Seating arrangement in a motor vehicle with two rows of three seats

Abstract

The invention relates to a seating arrangement in a motor vehicle of the type comprising, on a floor (2) of this vehicle, a front row of seats (R1) including a central driver's seat (10) and two side seats (20) and a rear row of seats (R2) including a central seat (30) and two side seats (40); characterized in that each side seat (40) of said rear row (R2) includes a backrest (41) and a seat (42) movable by pivoting between a lowered position of use and a raised position in which it is folded against this backrest (41), each side seat (20) of said front row (R1) being further movable longitudinally by sliding between an advanced arrangement in which it adjoins laterally said central driver's seat (10) and a rearward arrangement in which it adjoins longitudinally the seat (42) in the raised position of a corresponding side seat (40) of said rear row (R2).Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Fig. 3.

Description

Title of the invention: Seating arrangement in a motor vehicle with two rows of three seats. Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a seating arrangement in a motor vehicle of the type comprising, on a floor of this vehicle, a front row of seats including a central driver's seat and two side seats and a rear row of seats including a central seat and two side seats. Previous technique

[0002] Certain vehicles such as minibuses, minivans and combispaces used in particular for public passenger transport services are equipped with a front row of seats comprising a central driver's seat and two side seats and a rear row of seats comprising a central seat and two side seats.

[0003] Such a configuration notably promotes more natural interaction between front passengers, creating a friendly atmosphere and facilitating conversations. This is particularly beneficial for long-distance journeys where comfort and ergonomics are essential.

[0004] Placing the driver in a central position also ensures improved visibility of the road and its surroundings thanks to a panoramic view encompassing both the left and right sides of the vehicle. Blind spots are thus reduced, which contributes to improved safety during certain maneuvers such as lane changes.

[0005] This central position also allows the driver to better estimate the distances and dimensions of the vehicle in relation to obstacles and other vehicles, which limits the risk of accidents due to errors in judgment.

[0006] However, this arrangement has the disadvantage of making access to the central seat for the driver, as well as exiting the vehicle, more difficult and less convenient compared to conventional configurations where the seat is located on the side of the vehicle. This can be particularly inconvenient in tight parking situations or when obstacles obstruct access.

[0007] When the number of passengers to be transported is less than the total number of seats in the vehicle, some vehicle models allow the two front side seats to be removed in order to facilitate access to the driver's seat.

[0008] However, these operations of dismantling and extracting the front side seats prove to be relatively complex and time-consuming. Once removed, these removable seats must also be stored in a dedicated storage space or in the trunk of the vehicle (this solution also has the disadvantage of considerably reducing the cargo space available for the passengers' personal belongings).

[0009] Furthermore, the repetition of the repeated assembly / disassembly processes of these seats can lead to damage, such as tears in the padding or scratches on the surfaces. Description of the invention

[0010] The present invention aims to improve the situation.

[0011] It proposes for this purpose a seating arrangement in a motor vehicle of the type comprising, on a floor of this vehicle, a front row of seats including a central driver's seat and two side seats and a rear row of seats including a central seat and two side seats; characterized in that each side seat of said rear row comprises a backrest and a movable seat pivoting between a lowered position of use and a raised position in which it is folded against this backrest, each side seat of said front row being further movable longitudinally by sliding between an advanced arrangement in which it adjoins laterally said central driver's seat and a rearward arrangement in which it adjoins longitudinally the raised seat of a corresponding side seat of said rear row.

[0012] The invention thus makes it possible to facilitate access to the central driver's seat in the row when the number of passengers to be transported is less than the vehicle's capacity by carrying out relatively simple manipulations and without it being necessary to proceed with the complete dismantling of at least one of the side seats in the front row of seats.

[0013] According to preferred features of said seating arrangement according to the invention: - each side seat of said front row is mounted to slide longitudinally vis-à-vis said floor by means of a sliding articulation mechanism; - said sliding articulation mechanism of each side seat of said front row comprises a first pair of two slides each comprising a slide, rigidly fixed against the underside of a support plate carrying this side seat, and axially mounted to slide along a corresponding rail rigidly attached to said floor; - that the slides of said first pair also each include locking means to ensure secure retention of said corresponding side seat of said front row in either of said forward or rearward arrangements; - said sliding articulation mechanism of each side seat of said front row also includes a second pair of two slides each comprising a slide rigidly fixed to a respective side side of said side seat and axially mounted to slide along a corresponding rail rigidly fixed against the upper face of said support plate; - each side seat of said front row is equipped with motorized actuation means capable of moving its seat 42 between its lowered position of use and its raised position; - each side seat of said rear row is equipped with motorized actuation means capable of moving it between its forward and rearward positions; - said motorized operating means of said side seats of said front and rear rows are controlled in a synchronized manner by a control device so as to automatically switch said vehicle from a configuration accommodating a maximum number of passengers in which the side seats of said rear row are in their lowered position of use and where the side seats of said front row are in their forward position, to a configuration of easy access for the driver in which the side seats of said rear row are in their raised position and where the side seats of said front row are in their rearward position; - the central driver's seat of said front row protrudes entirely in front of the side seats of said front row when the latter are in their rearward position; and / or - the central driver's seat of said front row protrudes partially in front of the side seats of this front row when the latter are in their forward position. Brief description of the drawings

