GB2169564A - Improving access to vehicle passenger compartments - Google Patents

Abstract

A motor vehicle of the taxi type is provided with at least one rear side door (2) which has associated therewith a movable stop (8) which normally limits its angle of opening to 90 DEG or less but which when moved allows the rear side door to open further for the purpose of enabling a wheel-chair to be moved into the passenger compartment. The movable stop is held in its normal position by an associated front side door (2) and allowed to move to a second position by opening of the front side door. The passenger compartment may include a forwardly slidable bulkhead to enable a wheel-chair to be accommodated in the fore-and-aft direction, and the rear passenger seat squab may be hinged or removable to provide additional space for manoeuvring the wheel-chair within the passenger compartment. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Motor vehicle of the taxi type The invention relates to a motor vehicle having front and rear side doors and particularly to a motor vehicle of the taxi type having a front luggage storage space alongside the driver and a rear passenger compartment to which there is access by respective side doors. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with a taxi of the conventional "London" type.

In the London type of taxi the side doors giving access to the passenger compartment have hitherto been hinged to pivot about a rear door post and the maximum angle through which the passenger doors can be opened is less than 90". This makes it impossible for a person in a wheel-chair to obtain access, while sitting in the chair, to the passenger compartment. Additionally the floor space in the passenger compartment is not of sufficiently large area to accommodate a wheel-chair and to permit it to be manoeuvred from a position in which the chair is transverse into a position in which the chair is longitudinal with respect to the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.Objects of the invention are to provide in a taxi of the London type for a person in a wheel-chair to have access to the passenger compartment by loading the wheel-chair through a passenger door in a direction sideways with respect to the taxi and then to manoeuvre the wheel-chair by a three-point turn into a fore-and-aft position with respect to the taxi, thereby to leave room for other passengers to occupy the passenger compartment. Although the invention is particularly intended to be applied to a taxi of the London type, it may be applicable to other motor vehlcies of a taxi type.

According to the invention a motor vehicle has at at least the near side of the vehicle front and rear side doors which are hinged respectively to pivot about their front edges and an upstanding door pillar between the front and rear side doors, the door pillar supporting a pivotally mounted stop which is held by the front side door when the front side door is closed in a first position in which the stop is engageable by the rear side door when the latter has been partly opened to provide access to a rear passenger compartment to limit the permitted angle of opening of the rear side door to a first angle substantially equal to or less than 90" sufficient to enable passengers to have normal access to the passenger compartment, the stop being movable into a second position on the opening of the front side door in which the rear side door is permitted to be opened through an angle greater than 90 , thereby to permit unrestricted access through the fully-opened rear side door for a wheel-chair to be moved into the passenger compartment in a direction transverse to the fore-andaft direction of the motor vehicle.

There may be a second stop which is fixed and which is engageable by the rear side door when said first stop has been moved into said second position, on the opening of the front side door, to limit the angle of opening of the rear side door to an angle greater than 90". The permitted angle of opening of the rear side door, when said first stop has moved into its second position, may be, for example, 135".

The first stop may be a lever pivotally-mounted on said door pillar and having a first arm engageable by the front side door and a second arm engageable by the rear side door and may be biased to said second position by gravity or by spring means.

The first and second stops may be provided as modification parts for use in a motor vehicle to enable the first and second stops to be fitted in place of a single fixed stop permitting partial opening only of the rear side door through a first angle of less than 90 .

The first and second stops provided by this invention may be provided on the near side only or on both sides of a motor vehicle, the latter arrangement permitting access for a wheel-chair from either side of the motor vehicle or to provide access for a wheel-chair from the near side of the motor vehicle depending on whether the vehicle is left or right hand drive.

The passenger compartment may have a hinged or removable rear seat squab, thereby to provide sufficient floor space to enable a wheel-chair to be wheeled into the passenger compartment in a direction transverse to the fore-and-aft direction of the motor vehicle. The supporting structure for the rear seat squab may be recessed to enable the wheel-chair to be turned into a fore-and-aft direction when the rear seat squab is raised. The latter may be returned to its normal position when the wheel-chair has been turned into a fore-and-aft direction, thereby to enable passengers to sit on the rear seat squab alongside the wheel-chair.

Another feature of the invention, enabling the wheel-chair to be turned from a transverse position into a fore-and-aft position and which may be provided alternatively or additionally to the hinged or removable rear seat squab is to make a front bulkhead in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle of the taxi type positioned alongside the driver's seat movable forwardly of the motor vehicle, thereby to increase the fore-and-aft length of the passenger compartment alongside the driver's seat to enable a wheel-chair to be turned from a transverse position into a fore-and-aft position within the passenger compartment.

