US20040051357A1 - Seat for snowmobile or other similar vehicle - Google Patents
Seat for snowmobile or other similar vehicle Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20040051357A1 US20040051357A1 US10/607,388 US60738803A US2004051357A1 US 20040051357 A1 US20040051357 A1 US 20040051357A1 US 60738803 A US60738803 A US 60738803A US 2004051357 A1 US2004051357 A1 US 2004051357A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- seat
- inner tube
- seat according
- trunk
- cavity
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/50—Seat suspension devices
- B60N2/52—Seat suspension devices using fluid means
- B60N2/525—Seat suspension devices using fluid means using gas
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62J—CYCLE SADDLES OR SEATS; AUXILIARY DEVICES OR ACCESSORIES SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO CYCLES AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. ARTICLE CARRIERS OR CYCLE PROTECTORS
- B62J1/00—Saddles or other seats for cycles; Arrangement thereof; Component parts
- B62J1/12—Box-shaped seats; Bench-type seats, e.g. dual or twin seats
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62J—CYCLE SADDLES OR SEATS; AUXILIARY DEVICES OR ACCESSORIES SPECIALLY ADAPTED TO CYCLES AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, e.g. ARTICLE CARRIERS OR CYCLE PROTECTORS
- B62J1/00—Saddles or other seats for cycles; Arrangement thereof; Component parts
- B62J1/18—Covers for saddles or other seats; Paddings
- B62J1/26—Paddings involving other resilient material, e.g. sponge rubber with inflatable compartments
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62M—RIDER PROPULSION OF WHEELED VEHICLES OR SLEDGES; POWERED PROPULSION OF SLEDGES OR SINGLE-TRACK CYCLES; TRANSMISSIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SUCH VEHICLES
- B62M27/00—Propulsion devices for sledges or the like
- B62M27/02—Propulsion devices for sledges or the like power driven
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62M—RIDER PROPULSION OF WHEELED VEHICLES OR SLEDGES; POWERED PROPULSION OF SLEDGES OR SINGLE-TRACK CYCLES; TRANSMISSIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SUCH VEHICLES
- B62M27/00—Propulsion devices for sledges or the like
- B62M27/02—Propulsion devices for sledges or the like power driven
- B62M2027/026—Snow mobiles characterised by the suspension means
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a seat for snowmobile or any other similar vehicle where the user is sat astride.
- ATV all terrain vehicles
- any other vehicles wherein the user is sat astride onto an horizontal seat of a given length usually filled with synthetic foam and mounted onto a rigid support.
- the seat of snowmobile or other similar vehicle of the above mentioned type comprises an horizontal seat that may be provided with the back rest.
- This seat is filled with synthetic foam and mounted onto a rigid support which is itself connected to the frame of the vehicle.
- the problem with this kind of seat is that the only suspension that is offered to the user is exclusively “restricted” to the synthetic foam that fills it up.
- the density of the synthetic foam and its performance to absorb impacts are essentially related to the weight of the user.
- the density and performance of the foam may vary over the time if the user is very heavy and his weight deforms and scratches the foam.
- the density as well as the performance of the foam also depend on the external temperature. Indeed, the performance of the foam may vary in a substantial manner when the temperature varies within a large range of temperatures, as is the case in countries like Canada where the external temperature may vary from ⁇ 30° to +30° C.
- the present invention provides a seat for snowmobile or other vehicle, which seat is of a given length and filled of synthetic foam and extends horizontally onto a rigid support.
- this seat is provided with a cavity that extends horizontally over at least one part of its length and such a cavity is filled with an inflated inner tube so as to provide additional suspension for a user.
- the cavity provided in the seat has a length greater than the one of the inner tube so as to give extra space and thus allow the inner tube to expand in an horizontal plane in the case of an impact.
- the inner tube is held in a sleeve having at least one open end.
- the sleeve only prevents the inner tube from dilating in a direction other than the longitudinal one in the case of an impact.