[0014] The description of the invention will now be continued by a detailed description of an example embodiment, given below by way of illustration but not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which: - [Fig.1] represents a three-quarter front perspective view of the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle comprising a seating arrangement according to the invention with a front row of seats comprising a central driver's seat and two side seats and a rear row of seats comprising a central seat and two side seats, said vehicle occupying its configuration to accommodate a maximum number of passengers; - [Fig.2] is a perspective view from another angle of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle in [Fig.1] occupying an intermediate configuration in which the seat cushions of the two outer seats in the rear row are folded down against the back of these seats; - [Fig. 3] represents a perspective view from another angle of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle in [Fig. 1] in its driver-accessible configuration; and - [Fig. 4] is an exploded perspective view illustrating the sliding articulation mechanism of one of the outboard seats in the front row of the vehicle in [Fig. 1]. Description of embodiments

[0015] Figures 1 to 3 represent views of the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle comprising a seating arrangement according to the invention.

[0016] An orthogonal frame of reference XYZ is defined with respect to this vehicle, comprising three axes perpendicular in pairs, namely: - an X-axis, defining a longitudinal, horizontal direction, parallel to the ground and coinciding with the general direction of movement of this vehicle - a Y-axis, defining a transverse, horizontal direction, also parallel to the ground, which, together with the X-axis, defines a horizontal XY plane, and - a Z axis, defining a vertical direction, perpendicular to the ground as well as to the horizontal XY plane.

[0017] In the remainder of the description and with reference to the frame defined above, the terms "longitudinal" or "longitudinally" shall refer to a direction parallel to the X axis, the terms "transverse" or "transversely" shall refer to a direction parallel to the Y axis, and the terms "vertical" or "vertically" shall refer to a direction parallel to the Z axis.

[0018] Furthermore, and by convention, the terms "lower," "upper," "front," and "rear" shall be understood in relation to the overall orientation of the vehicle. The terms "lower" and "low" shall indicate a closer proximity to the ground in the vertical direction than the terms "upper" or "high." The term "front" shall indicate a forward-facing position of a vehicle in the horizontal direction, and the term "rear" shall indicate a rearward-facing position of a vehicle in the same horizontal direction.

[0019] Finally, the use of the term "substantially" will indicate that a slight deviation is permitted from a predetermined nominal position or arrangement, while remaining within the scope of the invention. For example, "substantially vertical" will indicate that a deviation of approximately 10° to 25° from a strictly vertical orientation is permitted within the scope of the invention.

[0020] With reference to Figures 1 to 3, the motor vehicle comprises a floor 2 on which two rows of seats are mounted, arranged one behind the other, namely: - a front row of seats Ri extending across the width of the passenger compartment and consisting of a central driver's seat 10 and two side passenger seats 20 arranged on either side of this central seat 10; and - a row of rear seats R2 extending across the width of the passenger compartment at the rear of row Ri and consisting of a central passenger seat 30 and two side passenger seats 40 arranged on either side of this central seat 30.

[0021] As can be seen in [Fig. 1], the front seats 10, 20 are advantageously arranged on a front portion 2A of the floor 2, which is raised relative to its rear portion 2B, on which the rear seats 30, 40 are arranged. These two front 2A and rear 2B portions of the floor are further connected by a substantially vertical recess 2C

[0022] Each of the seats 10, 20 constituting the front row Ri comprises a seat 11, 21 and a backrest 12, 22 pivotally articulated on this seat 11, 21 about a transverse axis. The angle of inclination between this backrest 12, 22 and the corresponding seat 11, 21 can be finely adjusted by means of a manually operated adjustment mechanism.

[0023] The two side seats 40 of the rear row R2 each have a backrest 41 and a seat 42 pivotally articulated on this backrest 41 along a transverse axis between a lowered position of use in which it is able to accommodate a passenger (see [Fig.1]) and a raised position in which it is folded against the backrest 41 (see figures 2 and 3).

[0024] Each side seat 40 also includes locking means not shown to ensure secure retention of its seat 42 in either of these two positions, lowered or raised, so as to avoid any involuntary movement of this seat in the event of strong acceleration or deceleration.

[0025] A manually operated control device of the lever or button type is further provided on each of these seats 40 so as to allow a user to release the locking of the seat 42 and to tilt it from one position to another.

[0026] Each of the two side seats 20 of the front row Ri is also mounted to slide longitudinally opposite the floor 2 by means of a joint mechanism with two pairs of slides which will be described in detail in support of the exploded view of [Fig.4].

[0027] As illustrated by this [Fig. 4], the articulation mechanism of each side seat 20 comprises a first pair of two lateral metal slides 23, each comprising a slide 23A rigidly fixed against the underside of a plate support 24 carrying this seat 20 and mounted axially to slide along a corresponding rail 23B rigidly attached to the front part 2A of the floor 2.

[0028] As can be seen in [Fig.1], the rails 23B of this first pair of slides 23 extend longitudinally to the rear end of the front portion 2A of the floor 2.

[0029] Thanks to this first pair of slides 23, each of the side seats 20 can thus be moved longitudinally by sliding between an advanced arrangement in which it is laterally adjacent to the central driver's seat 10 (see [Fig.1]) and a rearward arrangement in which it is longitudinally adjacent to the seat in the raised position of the corresponding rear side seat 40 (see [Fig.3]).

[0030] The slides 23 also each include locking means to ensure secure retention of each side seat 20 in either of these two advanced or rearward arrangements, so as to prevent any involuntary movement of this seat 20 in the event of strong acceleration or deceleration.

[0031] These locking means, not shown in the figures, can, for example, consist of a bolt mounted movable on each slide 23A and capable of engaging in two longitudinally spaced recesses provided in the rail 23B.

[0032] A manually operated rocker arm 25 is further located in front of the support plate 24 so as to allow a user to release the locking of the slides 23.

[0033] The articulation device of each side seat 20 also includes a second pair of two lateral metal slides 26, each comprising a slide 26A rigidly fixed to a respective lateral side of the seat 21 and axially mounted to slide along a corresponding rail 26B rigidly fixed against the upper face of the support plate 24.

[0034] Each of the slides 26 includes a means for securing the slide 26A in the corresponding rail 26B. This securing means, not shown in the figures, may, for example, consist of a movable bolt capable of engaging in a multitude of recesses made in the rail 13B and spaced longitudinally at regular intervals along its length. The securing means for the two slides 26A are manually operated by means of a rocker arm 27 located at the front of the seat 21.

[0035] This second pair of slides 26 thus allows, in the case where this front side seat 20 occupies its advanced arrangement, for its longitudinal position to be finely adjusted according to the morphology of the occupant who sits down there.

[0036] Such an arrangement with two pairs of slides thus makes it possible to "memorize" the fine adjustment position of each front side seat 20 when it is brought back to its forward position after having been positioned in its rearward position.

[0037] In order to finely adjust its longitudinal position according to the morphology of the driver sitting in it, the central driver's seat 10 is also preferably mounted sliding longitudinally relative to the floor 2 by means of a pair of slides 13 similar to the slides 26.

[0038] Such an arrangement thus allows the vehicle to pass: - a configuration accommodating a maximum number of passengers (in this case, six including the driver), illustrated by [Fig. 1], in which the seat cushions 42 of the rear row side seats 40 R2 are in their lowered operating position and the front row side seats 20 Ri are in their forward position; to - a configuration with easy access for the driver that can only accommodate a reduced number of passengers (in this case, four including the driver), illustrated by [Fig. 3], in which the seat cushions 42 of the rear row side seats 40 R2 are in their raised position and the front row side seats 20 Ri are in their rearward position

[0039] In order to facilitate access to the central driver's seat 10 of said front row Ri as much as possible and as illustrated by [Fig.1], this driver's seat 10 is advantageously configured so as to protrude entirely in front of the side seats 20 of this front row Ri when the latter are in their rearward arrangement.

[0040] In order to improve the view of the lateral environment of the vehicle and as illustrated by [Fig.3], the central driver's seat 10 of the front row Ri is advantageously configured so as to protrude partially in front of the side seats 20 of this front row Ri when the latter are in their forward arrangement.

