US 5,655,816 AGranted

Seat assembly for mass transit vehicle

AssigneeAmerican Seating Company

InventorsRichard C. Magnuson, Michael E. Phillips

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Abstract

An improved seat assembly for mass transit vehicles and an improved methodology for providing seating in mass transit vehicles. The seat assembly includes a universal seat frame which is formed of aluminum extrusions welded together and which is usable in combination with a variety of support bracketry so that a single common seat frame may be utilized to provide a variety of seating positions and seating attitudes within the vehicle. The seat frame includes side rails and cross rails extending between the side rails. Each cross rail includes an upper tube portion and a lower track portion formed integrally with the bottom wall of the upper tube portion and defining a groove. A slot in the bottom wall of the track portion communicates with the groove. Fastener assemblies mounted on the associated bracket hardware include a nut slidably positioned within the respective groove and a bolt extending upwardly from a mounting portion of the bracket and through the slot in the lower wall of the track portion of the rail for threaded access to the nut. The bracketry may comprise a pedestal positioned beneath the seat frame and supported on the underlying floor surface; a cantilever beam structure secured at one end to a side wall of the vehicle and secured at its free end to the cross rails of the seat frame; or sundry other bracketry to allow the seat frame to be mounted within the vehicle in overlying relation to wheel housings or the like.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A seat for use on a mass transit vehicle comprising:

a frame including side rails and at least one transverse rail extending between the side rails and having a channel structure defining a transversely extending groove and a transversely extending slot in a lower wall of the channel structure beneath the groove providing access to the groove;
a support member having a first end portion for attachment to a support surface of the vehicle and a second, free end portion defining an aperture;
and
a fastener assembly including a nut having a configuration adapted to fit slidably in said groove and a bolt having a head and a threaded shaft extending upwardly through the aperture in the free end portion of the support member and through the slot in the lower wall of the channel structure for threaded connection with the nut and operative in response to loosening of the threaded connection between the nut and bolt to allow transverse adjustment of said support member relative to said transverse rail and operative in response to tightening of the threaded connection to clamp the support member to the transverse rail in any position of relative transverse adjustment along said groove;
the frame including a front rail;
said one transverse rail being welded to and extending between forward ends of the side rails so as to constitute the front rail of the frame;
said frame further including a rear transverse rail having an external wall and including a transverse outwardly opening groove formed integrally with the external wall;
said fastener assembly comprising a first fastener assembly;
and
said seat further including a second fastener assembly for coaction with said rear transverse rail and with a further aperture in the free end portion of the support member.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.