Description:A SIDE HINGE STRUCTURE FOR A BACKSEAT

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter described herein relates to a side hinge structure for a backseat of a vehicle. The present invention is particularly related to a side hinge structure for a backseat located on a side body inner of a vehicle. The present invention can be easily accessed from the boot space/luggage space and get folded without the manual pushing of a user.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present subject matter. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] In a vehicle, a back seat in the vehicle has two components. One is a cushion and another is a backrest that is at an obtuse angle corresponding to the cushion. The backrest has a lever that is provided at the top side of the back seat.
[0004] By pulling the lever, a striker and a lock mechanism that is provided on the back side of the backrest get unlocked when the lever is pulled. Afterward, the user has to mechanically push the backrest of the backseat against gravity and towards the cushion of the backseat, thereby folding the backrest on top of the cushion.
[0005] The problem with the existing art is that the backseat cannot be remotely folded. A user has to be near the backseat to access the lever. Moreover, the user has to manually pull the lever and push the backrest of the backseat towards the cushion.
[0006] Further, to fold the backseat, the user has to come to rear side door to fold the seat. After accessing with the backseat lever, the user pushes seat against gravity manually and then go back to back door and load the luggage.
[0007] It is therefore desirable to provide a back seat folding structure that can be easily accessed from the boot space/luggage space and get folded without the manual pushing of a user.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0008] It forms an object of the present disclosure to overcome the aforementioned and other drawbacks/limitations in the existing solutions available in the form of related prior arts.
[0009] It is a primary object of the present disclosure is to provide a side hinge structure for a backseat that can be easily accessed from the boot space/luggage space
[0010] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a side hinge structure that gets folded without the manual pushing of a user.
[0011] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a side hinge structure that pushes down on its own by gravity.
[0012] It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a cost-effective solution to achieve the above objectives.
[0013] These and other objects and advantages of the present subject matter will be apparent to a person skilled in the art after consideration of the following detailed description taken into consideration with accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present subject matter are illustrated.

