Description:
FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

A MULTI-SEATER CHAIR AND A SEATING SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE

MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LIMITED, A COMPANY REGISTERED UNDER THE INDIAN COMPANIES ACT, 1913, HAVING ADDRESS AT MAHINDRA RESEARCH VALLEY, MAHINDRA WORLD CITY, PLOT NO.41/1, ANJUR P.O., CHENGALPATTU, KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT, TAMILNADU – 603004, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[1] This invention relates to a multi-seater chair for a vehicle and a seating system for a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[2] Vehicle passenger seats are available in two main configurations, namely, captain seats that are individual seats designed to accommodate one passenger per seat and bench seats that extend continuously in a width-wise direction of the vehicle to accommodate multiple passengers thereon.
[3] Although captain seats may provide better comfort to passengers, they require more material, occupy more space across the width of the vehicle and are expensive compared to bench type seats. Hence, captain seats are usually limited to top variant vehicles from an automobile manufacturer.
[4] On the other hand, it has been observed that shoulder-room of passengers seated adjacent to one another on a bench seat is usually compromised, which leads to discomfort and a reduced overall travelling experience for the passengers. For example, in case of a conventional three-seater bench seat (10) depicted by Figure 1, a passenger (2) seated between two outboard passengers (1) has little to no shoulder room on either sides and thus, is faced with extreme discomfort. Further, since vehicles are limited by their width, there exists a space constraint to provide a means to offer greater shoulder room to passengers. It has been a long-standing need in the automobile industry to devise a solution of providing greater shoulder room to passengers seated on a bench seat without increasing the size of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[5] Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to overcome one or more of the aforementioned problems and any other associated problems identifiable by a person skilled in the art.
[6] Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention provides a multi-seater chair for a vehicle, with at least one of the seats being slidable back and forth in a front-rear direction of the vehicle for ensuring shoulder room for all passengers seated on the chair. The multi-seater chair comprises: a frame for accommodating at least three seats, said frame having at least two parallelly disposed elongated members extending in a width-wise direction of the vehicle, each of the elongated members having at least one bend, the bends of each of the elongated members being aligned parallel to one another; and a sliding mechanism accommodated between said parallel bends for sliding one of the seats back and forth, said sliding mechanism including at least one sliding track mounted to or integrally formed between the parallel bends of the elongated members, and a seat carriage for supporting said seat thereon, the seat carriage being slidably supported on said sliding track for selectively translating along the sliding track towards fore and aft locations relative to the frame, for ensuring shoulder-room for all passengers seated on the chair.
[7] According to an embodiment, each of the elongated members has one bend at a middle portion thereof for adapting the seat carriage thereon. According to the embodiment, the frame accommodates three seats and the bends of the elongated members are configured to accommodate thereover a middle seat out of the three seats on the seat carriage. The middle seat is slidable back and forth relative to the frame.
[8] Another aspect of the present invention provides a seating system for a vehicle. The seating system comprises: a plurality of seating rows positioned in a front-rear direction of the vehicle; a multi-seater chair located behind a frontmost row of said plurality of seating rows in a front-rear direction of the vehicle, said multi-seater chair having a frame for accommodating at least three seats, said frame having at least two parallelly disposed elongated members extending in a width-wise direction of the vehicle, each of the elongated members having at least one bend, the bends of each of the elongated members being aligned parallel to one another, and a sliding mechanism accommodated between said parallel bends for sliding one of the seats back and forth, said sliding mechanism including at least one sliding track mounted to or integrally formed between the parallel bends of the elongated members, and a seat carriage for supporting said seat thereon, the seat carriage being slidably supported on said sliding track for selectively translating along the sliding track towards fore and aft locations relative to the frame, for ensuring shoulder-room for all passengers seated on the chair; and a parcel tray located rearward to said multi-seater chair in a boot space at an elevated level from a floor of the vehicle interior space, said parcel tray having at least a cut-out portion disposed behind a backrest connected to the seat supported by the seat carriage, said cut-out portion being configured to allow said seat to slide theretoward, thus allowing additional space for the seat to slide towards an aft location relative to the frame and providing better legroom for a passenger seated above said seat.
