Description:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patents Rules, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

A SEAT ASSEMBLY AND A SEAT BASE MEMBER THEREOF

APPLICANT:

TVS MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, an Indian Company at: “Chaitanya”, No.12 Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600 006.

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to a seat assembly and a seat base member thereof. More particularly but not exclusively, the present subject matter relates to a seat base member for a seat assembly to securely close the seat of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND
[0002] In vehicles having a storage member, the user of the vehicle gets an advantage to store items like helmets, phone, accessories and other items securely because such storage members are usually closed using the seat assembly of the vehicle. Several type of closure mechanisms using seat assembly are known to close the storage member. Most mechanisms involve the seat assembly to be hingedly or pivotably attached to the vehicle or at least a portion of the storage member so that the seat base member or a lower surface of the seat base member acts like a lid of the storage member and the seat can be rotated on the hinge to close and open the storage member. However, while there are well established mechanisms to close, latch or lock the seat over the storage member, it is known in the art that with increased usage leads to wear and tear of the parts of the seat assembly, Additionally, there can be misalignment issues between the seat assembly and the storage member. Usually, the seat base member or the lower surface of the seat base member that interfaces with the storage member has one or more walls that extend from the lower surface of the seat base member to ensure proper closing. These walls of the seat assembly, due to misalignment, can interfere with one or more edges of wall of the storage member. This leads to the problem that the seat assembly and the storage member is not closed properly at one go and the seat base member may wobble across the one or more edges of the storage member. This not only gives discomfort to a rider while closing the seat of the vehicle but sometimes if the user is not conscious of the misalignment, he/she may continue to force the closure and thereafter continues to sit on the misaligned seat assembly and operate the vehicle. This can lead to permanent damage or bends in the profile of the seat base member or the storage member. In addition, this can also cause improper seating of the user causing imbalance and discomfort to the rider or also leave gaps between the seat base member and the storage member which may pose a risk to the storage member being compromised by a thief who can pry open the storage member through the gaps. Further, misalignment of the seat leads to scratching nearby parts of the vehicle disposed in vicinity of a lock of the seat. Further, a substantial amount of time and effort is to be taken on part of a user of the vehicle to lock the seat.
[0003] Therefore, there is a need to address the above-mentioned problems, to provide proper and effective alignment of the seat at one go not to securely close the seat assembly and to prevent wobbling of the seat assembly during its closing, Thus, proper closing of the seat is achieved hassle-free.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] The details are described with reference to an embodiment of a seat assembly along with the accompanying figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference similar features and components.
[0005] Figure 1a and Figure 1b illustrate a perspective view and a side view respectively of a vehicle having a seat assembly installed on frame assembly in one embodiment of the invention.
[0006] Figure 2 illustrates a top view of the seat assembly showing axis FF and GG defining sections F-F and section G-G respectively in one embodiment of the invention.
[0007] Figure 3a and Figure 3b illustrate cross-sectional views of a seat assembly across sections FF and GG respectively of the vehicle in one embodiment of the invention.
[0008] Figure 4 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the seat assembly in one embodiment of the invention.
[0009] Figure 5a and Figure 5b illustrate a bottom view of a seat base member and a side view of the seat base member respectively in one embodiment of the invention.
[00010] Figure 6 illustrates a rear view of the seat assembly along with a storage member in one embodiment of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INEVENTION
[00011] The present invention relates to a seat assembly of a vehicle comprising a seat base member which is pivotably attached to a storage member of the vehicle at a joint. The seat base member comprises an upper surface to accommodate a cushion member and a lower surface that interfaces with the storage member. A one or more walls extend downwardly from the lower surface. The seat assembly includes one or more guiding members which are disposed in a proximity with the joint. The one or more guiding members guide the seat base member of the seat assembly to securely close the storage member without interference with one or more edges of the storage member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00012] The present invention therefore discloses a seat assembly with a seat base member having one or more guiding members. The one or more guiding members ensure that the seat base member does not interfere with the storage member. The one or more guiding members are disposed towards front side of the seat base member, where the one or more guiding members go inside a storage member when the seat assembly is closed.
