And we're here for it.
Honda has filed a patent for installing a sofa instead of rear seats in its cars. CarBuzz discovered the patent, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and it's one of the weirdest we've ever come across.
In short, Honda has a problem with how seats are installed in cars currently. At present, seats are installed in the vehicle body by first mounting all the seat components, after which the trim garnishes are fitted to surrounding portions of the body. The seatback is then bolted to the seat's main frame, followed by the armrests. Finally, the seat base(s) are attached to the main frame.
If you look at the image of the Honda CR-V rear seats further down, you can see all the components Honda mentions above and how they come together to form what we know as a second-row bench.
Honda is proposing a new mounting system, allowing it to install what can only be called a sofa.
The main components of this new technique are transverse and side body mounts. Honda's sofa will be attached to these mounts. The actual seating components include a main seat frame, an attached seatback, and outboard bolsters mounted to the side body mounts.
As illustrated in the image below, the main seat frame will be mounted to the transverse mount, which is bolted to the floor. The seatback is mounted to the main seat frame and the side mounts, which makes it a strong enough anchor for a seatbelt.
Usually, a manufacturer would claim the benefits in the patent application, but Honda only states that this new seating arrangement will impact the vehicle's aesthetics. We agree that it may be a more pleasing seat installation than a bench. The middle passenger will benefit the most, as their buttocks will no longer be draped over the gaps between the small center seat and the rear outboard seats.
The center passenger might also get to experience the benefits of seat heating, which is usually only available to rear outboard seats. This sofa could possibly also tie in with another patent Honda filed for seats with a built-in suspension system, offering the most comfortable ride this side of a Rolls-Royce.
Honda might even be able to develop this concept further to create a fold-out sleeper coach. Imagine a Honda Odyssey with a pull-out sleeper for the adults while the kids pitch a tent outside? Then again, this patent doesn't leave room for the seatback to fold down, which might restrict access to the third row. Honda might even have one eye on the future, making a Level 5 autonomous vehicle more comfortable for passengers. It was the first manufacturer to reach Level 3 autonomy, after all.
If nothing else, this seating arrangement appears to have fewer components than a traditional second-row bench, which points to this being a cost-saving exercise.
Keyword: Honda Wants To Replace Conventional Rear Seats With A Sofa