WO1992012024A1

WO1992012024A1 - Passenger seat

Info

Publication number: WO1992012024A1
Application number: PCT/NO1992/000001
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eivind Flister
Original assignee: Eivind Flister
Priority date: 1991-01-03
Filing date: 1992-01-02
Publication date: 1992-07-23
Also published as: NO171542B; NO171542C; NO910015L; NO910015D0

Abstract

A passenger seat intended for use in a transport means such as a car, bus, boat or airplane. The passenger seat comprises a seat portion (2) and a two-part seat back (4) the lower part (6) of which is deployably supported relative to an upper part (8). In this way the passenger seat may be used either as an ordinary passenger seat for an adult person, or, in the deployed position of the back lower part (6), it will form a child seat integrally with the passenger seat proper. The seat back (4) is mounted adjustably as to height on a central back rail (10) capable of being rotated 180° about its axis and releasably locked in two diametrically opposite positions.

Description

PASSENGER SEAT

The invention relates to a passenger seat, particularly intended for use by a child, comprising a base portion and a back portion a lower part of which is deployably supported relative to an upper part to form with said upper part a child seat integral with the passenger seat proper.

Many different approaches have been suggested for secu¬ ring children in automobiles, from removable child seats attached to the front or rear side of one of the fixed seats of the car, to flap seats recessed in the seat back, particu¬ larly in the rear seat of the car. As examples of prior art in the field it is referred to the following patent publica¬ tions: DE 2 454 573, SE 428 783, SE 443 335, GB 2 023 415, GB 2 167 949, GB 2 209 666, EP 258 194, EP 286 542, EP 324 503 and US 4 690 449.

A drawback suffered by these prior devices is i.a. the fact that generally they are intended to be used only by small children such as at the age of 1 - 3 years. Larger children will have problems using these ordinary child seats, while on the other hand they will not be quite safe and comfortable when using the ordinary seats of the vehicle, particularly because the standard seat straps of the vehicle normally are adaptedto a fully grown up person only.

In busses and similar public transport or communication means normally there are neither special seats nor seat belts intended for children, in spite of the fact that they are particularly exposed to injury in case of hard braking, colli¬ sion, or other accidents. Aeroplanes have seat belts but these are not particularly adaptable to children and teen¬ agers.

The present invention has for its object a passenger seat which is well adapted for use by persons of varying size, from small children to fully grown adults, and which can be used in public as well as in private transport or communication means, be it automobile, ship, areoplane or train.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a passenger seat of the type noted above, by having said two- part back portion mounted adjustably as to height on a rail means.

A preferred embodiment of the invention uses a single, central rail that may be rotated 180°, to permit the two-part back portion to face in a direction opposite the direction of advance of the transport means. Other advantageous embodi¬ ments are defined in the appending patent claims.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing the passenger seat according to the invention in two alternative modes or versions,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a particularly advantageous embodiment of the passenger seat according to the invention,

Fig. 4 is a part sectional view to a larger scale showing a detail of the embodiment according to fig. 3,

Figs. 5 and 6 are side and front elevational views respectively to a still larger scale showing a detail of the seat in the "adult version" of the latter, while

Figs. 7 and 8 are similar views showing same detail of the seat in its "child version", and

Figs. 9 - 14 illustrate various safety belt arrangements associated with the passenger seat according to the invention. The passenger seat according to the invention comprises a base portion 2 and a two-part back portion generally denoted by 4. Base portion 2 may generally be of any ordinary type, supported on a bottom frame 3, for example.

As appearing from figs. 1 and 3 the back portion 4 is comprised of two members, a lower member 6 deployably suppor¬ ted relative to an upper member 8 of the back portion. The back portion members 6, 8 are mounted adjustably as to heigth on rail means 10 which in the example shown in the drawings consists of one singel central back rail.

As clearly shown in figs. 1 and 2, the two-part back portion of the passenger seat according to the invention offers the possibility of using the passenger seat in two alternative versions or positions.

In the version shown in fig. 1, in which the lower and upper back members 6, 8 are aligned, they form with the base portion 2 an ordinary passenger seat intended for an adult person.

In fig. 2 the lower member 6 is swung our or "deployed" approximately 90° into a substantially horizontal position to form a child seat base portion, the upper back member 8 form¬ ing the child seat back portion.

The two back members 6, 8 may conveniently be provided with side support portions 7, 9 as shown.

