AU2009100751A4 - Transit vehicle - Google Patents

Transit vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
AU2009100751A4
AU2009100751A4 AU2009100751A AU2009100751A AU2009100751A4 AU 2009100751 A4 AU2009100751 A4 AU 2009100751A4 AU 2009100751 A AU2009100751 A AU 2009100751A AU 2009100751 A AU2009100751 A AU 2009100751A AU 2009100751 A4 AU2009100751 A4 AU 2009100751A4
Authority
AU
Australia
Prior art keywords
vehicle
passenger compartment
rear passenger
foot well
installing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
AU2009100751A
Inventor
Edouard Atichian
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
P&o Automotive & General Stevedoring Pty Ltd
Original Assignee
P&o Automotive & General Stevedoring Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by P&o Automotive & General Stevedoring Pty Ltd filed Critical P&o Automotive & General Stevedoring Pty Ltd
Priority to AU2009100751A priority Critical patent/AU2009100751A4/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of AU2009100751A4 publication Critical patent/AU2009100751A4/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60NSEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60N2/00Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
    • B60N2/02Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable
    • B60N2/20Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable the back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60JWINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES
    • B60J5/00Doors
    • B60J5/10Doors arranged at the vehicle rear
    • B60J5/101Doors arranged at the vehicle rear for non-load transporting vehicles, i.e. family cars including vans
    • B60J5/105Doors arranged at the vehicle rear for non-load transporting vehicles, i.e. family cars including vans comprising door or part of door being pivotable about vertical axis
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60NSEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60N2/00Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
    • B60N2/005Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles, e.g. dismountable auxiliary seats
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62DMOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
    • B62D25/00Superstructure or monocoque structure sub-units; Parts or details thereof not otherwise provided for
    • B62D25/20Floors or bottom sub-units
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B62LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
    • B62DMOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
    • B62D31/00Superstructures for passenger vehicles
    • B62D31/02Superstructures for passenger vehicles for carrying large numbers of passengers, e.g. omnibus
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60GVEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2204/00Indexing codes related to suspensions per se or to auxiliary parts
    • B60G2204/10Mounting of suspension elements
    • B60G2204/12Mounting of springs or dampers
    • B60G2204/126Mounting of pneumatic springs
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60GVEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2300/00Indexing codes relating to the type of vehicle
    • B60G2300/14Buses
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60GVEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS
    • B60G2800/00Indexing codes relating to the type of movement or to the condition of the vehicle and to the end result to be achieved by the control action
    • B60G2800/20Stationary vehicle
    • B60G2800/202Stationary vehicle kneeling, e.g. for letting passengers on/off

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)
  • Vehicle Body Suspensions (AREA)

