Rotatable Bus Seat Assembly for ADA Wheelchair Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bus seating arrangements that prioritize wheelchair accessibility, such as laterally facing seats and barriers, reduce overall seating capacity, increase operational costs, and compromise passenger safety and aesthetics.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable seat assembly that can be mounted in vehicles, allowing seats to pivot from a forward-facing position to a lateral stowed position, reducing floor space and enabling greater flexibility and accessibility for wheelchairs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If laterally facing seats and fixed barriers are used to provide wheelchair accessibility, then ADA compliance is achieved, but seating capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic seating arrangements where seats can be rotated between forward-facing and lateral-facing orientations. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the same physical space to serve multiple functions: providing wheelchair accessibility when needed while maintaining forward-facing seating for general passenger use, thereby resolving the contradiction between ADA compliance and seating capacity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If laterally facing seats are used to accommodate wheelchairs, then accessibility is improved, but passenger safety is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The seating system allows dynamic reconfiguration where seats can be rotated to lateral-facing positions to accommodate wheelchairs when needed, but return to forward-facing positions for normal operation to maintain passenger safety. This dynamic capability enables the system to adapt to different operational requirements without permanently compromising safety.
3Adaptability or versatility
If fixed barriers are installed across the bus to support wheelchairs, then wheelchair support is provided, but installation complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of installing fixed barriers, the patent utilizes the existing forward-facing seats that can be dynamically rotated to lateral-facing positions. This eliminates the need for additional fixed barrier structures, reducing installation complexity and costs while still providing adequate support and accessibility for wheelchairs when needed.
4Adaptability or versatility
If forward-facing seats are replaced with lateral-facing seats, then wheelchair accessibility is improved, but aesthetic uniformity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent maintains aesthetic uniformity by keeping all seats in the forward-facing configuration during normal operation, creating a uniform and attractive interior appearance. When wheelchair accessibility is needed, individual seats can be dynamically rotated to lateral-facing positions, allowing accessibility without permanently disrupting the aesthetic uniformity of the bus interior.
Data Source
AI summary
A seat assembly is provided which is mountable to a vehicle to be rotatable from a forward facing passenger use position to a lateral stowed position which requires less vehicular floor space. That seat assembly can be installed adjacent to a second forward facing seat assembly having hinged seat bottom structure which provides a wheelchair backstop/support when the second seat assembly is not occupied by any passenger. The first and second seating assembly can be mounted in a public transportation bus within the ADA area of the bus, either as a floorplan module or as separate components. The first seating assembly alone or in combination with the second seating assembly can be mounted in other vehicles, such as Class B motorhomes (as defined by the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association), to provide greater versatility and/or wheelchair accommodation. The aesthetic design is established to support passenger general approval of the overall floorplan orientation.