Modular Transportation Seating Assembly for Easier Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transportation seating systems are complex, expensive, and lack modularity and safety features, making them difficult to install and maintain in public transportation vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A modular seating system with a hingedly interconnected frame assembly, featuring a seat beam and beam support with a unique connector system that allows for easy assembly, disassembly, and precise horizontal installation, along with a one-piece molded seat design that includes a grab rail and a seat tie to prevent object entrapment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If traditional transportation seating systems are used, then seating functionality is provided, but the systems are complex, expensive, and difficult to install and maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The seating system is divided into modular components including frame assemblies with seat beams, beam supports with connectors, and separate seat shells. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently, simplified assembly procedures, and enabled easy maintenance by replacing only damaged modules rather than entire seating systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame assemblies and connectors are designed with universal interfaces that can accommodate different seat configurations and vehicle types. The beam support connectors can interconnect with seat beams in multiple orientations, and the system can be adapted to various transportation vehicles, reducing the need for custom-designed seating systems for each application.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional seating systems are used, then seating is provided, but they lack modularity making them difficult to ship and assemble
Solution Approach 1:
The seating system is divided into modular components including frame assemblies with seat beams, beam supports with connectors, and separate seat shells. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently, simplified assembly procedures, and enabled easy maintenance by replacing only damaged modules rather than entire seating systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat shells are designed to nest within or alongside frame assemblies during storage and shipping. The modular components can be compactly arranged with smaller parts nested within larger structural elements, maximizing space utilization in shipping containers and reducing transportation costs while maintaining component integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional seating systems are used, then seating functionality is provided, but they are not cost-effective
Solution Approach 1:
The seating system is divided into modular components including frame assemblies with seat beams, beam supports with connectors, and separate seat shells. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently, simplified assembly procedures, and enabled easy maintenance by replacing only damaged modules rather than entire seating systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design enables individual components such as seat shells or connectors to be replaced independently when damaged or worn. This selective replacement strategy reduces maintenance costs by recovering and reusing undamaged components while only replacing the specific parts that need attention, improving cost-effectiveness without compromising overall system reliability.
4Reliability
If traditional seating systems are used, then seating is provided, but they lack safety features
Solution Approach 1:
The seat belts are extracted as separate safety components that can be independently installed and secured to the frame assemblies. This extraction allows the safety features to be added without fundamentally redesigning the entire seating structure, maintaining relatively simple system architecture while incorporating essential safety functionality through dedicated restraint systems.
Data Source
AI summary
The specification discloses a modular transportation seating assembly that includes a support frame and seats mounted on the frame. The frame includes a seat beam and a cantilever beam. The cantilever beam includes a body and a connector inserted into the body and held together by compressive force. The body has an end defining a plurality of receivers, and the connector includes a plurality of lugs each received within one of said receivers. The seat beam includes a body, a tee nut slidably received within the body, a second connector outside the body, and a fastener intersecuring the two connectors to retain them in position along the length of the body. A single fastener intersecures the connectors on the seat beam and the cantilever beam. The seat includes a flange hooked about the back edge of the seat beam and one or more fasteners connecting the seat to the forward edge of the seat beam. The backs of adjacent seats define a vee, and a seat tie fills the lower portion of the vee to prevent objects from accidentally catching in the vee. The seats are molded and can include an integrally molded grab rail.