AU650656B2 - A chair for a vehicle - Google Patents

Description

0 1 1 1 .1 6506I m

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 0 000 0 0 "0go 0.

000 0 0 090M Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Appln Nos: STRATOS SEATS PTY LIMITED Bill Bailey

GRIT=H-HAGK,-&.CO

-7--YORK-STREET A CHAIR FOR A VEHICLE Lci kxP~r PK0436 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: GH&CO REF: 21151-D:CLC:JM 7240A:JM 2 A CHAIR FOR A VEHICLE The present invention relates in a particular form to a passenger seat in a coach or bus.

Typically, reclining seats in a vehicle are provided with a backrest which is pivotable with respect to the seat, thus allowing relative movement between a person's back and hip. In such a situation the backrest and seat are integrally supported by a support frame connected on either side of the back of the seat. A major problem with such conventional seating is that it does not provide the occupant with sufficient protection during severe deceleration which may occur, for instance, during a vehicle collision. In such cases seat occupants are not only thrown from their seats, but the seats break away from their mountings on the floor due to the great inertial pressure provided during deceleration of the vehicle, which inertial pressure is applied as a large moment about the point where the seat is attached to the floor of the vehicle.

According to the present invention, there is provided a chair for a vehicle, comprising a seat portion and a seat back portion attached to the seat, damping means, and a seat support, a front section of the seat portion being pivotally connected to the seat support, in 25 use the seat support being arranged to be connected by a securement means to the floor of a vehicle, the position of the seat portion and seat back portion relative to the oe seat support being normally adjustable between a first, lower, position and a second, higher, position by pivotal 30 motion of the seat portion about the pivotal connection, to allow for comfort of a chair user, the seat portion and seat back portion being, in normal operation, So: restrained from movement beyond the second position, the damping means being operable on the occurrence of a sudden deceleration, such as may occur in a vehicle crash, to provide controlled damping of motion beyond the second position whereby to absorb kinetic energy of the seat portion and back rest portion due to the sudden seat portion and back rest portion due to the sudden

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i -3deceleration.

Preferably the damping means comprises a damper connected at one end to the seat back portion and at the other end to a lower end of the seat support.

The damper preferably comprises a component which is freely movable between the first and a second position. Preferably the damper comprises a restraint strap having a slotted section.

Preferably the damper comprises a convoluted section which is arranged to absorb enerqy.

One end of a metal cord or strap is preferably arranged to be slidably mounted in the slotted section and the other end is arranged to be connected to the floor of a vehicle.

Preferably normal movement of the seat relative to the seat support may be controlled by an adjustment means, such as an hydraulic ram, meshing gears, interlocking cams, pins, slots and mechanical brakes.

The damping provided by the damper may be in the form of an hydraulic cylinier, friction, material deformation or shearing.

It is preferred that the damper, in combination with the pivotal connection between the seat and the seat support, be arranged to be adjustable to minimise the 25 inertial moment which is applied to the point of attachment of the chair to the floor of a vehicle when the vehicle experiences severe deceleration.

Oi. Preferably, a controlled deformation is provided 666% by the combination of the damper and the adjustment means.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the back rest and seat are arranged to be connected to the seat support so as to provide combined pivotal and translational movement with respect to the seat support.

Preferably the back rest and seat are constructed as a single frame and the seat support is 0- A constructed as a separate frame.

4 J 4 Preferably the front section of the seat is arranged to have continuous adjustment of pivot angle from 0 to 100 with respect to the seat support.

The continuous adjustment is preferably provided by an hydraulic cylinder arrangement.

Preferably this hydraulic cylinder arrangement is controlled by a push-button arrangement on an arm rest of the chair.

A limiting device may be arranged to restrict forward motion of the seat with 'espect to the seat support in the case of high inertial loading.

The chair may be provided with a safety belt comprising an inertial reel which is incorporated in the back rest, seat or seat support.

Preferably the safety belt feeds from the shoulder of a person seated in the chair.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention which is hereinafter described has a number of advantages. Firstly, the simplicity of construction of the back rest (seat back portion) and seat (seat portion) without provision for a separate back rest which has to be connected to the seat support, permits considerable savings in fabrication costs and the flexibility to incorporate various design features such as shape, 25 armrests, headrests, springing, etc., and furthermore the eemmeans of restraint between the back rest and seat and the seat support in the case of an accident can be of low :!.strength, low precision, commercial materials. The construction of the seat support is such that the high S 30 loads transmitted to the point of attachment to the floor are transmitted by a section of material (preferably metal) which is fixed by mechanical means rather than welding, although it may be welded if desired. It is important to note that the reliability of the seat is not dependent on the quality of the welding.

The construction of the seat is preferably such that the method of adjustment does not affect the A performance of the chair and seat belts, which are 1 151-D I k.

5 controlled by separate means. Although the means of adjustment and restraint can be integrated.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the chair may incorporate a means for locating S and fixing a child restraint by means of an anchorage position located in the backrest at the lower level of the headrest.