[9] Thus, passengers seated on the multi-seater chair can avail comfortable shoulder room by sliding a seat back or forth relative to the frame. For example, in an exemplary embodiment wherein the frame width relative to the vehicle width is limited to accommodate three seats and wherein a middle seat among said three seats is slidable, a passenger seated on the middle seat can slide the seat carriage forward or backward to a desired extent, which provides him as well as outboard passengers seated adjacent to him with enhanced shoulder room, thus enabling better comfort and better overall travelling experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[10] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[11] Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of a conventional three-seater bench seat of a vehicle;
[12] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of a multi-seater chair for a vehicle according to a first exemplary and/or preferable embodiment;
[13] Figure 3 illustrates a plan-view of an implementation of the multi-seater chair of the vehicle according to the first exemplary and/or preferable embodiment;
[14] Figure 4 through Figures 4A-4B illustrates views of a sliding mechanism of the multi-seater chair of the vehicle according to the first exemplary and/or preferable embodiment, wherein Figure 4A is an isometric view of the sliding mechanism and Figure 4B is an exploded isometric view of the same.
[15] Figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of the multi-seater chair for the vehicle according to a second exemplary and/or preferable embodiment;
[16] Figure 6 through Figures 6A-6B illustrates views of a sliding mechanism of the multi-seater chair of the vehicle according to the second exemplary and/or preferable embodiment, wherein Figure 6A is an isometric view of the sliding mechanism and Figure 6B is an exploded isometric view of the same;
[17] Figure 7 through Figures 7A-7D illustrates views of a sliding mechanism according to a third exemplary and/or preferable embodiment, wherein Figures 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D respectively depict an isometric view, a side view, an exploded isometric view and an exploded side view respectively, of said sliding mechanism; and
[18] Figure 8 through Figures 8A-8B depict a fourth exemplary embodiment showing a parcel tray with a cut-out portion disposed in a boot space of a vehicle.
[19] Across various embodiments and implementations, like reference signs have been used that refer to like elements throughout the description and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
[20] In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without these details.
[21] One skilled in the art will recognize that various implementations of the present disclosure, some of which are described below, may be incorporated into a number of systems.
[22] However, the systems are not limited to the specific implementations described herein. Further, structures and devices shown in the figures are illustrative of exemplary implementations of the present disclosure and are meant to avoid obscuring the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known mechanisms are not described in detail.
[23] Furthermore, connections between components and/or modules within the figures are not intended to be limited to direct connections. Rather, these components and modules may be modified, re-formatted or otherwise changed by intermediary components and modules.
[24] References in the present disclosure to “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrases “according to an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
[25] The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining the embodiments and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The use of the expression “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “include”, “has” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated elements, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[26] In general, the present invention provides a multi-seater chair for a vehicle, with at least one of the seats being slidable back and forth in a front-rear direction of the vehicle for ensuring shoulder room for all passengers seated on the chair. The vehicle can be a passenger car, for example. The multi-seater chair comprises a frame for accommodating at least three seats. A person skilled in the art can appreciate that the frame could be designed so as to accommodate more than three seats, such as four or five seats.
[27] The frame has at least two parallely disposed elongated members that extend in a width-wise direction of the vehicle. Each of said elongated members have at least a bend, and bends of each of the elongated members are aligned parallel to one another. The said elongated members are connected to one another by intersecting links which run substantially perpendicular thereto.
[28] The multi-seater chair also essentially includes a sliding mechanism that is accommodated between said parallel bends for sliding one of the seats back and forth. The sliding mechanism includes at least one sliding track mounted to or integrally formed between the parallel bends of the elongated members, and a seat carriage supporting said seat thereon. The sliding mechanism may be formed substantially perpendicularly to each of said parallel bends of the elongated members. The seat carriage is slidably supported on the sliding track for selectively translating along the sliding track towards fore and aft locations relative to the frame.
[29] Thus, passengers seated on the chair are provided with comfortable shoulder room, as a passenger seated on the seat supported by the seat carriage can slide forward or backward along the sliding track, displacing his shoulder away from the shoulder level of one or two passengers seated adjacent to him.
[30] In an embodiment, the elongated members comprise multiple pairs of bends disposed parallel and directly opposite with respect to each other, each of said pairs are to be provided with sliding mechanisms therebetween having the configuration described above. In the embodiment, each of the elongated members include a bend at at least one of the lateral ends thereof. In an alternate embodiment, each of the elongated members include bends at both the lateral ends of the elongated members. In another alternate embodiment, each of the elongated members has one bend at a middle portion thereof for adapting the seat carriage thereon.
[31] In an embodiment, each of the seats of the chair are provided with respective seat cushions for providing comfort to passengers seated thereon.
[32] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the seats which do not accommodate the sliding mechanisms may be provided with respective backrests attached to the frame. The seats which house the seat carriage may also be provided with separate backrests that are connected to the seat carriage. The backrests may either be fixed or be configured to recline back and forth and lock at a position desired by the passengers seated on the corresponding seats.
[33] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the bends have a width lesser than or equal to a width of the seat disposed between said bends.
[34] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-seater chair includes a manually operable lever or a control switch for selectively configuring an extent of sliding motion of the seat carriage along the sliding track towards fore and aft locations relative to the frame.
[35] According to a preferred embodiment, each pair of oppositely positioned bends of the elongated portions have depths approximately equal to a thickness of the corresponding seat cushion adapted on the respective seat carriage adapted between the corresponding pair of bends. Each of the oppositely positioned bends provide a vertical space thereover to accommodate the respective seat carriage thereon. Top surfaces of one or more seat cushions accommodated in one or more pair of bends as described above are at an approximately equal level, or are approximately coplanar, to top surfaces of rest of the seats accommodated at positions of elongated portions other than where the bends are situated.
[36] According to an implementation, the multi-seater chair is located behind a frontmost seat and at least at one row among rows of chairs extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
[37] A first exemplary and/or preferable embodiment of a multi-seater chair for a vehicle according to the present invention is depicted by Figure 2. Referring Figure 2, a multi-seater chair is shown which comprises a frame (100) for accommodating three seats. In other embodiments, the frame may be designed and adapted for accommodating more than three seats, for example, four or five seats. The frame (100) is fixed to a body-in-white (BIW) of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the frame (100) has two parallely disposed elongated members (120, 140) that extend in a width-wise direction (L-R) of the vehicle. The elongated members (120, 140) are connected to one another by intersecting links (132, 134) at the right end and the left end respectively of the elongated members (120, 140). Particularly, the elongated member (120) is connected to the elongated member (140) by the left intersecting link (134) at left ends of each of the elongated members (120, 140). Likewise, the elongated member (120) is connected to the elongated member (140) by the right intersecting link (132) at right ends of each of the elongated members (120, 140). In other embodiments, the number of elongated elements and intersecting links may be greater than two. The number of elongated elements and intersecting links depends on the width, length, material of the frame and the density of a seat cushion placed thereon.
[38] According to the first exemplary and/or preferable embodiment, the elongated element (120) has a bend (125) at a middle portion thereof, between a right end (122) and a left end (124) of the elongated element (120). Likewise, the other elongated element (140) too has a bend (145) at a middle portion thereof, between a right end (142) and a left end (144) of the elongated element (140). The bend (125) of the first elongated element (120) and the bend (145) of the second elongated element (140) are positioned parallel and opposite to one another.
[39] In other embodiments, there may be a plurality of bends in each of the elongated members positioned anywhere along the length of the elongated members, for example, on at least one or both of the lateral ends of the elongated members and the bends of each of the elongated members may be positioned parallel and opposite to one another.
[40] The frame (100) of the first exemplary embodiment includes a sliding mechanism (160) accommodated between the parallel bends (125, 145) of the elongated members (120, 140) for moving a middle seat out of the three seats back and forth in a front-rear direction (F-B) of the vehicle. In other embodiments, there may be a plurality of such sliding mechanisms adapted between each pair of parallel and opposite bends of the elongated members. The sliding mechanism (160) of the first embodiment includes a sliding track (162) provided between the parallel bends (125, 145) of the elongated members (120, 140). The width of each of the bends (125, 145) in the first embodiment is equal to the width of the middle seat disposed thereon. However, in other embodiments, the width of each of such bends may also be lesser than, preferably slightly lesser than, the width of the seat disposed between the bends.
