US-12623574-B2 - Vehicle seat for accommodating a wheelchair

Abstract

A vehicle seat configured to be fixed in a vehicle is defined. The vehicle seat comprises a seat back configured such that when the seat is fixed in the vehicle there is a gap between a lower edge of the seat back and a floor of the vehicle to enable wheels of a wheelchair to protrude through the gap. The vehicle seat further comprises a seat base wherein the seat base is either: foldable between a first position in which the seat base acts as a base to the seat and a second position in which the seat base is stowed against the seat back; or removable from the seat back. The seat base is foldable or removable to allow the seat base to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair.

Inventors

• Paul Priestman
• Nick Moyes
• Nigel Ian SMITH

Assignees

• PRIESTMAN GOODE LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20211213

Priority Date

20201217

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A vehicle seat configured to be fixed in a vehicle, the seat comprising: a seat back configured such that when the seat is fixed in the vehicle there is a gap between a lower edge of the seat back and a floor of the vehicle to enable wheels of a wheelchair to protrude through the gap; a seat base wherein the seat base is either: foldable between a first position in which the seat base acts as a base to the seat and a second position in which the seat base is stowed against the seat back; or removable from the seat back; wherein the seat base is foldable or removable to allow the seat base to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair; a first front leg which supports a first side of the seat base, wherein the first front leg is either foldable or removable to enable the first front leg to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair; and a first back leg which further supports the first side of the seat base, wherein there is no side support between the first front leg and the first back leg to enable unimpeded side access to the seat.
2. 2 . The vehicle seat of claim 1 wherein: the seat base is foldable with respect to the seat back; and when the seat base is in the second position, a lowest edge of the seat base sits above the lower edge of the seat back.
3. 3 . The vehicle seat of claim 1 further comprising: a baggage bar which is either foldable or removable with the seat base to enable the baggage bar to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair.
4. 4 . The vehicle seat of claim 3 further comprising: a cut away region on an underside of the seat base wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to accommodate the baggage bar.
5. 5 . The vehicle seat of claim 1 further comprising: a floor guide configured to be fixed to a surface of the vehicle the floor guide comprising: a first locking structure configured to securely hold a corresponding second locking structure on the wheelchair in place; and a guiding structure configured to guide the second locking structure so that the second locking structure locks with the first locking structure.
6. 6 . The vehicle seat of claim 1 further comprising: a cut away region on an underside of the seat base wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to accommodate part of a handle of the wheelchair.
7. 7 . The vehicle seat of claim 1 further comprising: a cut away region on the seat back wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to enable a first wheel of a large wheeled or self-propelled wheelchair to protrude through.
8. 8 . The vehicle seat of claim 7 further comprising: a back piece slidably attached to the seat back wherein the back piece is slidable between a first position in which the back piece covers the cut away region and a second position in which the back piece is positioned above the cut away region.
9. 9 . The vehicle seat of claim 7 wherein: the seat base is foldable with respect to the seat back; and when the seat base is in the second position, a lowest edge of the seat base sits above the cut away region.
10. 10 . The vehicle seat of claim 7 wherein: the cut away region is a first cut away region; and the seat back has a second cut away region spaced apart from the first cut away region and sized and shaped to enable a second wheel of the large wheeled or self-propelled wheelchair to protrude through.
11. 11 . A pair of vehicle seats, each vehicle seat according to claim 7 wherein in use, a wheelchair is positioned between the pair of seats such that one wheel of the wheelchair passes through the cut away region in each seat back.
12. 12 . The vehicle seat of claim 1 further comprising: a cut away region on an underside of the seat base wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to accommodate the first front leg.
13. 13 . A vehicle seat configured to be fixed in a vehicle, the seat comprising: a seat back configured such that when the seat is fixed in the vehicle there is a gap between a lower edge of the seat back and a floor of the vehicle to enable wheels of a wheelchair to protrude through the gap; a seat base wherein the seat base is either: foldable between a first position in which the seat base acts as a base to the seat and a second position in which the seat base is stowed against the seat back; or removable from the seat back; wherein the seat base is foldable or removable to allow the seat base to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair; and a wheel protector foldable between a first position in which the wheel protector is stowed against an underside of the seat base and a second position in which the wheel protector extends through the gap between the lower edge of the seat back and the surface of the vehicle to provide protection for the wheels of the wheelchair.
14. 14 . The vehicle seat of claim 13 , wherein: the seat base is foldable with respect to the seat back; and when the seat base is in the second position, a lowest edge of the seat base sits above the lower edge of the seat back.
15. 15 . The vehicle seat of claim 13 further comprising: a cut away region on an underside of the seat base wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to accommodate part of a handle of the wheelchair.
16. 16 . The vehicle seat of claim 13 further comprising: a cut away region on the seat back wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to enable a first wheel of a large wheeled or self-propelled wheelchair to protrude through.
