Tiltable swivel seat

• US 4,168,050 A
• Filed: 08/31/1977
• Issued: 09/18/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Winnebago Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Winnebago Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Nerem, Marvin E., Denney, Roger W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Staab, Lawrence J.
• Application Number:
  US05/829,237
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 248/371, 248/393, 248/397, 248/416, 248/418, 248/425, 248/429, 248/430, 248/424, 297/325-328, 297/344, 297/349
• US Class Current: 248/393
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/143 taking a position opposite to the original one
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1842 pivoting about an axis located in the rear
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1875 Racks
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1892 characterised by a lock
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1896 Stepwise movement mechanisms, e.g. ratchets B60N2/1882 takes precedence

Abstract

A seat supported on a fixed pedestal with a mount assembly operable to permit rotational movement of the seat about an upright axis, longitudinal fore and aft movement and transverse tilt movement of the seat. The mount assembly has a base member pivotally connected to the pedestal for movement about an upright axis. A first lock pin locks the base member in a fixed forward position. When the lock pin is released the base member can rotate about a generally horizontal axis. A pair of longitudinally located track assemblies are pivotally connected to the rear portion of the base member. The forward portions of the track assemblies are held in selected elevated positions with releasable locking arms thereby changing the tilt position of the seat. The track assemblies also have movable carriages that can be locked in selected longitudinal positions to adjust the fore and aft position of the seat.

Claims

1. A seat unit comprising:

a fixed support,

a seat,

a mount assembly connected to the seat for mounting the seat on the support, said mount assembly including a base member, rail means secured to the seat, means pivotally mounting the rail means to the base member to allow the seat to tilt about a transverse horizontal axis, first lock means for holding the rail means in a selected angular position, a transverse plate secured to the end of the rail means remote from the means pivotally mounting the rail means to the base member, said plate having a pair of longitudinal slots, said first lock means including a pair of arms, one arm of said pair projected through a slot, each arm having a plurality of teeth engageable with the plate to fix the angular position of the rail means, means to bias the arms into engagement with the plate, means connected to the arms operable to move the arms out of engagement with the plate,

upright pivot means pivotally connecting the mount assembly to the support allowing the mount assembly and seat to rotate about an upright axis,

second lock means mounted on the support engageable with the mount assembly to hold the mount assembly and seat in a fixed position, said second lock means being releasable from the mount assembly thereby allowing rotation of the mount assembly and seat about said upright axis.

2. The seat unit of claim 1 wherein:

the support has a top wall, and the mount assembly has a base member engageable with the top wall, said upright pivot means pivotally connecting the base member with the top wall, said second lock means being mounted on the top wall.

3. The seat unit of claim 2 wherein:

the base member has a flat plate engageable with the top wall.

4. The seat unit of claim 2 including:

a first member secured to the top of the base member and a second member secured to the bottom of the top wall, said upright pivot means extend through said first and second members.

5. The seat unit of claim 4 wherein:

the first and second members are channel members.

6. The seat unit of claim 2 wherein:

the second lock means comprises an upright pin, means to support the pin on the top wall, means to bias the pin into locking engagement with the base member, and means to move the pin to a release position.

7. The seat unit of claim 6 wherein:

the means to move the pin to a release position is a control rod connected to the pin, and means to pivotally mount the control rod on the top wall.

8. The seat unit of claim 1 wherein:

said rail means has at least one fixed elongated rail, movable means comprising a carriage mounted on the rail for movement relative to the rail, third lock means including a plurality of teeth on the fixed rail, a lock member engageable with the teeth of the third locking means, and means movably mounting the lock member on the carriage whereby the lock member can be released from the teeth of the third locking means to allow movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

9. The seat unit of claim 8 including:

biasing means connected to the lock member and carriage for biasing the lock member into engagement with the teeth of the third locking means.

10. The seat unit of claim 8 including:

an elongated handle secured to the lock member usable by the operator to move the lock member to its release position out of engagement with the teeth of the third locking means.

11. The seat unit of claim 1 wherein:

said rail means includes a pair of rail assemblies, each rail assembly having a movable carriage for adjusting the fore and aft position of the seat, and third lock means for holding the carriage in a selected fixed position.

12. The seat unit of claim 1 wherein:

the first lock means includes a control rod rotatably mounted on the base member, said pair of arms being fixed to the control rod, and biasing means connected to at least one of the arms for biasing the pair of arms to a locking position, said control rod being movable to release the pair of arms thereby allowing the rail means to pivot about said transverse horizontal axis.

