The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 22, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 12, 1998
Anton Reichel, Ditzingen, DE;
Daimler-Benz AG, , DE;
Abstract
A vehicle, especially a minivan, having at least one rear seat located behind the front seat as viewed in the direction of travel. The seat has a seat back that can be pivoted onto a seat part. A floor pan is located in front of the rear seat in the vehicle floor for accommodating lowering of the rear seat. A folding mechanism pivots the rear seat, folded together by folding the seat back onto the seat part, into the floor pan. To achieve a limited floor pan thickness while retaining a seat height of the seat part of the rear seat that is determined by seating comfort, the folding mechanism has two front and two rear supports, each of the supports being pivotable around a pivot axis aligned transversely to the lengthwise direction of the vehicle and secured to the seat part. The supports hold the rear seat in its operating position at a predetermined seat height above the vehicle floor. The two front supports are mounted so that their ends remote from the seat part can pivot around a pivot axis that is aligned transversely to the lengthwise direction of the vehicle and is defined below the vehicle floor, while the two rear seats are each mounted releasably in a supporting bearing accommodated in the vehicle floor.