- FIG. 1 identified as “prior art”, is a side elevational view of a snowmobile, showing the seat of the same in cross-section;
- FIG. 2 is a side elevational view in cross-section of a seat of snowmobile according to a preferred embodiment of the invention
- FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the seat when the same is deformed due to an impact;
- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top view of an inner tube held within a sleeve, as used in the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;
- FIGS. 5 and 6 are illustrations of possible variants of the inner tube.
- FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional top views of other type of inner tube possibly useful within sleeves.
- the seat 1 for snowmobile or other similar vehicle on which the user may seat astride comprises an horizontal body (also called seat 3 ) usually provided with a small backrest 5 .
- the seat 3 is fully filled with synthetic foam and mounted onto a rigid support 7 fixed to the frame of the vehicle.
- this kind of seat also comprises a rear trunk 1 1 provided with a manually openable access door 13 .
- the problem of this kind of seat is that it is exclusively made of foam, except of course for its covering. Therefore, the problem is that the density of the foam as well as its performance may vary as a function of the time, especially when the user of the vehicle is very heavy. In addition, the foam does not give a real suspension effect, and, more specifically, a real absorption effect when the vehicle moves over bumps and gives impacts to the user.
- the present invention overcomes this problem that has been known for years and for which no solution has been found so far. More specifically, the invention consists in removing a portion of the foam forming the “heart” of the seat in order to form a cavity 15 that extends horizontally over at least one part of the length of the seat, and preferably over the full length thereof. This cavity 15 is filled with an inner tube that may be inflated in such a manner as to act as an additional suspension for the user.
- the cavity 15 made in the seat preferably has a length greater than the one of the inner tube 17 to give some extra free space to the same and thus allows the inner tube 17 to expand in the horizontal direction in the case of an impact.
- the way the inlet tube can be deformed thanks to the free space left can be seen by comparing FIGS. 1 and 3.
- the free space 19 left to ensure an expansion of the inner tube may be left empty as shown, or may be filled up with another foam that is highly compressible. In all the cases, the only requirement is that the inner tube may be free to expand in an horizontal direction during an impact and thus to ensure better suspension.
- the inner tube may have any shape, provided that it may fill up the cavity and provide a good support for the user. Examples of possible shapes that may have the inner tube, are shown in FIGS. 4 to 8 of the drawings.
- the inner tube is in the form of a ring where the central part may be filled up with a block made of foam 21 . This is also the case of the inner tube shown in FIG. 8.
- the inlet tube consists of a single element that may be of oval shape as shown in FIG. 5, or of rectangular shape as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
- the inner tube 17 is preferably held within a flexible sleeve 23 which must of course have at least one end opening at the place where is located the free space left within the cavity 15 .
- This sleeve avoids that the inner tube dilates in direction other than the longitudinal direction in the case of an impact.
- the inner tube 17 may be provided with an air inlet tube 25 which extends within the trunk 11 .
- This inlet tube 25 is preferably closed by a valve 27 which also extends within the trunk and to which can be connected a pump. Such permits to inflate the inlet tube at will depending on the user's needs.
- the pump that may be used for inflating the inner tube may be fixed in a permanent manner to the valve.
- FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the invention wherein a pump 29 is fixed to the valve together with a pressure gauge 31 in order to check the pressure within the inner tube.
Abstract
Disclosed is a seat for snowmobile, personal watercraft or all terrain vehicle, which is filled of synthetic foam and extends horizontally over a given length and on which the user of the vehicle may seat astride. The seat is provided with a cavity that extends horizontally over at least one part of its length. The cavity is filled with an inflated inner tube that acts as an additional suspension for the user. The presence of this inner tube gives additional suspension effect and solves most of the problems of density and performance losses that are usually encountered when the seat is only filled up with synthetic foam. Preferably, the cavity provided within the seat has a length greater than the one of the inner tube so as to give extra space and thus allows the inner tube to expand in the case of an impact.
Description
- The present invention relates to a seat for snowmobile or any other similar vehicle where the user is sat astride.
