Load-limiting seat
First Claim
1. A seat for a passenger vehicle comprising:
- (a) a base member having a rear end and a forward end;
(b) a V-leg having a vertex, a vertical member and a diagonal member, said vertical member extending vertically up from the vertex of the V-leg, and said diagonal member extending rearwards diagonally up from the vertex of the V-leg, wherein the diagonal member has a central region and a top end, and wherein the vertical member has a top end;
(c) a load-limiting strut attached at its bottom end to rear end of the base member and attached at its top end to the central region of the diagonal member;
(d) a tension link attached at its top end to the top end of the vertical member and at its bottom end to the central region of the diagonal member; and
(e) a pivot bolt pivotally connecting the vertex of the V-leg to the forward end of the base member.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A leg assembly for mounting passenger seats in transport vehicles especially configured to absorb energy, in the event of a survivable crash or other sudden deceleration. The seat legs deform in a controlled manner to prevent loads at its floor attachment points from exceeding the magnitude of allowable floor strength. The leg assembly includes a base member whose forward and rear ends attach to the floor, and a V-leg whose lower vertex pivots about an axis passing through the front of the base member in the event of a forward crash. The V-leg has a vertical member and a diagonal member. A load-limiting strut connects the rear end of the base member to an intermediate area on the diagonal member of the V-leg. A tension link connects the intermediate area of the V-leg and to the upper end of the vertical member of the V-leg. Elongation of the load-limiting strut allows the seat and legs to pitch forward at a predetermined inertial loading which, if exceeded substantially, would rip the seat loose from the floor. The tension link elongates at a predetermined load to distribute the loads within the seat.
59 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A seat for a passenger vehicle comprising:
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(a) a base member having a rear end and a forward end; (b) a V-leg having a vertex, a vertical member and a diagonal member, said vertical member extending vertically up from the vertex of the V-leg, and said diagonal member extending rearwards diagonally up from the vertex of the V-leg, wherein the diagonal member has a central region and a top end, and wherein the vertical member has a top end; (c) a load-limiting strut attached at its bottom end to rear end of the base member and attached at its top end to the central region of the diagonal member; (d) a tension link attached at its top end to the top end of the vertical member and at its bottom end to the central region of the diagonal member; and (e) a pivot bolt pivotally connecting the vertex of the V-leg to the forward end of the base member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A leg assembly for a passenger vehicle seat comprising:
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(a) a base member having a rear end and a forward end; (b) a V-leg having a vertex, a vertical member and a diagonal member, said vertical member extending vertically up from the vertex of the V-leg, and said diagonal member extending rearwards diagonally up from the vertex of the V-leg, wherein the diagonal member has a central region and a top end, and wherein the vertical member has a top end; (c) a load-limiting strut having a deformable top end and a deformable bottom end attached at its bottom end to the rear end of the base member by a lateral bolt and attached at its top end to the central region of the diagonal member; (d) a tension link attached at its top end to the top end of the vertical member and at its bottom end to the central region of the diagonal member; (e) a pivot bolt pivotally connecting the vertex of the V-leg to the forward end of the base member; (f) two rear studs extending down from the rear end of the base member on either side of the lateral bolt; and (g) a front stud extending down from the front end of the base member below the pivot bolt. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A seat assembly for a passenger vehicle comprising:
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(a) a plurality of upper seat portions, comprising longitudinal members, a front stretcher, a rear stretcher and a seat pan, said seat pan being attached to the front stretcher at its front end and to the rear stretcher at its rear end; (b) a plurality of base members, each base member having a rear end and a forward end, and each base member corresponding to one of the plurality of upper seat portions; (c) a plurality of V-legs, each V-leg corresponding to one of the plurality of upper seat portions and having a vertex, a vertical member and a diagonal member, said vertical member extending vertically up from the vertex of the V-leg, and said diagonal member extending rearwards diagonally up from the vertex of the V-leg, wherein the diagonal member has a central region and a top end, wherein the vertical member has a top end, and wherein the top end of the diagonal member is attached to the rear stretcher and the top end of the vertical member is attached to the front stretcher; (d) a plurality of load-limiting struts, each load-limiting strut corresponding to one of the plurality of upper seat portions, each load-limiting strut being attached at its bottom end to the rear end of the base member and attached at its top end to the central region of the diagonal member; (e) a plurality of tension links, each tension link corresponding to one of the V-legs, each tension link being attached at its top end to the top end of the corresponding vertical member and at its bottom end to the central region of the corresponding diagonal member; and (f) a plurality of pivot bolts, wherein each pivot bolt pivotally connects the vertex of each V-leg to the forward end of the corresponding base member. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A leg assembly for a vehicle seat comprising:
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(a) a base member having a rear end and a forward end; (b) a V-leg having a vertex, a vertical member and a diagonal member, said vertical member extending vertically up from the vertex of the V-leg, and said diagonal member extending rearwards diagonally up from the vertex of the V-leg, wherein the diagonal member has a central region and a top end, and wherein the vertical member has a top end; (c) a load-limiting strut attached at its bottom end to the rear end of the base member and attached at its top end to the central region of the diagonal member; (d) a pivot bolt pivotally connecting the vertex of the V-leg to the forward end of the base member; (e) two rear studs extending down from the rear end of the base member on either side of a lateral bolt; and (f) a front stud extending down from the front end of the base member below the pivot bolt, wherein the load-limiting strut provides the only vertical force applied to the rear studs as the leg assembly pivots forward around the pivot bolt. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification