in said normal in-use position. 
   
   
       8 - 9 . (canceled) 
   
   
       10 . A seat assembly as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein during movement of said vehicle seat between said normal in-use position and said stowed position, said seat cushion is movable between a normal use position and a stowed position respectively, the seat cushion in said normal use position being located generally horizontal and in said stowed position being located in a generally upright orientation. 
   
   
       11 . A vehicle seat as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein on movement of said seat cushion between its normal use and stowed positions, said vehicle seat support mechanism is operable to simultaneously move said seat back between an in-use upright position and a stowed upright position. 
   
   
       12 . A vehicle seat as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein said in-use upright position and said stowed upright position of said seat back have the same general vertical orientation. 
   
   
       13 . A method for moving an automobile seat having a seat cushion with an in-use position and a stowed position and a seat back having a stowed position and an in-use position, the method comprising:
 moving the seat cushion of the automobile seat from its in-use position to its stowed position at a time; and   moving the seat back of the automobile seat from its in-use position to its stowed position at the time,   wherein the seat back in its stowed position is at a higher relative height than the seat cushion in its stowed position.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein moving the seat cushion to the stowed position causes the entire seat back to move rearwardly. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein moving the seat back from its in-use position to its stowed position comprises moving the entire seat back rearward. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the stowed position of the seatback is at a lower height than the in-use position of the seat back. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising moving a second vehicle seat, that is side-by-side with the automobile seat, rearwardly or inwardly of the vehicle body when the seat cushion is located in the stowed position. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein
 moving the seat back from its in-use position to its stowed position comprises pivoting the seat back using first and second links connected to a base; and   moving the seat cushion from its in-use position to its stowed position comprises pivoting the seat cushion using the first link.   
   
   
       19 . An automobile comprising:
 an automobile seat having;
 a seat back having a first position and a second position; 
 a seat cushion having a first position and a second position; and 
 a mechanism, joining the seat back and the seat cushion, configured to simultaneously move the seat back from an in-use position to a stowed position and move the seat cushion from an in-use position to a stowed position; and 
   a shelf, the seat back being beneath the shelf when in a stowed position and not beneath the shelf when in an in-use position.   
   
   
       20 . The automobile of  claim 19 , further comprising a second automobile seat mounted in a side-by-side relationship with the automobile seat. 
   
   
       21 . The automobile of  claim 20 , wherein the second automobile seat is adapted to move inwardly and rearwardly with respect to the vehicle interior while the automobile seat is in a stowed position.