Vehicle seat with extendable and retractable ottoman
A vehicle seat includes a seat base, a backrest connected to the seat base and an leg rest assembly, also referred to as a leg rest assembly. The leg rest assembly includes a deflectable leg support panel pivotably connected to the seat base. The deflectable leg support panel and deflects under a load of legs of the user and returns with a restoring force back to an initial position upon removing the load of the legs of the user. The leg rest assembly may be connected to the vehicle seat by a pivoting structure, that allows the leg rest assembly to be pivoted to a non use position. The leg rest assembly may also be fixedly connected to the vehicle seat a support base front cross structure. This fixed connection then forms an only pivot axis of the leg rest assembly.
1. A vehicle seat comprising:
a seat base;
a backrest connected to the seat base; and
a leg rest assembly comprising a plurality of deflectable sheet spring steel leg support panels superposed upon each other in a leaf spring configuration, wherein each of the plurality of panels has a first edge and a second edge opposite the first edge, wherein the plurality of panels comprises different dimensions between the first and second edges of respective panels, wherein the first edge of the plurality of panels is fixed to the seat base on a common axis, and wherein the second edge of at least one of the panels is movably connected to a winding mechanism by a cable, said deflectable leg support panel deflecting under a load of legs of the user and returning with a restoring force back to an initial position upon removing the load of the legs of the user.
2. A vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the leg rest assembly comprises brackets connected to the deflectable leg support panel and connecting the vehicle seat to the deflectable leg support panel, the deflectable leg support panel deflecting relative to the brackets.
3. A vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein said deflectable leg support panels comprise elastic cantilever members extending from a vehicle front cross structure.
4. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 , wherein said vehicle front cross structure is formed from a tube and forms said axis as an only pivot axis of the leg rest assembly.
5. A vehicle seat according to claim 4 , wherein brackets interconnect the elastic cantilevered members and the tube.
6. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 , wherein the elastic cantilever members comprise a plurality of layers of sheet spring steel creating a leaf spring providing a controlled shape.
7. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 , wherein the elastic cantilever members comprise of several layers of sheet spring steel, wherein the layers define a spring rate that is set based on the selection of the layers of sheet spring steel.
8. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 , further comprising a foam part fixed to a leg engagement surface of the elastic cantilever member.
9. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 , wherein the shape and preload of the leg rest assembly is controlled by loading the at least one of the panels via the cable at the second edge of the at least one of the panels.
10. A vehicle seat according to claim 9 , wherein the cable is extended or retracted via a manual clutching system.
11. A vehicle seat according to claim 9 , wherein the cable is extended or retracted via a power drive mechanism.