Swivel seat latch mechanism

Claim 2

In combination with a vehicle having a door located along one side thereof and a floor adapted to support a seat adjacent the door, an adjuster mechanism interposed between the seat and the floor for supporting the seat for rotary movement about a vertical axis between a first position wherein the seat faces forwardly and a second position wherein the seat faces the door, said adjuster mechanism comprising: a base member secured to the floor, a disc-shaped member attached to the seat, means mounting the disc-shaped member on the base member for rotational movement about a vertical axis, bearing means between the base member and the disc-shaped member for providing substantially frictionless rotational movement of the disc-shaped member relative the base member, at least one notch in the peripheral edge of the discshaped member, a locking bar having one end fixedly attached to the base member and cantilevered therefrom generally longitudinally of the vehicle, the other end of the locking bar having an upstanding projection engageable in the notch of the disc-shaped member when the lock bar is in its normal unflexed position to prevent rotation of the disc-shaped member relative the base member, an arm projecting laterally of the cantilevered locking bar, an operating lever generally coplanar of the arm and having a depending leg, first pivot means pivotally mounting the depending leg of the operating lever to the base member, and second pivot means connecting the laterally extending arm with the operating lever so that when the operating lever is pivoted about the first pivot means the cantilevered locking bar is flexed laterally and the upstanding projection thereof is moved out of engagement with the notch to permit rotary movement of the vehicle seat.

Claim 3

In combination with a vehicle having a door located along one side thereof and a floor adapted to support a seat adjacent the floor, an adjuster mechanism interposed between the seat and the floor for supporting the seat for rotational movement about a vertical axis between a first position wherein the seat faces forwardly and a second position wherein the seat faces the door, said adjuster mechanism comprising: a base member secured to the floor, a disc-shaped member attached to the seat, means mounting the disc-shaped member on the base member for rotational movement about a vertical axis, bearing means between the base member and the disc-shaped member providing substantially frictionless rotational movement of the disc-shaped member relative the base member, at least one notch in the peripheral edge of the disc-shaped member, a locking bar having one end fixedly attached to the base member and cantilevered therefrom generally longitudinally of the vehicle, the other end of the locking bar having an upstanding projection engageable in the notch of the disc-shaped member when the locking bar is in its normal unflexed state to prevent rotation of the disc-shaped member relative the base member, a laterally projecting arm on the cantilevered locking bar, an operating lever having one leg extending laterally of the vehicle seat and a depending leg, first pivot means pivotally mounting the depending leg of the operating lever to the base member, and second pivot means connecting the laterally extending arm of the locking bar to the operating lever, the second pivot means being translated through an arcuate path of movement when the operating lever is pivoted about the first pivot means to flex the cantilevered locking bar laterally and move the upstanding projection out of engagement of the notch of the disc-shaped member and permit rotary movement of the seat, the first pivot means being located in a line perpendicularly bisecting the chord of the arc through which the second pivot means is translated whereby the cantilevered locking bar is flexed laterally with a minimum of vertical flexure during the lateral flexure thereof.

Claim 4

In combination with a vehicle having a door located along one side thereof and a floor adapted to support a seat adjacent the floor, an adjuster mechanism interposed between the seat and the floor for supporting the seat for rotational movement about a vertical axis between a first position wherein the seat faces forwardly and a second position wherein the seat faces the door, said adjuster mechanism comprising: a base member secured to the floor, a disc-shaped member attached to the seat, means mounting the disc-shaped member on the base member for rotational movement about a vertical axis, bearing means between the base member and the disc-shaped member providing substantially frictionless rotational movement of the disc-shaped member relative the base member, at least one notch in the peripheral edge of the disc-shaped member, a locking bar having one end fixedly attached to the base member and cantilevered therefrom generally longitudinally of the vehicle, the other end of the locking bar having an upstanding projection engageable in the notch of the disc-shaped member when the locking bar is in its normal unflexed state to prevent rotation of the disc-shaped member relative the base member, a laterally projecting arm on the cantilevered locking bar, an operating lever having one leg extending laterally of the vehicle seat and a depending leg, first pivot means pivotally mounting the depending leg of the operating lever to the base member, and second pivot means connecting the laterally extending arm of the locking bar to the operating lever, the second pivot means being translated through an arcuate path of movement when the operating lever is pivoted about the first pivot means to flex the cantilevered locking bar laterally and move the upstanding projection out of engagement of the notch of the disc-shaped member and permit rotary movement of the seat, the first pivot means being located in a line perpendicularly bisecting the chord of the arc through which the second pivot means is translated whereby the cantilevered locking bar is flexed laterally with a minimum of vertical flexure during the lateral flexure thereof.