13. The seat unit of claim 1 wherein:

the means connected to the arms comprise a rod rotatably mounted on the base member.

14. The seat unit of claim 1 wherein:

the means to bias the arms comprise springs connected to the arms.

15. A seat unit comprising:

a fixed support having a top wall,

a seat,

a mount assembly connected to the seat for mounting the seat on the support, means pivotally connecting the mount assembly to the support allowing the mount assembly and seat to rotate about an upright axis,

first lock means mounted on the support and engageable with the mount assembly to hold the mount assembly and seat in a fixed position, said first lock means being mounted on the top wall and releasable from the mount assembly thereby allowing rotation of the mount assembly and seat,

said mount assembly including a base member and rail means secured to the seat, said base member being located over and engageable with the top wall, said means pivotally connecting the mount assembly to the support comprising an upright pivot pin connecting the top wall and the base member, means pivotally connecting the rail means to the base member for movement about a transverse horizontal axis, second lock means mounted on the base member for releasably holding the rail means in a selected angular position, said second lock means including a control rod rotatably mounted on the base member, arm means fixed to the control rod, and biasing means connected to the arm means for biasing the arm means to a locking position, said control rod being movable to release the arm means thereby allowing the rail means to pivot about said transverse horizontal axis,

said rail means including a pair of rail assemblies secured to the seat allowing longitudinal fore and aft movement of the seat, each rail assembly having a movable carriage for adjusting the fore and aft position of the seat, and third lock means being operable to hold the carriages in a selected position.

16. The seat unit of claim 15 wherein:

the base member has a flat plate engageable with the top wall.

17. The seat unit of claim 15 including:

a first member secured to the top of the base member and a second member secured to the bottom of the top wall, said upright pivot means extended through said first and second members.

18. The seat unit of claim 17 wherein:

the first and second members are channel members.

19. The seat unit of claim 15 wherein:

the first lock means comprises an upright pin, means to support the pin on the top wall, means to bias the pin into locking engagement with the base member, and means to move the pin to a release position.

20. The seat unit of claim 19 wherein:

the means to move the pin to a release position is a second control rod connected to the pin, and means to pivotally mount the second control rod on the top wall.

21. The seat unit of claim 18 wherein:

said arm means includes a plurality of vertically spaced teeth allowing selected angular adjustment of the rail means.

22. The seat unit of claim 15 wherein:

one of said rail assemblies has at least one fixed elongated rail, said carriage being mounted on the fixed rail for movement relative to the fixed rail, said third locking means including a plurality of teeth on the fixed rail, a lock member engageable with the teeth on the fixed rail, and means movably mounting the lock member on the carriage whereby the lock member can be released from the teeth on the fixed rail to allow movement of the carriage relative to the fixed rail.

23. The seat unit of claim 22 including:

biasing means connected to the lock member and carriage for biasing the lock member into engagement with the teeth on the fixed rail.

24. The seat unit of claim 22 including:

an elongated handle secured to the lock member usable by the operator to move the lock member to its release position out of engagement with the teeth on the fixed rail.

25. A mount assembly for mounting a seat on a support comprising:

a base member adapted to be pivotally connected to the support for movement about an upright axis,

first lock means for holding the base member in a selected position,

rail means adapted to be secured to the seat,

means pivotally connecting the rail means to the base member for movement about a transverse horizontal axis, a transverse plate secured to the end of the rail means remote from the means pivotally mounting the rail means to the base member, said plate having a pair of longitudinal slots,

second lock means mounted on the base member for releasably holding the rail means in a selected angular position, said second locking means including a pair of arms, one arm of said pair projected through a slot, each arm having a plurality of teeth engageable with the plate to fix the angular position of the rail means, means to bias the arms into engagement with the plate, means connected to the arms operable to move the arms out of engagement with the plate,

said rail means including movable means adapted to be secured to the seat allowing longitudinal fore and aft movement of the seat, and

third lock means for holding the movable means in a selected position.

26. The mount assembly of claim 25 including:

a longitudinal member secured to the top of the base member.

27. The mount assembly of claim 25 wherein:

the first lock means comprises an upright pin, means to bias the pin into locking engagement with the base member, and means to move the pin to a release position.

