Vehicle seating with storage feature

Abstract

A passenger seat for a vehicle includes a seat bottom and a seat back mounted to a frame. The passenger seat includes at least one storage feature. One of the storage features may be a storage unit positioned underneath the seat bottom which is moveable between a first position in which the unit is readily accessible by a seated passenger, and a second position in which the unit is held upright or against the said seat bottom to reduce the intrusion of the unit into the under-seat space. Another storage feature may be a recess formed in the upper part of the seat bottom. The recess is covered by a moveable lid which forms part of the seating surface when closed.

1 . A passenger seat comprising: 
 a frame for being attached to a floor of a vehicle;    a seat bottom carried by said frame for supporting a passenger;    an upwardly-extending seat back carried by said frame; and    a storage unit disposed underneath said seat bottom, said storage unit having an access opening disposed at a front end thereof and being mounted so as to be moveable between:    a first position in which said access opening is readily accessible by a passenger seated on said seat bottom, and    a second position in which said storage unit is held against said a lower surface of said seat bottom so as to reduce the intrusion of said storage unit into a space defined by said seat bottom and said frame.    
     
     
         2 . The passenger seat of  claim 1  wherein said storage unit is generally rectangular and includes opposed top and bottom walls, opposed side walls, and a rear wall disposed opposite said access opening.  
     
     
         3 . The passenger seat of  claim 2  wherein the front end of said storage unit is pivotally mounted to said seat bottom.  
     
     
         4 . The passenger seat of  claim 3  further including a releasable latch operable to selectively retain said storage unit in said first position.  
     
     
         5 . The passenger seat of  claim 4  wherein includes a release handle disposed so as to be reachable by a passenger seated on said seat bottom and operably connected to said latch so as to release said latch in response to movement of said handle.  
     
     
         6 . The passenger seat of  claim 1  further including means for selectively retaining said storage unit in said first position.  
     
     
         7 . A passenger seat for a vehicle, comprising: 
 a frame for being attached to a floor of a vehicle;    an upwardly-extending seat back carried by said frame;    a seat bottom carried by said frame for supporting a passenger, said seat bottom having a recess formed therein which is accessible from an upper surface of said seat bottom; and    a lid disposed over said recess which is moveable between: 
 a closed position in which an upper surface of said lid forms a seating surface; and  
 an open position in which said recess is accessible.  
   
     
     
         8 . The passenger seat of  claim 7 , in which a rear end of said lid is pivotally attached to said seat bottom.  
     
     
         9 . The passenger seat of  claim 8  wherein said recess extends downward into a front face of said seat bottom to improve access thereto.  
     
     
         10 . The passenger seat of  claim 9  wherein said lid includes a downwardly-extending front panel.  
     
     
         11 . The passenger seat of  claim 8  wherein said lid includes at least one finger slot formed therein.  
     
     
         12 . The passenger seat of  claim 7  wherein said upper surface of said lid has upholstery material or padding disposed thereon.  
     
     
         13 . A passenger seat comprising: 
 a frame for being attached to a floor of a vehicle;    a seat bottom carried by said frame for supporting a passenger;    an upwardly-extending seat back carried by said frame; and    a storage unit disposed underneath said seat bottom, said storage unit having an access opening disposed at an upper end thereof and being mounted so as to be moveable between:    a first position in which said access opening is readily accessible by a passenger seated on said seat bottom, and    a second position in which said storage unit is held in an upright orientation underneath said seat bottom with said front wall substantially flush with a front edge of said seat bottom.    
     
     
         14 . The passenger seat of  claim 13  wherein said storage unit is generally rectangular and includes opposed front and rear walls, opposed side walls, and a bottom wall disposed opposite said access opening.  
     
     
         15 . The passenger seat of  claim 4  wherein the bottom end of said storage unit is pivotally mounted adjacent said floor.  
     
     
         16 . The passenger seat of  claim 15  further including means for selectively retaining said storage unit in said first position.  
     
     
         17 . The passenger seat of  claim 16  further including a handle disposed so as to be reachable by a passenger seated on said seat bottom.