Easy ejector seat with skeletal crash safety beam

• US 6,609,749 B1
• Filed: 11/08/1999
• Issued: 08/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mmillenniumm Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Arjuna Ihdraeswaran Rajasingham
• Inventors: Rajasingham, Arjuna Ihdraeswaran
• Primary Examiner(s): PAPE, JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US09/435,830
• Time in Patent Office: 1,387 Days
• Field of Search: 296/63, 296/65.01, 296/67, 296/68, 296/68.1, 296/65.02, 296/65.03, 296/65.11, 296/65.12, 296/65.13, 296/65.14, 296/65.15, 296/188, 296/189, 180/282, 297/344, 297/11, 297/487, 297/488, 297/216.1, 297/216.11, 297/216.16, 297/216.18, 297/411.44, 297/734, 297/735
• US Class Current: 296/190.04
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/723 Impact absorbing means, e.g. bumpers or airbags
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/06 slidable B60N2/12 , B60N2/2209 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/062 transversally slidable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/245 for handicapped persons
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4214 longitudinal
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4221 due to impact coming from the front
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4235 transversal
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42736 of the whole seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4279 electric or electronic triggering
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 19/205 inflatable in the direction of an obstacle upon impending impact, e.g. using air bags
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/157 for side impacts

Abstract

An arrangement in passenger vehicles, that diverts the impact energy in lateral or side impacts away from the passengers to the remaining mass of the vehicle thereby protecting the passengers, and in the same arrangement provides utilitarian access to the vehicle, such utilitarian access making it possible to both install multi-element contoured surround seats for passengers and the driver, and also a safety device for head-on collision protection that obviates the need for conventional seat belts and front impact airbags. An indo-skeletal structural arrangement proposed for the vehicle, provides further benefits by targeting the strength of the vehicle to protect passengers while minimizing other massive elements in the vehicle.

Claims

1. In a vehicle having a right and left side and substantially massive components, and having at least one fixed body member connected with substantial rigidity to substantially all of the substantially massive components of said vehicle, a vehicle structure having an operating position attained during normal driving conditions and an extended position attained at the time of passenger and operator access to the vehicle, said vehicle structure having a means to divert the impact energy in lateral impacts to be absorbed by said vehicle through the at least one fixed body member while releasing the passengers and operators each having mass, weight, left and right sides, a back and a bottom, to move independently of said vehicle, in a passenger support mechanism with a plurality of elements in a predetermined controlled fashion, in order to minimize injury to such operators and passengers.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, having a vehicle structure comprising:

a) at least one pair of safety beam lower elements, said pair of safety beam lower elements comprising two members, for providing a means to resist compressive lateral impact forces, and for providing support for slidably attached components, each member of the pair of said safety beam lower elements being directly mounted to the at least one fixed body member with mountings, said mountings being on the left side and the right side of the vehicle respectively, the members of each pair of safety beam lower elements being mounted at the same longitudinal position of said vehicle along a lateral axis;

b) at least one pair of compression resisting safety beam upper elements each member of said pair comprising two members, each member of said pair having a first face and a second face, and each of the members of said pair mounted to the first face of each member of a pair of said safety beam lower elements on the left and the right sides of the vehicle;

c) a plurality of passenger support mechanisms positioned in pairs, members of each said pair on each of the left and the right sides respectively of said vehicle on at least one lateral axes such that the pair having its members closest to the external surface of the vehicle structure constitutes an outermost pair and such that the pair having its members closest to the center of the vehicle structure constitutes an innermost pair;

d) a plurality of secondary slides each with a first face and a second face, attached by said first face to one of said safety beam upper elements on the second face of said safety beam upper element and fixedly attached by said second face to one of the passenger support mechanisms, such that said secondary slides are normally fixedly attached by said first face to said safety beam upper elements, but become decoupled and thereafter slidably attached by said first face to said safety beam upper elements along a lateral axis when a lateral shear force greater than a predetermined force is applied to said first face relative to said second face of said secondary slides allowing said passenger support mechanisms attached to said second face of said secondary slides to slide along said lateral axis relative to said safety beam upper elements, said secondary slides mounted on each of said safety beam upper elements being constructed such that after they are decoupled, they can be guided laterally by, and are slidably attached to one or more of said safety beam upper elements mounted on a single pair of said safety beam lower elements, and further positioned on the safety beam upper elements at all times such that they are not obstructed by any elements of the vehicle in the event that said secondary slides need under collision conditions to traverse the center of the vehicle to the further side of the vehicle;