The movable bulkhead may be hinged along a transverse axis adjacent the roof of the motor vehicle, thereby enabling the bulkhead to be swung forward from a normal upright position when the fore-and-aft length of the passenger compartment is to be increased alongside the driver's seat to accommodate a wheel-chair. The movable bulkhead may have an additional intermediate transverse hinge to enable a lower portion of the movable bulkhead to be maintained substantially upright as it is moved forward. A corner of the lower edge of the bulkhead may be guided for forward and rearward sliding movement in a guide rail inclined forwardly and upwardly from the floor of the passenger compartment. The movable bulkhead may have withdrawable stops, whereby it can be locked in either its normal upright position or its forward position.The movable bulkhead may have upright locating means on its rearward face in which the wheels of a wheel-chair can be located and secured to hold the wheel-chair in a fore-andaft position in the passenger compartment behind the movable bulkhead. The movable bulkhead may be constructed as a modification part to be substituted for a normal fixed bulkhead to enable an existing motor vehicle of the taxi type to be converted to accommodate a wheel-chair.

By way of example, a motor vehicle of the taxi type, such as a London type of taxi, and having the aforesaid features provided in accordance with the invention, is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the front edge of a rear side door and the door pillar to which the rear side door is hinged and showing the aforesaid pivotally-mounted stop.

Figure 2 is plan view of the door pillar and pivotally-mounted stop and showing adjacent parts of the front and rear side doors, the front side door being in a closed position and the rear side door being pivotally open to the maximum position permitted by the movable stop; Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 in which the front side door has been opened and the rear side door has been opened to the maximum position permitted by the aforesaid second stop; Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the front of the passenger compartment and the aforesaid movable bulkhead in its forward position; and Figures 5 to 7 are plan views of the passenger compartment showing successive positions of a wheel-chair being turned from a transverse position into a fore-and-aft position within the passenger compartment.

This invention concerns modifications to a London type of taxi to enable a wheel-chair to be accommodated in the passenger compartment.

Hitherto in this type of taxi, the front side door has been hinged at its front edge and the rear side door has been hinged at its rear edge and further it has not been possible for the rear side door to be opened sufficiently widely to provide access for a wheel-chair. The first feature of this invention is to make provision for the rear side door to be selectively openable to a normal limited open position when a wheel-chair is not being moved into the passenger compartment and to an extra-widely open position when access for a wheel-chair is required. To enable this two-position opening feature to be achieved, the rear side door is hinged at its front edge to an intermediate door pillar positioned between the front and rear side doors, the front side door being hinged at its front edge. Figure 1 shows the intermediate pillar 1, a portion of the rear side door 2 and its hinges 3.The front side door is not shown in Figure 1 but the sill 4 and the catch 5 therefor are shown. In accordance with this invention a first stop in the shape of a cranked lever is pivotally mounted for rotation about its pin 6, also shown in Figures 2 and 3. The lever has two opposed arms 7, 8 which are substantially in line but are positioned to be engaged by the front side door 9 and the rear side door 2 respectively.

The lever is biased by a spring 12 into the position in which the respective arms are in the positions 7' and 8' in which they are substantially upright, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. When the front side door 9 is closed, as shown in Figure 2, the arm 7 of the lever is held by the closed door 9 in a substantially horizontal position, as also shown in Figure 1, and therefore the arm 8 of the lever is also substantially horizontal. In this position, the arm 8 is engaged by a block 10 on the upper door hinge 3 of the rear side door 2 and therefore that door cannot be opened beyond a first limited angular position in which it is substantially at right angles to the side of the vehicle, as shown in Figure 2.

This angular position permits passengers to enter the passenger compartment; but does not permit access for a wheel-chair. When a wheel-chair is to be moved into the passenger compartment, it is necessary to be able to open the rear side door 2 through a greater angle. To enable this to be performed, it is necessary for the front side door 9 to be opened. This permits the lever to move under the bias of its spring into the position in which the arms 7 and 8 are substantially upright in the positions 7' and 8' respectively, as shown in Figure 3.

The rear side door 2 can now be opened through a greater angle up to a limit of say 135 to its closed position until the block 10 engages a fixed stop 11 provided at the back of the upper hinge 3. There is now sufficient room for the wheel-chair to be moved transversely of the motor vehicle into the passenger compartment.

The lever 7, 8 and the associated block 10 and fixed stop 11 are provided on the near side of the motor vehicle; but may also be provided on the offside to permit loading of a wheel-chair from that side or to allow for a left or right-hand drive vehicle.

A modification of the arrangement of the lever 7, 8, may be to position it for downward pivoting into the positions in which the arms 7 and 8 are vertical but extending in the respective directions opposite to those illustrated, whereby the arm 7 can be biased to drop under gravity to the position in which the arms 7 and 8 are substantially upright, when the front side door 9 is open.