According to a further embodiment, the chair may incorporate an inertia reel seat belt with the reel located within the structure of the backrest and the sash belt being extendably located from an area formed by the join between the headrest and backrest of the chair.

This positioning allows the chair to be upholstered, whilst allowing the internal seat belt assembly to be fed through the upholstery in a simple and reliable manner.

The chair may incorporate a headrest which is separately trimmed from the backrest and this headrest may be permanently or removably located in the backrest via two pins which locate in cylindrical bushes permanently fixed to the backrest. This allows the chair to be fitted interchangeably with a headrest with ooee features for sleeping, such as a winged forward protruding section on either side to support the head and neck; or alternatively with a headrest which permits better visual clearance for the passenger behind by virtue of a much reduced size. This feature allows the one vehicle to be used for overnight and daytime/sightseeing duty by changing the headrests via a Ssimple tool or other to prevent unauthorised removal of S. 30 headrests.

e According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a dual chair system, in which two seats are attached on a single seat support frame, which is supported at one end by a leg and at the other end is arranged to be attached to the wall of the vehicle. Seat belts may be located totally within the dual chair unit with no need for additional fastenings to.

the floor, with the additional problems of loose straps .21 151-D 6 to trip over or provide obstruction.

The present invention further provides a dampjIg means for a chair for a vehicle, the chair compri ng a seat portion and a seat back portion attache to the seat, and a seat support, a front section f the seat portion being pivotally connected to the seat support, the seat support being arranged to connected by a securement means to the floor of a ehicle, the position of the seat portion and seat back/portion relative to the seat support being normally ijustable between a first, lower, position and a seco, higher, position by pivotal motion of the seat a ut the pivotal connection, in normal operation th/arrangement being restrained from movement beyond /he second position, the damping means being connecta e to the arrangement and being operable on the occ ence of a sudden deceleration, such as may occur in a vehicle crash, to provide controlled damping of mo ion beyond the second position and absorb kinetic en gy of the seat portion and seat back portion due to /the sudden deceleration.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a front view of a dual chair o I" 25 according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the dual chair of Figure 1; FFigure 3 shows a graph of acceleration verses time for a conventional chair (in solid line) and for a chair according to the present invention (shown in dotted line) Figure 4 shows a detailed view of the chair shown in figure 2; Figure 5 shows a detailed view of the rear leg of the chair shown in figure 4; Figure 6a shows a section AA of the rear leg of the lower frame shown in figure Figure 6b shows a top and side view of the 7 restraint strap connected between points D and E of the chair shown in figure 4; and Figure 7 shows an adjustment means which is connected between points B and C of the chair shown in figure 4.

As shown in the drawings, each single chair of the dual chair comprises an upper frame, 11, and a lower frame, 12. The upper frame consists of a backrest, 13, and a seat, 14. In the drawings the backrest is shown rigidly attached to the seat, 14.

The lower frame, 12, is rigidly attached to the floor of a vehicle, 15. A pivotal connection, 16, between the upper frame, 11, and the lower frame, 12, is located at the front of the seat, 14, and at the front top section of the lower frame. The pivotal connection may be provided by a cylindrical sleeve type arrangement in which outer sleeve members are connected to an inner cylindrical member, which can be a 'ngth of cyliadrical pipe.

The movement of the upper frame with respect to :i the lower frame can be controlled by an adjustment means eooo which may be provided by any suitable conventional :arrangement such as pins and slots, meshing gears, hydraulic rams, etc.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the upper frame may be connected to the lower frame by a rotatable, tiltable or slidable connection.

In addition to the pivotal connection between the upper and lower frames, an energy absorbing element 30 in the form of a damper, 17, is provided between the •coo bottom of the backrest and a top rear portion of the lower frame. The damper, 17, incorporates a metal strap :g:or cord which, at its lower end may be connected to the floor and at its upper end may be connected to the lower end of a damping means which has its upper end connected to the bottom of the backrest. For convenience the metal strap may be located within a rear leg, 18, of the lower frame.

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v 61 8 The damper is also provided with an adjustment mechanism so that the adjustment means of the pivotal member and the adjustment means of the damper in combination can be used to produce a desired deceleration verses, time characteristic as shown in Figure 3. Thus the maximum load transmitted to the seat and- vehicle structure can be controlled to allow an optimum design to be achieved (that is maximum strength for a given weight or cost, etc.) In the graph shown in Figure 3, the continuous line shows the acceleration level of the inertial force applied to an essentially rigid structure in accordance with the prior art, whilst the dashed line indicates the acceleration level of the inertial force on a chair described above.

The obvious advantage achieved by the chair thus described is that it can withstand deceleration forces over a great period of time without breaking from the floor of the vehicle and can also withstand a much to 20 greater magnitude of deceleration forces.

o ~In figure 1, a dual chair is shown wherein the .Ole **0.elower frame consists of a single leg at one end with the opposite end being arranged to be connected to the wall of a vehicle. The seat belts 30 have a connection point 25 31 located between each chair 32, 33, for convenience.