[41] The sliding track (162) may be mounted between the parallel bends (125, 145) by using fasteners or adhesives or alternately, the sliding track (162) may be integrally formed between the parallel bends. The length of the sliding track (162) may be 50-70 mm. The sliding mechanism (160) further includes a seat carriage (165) for supporting the middle seat, which is slidably supported on the sliding track (162) for selectively translating along the sliding track towards fore and aft locations relative to the frame (100). That is, the sliding mechanism (160) is configured to slide or translate the seat carriage either forward or backward as per a user input. Hence, by virtue of the aforementioned constructional features of the present embodiment, a passenger (2) seated on the middle seat can move his seat back and forth relative to the frame (100), which allows him as well as other outboard passengers (1) seated to his left and right to avail better shoulder room and experience better overall comfort during travel (Refer Figure 3).
[42] Preferably, all the seats are provided with a seat cushion each for providing comfort to passengers seated thereover. Referring Figure 2, the oppositely positioned bends (125, 145) of the elongated portions (120, 140) have depths approximately equal to a thickness of the seat cushion adapted on the seat carriage (165) adapted between the bends (125, 145). The oppositely positioned bends (125, 145) provide a vertical space thereover to accommodate the seat carriage (165) thereon. The top surface of the seat cushion accommodated over the bends (125, 145) is at an approximately equal level, or is approximately coplanar, to top surfaces of rest of the seat cushions accommodated at positions of elongated portions (120, 140) other than where the bends (125, 145) are situated.
[43] According to the first embodiment, the left and right outboard seats (i.e., seats adjacent to the middle seat) are provided with one backrest each. A portion of the frame (100) accommodating a left seat is provided with a left backrest frame portion (154) and another portion of the frame (100) accommodating a right seat is provided with a right backrest seat frame portion (152), and the backrest frame portions (152, 154) support backrests for providing additional comfort to passengers seated on the left and the right seats respectively. The backrest frame portions (152, 154) may be fixed or hingedly connected to the elongated member (140). In case wherein the backrest frame portions (152, 154) are hinged to the elongated member (140), lever arms or pushbuttons could be provided to selectively obtain a desired lean angle of the backrests to enhance passenger comfort. Additionally, in other exemplary embodiments, the middle seat could be provided with a backrest fixed or hingedly connected to the seat carriage to enhance comfort of the passenger seated on the middle seat.
[44] Figure 4A illustrates an isometric view of a sliding mechanism (160) according to the first exemplary and/or preferred embodiment. Figure 4B illustrates an exploded isometric view showing parts of the sliding mechanism (160) according to the first embodiment. As can be seen from Figure 4B, the sliding mechanism (160) includes a sliding track (162) and a seat carriage (165) supported above the sliding track (162). The seat carriage (165) is attached to a reinforcement member (161) which in turn is slidably supported on the sliding track (162). The sliding mechanism (160) preferably includes a user-controlled device such as a mechanical lever (163) to control the extent of sliding or a displacement of the seat carriage (165) along the sliding track (162) towards fore or aft directions relative to the frame (100). In other embodiments, the user-controlled device could be replaced by a control switch coupled to a track motor.
[45] Figure 5 shows a second exemplary and/or preferable embodiment of the multi-seater chair of the present invention, which includes similar structural features of the frame of the first embodiment (represented by the same reference numerals), except that the frame (100A) of the second embodiment has a sliding mechanism (160A) which comprises two sliding tracks (164, 166) in place of a single sliding mechanism (162) of the first exemplary and/or preferable embodiment, and a seat carriage (165A) slidably supported above the two sliding tracks (164, 166). All the remaining features of the multi-seater chair of the second exemplary and/or preferable embodiment are the same as that of the first embodiment. In other exemplary embodiments, the number of sliding tracks in the sliding mechanism may be greater than two.
[46] Figure 6A depicts an isometric view of a sliding mechanism (160A) according to the second embodiment. Figure 6B illustrates an exploded isometric view showing parts of the sliding mechanism (160A) according to the second embodiment. As can be seen from Figure 6B, the sliding mechanism (160A) includes a right sliding track (164) and a left sliding track (166) and a seat carriage (165A) supported above the sliding tracks (164, 166). The length of each of the sliding tracks (164, 166) may be 50-70 mm. The seat carriage (165A) is attached to four reinforcement members (161A), two of which are slidably disposed and supported on the left sliding track (164) and the other two of which are slidably disposed and supported on the right sliding track (166).
[47] In other embodiments, the number of reinforcement members may be at least two, and each of the sliding tracks support at least one reinforcement member thereon. The sliding mechanism (160A) preferably includes a user-controlled device such as a mechanical lever (163) to control the extent of sliding or a displacement of the seat carriage (165A) along the sliding tracks (164, 166) towards fore or aft directions relative to the frame (100A). The user can also engage the user-controlled device (163) to lock the movement of the seat carriage (165) a desired position. In another embodiment, the user-controlled device may be a control switch coupled to a track motor, as explained herein below.
