We claim:
1. A seat for a vehicle, comprising:
a central pillar extending from a floor to a roof of the vehicle;
a center support extending forwardly from said central pillar;
a lower rib extend laterally from said center support;
a seat bottom fixed to and supported by said lower rib;
a primary intermediate rib extending laterally from said central pillar; and
a seat back fixed to and supported by said intermediate rib.
2. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
an upper rib extending laterally from said central pillar above said intermediate rib; and
a headrest fixed to and supported by said upper rib.
3. The seat for a vehicle of claim 2 further comprising:
a secondary intermediate rib extending laterally from said central pillar and also fixed to and supporting said seat back.
4. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said central pillar includes a support member extending forwardly from an upper portion thereof and fixed to the roof of the vehicle.
5. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said primary intermediate and upper ribs are adjustable along said central pillar.
6. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said seat back includes a grab handle on an outer edge thereof, nearest a door of the vehicle.
7. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:
a secondary intermediate rib extending laterally from said central pillar and also fixed to and supporting said seat back, said seat back including a grab handle disposed on an outer edge thereof, nearest a door of the vehicle, wherein said grab handle has opposing ends, each end supported by one of said intermediate ribs.
8. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said seat is a front seat of the vehicle.
9. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a hand brake lever supported by and extending from a forward end of said center support.
10. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said seat bottom has an opening at a central front portion thereof
11. The seat for a vehicle of claim 10, wherein said opening is covered with a mesh like fabric.
12. The seat for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said seat back has an opening at a central top portion thereof.
13. The seat for a vehicle of claim 12, wherein said opening is covered with a mesh like fabric.
14. A pair of seats for a vehicle, comprising:
a central pillar extending from a floor to a roof of the vehicle;
a center support extending forwardly from said central pillar;
left and right lower ribs extending outwardly from said center support;
left and right primary intermediate ribs extending outwardly from said center pillar; and
left and right seat backs fixed to and supported by said respective left and right intermediate ribs.
15. The pair of seats for a vehicle of claim 14, further comprising:
left and right upper ribs extending outwardly from said central pillar; and
left and right headrests fixed to and supported by said respective left and right upper ribs.
16. The pair of seats for a vehicle of claim 14, further comprising:
secondary left and right intermediate ribs extending outwardly from said central pillar and spaced apart downwardly therefrom, each of said secondary left and right intermediate ribs also fixed to and supporting said respective left and right seat backs.
17. The pair of seats for a vehicle of claim 16, further comprising:
left and right upper ribs extending outwardly from said central pillar; and
left and right headrests fixed to and supported by said respective left and right upper ribs.
18. The pair of seats for a vehicle of claim 16, further comprising left and right grab handles, each formed on an outer edge of said respective left and right seat backs.
19. The pair of seats for a vehicle of claim 18, wherein each of said left and right grab handles has opposing ends, each end supported by one of said respective left or right intermediate ribs.
20. The pair of seats for a vehicle of claim 14, wherein said pair of seats are front seats of the vehicle.
21. A pair of seats for a motor vehicle, comprising:
a central pillar extending from a floor to a roof of the motor vehicle;
a center support extending forwardly substantially along a center line of the motor vehicle;
left and right lower ribs extending outwardly from said center support on opposite sides thereof;
left and right seats fixed to and supported by said respective left and right lower ribs;
left and right primary intermediate ribs extending outwardly from said central pillar, on opposite sides thereof;
left and right secondary intermediate ribs extending outwardly from said central pillar, on opposite sides thereof, and spaced from said respective left and right primary intermediate ribs, downwardly along said central pillar;
left and right upper ribs extending outwardly from said central pillar, on opposite sides thereof;
left and right headrests fixed to and supported by said respective left and right upper ribs.
22. The pair of front seats for a motor vehicle of claim 21, further comprising:
left and right grab handles, each disposed on an outer edge of said respective left and right seat backs.
23. The pair of front seats for a motor vehicle of claim 22, wherein said left and right grab handles each has opposing ends, wherein each end of each grab handle is supported by a corresponding one of said primary and secondary intermediate ribs.
24. The pair of front seats for a motor vehicle of claim 21, further comprising a hand brake lever supported by and extending from a forward end of said center support.
25. A seat for a vehicle, comprising:
a central pillar extending from a floor to a roof of the vehicle;
a lower rib extend laterally from said central pillar;
a seat bottom fixed to and supported by said lower rib;
a primary intermediate rib extending laterally from said central pillar; and
a seat back fixed to and supported by said intermediate rib.
26. The seat for a vehicle of claim 25, further comprising:
an upper rib extending laterally from said central pillar above said intermediate rib; and
a headrest fixed to and supported by said upper rib.
27. The seat for a vehicle of claim 25 further comprising:
a secondary intermediate rib extending laterally from said central pillar and also fixed to and supporting said seat back.
28. A seat for a vehicle, comprising:
a pillar extending from a floor to a roof of the vehicle;
a center support extending forwardly from said pillar;
a lower rib extend laterally from said center support;
a seat bottom fixed to and supported by said lower rib;
a primary intermediate rib extending laterally from said pillar; and
a seat back fixed to and supported by said intermediate rib.
29. The seat for a vehicle of claim 28, further comprising:
an upper rib extending laterally from said pillar above said intermediate rib; and
a headrest fixed to and supported by said upper rib.
30. The seat for a vehicle of claim 29, further comprising:
a secondary intermediate rib extending laterally from said pillar and also fixed to and supporting said seat back.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide wherein all of one or a plurality of start points and all of one or a plurality of end points of a waveguide are uniformly aligned along a same single straight line, the process comprising the steps of:
preparing a mold comprising a concave portion for forming a core;
bringing a cladding substrate into close contact with the mold disposing a concave portion toward the cladding substrate;
filling the concave portion of the mold with a core-forming curable resin;
curing the core-forming curable resin in the concave portion to form a core; and
cutting a cladding substrate possessing a core part and a cladding layer thereon along the same single straight line.
2. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of cladding substrates possessing the core and the cladding layer thereon are piled on each other so that the respective straight lines of each cladding substrate are aligned, and the cladding substrates are cut along the same straight line.
3. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, which further comprises the steps of providing a penetrated port on a mold surface opposite to a mold surface adhered to the cladding substrate so that the penetrated port is communicated with the concave portion, filling the concave portion of the mold with a core-forming curable resin utilizing the penetrated port as a resin inlet and exposed concave portions at one or a plurality of start points and one or a plurality of end points of a waveguide as a resin outlet, and inserting a resin expelling member into the resin inlet to a depth equal to a difference between a height of the core to be formed and a height of the mold.
4. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of cladding substrates possessing the core and the cladding layer thereon are piled on each other so that the respective straight lines of each cladding substrate are aligned, and the cladding substrates are cut along the same straight line.
5. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, which further comprises the steps of, when a waveguide has a branched mixing part, providing a penetrated port on a mold surface opposite to a mold surface adhered to the cladding substrate so that the penetrated port is communicated with the whole branched mixing part of the concave portion, filling the concave portion of the mold with a core-forming curable resin utilizing the penetrated port as a resin inlet and exposed concave portions at one or a plurality of start points and one or a plurality of end points of a waveguide as a resin outlet, and inserting a resin expelling member into the resin inlet to a depth equal to a difference between a height of the core to be formed and a height of the mold.
6. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of cladding substrates possessing the core and the cladding layer thereon are piled on each other so that the respective straight lines of each cladding substrate are aligned, and the cladding substrates are cut along the same straight line.
7. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 5, wherein a diffusing plate is inserted into the resin inlet so that a leading edge of the diffusing plate is touched to the cladding substrate, in the step of filling the concave portion of the mold with a core-forming curable resin.
8. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 5, wherein a light waveguiding plate, which possesses a length, in an insertion direction, equal to a height of the core to be formed and a substantially same refractive index as that of the core, is inserted into the resin inlet so that a leading edge of the light waveguiding plate is touched to the cladding substrate, in the step of filling the concave portion of the mold with a core-forming curable resin.
9. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a refractive index of the cladding substrate is 1.55 or less.
10. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the cladding substrate is an alicyclic olefin resin film.
11. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 10, wherein the alicyclic olefin resin film comprises a resin possessing a norborne structure in a main chain and a polar group in a side chain.
12. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the mold is prepared by forming a mold-forming elastomer layer on a surface of a master template having a convex portion corresponding to a core part, removing the layer having a concave portion corresponding to the convex portion of the master template, and forming a side of the layer along a line substantially following at a distance from the straight line so as to expose a concave portion formed on the layer.
13. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a surface energy of the mold is 10 to 30 mNm.
14. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a Shore rubber hardness of the mold is 15 to 80.
15. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein a root-mean-square (RMS) roughness Rq of the mold is 0.5 m or less.
16. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the mold is utilized as the cladding layer.
17. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 1, wherein the core-forming curable resin is an ultraviolet ray-curable resin or a heat-curable resin.
18. A process for producing a polymer optical waveguide according to claim 17, wherein a refractive index of a cured material of the ultraviolet ray-curable resin or the heat-curable resin is 1.55 or more.
19. A polymer optical waveguide, which comprises a cladding substrate, a curved core on the cladding substrate, and a cladding layer on the curved core,
wherein all of one or a plurality of start points and all of one or a plurality of end points of a waveguide are uniformly aligned along a same single straight line.
20. A polymer optical waveguide according to claim 19, which further comprises a branched mixing part.