1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tour vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a commercial transport vehicle configured to permit a plurality of passengers view an area from an elevated position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multi-passenger vehicles are known. In addition, multi-passenger commercial vehicles such as buses are known. Still further, multi-passenger tour vehicles are known and have been the subject of patents within the United States.
In 1914, U.S. Pat. No. 1,102,602 was issued. This patent discloses a vehicle having an enclosed lower deck and an open upper deck. A stairway provides a means of accessing the upper deck from within the lower deck. Thus, a “double deck” bus was provided. Additional patents covering configurations for double deck buses have since been issued. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 1,468,710 issued in 1923; U.S. Pat. No. 1,905,842 issued in 1932; U.S. Pat. No. 2,563,917 issued in 1944; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,455 issued in 1975. However, these double deck buses of the prior art limit the sightseeing ability of persons on the lower deck because of the presence of the upper deck and the relative lower position of the lower deck.
Recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,676 issued in 2002. This patent discloses a double deck, dual use bus having a passenger compartment disposed in front of a container for carrying freight. A framework divides the passenger compartment from the freight compartment. In this arrangement, sightseeing opportunities to the passengers in the lower deck are restricted by both the upper deck above and the freight container in the rear.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,583 issued in 1999, and teaches a multi-level recreational vehicle. The vehicle has living spaces on at least two levels and an open air deck on the top. Use of the open air portion of the multi-level recreational vehicle is limited to times when the recreational vehicle is stationary, thus limiting the sightseeing opportunities to the occupants to a specific situation.
Therefore, a need exists for a single level tour bus having an elevated deck whereby substantially all passengers may view sights from above a transportation surface. A need also exists for an open air deck bus having a single elevated deck in order to provide equal sightseeing opportunities to all passengers on the bus while the bus is operated on a transportation surface. Certain embodiments of the invention described below and at least some of the corresponding claims will meet these needs.
A multi-passenger bus is first provided. In one aspect, the bus includes a chassis, a driver's compartment at a forward portion of the chassis; an observation deck elevated above the chassis; a plurality of seats arranged on the observation deck; a stairwell; and a stairway. The stairway has a lower end disposed at a level below the chassis, and an upper end disposed at a level of the observation deck.
Preferably, the observation deck extends over the driver's compartment. Preferably, the seats are arranged on the deck in columns and rows for seating tourists. Preferably, the enclosure below the observation deck contains no seats for tour-passengers.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be better understood, certain drawings are appended hereto. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only selected embodiments of the inventions and are therefore not to be considered limiting of scope, for the inventions may admit to other equally effective embodiments and applications.
Definitions
As used herein, the terms “bus” or “tour bus” refer to any vehicle capable of transporting a plurality of passengers. Non-limiting examples include recreational vehicles, buses and trucks. The tour bus will have tires for mobility, but may be powered through any energy source including but not limited to electricity, solar rays, ethanol, hydrocarbon fuel or any hybrid fuel source.
The term “chassis” refers to the frame, suspension system, engine (or other power mechanism), and drive train of a vehicle.
The term “ticket” means any form of payment or proof of payment of a fare, such as a paper ticket, a token, a stamp, a magnetic credit (or debit) card or other form.
The term “money” refers to any form of currency or tokens, or a transaction using a credit card, debit card, charge card or pre-paid card.
Certain features of the tour bus 100 are seen in
The tour bus 100 also has a pair of side doors 121, 123. Side door 121 provides ingress and egress for passengers, while side door 123 provides access to a driver's compartment 132 by a driver.
The tour bus 100 also has a front end 122F and a rear end 122R. A front end cap 126 and a front windshield 127 are provided at the front end 122F to enclose the driver's compartment 132. Other features are provided at the front 122F of the bus 100 but are not marked, such as rear view mirrors, a front bumper and a side driver's window. The driver's station 132 preferably includes a step lowered about ten inches and positioned to the right of a driver's seat 134 to allow sufficient room for the driver to enter and exit. A small platform behind the driver's station 132 is also constructed and raised about five or six inches from the floor in the driver's compartment 132.
The tour bus 100 also includes a chassis 120. As noted, the chassis refers to the base frame, suspension system, engine, and drive train of a vehicle. The base frame is shown at 122; however, the other listed parts are not shown. The base frame 122 may be fabricated from any material including but not limited to steel, aluminum (or aluminum alloy), woven graphite, molded plastic composites or other materials. The base frame 122 may include lightening holes (not shown) cut into it.
The chassis 120 supports the side walls 124R, 124L of the vehicle 100 as well as the front end cap 126, the front bumper and a rear end cap (shown at 128 in
The tour bus 100 also includes a single observation deck 140. The observation deck 140 is well elevated to afford paying tourists or other passengers a good view of surrounding items of historical or environmental interest. The observation deck 140 has a front end 142F and a rear end 142R. The front end 142F defines a front end cap having a wind screen 144. In the arrangement of
It is noted that the front end cap 142F wraps around the left 124L and right 124R sides of the bus 100 to include side wind screens 143. In the illustrated embodiment, the side windscreens 143 extend a distance substantially equal to the length of the driver's compartment 132. However, the windscreens 143 may alternatively extend from the front edge 142F to the rear end cap 128 of the bus 100.
The observation deck 140 supports a plurality of seats 150. Only a few seats 150 are visible in the perspective view of
Finally, it is noted from
Referring now to
Certain features of the tour bus 100 from
Certain features of the tour bus 100 from
Referring again to
Outer faces of the beams 172, 174, 176, 178 of the anterior support structure 170 are connected to and support the siding that forms the side walls 124R, 124L. Typically, an adhesive is used for the connection. The side walls 124R, 124L extend above the flooring (seen at 146 in
Referring next to
The anterior 170 and posterior 180 support structures may be joined together by an intermediate connecting structure 190 for additional support.
The connecting structure 190 includes lateral beams 192. It may also include upper 194 and lower 196 horizontal beams. The beams 192, 194, 196 of the connecting structure 190 serve to stabilize the anterior 170 and posterior 180 support structures within the bus 100. In addition, the upper beams 194 of the connecting structure 190 support the decking 146 of the deck 140 on the left and right sides. Portions of the posterior 180 and connecting 190 structures are cut out along the right side wall 124R to create space for the passenger door 121 and for a stairwell 70 of the bus 100, described below. The cutout on the right side 124R of the bus 100 is preferably disposed ahead of the rear wheels.
Also of interest from
A central support structure 200 is also seen in
The central support structure 200 is disposed along the longitudinal axis of the bus 100. Preferably, the central support structure 200 is supported at a height of approximately 8 feet above the transportation surface 10. The central support structure 200 provides central support to the observation deck 140. In contrast, the upper beam 176 of the anterior support structure 170 extends upward to a height of about 7 feet, 10 inches above the transportation surface 10. This is slightly lower than the central support 200 for the flooring 146. In this way, the flooring 146 is crowned to facilitate runoff of water towards the side walls 124L, 124R of the bus 100.
Referring back to
The lower enclosure area 130 also includes a stairwell 70. In the illustrated embodiment, the stairwell 70 is positioned towards the rear 122R of the bus 100. The stairwell 70 is dimensioned to receive a stairway 72 comprising steps. A bottom step 74 and an upper step 76 are seen. The lower step 74 is secured to the chassis 120, while the upper end 76 is secured to and terminates at the flooring 146 of the elevated deck 140. The stairwell 70 defines an opening within the flooring 46 of the elevated deck 140. In one embodiment, there are a total of eight, ten-inch steps and one, six-inch step provided. In one aspect, the bottom step 74 extends below the chassis 120.
It is observed from
In each of
It should be added that the seats 150 may be individual chairs, or they may be bench- or pew-type seats. The seats 150 may be arranged in rows and columns, or they may be staggered. Preferably, the seats 150 are arranged in two columns divided by a walkway 155 as shown best in
As noted, the flooring 146 for the elevated observation deck 140 is preferably crowned by elevating a longitudinally central portion 141. The relief provided by the crowned deck 140 allows water to run to opposing side edges 149 of the decking 140. Preferably, drain holes 145 are disposed through the side edges 149 to receive water. The drain holes (not shown) are in fluid communication with drain pipes (also not shown) along the side walls 124R, 124L to direct runoff water to the surface 10 upon which the bus 100 is operated.
