Boat seat with flip-up bolster

Abstract

A boat seat is provided with a generally horizontally disposed forward extension to support the occupant while seated and which can be pivotally swung upward to a generally vertical position to provide room forward of the seat for the occupant to stand and provide a back rest for the person to lean against while standing.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention is directed toward boat seats and, more specifically, a boat seat which has a forward extension on the seat portion which can be swung up to provide room at the front of the seat and a back rest when the seat occupant stands up at the front of the seat. Generally a boat pilot or operator occupies the seat and in the normal seated condition is able to maneuver the steering mechanism but may have an occasion to stand while piloting the boat so that the front end extension or bolster can be swung up to provide room to stand and serve as a back rest for the pilot while maneuvering the boat. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART [0002] A prior art boat seat is identified as a 930 premium bolster flip-up seat identified as catalog item No. 48930 manufactured by Garelick Manufacturing Company. In this boat seat the flip-up extension or bolster is held by a pair of exposed rigid arms which are located outside the sides of the seat section of the boat seat...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0003] The extension or bolster of the present invention is mounted on a rigid, preferably metal, cross member preferably in the form of a pair of parallel spaced-apart metal rods which are rigidly attached to a pair of transversely spaced rigid, preferably metal, arms which are located inwardly from the sides of the boat seat. The arms are pivotally attached to a pivot rod which extends transversely across the boat seat within the boat seat support frame. The seat frame has openings, preferably in the form of slots, to accommodate the arms to allow them to be downward so that the extension is in the horizontal position and allow them to swing upward when desired. Padding which normally would at least partley cover the boat seat also has similar slot-like openings to accommodate the swinging of the pivot arms. The arms being located inward from the side edges are therefore not exposed so are not unsightly and no longer present any finger-pinching danger. Also, the mechanism comprising the arms and the cross rod can be made and assembled independent of the boat seat support and then inserted into the boat seat support and the extension so that the cost of manufacture is significantly reduced and the ease of assembly is significantly improved.

Problems solved by technology

In this boat seat the flip-up extension or bolster is held by a pair of exposed rigid arms which are located outside the sides of the seat section of the boat seat and because they are exposed are unsightly and can constitute a hazard, such as causing finger pinching.

Also, the mechanism for coupling the extension to the boat seat and for swinging it upward as desired has been somewhat costly to manufacture and install and, in some occasions, has not operated reliably and has not provided the desired stability.

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