The subject of this invention is a folding seat for vessels which acts as a helmsman's bench or is integrated into the salon seating assembly. So far in practice, several individual benches or seating assembly components for the helmsmen as well as salon passengers have been introduced, though they were mostly unsuccessful because the solutions actually took up more room. In the majority of cases, only an individual seat was intended for the helmsman, and in case of the navigator's presence, another individual seat was available, while it was uncommon for vessels to have a bench fitted instead of a single or two individual seats. As a consequence, the vessel's living quarters were made even smaller. The folding seat according to the invention combines the functions of both seats, thus enhancing the possibilities of the vessel's design and functionality.

The frameworks of established seating assemblies or seats are usually manufactured from various materials, such as wood, metal and others. The construction is rigid and does not allow the adjustment of different seating positions. In certain cases, a seat may only be adjusted longitudinally.

This problem has been solved by constructing a metal seat frame, which allows the user to easily adjust the back rest as well as the seat by converting the seat from a helmsman's bench into part of the salon seating assembly. Both the metal seat frame and the upholstering have been designed to match the vessel's interior regardless of their position that is whether used by the helmsman or if converted into part of the salon seating assembly.

The folding seat according to the invention is manufactured from polished stainless steel and has two pivoting points, which enable the adjustment of the position of the frame and the conversion of the seat from a helmsman's bench into part of the salon seating assembly.

The invention is described in detail and illustrated in the drawings which represent the folding seat and the metal seat frame according to invention in the axonometric projection in both positions.

Figure 1 represents the metal seat frame in the salon seating assembly position in the axonometric projection. Figure 2 represents the metal seat frame in the helmsman's bench position in the axonometric projection.

The folding seat's metal frame is manufactured from bended and butt welded tubular profiles. The frame structural section 1 is made from two L-shaped parallel sections la and lb, where the individual sections la and lb are made from preferentially butt welded parts. Sections la and lb are joined or welded by means of a transverse bar lc at the point where the individual parts of both sections (la, lb) are welded. The structural section 1 is attached to the wooden seating construction, namely the salon seating assembly, via the undersides of sections la, lb and the transverse bar lc onto the back plate 7.

Seat 2, that is the seating or back rest base, is manufactured from parts 2a and 2b where part 2a is made from bent tubular profiles into a U-shape while part 2b is made from parallel tubular profiles attached or welded at one end to the transverse bar 5. Both parts 2a and 2b are welded approximately at a right angle. The support section 3 is made from U-shaped bent tubular profiles. Both U-shaped sections are connected to each other, that is welded by means of the transverse bar 4. The support section 3 supports the seat 2 in the helmsman's bench position.

The transverse bars 4 and 5 have at their ends pivoting points 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b which enable the manipulation of the seat 2 and support section 3 when the helmsman's bench is folded into the salon seating assembly. The pivoting points 4a, 4b, 5a and 5b are manufactured from the main axes and Koterm bushes. The main axes of the pivoting points 5a and 5b are attached to the structural frame 1, namely onto the upper ends of sections la and lb, while the main axes of the pivoting points 4a and 4b are attached to the seat 2, that is to the joint of sections 2a and 2b, and the Koterm bushes are inserted into the transverse bar tubular profiles 4 and 5.

The frame structural section 1 is attached to the seat 2 by means of the pivoting points 5a and 5b, while the support section 3 is attached to the seat 2 by means of the pivoting points 4a and 4b. When the folding seat is folded from the helmsman's bench into the salon seating assembly, the support section 3 rotate upwards at pivoting points 4a and 4b and retract or fold into part 2a of the seat 2, while part 2b of seat 2 simultaneously rotates downwards at pivoting points 5a and 5b in such a way that part 2b is wedged between the upper parts of sections la and lb. The support section 3 is attached to the wooden seating assembly by means of plastic holders 8, installed on the back plate 7, similar to the structural section 1. The plastic holders prevent the support section 3 from slipping when in the vertical position.

The metal frame structural section 1 is attached to the salon wooden seating assembly by means of bolts and nuts via back plate 7 on the reverse side of the wooden panel which forms the entire seat. To improve mounting, a large diameter washer is used in order to improve the off-set. The mounting part of the salon seating assembly wooden construction is reinforced in order to provide additional stability for the metal construction. The front vertical salon seating assembly section is veneered in order to hide the entire seat mechanism when the seat is used as a salon seating assembly.

A wooden panel with a seat and back rest cushion, upholstered according to the customer's wishes, is attached to the frames 2a and 2b.

The seat and back rest cushion (frames 2a and 2b) are made in such a way that the seat 2 can serve as the back rest, and vice versa. When the seat is in the helmsman's bench position, the cushioned frame 2b serves as the back rest and the cushioned frame 2a as the seat. On the other hand, when the seat is in the salon seating assembly position, the cushioned frame 2a serves as the seat and frame 2b as the back rest. The cushion used enables a more comfortable use of the seat, regardless of its position. The wooden panel is mounted onto the seat's metal construction by means of upholstery nuts fixed into the wood then screwed onto the metal frame by means of recessed screws.

The folding seat frame and its installation into the vessel is designed in such a way that, that during production, only the structural section 1 is mounted onto previously determined parts of the wooden assembly. Other frame elements, together with cushioned parts, are installed in the final production phase - support section 3 is inserted into pivoting points 4a and 4b while the already cushioned seat 2 is inserted into pivoting points 5a and 5b. This minimizes the possibility of damage to the folding seat, especially its upholstery.

Seat 2, once inserted into the structural section 1, cannot be manipulated because it is locked by means of a safety pin 6, which has an additional safety clamp.