Rapid transit seating

Claim 2

A cantilever seat adapted to be suspended from one side of a vehicle wall comprising: a frame having a wall rail, an aisle rail and an intermediate rail, each of said rails having an upright back portion and a lower, forwardly-extending seat portion, a front stretcher frame member connecting the distal ends of said seat portions of all of said rails, a rear stretcher member connecting the rear ends of said seat portions of all of said rails, an upper cross frame member connecting the upper ends of said back portions of all of said rails, a first diagonal brace connected at one end to the upper part of the back portion of said wall rail and extending downwardly therefrom and connected at its other end to a lower part of said back portion of said intermediate rail, a second diagonal brace connected at one end to an upper part of said back portion of said intermediate rail and extending downwardly and connected at its other end to a lower part of said back portion of said aisle rail; and a back and seat shell carried by said frame.

Claim 3

The structure of claim 1 further comprising means for mounting said wall rail to a vehicle wall at locations on the forward end of said seat portion of said wall rail, the upper end of said seat portion of said wall rail, and the upper end of said back portion of said wall rail.

Claim 4

The structure of claim 2 wherein said wall rail is formed of metal tubing transversely apertured at each of said wall-mounting locations, and wherein said mounting means includes a shoulder bushing pressed within each of said apertures, and a bolt fastener received within each of said shoulder bushings for threaded engagement with said wall.

Claim 5

The structure of claim 1 wherein said seat and back shell is a one-piece plastic shell having first and second contoured chair portions, one of said chair portions being received between said wall rail and said intermediate rail, and the other of said chair portions being received between said intermediate rail and said aisle rail, said structure further comprising means for attaching said plastic shell to said frame.

Claim 6

The structure of claim 1 wherein each of said rails is formed from a single piece of tubing and extends downwardly at a slight rearward inclination from their upper ends, and are smoothly curved forwardly to form horizontal seat portions, and wherein said first and second diagonal braced are joined at their lower ends respectively to Said intermediate and wall rails at a tangent to said curved lower portions and wherein the lower ends of each of said diagonal braces conforms to the curve of the rail to which it is connected.

Claim 7

The structure of claim 1 further comprising a reinforcing brace member extending generally parallel to the seat portions of said rails and interconnecting said front and rear stretcher members at locations between said intermediate rail and said aisle rail to strengthen the outer corner of the seat portion of said frame against deflection.

Claim 8

A two-passenger seat for a mass transit vehicle comprising: a plastic shell providing a contoured passenger chair portion for two passengers in side-by-side relation; a frame having a wall rail, an aisle rail, and an intermediate rail, each of said rails being formed from a single tubular member and having an upright back portion, a forwardly extending horizontal seat portion, and a smoothly curved transition portion between said back portion and said seat portion, a front stretcher frame member connecting the front ends of said seat portions of all of said rails, a rear stretcher member connecting all of said rails at a location adjacent the rear ends of said seat portions and having a downwardly depressed center portion extending below and supporting said seat portion of said intermediate rail, an upper cross frame member connecting the upper ends of said back portions of all of said rails, a first diagonal brace plate connected at one end to an upper part of the back portion of said wall rail and extending downwardly and connected at its other end to a lower part of the back portion of said intermediate rail, a second diagonal brace plate connected at one end to an upper part of said back portion of said intermediate rail and extending downwardly and connected at its other end to a lower part of said back portion of said aisle rail, each of said brace plates being located toward the rear of its associated rail members opposite the seating side thereof to accommodate the contour of the back portion of said shell, said depression in said rear stretcher member accommodating the contour of said seat portion of said shell, a reinforcing frame member connected between said front and rear stretcher members adjacent said aisle rail; means for attaching said wall rail to a vehicle wall at a forward position on the seat portion thereof, a rear position adjacent the curved portion thereof, and an upper position adjacent the top of the back portion thereof; and means for fastening said shell to said frame.

Claim 9

A two-passenger seat for a mass transit vehicle comprising: a plastic shell providing a contoured passenger chair portion for two passengers in side-by-side relation; a frame having a wall rail, an aisle rail, and an intermediate rail, each of said rails being formed from a single tubular member and having an upright back portion, a forwardly extending horizontal seat portion, and a smoothly curved transition portion between said back portion and said seat portion, a front stretcher frame member connecting the front ends of said seat portions of all of said rails, a rear stretcher member connecting all of said rails at a location adjacent the rear ends of said seat portions and having a downwardly depressed center portion extending below and supporting said seat portion of said intermediate rail, an upper cross frame member connecting the upper ends of said back portions of all of said rails, a first diagonal brace plate connected at one end to an upper part of the back portion of said wall rail and extending downwardly and connected at its other end to a lower part of the back portion of said intermediate rail, a second diagonal brace plate connected at one end to an upper part of said back portion of said intermediate rail and extending downwardly and connected at its other end to a lower part of said back portion of said aisle rail, each of said brace plates being located toward the rear of its associated rail members opposite the seating side thereof to accommodate the contour of the back portion of said shell, said depression in said rear stretcher member accommodating the contour of said seat portion of said shell, a reinforcing frame member connected between said front and rear stretcher members adjacent said aisle rail; means for attaching said wall rail to a vehicle wall at a forward position on the seat portion thereof, a rear position adjacent the curved portion thereof, and an upper position adjacent the top of the back portion thereof; and means for fastening said shell to said frame.

Claim 10

The structure of claim 7 further comprising an arm rest anchored at one end to the seat portion and at the other end to the back portion of said aisle rail for bracing the same.