Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Body shell
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2003-04-15
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Body shell
C296S182100, C296S065110, C296S068100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06547315
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO A MICRO FICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention defines a means to incorporate in passenger motor vehicles, unique safety arrangements particularly for lateral or side impacts that provide energy absorption by the mass of the vehicle but decouple the passenger from the impact acceleration and deceleration that is provided by the mass of the vehicle, thereby protecting the passengers during such collisions. Moreover, the same arrangement synergistically provides utility in access, comfort and further safety in the operating position for passengers and the driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past safety of passengers was not always the priority in passenger vehicle design. In the evolution of motor vehicle design the structure moved from a chassis that held together the mechanical components of the vehicle—a structure that was then attached to a passenger compartment or to passenger seats. The design of the structure was to hold together the working components of the vehicle—a critical aspect at the time. Thereafter in more recent times right up to the present, Exo-skeletal designs have been the dominant paradigm. Here rigid shells were constructed to hold both the mechanical components and the passengers in fixed positions. However such fixed shell structures have had limited success in protecting passengers and drivers when there are lateral collisions as passengers undergo the same impact related accelerations and decelerations as the remaining parts of the vehicle, as space limitations don't allow for “crumple zones” as in the case of impact protection for head on collisions. Passengers are particularly vulnerable to side impacts as they cannot take preemptive measures as with head-on collisions where there is speed control and directional control that is available. As vehicle speeds have increased substantially in the last several decades, these safety considerations for passengers have become critical and urgent. Vehicle designers—particularly automobile designers—have risen admirably to the task by incorporating myriads of devices and additions within the rigid shell paradigm to minimize risk in the event of collisions. Such devices include restraints such as seat belts and certain types of protective air bags. However, there are limits within the rigid shell paradigm for two reasons: First, the energy of impact cannot be easily diverted away from passengers into the remaining mass of the vehicle on impact. Second, the rigid shell needs to support high shear stresses on lateral impact and related compressive loads to the passenger compartment of the vehicle a factor that can only be addressed with greater mass of the vehicle that will impact its performance.
Another area of interest in passenger vehicles is to provide, in synergy with the above contributions, utility and comfort of passengers and drivers and further synergistic head-on collision protection.
There are four areas of Background art that are related to the present invention. These are: vehicles with sliding seats, safety arrangements addressing lateral impacts on passenger vehicles, air bags and other shock absorbing devices, and miscellaneous safety devices for frontal impacts. None of the inventions in these areas individually or collectively state or imply any aspects of the present invention. Moreover, none of this Background art even addresses the issue of energy transfer away from the passengers to the mass of the vehicle on impact and concurrently provide a mechanism for easy access to the vehicle with ejector seats. This is despite the urgent need in the car industry for such safety and utility. Moreover the novelty of the present invention is underscored as it provides solutions hitherto unidentified in a very large and competitive industry that is acutely aware of these needs and is constantly in search of new solutions to them.
Sloan U.S. Pat. No. 3,071,407 (1963) describes a single rear bench seat (lines 4-45)—full length (C1-L55), that can slide out of either side of the vehicle. It describes a door structure that may be attached to the seat and slide across and through the passenger compartment of the vehicle as the seat slides out. This invention does not state or imply any safety considerations in its structure, moreover such a bench seat on slides, in the event of a lateral collision on the doors will focus the impact energy on the passengers and these passengers will be the principal casualties as the mass of the vehicle slides away little harmed. This will be the case even in the embodiment described where the doors are fixed to the seat and slides through the passenger compartment with the seat. Moreover, it cannot be used in a front seat even for its limited functionality with doors fixed to the seat as driving instrumentation (steering wheel etc) will not allow a door to slide through the compartment. Finally it does not provide any comfort features for passengers over and above a bench seat. Mach U.S. Pat. No. 2,753,947 (1956) describes a sliding bench seat for the access of the engine of the vehicle it does not address the issue of safety of passengers or access utility. It is expected to perform similarly to Sloan in an impact on the doors or around the side profile of the passengers in the vehicle. Solomon U.S. Pat. No. 2,758,872 (1953) provides a sliding bench seat that goes through the doorway and for the same reasons as Sloan does not provide protection in side impacts or provide any comfort features over and above a bench seat. Cyphert U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,277 (1976) describes a seat mounted on a sliding platform that has a door at the end and protective walls around it. The arrangement being designed for the utility of the operator to reach points away from the body of the vehicle without dismounting the vehicle. This invention like Sloan does not state or imply any safety considerations in its use. Moreover there is no expressed or implied reference to the utility of mounting and dismounting the vehicle or for the comfort of the operator or the passengers except for the ability for the platform to move out to give the operator greater reach away from the vehicle body. Rees U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,300 (1993) describes internal design structure for slide arrangements that allow forward and backward movement of the passenger seats in vehicles. This like many other inventions prior to it relate to the structure of the slides to adjust the position of the seats for passenger comfort in the direction of motion of the vehicle.
All the above items of background art relate to sliding seats. None of the above background art related to sliding seats have stated or implied safety considerations. Moreover, none of them provide utility for mounting and dismounting a vehicle except for a bench seat that slides out on either side of the vehicle, or provide comfort features except for seating arrangement on a bench seat and in one of the above—the lateral movement for convenience of the operator.
Maier U.S. Pat. No. 2,148,950 (1939) provides a laterally braced passenger compartment that braces a rigid shell body of a vehicle. Barenyi U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,222 (1955) provides a stiffening for the bottom plate of a vehicle body. Catlin U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,428 (1997) provides a design for a rigid shell structure. Guertler U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,266 (1995) uses stiffening arrangements for the floor of the vehicle as a component of a rigid shell vehicle body. Masuda U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,968 (1968) describes a strengthened rigid shell for the passenger compartment Oliver U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,172 (1985) describes a three part rigid shell structure for motor vehicles with the central section for passengers Sinnhuber U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,509 (1991) describes an arrangement that transfers impact energy from lateral impacts to the rigid body of the vehicle but does so through rigid members that include elements in the seats. The seats have limited late
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