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 Innovation Patent Specification Title: Transit vehicle Applicant(s): P&O Automotive and General Stevedoring Pty Ltd Inventor(s): Edouard Atichian Agent: © COTTERS Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys The following is a full description of the invention which sets forth the best method known to the applicant of performing it. CoTPOO1 2 Transit vehicle Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transit vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates s to a transit vehicle for use carrying drivers during the loading and unloading of vehicles from cargo ships. Background of the Invention When loading or unloading new cars from cargo ships it is customary for a number of drivers 10 to each drive a vehicle into or out of the cargo ship to and from holding areas on the docks. The drivers are generally not permitted to walk into the ship because this activity would expose them to safety risks on account of the vehicles and conditions present. Furthermore, the distances are generally sufficiently far that walking becomes inefficient, and slows the loading or unloading operation. 15 In the instance of vehicle unloading for example, a number of drivers are generally driven into the ship in a transit vehicle, and each driver is dispatched from the transit vehicle to take control of one of the cars that requires unloading. 20 On account of the large number of cars that require unloading from a cargo ship, it is advantageous to transport a large number of drivers in each load. This reduces the total number of loads that are required, which in turn adds to the efficiency of the unloading/loading operation. 25 For a number of reasons, existing transit vehicles are generally not well adapted to the purpose of vehicle loading and unloading. One such problem is that the roof clearance within a typical cargo ship is relatively low, such that vehicles like vans are generally too high to enter. In contrast, smaller vehicles such as sedans and wagons generally only have a passenger capacity of 5 persons and in some instances up to 7 or 8. However, given that 30 the driver of the transit vehicle is not involved in the unloading operation, this means that only around 6 or 7 drivers are transported in each load.
3 On account of stringent operational health and safety requirements, it is important that the drivers are not exposed to any hazardous or dangerous working conditions. Accordingly, the transport method for unloading the cargo ships should not subject the drivers to any unnecessarily risky situations or conditions. 5 Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the above disadvantages, or to provide a useful alternative to existing transit vehicles. 10 Summary of the Invention In a first aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle having a rear passenger compartment having a sunken floor foot well; bench seats with back rests located in the rear passenger compartment on both sides 15 of the vehicle and above the foot well; an air actuated suspension system including a plurality of airbags; and a barn door providing access to the rear passenger compartment from the rear of the vehicle. 20 Preferably, the rear passenger compartment is accessible for emergency through at least one side of the vehicle through a sliding door, and a portion of one of the back rests adjacent to the sliding door when in a closed position is pivotable such that said portion of the back rest is downwardly pivotable to provide emergency access to or from the rear passenger compartment through the sliding door. 25 Preferably, the air actuated suspension system includes an automatic load levelling device. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of modifying a vehicle, the method including the following steps: 30 removing a portion of the floor from a rear compartment of the vehicle and installing a sunken floor foot well; installing bench seats with back rests in the rear passenger compartment on both sides of the vehicle and above the foot well; 4 cutting and lowering the roof to a total height of not more than 1600mm; removing the existing suspension system and installing an air actuated suspension system including a plurality of airbags; and removing the existing rear door and installing a barn door providing access to the rear 5 passenger compartment from the rear of the vehicle. Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of specific example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 10 Fig. 1 is a top view schematic showing a transit vehicle; Fig. 2 is a side view of the transit vehicle of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end view of the transit vehicle of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows a portion of the suspension system of the vehicle of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 shows the rear compartment of the vehicle of Fig. 1; and is Fig. 6 shows the underside of the foot well of the vehicle of Fig. 1. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments A transit vehicle 10 is disclosed. The vehicle 10 of the preferred embodiment is created by modifying a Kia Grand Carnival. However, it will be appreciated that any light passenger van 20 type vehicle may be modified in accordance with the invention. The vehicle 10 is designed for use within cargo ships having low roof clearances. As such, the roof 12 is cut and lowered to an overall height of 1620mm or less. 25 As depicted in Fig. 1, the vehicle 10 accommodates up to twelve passengers, including a driver and one front passenger in a front cabin 14 and ten more passengers in a rear passenger compartment 16. Prior to modification, the vehicle 10 provides access to the rear passenger 16 compartment by two sliding doors 18. However, the vehicle 10 is modified to include a barn door 20 located at the rear of the vehicle 10. The barn style door permits the 30 ten passengers to quickly board and unload from the vehicle 10. In order to provide adequate room for up to ten passengers in the rear compartment, the floor is lowered by installing a sunken foot well 22. The foot well is created by cutting out a 5 large portion of the floor out of the rear passenger compartment 16. The size of the foot well 22 when viewed from above is approximately 2200mm x 825mm. The foot well 22 is shown in Fig. 5, and it is also shown in isolation in Fig. 6. 5 The foot well 22 is a generally U shaped foot well fabricated from steel. As seen in Fig. 6, the underside of the foot well 22 is reinforced with a steel frame 24 fabricated from welded rectangular hollow section. The steel frame adds to the rigidity of the sunken foot well 22, and ensures that there is no adverse effect upon the structural integrity of the vehicle 10 chassis. The interior of the foot well 22 is covered with a hard wearing vinyl, which provides 10 a non slip, visually pleasing surface. As seen in Fig. 5, bench seats 26 are installed on each of the two sides of the foot well 22. The bench seats 26 also include a back support 28, and the seats 26 and back supports 28 are each padded with 80mm heavy padding. For safety reasons, lap seat belts are fitted to is each of the ten available seating positions in the rear passenger compartment 16. Each passenger in the rear compartment has around 390mm to 400mm of space. The original sliding doors 18 are generally not utilised for entry and exiting from the vehicle 10. However, the sliding doors 18 are retained as emergency exits. On each side of the 20 vehicle 10, in the rear passenger compartment, a portion 30 of the back support 28 which is located adjacent to the sliding door 18 opening is hinged, by hinge mechanisms 32. This allows a portion of the back support 28 to fold downwardly, away from the centre of the vehicle 10, providing ready access to the sliding doors 18 in the event of an emergency. The hinging mechanisms 32 of the back support 30 are selectively lockable, such that in normal 25 operation the back rest is uniformly rigid. The hinges are shown in Fig. 5. In addition to the modifications made to the floor well, the existing rear coil spring suspension is also removed. As a replacement to the original suspension, the vehicle is fitted with air bags 40, as shown in Fig. 4. The suspension system is constantly self 30 adjusting to maintain a constant roof height of 1620mm, by means of an automated load levelling device. The air bag suspension 40 provides superior ride comfort and enables the vehicle 10 to be operated closer to the ground and hence allows the vehicle 10 to enter into low clearance spaces of 1625mm. The airbag suspension 40 is operable by a high volume compressor and an accumulator. The air bag suspension system 40 provides automatic self 6 levelling, such that the vehicle 10 can automatically adjust to uneven passenger loading in the rear. This feature also prevents the vehicle 10 from becoming stuck inside the ship when all of the passengers alight. In contrast, existing suspension systems have a tendency to result in raising of the vehicle as the weight inside is reduced. 5 The level of softness or firmness of the air bag suspension 40 enables the suspension characteristics to be automatically varied as required depending on the operating conditions. For example, the suspension may be set low and soft when operated within the cargo ship, to minimise the required roof clearance. Alternately, when operated outside on the dock, or 10 on the roads at higher speeds, the suspension may be stiffened by inflating the air bag suspension 40. The overall height of the vehicle 10 is reduced by fitting low profile tyres to the existing rims. The effect being a reduction in the overall external diameter of the wheel, and hence is reducing the height of the vehicle 10. The odometer is adjusted to compensate for the new diameter. The under chassis clearance must be sufficient to enable the vehicle to be driven up or down a ramp having an incline angle of at least 100. On the underside of the cabin at the rear, a 20 skid plate is provided to reduce the risk of structural damage to the vehicle in the event that the tail end of the vehicle bottoms out when commencing a ramp. To increase the awareness of dock workers and other people in the vicinity of the vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 is fitted with flashing headlights and taillights. A rotating amber light is also 25 fitted. The vehicle 10 ignition system may be operable with a swipe card. This enables the vehicle 10 operator to track which drivers have been driving the vehicle, which may be important in the event of an accident or other such event, as the vehicle 10 may provide conclusive 30 records of driver history and times etc. The vehicle may also include a speed control device, to limit the maximum speed. The vehicle 10 may also be provided with a shock recorder system. The shock recorder system also provides access to information on the way the vehicle has been operated. This 7 may also provide valuable information in the event that an accident or other unforeseen event occurs. Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be s appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims (5)