e) at least one protector assembly comprising a shock-absorbing device and at least one force distributing protector shield, said protector assembly installed to protect each member of the outermost pair of passenger support mechanisms, on each of the left and right sides of the vehicle, and locked to the fixed body members of the vehicle when in the operating position; and

f) internal airbags, each mounted on the outer side of each of the outermost said passenger support mechanisms, but inside said protector assembly, on both the left and the right sides of the vehicle, such that upon detection of an impact event, the airbag deploys next to said passenger support mechanism(s) and deploying upwards and inwards to protect the passengers.

3. The structure of claim 2, further comprising reinforcements to the safety beam upper element to prevent distortion of these elements in the event of a vertical upward force applied at the end of the extended Safety beam upper element, thereby providing an outrigger function that will deter roll over following a side impact.

5. The vehicle structure as in claim 2, wherein said fixed body members comprise at least one central member of an indo-skeletal structure that abuts said safetybeam/lower primary slide and the safety beam upper element, and thereby resists, lateral forces from compressive loads incurred by said safety beam lower elements and said safety beam upper elements/safety beam upper elements during impact.

6. The structure of claim 5, further comprising a crushable center console detachably mounted on the central member of an indoskeletal structure, such that said crushable center console is normally fixed to the central member of an indoskeletal structure, but becomes decoupled and compressed in a lateral direction and thereafter slidably attached to either the central member of an indoskeletal structure or an element of one or more pairs of safety beam upper elements, along a lateral axis when a lateral shear force greater than a predetermined force is applied to the crushable center console relative to the central member of an indoskeletal structure, thereby releasing it to slide along a lateral axis, said crushable center console being constructed such that after it is decoupled, it can be guided laterally by, and is slidably attached to any one of said safety beam upper elements mounted on one or more pairs of said safety beam lower elements, and further positioned on the safety beam lower elements at all times such that they are not obstructed by any elements of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle structure as in claim 2, wherein the secondary slide comprises a front edge and a back edge, the direction of said front and back edges being in the lateral direction relative to the vehicle, said vehicle further comprising a Foot rest attached to the front edge of at least one secondary slide that is positioned closest to the front edge of said passenger support mechanism that it supports, thereby providing support for the feet of passengers while entering and leaving the vehicle.

8. The vehicle structure as in claim 2, further comprising detectors positioned between the protector shields and the fixed body members, to detect the presence of body parts in the way of retracting safety beam upper element or a secondary slide and thereby providing the required information to suspend the motion of said safety beam upper elements or secondary slides.

9. The vehicle structure of claim 2, where said protector shields include vertical extensions that protrude vertically above the protector shield and shock absorbing devices to provide resistance to lateral forces at higher physical levels thereby providing further protection to the passengers, and to provide a rigid member that can resist vertical forces adequate to support said vehicle in a roll over situation, thereby protecting said passengers.

10. The vehicle structure of claim 9, further comprising a lateral beam across the top of the vehicle that engages said vertical extension when said safety beam upper element is in said operating position, furthermore comprising telescoping sections that allow said lateral beam to remain engaged to said vertical sections while said passenger support mechanism is ejected thereby providing protection to said passenger by maintaining a safety cage, thereby providing greater side impact protection and protection in a roll over situation.

11. A vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 2, further comprising a passive air cushion system for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a lateral impact to said vehicle by an impacting object, wherein at least one of said internal airbags are sacrificial chambers of said passive air cushion system containing a compressible fluid following the detection of said impact event, said passive air cushion system further comprising:

a) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

b) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations in the vicinity of said passenger and supported by said passenger support mechanisms, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber upon compression, inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting said passenger.

12. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 11, wherein said micro-air-cushions are placed in positions such that on inflation following impact, they hold and cushion the passenger.

13. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 11, wherein said micro-air-cushions are placed in positions such that on inflation following impact, they provide protection to said passenger, in the event of a predetermined small displacement of said passenger relative to said passenger support mechanism.

14. The vehicle structure in a vehicle of claim 2, further comprising at least one crushable element detachably mounted to fixed elements of said vehicle structure, said crushable elements mounted collinear with said secondary slides such that said crushable elements are normally fixed to said fixed elements of said vehicle structure, but become decoupled and compressed in a lateral direction and thereafter slidably attached to said fixed elements of vehicle structure, along a lateral axis when a lateral impact force greater than a predetermined force is applied to the side of the vehicle, thereby releasing them to slide along a lateral axis.

15. The vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 2, further comprising a passive air cushion system within said internal airbag, for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a lateral impact to said vehicle by an impacting object, wherein at least one of said internal airbags are sacrificial chambers of said passive air cushion system containing a compressible fluid following the detection of said impact event, said passive air cushion system further comprising:

a) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

b) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations in the vicinity of said passenger and supported by said passenger support mechanisms, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting said passenger.

16. The vehicle structure as in claim 2, wherein said safety beam upper elements are each constructed to have a plurality of slidably attached elements, such that each of the elements have a limited sliding range relative to the adjoining element, and wherein the first of these sliding elements is fixedly attached to the first face of said safety beam upper element and where the last of these sliding elements is fixedly attached to said second face of said safety beam upper element.

17. The vehicle structure in a vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a passive air cushion system for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a lateral impact to said vehicle by an impacting object comprising:

a) at least one sacrificial chamber located in a predetermined position within said vehicle, such that said impact from impacting object, will compress said sacrificial chamber, said sacrificial chamber being filled with a compressible fluid;

b) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

c) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations in the vicinity of said passenger and supported by said vehicle structure, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting said passenger.

18. A passive air-cushion system as in claim 17, further comprising:

a) proactive impact sensors that provide a means to detect an impact event prior to said impact on said vehicle, detection of said impact event comprising the detection of at least one of the expected timing and expected severity of said impact, said proactive impact sensors being mounted on said vehicle and in the vicinity of said passenger and pointed in a predetermined direction of expected impact by the impacting object,

b) an inflation means for said sacrificial chambers, activated by said proactive impact sensors

thereby providing a means to inflate the sacrificial chambers just prior to the impact, and thereafter providing the protection of the Passive Air-cushion System.

19. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 17, wherein said sacrificial chamber is located in the vicinity of said passenger support mechanism on the side of the expected lateral impact, and said sacrificial chamber retains some of the compressible fluid during and after impact to provide secondary protection to said passenger support mechanism by resisting the impact forces caused by said impact while compressing in a predetermined controlled fashion.

20. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 17, wherein said micro-air-cushions are placed in positions such that on inflation following impact, they hold and cushion predetermined anatomical elements of the passenger.

21. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 17, wherein said micro-air-cushions are placed in positions such that on inflation following impact, they provide protection to predetermined anatomical elements of said passenger, in the event of a predetermined small displacement of said passenger relative to said passenger support mechanism.

22. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 17, further comprising a safe position of the passenger relative to the vehicle positioned within a motion space consisting of free space adjoining the passenger and extending to the safe position, where the passenger will sustain controlled forces over a predetermined period of time during and following said impact, thereby allowing said micro-air-cushion on inflation following impact, to displace said passenger in said passenger support mechanism across said motion space to said safe position and thereafter cushioning and thereby protecting said passenger following impact.

23. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 17, further comprising:

a) reactive impact sensors that provide a means to detect an impact event on impact on said vehicle, said reactive impact sensors being mounted on said vehicle and in the vicinity of said passenger,

b) an inflation means for said sacrificial chambers, activated by said reactive impact sensors thereby providing a means to inflate the sacrificial chambers immediately on impact, and thereafter providing the protection of the Passive Air-cushion System.