The flooring 146 for the observation deck 140 is fabricated from a sturdy and water resistant material. In one embodiment, the flooring 140 defines a heavy plywood treated with a waterproofing epoxy cement. The flooring 146 is further overlaid with rubberized decking material. The rubberized decking material may be of the paint-on or spray-on type, or may even be a separate, preformed layer that is unrolled over the treated plywood. One source for rubberized flooring material is the Congoleum Corporation of Mercerville, N.J., commonly sold under the trade name Congoleum®. Preferably, the flooring 146 includes raised portions and depressed areas to provide a safe and comfortable walking surface. The central portion 141 of the flooring 146 is supported by the central support structure 200, while the opposing edges 149 of the flooring 146 are supported by the anterior 170 and posterior 180 support structures, and the upper beam 194 of the connecting structure 190. Together, support structures 170, 180, 190 and 200 form one embodiment for a structural support system for supporting the observational deck 140.
It is preferred that the flooring 146 be positioned about 7.5 feet to 10 feet above the transportation surface 10. This height is sufficiently elevated to enable passengers to view surrounding sights during transportation, but low enough to limit moment of the vehicle 100 and avoiding tipping during turns. Preferably, the flooring 146 is eight feet above the transportation surface 10, except for the forward portion 142F above the driver's compartment 132, which is preferably 8.5 feet above the transportation surface 10.
Referring again to
The above described drawings disclose a tour bus 100 having a single, elevated deck 140. The height of the deck 140 permits all passengers to view surrounding sights from a common seating area. At the same time, the height of the deck 140 is not so high as to create a danger of causing the bus 100 to tip when the driver turns a corner at a reasonable, sight-seeing speed such as 10 to 40 miles per hour.
It is noted that the bus 100 of
A method for sight-seeing is also provided herein. The method first involves the provision of a bus having a single, elevated observation deck, such as the bus 100 described above. Next, tickets are sold to a plurality of passengers. Tickets may be sold at a booth or station external to the bus, or tickets may be sold through a ticket taker platform on the bus 100. Such a platform may include one or more display cases along a recessed wall (not shown) adjacent the ticket taker platform which holds brochures advertising sight-seeing tours of the company operating or owning the bus. Where the bus 100 operates over a defined route on a regular basis disembarking and embarking passengers at defined locations, the ticket taker platform may house an automatic ticket taking device which accepts either coins, currency, credit/debit cards or tokens which permits embarking of passengers paying the proper fare. The automatic ticket taking device would likely have a stairway bar (not shown) to deny access to the observation deck to potential passengers who have not provided the proper fare for the tour.
One preferred embodiment of the sight-seeing method has passengers purchasing a multiple trip pass which is read by the automatic ticket taking device, thus allowing the ticketed passenger to periodically embark and disembark at desired locations along the tour route within a defined time period. In one aspect, the multiple trip pass is a day pass. In another embodiment, a passenger may purchase a multiple day/multiple route pass allowing the passenger to avail himself/herself with all the tours available to the company operating multiple single elevated deck busses over multiple routes.
After paying the proper fare, the passengers enter the bus 100 through a door such as passenger door 121. From there, the passengers move through a stairwell such as stairwell 70 onto a common elevated observation deck, such as deck 140. The observation deck 140 is elevated to a height of at least 6 feet above the transportation surface 10, and preferably at least 7.5 feet.
The passengers seat themselves in respective seats, such as seats 150. The bus 100 is operated by a driver, who drives the passengers along a selected transportation surface 10 to provide sight-seeing services. It is noted that either a ticket taker or the driver may also function as a tour guide after embarking all passengers at a particular stop by describing sites to the passengers as the bus approaches the sites over a loud speaker system.
The bus 100 may optionally house an elevator (not shown) to raise physically handicapped persons to the single elevated observation deck 140. For instance, the ticket taker may step aside while boarding a physically handicapped person, operate the elevator to raise the handicapped person to the observation deck 140, lower the elevator after the handicapped person has disembarked, and resume the function as ticket taker.
While the present inventions have been described with reference to the above described preferred embodiments, it should be noted that various other embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments described herein and the drawings appended hereto are merely illustrative of the features of the invention and should not be construed to be the only variants thereof nor limited thereto.
The present application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 80/687,528 filed Jun. 3, 2005. (Confirmation No. 2861.) That application is entitled “Open Air Elevated Deck Bus.” The application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60687528 | Jun 2005 | US |