1. A vehicle having a rear passenger compartment having a sunken floor foot well; bench seats with back rests located in the rear passenger compartment on both sides s of the vehicle and above the foot well; an air actuated suspension system including a plurality of airbags; and a barn door providing access to the rear passenger compartment from the rear of the vehicle.
2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the rear passenger compartment is accessible in 10 emergency through at least one side of the vehicle through a sliding door, and a portion of one of the back rests adjacent to the sliding door when in a closed position is pivotable such that said portion of the back rest is downwardly pivotable to provide access to or from the rear passenger compartment through the sliding door.
3. The vehicle of either of the preceding claims, wherein the air actuated is suspension system includes an automatic load levelling device which maintains a constant roof height of the vehicle.
4. A method of modifying a vehicle, the method including the following steps: removing a portion of the floor from a rear compartment of the vehicle and installing a sunken floor foot well; 20 installing bench seats with back rests in the rear passenger compartment on both sides of the vehicle and above the foot well; cutting and lowering the roof to a total height of not more than 1620mm; removing the existing suspension system and installing an air actuated suspension system including a plurality of airbags; and 25 removing the existing rear door and installing a barn door providing access to the rear passenger compartment from the rear of the vehicle.
5. A vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 9 P&O Automotive and General Stevedoring Pty Ltd By Patent Attorneys for the Applicant ©COTTERS Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys 5
AU2009100751A 2009-08-04 2009-08-04 Transit vehicle Ceased AU2009100751A4 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2009100751A AU2009100751A4 (en) 2009-08-04 2009-08-04 Transit vehicle

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2009100751A AU2009100751A4 (en) 2009-08-04 2009-08-04 Transit vehicle

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
AU2009100751A4 true AU2009100751A4 (en) 2009-09-17

Family

ID=41077814

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
AU2009100751A Ceased AU2009100751A4 (en) 2009-08-04 2009-08-04 Transit vehicle

Country Status (1)

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AU (1) AU2009100751A4 (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
RU2452634C2 (en) * 2010-09-16 2012-06-10 Юрий Михайлович Шмаков Transport facility
CN112455293A (en) * 2019-09-06 2021-03-09 格拉默公司 Vehicle seat with rotary adjustment device

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
RU2452634C2 (en) * 2010-09-16 2012-06-10 Юрий Михайлович Шмаков Transport facility
CN112455293A (en) * 2019-09-06 2021-03-09 格拉默公司 Vehicle seat with rotary adjustment device

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
TH Corrigenda

Free format text: IN VOL 23, NO 32, PAGE(S) 9615 UNDER THE HEADING INNOVATION PATENTS FILED - NAME INDEX UNDER THE NAME P&O AUTOMATIVE & GENERAL STEVEDORING PTY LTD, APPLICATION NO. 2009100751, UNDER INID (71) CORRECT THE APPLICANT NAME TO P&O AUTOMOTIVE & GENERAL STEVEDORING PTY LTD.

FGI Letters patent sealed or granted (innovation patent)
MK22 Patent ceased section 143a(d), or expired - non payment of renewal fee or expiry