SUMMARY
[0014] A solution to one or more drawbacks of existing technology and additional advantages are provided through the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be a part of the claimed disclosure.
[0015] The present disclosure provides a solution in the form of a side hinge structure for a backseat located on a rear side body inner of a vehicle. A base bracket is mounted on a base support bracket by a plurality of fasteners, the base bracket comprises a hinge pin connected to the base bracket to receive a side hinge bracket, wherein a first side of the side hinge bracket. A first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket mounted on an edge of a side of the base bracket, wherein the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket has a fixed portion mounted with the base bracket and a hook portion projecting outwardly away from the base bracket. A second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket mounted on the base bracket in between the hinge pin and the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket, wherein the second spring mounting bracket has a fixed portion mounted on the base bracket and a hook portion projecting outwardly away from the base bracket. A spiral spring disposed in between the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket and the second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket, where the spiral spring having an inner end portion fixedly attached to the hook of the second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket and an outer end portion free to rotate in radial direction. A spring actuator bracket provided on the side hinge bracket and combindly define ‘T’ shaped bracket, the side hinge bracket rotatably coupled with the hinge pin at one side and fixed with the backseat at other side. The outer end portion of the spiral coil is bent in an outward radial direction and rests on the hook portion of the first ‘L’ shaped bracket, the bend portion of the outer end portion defines a ‘U’ shaped recess to receive the spring actuator bracket.
[0016] In an aspect, the spiral spring winds in an inward radial direction.
[0017] In an aspect, the inner end portion has a bend portion that defines a ‘U’ shaped recess bent in the inward radial direction.
[0018] In an aspect, the spring actuator bracket applies continuous force on the bend portion of the outer end portion when backseat is in un-folded condition as the spring actuator bracket rotates the spiral spring to generate torque while un-folding the backseat.
[0019] In an aspect, the bend portion of the outer end portion of the spiral spring rotates in a radial direction and pushes the spring actuator bracket in folding direction and stops at a predefined position on the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket.
[0020] In an aspect, the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket is positioned on the base bracket to arrest movement of the outer end portion of the spiral coil at a point from where the backseat is folded due to self-weight and gravity.
[0021] In an aspect, the spiral spring is disposed with a pre-torque amount in between the first spring mounting bracket and the second spring mounting bracket.
[0022] In an aspect, engagement of the spring actuator bracket rotates the spiral spring in a clockwise direction and the outer end portion disengages from the first spring mounting bracket.
[0023] In an aspect, the base bracket defines a triangular shape.
[0024] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0025] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the present disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods or structure in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0026] Fig. 1A illustrates a side hinge structure for a backseat connected to the side body according to the present disclosure;
[0027] Fig. 1B illustrates a spiral spring on the side hinge structure according to the present disclosure;
[0028] Fig. 1C illustrates an exploded view of the side hinge structure according to the present disclosure;
[0029] Fig. 2 illustrates an un-folded condition according to the present disclosure;
[0030] Fig. 3A illustrates a folded condition according to the present disclosure;
[0031] Fig. 3B illustrates in folding process according to the present disclosure.
[0032] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0033] The detailed description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure is described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments are described herein in such details as to communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of details provided herein is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0034] It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0035] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may be executed concurrently or may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
[0036] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
[0037] In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration of specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[0038] Hereinafter, a description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0039] The present invention discloses a side hinge structure for a backseat located on a rear side body inner of a vehicle. The present invention aims at folding and un-folding the backseat without the manual pushing of the backseat by a user. Moreover, the backseat gets folded by itself by overcoming mass and gravity after a predetermined position.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 1(a) to FIG. 1(b), it shows a base support bracket (102). The base support bracket (102) has three sides corresponding to which three flanges (201a, 201b, 201c) are given. The flanges (201a, 201b, 201c) protrude in an outwards direction from the base support bracket (102).
[0041] One flange (201a) of the three flanges (201a, 201b, 201c) is connected on a transverse side surface (103) of the rear side body inner (101) that is provided on top of the wheel housing and the other two flanges (201b, 201c) of the three flanges (201a, 201b, 201c) are connected to a vertical side surface (104) of the rear side body inner (101).
[0042] Further, a base bracket (202) is connected on top of the base support bracket (102) on three sides by a plurality of fasteners (203a, 203b, 203c). The base bracket (202) defines a triangular shape. The base bracket (202) includes a hinge pin (105) that is connected to the base bracket (202). The hinge pin (105) is positioned perpendicular to the base bracket (202).
[0043] The side hinge bracket (106) has an L shape and first side (106a) of the side hinge bracket (106) is connected to the hinge pin (105). The hinge pin (105) is positioned to receive a side hinge bracket (106). The first side (106a) of the side hinge bracket (106) has a hole through which the hinge pin (105) gets inserted and fastened by a dome nut (108). Further, a second side (106b) of the side hinge bracket (106) is connected with the backseat (107).
[0044] Further, on top of the second side (106b) of the side hinge bracket (106), a spring actuator bracket (212) is provided and in combination the side hinge bracket (106) and the spring actuator bracket (212) define a ‘T’ shaped bracket. The side hinge bracket (106) is rotatably coupled with the hinge pin (105) from the first side (106a) and fixed with the backseat (107) from the second side (106b).
[0045] The base bracket (202) further includes a first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) that is provided on an edge (215) of a side of the base bracket (202). The first spring mounting bracket (204) has two portions namely a fixed portion (206a) and a hook portion (206b). The fixed portion (206a) is connected with the base bracket (202) and the hook portion (206b) is positioned projected outwardly away from the base bracket (202).
[0046] Also, a second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205) is provided on the base bracket (202) and the second spring mounting bracket (205) is mounted in between the hinge pin (105) and the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204). The second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205) has two portions namely a fixed portion (208a) and a hook portion (208b). The fixed portion (208a) is mounted on the base bracket (202) and a hook portion (208b) is positioned in such a way that it is projected outwardly away from the base bracket (202).
[0047] Moreover, the position of the first spring mounting bracket (204) and the second spring mounting bracket (205) is not limited to one position. The first and the second ‘L’ shaped mounting brackets (204, 205) are able to be positioned at multiple locations depending upon the requirement.
