AU2011205052A1 - Buses - Google Patents

Abstract

A bus including: a front axle and one or more rear axles spaced from said front axle; 5 an engine compartment behind said one or more rear axles; a lower front deck in front of said one or more rear axles, an upper front deck at a predetermined height above said lower deck and a rear deck above said engine compartment at a predetermined height above that of said lower front deck and .0 below that of said upper front deck; and a roof above said upper deck and said roar deck at a predetermined height selected such that the distance between said rear deck and said roof is sufficient to allow room for standing passengers on said rear deck and the distance between [5 said lower front deck and said upper deck also selected to allow room for standing passengers on said lower front deck.

Description

BUSES This invention relates to buses. The invention has particular application to buses used for short distance travel such as commuter buses but it may also have application to 5 buses for long distance travel (commonly called coaches) or even other vehicles. Some cities cannoL accommodate double deck buses on some routes because of height restrictions, for example, lower ovcrhcad bridges and the like, nor long articulated buses 10 because of sharp corners, narrow streets and limited space at bus stops. Consequently, only standard length single deck buses can be allocated to such routes. Often extra buses must be allocaLed Lo carry the travelling public on such routes where an articulated long bus or a double deck bus would 15 normally have been sufficient to accommodate all the passengers including the excess if it were possible to accommodate such a bus on the route. Thus, it will be appreciated that the additional costs of running the extra standard length single deck bus will be significantly higher 20 than the additional costs of running a double deck bus or an articulated long bus. Additionally, Government authorities sometimes impose restrictions on axle loadings of buses, especially the front axle, and such restrictions can have a bearing on seating and 25 standing arrangements of both single and double deck buses. The present invention is aimed at providing a standard length bus which can accommodate a greater number of passengers while still meeting height restrictions. The invention is also aimed at providing a standard length bus 30 which can accommodate a greater number of passengers while still meeting axle lead restrictions. With the foregoing in view, the invention in one aspect resides broadly in a bus including: eDRN07 1f1 ied2.Ily201 I 2 a front axle and one or more rear axles spaced from said front axle; an engine compartment behind said one or more rear axles; a lower front deck in front of said one or more rear 5 axles, an upper front deck aL a predetermined height above said lower deck and a rear deck above said engine compartment at a predetermined height above that of said lower front deck and below that of said upper front deck; and a roof above said upper deck and said rear deck at a 10 predetermined height selected such that the distance between said rear deck and said roof is sufficient to allow room for standing passengers on said rear deck and the distance between said lower front deck and said upper deck also selected to allow room for standing passengers on said lower front deck. 15 In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a bus body adapted to be mounted on a chassis of the type supported on front and rear axles and driven by a rear mounted engine, the bus body including: a lower front deck, an upper front deck and a rear deck, 20 said upper front deck being located at a predetermined height above said lower front deck to allow room for standing passengers on said lower front deck and said rear deck being located behind said front deck and said upper front deck and being located at a predetermined height above that of said 25 lower front deck and/or below that of said upper front deck; and a roof above said upper front deck and said rear deck, said roof being located at a predetermined height above said rear deck sufficient to allow room for standing passengers on 30 said rear deck. Preferably, the height of the upper front deck abovc the lower front deck is selected so as to provide comfortable head clearance for standee passengers in the passageways (or vDENO7101tiled2Julv201I 3 aisles) between opposite seats and the adjoining passageways between access doors and the aisle (typically a centre aisle). It is also preferred that the height of the rear deck below the roof of the body be similarly selected. In a 5 preferred form the head clearance in the centre aisle of the rear deck is selected to be greater than in the lower front deck in order to provide greater passenger comfort in that part of the bus. Advantageously, the invention provides a deck arrangement 10 which allows sufficient height for standing passengers on the lower front deck and the rear deck within a nominal overall bus height of 4,300mm or less with a greater passenger capacity than a single deck bus of the same length by accommodating more standing passengers many of whom can be 15 accommodated on the rear deck above the rear engine compartment. In a preferred form, the roof above the rear deck is lower than that above the front upper deck and suitably accommodates air conditioning equipment thereon with the overall height of the roof above the rear deck still being 20 within the nominal overall height of 4300mm. Further, the increased moment arising from the weight of additional standing passengers behind the rear wheels allows the front axle to be moved further forward than on single deck buses thereby increasing the floor space between the rear 25 wheels and the front wheels so as to increase passenger accommodation in that area as well while still meeting the regulated axle load requirements. Such arrangement allows a wide passenger access doorway to be provided on the near side behind the front axle and near side wheel arch and a front 30 sLaircase to be mounted over the front axle and offside wheel arch from the lower front deck to the upper front deck. Suitably, the wide passenger access doorway can provide wheelchair access to the lower front deck. In one form of the cDEN07101filcd28Jl1y201 I 4 invention where the front axle has been moved forward substantially, the driver's seat is placed on the offside but relatively close to the longitudinal centre plane of the bus so that it is not deLrimentally impinged by either of the 5 front wheel arches, but particularly the offside wheel arch. In such form, it is preferred that the driver's seat be mounted for swivelling about an upright axis for ease of attention to passengers. Suitably, one or more stairways are providing for giving 10 access from the lower front deck to the upper front deck and the rear deck. In a preferred form, a front stairway and a rear stairway are provided, the front stairway rising from Lhb lower front deck to the upper front deck in two flights and the rear stairway rising from the lower front deck to the rear 15 deck in one flight and thence to the upper front dock in a second flight. In order that the invention may be more easily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein: 20 Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of a bus according to the invention from the nearside with the seating arrangement superimposed thereon; Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevation of the bus of Fig. 1 from the offside with the seating arrangement superimposed 25 thereon; Fig. 3 is a schematic fronL elevation of the bus of Fig. Fig. 4 is a schematic rear elevation of the bus of Fig. 1; 30 Fig. 5 is a schematic plan of the lower deck of the bus of Fig. 1 showing the seating arrangement and standee (sLanding passengers) area shown in crosshatching; cI)HN071Q0I fIild28JuIy2O II 5 pig. 6 is a schematic plan of the top deck showing the seating arrangement and standee area in crosshatching; Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-section of the bus of Fig. 1 along line A-A; 5 Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-section of the bus of Fig. 1 along line B-B; and Fig. 9 is a schematic cross-section of the bus of Fig. 1 along C-C. The bus 10 illustrated in the drawings includes a body 11 10 with a nearside 12, an offside 13, a front end 14, a rear end 15, a roof 16, a lower front deck 17, an upper front deck 18 and a rear deck 19. The body 11 is supported on a chassis (not shown)which itself is supported on a front axle and wheel assembly 21 15 towards the fronL of the body and a tandem rear axle bogey drive and wheel assembly 22 towards the rear of the body. An engine and transmission assembly are mounted in a rear engine compartment 24 in the body behind the tandem bogey in known manner, the compartment opening at its front end for 20 connection of a drive shaft to the tandem bogey. Suitably, the two front wheels are housed in spaced apart wheel arches 25 and 26 with a passageway 27 therebetween forming part of the lower front deck 17 which is located between the front axle and wheel assembly 21 and the rear 25 tandem bogey 22. As can be seen in Fig. 8, the distance between the lower front deck and the upper front deck shown as dimension 28, is nominally 1,915mm which provides sufficient head clearance for standee passengers on the lower deck. However, the distance 30 between the upper front deck and the roof (or ceiling) shown as dimension 29, is nominally 1,805mm which provides sufficient headroom for seated passengers and passengers moving to and from their seats while the distance between the qDEN07IUfiled28JuIy2OII 6 rear deck and the roof or ceiling of the body shown as dimension 30, is nominally 2,320mm which also provides sufficient head clearance for standee passengers. Advantageously, the rear deck provides greater passenger 5 comfort for standee passengers than the lower front deck (by virtue of the greater head clearance) thereby encouraging standee passengers to fill the rear deck before the lower front deck. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the front axle is spaced 10 1,500mm behind the front of the body which is significantly closer to the front of the body than on common single deck commuter buses, and consequently the driver seat 31 is closer to the longitudinal centre plane 32 than in only used single dcck commuter buses in order to avoid wheel arch 26. 15 Suitably, the driver's seat 31 is a swivel seat mounted for pivoting about a substantially vertical axis so that the driver can attend passengers entering through front doorway 34 which provides passenger access to the lower front deck immediately behind the nearside wheel arch 25 and easy access 20 to the front stairwell 35 which rises from the lower front deck to the upper front deck over the off side wheel arch 26 as can be seen more clearly in Figs. 2, 5 and 6. Advantageously, as can be seen in Fig. 1, the front access door is a double width door which provides easy access for 25 wheelchair passengers via a retractable ramp (not shown). A central access door 36 is also provided in the nearside forward of the tandem bogey to provide easy access to rear stairway 37 which rises in one flight 37a from the lower front deck 17 up to the rear deck 19 and thence on to the upper 30 front deck by a second flight 37b. Advantageously, the roof 15 is stepped down abovc the rear deck to accommodate an air conditioning plant 41 mounted cDENO? 101 fied2hJuly201 7 thereon while maintaining a nominal overall maximum height of 4,275mm. As can be seen in Fig. 5, Lhe lower front deck provides a substantial amount of room 46 in the aisles to accommodate 5 standee passengers as well as two wheelchair places 47 and a number of seats 48 for passengers while the upper front deck provides full seating for passengers on seats 49 and the rear deck provides comfortable space for passengers on seats 51 and for standee passengers in the aisle 52 shown in cross 10 hatching. Overall, the bus 10 is capable of accommodat-ing 71 passengers while maintaining a maximum height of less than 4,300mm thereby meeting relevant government regulations. Advantageously, the arrangement illustrated in the drawings 15 achieves the required maximum front axle loading. The foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention and many modifications and variations which will be apparent to persons skilled in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and 20 scope of the invention as described herein. eDEN0710 1 iled2IIly2 I1

Claims (26)

1. A bus including: a front axle and one or more rear axles spaced from said 5 front axle; an engine compartment behind said one or more rear axles; a lower front deck in front of said one or more rear axles, an upper front deck at a oredetermined height above said lower deck and a rear deck above said engine compartment at a 10 predetermined height above that of said lower front deck and below that of said upper front deck; and a roof above said upoer deck and said rear deck at a predetermined height selected such that the distance between said rear deck and said roof is sufficient to allow room for 15 standing passengers on said rear deck and the distance between said lower front deck and said upper deck also selected to allow room for standing passengers on said lower front deck.