- By way of examples of such similar vehicles, reference can be made to personal watercrafts, all terrain vehicles (ATV) and any other vehicles wherein the user is sat astride onto an horizontal seat of a given length usually filled with synthetic foam and mounted onto a rigid support.
- As indicated hereinabove, the seat of snowmobile or other similar vehicle of the above mentioned type comprises an horizontal seat that may be provided with the back rest. This seat is filled with synthetic foam and mounted onto a rigid support which is itself connected to the frame of the vehicle. The problem with this kind of seat is that the only suspension that is offered to the user is exclusively “restricted” to the synthetic foam that fills it up.
- However, the density of the synthetic foam and its performance to absorb impacts are essentially related to the weight of the user.
- In addition to this limitation, the density and performance of the foam may vary over the time if the user is very heavy and his weight deforms and scratches the foam.
- Moreover, the density as well as the performance of the foam also depend on the external temperature. Indeed, the performance of the foam may vary in a substantial manner when the temperature varies within a large range of temperatures, as is the case in countries like Canada where the external temperature may vary from −30° to +30° C.
- It has now been discovered that when an horizontal cavity is provided in at least one part of the length of the seat and this cavity is filled up with an inner tube inflated at a given pressure, one may obtain an additional suspension effect and thus may solve all the problems of losses of density and performance usually encountered when the seat is exclusively filled with synthetic foam.
- Thus, with such an inner tube, it becomes possible for the seat to keep its shape and performance indefinitely, independently of the user's weight, the external temperature and/or the life time.
- In fact, one may obtain even better performance than before, since the air in the inner tube is almost not affected by the cold, the heat or the presence of water and since its reaction to an impact when the vehicle moves, is different in synchronisation when the one of the suspension of the vehicle, thereby resulting in much higher shock absorption and much better comfort for the user.
- Thus, the present invention provides a seat for snowmobile or other vehicle, which seat is of a given length and filled of synthetic foam and extends horizontally onto a rigid support. In accordance with the invention, this seat is provided with a cavity that extends horizontally over at least one part of its length and such a cavity is filled with an inflated inner tube so as to provide additional suspension for a user.
- Preferably, the cavity provided in the seat has a length greater than the one of the inner tube so as to give extra space and thus allow the inner tube to expand in an horizontal plane in the case of an impact.
- Preferably also, the inner tube is held in a sleeve having at least one open end. The sleeve only prevents the inner tube from dilating in a direction other than the longitudinal one in the case of an impact.
- The invention and its various advantages will be better understood upon reading the following description of several preferred embodiments thereof, made reference to the accompanying drawings.
- FIG. 1 identified as “prior art”, is a side elevational view of a snowmobile, showing the seat of the same in cross-section;
- FIG. 2 is a side elevational view in cross-section of a seat of snowmobile according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
- FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the seat when the same is deformed due to an impact;
- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional top view of an inner tube held within a sleeve, as used in the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;
- FIGS. 5 and 6 are illustrations of possible variants of the inner tube; and
- FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional top views of other type of inner tube possibly useful within sleeves.
- As mentioned in the “Brief Description of the Prior Art” given hereinabove, the seat1 for snowmobile or other similar vehicle on which the user may seat astride comprises an horizontal body (also called seat 3) usually provided with a
small backrest 5. Theseat 3 is fully filled with synthetic foam and mounted onto arigid support 7 fixed to the frame of the vehicle. - Usually, this kind of seat also comprises a rear trunk1 1 provided with a manually
openable access door 13. - This basic structure is very conventional and needs not be described in greater details.
- As previously mentioned, the problem of this kind of seat is that it is exclusively made of foam, except of course for its covering. Therefore, the problem is that the density of the foam as well as its performance may vary as a function of the time, especially when the user of the vehicle is very heavy. In addition, the foam does not give a real suspension effect, and, more specifically, a real absorption effect when the vehicle moves over bumps and gives impacts to the user.
- As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention overcomes this problem that has been known for years and for which no solution has been found so far. More specifically, the invention consists in removing a portion of the foam forming the “heart” of the seat in order to form a
cavity 15 that extends horizontally over at least one part of the length of the seat, and preferably over the full length thereof. Thiscavity 15 is filled with an inner tube that may be inflated in such a manner as to act as an additional suspension for the user. - As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the
cavity 15 made in the seat preferably has a length greater than the one of theinner tube 17 to give some extra free space to the same and thus allows theinner tube 17 to expand in the horizontal direction in the case of an impact. The way the inlet tube can be deformed thanks to the free space left can be seen by comparing FIGS. 1 and 3. - It is worth noting that the
free space 19 left to ensure an expansion of the inner tube may be left empty as shown, or may be filled up with another foam that is highly compressible. In all the cases, the only requirement is that the inner tube may be free to expand in an horizontal direction during an impact and thus to ensure better suspension. - For a practical standpoint, the inner tube may have any shape, provided that it may fill up the cavity and provide a good support for the user. Examples of possible shapes that may have the inner tube, are shown in FIGS.4 to 8 of the drawings.
- In the embodiments shown in FIG. 4, the inner tube is in the form of a ring where the central part may be filled up with a block made of
foam 21. This is also the case of the inner tube shown in FIG. 8. - In the other illustrated embodiment, the inlet tube consists of a single element that may be of oval shape as shown in FIG. 5, or of rectangular shape as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
- In order to retain the inner tube and more especially to ensure that it expands in the right direction, namely the longitudinal direction, in order to avoid uncomfortable for the user seat astride onto the seat, the
inner tube 17 is preferably held within aflexible sleeve 23 which must of course have at least one end opening at the place where is located the free space left within thecavity 15. This sleeve avoids that the inner tube dilates in direction other than the longitudinal direction in the case of an impact. - To facilitate maintenance of the seat and/or adaptation of it as the function of the weight of the user, the
inner tube 17 may be provided with anair inlet tube 25 which extends within thetrunk 11. Thisinlet tube 25 is preferably closed by avalve 27 which also extends within the trunk and to which can be connected a pump. Such permits to inflate the inlet tube at will depending on the user's needs. - In practice, tests made by the inventors have shown that a pressure as low as 0.75 to 2 psi is perfectly sufficient to obtain excellent comfort and suspension effects.
- To facilitate maintenance of the vehicle, the pump that may be used for inflating the inner tube, may be fixed in a permanent manner to the valve. In this connection, one may refer to FIG. 4 which shows an embodiment of the invention wherein a
pump 29 is fixed to the valve together with apressure gauge 31 in order to check the pressure within the inner tube. - As mentioned hereinabove, tests were carried out by the inventors. These tests made with an inlet tube as shown in FIG. 4 at a pressure about 1 psi have proved to be very positive and have actually demonstrated the efficiency of the present invention.
- Of course, numerous modifications could be made to the preferred embodiments disclosed hereinabove without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Claims (11)
1. A seat for snowmobile or other similar vehicle, said seat being of a given length and filled of synthetic foam and extending horizontally onto a rigid support, wherein said seat is provided with a cavity that extends horizontally over at least one part of its length and said cavity is filled with an inflated inner tube so as to provide additional suspension for a user.
2. The seat according to claim 1 , wherein the cavity within the seat has a length greater than the one of the inner tube in order to give some extra space and thus allow the inner tube to expand in a horizontal plane in the case of an impact.
3. The seat according to claim 1 , wherein the inner tube is held within a sleeve having at least one opened end, said sleeve preventing the inner tube from dilating in directions other than the longitudinal one in the case of an impact.
4. The seat according to claim 1 , further comprising a rear trunk that manually openable and is also mounted onto the rigid support of the seat, wherein the inner tube is provided with an air inlet tube which extends within the trunk and is closed by a valve which also extends within the trunk and to which an air pump can be connected.
5. The seat according to claim 4 , wherein the pump is connected to the valve in a permanent manner and sized to be stored within the trunk.