Having moved the wheel-chair into the passenger compartment in a transverse direction, it is necessary to enable the wheel-chair to be turned to a fore-and-aft position in which it can be stowed behind the bulkhead alongside the driver's seat. To enable this to be done, the rear seat squab 15 in the passenger compartment 16, as shown in Figures 5-7 is mounted for temporarily pivoting or lifting to an upright position and the rear seat supporting structure is provided with a recess to provide greater floor area for manoeuvring the wheel-chair as shown at 17 in Figure 6. Another modification which may be provided enables more space for manoeuvring the wheel-chair and is to cut-away or curve the supporting structure of the driver's seat as indicated at 18 in Figures 4-6.

Another modification, which is additional or alternative to the movable rear seat squab 15 or may be optional, is to make the front bulkhead of the passenger compartment alongside the driver's seat position 19, movable forwardly from its normal position. This is shown in Figure 4. The front bulkhead is constructed in two portions 20 and 21 which are hinged together about a transverse axis at 22. The upper portion 20 is also hinged to the roof of the vehicle about a transverse axis at 23.

Thus when the upper portion 20 is swung forwardly about its upper axis 23 to an inclined position as shown in Figure 4, the lower portion 21 will remain upright and so provide more floor area at 24, as indicated in Figure 4, in the passenger compartment 16. The bottom of the bulkhead portion 21 adjacent the driver's compartment 19 is guided by a lug 25 running in an upwardly and forwardly extending inclined guide rail 26 and is held in its forward position as illustrated in Figure 4 by an extendible ram 27 connected between the door pillar 6 and the bulkhead portion 21 near to the intermediate hinge at 22.The bulkhead is lockable in its normal rearward position and in its forward position by means of a pair of upright bolts 28 openable by a lever 29 and locatable in sockets 30 formed in the floor of the passenger compartment and is lockable in its normal rearward position by means of a pair of transverse bolts 31 openable by a lever 32 and engageable in sockets 33 in the bulkhead of the driver's compartment 19 and the door pillar 6. The bulkhead portion 21 carries a tipup passenger's seat 34 like that shown at 35 on the fixed bulkhead behind the driver's compartment 19, whereby when the bulkhead 20, 21 is locked in its normal upright rearward position, the seat 34 can be used by a passenger. The rear of the bulkhead portion 21 also carries a pair of upright rails 36 in which the larger wheels of a wheel-chair can be stowed, as indicated in Figure 7.These rails 36 may have sprung side flanges so that they will grip the wheels of the wheel-chair located in them in the manner of spring clips.

The wheel-chair is moved into the passenger compartment 16 and manoeuvred into a stowed position as follows, with reference particularly to Figures 5-7. First the bulkhead 20, 21 is unlocked and moved forward to the position shown in Figure 4. The levers 29, 32 permitting this to be done are at the front of the bulkhead portion 21 and are accessible from the driver's compartment 19 or by opening the nearside front door 9. This operation provides the increased floor area at 24 in the passenger compartment 16. This increased floor area is substantially level with the floor of the passenger compartment 16 and has no upwardly extending obstructions. The rear seat squab 15 is moved to its upright position, thereby exposing the extra floor area provided by the recess 17.The near side front door 9 is opened and thus permits the near side rear door 2 to be opened to its extra-wide position, as shown in Figure 3 and as indicated in Figures 5 and 6. Now the wheei-chair, with the occupant still sitting in it, is pushed or propelled by the occupant of the wheel-chair transversely of the taxi into the passenger compartment 16 through the widely-opened rear side door 2, as indicated in Figure 5. A removable ramp may be provided for this purpose, although from a raised pavement or cub at a higher level than the taxi, it should be possible for the wheel-chair to be moved directly onto the floor of the passenger compartment.The occupant of the wheel-chair can now back the wheel-chair by making a part three-point turn, through the position shown in Figure 6, into the position shown in Figure 7, in which the wheelchair is turned into a fore-and-aft position, in which the larger wheels 37 of the wheel-chair 38 are located in and are securely held by the rails 36 on the bulkhead portions 21. This manoeuvring of the wheel-chair can be performed by the occupant of the wheel-chair unaided or with assistance. The rear passenger seat 15 can then be lowered into its normal position. This may assist in locating the wheel-chair and will enable at least part of the seat 15 to be used by other passengers. Although the tip-up seat 34 cannot be used as it is obstructed by the wheel-chair, the other tip-up seat 35 is available for use. Finally, the near side front and rear doors are both closed.The off-side rear door is still available for use by the other passengers.

The movable bulkhead may be so designed that it can be interchanged for fitting into a left or right hand drive vehicle.

The features provided by this invention may be provided as conversion items for use in an existing taxi or they may be "built-in" in a production taxi or other vehicle.

