Claims:We Claim:
1. A slidable vehicle seat system comprises:
a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes;
a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs; and
a seat base having inverted locator adapted to get located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of holes are symmetrically constructed at cantilever beam.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said hole towards the window is for wider seating position and hole away from window is for normal seating position.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said central cantilever beam and the two limbs are sandwiched between the seat base and the platform.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said limbs have two symmetrical cuts in the limbs on each side of the cantilever beam enabling the plate to move exactly as required.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said symmetrical cuts in the limbs are oriented in an opposite direction to each other on both sides of the cantilever beam.

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said symmetrical cuts are adapted to stop the sliding seat assembly at predetermined position.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein an actuating member fitted just below the armrest of the seat having a push button loaded with a spring enabling said cantilever to move downwardly or upwardly.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vehicle is a passenger vehicle.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system is adapted for single seat, twin seat and multiple seat arrangement.

11. A horizontal slidable seat mechanism for a vehicle of the system claimed in any of the claim 1 to 9 comprises:
actuating the push button to create pressure in the spring enabling the cantilever to move downwards to release the inverted locator from the first hole of said cantilever;
sliding the seat assembly horizontally on slider towards asile;
de-actuating the push button to enable inverted locator to get removably engaged with the second hole of said cantilever to provide wider space between the window seat and the asile seat;
wherein the symmetrical cuts in said limbs are configured to stop the seat assembly at predetermined position.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined position is determined by calculating the required wider space between window seat assembly and asile seat assembly.
, Description:SLIDABLE VEHICLE SEAT SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF

Field of the Invention
In general, the invention relates to seat arrangement for vehicles. In particular, the present invention provides a system and method for horizontal sliding mechanism of a seat for vehicles enabling the passengers to sit comfortably.

Background of the Invention
In general, every day we commute from one place to another using one of the public transport and we come across a lot of problems while travelling and the most prominent being the seating arrangement in the passenger vehicles. The seat near window is usually placed as much close as possible to side wall whereas the adjusting seat is provided with an armrest which acts as railing to prevent accidental slip/ sliding of passenger, thus the space available for two passengers gets restricted with a maximum length available between the side wall of vehicle and arm rest of adjusting seat. Most of the times, this restriction causes uneasiness to both passengers occupying the twin seats. To overcome this difficulty and provide some relief to passengers travelling for long distance, a unique solution has been formulated.

Though various kinds of work in this field has been done in the past but each of them was accompanied with a high cost and a complex structure. There are few evidences that will reflect the complex structure and unnecessary costs involved in the seats as below.

Patent application US7040696B2 discloses a seating system for a vehicle having plurality of seats in a frame mounted on the vehicle in a row parallel to the direction of travel of vehicle, thus providing a restraint system of seating and still the passengers are not able to sit in a comfortable position and usually faces uneasiness in the long journey. At the same time, the multiple seats being arranged in a row making the structure complex and unnecessarily expensive.

Patent application EP2471684B1 discloses a sliding seat system for a passenger transport vehicle with a single seat being configured in a folded position and adapted to get converted into twin seats on actuation to receive the second passengers. It is effective in manipulating the space between two sides of the vehicle, but there is no comfort being guaranteed as such between the seats on getting unfolded. There is a lot of wear and tear during folding and unfolding of the seats thus reducing the smooth functioning of the seats. At the same time, the structure is way more complex and expensive.

In many of the car system, it is very common to find a seat in contact with the floor capable of sliding horizontally was arranged and illustrated along with its application, any single seat of the twin seats was capable of sliding along the horizontal axis in terms of expansion and contraction, but its main objective was to give passage to the passengers who are to sit on the back of the vehicle and leave the twin seats in a convenient position, but its limited to just small vehicles such as car or SUVs, so only one such seat arrangement can be mounted in the vehicle thereby not ensuring the seating comfort of every passenger sitting in the vehicle.

Various systems and methods have been disclosed, however there are still many challenges to develop a cost effective seats which will provide a lot comfortable seating position to the passengers seated in the vehicle. It would be desirable to provide an innovative and improved sliding seat arrangement system for passenger vehicles. The system of this invention is developed and designed in such a manner that it overcomes all the drawback associated with the prior arts and provide passengers a comfortable journey experience.