[48] Figure 7A depicts an isometric view of a sliding mechanism (160B) according to a third exemplary and/or preferable embodiment. Figure 7B illustrates a side view of the sliding mechanism (160B) according to the third embodiment. Figure 7C illustrates an exploded isometric view showing parts of the sliding mechanism (160A) according to the third embodiment. Figure 7D illustrates an exploded side view of the sliding mechanism (160B) according to the third embodiment.
[49] As can be seen from Figures 7A-7D, the sliding mechanism (160B) includes a right sliding track (164), a left sliding track (166) and a seat carriage (165B) supported above the sliding tracks (164, 166). The length of each of the sliding tracks (164, 166) may be 50-70 mm. The sliding mechanism (160B) further includes a cushion support structure (167) disposed above the seat carriage (165B) and the cushion support structure (167) supports a seat cushion thereon. The sliding mechanism (160B) is provided with a track motor (163B1) which controls a sliding or translatory motion of the seat carriage (165) along the sliding tracks (164, 166). A user can start, stop, or regulate the extent of the translatory motion of the seat carriage (165) by operating a control switch (163B2) electrically coupled to the track motor (163B1).
[50] A fourth exemplary and/or preferable embodiment of the present invention discloses a seating system for a vehicle. The seating system comprises a plurality of seating rows positioned in a front-rear direction of the vehicle and a multi-seater chair located behind a frontmost row among the plurality of seating rows the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The multi-seater chair of the seating system according to the present aspect may be the same as the multi-seater chair according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment of the invention. The sliding mechanism of the multi-seater chair may be the same as the sliding mechanism of any of the first, second or third exemplary and/or preferred embodiments of the invention. The structural configurations of multi-seater chair and the sliding mechanism are not repeated herein to streamline the disclosure.
[51] According to the embodiment, the multi-seater chair is located at the rearmost row in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Referring to Figures 8A and 8B, a parcel tray (180) is located rearward to the multi-seater chair in the boot space of the vehicle. The parcel tray (180) has a cut-out portion (185) disposed behind a backrest (22B) connected to a seat (22S) which is supported by the seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B).
[52] The cut-out portion (185) is configured so as to allow the seat (22S) [which is supported by the seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B)] along with its backrest (22B) to slide towards the cut-out portion (185), thus allowing additional space for the seat (22S) to slide towards an aft location relative to the frame (100, 100A) and providing better legroom for a passenger seated above the seat (22S).
[53] According to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the cut-out portion (185) of the parcel tray (180) has a flap hinged therein. The flap provides a surface to place items on it when the seat (22S) supported by the seat carriage (165) is not required to be translated towards the cut-out portion (185). The flap is configured to flip upwards or downwards, preferably upwards, when the backrest (22B) of the seat (22S) supported by the seat carriage (165) contacts the flip and slides towards the flap in the cut-out portion (185).
[54] According to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the cut-out portion (185) of the parcel tray (180) has an elastic net connected within the cut-out portion (185). The elastic net is configured to get compressed when the backrest (22B) of the seat (22S) supported by the seat carriage (165) contacts the elastic net and slides towards the elastic net. The elastic net regains its original shape when the seat (22S) along with its backrest (22B) slides away from the parcel tray (180).
[55] The foregoing description of the invention has been set merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to person skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the disclosure.
, Claims:We claim:
1. A multi-seater chair for a vehicle, the multi-seater chair comprising:
a frame (100, 100A) for accommodating at least three seats,
said frame (100, 100A) having at least two parallelly disposed elongated members (120, 140) extending in a width-wise direction of the vehicle, each of said elongated members (120, 140) having at least one bend (125, 145), said bends (125, 145) of each of said elongated members (120, 140) being aligned parallel to one another; and
a sliding mechanism (160, 160A, 160B) accommodated between said parallel bends (125, 145) for sliding one of the seats back and forth, said sliding mechanism (160, 160A, 160B) including
at least one sliding track (162, 164, 166) mounted to or integrally formed between said parallel bends (125, 145) of said elongated members (120, 140), and
a seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B) for supporting said seat thereon, said seat carriage (165) being slidably supported on said sliding track (162, 164, 166) for selectively translating along said sliding track (162, 164, 166) towards fore and aft locations relative to said frame (100, 100A), for ensuring shoulder-room for all passengers seated on the chair.

2. The multi-seater chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said elongated members (120, 140) has one bend (125, 145) at a middle portion thereof for adapting said seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B) thereon.

3. The multi-seater chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said elongated members (120, 140) include a bend at at least one of the lateral ends thereof.

4. The multi-seater chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said elongated members (120, 140) include bends at either of the lateral ends thereof.
5. The multi-seater chair as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein said bends (125, 145) have a width less than or equal to a width of said seat disposed between said bends (125, 145).

6. The multi-seater chair as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, wherein said multi-seater chair includes a manually operable lever (163) or a control switch (163B2) for selectively configuring an extent of sliding motion of said seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B) along said sliding track (162, 164, 166) towards fore and aft locations relative to said frame (100, 100A).

7. The multi-seater chair as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, wherein said multi-seater chair is located behind a frontmost seat and at least at one row among rows of chairs extending in the front-rear direction of said vehicle.

8. A seating system for a vehicle, said seating system comprising:
a plurality of seating rows positioned in a front-rear direction of said vehicle;
a multi-seater chair located behind a frontmost row among said plurality of seating rows in a front-rear direction of said vehicle, said multi-seater chair having
a frame (100, 100A) for accommodating at least three seats, said frame (100, 100A) having at least two parallelly disposed elongated members (120, 140) extending in a width-wise direction of said vehicle, each of said elongated members (120, 140) having at least one bend (125, 145), the bends (125, 145) of each of said elongated members (120, 140) being aligned parallel to one another; and
a sliding mechanism (160, 160A, 160B) accommodated between said parallel bends (125, 145) for sliding one of said seats (22S) back and forth, said sliding mechanism (160, 160A, 160B) including
at least one sliding track (162, 164, 166) mounted to or integrally formed between the parallel bends (125, 145) of the elongated members (120, 140), and
a seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B) for supporting said seat (22S) thereon, said seat carriage (165) being slidably supported on said sliding track (162, 164, 166) for selectively translating along said sliding track (162, 164, 166) towards fore and aft locations relative to said frame (100, 100A), for ensuring shoulder-room for all passengers seated on the chair; and
a parcel tray (180) located rearward to said multi-seater chair in a boot space at an elevated level from a floor of said vehicle, said parcel tray (180) having at least a cut-out portion (185) disposed behind a backrest (22B) connected to said seat (22S) supported by said seat carriage (165, 165A, 165B), said cut-out portion (185) being configured to allow said seat (22S) to slide theretoward, thus allowing additional space for said seat (22S) to slide towards an aft location relative to said frame (100, 100A) and providing better legroom for a passenger seated above said seat (22S).

9. The seating system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said cut-out portion (185) of said parcel tray (180) has a flap hinged therein.

10. The seating system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said cut-out portion (185) of said parcel tray (180) has an elastic net connected therein.

Dated this 13th day of February 2023,
For Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
By their Agent

(GIRISH VIJAYANAND SHETH)
Patent Agent No. IN/PA 1022
KRISHNA & SAURASTRI ASSOCIATES LLP