Occupants in a motor vehicle are typically provided one or more armrests, providing a platform to rest a portion of the occupant's arm while operating or riding in the vehicle. Typically at least exterior armrests are provided, most often armrests disposed on or near a vehicle door. In left-hand drive vehicles the occupants of the driver's side of the vehicle have at least a left-hand armrest and the occupants of the passenger's side of the vehicle have at least a right-hand armrest. This configuration is reversed in right-hand drive vehicles.
It is also known to provide interior armrests, often associated with the vehicle seat or with a center console. Interior armrests are most typically associated with vehicles automatic transmissions. This is because for vehicles equipped with manual transmissions and especially for manual transmission drive vehicles equipped with gearshift levers, the driver requires a certain degree of mobility for the arm used to actuate the gearshift lever which is usually disposed centrally in the vehicle, such as on or near a center console, on the steering wheel column, etc. Conventional fixed armrest structures are too large and do not allow any degree of adjustment to allow use by the driver but also to provide the necessary flexibility and range of driver arm motion needed to operate the manual transmission gearshift lever.
In order to rectify this situation, a need is identified for an armrest for a motor vehicle that allows a range of adjustments to accommodate a drivers arm while actuating a manual transmission gearshift lever, as well as for a motor vehicle seat and motor vehicle including such an armrest.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds