VEHICLE WITH PASSENGER SEATS

• US 3,759,567 A
• Filed: 09/17/1971
• Issued: 09/18/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Daniel Steiner, Ernst Blochlinger
• Original Assignee: Daniel Steiner, Ernst Blochlinger
• Inventors: Blochlinger, Ernst, Steiner, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Hersh, Benjamin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pekar, John A.
• Application Number:
  US05/181,505
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 296/146,63,68,65R,25,1R 297/326,325,310,271,217 104/122 180/11 280/163,164
• US Class Current: 296/63
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/01 Arrangement of seats relative to one another
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/012 The seat support being a part of the vehicle body or chassis
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/265 especially adapted for guiding road vehicles carrying loads or passengers, e.g. in urban networks for public transportation
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 31/00 Superstructures for passenger vehicles passenger vehicles specially adapted to co-operate with aircraft or terminal buildings B64F1/31
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 31/003 compact cars, e.g. city cars
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 65/00 Designing, manufacturing, e.g. assembling, facilitating disassembly, or structurally modifying motor vehicles or trailers, not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A passenger vehicle having an enclosed passenger compartment containing a passenger seat. The floor of the vehicle is the floor of the compartment and is attached to the passenger seat. To facilitate passenger entrance and exit from the compartment, the floor and attached seat pivot to lower the floor. The canopy cover over the compartment elevates and the side door of the compartment opens to permit passenger entrance and exit.

Claims

1. A ground vehicle comprising:

an enclosed passenger compartment;

at least one passenger seat in said compartment;

said compartment having a floor;

said compartment having support means connected with said floor for normally supporting said floor above road level and for selectively lowering said floor to ground level and raising it to compartment level to facilitate entrance and exit from said vehicle; and

said seat being attached in said compartment just above said floor.

2. Vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable vehicle floor is operated by one of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic means.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said vehicle compartment has a door means which is openable and which is connected with said floor so as to open when said floor lowers and to close when said floor raises.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein there are two said seats in said compartment;

said floor being in separately movable sections, with each said section being just beneath its respective said seat and each said floor section having respective supportiNg means and being separately lowerable by its said supporting means.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said supporting means is a horizontal pivot and said floor pivots about said pivot from road level to above road level, and vice versa.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, further comprising:

means for selectively raising and lowering said seat to correspond with movement of said floor.

7. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein said seat is connected with said floor so as to be pivotable therewith and said seat is so oriented with respect to said pivoting floor that said seat is movable between a tilted back and up posiiton when said floor is raised and a tilted forward and down position when said floor is lowered.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein said vehicle compartment has a door means which is openable and which is connected with said floor so as to open when said floor lowers and to close when said floor raises.

9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein said door means comprises a side door next to said seat and a roof above said seat, both of which open and close together.

10. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein there are two said seats in said compartment;

said floor being in separately movable sections, with each said section being just beneath its respective said seat and each said floor section having respective supporting means and being separately pivotable and supported by its respective said supporting means.