Underbody structure for adjustable seating assembly

1. An underbody structure for supporting an adjustable seating assembly for a motor vehicle comprising:

a rotatable turntable operably coupled to an underbody of the motor vehicle; and

a brace operably coupled with the rotatable turntable and the underbody of the motor vehicle and extending substantially across the rotatable turntable;

wherein the adjustable seating assembly is operably coupled to the brace and to the underbody of the motor vehicle and the rotatable turntable comprises a rotatable circular platform disposed above a recess within which the brace is received, the recess having an annular side wall defining an interior surface operably coupled with the brace and an exterior surface operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.

2. The underbody structure of claim 1 , wherein the side structure of the motor vehicle is a rocker panel or a runner.

3. The underbody structure of claim 1 , wherein the brace comprises a truss-like structure.

4. The underbody structure of claim 3 , wherein the truss-like structure is comprised of extruded aluminum tubes.

5. The underbody structure of claim 3 , wherein the brace further comprises a central hub through which a bolt extends to operably couple the brace to the underbody of the motor vehicle and to which the truss-like structure is attached.

6. The underbody structure of claim 5 , wherein the central hub of the brace further comprises a fixed inner race and a rotatable outer race between which are disposed a plurality of ball bearings by which the brace is operably coupled with the underbody of the motor vehicle, and wherein the truss-like structure is attached to the rotatable outer race.

7. The underbody structure of claim 6 , further comprising guiding rollers disposed beneath the truss-like structure and above the underbody of the motor vehicle by which the truss-like structure and rotatable circular platform are supported.

8. The underbody structure of claim 3 , wherein the truss-like structure comprises a pair of hexagonal sections, each one of the pair of hexagonal sections being disposed on opposed sides of the central hub and the adjustable seating assembly further comprises a pair of seat tracks operably coupled with and extending orthogonally between opposed segments of an intermediate portion of the truss-like structure, wherein the pair of seat tracks are rigidly fixed to the truss-like structure.

9. The underbody structure of claim 3 , wherein the truss-like structure extends between a central hub and a central bolt at a center of rotation of the rotatable turntable at a proximate portion of the truss-like structure and an interior surface of an annular side wall of a recess at a distal portion of the truss-like structure, and an exterior surface of the annular side wall is operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.

10. The underbody structure of claim 3 , wherein the truss-like structure comprises a central portion, an intermediate portion, and an exterior portion, wherein:

the intermediate portion is operably coupled with the adjustable seating assembly, the adjustable seating assembly comprising a pair of seat tracks in spaced parallel relation with each other and the intermediate portion comprising a first pair of tubular members in spaced parallel relation with each other and in orthogonal relation to the pair of seat tracks;

the central portion extends from a central hub rotatably coupled with a fixed central bolt to a first of the pair of seat tracks and comprises a second pair of tubular members each radially extending from the central hub to the first of the pair of seat tracks; and

the exterior portion extends from an external side structure of the motor vehicle to a second of the pair of seat tracks and comprises a third pair of tubular members each extending from a common apex of the truss-like structure proximate an exterior side structure of the motor vehicle to the second of the pair of seat tracks.

11. The underbody structure of claim 10 , wherein the truss-like structure comprises a pair of trusses, each of which is operably coupled with the adjustable seating assembly, each of which is disposed on opposed sides of the central hub, and each of which is aligned across the rotatable turntable.

12. The underbody structure of claim 1 , wherein the brace comprises a circular disk disposed below a rotatable circular platform and above a pan within which the circular disk is received.

13. The underbody structure of claim 12 , wherein the circular disk comprises an array of raised ribs disposed on a substantially planar base and the raised ribs on the circular disk are arranged in an orthogonal pattern that comprises a plurality of longitudinal main raised ribs and plurality of lateral main raised ribs, and wherein the adjustable seating assembly comprises a pair of seat tracks mounted to the substantially planar base and disposed proximate one of the longitudinal main raised ribs and one of the lateral main raised ribs.

14. The underbody structure of claim 13 , wherein the pan, the circular disk, and the rotatable circular platform are operably coupled and rotatably mounted to the underbody of the motor vehicle, and the pan is circular and has an annular side wall defining an interior surface operably coupled with the circular disk and an exterior surface operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.

15. An underbody structure for supporting an adjustable seating assembly for a motor vehicle comprising:

a brace operably coupled with an underbody of the motor vehicle;

a rotatable turntable operably coupled to the brace and the underbody of the motor vehicle and further comprising a circular platform upon which the adjustable seating assembly is disposed, wherein the brace extends beneath and substantially across a diameter of the circular platform of the rotatable turntable; and

a circular recess within which the brace is received, the circular recess having an annular side wall defining an interior surface operably coupled with the brace and an exterior surface operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.

16. The underbody structure of claim 15 , wherein the circular platform comprises a pair of parallel slots extending therethrough and through which a pair of seat tracks of the adjustable seating assembly extend and whereby the adjustable seating assembly is configured to slidably actuate between a first extended position and a second rearward-actuated position regardless of a rotational position of the rotatable turntable.

17. An underbody structure for supporting a plurality of adjustable seating assemblies for a motor vehicle comprising:

a rotatable turntable operably coupled to a brace and an underbody of the motor vehicle and further comprising a circular platform upon which the plurality of seating assemblies are disposed, wherein the brace extends beneath and substantially across a diameter of the circular platform of the rotatable turntable; and

a recess within which the brace is received, the recess having a side wall defining an interior surface operably coupled with the brace and an exterior surface operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.

18. The underbody structure of claim 17 , wherein the brace comprises a truss-like structure and the recess comprises a fixed circular recess having an annular side wall defining the interior surface operably coupled with the truss-like structure and the exterior surface operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.

19. The underbody structure of claim 17 , wherein the brace comprises a circular disk and the recess comprises a circular pan, the circular disk being disposed below the rotatable circular platform and above the circular pan within which the circular disk is received, and the circular pan being rotatably coupled with the rotatable turntable and the circular disk and further comprising an annular side wall defining the interior surface operably coupled with the brace and the exterior surface operably coupled with a side structure of the motor vehicle.