Seat Backrest Stiffening Unit for Public Transport Sliding Door Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles for public transport, the placement of seats near sliding doors is limited due to the risk of the seat backrests interfering with or damaging the sliding door upon deflection, which restricts effective space utilization and seating capacity.
Innovation Solution
A stiffening unit is connected to the backrest of the seat to reduce its deflectability, allowing the seat to be placed closer to the sliding door without risking damage, thereby enabling more efficient space use and additional seating by stabilizing the backrest relative to other vehicle elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the seat backrest is positioned close to the sliding door to maximize space utilization, then the seating capacity and space efficiency are improved, but the risk of the backrest deflecting and damaging the sliding door increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffening unit is pre-installed on the seat backrest before the seat is positioned near the sliding door. This preliminary reinforcement prevents the backrest from deflecting during operation, allowing the seat to be safely placed closer to the sliding door without compromising door integrity or seating capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening unit comprises a composite structure with a longitudinal reinforcement element and transverse reinforcement elements that work together. This composite design provides enhanced rigidity to the backrest, enabling it to resist deflection forces while maintaining the ability to be positioned close to the sliding door for optimal space utilization
2Reliability
If the seat backrest is made more rigid to prevent damage to the sliding door, then the sliding door protection is improved, but the comfort and flexibility of the seat for passengers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffening unit applies reinforcement only to specific critical areas of the backrest structure where deflection occurs, rather than making the entire backrest rigid. The longitudinal and transverse reinforcement elements target the structural weak points, providing necessary support for sliding door protection while preserving overall backrest flexibility and passenger comfort
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffening unit is divided into separate functional components: a longitudinal reinforcement element that provides primary structural support and transverse reinforcement elements that add localized stiffness. This segmented approach allows the backrest to maintain flexibility in non-critical areas while being sufficiently rigid to protect the sliding door
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a public transport vehicle (2, 64), having a passenger compartment (4); a partition (10) by means of which the passenger compartment (4) is divided into a first passenger-compartment subregion (12) and a second passenger-compartment subregion (14) and which has a passage opening (16); a sliding door (18) for opening up and closing the passage opening (16); and a first seat (24), the backrest (36) of which is at least partially arranged within a region (38) in the vicinity of the sliding door (18). In order to use the space of the passenger compartment (4) effectively, it is proposed that the vehicle (2, 64) has a reinforcing unit (44, 68) which is connected to the backrest (36) of the first seat (24) for reinforcing the backrest (36) of the first seat (24).