Rear-Door Moving Seat Access for Third-Row Vehicle Ingress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles with a third row of seating are less accessible due to the need for passengers to navigate narrow spaces within the cabin to access the third row from side doors, making ingress and egress cumbersome and less safe.
Innovation Solution
An automated ingress and egress system that includes a rear back door, a frame coupled to the seat and vehicle floor, and an electronic control unit (ECU) to control the door and frame, allowing seats to move in and out of the cabin through the rear door, rotate, and adjust height for improved accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a third row of seating is added to the vehicle, then the vehicle provides greater utility, but the third row becomes less accessible to users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the third row of seats movable rather than fixed. The seats can be automatically repositioned between a stowed position (within the cabin) and an extended position (outside the cabin through the rear door), allowing the system to adapt between maximizing cabin space and maximizing accessibility as needed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the rear door as an intermediary element that facilitates seat access. Instead of requiring passengers to navigate through narrow interior passageways, the seats are moved directly through the rear door opening, which serves as a mediator between the cabin interior and exterior access points
2Device complexity
If passengers manually navigate through narrow spaces to access the third row, then no additional mechanism is needed, but ingress and egress become difficult especially for the elderly and disabled
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies self-service by automatically moving the seats to the appropriate position based on detected passenger needs. Sensors detect when passengers approach the vehicle, and the system autonomously extends or retracts the seats without requiring manual intervention from passengers to adjust seat positions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical action of passengers navigating through narrow spaces with an automated mechanical system. Motors and actuators move the seats automatically, substituting the need for passengers to physically maneuver through confined interior areas
3Use of energy by moving object
If seats are moved manually by passengers, then no power is required, but the process is time-consuming and inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by moving the seats to the extended position before passengers actually need to enter. Sensors detect approaching passengers and trigger automatic seat extension in advance, so that when passengers arrive, the seats are already in the optimal position for quick and easy access
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for an automated ingress and egress system. The system may include a rear back door of a vehicle. The system may further include a seat and a frame coupled to the seat and a floor of the vehicle. The frame may move the seat from inside a cabin of the vehicle to outside the cabin through the rear back door. The system may further include an electronic control unit (ECU) electrically connected to the rear back door and the frame. The ECU may control the rear back door to open the rear back door, control the frame to move the seat from inside the cabin to outside the cabin through the rear back door, control the frame to move the seat from outside the cabin to inside the cabin through the rear back door, and control the rear back door to close the rear back door.