Seat back for a motor vehicle rear seat assembly

Claim 1

A rear seat assembly for an automotive vehicle having body structure and comprising a rear seat cushion, a foldable rear seat back supported for movement between an upright position in which it is latched to an adjacently located locking member carried by the vehicle body structure and a folded position in which its rear panel forms part of the vehicle floor, and a releasable locking mechanism carried by said rear panel of said seat for latching and unlatching said rear seat back to said locking member, the improvement being that said rear seat panel is made from a fiber reinforced plastic material and includes a rear panel portion and a housing formed integral therewith which extends interiorly of the rear seat, said housing including first and second vertically spaced inwardly extending portions each having a generally vertically extending opening for slidably receiving a locking rod and said rear seat panel having a transverse opening adjacent said second inwardly extending portion for receiving said locking member carried by said vehicle body structure, and wherein said housing at its sides pivotally supports a latch bar disposed within said transverse opening which is spring biased into engagement with said locking and unlocking rod and toward a locking position in which a locking projection thereof locks said rear seat back to the latching member on said vehicle body structure when the rear seat back is in its upright position, said latch bar being pivotally movable to a position in which it is unlatched from said latching member in response to movement of said locking and unlocking rod.