Bus seats designs include a wide variety of bus seats belt systems to help safely restrain an occupant in the event of a sudden stop or accident. The bus seats and restraint system should address a variety of design factors such as passenger comfort, ease of use, and safety during a sudden deceleration or impact. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) have been developed to help minimize the possibility of the failure of bus seats and restraint designs by the forces acting on them as a result of a vehicle impact. The weight of the bus seatss and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle are also concerns of modem vehicle designs. Bus seats and restraint assemblies should be relatively compact and easily integrated into a variety of cabin dimensions and floor and wall construction so that the bus seats and restraint assembly can be installed in a variety of vehicles. Practical considerations such as cost and serviceability are also a part of the design criteria. Successful bus seats designs address each of these factors.
Many conventional bus bus seatss anchor the bus seats belts directly to the floor or walls of the vehicle. These belt assemblies reduce the loads exerted on the bus seats and its frame so that the bus seats can remain relatively light in weight. Unfortunately, these nonintegrated bus seats and restraint designs can be impractical for adjustable bus seatss that comfortably accommodate the passenger. Adjustably mounted bus seatss can slide forward and back and can include a reclining bus seats back that allows the bus seats to comfortably accommodate a variety of passengers. Adjustable bus seatss also allow each passenger to periodically adjust the bus seats to shift their body position to reduce fatigue. Bus seats belt assemblies anchored to the floor or wall of the vehicle are not readily adapted for use with these types of bus seatss. Reclining bus seatss are particularly problematic because lengthening or shortening the shoulder belt will not readily compensate for the fixed anchor point of the belt relative to the various recline positions of the bus seats. Bus seatss with separate restraint systems are also more difficult to incorporate into the cabins of a wide variety of vehicle types. The floor and wall structures of the vehicle may not accommodate the desired anchor points for the lap and shoulder belts.
Some bus seats designs anchor the lap and shoulder belt to the bus seats frame. This typically involves securing or routing the shoulder belt over the upper end of the bus seats back. While these bus seats and bus seats belt systems are more readily adapted for adjustable bus seatss with slide rails and reclining bus seats backs, the frame of the bus seats must be robustly designed to withstand the loads imparted on the bus bus seatss by the momentum of the bus seats and its occupant during a rapid deceleration or accident. For example, FMVSS 571.207 entitled Bus seatsing Systems and 571.210 entitled Bus seats Belt Assembly Anchorages require a bus seats and bus seats belt assembly to withstand forces in excess of 3,000 pounds. Conventional lightweight recline mechanisms are not capable of withstanding these loads. Reclining bus seatss and recline mechanism designs that meet these safety standards are usually bulky and prohibitively expensive because they require large, heavy components, or components made of exotic materials.
The bus seats and restraint system must also be comfortable and easy to use in order to be well received by the industry. The bus seats frame and restraint system should not inhibit or render it awkward or uncomfortable to move into or out of the bus seats. The front of the bus seats cushion should be free of rigid obstructions, particularly for truck bus seats designs. Truck bus seatss are typically mounted on and elevated by a pedestal so that the legs of the occupant tend to press against the front of the bus seats cushion. In addition, the shoulder belt should not chafe the neck of the occupant, or cinch across the upper torso of the occupant.
One advantage of the present bus seats invention is its combined comfort and strength. The bus seats can recline for comfort during normal operation, yet is strong enough to maintain its integrity during a sudden forward deceleration or accident. The integrated restraint assembly has a continuous lap and shoulder belt that is firmly secured to the bus seats frame to help safely restrain the occupant. Each side of the frame assembly includes one set of cooperating struts. These two sets of struts prevent the forward rotation of the bus seats back should the lock assembly of the recline mechanism fail during a front-end collision. The struts provide added rigidity to the frame and stop the forward rotation of the back frame beyond its upright position. Tests indicate that the present bus seats frame and belt assembly maintains its integrity when loads or forces of over 3,900 pounds are imparted on the back frame. Accordingly, the present bus seats frame and restraint assembly should meet or exceeds current safety standards.
Another advantage of the present bus seats frame and belt assembly is its lightweight construction and economical materials. The bus seats frame components are made of strong, durable steel that is readily available and manufactured at relatively low cost. The bus seats frame and its struts are formed by hollow tubular components reinforced by stiffening plates to produce a compact and lightweight bus seats frame. The design also incorporates a conventional lightweight recline and locking mechanism. The struts allow the lock mechanism of the recline assembly to fail during a simulated 20G deceleration, such as those required by the FMVSS tests. Thus, the present invention is able to use a lightweight bus seats frame assembly with a conventional lightweight recline and lock mechanism to achieve a fuel efficient bus seats frame and restraint assembly while meeting FMVSS requirements.
A further advantage of the present bus seats frame and belt assembly is its simplicity and compact design. The two sets of triangular shaped struts allow the bus seats design to maintain standard height and width dimensions so that the bus seats will easily fit into the cabin of most commercial trucks. The bus seats is equipped with a conventional recline and lock mechanism so these components do not pose any unusual installation problems. The shoulder belt is looped through a D-ring toward the top of the bus seats back frame, and is received and anchored by a conventional lightweight retractor at the rear of the bus seats frame. Bulky and complicated frame assemblies and recline and locking mechanisms are avoided. The result is a compact bus seats frame and restraint assembly with an attractive appearance that is easily incorporated into the relatively tight space requirements of a wide variety of vehicles.
A still further advantage of the present bus seats and restraint assembly is its comfort, easy of use and attractive appearance. The bus seats frame and restraint system is easily negotiated by an occupant when he or she enters or exits the bus seats. The struts extend less than two inches above the bus seats frame and four inches forward from the back frame platforms upon which the bus seats cushion and back cushions are placed. The bus seats and back cushions extend beyond all or a majority of the struts so they do not detract from the bus seatss appearance. The small distance the struts extend from the bus seats and back platforms do not obstruct the person from entering or exiting the bus seats. The triangular shaped struts taper at an angle of about 10 degrees toward the front end of the bus seats frame and top end of the back frame. The front of the bus seats frame is free of obstructions. The tapered bus seats struts do not tend to interfere with or inconvenience people when they rest on and compress the side of the bus seats cushion as they enter or exit the bus seats. The tapered back struts do not interfere or inconvenience the arm movements of people when they are sitting in the bus seats. In addition the shoulder belt is oriented so that it will not chafe the neck of the occupant or cinch across the upper torso of the occupant.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")