Base for a person's seat

• US 8,882,195 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2011
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Grammer AG (Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co.,Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Grammer AG (Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co.,Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kaessner, Dirk, Beier, Wolfgang, Vogl, Andreas, Weidinger, Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, David R
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARRISON, ALEXANDER SCOTT
• Application Number:
  US13/296,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20120126592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.1, 297/216.15, 297/216.16, 297/216.17, 297/216.18, 297/216.19, 297/216.2
• US Class Current: 297/216.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4214 longitudinal
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42709 involving residual deformation or fracture of the structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42736 of the whole seat

Abstract

A seat base having a first pair of U-shaped tubular elements capable of being deformed, the upper end portion is arranged in a torsionally rigid manner in the vertical direction on a lower surface of the seat part and the lower end portion is arranged in a torsionally rigid manner in the vertical direction on an upper surface of a region of the vehicle floor, and a second pair of S-shaped tubular elements capable of being deformed, the upper end portion is arranged in a torsionally rigid manner in the vertical direction on the lower surface of the seat part and the lower end portion is arranged in a torsionally rigid manner in the vertical direction on the upper surface of the region of the vehicle floor, wherein the first pair of elements is arranged substantially in front of the second pair of elements in the direction of the seat.

Claims

1. A seat base of a person'"'"'s seat with at least one backrest and one seat part to permit a controlled movement of the person'"'"'s seat for the dissipation of kinetic energy and for the protection of the person sitting on the person'"'"'s seat in the event of an accident taking place substantially in the direction of the seat, wherein the seat base comprises at least one pair of U-shaped tubular elements oriented sideways relative to an upright position and capable of being deformed, an upper end portion of each U-shaped tubular element, with respect to the height direction of the seat, characterized by an upper leg of the U-shaped tubular element arranged in a torsionally rigid manner substantially on a lower surface of the seat part and a lower end portion of each U-shaped tubular element, with regard to the height direction of the seat, characterized by a lower leg of the U-shaped tubular element arranged in a torsionally rigid manner substantially on an upper surface of a region of a vehicle floor on which the person'"'"'s seat is arranged, wherein the U-shaped tubular element is non-symmetrical and has a single inflection point nearer the lower leg of the U-shaped tubular element than the upper leg of the U-shaped tubular element, and at least one pair of S-shaped tubular elements oriented upright and capable of being deformed, an upper end portion of each S-shaped tubular element, with respect to the height direction of the seat, is arranged in a torsionally rigid manner substantially on the lower surface of the seat part and a lower end portion of each S-shaped tubular element, with regard to the height direction of the seat, is arranged in a torsionally rigid manner substantially on the upper surface of the region of the vehicle floor, and wherein the pair of U-shaped tubular elements is arranged substantially in front of the pair of S-shaped tubular elements in the direction of the seat, wherein each end portion of the U-shaped tubular elements and the S-shaped tubular elements is fixedly secured in a non-rotatable manner.

2. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein individual elements of the pair of U-shaped tubular elements and the pair of S-shaped tubular elements are arranged at a distance from one another in each case in the width direction of the seat.

3. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the seat base has at least one safety element extending substantially at a right angle between the seat part and the surface of the vehicle floor in order to absorb kinetic energy.

4. The seat base according to claim 3, wherein the safety element is arranged behind the pair of S-shaped tubular elements in the direction of the seat.

5. The seat base according to claim 3, wherein the safety element is capable of being deformed in a plastic manner in such a way that at least one region of the safety element is capable of being stretched in the longitudinal direction of the safety element.

6. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the lower end portion of the S-shaped tubular element in the height direction of the seat extends substantially forwards in the direction of the seat and the upper end portion of the S-shaped tubular element in the height direction of the seat extends substantially towards the rear in the direction of the seat.

7. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the two end portions of the respective U-shaped elements extend substantially towards the rear in the direction of the seat.

8. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the U-shaped tubular elements are capable of being deformed in a plastic manner in each case in such a way that a distance between the respective upper end portion and lower end portion is essentially capable of being reduced and a length of the respective lower end portion which is situated substantially on the upper surface of the floor region of the vehicle is capable of being extended, so that a lower region of a bulging portion of the U-shaped elements is capable of being rolled on the upper surface of the floor region of the vehicle.

9. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the S-shaped tubular elements are capable of being deformed in a plastic manner in each case in such a way that a distance between the respective upper end portion and lower end portion is essentially capable of being widened and an upper S-curve is preferably capable of being pulled up in each case.

10. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the elements of the pair of U-shaped tubular elements and/or the pair of S-shaped tubular elements are tubes having a square cross-section.

11. The seat base according to claim 1, wherein the U-shaped tubular element and the S-shaped tubular element are produced from a continuous metal profile.

12. The seat base according to claim 3, wherein the safety element is an element capable of being deformed in a resilient manner.

13. The seat base according to claim 4, wherein the safety element is capable of being deformed in a plastic manner in such a way that at least one region of the safety element is capable of being stretched in the longitudinal direction of the safety element.

14. The seat base according to claim 5, wherein the safety element is an element capable of being deformed in a resilient manner.