[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR571.207]
[Page 477-480]
TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
OF TRANSPORTATION
PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS--Table of Contents
Subpart B--Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
Sec. 571.207 Standard No. 207; Seating systems.
S1. Purpose and scope. This standard establishes requirements for
seats, their attachment assemblies, and their installation to minimize
the possibility of their failure by forces acting on them as a result of
vehicle impact.
S2. Application. This standard applies to passenger cars,
multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses.
S3. Definitions. Occupant seat means a seat that provides at least
one designated seating position.
Seat adjuster means the part of the seat that provides forward and
rearward positioning of the seat bench and back, and/or rotation around
a vertical axis, including any fixed portion, such as a seat track. In
the case of a seat equipped with seat adjusters at different levels, the
term means the uppermost seat adjuster.
S4. Requirements.
S4.1 Driver's seat. Each vehicle shall have an occupant seat for
the driver.
S.4.2 General performance requirements. When tested in accordance
with S5., each occupant seat, other than a side-facing seat or a
passenger seat on a bus, shall withstand the following forces, in
newtons.
(a) In any position to which it can be adjusted--20 times the mass
of the seat in kilograms multiplied by 9.8 applied in a forward
longitudinal direction;
(b) In any position to which it can be adjusted--20 times the mass
of the seat in kilograms multiplied by 9.8 applied in a rearward
longitudinal direction;
(c) For a seat belt assembly attached to the seat--the force
specified in paragraph (a), if it is a forward facing seat, or paragraph
(b), if it is a rearward facing seat, in each case applied
simultaneously with the forces imposed on the seat by the seat belt
assembly when it is loaded in accordance with S4.2 of Sec. 571.210; and
(d) In its rearmost position--a force that produces a 373 newton
meters moment about the seating reference point for each designated
seating position that the seat provides, applied to the upper cross-
member of the seat back or the upper seat back, in a rearward
longitudinal direction for forward-facing seats and in a forward
longitudinal direction for rearward-facing seats.
S4.2.1 Seat adjustment. Except for vertical movement of nonlocking
suspension type occupant seats in trucks or buses, each seat shall
remain in its adjusted position when tested in accordance with the test
procedures specified in S5.
S4.3. Restraining device for hinged or folding seats or seat backs.
Except for a passenger seat in a bus or a seat having a back that is
adjustable only for the comfort of its occupants, a hinged or folding
occupant seat or occupant seat back shall--
(a) Be equipped with a self-locking device for restraining the
hinged or folding seat or seat back, and
(b) If there are any designated seating positions or auxiliary
seating accommodations behind the seat, either immediately to the rear
or to the sides, be equipped with a control for releasing that
restraining device.
S4.3.1 Accessibility of release control. If there is a designated
seating position immediately behind a seat equipped with a restraining
device, the control for releasing the device shall be readily accessible
to the occupant of the seat equipped with the device and, if access to
the control is required in order to exit from the vehicle, to the
occupant of the designated seating position immediately behind the seat.
S4.3.2 Performance of restraining device.
S4.3.2.1 Static force. (a) Once engaged, the restraining device for
a forward-facing seat shall not release or fail when a forward
longitudinal force, in newtons, equal to 20 times the mass of the hinged
or folding portion of the seat in kilograms multiplied by 9.8 is applied
through the center of gravity of that portion of the seat.
(b) Once engaged, the restraining device for a rearward-facing seat
shall not release or fail when a rearward longitudinal force, in
newtons, equal to 8 times the mass of the hinged or folding portion of
the seat in kilograms multiplied by 9.8 is applied through the center of
gravity of that portion of the seat.
S4.3.2.2 Acceleration. Once engaged, the restraining device shall
not release or fail when the device is subjected to
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an acceleration of 20 g., in the longitudinal direction opposite to that
in which the seat folds.
S4.4 Labeling. Seats not designated for occupancy while the vehicle
is in motion shall be conspicuously labeled to that effect.
S5. Test procedures.
S5.1 Apply the forces specified in S4.2(a) and S4.2(b) as follows:
S5.1.1 For a seat whose seat back and seat bench are attached to
the vehicle by the same attachments. (a) For a seat whose seat back and
seat bench are attached to the vehicle by the same attachments and whose
height is adjustable, the loads are applied when the seat is in its
highest adjustment position in accordance with the procedure or
procedures specified in S5.1.1(a)(1), S5.1.1(a)(2), or S5.1.1(a)(3), as
appropriate.
(1) For a seat whose center of gravity is in a horizontal plane that
is above the seat adjuster or that passes through any part of the
adjuster, use, at the manufacturer's option, either S5.1.1(b) or, if
physically possible, S5.1.1(c).
(2) For a seat specified in S5.1.1(a)(1) for which it is not
physically possible to follow the procedure in S5.1.1(c), use S5.1.1(b).
(3) For a seat whose center of gravity is in a horizontal plane that
is below the seat adjuster, use S5.1.1(c).
(4) For all other seats whose seat back and seat bench are attached
to the vehicle by the same attachments, use S5.1.1(b).
(b) Secure a strut on each side of the seat from a point on the
outside of the seat frame in the horizontal plane of the seat's center
of gravity to a point on the frame as far forward as possible of the
seat anchorages. Between the upper ends of the struts attach a rigid
cross-member, in front of the seat back frame for rearward loading and
behind the seat back frame for forward loading. Apply the force
specified by S4.2(a) or S4.2(b) horizontally through the rigid cross-
member as shown in Figure 1.
(c) Find ``cg1,'' the center of gravity of the portion of
the seat that is above the lowest surface of the seat adjuster. On each
side of the seat, secure a strut from a point on the outside of the seat
frame in the horizontal plane of cg1 to a point on the frame
as far forward as possible of the seat adjusted position. Between the
upper ends of the struts attach a rigid cross-member, in front of the
seat back frame for rearward loading and behind the seat back frame for
forward loading. Find ``cg2,'' the center of gravity of the
portion of the seat that is below the seat adjuster. Apply a force
horizontally through cg1 equal to 20 times the weight of the
portion of the seat represented by cg1, and simultaneously
apply a force horizontally through cg2 equal to 20 times the
weight of the portion of the seat represented by cg2.
S5.1.2 If the seat back and the seat bench are attached to the
vehicle by different attachments, attach to each component a fixture
capable of transmitting a force to that component. Apply forces, in
newtons, equal to 20 times the mass of the seat back in kilograms
multiplied by 9.8 m/s\2\ horizontally through the center of gravity of
the seat back, as shown in Figure 2 and apply forces, in newtons, equal
to 20 times the mass of the seat bench in kilograms multiplied by 9.8 m/
s\2\ horizontally through the center of gravity of the seat bench, as
shown in Figure 3.
S5.2 Develop the moment specified in S4.2(d) as shown in Figure 4.
S5.3 Apply the forces specified in S4.3.2.1(a) and (b) to a hinged
or folding seat as shown in Figure 1 and to a hinged or folding seat
back as shown in Figure 5.
S5.4 Determine the center of gravity of a seat or seat component
with all cushions and upholstery in place and with the head restraint in
its fully extended design position.
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[36 FR 22902, Dec. 2, 1971, as amended at 52 FR 7868, Mar. 13, 1987; 53
FR 30434, Aug. 12, 1988; 59 FR 37167, July 21, 1994; 60 FR 13647, Mar.
14, 1995; 63 FR 28935, May 27, 1998]