6. The seat according to claim 4 , wherein the valve is provided with a pressure gauge.
7. The seat according to claim 1 , wherein, in use, the inner tube is inflated at a pressure ranging from 0.75 to 2 psi.
8. The seat according to claim 2 , wherein the inner tube is held within a sleeve having at least one end open, said sleeve preventing the inner tube from dilating in direction over than the longitudinal one in the case of an impact.
9. The seat according to claim 8 , further comprising a rear trunk that manually openable and is also mounted onto the rigid support of the seat, wherein the inner tube is provided with an air inlet tube which extends within the trunk and is closed by a valve which also extends within the trunk and to which can be connected an air pump.
10. The seat according to claim 9 , wherein the pump is connected to the valve in a permanent manner and sized to be stored within the trunk.
11. The seat according to claim 10 , wherein the valve is provided with a pressure gauge.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA002391590A CA2391590A1 (en) | 2002-06-26 | 2002-06-26 | Seat for snowmobile or comparable vehicle |
CA2,391,590 | 2002-06-26 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20040051357A1 true US20040051357A1 (en) | 2004-03-18 |
Family
ID=30449933
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/607,388 Abandoned US20040051357A1 (en) | 2002-06-26 | 2003-06-26 | Seat for snowmobile or other similar vehicle |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20040051357A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2391590A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9731638B2 (en) * | 2012-09-20 | 2017-08-15 | Faurecia Automotive Seating, Llc | Seat cushion for a vehicle seat |
Citations (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US578900A (en) * | 1897-03-16 | Bicycle-saddle | ||
US2173224A (en) * | 1934-11-03 | 1939-09-19 | Bergwall Ernst | Saddle for bicycles, motorcycles, or the like |
US3974827A (en) * | 1975-05-12 | 1976-08-17 | Benjamin T. Angileri | Portable orthopedic device |
US4592588A (en) * | 1983-08-04 | 1986-06-03 | Tachikawa Spring Co., Ltd. | Vehicle seat |
US5121962A (en) * | 1989-10-13 | 1992-06-16 | Spenco Medical Corporation | Cushion for absorbing shock damping vibration and distributing pressure |
US5318344A (en) * | 1992-11-25 | 1994-06-07 | Wang Sui Mu | Detachable bike seat jacket |
US5487197A (en) * | 1994-08-05 | 1996-01-30 | Iskra, Jr.; Joseph W. | Pneumatic wheelchair cushion |
US5658050A (en) * | 1996-01-11 | 1997-08-19 | Milsco Manufacturing Company | Vehicle seat with inflatable bladder |
-
2002
- 2002-06-26 CA CA002391590A patent/CA2391590A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2003
- 2003-06-26 US US10/607,388 patent/US20040051357A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US578900A (en) * | 1897-03-16 | Bicycle-saddle | ||
US2173224A (en) * | 1934-11-03 | 1939-09-19 | Bergwall Ernst | Saddle for bicycles, motorcycles, or the like |
US3974827A (en) * | 1975-05-12 | 1976-08-17 | Benjamin T. Angileri | Portable orthopedic device |
US4592588A (en) * | 1983-08-04 | 1986-06-03 | Tachikawa Spring Co., Ltd. | Vehicle seat |
US5121962A (en) * | 1989-10-13 | 1992-06-16 | Spenco Medical Corporation | Cushion for absorbing shock damping vibration and distributing pressure |
US5318344A (en) * | 1992-11-25 | 1994-06-07 | Wang Sui Mu | Detachable bike seat jacket |
US5487197A (en) * | 1994-08-05 | 1996-01-30 | Iskra, Jr.; Joseph W. | Pneumatic wheelchair cushion |
US5658050A (en) * | 1996-01-11 | 1997-08-19 | Milsco Manufacturing Company | Vehicle seat with inflatable bladder |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9731638B2 (en) * | 2012-09-20 | 2017-08-15 | Faurecia Automotive Seating, Llc | Seat cushion for a vehicle seat |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2391590A1 (en) | 2003-12-26 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: MULTINA INC., CANADA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:HOULE, GASTON;HOULE, MARIO;REEL/FRAME:014648/0933 Effective date: 20030626 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |