AU2007200954B2 - A Vehicle Seat and Headrest - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: A Vehicle Seat And Headrest Applicant: StyleRide Pty Ltd (ACN 073 422 054) The invention is described in the following statement.

2 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to vehicle seats, in particular interchangeable bus and coach seats. BACKGROUND ART 5 Presently, the manufacture of bus and coach seats is subject to a number of limitations. Most existing bus and minibus seats do not have seatbelts, while the presence of seatbelts on coach seats is generally a statutory requirement. In addition, the configuration of bus and coach seats creates a requirement for 'handedness' of single seats or pairs of seats to accommodate seats for the right and left sides of the vehicle. 10 Presently, if it is desired to include seatbelts on bus seats, or to use a bus for coach purposes, it is necessary to remove the entire bus seat and replace it with a seat adapted to accommodate a seatbelt. Therefore, there would be an advantage if it were possible to provide a bus or coach seat which may overcome at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages or 15 provide a useful or commercial choice. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, the invention resides in a reversibly removable bus or coach headrest selected from the group consisting of: a bus or coach headrest comprising a collar portion incorporating a seatbelt, and an attachment portion for reversible attachment of the 20 headrest to the seat; a bus or coach headrest comprising a collar portion incorporating a seatbelt guide, and an attachment portion for reversible attachment of the headrest to the seat; and a bus or coach headrest comprising a collar portion and an attachment portion for reversible attachment of the headrest to the seat. In a second form, the invention resides a bus or coach seat comprising a leg, a 25 base portion, a back portion and a headrest, the seat being adapted for use on either the left or right side of the bus or coach, and for reversible removal of the headrest. The headrest can be of any configuration which meets statutory or comfort requirements. A headrest without a seatbelt, generally for use on a bus seat, is about 150 cm high and substantially the same width as the top of the back portion of the seat.

3 The headrest which incorporates a seatbelt can incorporate the seatbelt in any suitable manner. The seatbelt can be attached to the side of the headrest, or can be fixed to another part of the seat, with a seatbelt sash guide on the side of the headrest. Preferably, the seatbelt mechanism is located within a concealed cavity in the headrest, 5 with the seatbelt tongue and sash webbing located through a sash guide mounted on the side of the headrest. The headrest is any height which allows compliance with requirements for the height of the seatbelt, but is preferably about 280 cm in height and substantially the same width as the top of the back portion of the seat. The headrest of the invention can have a handle attached thereto, but preferably a 10 handle is defined by an absence of a central portion in the headrest for easy removal of the headrest from a seat or placement onto a seat and further removes the need for a separate passenger handle which may otherwise be required. This is explained in greater detail below. The headrest can be attached or detached from the seat in any reversible manner. 15 Preferably, the headrest has a means of attachment complementary to the top of the back of the seat, such that the headrest can be easily attached to or removed from the seat. More preferably, the headrest has at least one, but preferably two projections at the base of the headrest which have complimentary cavities in the frame of the back of the seat for receipt or release of the projections. Most preferably, the projections are metal 20 projections of square cross-section, approximately 2cm x 2cm and 55 cm in length. Consequently, the corresponding cavities in the frame of the back of the seat are preferably of square cross-section, approximately 2.5cm x 2.5 cm. The headrest can be made of any suitable material but is preferably comprises an inner frame of metal, covered with a suitable polymer. The metal of the frame is 25 preferably 2cm x 2cm x 0.16cm square hollow section, and the polymer is preferably expanded self skinning polyurethane. In addition, the polymer-covered frame can be further covered with fabric, preferably to match the fabric of the base and back portions of the seat. Preferably, the projections described above are extensions of the frame of the headrest. 30 The features enabling use of the seat of the invention on left or right hand side of a bus or coach are a novel leg, wallmount and the removal headrest as described above.

4 Generally bus and coach seats are manufactured as a joined pair of seats. A separate template is used for seats destined to be on the right hand side of the vehicle to that for seats destined for the left hand side. The present invention addresses this limitation on manufacture by providing the elements of the seat frame in a modular form, 5 usable for seats for both left and right sides of a bus or coach. In particular, the leg of a set of seats, and the wallmount on the side opposite to the leg, are provided such that only one template is needed for each element, regardless of the side of the vehicle for which the set of seats is intended. The leg is preferably a single piece attachable to the seat such that the leg extends down from the base of the seat to floor level of a vehicle, preferably 10 on the 'aisle side' of the seat. The wallmount is also a single piece for extending down from the 'wall side' of the seat to approximately 230cm from the floor level of the vehicle. In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practice, one or more preferred embodiments thereof will now be described. 15 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is an aerial representation of the frame of a set of seats, without headrests. Figure 2 is a front view of a headrest of the invention. Figure 3 is a representation of a seat of the invention with the headrest of Figure 20 2. Figure 4 is a front view of a headrest of the invention, with internal seatbelt. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the cavity in the headrest housing the seatbelt. Figure 6 is a representation of a seat of the invention with the headrest of Figure 4. 25 Figure 7 is a front view of a headrest of the invention, with external seatbelt. Figure 8 is a representation of a seat of the invention with the headrest of Figure 7. Figure 9 is a partial view of the headrest of Figure 8, showing the external seatbelt.