28. The mount assembly of claim 27 wherein:

the means to move the pin is an elongated control rod connected to the pin.

29. The mount assembly of claim 25 wherein:

said rail means includes a pair of rail assemblies, each rail assembly having a movable carriage for adjusting the fore and aft position of the seat, said third lock means holding the carriage in a selected fixed position.

30. The mount assembly of claim 25 wherein:

the second lock means includes a control rod rotatably mounted on the base member, said pair of arms being fixed to the control rod, and biasing means connected to at least one of said arms for biasing the pair of arms to a locking position, said control rod being movable to release the pair of arms thereby allowing the rail means to pivot about said transverse horizontal axis.

31. The mount assembly of claim 25 wherein:

the means connected to the arms comprise a rod rotatably mounted on the base member.

32. The mount assembly of claim 25 wherein:

the means to bias the arms comprise springs connected to the arms.

33. The mount assembly of claim 25 wherein:

said rail means has at least one fixed elongated rail, said movable means comprising a carriage mounted on the rail for movement relative to the rail, said third locking means including a plurality of teeth on the fixed rail, a lock member engageable with the teeth on the fixed rail, and means movably mounting the lock member on the carriage whereby the lock member can be released from the teeth on the fixed rail to allow movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

34. The mount assembly of claim 33 including:

biasing means connected to the lock member and carriage for biasing the lock member into engagement with the teeth on the fixed rail.

35. The mount assembly of claim 33 including:

an elongated handle secured to the lock member usable by the operator to move the lock member to its release position out of engagement with the teeth on the fixed rail.

42. The mount assembly of claim 31 wherein:

said rail means has at least one fixed elongated rail, said movable means comprising a carriage mounted on the rail for movement relative to the rail, said third locking means including a plurality of teeth on the fixed rail, a lock member engageable with the teeth, and means movably mounting the lock member on the carriage whereby the lock member can be released from the teeth to allow movement of the carriage relative to the rail.

43. The mount assembly of claim 42 including:

biasing means connected to the lock member and carriage for biasing the lock member into engagement with the teeth.

44. The mount assembly of claim 42 including:

an elongated handle secured to the lock member useable by the operator to move the lock member to its release position out of engagement with the teeth.

36. A mount assembly and a fixed support having a top wall for supporting a seat comprising:

means for connecting the seat to the mount assembly, means for pivotally connecting the mount assembly to the top wall of the support allowing the mount assembly and seat connected thereto to rotate about a generally upright axis, first lock means mountable on the top wall of the support and engageable with the mount assembly to hold the mount assembly and seat in a fixed position, said first lock means being releasable from the mount assembly thereby allowing rotation of the mount assembly and seat about said generally upright axis, said mount assembly including a base member and rail means adapted to be secured to the seat, said means for pivotally connecting the mount assembly to the support comprising an upright pivot pin connecting the top wall and the base member, means pivotally connecting the rail means to the base member for movement about a generally transverse horizontal axis, second lock means mounted on the base member for releasably holding the rail means in a selected angular position, said second lock means including a control rod rotatably mounted on the base member, arm means fixed to the control rod, and biasing means connected to the arm means for biasing the arm means to a locking position, said control rod being movable to release the arm means thereby allowing the rail means to pivot about said transverse horizontal axis, said rail means including a pair of rail assemblies adapted to be secured to the seat allowing longitudinal fore and aft movement of the seat, each rail assembly having a movable carriage for adjusting the fore and aft position of the seat, and third lock means being operable to hold the carriages in a selected position.

37. The mount assembly of claim 36 wherein:

the base member has a flat plate engageable with the top wall of the support.

38. The mount assembly of claim 36 including:

a first member secured to the top of the base member and a second member secured to the bottom of the top wall, said means for pivotally connecting the mount assembly to the top wall of the support comprising an upright pivot pin extended through said first and second members.

39. The mount assembly of claim 38 wherein:

the first and second members are channel members.

40. The mount assembly of claim 36 wherein:

the first lock means comprises an upright pin, means to support the pin on the top wall, means to bias the pin into locking engagement with the base member, and means to move the pin to a release position.

41. The mount assembly of claim 40 wherein:

the means to move the pin to a release position is a second control rod connected to the pin, and means to pivotally mount the second control rod on the top wall.

45. The mount assembly of claim 36 wherein:

said arm means includes a plurality of vertically spaced teeth allowing selected angular adjustment of the rail means.