In the embodiment of the passenger seat according to the invention shown in figs. 1 and 2 the back rail 10 is secured, such as by welding, to a cross shaft 12 each end of which is supported in bearings 14 on either side of the base portion 2. Preferably there also are two support bearings 16 symmetrical¬ ly disposed near the back rail on either side thereof. Thus, the rail 10 with two-part back portion 4 is permitted to be steplessly pivoted into a preferred angular position relative to the base portion 2 and locked in such angular position. The locking mechanism as such is not shown, since it may be of a type ordinary used for the angular adjustment of car seat backs wellknown to a skilled person. Therefore, on the drawing, a such locking mechanism is merely indicated by the lever 18.

A particularly advantagous embodiment of the passenger seat according to the invention is illustrated in fig. 3 and 4. Here the back rail 10 is rotatably supported on the cross shaft 12 in such a manner that the rail, in addition to its capability of being angularly positioned relative to the base portion 2, can also be rotated 180° around its own axis. Thus, the above described child seat may be used either in a forward facing position as shown in figs. 1 and 2, or turned backward in opposite direction as shown in fig. 3. As is known, the latter position is the safer one for the child, and particu¬ larly when the back rail is also pivoted slightly forward as shown, a very safe and comfortable resting position for the child is provided.

Designing the rotatable support of the back rail 10 on the cross shaft 12 is a task which a skilled person easily will be able to solve in various ways. However, in fig. 4 a useful mechanism of this kind is shown. Here the bottom end of the back rail 10 is in the form of a cylindrical bearing boss or journal 20 resting in a correspondingly shaped cylind¬ rical bearing housing 22 centrally welded into the cross shaft 12. The one shaft half 12' has a longitudinally extending bore 23 slidingly receiving a release bar 24 the inner conically chamfered end of which engages the correspondingly conically chamfered end of a locking pin 26 extending through an aperture in the wall of the bearing housing 22 and further into a diametrically extending through-bore 28 in the journal 20. An identical locking pin 26' disposed in the opposite end of the journal bore 28 has its conically chamfered end engag¬ ing the inner surface of the wall of the bearing housing, a helical spring 30 being positioned in the bore 28 between the two locking pins 26, 26'.

The bore 23 in the cross shaft half 12' has an outer increased diameter portion in which there is a helical spring 32 one end of which engages a collar 34 on the release bar 24 urging the latter toward an end wall 36 of shaft 12. The release bar 24 extends through and slightly beyond the shaft wall 36 terminating in a knob 38.

In the position shown on fig. 4, in which the locking pin 26 engages the aperture through the bearing housing wall, the back rail 10 is locked against rotation. When it is desirable to rotate the back rail 10 carrying the two-part back portion 4, in the opposite direction, this can be done simply by pres¬ sing the outer knob 38 of the release bar against the force of springs 30 and 32. The opposite or inner pointed end of the release bar will then push the locking pin 26 further into the bore 28 in the journal 20, until the opposing pointed ends of the locking pin 26 and release bar 24 respectively are located in the area immediately inward or outward of the inner surface of the bearing housing wall, such that owing to the conical form of the opposing end portions of parts 24, 26 the journal 20 is capable of being rotated in the bearing housing 22 by applying a torque on it via the back rail 10. Once the locking pin 26 has been rotated out of engagement with its locking aperture the end knob 38 of the release bar can be released, since the pointed ends of the locking pins 26, 26' slide along the inner wall of the bearing housing during the rotation of the journal 20, until the back portion has been rotated 180°. The other locking pin 26' will then, urged by the journal spring 30, slip into the aperture in the bearing housing wall and assume the locking position which in fig. 4 is shown for the locking pin 26 which in its turn now has assumed the original position of the locking pin 26' shown in fig. 4.

A person skilled in the art will also be acquainted with many different solutions of elevation-adjustable support of the back portion members 6, 8 on the back rail 10. However, in figs. 5 - 8 a useful example of such support is indicated.

As shown in these figures the back portion lower member 6 has incorporated therein a brace plate 40 rigidly secured to a cross bar 42 at the rear end of the back lower member 6. Via a pair of spaced bearing brackets 44 the cross bar 42 is sup¬ ported in a clamplike guide 46 slidably embracing the back rail 10 as shown in the drawing. Located between the brackets 44 and secured to the cross bar 42 there is a right-angle latch member 48 made from a high resistance material, prefer¬ ably steel which also is the preferred material for the cross bar 42. The angular latch member 48 is secured to the cross bar 42, preferably by welding, in the area at the bend between the angular latch member legs 48', 48'', such that one leg 48' ' is directed substantially parallel to the rear side of the back lower member 6. At the free end of the other leg 48' of latch member 48 there is a latch prong 50 fitting into latch holes 52 regularly spaced along the back rail 10.

In its retracted position shown in figs. 1 and 5, 6, the back lower part 6 rests via guide 46 on the journal 20, with the prong leg 48 of the latch member inactively located under the back part 6, and the other leg 48'' of the latch member 48 engaging the back rail 10 to align the back lower part 6 with the back upper part 8. The back upper part 8, which also is slidingly supported on the back rail via a clamp guide 54, rests in its turn on top of the back lower part 6 as illustra¬ ted in fig. 1. As appearing from the latter figure and from fig. 7 the upper back part 8 is suitably formed with a bottom surface 8' sloping downward and forward, while the lower back part 6 has a correspondingly shaped, top surface 6' sloping upward and rearward. Thus, the upper part 8 automatically serves to retain the lower part 6 in place in retracted posi¬ tion when the passenger seat is to be used in its normal or "adult position".

When the passenger seat according to the invention is to be shifted into its "child position", all that is needed is to lift the back upper portion 8 free of the lower part 6, and tilt the latter slightly outward while lifting it up into a desired level adjusted to the child passenger, and then unfold or deploy the lower part completely into a horizontal seat position, causing the prong 50 of the latch member 48 to slip into the adjacent latch hole 52 in the back rail 10 locking the lower member 6 in its horizontal seat position.

When using the child seat with the back lower part 6 in its deployed seat position as explained above, the latch member 48 will be subject to a bending moment which, together with the weight of the passenger, is transmitted to the back rail 10 through the latch angle leg 48'. Normally only part of the weight will be transmitted through the latch prong 50, since also friction between the back rail 10 and latch leg 48' which, when loaded, bears against the rail, will act to pre¬ vent the deployed back lower part 6 from sliding down the back rail. Probably such friction force will be capable of resis¬ ting the entire weight of the passenger, such that the lower part 6 would be steplessly self-locking at any desired height, and thus the latch prong-hole system 50, 52 may be omitted. Preferably the back rail 10 and latch leg 48' may be provided on their mating surfaces with a friction promoting formation, such as corrugations or grooving.

When the lower member 6 is locked in its desired position as described above, the upper part 8 will again rest freely on the lower part as illustrated in figs. 2 and 7 - 8 and together with the latter form the child seat 6, 8 integrated in the passenger seat according to the invention.

In figs. 9 - 11 and 12 - 14 two alternative solutions are indicated for the use of safety belt in connection with the passenger seat according to the invention.

Thus, figs. 9 - 11 indicate how a three-point belt 56 which would be useful for a passenger seat in private cars and any other vehicles having provisions for securing a such three-point belt, while figs. 12 - 14 illustrate a waist belt 58 intended for use in public transport vehicles such as bus¬ ses, aeroplanes etc.

In both cases it clearly appears from the figures how the respective belts 56, 58 will be adjusted to the passenger seat according to the invention, in its "adult position" as well as in its "child position". In the first alternative shown in figs. 9 - 11 the seat will preferably be provided with a belt guide 60, 60', at the top portion of the back upper part 8, and in the version according to figs. 12 - 14 the back upper part 8 is provided with two supplementary belts 62.

The passenger seat 1 according to the invention as illu¬ strated in the figures can be installed in the vehicle in the same manner as any conventional passenger seat, either direct¬ ly on the floor as in a private car, or on a suitable socket or frame in a buss, boat, train or the like.

Claims

P a t e n t C l a i m s :

1. A passenger seat comprising a base portion (2) and a back portion (4) a lower part (6) of which is deployably supported relatively to an upper part (8) , to form with said upper part a child seat (6, 8) integral with the passenger seat proper, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the two parts of said back portion (4) are mounted adjustably as to height on a rail means (10) .

2. A passenger seat according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the rail means (10) is a single, centrally disposed rail.

3. A passenger seat according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the lower seat back part (6) in its deployed position is locked when in desired height by means of an angular latch member (48) located adjacent a pivot axis of the lower seat part (6) one angle leg (48) of which engages the rail (10) in said deployed position of the seat part (6) .

4. A passenger seat according to claims 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the central rail (10) is supported rotatably around its axis between two diametrically opposite positions in which the rail is locked by releasable latch means.

5. A passenger seat according to claim 4, in which the rail (10) is angularly adjustably supported on a cross shaft (12) and in which the rotatable support consists of a bearing boss (20) secured to the lower end of the rail (10) and rotatably resting in a bearing housing (22) connected with the cross shaft (12), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the releas¬ able latch means comprises two spring-biased locking pins (26, 26') diametrically oppositely mounted in a cross bore (28) in the bearing boss (20) , and acted upon through a hole in the wall of the bearing housing (22) by a spring-biased release rod (24) extending through a longitudinal bore (23) in the cross shaft (12) .