[00013] Therefore, the present invention addresses the problem of ineffective seat closing and misalignment of the seat assembly by providing one or more guiding members. This is achieved, among other features, by virtue of the one or more guiding members which enables ease of access of the seat assembly and storage member. Further, the seat assembly also helps in avoiding deformities, prevents wear and tear of the parts of the seat assembly and keeps the seating position stable. The present invention provides a cost-effective solution to the misalignment problem of seat assembly by using one or more guiding members which can conveniently detachably attached with the seat base member or can be integrally attached with the seat base member without substantially increasing the weight or substantially altering the design of the seat assembly.
[00014] As per one embodiment of the invention, a seat assembly for a vehicle is disclosed. The seat assembly comprises a seat base member to support the seat assembly. The seat base member is hingedly or pivotably attached to a storage member of the vehicle at a joint. The seat base member is configured to enable ingress and egress of a load in the storage member. The seat assembly comprises a cushion member being disposed on the seat base member. The cushion member is configured to provide a cushioned support for seating a user of the vehicle. The seat base member further comprises an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface accommodates the cushion member while the lower surface is configured to interface with the storage member of the vehicle. The lower surface of the seat base member comprises one or more walls that extend downward from the lower surface of the seat base member. The one or more walls are responsible for providing structural support to the seat base member. The seat base member further comprises the one or more guiding members being disposed in a proximity with the joint provided between the lower surface and the storage member at one side of the seat assembly. The one or more guiding members are configured to guide the seat base member to securely close the storage member without interference with one or more edges of the storage member.
[00015] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the one or more walls include an outer wall and an inner wall. The outer wall and the inner wall are reinforced by a plurality of rib members.
[00016] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the one or more guiding members are detachably attached to the lower surface of the seat assembly with the help of fastening means such as fasteners or like.
[00017] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the one or more guiding members are integrated with the lower surface of the seat assembly.
[00018] As per one embodiment of the invention, in seat assembly, the one or more guiding members protrude from the lower surface. The one or more guiding members is configured to enter the storage member during closing of the seat assembly.
[00019] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the lower surface is configured to have a predefined clearance between the one or more guiding members and the storage member when the seat assembly is in the closed condition.
[00020] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the one or more edges of the storage member being disposed between the outer wall and the inner wall in the closed condition of the seat assembly thereby enabling the outer wall to be disposed outside the storage member and the inner wall being configured to be disposed inside the storage member thereby achieving a theft proof closure of the seat assembly and the storage member.
[00021] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the seat base member has a front side facing towards a front direction of the vehicle and two lateral sides facing two lateral sides of the vehicle. The one or more guiding members are disposed on the two lateral sides of the seat base member in proximity of the front side.
[00022] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the one or more guiding members being a chamfer. The chamfer is located on the lower surface towards the front side of the seat assembly.
[00023] As per one embodiment of the invention, in the seat assembly, the one or more guiding members are configured to have a slanted profile.
[00024] In yet another embodiment of the invention, a seat base member is disclosed. The seat base member provides support to a seat assembly of a vehicle. The seat base member comprises an upper surface to accommodate a cushion member of the seat assembly and a lower surface to interface with a storage member of the vehicle. The storage member is configured to be hingedly attached to the seat base member at a joint enabling ingress and egress of a load in the storage member. The lower surface of the seat base member comprises one or more walls that extend downwardly from the lower surface. The one or more walls provide structural support to the seat base member. The seat base member further comprises one or more guiding members which are configured to be in a proximity with the joint. The one or more guiding members are configured to guide the seat base member to securely close the storage member without interference with one or more edges of the storage member.
[00025] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to an embodiment in a seat assembly along with the accompanying drawings. However, the disclosed invention is not limited to the present embodiments.
[00026] The embodiments shown in Figure 1a and Figure 1b illustrate a perspective view and a side view respectively of a vehicle 200 having a seat assembly 100 on a frame assembly 200f in one embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 illustrates a top view of the seat assembly 100 showing axis FF and GG defining sections F-Fand section G-G respectively in one embodiment of the invention. Figure 1a, Figure 1b and Figure 2 have been taken together for discussion. The vehicle 200 may be one or more of a two-wheeled vehicle, three wheeled vehicle or other multi wheeled vehicles. The frame assembly 200f provides a skeletal support to the vehicle 200 and is configured to mount various critical components along the length of the vehicle 200 from front direction F to rear direction R of the vehicle 200. The seat assembly 100 is attached to the frame assembly 200f of the vehicle 200 which is used to accommodate one or more users of the vehicle 200. The seat assembly 100 can be fixedly, detachably or hingedly attached to the frame assembly 200f of the vehicle 200. One or more users of the vehicle 200 sits on a cushion member 100c of the seat assembly 100. The cushion member 100c is configured to be made using soft materials such as fiber, fabric, foam, jute etc. to provide seating comfort to the one or more users of the vehicle 200.
[00027] Figure 3a and Figure 3b illustrate cross-sectional views of the seat assembly 100 cut across FF and GG respectively of the vehicle 200 (shown in Fig. 1) in one embodiment of the invention. The seat assembly 100 comprises a seat base member 101 which is configured to support the seat assembly 100. The seat base member 101 is hingedly or pivotably attached to a storage member 200s of the vehicle 200 at a joint 100j which allows for ingress and egress of a load in the storage member 200s. The cushion member 100c is disposed on the seat base member 101 to provide a cushioned support for seating. The seat base member 101 further comprises an upper surface 101t (also shown in Figure 5b) to accommodate the cushion member 100c and a lower surface 101b to interface with the storage member 200s of the vehicle 200. The cushion member 100c can be attached to the upper surface 101t using known methods like pasting, sewing, stapling or fastening using known types of fasteners or a combination of the above. The lower surface 101b further comprises one or more walls 101bw that extend downwardly from the lower surface 101b of the seat base member 101. The one or more walls 101bw provide structural support to the seat base member 101. The one or more walls 101bw are also meant to provide a secure closing of the seat assembly 100 over the storage member 200s by acting as anti-theft wall. The one or more walls 101bw, in one embodiment extend downwardly in such a manner to project beyond a one or more edges 200se (shown in Figure 6) where a portion of the one or more walls 101bw enters inside the storage member 200s in a closed position. This provides an extra obstruction for anyone trying to pry open the storage member 200s. One or more guiding members 101bgm is disposed in a proximity with the joint 100j. The joint 100j is provided between the lower surface 101b and the storage member 200s at one side of the seat assembly 100. The one or more guiding members 101bgm guide the seat base member 101 to securely close the storage member 200s without interference with one or more edges 200se of the storage member 200s.
[00028] Figure 4 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the seat assembly 100 in one embodiment of the invention. Figure 5a and Figure 5b illustrate a bottom view of the seat base member 101 and a side view of the seat base member 101 respectively in one embodiment of the invention. Figure 6 illustrates a rear view of the seat assembly 100 along with the storage member 200s in one embodiment of the invention. The embodiments shown in Figure 4, Figure 5, and Figure 6 have been taken together for discussion. In the seat base member 101 of the seat assembly 100, the one or more walls 101bw include an outer wall 101bwo and an inner wall 101bwi. The outer wall 101bwo and the inner wall 101bwi are reinforced by a plurality of rib members 101rm which strengthens the one or more walls 101bw. In this embodiment, the inner wall 101bwi acts as the anti-theft wall and provides additional protection against thefts. This aids in enhancing the safety and security of one or more loads which is stored in the storage member 200s. The one or more guiding members 101bgm are detachably attached to the lower surface 101b of the seat assembly 100 with the help of fastening means using fasteners or like. The fasteners may involve use of bolts, nuts, screws and other types of fasteners depending upon the profile, manufacturing tolerances, type of material used, seat design and sometimes the type of the vehicle 200. The one or more guiding members 101bgm can also be fixedly attached or mounted by means of fastening or welding or like. In another embodiment, the one or more guiding members 101bgm can be integrated with the lower surface 101b of the seat assembly 100. In another aspect, the one or more guiding members 101bgm has a slanted profile as can also be seen in Figure 4 and 6. The slanted profile of the one or more guiding members 101bgm enables smooth interfacing between the seat base member 101 and the one or more edges 200se of the storage member 200s.
[00029] Thus, the seat assembly 100 gets closed over the storage member 200s in a stable, secure, efficient manner without interfering with the storage member 200s or its one or more edges 200se and without scratching the nearby parts of the vehicle 200 which are disposed in vicinity of lock of the seat assembly 100. Further, the seat wobbling is also taken care of during the closing thereby achieving hassle-free closing of the seat assembly 100 which further reduces the time consumption to lock the seat assembly 100. This further leads to easy serviceability of the seat assembly 100 due to accessibility to the storage member 200s and other like parts of the vehicle 200. The one or more edges 200se of the storage member 200s are disposed between the outer wall 101bwo and the inner wall 101bwi in a closed condition of the seat assembly 100 thereby enabling the outer wall 101bwo to lie outside the storage member 200s. The inner wall 101bwi is configured to lie inside the storage member 200s thereby achieving a theft proof closure of the seat assembly 100 and the storage member 200s. The seat base member 101 has a front side 101F which face towards a front direction F of the vehicle 200 and two lateral sides 101A, 101B. The two lateral sides 101A, 101B face two lateral sides of the vehicle 200 and the one or more guiding members 101bgm are disposed on the two lateral sides 101A, 101B of the of the seat base member 101 towards the front side 101F. The one or more guiding members 101bgm is a chamfer that is located on the lower surface 101b towards the front side 101F of the seat assembly 100. The chamfer upon closure of the seat assembly 100 abuts the storage member 200s while maintaining the predetermined clearance C and avoids the rattling noise coming off the vehicle 200 as the material of the chamfer is chosen so as to dampen the noise produced. It is important to note that the predetermined clearance C ranges between 1-10 millimeters and the approximate depth of the storage member 200s is 150 millimeters in the present invention. In other aspect of the invention, the range of the predetermined clearance C and the depth of the storage member 200s can vary depending upon the manufacturing tolerances based on the type of the vehicles. The one or more guiding members 101bgm are being configured to have a slanted profile which may depend on portion of the seat assembly 100 abutting the one or more guiding members 101bgm. The profile of the one or more guiding members 101bgm can be sheared or blended as per a pre calculated inclination angle. In this way, the one or more guiding members 101bgm can also be manufactured separately to provide detachability with the seat base member 101 with the help of fasteners thereby providing ease of assembly and serviceability while giving easy removal of the seat assembly 100.
[00030] The embodiments of this invention are not limited to particularly two-wheeled vehicle and can cover other vehicles having seat assembly involving the seat base member. For example, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” can include plural referents unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. Further, when introducing elements/components/etc. of the assembly/system described and/or illustrated herein, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are intended to mean that there is one or more of the element(s)/component(s)/etc. The terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional element(s)/component(s)/etc. other than the listed element(s)/component(s)/etc.
[00031] This written description uses examples to provide details on the disclosure, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
[00032] It is to be understood that the aspects of the embodiments are not necessarily limited to the features described herein. Many modifications and variations of the present subject matter are possible in the light of above disclosure.

