Auxiliary folding seat hinge arrangement

• US 4,771,507 A
• Filed: 05/01/1987
• Issued: 09/20/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chrysler Motors Corp (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Chrysler Motors Corp (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Dukatz, Matthew E., Cote, Janice E., Draplin, Thomas E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Godici, Nicholas P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Edward A.
• Application Number:
  US07/044,671
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• Field of Search: 16/286, 16/293, 16/297, 16/304, 16/321, 16/332, 16/334, 16/347, 16/348, 16/352, 16/357, 296/63, 296/65 R, 297/332, 297/333, 297/334, 297/378, 297/379, 297/355
• US Class Current: 16/297
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/3047 the cushion being hinged at the back-rest

Abstract

A hinge assembly for use in mounting an auxiliary seat on a vertical body wall of a vehicle such as a pickup truck extended cab. The hinge assembly comprises a seat-half banana hinge member and a body-half bracket hinge member for rotating the auxiliary seat between a first vertical stowed position and a second horizontal seating position. The bracket hinge has a pair of vertically extending side walls each formed with an oblique guide slot so as to movably support one end of a spring rod for reciprocal travel therein. A cam track having forward and rear notched detents is formed on each bracket hinge member side wall and is adapted for capturing a respective one of a pair of cam followers mounted adjacent each end of the spring rod. An overcenter tension spring urges the cam followers into rolling engagement with their associated jump motion cam track providing quick-return capture of the followers into their associated forward or rear notched detents.

Claims

1. A hinge assembly for pivotally mounting an auxiliary seat on a vehicle body vertically disposed wall structure, said seat including a cushion having front and rear ends and underlying support frame means, said hinge assembly comprising:

a pair of spaced body-half bracket hinge members, each said body-half hinge member in the form of a vertically extending box-shaped channel having a bight wall interconnecting a pair of parallel mirror image side wall portions extending rearwardly therefrom;

each said bracket hinge member adapted to be secured to a vehicle body wall with each of its side wall portions having a hole aligned on a horizontal pivot axis;

a pair of L-shaped seat-half banana hinge members, each said banana hinge member having first and second legs extending at substantially right angles to each other, each said first leg connected to the seat frame means so as to lie substantially in the plane in which said frame means lies;

each said second leg formed with a pair of spaced apart mirror image hinge knuckle portions projecting vertically outwardly therefrom, each said pair of knuckle portions sized for reception between its associated pair of bracket hinge member side wall portions, each said knuckle portion having a pivot hole aligned on said pivot axis, pintle means extending through each side wall portion hole and through its associated knuckle portion hole,

each said knuckle portion having an elongated guide slot formed therein extending obliquely at a predetermined angle from the horizontal such that each pair of knuckle portion guide slots having their major axes lying in an oblique plane common to said pivot axis,

a spring rod extending between each said pair of knuckle portions with its free ends extending through an associated one of said guide slots, and a helical coiled overcenter tension spring connecting the mid-point of each said spring rod with its associated bracket hinge member such that said spring having its principle axis substantially aligned on the axis of said spring rod wherein said spring rod is normally resiliently biased toward said pivot axis,

each said side wall portion having a depending ear-like portion defining an arcuate shaped cam track with forward and rearward jump motion notched detents formed therein;

a cam follower rotatably mounted adjacent the free ends of each said spring rod outboard of its associated bracket hinge side wall portion, said spring urging each said cam follower into rolling contact with its associated cam track providing quick-return capture of each said cam follower into its associated forward or rearward notched detent;

each said over center tension spring operative to biasingly capture its associated pair of cam followers into either their associated forward or rearward cam track notched detents, such that with each said pair of cam followers captured in their associated forward notched detents the principal axis of said spring is oriented intermediate its associated bight wall and said pivot axis with the seat located essentially vertically in its stowed position,

and such that with each said pair of cam followers captured in their associated rearward cam detents the principal axis of said spring is oriented intermediate said pivot axis and its associated banana hinge second leg with the seat located essentially horizontal in its seating position;

whereby said seat being adapted for manual rotational movement about said pivot axis between said stowed position wherein each said cam follower is rolled out of its associated rearward notched detent against the action of said spring, and wherein the cam track jump motion providing quick-return capture of each said cam follower into its associated forward notched detent by said spring biasing force permitting ready movement of said seat from its stowed position to its seating position and vice versa against the action of said overcenter tension spring.

2. The hinge assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said guide slot predetermined angle is about 45 degrees from the horizontal.

3. The hinge assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said body-half bracket hinge member bight wall portion sloped outwardly and downwardly from an upper horizontally disposed integral flange portion at a comfort angle of about 15 degrees from the vertical, each said sloped bight wall adapted to support a portion of a backrest cushion base structure in a flush manner thereon, whereby the bracket hinge members are concealed from view while supporting the backrest cushion at said confort angle on the vertically disposed wall structure.