17. 17 . A vehicle seat configured to be fixed in a vehicle, the seat comprising: a seat back configured such that when the seat is fixed in the vehicle there is a gap between a lower edge of the seat back and a floor of the vehicle to enable wheels of a wheelchair to protrude through the gap, the seat back having a removable cushion wherein removing the removable cushion from the seat back leaves a void in seat back which is sized and shaped to accommodate stowed seat base, and optionally wherein the removable cushion is foldable to allow easy storage; and a seat base wherein the seat base is either: foldable between a first position in which the seat base acts as a base to the seat and a second position in which the seat base is stowed against the seat back; or removable from the seat back; wherein the seat base is foldable or removable to allow the seat base to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair.
18. 18 . The vehicle seat of claim 17 wherein: the seat base is foldable with respect to the seat back; and when the seat base is in the second position, a lowest edge of the seat base sits above the lower edge of the seat back.
19. 19 . The vehicle seat of claim 17 further comprising: a baggage bar which is either foldable or removable with the seat base to enable the baggage bar to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair.
20. 20 . The vehicle seat of claim 17 further comprising: a cut away region on an underside of the seat base wherein the cut away region is sized and shaped to accommodate part of a handle of the wheelchair.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a U.S. National Stage of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2021/085530 filed Dec. 13, 2021, which claims priority to GB Application No. 2019968.3 filed Dec. 17, 2020, which are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety, for any purpose. The present disclosure relates to vehicle seats that are configured to accommodate wheelchairs without removal of the vehicle seat. BACKGROUND At present, when a wheelchair user wishes to take public or even private transport they may be required to transfer out of their wheelchair into a seat within the vehicle. This is particularly the case for aircraft which rarely have space in the cabin for a wheelchair user in their wheelchair, or even, an empty but non-folded wheelchair. While this may be suitable for short journeys or journeys which have rest stops, this can be difficult for long journeys where the wheelchair user may be unable to access restrooms or other facilities available to other passengers which they would be able to access if they remained in their wheelchair. This also means the wheelchair user must wait to be reunited with their wheelchair at the end of the journey, something that inconveniences them compared to other passengers. Even in trains and buses where areas are often available that can be occupied by a wheelchair user remaining in their wheelchair, these areas are often segregated from the rest of the vehicle and may require the wheelchair user to travel facing a different direction to the majority of the seats. Furthermore, these areas can take up a relatively large amount of space in the vehicle meaning owners of public transport may try and limit the number of spaces available thus limiting how many wheelchair users can be accommodated. It is an aim of the present examples to address the problems mentioned above. However, the examples described herein are not limited to examples which solve problems mentioned in this background section. SUMMARY Examples of preferred aspects and embodiments of the invention are as set out in the accompanying independent and dependent claims. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. A first aspect of the disclosed technology relates to a vehicle seat configured to be fixed in a vehicle. The seat comprises a seat back configured such that when the seat is fixed in the vehicle there is a gap between a lower edge of the seat back and a floor of the vehicle to enable wheels of a wheelchair to protrude through the gap. The seat further comprises a seat base wherein the seat base is either: foldable between a first position in which the seat base acts as a base to the seat and a second position in which the seat base is stowed against the seat back; or removable from the seat back. The seat base is foldable or removable to allow the seat base to be stowed when the seat is used by the wheelchair. By having the seat base foldable or removable with respect to the seat back, the seat base can be stowed when the vehicle seat is used by a wheelchair. This enables the wheelchair to sit against the seat back and thus reduces the room required to accommodate the wheelchair. The gap between the lower edge of the seat back and the floor or, where applicable a plinth, enables the wheels of the wheelchair to pass through or protrude through the gap. This enables the back of the wheelchair to sit closer to the seat back than would otherwise be possible. This enables the wheelchair to be accommodated in a space that is smaller than otherwise possible. This also enables the wheelchair to be positioned in the seat such that a wheelchair user sitting in the wheelchair is seated in a position similar to that of a direct occupant of the vehicle seat or surrounding vehicle seats. In one example, the seat base is foldable with respect to the seat back; and when the seat base is in the second position, a lowest edge of the seat base sits above the lower edge of the seat back. This prevents the seat base from protruding into the gap when the seat base is in the stowed position. This therefore prevents the seat base from blocking the wheels of the wheelchair from protruding through the gap. It is appreciated that in some examples, the lowest edge of the seat base may align with the lower edge of the seat back and the same effect may be achieved. Similarly, the lowest edge of the seat base may sit slightly below the lower edge of the seat back but not enough to prevent the wheels of the wheelchair from protruding through the gap. In another example, the vehicle seat further comprises a first front leg which supports a first side of the seat base, wherein the first front leg is either foldable or r