[0041] In order to finely adjust their longitudinal position according to the morphology of the passenger sitting there, the central seat 30 and the side seats 40 of the rear row R2 can also be mounted to slide longitudinally relative to the floor 2 by means of a pair of slides similar to the slides 26.

[0042] According to alternative embodiments not shown, each side seat 40 of the rear row R2 could be equipped with motorized actuation means capable of moving its seat cushion 42 between its lowered position for use and its raised position. Each side seat 20 of the front row Ri could also be equipped with motorized actuation means capable of moving it between its forward and rearward positions.

[0043] These various motorized actuation means could also be controlled synchronously by a control unit so as to switch the vehicle from its configuration for accommodating a maximum number of passengers (six including the driver) with its easy access configuration for the driver allowing only four passengers including the driver.

[0044] This control element could, for example, consist of a push or touch button, located in the trunk of the vehicle, on the remote control for locking the doors and / or on the dashboard, and electrically connected by wired and / or wireless means to the motorized actuation means via the intelligent control unit of this vehicle.

[0045] According to other unrepresented embodiments and mainly for cost reasons, the articulation mechanism of each side seat 20 of the front row Ri could comprise only a single pair of slides such as 23 whose slide would be rigidly fixed to a respective side side of the seat 21.

[0046] According to other embodiments not shown, the backrests of the three seats 30, 40 in the rear row R2 might not be independent but a single unit. The vehicle could also include at least one other row of seats arranged behind the rear row R2.

[0047] Many other variants are conceivable and it is recalled in this regard that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and represented, but also encompasses all variants of execution within the reach of a person skilled in the art.

Claims

Demands

1. Seating arrangement in a motor vehicle of the type comprising, on a floor (2) of this vehicle, a front row of seats (RJ) comprising a central driver's seat (10) and two side seats (20) and a rear row of seats (R2) comprising a central seat (30) and two side seats (40); characterized in that each side seat (40) of said rear row (R2) comprises a backrest (41) and a seat (42) movable by pivoting between a lowered position of use and a raised position in which it is folded against this backrest (41), each side seat (20) of said front row (RJ) being further movable longitudinally by sliding between an advanced arrangement in which it adjoins laterally said central driver's seat (10) and a rearward arrangement in which it adjoins longitudinally the seat (42) in the raised position of a corresponding side seat (40) of said rear row (R2).

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that each side seat (20) of said front row (RJ) is mounted to slide longitudinally vis-à-vis said floor (2) by means of a sliding hinge mechanism.

3. Arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that said sliding articulation mechanism of each side seat (20) of said front row (RJ) comprises a first pair of two slides (23) each comprising a slide (23A), rigidly fixed against the underside of a support plate (24) carrying this side seat (20), and axially mounted to slide along a corresponding rail (23B) rigidly attached to said floor (2).

4. Arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that the slides (23) of said first pair also each include locking means enabling secure retention of said corresponding side seat (20) of said front row (Ri) in either of said forward or rearward arrangements.

5. An arrangement according to any one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that said sliding articulation mechanism of each side seat (20) of said front row (RJ) also comprises a second pair of two slides (26), each comprising a slide (26A) rigidly fixed to a respective lateral side of said side seat and mounted axially to slide along a corresponding rail (26B) rigidly fixed against the upper face of said support plate (24).

6. Arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each side seat (20) of said front row (Ri) is equipped with motorized actuation means capable of causing the movement of its seat (42) between its lowered position of use and its raised position.

7. Arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that each side seat (40) of said rear row (R2) is equipped with motorized actuation means capable of driving its movement between its forward and rearward position.

8. Arrangement according to claims 6 and 7, characterized in that said motorized actuation means of said side seats (20, 40) of said front (RJ) and rear (R2) rows are synchronously controllable by a control member so as to automatically move said vehicle from a configuration accommodating a maximum number of passengers in which the seats (42) of the side seats (40) of said rear row (R2) are in their lowered operating position and where the side seats (20) of said front row (Ri) are in their forward position, to a configuration of easy access for the driver in which the seats (42) of the side seats (40) of said rear row (R2) are in their raised position and where the side seats (20) of said front row (Ri) are in their rearward position.

9. Arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the central driver's seat (10) of said front row (Ri) protrudes entirely in front of the side seats (20) of this front row (Ri) when the latter are in their rearward arrangement.

10. Arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the central driver's seat (10) of said front row (Ri) protrudes partially in front of the side seats (20) of this front row (Ri) when the latter are in their forward arrangement.

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