Summary of the Invention
It is one of the objective of the present disclosure to provide a system capable of sliding seats and creating a sufficient gap between the twin seats arrangement in order to give passenger a comfortable seating position.

It is an another objective of the present invention to provide a system of seating arrangement which is able to fulfil the purpose of comfortable seating for the passengers in the most cost efficient way.

It is yet an another objective of the present invention to provide a simple structure of the seats thus overcoming all the drawbacks associated with the complexity in the structure of the prior arts.

The above and other objectives of the present invention are achieved according to the following embodiments of the present invention. However, the disclosed embodiments are exemplary based on the preferred and best mode of the invention and not limit the scope of the present invention.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said plurality of holes are symmetrically constructed at cantilever beam.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said plurality of holes are symmetrically constructed at cantilever beam and wherein said hole towards the window is for wider seating position and hole away from window is for normal seating position.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said central cantilever beam and the two limbs are sandwiched between the seat base and the platform.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said limbs have two symmetrical cuts in the limbs on each side of the cantilever beam enabling the plate to move exactly as required.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said central cantilever beam and the two limbs are sandwiched between the seat base and the platform and wherein said limbs have two symmetrical cuts in the limbs on each side of the cantilever beam enabling the plate to move exactly as required.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said symmetrical cuts in the limbs are oriented in an opposite direction to each other on both sides of the cantilever beam.

In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a slidable vehicle seat system comprises a base frame fixedly mounted to the vehicle having grooves or mounting holes, a platform slidably mounted on to the base frame configured to slide horizontally, wherein said platform comprises of a plate having a central cantilever beam with plurality of holes and two limbs and a seat base having inverted locator adapted to located in any one of said holes of the cantilever central portion of the plate, wherein said symmetrical cuts in the limbs are oriented in an opposite direction to each other on both sides of the cantilever beam and wherein said symmetrical cuts are adapted to stop the sliding seat assembly at predetermined position.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, the system functions according to the mechanism comprises actuating the push button to create pressure in the spring enabling the cantilever to move downwards to release the inverted locator from the first hole of said cantilever, sliding the seat assembly horizontally on slider towards asile, de-actuating the push button to enable inverted locator to get removably engaged with the second hole of said cantilever to provide wider space between the window seat and the asile seat, wherein the symmetrical cuts in said limbs are configured to stop the seat assembly at predetermined position.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, the system is functions according to the mechanism comprises actuating the push button to create pressure in the spring enabling the cantilever to move downwards to release the inverted locator from the first hole of said cantilever, sliding the seat assembly horizontally on slider towards asile, de-actuating the push button to enable inverted locator to get removably engaged with the second hole of said cantilever to provide wider space between the window seat and the asile seat, wherein the symmetrical cuts in said limbs are configured to stop the seat assembly at predetermined position, wherein the predetermined position is determined by calculating the required wider space between window seat assembly and asile seat assembly.

According to the above embodiment, wherein an actuating member fitted just below the armrest of the seat having a push button loaded with a spring enabling said cantilever to mover downwardly or upwardly.

These and other embodiments, processes and features of the invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description is read with the accompanying drawing figures. However, both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description of it represent one potential embodiment and are not restrictive of the invention or other alternate embodiments of the invention.

Brief Description of Drawings
To illustrate the solutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure more clearly, the accompanying drawings needed for describing the embodiments are introduced below briefly. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following descriptions merely show some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and persons skilled in the art may obtain other drawings according to the accompanying drawings without creative efforts.
Figure 1 illustrates a front and side view of a seat assembly with inverted locator
Figure 2 illustrates a normal stage and slidable stage of a seat assembly
Figure 3 illustrates a normal arrangement of twin seat assembly
Figure 4 illustrates a horizontally slidable arrangement of twin seat assembly

Detailed description of the Invention
The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered 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.

Various terms as used herein are shown below. To the extent a term used in a disclosure is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.

