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subject: Bus Seats And Passenger Seats We Supply [print this page]


Mass transportation vehicles such as buses have been widely used in virtually every city and town in the developed world for decades. Generally speaking, these vehicles typically include two or more columns of bench bus seatsbus seats aligned one behind the other with a minimum necessary distance between a bus seats and the bus seats behind it. It is uncommon to find automobile-type lap or shoulder restraints for the passengers on public transportation vehicles, apparently because passengers repeatedly fail to engage the belts, either due to carelessness or due to perceived discomfort. In general, then, there is not currently a widely used restraint system to prevent passengers of mass transportation systems from being tossed from their in the event of a vehicle collision or rollover.

Majerus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,344 sought to solve this problem. The Majerus unit comprises a hinged, U-shaped bar attachable to the legs of each forward bus seats in a column and a releasable belt which holds the bar in a lowered position, laying across the passengers' laps, restraining them from striking the bus seats in front of them. When not in use, the Majerus belt is released, and the bar is pivoted up to the stowed position. There are three serious problems with the Majerus system: (1) the locking belt system is as difficult to enforce as a common lap beltif the passenger pulls down the bar (i.e. to mislead the driver into believing that the bar is engaged), but fails to lock the belt, the system will not provide any restraint; (2) the Majerus belt extends from the bar to the bus seats at the aisle side of the bus seats, thereby trapping the restrained passengers in the bus seats until the belt is released; and (3) the system relies upon the passenger to adjust the belt until the bar is in the proper positionif the belt is left too loose, the bar won't provide restraint to the passengers, and may even be a hazard. What is needed, therefore, is a bus passenger safety restraint that is easily engaged, automatically adjusted, and easily verified as such by the bus driver. This system should further permit the passengers to easily egress in case of system malfunction.

One serious problem with the Amabile system is that it is only responsive to a passenger accelerating forward relative to the bus seats, such as in a front-end collision. The Amabile bar will not restrain the passengers in the event of a side collision, or in a bus rollover. Furthermore, the Amabile bar is not height-adjustable by the passengers for their particular thigh height. Once installed, the Amabile cam hinge has a set locked position that cannot be adjusted; it is conceivable that a passenger with sufficiently large thighs will prevent the bar from dropping down low enough to engage if a collision occurs. Finally, the Amabile bar is difficult to install in existing buses. In order to activate both cam hinges (i.e. on both ends of the bar), the cams must be aligned with each other to a very close tolerance. Misalignments due to bus seats frame bending or simply inconsistent installations may create a situation where one hinge's cam locks while the other hinge doesn't. What is needed, therefore, is a safety restraint system that engages and locks in front, and side collisions, and even in the event of vehicle rollover. The system should be easily installed and aligned on existing buses, and further should provide adjustability for differing passenger body types.

by: ericfu




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