Referring to the detailed view of the chair, as shown in figure 4, it can been seen that the upper frame 11 is connected to the lower frame 12 by means of a pivotal connection at point A. The upper frame is 30 pivotal between a first and second position covering an o angle of FO. oo.• o The angle of F 0 is controlled by an adjusting **to to.. means in the form of a hydro-lock 19 which is showr. in figure 7. The hydro-lock incorporates a return spring and is arranged to be mounted pivotally between points B and C at the bottom of the back rest and the middle top section of the lower frame respectively.

AForward travel of the upper frame is limited in 9 the case of sudden deceleration forces, by a damper which is connected between points D and E at the bottom of the back rest and top back section of the lower frame respectively. The damper is in the form of a restraint strap 20 shown in more detail in figure 6b. The restraint strap comprises a longitudinal slot 21 which extends from a distal end 22, 3/4 of the way towards the proximal end 23. An energy absorbing section in the form of a convoluted section 24, is located between the proximal end 23 and the adjacent end of the longitudinal slot 21. The proximal end of the restraint strap is connected to point E, while the distal end 22 is slidably connected at point D to a metal cord or similar which is run through the hollow rear leg 18 and is fastened to the floor at point 25. In an alternative embodiment the damper may be connected in a different manner in which a cord is connected between points E and D to the restraint strap which is connected from point D to the floor. In the embodiment shown in figure 5, the rear leg 18 has a sectional view as shown in figure 6a.

Because the upper frame 11 is connected to the Goo* lower frame 12 by both the adjusting means 19 and the damper 20, and the upper frame is pivotable about point two means of preventing forward travel of the upper frame are provided. A preferred deceleration verses time graph characteristic can be obtained by a chair provided with the above mentioned features.

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Claims (6)

1. A chair for a vehicle, comprising a seat portion and a seat back portion attached to the seat, damping means, and a seat support, a front section of the seat portion being pivotally connected to the seat support, in use the seat support being arranged to be connected by a securement means to the floor of a vehicle, the position of the seat portion and seat back portion relative to the seat support being normally adjustable between a first, lower, position and a second, higher, position by pivotal motion of the seat portion about the pivotal connection, to allow for comfort of a chair user, the seat portion and seat back portion being, in normal operation, restrained from movement beyond the second position, the damping means being operable on the occurrence of a sudden deceleration, such as may occur in a vehicle crash, to provide controlled damping of motion beyond the second position whereby to absorb kinetic r:irgy of the seat portion and back rest portion due to the sudden deceleration.

2. A chair according to claim 1 wherein the damping e means comprises a damper connected at one end to the seat o back portion and at the other end to a lower end of the seat support. 25 3. A chair according to claim 2 wherein the damper comprises a component which is freely moveable between the first and second position. o4. A chair according to claim 3 wherein the damper comprises a restraint strap having a slotted section, the 30 dimensions of the slotted section enabling the free movement between the first and second positions. A chair according to any one of claims 2, 3 or 4, wherein the damper comprises a convoluted section which is arranged to absorb energy on motion of the seat and seat back portions beyond the second position.

6. A chair according to claim 4 or 5 wherein one end of a metal cord or strap is arranged to be slidably. mounted in the slotted section and the other end is .1151-D 11 arranged to be connected to the floor of a vehicle.

7. A chair according to any one of claims 2 to 6 wherein adjustment of the seat and seat back portions between the first and second positions is controlled by an adjustment means.

8. A chair according to claim 7, the adjustment means being operable to assist the damper in damping motion beyond the second position.

9. A chair according to any preceeding claim, the damping means being adjustable to produce a predetermined deceleration verses time characteristic. A damping means for a chair for a vehicle, the chair comprising a seat portion and a seat back porti attached to the seat, and a seat support, a front sec ion of the seat portion being pivotally connected to te seat support, the seat support being arranged to be nnected by a securement means to the floor of a viicle, the position of the seat portion and seat Jack portion relative to the seat support being nor ly adjustable too" 20 between a first, lower, position and second, higher, :osition by pivotal motion of the sea about the pivotal connection, in normal operation he arrangement being restrained from movement beyond he second position, the damping means being connecta e to the arrangement and 25 being operable on the /occurrence of a sudden deceleration, such as may occur in a vehicle crash, to provide controlled dam ing of motion beyond the second position and absorb /inetic energy of the seat portion and seat back porti' n due to the sudden deceleration. 30 11. A damping means in accordance with claim comprising a /amper connectable between the seat back portion and/he seat support and having a slotted section to enable/free movement of the seat portion and seat back portio between the first and second positions and a convluted section which is arranged to absorb energy on mo ion of the seat and seat back portions beyond the econd position. /D A chair substantially as hereinbefore described Oft, 12 with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 4th day of May 1994 G J LEWIS ENTERPRISES PTY LIMITED By their Patent Attorney GRIFFITH HACK &CO. sees a a 0 see* s* C *0 C o 6~ 0.0. g.0. ''C7