24. A Passive Air-cushion System as in claim 17, further comprising a safe position of predefined parts of the passenger relative to the vehicle positioned within a motion space consisting of free space adjoining the predefined parts of the passenger and extending to the safe position, where the predefined parts of the passenger will sustain controlled forces over a predetermined period of time during and following said impact, thereby allowing said micro-air-cushion on inflation following impact, to displace said predefined parts of the passenger across said motion space to said safe position and thereafter cushioning and thereby protecting said predefined parts of the passenger following impact.

25. The vehicle structure of claim 1, further comprising:

a) at least one pair comprising two members of a safety beam lower element, each member of said pair having a first face and a second face, and constructed to provide a means to resist compressive lateral impact forces, and to provide support for components attached thereto, a member of each pair of said safety beam lower element being directly mounted on its second face to the at least one fixed body member on the left side and the right side of the vehicle respectively, the members of each pair being mounted at the same longitudinal position of said vehicle;

b) at least one pair of a safety beam upper element, each member of said pair having a first face and a second face and designed to resist compression, and each of the members of said pair mounted to the first face of each member of a pair of said safety beam lower element on the left and the right sides of the vehicle;

c) pairs of at least one passenger support mechanism members of said pairs being mounted on each of the left and the right sides of said vehicle on at least one lateral axes such that the pair having its members closest to the external surface of the vehicle structure constitutes an outermost pair and such that the pair having its members closest to the center of the vehicle structure constitutes an innermost pair;

d) a plurality of secondary slides each with a first face and a second face, attached by said first face to one member of said pair of said safety beam upper element on the second face of said safety beam upper element and said secondary slides fixedly attached by said second face to one of the passenger support mechanisms, such that said secondary slides are normally fixedly attached by said first face to said safety beam upper element, but become decoupled and thereafter slidably attached by said first face to said safety beam upper element along a lateral axis when a lateral shear force greater than a predetermined force is applied to said first face relative to said second face of said secondary slides allowing said passenger support mechanisms attached to said second face of said secondary slides to slide along said lateral axis relative to said safety beam upper element, said secondary slides mounted on each of said safety beam upper element being constructed such that after they are decoupled, they can be guided laterally by, and are slidably attached to one or more of said safety beam upper element mounted on a single pair of said safety beam lower element, and further positioned on the safety beam upper element at all times such that they are not obstructed by any elements of the vehicle in the event that said secondary slides need under collision conditions to traverse the center of the vehicle to the further side of the vehicle;

e) internal airbags, each mounted on the outer side of and adjoining each of the outermost said passenger support mechanisms, on both the left and the right sides of the vehicle, such that upon detection of an impact event, the airbag deploys next to said passenger support mechanism(s) and deploying upwards and inwards to protect the passengers; and

f) pairs of at least one protector assembly comprising a shock-absorbing device and a force distributing protector shield elements of each pair being mounted on the left and the right side of the vehicle said protector assembly, installed to protect each member of the outermost pair of passenger support mechanisms, on each of the left and right sides of the vehicle, and locked to the fixed body members of the vehicle to be oriented parallel to the sides of the passenger support mechanisms and adjoining said internal airbags when in the operating position and positioned so as to not interfere with egress and ingress when said passenger support mechanisms are in the extended position.

26. The vehicle structure of claim 1, wherein said passenger support mechanisms comprise anatomical micro-aircushions on one or more of the left and the right side of each of said passenger support mechanisms in positions that facilitate deployment to hold the passenger within said surround seats, said anatomical micro-aircushions utilizing sacrificial chambers on the sides of said passenger support mechanisms placed in positions such that they are compressed under side collisions.

27. A vehicle with a vehicle structure of claim 1, wherein said vehicle structure contains means to ensure that no elements of said passenger support mechanism with a plurality of elements, obstructs the passenger for egress and ingress when said vehicle structure is in the extended position.

28. A vehicle with a vehicle structure of claim 1, wherein said vehicle structure contains means to utilize the force of said impact on said vehicle having both magnitude and direction, to deploy support mechanisms to support predetermined anatomical elements of the passenger, said deployment effected in a direction unrelated to the direction of said impact force on said vehicle, said means thereby protecting said passenger.

29. The vehicle structure of claim 1, wherein said passenger support mechanisms each further comprise a multi-element adjustable seat that provide a means for support to the body of said passenger.

