Vehicle safety seat

• US 20110227378A1
• Filed: 03/11/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Richard Swierczewski
• Original Assignee: Richard Swierczewski
• Inventors: Swierczewski, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,641,140 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 297/216.15
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/06 slidable B60N2/12 , B60N2/2209 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1615 Parallelogram-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4221 due to impact coming from the front
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42745 of the back-rest B60N2/433 takes precedence; higher part of the back-rest moving together with the headrest B60N2/888
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42754 of the cushion
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4279 electric or electronic triggering

Abstract

A vehicle safety seat (104, 202, 302, 502, 802) includes a seat bottom (120, 210, 310, 504, 810) that is movable substantially instantly from a substantially horizontal normal orientation for normal traveling to a deployed angled orientation contemporaneously with a vehicle crash. The deployed safety seat shifts a seat occupant (102) into a protective posture to reduce accelerations, loads and moments of force on various parts of the occupant'"'"'s body. In preferred embodiments, the seat bottom is deployed into its angled orientation by lowering the rear (124, 312, 507, 812) of the seat bottom, causing the seat bottom to pivot about a front pivot (172, 220, 320, 518, 820) at the front of the seat bottom. Typically, a vehicle safety seat includes a backrest (130, 240, 360, 550, 840). In some embodiments, a backrest (130, 240, 360, 550) is movable downwards and/or rearwards simultaneously with movement of the seat bottom.

Claims

1. A vehicle safety seat, comprising:

a seat bottom frame having a front region and a rear region, said seat bottom frame being movable contemporaneously with a vehicle crash substantially instantly from a normal horizontal orientation for normal traveling conditions to a deployed angled orientation, wherein in said normal horizontal orientation said seat bottom frame is substantially parallel to a vehicle floor; and

a substantially vertical backrest frame, said backrest frame being movable contemporaneously with a crash substantially instantly from a normal backrest position for normal traveling conditions to a deployed backrest position, said backrest being movable rearwards and downwards to said deployed backrest position;

wherein in said deployed angled orientation said rear region is at least about 10 centimeters (cm) lower than said rear region in said normal orientation.

2. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 1 wherein:

in said deployed angled orientation said rear region is at least about 16 cm lower than said front region.

3. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 1 wherein:

said seat bottom frame in said deployed angled orientation forms an angle to said vehicle floor in a range of about from 25 degrees to 50 degrees.

4. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 3, further comprising:

a front pivot at said front region, said seat bottom frame being rotatable about said front pivot.

5. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 4 wherein:

said front region of said seat bottom frame in said deployed angled orientation is not substantially higher or lower relative to said vehicle floor than said front region of said seat bottom frame in said substantially horizontal orientation for normal conditions.

6. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 5 wherein:

said backrest frame in said normal backrest position defines a backrest angle relative to said vehicle floor; and

said backrest frame in said deployed backrest position defines an angle substantially equal to said backrest angle.

7. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 6 wherein:

said backrest frame in said deployed backrest position is at least about 4 cm backwards from said backrest frame in said normal backrest position; and

said backrest frame in said deployed backrest position is at least about 4 cm closer to said vehicle floor than said backrest frame in said normal backrest position.

8. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 6, further comprising:

a head restraint associated with said backrest frame.

9. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 3, further comprising:

a pre-crash detection system operable to initiate movement of said seat bottom frame into said deployed angled orientation and movement of said backrest frame into said deployed backrest position before an imminent crash.

10. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 1, further comprising:

a front pivot at said front region of said seat bottom frame, said seat bottom frame being rotatable about said front pivot; and

a rear support having an upper end and a lower end, said upper end being connected to said rear region of said seat bottom frame, said rear support being movable downwards, a downward movement of said rear support lowering said rear region and causing said seat bottom frame to rotate partially about said front pivot from said substantially horizontal orientation to said deployed angled orientation.

11. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 10, comprising:

a lock and release mechanism operable to hold stable said lower end of said rear support during normal traveling conditions and to translate said lower end contemporaneously with a vehicle crash from a lower end hold location to a lower end deployed location, thereby lowering said rear support and said rear region of said seat bottom frame.

12. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 1 wherein said seat bottom frame comprises:

a rear section integral with said rear region, said rear section slanting upwards and rearwards from a substantially horizontal plane of said seat bottom frame in said normal horizontal orientation.

13. A vehicle safety seat, comprising:

a seat bottom frame having a front region and a rear region, said seat bottom frame being movable contemporaneously with a vehicle crash substantially instantly from a normal horizontal orientation for normal traveling conditions to a deployed angled orientation, wherein in said normal horizontal orientation said seat bottom frame is substantially parallel to a vehicle floor;

wherein in said deployed angled orientation said rear region is at least about 10 centimeters (cm) lower than said rear region in said normal orientation.

14. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 13 wherein:

in said deployed angled orientation, said rear region is in a range of about from 15 cm to 35 cm lower than said rear region in said normal orientation.

15. A vehicle safety seat as in claim 13, further comprising:

a front pivot at said front region of said seat bottom frame, said seat bottom frame being rotatable about said front pivot; and

a rear support having an upper end and a lower end, said rear region of said seat bottom frame being detachably fastened to said upper end, a detachment of said rear region from said upper end being operable to lower said rear region and to cause said seat bottom frame to rotate partially about said front pivot from said substantially horizontal orientation to said deployed angled orientation.

16. A method of transforming the geometry of a vehicle seat to protect a seat occupant, comprising:

moving a seat bottom frame contemporaneously with a vehicle crash substantially instantly from a substantially horizontal orientation to a deployed angled orientation in which a rear region of said seat bottom frame is lower than a front region of said seat bottom frame;

wherein in said deployed angled orientation said rear region is at least about 10 centimeters (cm) lower than said rear region in said normal orientation.

17. A method as in claim 16 wherein:

in said deployed angled orientation said rear region is in a range of about from 15 cm to 35 cm lower than said rear region in said normal orientation.

18. A method as in claim 16, further comprising:

moving substantially instantly contemporaneously with said vehicle crash a substantially vertical backrest frame from a normal backrest position to a deployed backrest position by moving said backrest frame rearwards and downwards to said deployed backrest position, said backrest frame in said normal backrest position defining a backrest angle with respect to the vehicle floor, and said backrest frame in said deployed backrest position defining a substantially equal angle.

19. A method as in claim 16 wherein said moving said seat bottom frame comprises:

lowering a rear support connected to said rear region of said seat bottom frame, thereby lowering said rear region and causing said seat bottom frame to rotate partially about a front pivot located at said front region from said substantially horizontal orientation to said deployed angled orientation.

20. A method as in claim 16 wherein said moving said seat bottom frame comprises:

detaching a rear region of said seat bottom frame from an upper end of a rear support to which it is fastened, thereby lowering said rear region and causing said seat bottom frame to rotate partially about a front pivot located at said front region from said substantially horizontal orientation to said deployed angled orientation.