5 Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a projection of a headrest inside a corresponding cavity in the frame of the seat. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Having broadly described the invention above, non-limiting examples of the bus 5 or coach seat and headrest of the invention will now be given. In accordance with Figure 1, which illustrates the frame of a pair of joined seats, the frame of each seat of the invention comprises a leg (1), a wallmount (2), a base portion (3), and a back portion (4). The leg (1) and the wallmount (2) can be interchanged, depending on which side of the vehicle the seat is to be mounted. The seat 10 frame is hereby rendred usable for both sides of a vehicle. The back portion (4) of each seat comprises two hollow arms (5) of the frame, which have a square cross section configured to receive corresponding projections from any appropriate headrest. The frame in Figure 1 is constructed from steel sections, as are the leg and wallmount. In addition, the frame has support crossbars (6) of flat steel section on the 15 base portion (3) and support crossbars (7) at the base of the back portion (4). The frame also has tabs (8) on the base portion (3) and tabs (9) on the back portion (4) for attachment of panels of plywood, plastic or metal. The panels are then covered with appropriately shaped foam on the top of the base and front of the back portion. The foam is covered with fabric to give a seat as exemplified in Figures 3, 6 and 8. 20 In accordance with Figure 2, a headrest appropriate for use in a bus not requiring seatbelts is shown. The headrest in Figure 2 has an internal metal frame, which extends to projections (10). The collar portion (11) of the frame is covered with expanded self skinning polyurethane, such that a absence of material (12) between the front and the back of the headrest can function as a handle for removal of the headrest from a seat, or 25 placement of a headrest on a seat and further removes the need for a separate passenger handle which may otherwise be required. The projections (10) slide into the hollow arms (5) of a seat frame, as shown in Figure 1, to reversibly secure the headrest to the seat. The projections are not visible when the headrest is in place, as shown in Figure 3. In order to convert the seat shown in Figure 3 to a seat for use with a seatbelt, for 30 use in a bus requiring seatbelts, or a coach, the headrest is removed by lifiting same by 6 the handle to slide the projections (10) out of the arms of the frame (5), and replace the headrest with a headrest as shown in Figures 4 to 9, which is adapted to accomodate a seatbelt. In accordance with Figures 4 to 6, the headrest can be adapted to incorporate the 5 seatbelt in a cavity (13) in the collar (14) of the headrest, allowing the seatbelt to exit the headrest via a sash guide (15) on the side of the headrest. The entire seatbelt mechanism (16) is housed in the cavity (13), as shown in Figure 5. The headrest is again covered to allow an absence of material (17) defining a handle for easy handling of the headrest and further removes the need for a separate passenger handle which may otherwise be 10 required. The projections (18) once again fit into the arms of a seat frame as described above. Figure 6 shows this headrest as fitted onto a seat. In this manner, a bus seat without seatbelts can be converted, with a minimum of effort and expense, to a seat with seatbelts, the vehicle now being capable of functioning as a coach, which requires seatbelts, or a bus requiring seatbelts. 15 A further example of the headrest adapted to accommodate a seatbelt is shown in Figures 7 to 9. In this example, the headrest has a sash guide (19) mounted to the side of the headrest (20), such that an external seatbelt (21), the mechanism of which is usually mounted under a seat, passes through the sash guide (19) on the headrest. Figure 8 shows such a headrest as fitted to a seat of the invention, without the seatbelt sash and 20 mechanism. The projecitons (22) once again fit into the arms of a seat frame as described above. Figure 10 illustrates the manner in which the headrests of the invention fit into the arms of the a seat frame by sliding the headrest projections (10) or (18) or (22) into the hollow interior of the arm of the seat frame (5). 25 In this manner, it will be clear that the invention provides a convenient, inexpensive and manually facile way of interconverting bus and coach seats to meet the requirements of the vehicle. In addition, the invention provides a single seat frame for use on both sides of a vehicle. The removable headrest also facilitates this function, as the correct 'handed' headrest can be fitted to the seat after installation of the seat. 30 It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or 7 modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The above examples are therefore to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The term "comprise" and variants of the term such as "comprises" or 5 "comprising" are used herein to denote the inclusion of a stated integer or stated integers but not to exclude any other integer or any other integers, unless in the context or usage an exclusive interpretation of the term is required. Any reference to publications cited in this specification is not an admission that the disclosures constitute common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims (13)

1. A reversibly removable bus or coach headrest selected from the group consisting of a bus or coach headrest comprising a collar portion incorporating a seatbelt, and an attachment portion for reversible attachment of the headrest to a bus or coach seat; a bus 5 or coach headrest comprising a collar portion incorporating a seatbelt guide, and an attachment portion for reversible attachment of the headrest to the seat; and a bus or coach headrest comprising a collar portion and an attachment portion for reversible attachment of the headrest to the seat.

2. The headrest of claims wherein the seatbelt or seatbelt is attached to a side of the 10 collar portion.

3. The headrest of claimI wherein the seatbelt is located in a cavity in the collar portion.

4. The headrest of claim 3 wherein the cavity is substantially concealed.

5. The headrest of any one of claims 1-4 wherein the collar portion defines a handle by 15 the absence of a central portion of the collar.

6. The headrest of any one of claims 1-5 wherein the attachment portion comprises two projections at the base of the collar portion, wherein the projections have complementary cavities in the top of the collar portion.

7. A bus or coach seat comprising a leg, a base portion, a back portion and a headrest, 20 the seat being adapted for use on either the left or right side of the bus or coach, and for reversible removal of the headrest.

8. The seat of claim 7 wherein the leg is a single unit.

9. The seat of claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the headrest incorporates a seatbelt.

10. The seat of any one of claims 7-9 wherein the back portion has at least one cavity 25 for receiving the headrest.

11. The seat of claim 10 wherein the headrest has at least one projection for insertion into the cavity.

12. A bus or coach headrest as defined in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore 9 described with reference to Figures 2-10.

13. A seat as defined in claim 7 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1, 3, 6 and 8.