30. The vehicle structure of claim 29, further comprising a removeable and lockable safety harness that is mounted with safety harness supports to said multi-element adjustable seat to deploy a surface that will protect and support predetermined parts of the human body when the vehicle sustains rapid changes in velocity, and wherein said safety harness supports are removable and lockable on at least one support point and pivotally supported on at least one support point to allow passenger to mount and dismount said multi-element adjustable seat.

31. The vehicle structure of claim 30, wherein said multi-element adjustable seat includes an adjustable section near the head and neck which supports said pivotally mounted safety harness supports, thereby allowing said safety harness to be released at the removable and lockable safety harness supports, to swing on said pivotally mounted safety harness supports, up and over the head of the passenger to allow the passenger access to said multi-element contoured seat.

32. A vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 30, further comprising a passive air cushion system for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a lateral impact to said vehicle by an impacting object comprising:

a) at least one sacrificial chamber located laterally beside said multi-element adjustable seat, such that said impact from impacting object, will compress said sacrificial chamber, said sacrificial chamber being filled with a compressible fluid;

b) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

c) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations on either side of the head and neck, and supported by at least one of the multi-element adjustable seat and the safety harness, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting the head and neck of said passenger.

33. A vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 29, further comprising a passive air cushion system for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a lateral impact to said vehicle by an impacting object comprising:

a) at least one sacrificial chamber located laterally beside said multi-element adjustable seat, such that said impact from impacting object, will compress said sacrificial chamber, said sacrificial chamber being filled with a compressible fluid;

b) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

c) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations on either side of the head and neck, and supported by the multi-element adjustable seat, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting the head and neck of said passenger.

34. A vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 30, further comprising a passive air cushion system for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a frontal impact to said vehicle by an impacting object comprising:

a) at least one sacrificial chamber located on said safety harness in positions that will support anatomical elements that comprise the lower abdomen in the event of a frontal collision, such that said impact from impacting object, will compress said sacrificial chamber, said sacrificial chamber being filled with a compressible fluid;

b) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

c) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations in the vicinity of, and in front of the head and neck, and supported by said safety harness, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting the head and neck of said passenger in a front impact.

35. The vehicle structure as in claim 30, wherein said safety harness comprises soft and elastic net structure supported by a frame to support anatomical elements comprising the head and neck.

36. The vehicle structure as in claim 29, further comprising a means for providing front impact protection in a vehicle comprising:

providing a flexible and soft safety harness in front of and in close proximity to a large part of a passenger'"'"'s upper body, head and neck and the safety harness anchored to the vehicle;

at the time of an impact, decelerating the mass of the passenger with said safety harness by providing a resistive force spread over a large part of the upper body, head and neck of the passenger, said resistive force at different parts of the body providing a mechanism for redeploying surfaces of the flexible soft harness;

thereby passively decelerating the body, head and neck of the passenger at predetermined maximum rates in a frontal impact.

37. A vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 29, further comprising a passive air cushion system for protecting said passenger in said passenger support mechanism, during a lateral impact to said vehicle by an impacting object comprising:

d) at least one sacrificial chamber located laterally beside said multi-element adjustable seat, such that said impact from impacting object, will compress said sacrificial chamber, said sacrificial chamber being filled with a compressible fluid;

e) one or more fluid paths with flow control mechanisms, that are connected to said sacrificial chamber, and filled with said compressible fluid, such that under impact to the sacrificial chamber, said fluid paths may conduct a predetermined controlled volume of said compressible fluid out of said sacrificial chamber to predetermined locations;

f) one or more micro-air cushions placed in locations in the vicinity of the human body on either side of the torso, and supported by the multi-element adjustable seat, said micro-air cushions being connected to one or more of said fluid paths, thereby receiving predetermined contolled volumes of said compressible fluid from said fluid paths at and immediately following said impact;

thereby said sacrificial chamber inflating said micro-air cushions and protecting and holding the torso of said passenger.