List of Reference numerals:
100 Seat assembly
100c Cushion member
100j Joint
101 Seat base member
101t Upper surface
101b Lower surface
101bw One or more walls
101bwo Outer wall
101bwi Inner wall
101bgm One or more guiding members
101rm Plurality of rib members
101F Front side
101A, 101B Lateral sides
200 Vehicle
200f Frame assembly
200s Storage member
200se One or more edges
C
Predefined clearance

, Claims:We Claim:
1. A seat assembly (100) for a vehicle (200), the seat assembly (100) comprising:
a seat base member (101), the seat base member (101) being configured to support the seat assembly (100), the seat base member (101) being configured to be hingedly attached to a storage member (200s) of the vehicle (200) at a joint (100j),
a cushion member (100c), the cushion member (100c) being disposed on the seat base member (101) and the cushion member (100c) being configured to provide a cushioned support for seating a user of the vehicle (200),
wherein the seat base member (101) comprising:
an upper surface (101t), the upper surface (101t) being configured to accommodate the cushion member (100c);
a lower surface (101b), the lower surface (101b) being configured to interface with the storage member (200s) of the vehicle (200), the lower surface (101b) comprising:
one or more walls (101bw), the one or more walls (101bw) extending downwardly from the lower surface (101b) of the seat base member (101); and
one or more guiding members (101bgm), the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being disposed in proximity with the joint (100j), the joint (100j) being provided between the lower surface (101b) and the storage member (200s) at one side of the seat assembly (100); and the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being configured to guide the seat base member (101) to securely close the storage member (200s) without interference with one or more edges (200se) of the storage member (200s).
2. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more walls (101bw) including an outer wall (101bwo) and an inner wall (101bwi), and the outer wall (101bwo) and the inner wall (101bwi) being reinforced by a plurality of rib members (101rm).
3. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being detachably attached to the lower surface (101b) of the seat assembly (100) with the help of fasteners.
4. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being integrated with the lower surface (101b) of the seat assembly (100).
5. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more guiding members (101bgm) protruding from the lower surface (101b) and the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being configured to enter the storage member (200s) during closing of the seat assembly (100).
6. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the lower surface (101b) being configured to have a predefined clearance between the one or more guiding members (101bgm) and the storage member (200s) when the seat assembly (100) is in the closed condition.
7. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more edges (200se) of the storage member (200s) being disposed between the outer wall (101bwo) and the inner wall (101bwi) in the closed condition of the seat assembly (100), thereby enabling the outer wall (101bwo) to be disposed outside the storage member (200s) and the inner wall (101bwi) being configured to be disposed inside the storage member (200s).
8. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the seat base member (101) having a front side (101F), the front side (101F) facing towards a front direction (F) of the vehicle (200) and two lateral sides (101A, 101B), the two lateral sides (101A, 101B) facing two lateral sides of the vehicle (200) and the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being disposed on the two lateral sides (101A, 101B) of the seat base member (101) in proximity of the front side (101F).
9. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being a chamfer, the chamfer being located on the lower surface (101b) towards the front side (101F) of the seat assembly (100).
10. The seat assembly (100) as claimed in 1, wherein the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being configured to have a slanted profile.
11. A seat base member (101) for supporting a seat assembly (100) of a vehicle (200), the seat base member (101) comprising:
an upper surface (101t), the upper surface (101t) being configured to accommodate a cushion member (100c) of the seat assembly (100);
a lower surface (101b), the lower surface (101b) being configured to interface with a storage member (200s) of the vehicle (200), the storage member (200s) being configured to be hingedly attached to the seat base member (101) at a joint (100j), the lower surface (101b) comprising:
one or more walls (101bw), the one or more walls (101bw) extending downwardly from the lower surface (101b) of the seat base member (101); and
one or more guiding members (101bgm), the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being disposed in proximity with the joint (100j), the joint (100j) being provided between the lower surface (101b) and the storage member (200s) at one side of the seat assembly (100), and the one or more guiding members (101bgm) being configured to guide the seat base member (101) to securely close the storage member (200s) without interference with one or more edges (200se) of the storage member (200s).
Dated this the 29th day of June 2023
(Digitally Signed)
Sudarshan Singh Shekhawat
IN/PA-1611
Agent for the Applicant