VEHICLE SEATING WITH FOOT REST
A passenger seat for a vehicle having a floor includes a footrest positioned forward of a seat bottom. The footrest includes a resilient support surface positioned above the floor for supporting a passenger's feet. The footrest may be an enclosure suspended below the bottom of a forward-positioned seat. In an alternative embodiment, the footrest may include a resilient support surface footrest which allows each of a passenger's feet to be supported above the floor in different longitudinal positions.
1 . A passenger seat for a vehicle, comprising:
a frame for being attached to a floor of a vehicle;
an upwardly-extending seat back carried by said frame;
a seat bottom carried by said frame for supporting a passenger;
a footrest disposed forward of said seat bottom, said footrest having a foot supporting surface positioned above said floor.
2 . The passenger seat of claim 1 , wherein said footrest comprises:
an enclosure having a front wall, opposed top and bottom walls, opposed side walls, and a rear opening, said enclosure defining a surface for support a passenger's feet; and
means for suspending said enclosure underneath a second seat positioned forward of said seat bottom.
3 . The passenger seat of claim 2 wherein a drawstring is disposed around the periphery of said rear opening.
4 . The passenger seat of claim 2 wherein said top wall of said footrest is attached underneath a bottom of said second seat by a plurality of fasteners.
5 . A footrest assembly for a passenger seat which is mounted to a floor, comprising:
an enclosure having a front wall, opposed top and bottom walls, opposed side walls, and a rear opening, said enclosure defining a surface for support a passengers feet; and
means for supporting said enclosure above said floor.
6 . The footrest assembly of claim 5 , wherein said footrest is suspended underneath a second seat positioned forward of said passenger seat.
7 . The footrest assembly of claim 6 wherein a drawstring is disposed around the periphery of said rear opening.
8 . The footrest assembly of claim 6 wherein said top wall of said footrest is attached underneath a bottom of said second seat by a plurality of fasteners.
9 . A passenger seat for vehicle, comprising:
a frame for being attached to a floor of a vehicle;
an upwardly-extending seat back carried by said frame;
a seat bottom carried by said frame for supporting a passenger; and
a footrest attached to said seat, said footrest including a resilient support surface and moveable between:
a stowed position; and
a deployed position wherein said footrest extends rearward of said seat back for supporting the feet of a rear-seated passenger above said floor.
10 . The passenger seat of claim 9 , wherein said support surface comprises a grid of resilient strands.
11 . The passenger seat of claim 9 , wherein said footrest comprises:
a pair of spaced-apart rails; and
a laterally-extending foot bar disposed extending between said rails, wherein said support surface is disposed between said rails.
12 . The passenger seat of claim 11 , wherein a forward end of each of said rails is pivotally attached to said seat back.
13 . The passenger seat of claim 9 , wherein when said footrest is in said deployed position, a passenger's feet are supported at a level equal to or above a height of a lower surface of said seat bottom.