Load bearing automotive bench seat assembly

• US 5,913,567 A
• Filed: 03/06/1997
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcoa Incorporated (Howmet Aerospace, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Aluminum Company of Egypt
• Inventors: Summe, Isabel M., Kane, Susan L., Novak, Miloslav, Trageser, Andrew B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Allred, David E
• Application Number:
  US08/812,024
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.13, 297/5.1, 297/232, 297/483, 297/452.18, 297/452.2, 248/188.1
• US Class Current: 297/216.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/242 Bus seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/68 Seat frames
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/688 Particular seat belt attachment and guiding

Abstract

An automotive bench seat assembly which may be removable from a vehicle, has a seat, a seatback adjacent to the seat a pair of relatively spaced stanchions having an upper portion secured to the seat, and a lower floor engaging portion. The seat has a front rail, a rear rail, and a pair of side members connecting the front and rear rails. A pair of belt supporting towers are operatively associated with shoulder belts and serve to transmit impact loads to the floor through the stanchions. The stanchions have upper portions supportingly secured to towers or the rear rail intermediate the ends thereof and to the front rail intermediate the ends thereof. The stanchions have the floor engaging portion positioned inwardly of the side members. Lap belts also transmit impact loads through the stanchions to the floor. The stanchion may be generally V-shaped and have sidewalls composed of reinforced sheet members. Reinforced sheet members may be provided in the seatback and seat.

Claims

1. An automotive bench seat assembly comprising

a seat portion,

a seatback attached adjacent a rear edge of said seat portion,

a pair of relatively spaced stanchions having an upper portion secured to said seat portion and a lower floor engaging portion,

said seat portion having a front rail and rear rail and a pair of side members connecting said front rail and said rear rail,

said stanchions having upper portions supportingly secured to said rear rail intermediate the ends thereof and to said front rail intermediate the ends thereof,

each said stanchion being generally V-shaped having a base and a pair of upwardly diverging sidewalls,

at least one of said sidewalls being made from reinforced metal sheet,

said reinforced metal sheet having a plurality of stiffening deformations,

said deformations being generally frustoconical, and

each said sidewall having a pair of spaced sheets each having a plurality of said frustoconical deformations aligned with and contacting frustoconical deformations of the other sheet of said pair.

2. An automotive bench seat assembly comprising

a seat portion,

a seatback attached adjacent a rear edge of said seat portion,

a pair of relatively spaced stanchions having an upper portion secured to said seat portion and a lower floor engaging portion,

said seat portion having a front rail and rear rail and a pair of side members connecting said front rail and said rear rail,

said stanchions having upper portions supportingly secured to said rear rail intermediate the ends thereof and to said front rail intermediate the ends thereof,

said seatback having a pair of belt supporting towers,

said stanchions being generally V-shaped, and

said stanchions having a first leg of said V-shape secured to and supporting each said intermediate front and rear rail portion and a second leg of said V-shape secured to and supporting a respective said side member.

3. The automotive bench seat of claim 2 including said towers each having a lower portion generally aligned with a portion of one of said stanchions to facilitate transfer of load from said belt supporting towers to said stanchions.

4. The automotive bench seat of claim 3 including said floor engaging portions of said stanchions being spaced inwardly from the upper portion of said seat side members.

5. The automotive bench seat of claim 4 including said automotive bench seat being a removable seat.

6. The automotive bench seat of claim 5 including said seatback being rotatable.

7. The automotive bench seat of claim 2 including said floor engaging portion being spaced 10 to 20 percent of the width of said seat portion from the side member measuring along the vehicle floor.

8. The automotive bench seat of claim 7 including said towers being spaced center to center 20 to 60 percent of the width of said seat portion from each other.

9. An automotive bench seat assembly comprising

a seat portion,

a seatback attached adjacent a rear edge of said seat portion,

a pair or relatively spaced stanchions having an upper portion secured to said seat portion and a lower floor engaging portion,

said seat portion having a front rail and rear rail and a pair of side members connecting said front rail and said rear rail,

said stanchions having upper portions supportingly secured to said rear rail intermediate the ends thereof and to said front rail intermediate the ends thereof,

said seatback having a pair of belt supporting towers,

said seatback having integrally reinforced sheet means disposed in front of said belt supporting towers, and

said reinforced sheet means having a pair of sheets with generally aligned contacting stiffening deformations.

10. The automotive bench seat of claim 9 including tapered flanges disposed at opposite side ends of said reinforced sheet means, and said flanges having a greater width toward bottoms thereof.

11. The automotive bench seat of claim 9 including said seatback having a first sheet with integrally formed stiffening deformations and a generally planar sheet secured thereto.