38. A vehicle structure in a vehicle, of claim 29, further comprising micro air cushions mounted on said passenger support mechanism in the vicinity of high priority anatomical regions of said passenger, while said passenger support mechanism is in the operating position of said vehicle structure, thereby said micro air cushions providing protection to said passenger on impact of impacting object on said vehicle, by holding and protecting said high priority anatomical regions of said passenger relative to said passenger support mechanism for a predetermined period of time following impact.

39. A vehicle with a vehicle structure of claim 1, wherein said vehicle structure contains means to utilize the force of said impact on said vehicle having both magnitude and direction, to deploy support mechanisms to hold predetermined anatomical elements of the passenger, said deployment effected in a direction unrelated to the direction of said impact force on said vehicle, said means thereby protecting said passenger.

40. The vehicle structure of claim 1, wherein said passenger support mechanisms have airconditioning micro-ducts on the surfaces that are in the vicinity of passengers, thereby enhancing the comfort of passengers.

4. The structure as in 3, further comprising an anchor bracket for each safety beam upper element, attached to the fixed body members near the side of the vehicle and shaped such that it will contact and support the safety beam upper element if slightly deflected upwards at its end.

41. In a vehicle having a vehicle structure comprising a right and a left side an independantly ejectable mechanism for each of a plurality of passenger support mechanisms, said independently ejectable mechanisms comprising an operating position and an extended position, and each of said passenger support mechanisms comprising at least one of a left support multi-element and a right support multi-element for lateral support of a passenger when positioned in said passenger support mechanism, when said independently ejectable mechanism is in the operating position, wherein said independently ejectable mechanisms for the passenger support mechanisms on the left side of the vehicle are slidably mounted indirectly to fixed body members on the left side of said vehicle to allow said passenger support mechanisms on the left side of the vehicle to eject by sliding along a lateral axis to a position substantially outside but adjoining the vehicle on the left side thereby allowing said passengers that ride on said passenger support mechanisms on the left side of said vehicle to mount and dismount from the left side of the vehicle by ejecting said independently ejectable mechanisms and said independently ejectable mechanisms for the passenger support mechanisms on the right side of the vehicle are slidably mounted indirectly to fixed body members on the right side of said vehicle to allow said passenger support mechanisms on the right side of the vehicle to eject by sliding along a lateral axis to a position substantially outside but adjoining the vehicle on the right side, thereby allowing said passengers that ride on said passenger support mechanisms on the right side of said vehicle to mount and dismount from the right side of the vehicle by ejecting said independently ejectable mechanisms.

42. The vehicle structure of claim 41, wherein said passenger support mechanisms each further comprise a multi-element adjustable seat that provide a means for support to the body of said passenger and a removeable and lockable safety harness that is mounted with safety harness supports to said multi-element adjustable seat each of said safety harness supports being mounted on said multi-element adjustable seat on a corresponding support point, to deploy a surface that will protect and support predetermined parts of the human body when the vehicle sustains rapid changes in velocity, and wherein at least one of said safety harness supports are removable and lockable on its corresponding support point, and wherein at least one of said safety harness supports are pivotally supported on its corresponding support point to allow passenger to mount and dismount said multi-element adjustable seat.

43. The vehicle structure of claim 42, wherein said safety harness supports micro air cushions that are located to support key anatomical areas and which are actively deployed on the detection of an impact.

44. The vehicle structure as in claim 42, wherein the multi-element adjustable seat further comprises one or both of a pair of arm rests and a pair of side bolsters, each of said pairs comprising two members, said arm rests and side bolsters comprising mounts for said safety harness, wherein said mounts provide torsional resistance to rotational movement of and a pivotal axis for such rotational movement of said surface of said safety harness, thereby providing said surface with controlled reactive force on the body of the passenger in the event of a frontal collision.

45. The vehicle structure of claim 41, wherein said passenger support mechanism comprises a multi-element adjustable seat that includes an adjustable section near the head and neck which supports at least one pivotally mounted safety harness support, for allowing a safety harness attached to the safety harness support, to swing on said at least one pivotally mounted safety harness support, said swing of said safety harness following release of said safety harness from a removable and lockable safety harness support, attached to said safety harness, and said swing of said safety harness proceeding up and over the head of the passenger to allow the passenger access to said multi-element contoured seat.