[0048] A spiral spring (209) is disposed in between the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) and the second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205). The spiral spring (209) is coiled in an inward radial direction or that is clockwise direction. Further, the spiral spring (209) has an inner end portion (210) and an outer end portion (211).
[0049] The spiral spring (209) is disposed with a pre-torque amount in between the first spring mounting bracket (204) and the second spring mounting bracket (205).
[0050] The inner end portion (210) is fixedly attached to the hook portion (208b) of the second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205) and the outer end portion (211) is free to rotate in an outward radial direction that is anti-clockwise.
[0051] Moreover, the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) is bent in the outward radial direction and rests on the hook portion (206b) of the first ‘L’ shaped bracket, the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) defines a ‘U’ shaped recess to receive the spring actuator bracket (212).
[0052] The inner end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) also has a bend portion (214) that has a ‘U’ shaped recess curved in the inward radial direction.
Working of the Invention
[0053] Referring to FIG. 2, shows un-folded condition (200). In the un-folded (200) condition, the spring actuator bracket (212) applies continuous force on the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209). In this condition, the spring actuator bracket (212) is kept in contact with the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) until the seat striker actuates with a remote button and hence spiral spring (209) is free to rotate due to stored torque.
[0054] The engagement of the spring actuator bracket (212) rotates the spiral spring (209) in a clockwise direction and the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) disengages from the first spring mounting bracket (204).
[0055] The spring actuator bracket (212) rotates the spiral spring (209) to generate torque while un-folding the backseat (107).
[0056] Referring to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, shows a folded condition (300). In the folded condition (300), the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) rotates in a outward radial direction or in anti-clockwise direction and pushes the spring actuator bracket (212) in folding direction and stops at a predefined position on the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204).
[0057] The first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) positioned on the base bracket (202) has the hook portion (208b) that arrests the movement of the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) at a point from where the backseat (107) is folded due to self-weight as the interia acts upon the backseat (107) and afterwards it gets folded down by gravity.
[0058] Further, during un-folding of the backseat (107), the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) disengages with the first spring mounting bracket (204) and the cycle of folding continues as described above.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES
[0059] With the help of the solution as proposed herein in the context of the present disclosure, the present invention is able to unfold the backseat using the spiral spring.
[0060] The spiral spring actuates the folding mechanism of the backseat up to a predefined position and the backrest of the backseat further folds down to the cushion by inertia and further by gravity.
[0061] The manual efforts by a user are considerably improved.
[0062] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to disclosures containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. Also, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general, such construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances, where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general, such construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0063] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present disclosure contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the disclosure, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. Also, while a feature of the present disclosure may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present disclosure. The present disclosure also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature. , Claims:We claim:
1. A side hinge structure (200) for a backseat located on a rear side body inner (101) of a vehicle, the side hinge backseat mounting structure (200) comprising:
a base bracket (202) mounted on a base support bracket (102) by a plurality of fasteners (203a, 203b, 203c), the base bracket (202) comprises:
a hinge pin (105) connected to the base bracket (202) to receive a side hinge bracket (106), wherein a first side (106a) of the side hinge bracket (106) is connected to the hinge pin (105) and a second side (106b) of the side hinge bracket (106) is attached with the backseat (107);
a first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) mounted on an edge (215) of a side of the base bracket (202), wherein the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) has a fixed portion (206a) mounted with the base bracket (202) and a hook portion (206b) projecting outwardly away from the base bracket (202);
a second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205) mounted on the base bracket (202) in between the hinge pin (105) and the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204), wherein the second spring mounting bracket (205) has a fixed portion (208a) mounted on the base bracket (202) and a hook portion (208b) projecting outwardly away from the base bracket (202),
a spiral spring (209) disposed in between the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) and the second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205), where the spiral spring (209) have an inner end portion (210) fixedly attached to the hook portion (208b) of the second ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (205) and an outer end portion (211) free to rotate in radial direction;
a spring actuator bracket (212) connected on the side hinge bracket (106a) and combindly define ‘T’ shaped bracket, the side hinge bracket (106a) rotatably coupled with the hinge pin (105) at one side and fixed with the backseat (107) at other side;
wherein the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) is bent in an outward radial direction and rests on the hook portion (206b) of the first ‘L’ shaped bracket, a bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) defines a ‘U’ shaped recess to receive the spring actuator bracket (212).

2. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spiral spring (209) winds in an inward radial direction.

3. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner end portion (210) has a bend portion (214) that defines a ‘U’ shaped recess having bend portion (214) curved in the inward radial direction.

4. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring actuator bracket (212) applies continuous force on the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) when backseat (107) is in un-folded condition as the spring actuator bracket (212) rotates the spiral spring (107) to generate torque while un-folding the backseat (107).

5. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bend portion (213) of the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) rotates in the outward radial direction and pushes the spring actuator bracket (212) in folding direction and stops at a predefined position on the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204).

6. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first ‘L’ shaped spring mounting bracket (204) is positioned on the base bracket (202) to arrest movement of the outer end portion (211) of the spiral spring (209) at a point from where the backseat (107) is folded due to self-weight and gravity.

7. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spiral spring (209) is disposed with a pre-torque amount in between the first spring mounting bracket (204) and the second spring mounting bracket (205).

8. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein engagement of the spring actuator bracket (212) rotates the spiral spring (209) in the inward radial direction and the outer end portion (211) disengages from the first spring mounting bracket (204).

9. The side hinge structure (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base bracket (202) defines a triangular shape.