2. A bus according to Claim 1 wherein the height of the upper 20 front deck above the lower front deck is selected so as to provide comfortable head clearance for standee passengers in the passageways (or aisles) between opposite seats and the adjoining passageways between access doors and the aisle (typically a centre aisle). 25

3. A bus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the height of the rear deck below the root of the body is selected so as to provide comfortable head clearance for standee passengers in the passageways (or aisles) between opposite seats and the 30 adjoining passageways between access doors and the aisle (typically a centre aisle). cDEN07 101 filed28uly20 II 9

4. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the head clearance in the centre aisle of the rear deck is selected to be greater than in the lower front deck in order to provide greater passenger comfort in that part of the bus. 5

5. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the roof above the rear deck is lower than that above the front upper deck and is adapted to accommodaLe air conditioning equipment thereon. 10

6. A bus according to Claim 5 wherein air conditioning equipment is mounted on the roof above the rear deck and said air-conditioning equipment does not extend upwards substantially beyond the level of the roof above the front 15 deck.

7. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the overall height of the roof above the rear deck is within the nominal overall height of 4300mm above ground 20 level.

8. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein Lhe fronL axle is spaced further from said one or more rear axles than on standard single deck buses of the same length. 25

9. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims including a passenger access doorway on the near side behind the front axle and near side wheel arch. 30

10. A bus according to Claim 9 wherein the passenger access doorway is a wide doorway adapted to accommodate wheelchair access. cDEN07101 flkd~RJjly01 1 10

11. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims including a front staircase mounted over the front axle and offside wheel arch from the lower front deck to the upper front deck. 5

12. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the drivers seat is placed on the offside but relatively close to the longitudinal centre plane of the bus. 10

13. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims including one or more stairways between the lower front deck and the upper front deck and the rear deck.

14. A bus according to Claim 13 wherein said one or more 15 stairways include a front stairway and a rear stairway, the front stairway rising from the lower front deck to the upper front deck in two flights and the rear stairway rising from the lower front deck to the rear deck in one flight and thence to the upper front deck in a second flight. 20

15. A bus body adapted to be mounted on a chassis of the type supported on front and rear axles and driven by a rear mounted engine, the bus body including: a lower front deck, an upper front deck and a rear deck, 25 said upper front deck being located at a predetermined height above said lower front deck to allow room for standing passengers on said lower front deck and said rear deck being located behind said front deck and said upper front deck and being located at a predetermined height above that of said 30 lower front deck and/or below that of said upper front deck; and a roof above said upper front deck and said rear deck, said roof being located at a predetermined height above said cDENO7101ilcd2&July201 I 11 rear deck sufficient to allow room for standing passengers on said rear deck.

16. A bus body according to Claim 15 wherein the height of the 5 upper front deck above the lower front deck is selected so as to provide comfortable head clearance for standee passengers in the passageways (or aisles) between opposite seats and the adjoining passageways between access doors and the aisle (typically a centre aisle). 10

17. A bus body according to Claim 15 or Claim 16 wherein the height of the rear deck below the roof of the body is selected so as to provide comfortable head clearance for standee passengers in the passageways (or aisles) between opposite 15 seats and the adjoining passageways between access doors and the aisle (typically a centre aisle).

18. A bus body according to any one of Claims 15 to 17 wherein the head clearance in the centre aisle of the rear deck is 20 selected to be groator than in the lower front deck in order to provide greater passenger comfort in that part of the bus.

19. A bus body according to any one Claims 15 to 18 wherein the roof above the rear deck is lower than that above the 25 front upper deck and is adaoted to accommodate air conditioning equipment thereon.

20. A bus body according to Claim 19 wherein air conditioning equipment is mounted on the roof above the rear deck and said 30 air-conditioning equipment does not extend upwards substantially beyond the level of the roof above the front deck. ctEN07IW[ fIled2 uliy201 I 12

21. A bus body according to any one of Claims 15 to 20 wherein the overall height of the roof above the rear deck is within the nominal overall height of 4300mm above ground level.

22. A bus body according to any one of claims 15 to 21 including a passenger access doorway on the near side behind the near side wheel arch. 10

23. A bus body according to Claim 22 wherein the passenger access doorway is a wide doorway adapted to accommodate wheelchair access.

24. A bus according to any one of the preceding claims 15 including one or more stairways between the lower fronL deck and the upper front deck and the rear deck.

25. A bus body according to Claim 24 wherein said one or more stairways include a front stairway and a rear stairway, the 20 front stairway rising from the lower front deck to the upper front deck in two flights and the rear stairway rising from the lower front deck Lo Lhe rear deck in one flight and thence to the upper front deck in a second flight. 25

26. A bus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2~7. A bus body substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Lhe accompanying drawings. cDEN07 101 lild28July201 I