The vehicle used herein in the invention is preferably a passenger vehicle. In Passenger commuting vehicles, the front facing seats usually are placed on both sides i.e. Twin Seats on both sides of vehicle or twin seat at one side and single seat on other side. These typical seating layouts are most popular and provided by OEMs as per demand of customers. However, said system is adapted for single seat, twin seat, multiple seat arrangement and configurable to modify the number of seats in the vehicle.

According to the present invention, the term ‘predetermined position’ used herein determined by calculating the required wider space between window seat assembly and aisle seat assembly.

The seat near window is usually placed close as much possible to side wall whereas the adjusting seat is provided with an armrest which acts as railing to prevent accidental slip/ sliding of passenger. (Refer Fig 3) Thus the space available for two passengers gets restricted with maximum length available between the side wall of vehicle and arm rest of adjusting seat. Sometimes this restriction causes uneasiness to both passengers occupying the twin seats.
The width of seats is governed by the applicable motor vehicle rules hence increasing the space for two passengers on twin seat have limitations. To overcome the difficulty and provide some relief to passengers traveling for long distance a unique solution is worked out.

The various embodiments and examples of the present invention as presented herein according to the complete specification are understood to be illustrative of the present invention and not restrictive thereof and are non-limiting with respect to the scope of the invention.

According to the present invention, there is provided a system of seat arrangement for a passenger vehicle comprising a plate having symmetrical angular cuts capable of forming a central cantilever beam and two limbs, wherein said cantilever beam has two symmetrical holes for two different positions, wherein said limbs have two symmetrical cuts in the limbs on each side of the cantilever beam enabling the plate to move exactly as required and wherein said symmetrical cuts in the limbs are oriented in an opposite direction to each other on both sides of the cantilever beam.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a system of seat arrangement for a passenger vehicle, wherein the position of seat near window remain fixed throughout the sliding movement of the seat away from window.

Referring figure 1, the seat adjacent to window seat is mounted on sliders 104 sandwiched between common frame and the seat base structure. A plate 102 having two locating holes is provided above the sliders. The plate is designed to make central portion cantilever. The bottom structure 105 of seat has an inverted locator 103 mounted suitably. Thus the locator 103 gets located in any one of two holes 205 & 206 (referring figure 2) created in the cantilever central portion of the plate. As an exemplary embodiment, it is showing the mechanism wherein position one is illustrated when the locator is engaged in hole 205 (referring figure 2) towards armrest, the twin seats 201 & 209 (referring figure 2) are in normal position i.e. both seats are close to each other (referring figure 2 & 3), further, position two is illustrated whereas when the locator is engaged in hole 206 (figure 2) towards the adjusting seat, both the seats 201 & 209 (figure 2) are in wider position i.e. both seats are away from each other (Refer Figure 2 & Figure 4).

The engagement and disengagement of locator in the plate 102 (figure 1) is done by actuating the spring loaded push button 101 (figure 1) accommodated in the arm rest 202 (figure 2).
The operation is user friendly. The passenger on the sliding seat needs to actuate the push button and slide himself away from co-passenger seat 209 (figure 2) whereas the position of seat near window 201 (figure 1) remains unchanged. During this the pressure from the push button is released allowing locator to get engaged in second hole 206 (figure 2).

The material of plate 102 (figure 1) is carbon steel and heat treated to allow elasticity in operation. The similar arrangement for opposite hand is possible to make in seats sliding by mirror imaging the design.

Referring figure 3 and figure 4 illustrates the arrangement of Twin seats and the side movement to create wider space for both passengers occupying twin seats.

While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, some embodiments have been illustrated by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail above. The intention, however, is not to limit the invention by those examples and the invention is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives to the embodiments described in this specification.

The embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner and focus of description in each embodiment is the difference from other embodiments. For same or similar parts of each embodiment, reference may be made to each other.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above description was in respect of preferred embodiments and that various alterations and modifications are possible within the broad scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention with the necessary modifications.

Based on the description of disclosed embodiments, persons skilled in the art can implement or apply the present disclosure. Various modifications of the embodiments are apparent to persons skilled in the art, and general principles defined in the specification can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments in the specification but intends to cover the most extensive scope consistent with the principle and the novel features disclosed in the specification.