Door assembly for improved vehicle access
AssigneeBraun GmbH
InventorsMichael R. Pugh, Ned McCormick, Christopher Lease
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides a vehicle door assembly including two entrances. Both entrances are surrounded by a frame assembly for mounting on the vehicle. One of the entrances is at about the height of the vehicle floor, while the other is lower than the vehicle floor and opens into a stairwell that leads up and into the vehicle. The floor-level door may be suitable for use with an appliance for assisting passengers to enter the vehicle, such as a lift or a ramp. The door assembly includes doors for closing the entrances. The door assembly may be mass-produced as a modular component and mounted on a conventional vehicle that has been specially modified to accept the door assembly.
Claims11
A door assembly for a vehicle equipped with an appliance for assisting passengers to enter the vehicle, the door assembly comprising:
- a frame assembly for mounting on a vehicle equipped with an appliance for assisting passengers to enter the vehicle, the frame assembly including:
- an assisted entrance appropriately sized and elevated with respect to the vehicle for a passenger assisted by the appliance to enter the vehicle;
- and
- an unassisted entrance appropriately sized and elevated with respect to the vehicle for an unassisted passenger to enter the vehicle, the unassisted entrance being positioned immediately adjacent to the assisted entrance when the door assembly is mounted on the vehicle;
- and
- a stairwell attached to the frame assembly and positioned to serve the unassisted entrance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.