Although in the fore-going description, the lever 29 is used to lock and unlock the upright bolts 28 when the bulkhead is in each of its rearward and forward positions, the bolts 28 could be spring biased to extend from the lower edge of the bulkhead portion 21 so that when the latter is moved into its forward position, the bolts 28 will be depressed against their springs and will then be urged downward into the forward holes 30, thereby automatically locking the bulkhead portion 21 in its forward position. The bolts 28 would be withdrawn by using the lever 29 which would then be used to lock the bolts 28 in their rearward holes.

Another modification which could be made would be to replace the upper lever 32 and the associated bolts 31 with a self-locking, burst-proof lock mounted at each side of the bulkhead portion 21 and engageable with striker plates on the door pillar 1 and a side pillar of the driver's compartment 19, whereby the bulkhead 20, 21 is automatically locked in its normal rearward position. The locks would be releasable by push-buttons or other means accessible from the luggage compartment adjacent the driver's compartment, that is from the front side of the bulkhead.

Claims (17)

1. A motor vehicle having at at least the near side of the vehicle front and rear side doors which are hinged respectively to pivot about their front edges and an upstanding door pillar between the front and rear side doors, the door pillar supporting a pivotally mounted stop which is held by the front side door when the front side door is closed in a first position in which the stop is engageable by the rear side door when the latter has been partly opened to provide access to a rear passenger compartment to limit the permitted angle of opening of the rear side door to a first angle substantially equal to or less than 90 sufficient to enable passengers to have normal access to the passenger compartment, the stop being movable into a second position on the opening of the front side door in which the rear side door is permitted to be opened through an angle greater than 90 , thereby to permit unrestricted access through the fully-opened rear side door for a wheel-chair to be moved into the passenger compartment in a direction transverse to the fore-and-aft direction of the motor vehicle.

2. A vehicle according to Claim 1 wherein said pivotally mounted stop comprises a lever pivotally mounted on said door pillar and having a first arm engageable by the front side door and a second arm engageable by the rear side door.

3. A vehicle accordingly to Claim 2 wherein the lever is biased to said second position by gravity.

4. A vehicle according to Claim 3 wherein the lever is biased to said second position by spring means.

5. A vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims having a second stop which is fixed and which is engageable by the rear side door when said first stop has been moved into said second position, on the opening of the front side door, to limit the angle of opening of the rear side door to an angle greater than 90 .

6. A vehicle according to Claim 5 wherein the permitted angle of opening of the rear side door, when said first stop has moved into its second position is 135O.

7. A vehicle according to any one of the preceeding claims wherein the passenger compartment has a hinged or removable rear seat squab, thereby to provide sufficient floor space to enable a wheel-chair to be wheeled into the passenger compartment in a direction transverse to the foreand-aft direction of the motor vehicle.

8. A vehicle according to Claim 7 wherein supporting structure for the rear seat squab is recessed to enable a wheel-chair to be turned into a fore-and-aft direction when the rear seat squab is raised.

9. A vehicle according to any one of the preceeding claims wherein a front bulkhead in the passenger compartment of the vehicle is positioned alongside the driver's seat and is movable forwardly of the motor vehicle, thereby to increase the fore-and-aft length of the passenger compartment alongside the driver's seat to enable a wheelchair to be turned from a transverse position into a fore-and-aft position within the passenger compartment.

10. A vehicle according to Claim 9 wherein the movable bulkhead is hinged along a transverse axis adjacent the roof of the motor vehicle, thereby enabling the bulkhead to be swung forward from a normal upright position when the fore-and-aft length of the passenger compartment is to be increased alongside the driver's seat to accommodate a wheel-chair.

11. A vehicle according to Claim 10 wherein the movable bulkhead has an additional intermediate transverse hinge to enable a lower portion of the movable bulkhead to be maintained substantially upright as it is moved forward.

12. A vehicle according to Claim 10 or Claim 11 wherein a corner of the lower edge of the bulkhead is guided for forward and rearward sliding movement in a guide rail inclined forwardly and upwardly from the floor of the passenger compartment.

13. A vehicle according to any one of Claims 9 to 12 wherein the movable bulkhead has withdrawable stops, whereby it can be locked in either its normal upright position or its forward positions.

14. A vehicle according to any one of Claims 9 to 13 wherein the movable bulkhead has upright locating means on its rearward face in which the wheels of a wheel-chair can be located and secured to hold the wheel-chair in a fore-and-aft position in the passenger compartment behind the movable bulkhead.

15. A motor vehicle having a rear side door of which the maximum permitted angle of opening is limited selectively to first and second angles by means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

16. A motor vehicle having a movable bulkhead alongside the driver's seat and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.

17. A motor vehicle having a passenger compartment adapted for the reception of a wheelchair borne passenger and constructed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 5 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.