46. The vehicle structure as in claim 45, wherein said safety harness comprises soft and elastic net structure supported by a frame to support anatomical elements comprising the head and neck.

47. The vehicle structure of claim 41, further providing a means to utilize gravitational forces to drive in the required direction, said slidably attached passenger support mechanisms, comprising:

a) pairs of safety beam lower elements, a member of each pair on each of the left and right side of the vehicle, each member comprising a sliding surface, said safety beam lower elements being pivotally mounted on the fixed body members of the vehicle such that said pivotally mounted safety beam lower elements can move to and be locked into one of at least two possible inclinations from the center of the vehicle, wherein said sliding surface on each of said pivotally mounted lower primary slides assumes a predetermined inclination to facilitate sliding of slidably attached passenger support mechanisms, in the required direction;

b) energy storing devices including first spring mechanisms indirectly attached to each of said ejectable passenger support mechanisms, that partially convert and store the potential energy of the passengers and said ejectable passenger support mechanisms moving under gravity;

c) passenger operable switching devices installed on both the inside and the outside of each of the sides of the vehicle immediately adjoining the outermost passenger support mechanisms on either side of said vehicle in positions such that said passenger operable switching devicess on the inside of each of said sides of vehicle is acessible to passengers in the outermost passenger support mechanisms and said passenger operable switching devices on the outside of said sides of vehicle are accessible to entering passengers outside the vehicle;

d) logic devices that utilize the presence of the weight of the passengers in each of said passenger support mechanisms, the status of passenger operable switching devices inside and outside the vehicle and the position of said ejectable passenger support mechanisms, to operate locking devices that lock said primary slide to a range of said predetermined inclinations and lock the passenger support mechanisms and attached devices when in the operating position, wherein said range of predetermined inclinations of the primary slide are such that at either end of said range, compressive forces at the outer end of said primary slides will be transferred to the fixed members of the vehicle along a path entirely within the primary slide, to ensure compressive strength in any inclination of the primary slides within said range of inclinations;

e) Second spring mountings attached at one end to the fixed body members and at the other end to said pivotally mounted primary slides such that the primary slides are supported while said primary slides are in the operating position and maintained by said spring mountings at the highest inclinations upwards from the center of the vehicle possible within the range of inclinations allowable in the operating position, thereby providing a shock absorption function for the passengers in the vehicle relative to the fixed body members and the surface traversed by the vehicle.

48. The vehicle structure of claim 41, further comprising a protective skin, and a retractable and detachable canopy, wherein said protective skin is attached to the outer ends of each of the left and the right safety beam upper elements, such that under normal operating conditions of the vehicle, said protection skin is approximately vertical, thereby protecting the passenger and the inside of the vehicle, and when the independantly ejectable mechanism is ejected, remains vertical at the outside end of the safety beam upper element, and wherein the retractable detachable canopy, is mounted within the roof of the vehicle and may be attached to the top end of the protective skin such that when the independantly ejectable mechanism is ejected, the retractable and detachable canopy is extended over the passenger support mechanisms thereby temorarily protecting the passenger support mechanisms while the independantly ejectable mechanism is in an extended position.

49. The vehicle structure as in claim 41, further comprising a multi-element adjustable seat which includes an adjustable section near the head and neck which supports a plurality of anatomical micro-airbags that surround the back and sides of the head and neck, and wherein a sacrificial chamber is located next to said multi-element adjustable seat in a position that will be compressed in a side or lateral impact on the vehicle, thereby inflating said anatomical micro-airbags on impact to protect and support the head and neck under lateral or side impact.

50. A method for providing side impact protection for passengers in a vehicle having an inertial mass, comprising:

detecting the severity and timing of an impending impact;

establishing a measured deceleration zone;

deploying shock absorbing devices to extend across said deceleration zone concurrently displacing passengers to the further end of the deceleration zone;

protecting the passengers with said shock absorbing devices while resisting the forces caused by the impact, with substantially massive components of said vehicle by allowing the passengers to move away from the impact at a predetermined measured rate along a predetermined path lateral to the vehicle;

thereby protecting said passengers from crushing and impact injuries resulting from the collision;

providing roll over deterrence by broadening the horizontal spread of the vehicle.