Visibility enhancements for delivery vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11628748-B2
Application number	US-202117369160-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2021
Priority date	Jul 8, 2020
Publication date	Apr 18, 2023
Grant date	Apr 18, 2023

Abstract

A vehicle includes a chassis defining a longitudinal axis, a cab coupled to the chassis, a cargo body coupled to the chassis and positioned rearward of the cab, and a driver seat disposed within the cab. The cab has a first door with a first window and a second door with a second window. When the driver seat is in a position that accommodates an operator being in the 95th male height percentile, the operator within the driver seat can see out of (i) the first window at a first angle relative to a forward looking direction that is parallel with the longitudinal axis and (ii) the second window at a second angle relative to the forward looking direction. Each of the first angle and the second angle is at least 95 degrees.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a chassis defining a longitudinal axis;
a cab coupled to the chassis, the cab having a first door with a first window and a second door with a second window;
a cargo body coupled to the chassis and positioned rearward of the cab; and
a driver seat disposed within the cab;
wherein, when the driver seat is in a position that accommodates an operator being in a 95 th male height percentile, the operator within the driver seat can see out of (i) the first window at a first angle relative to a forward looking direction that is parallel with the longitudinal axis and (ii) the second window at a second angle relative to the forward looking direction; and
wherein each of the first angle and the second angle is at least 95 degrees.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the chassis defines a prime mover compartment at a front end thereof, further comprising:
a hood coupled to the front end of the chassis; and
a prime mover coupled to the chassis within the prime mover compartment and beneath the hood.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the prime mover is transversely mounted within the prime mover compartment.

4. The vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the chassis includes a firewall positioned at a rear of the prime mover compartment that separates the cab from the prime mover compartment, and wherein the firewall is substantially flat and vertically oriented.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a partition positioned between the cab and the cargo body.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a steering column positioned within the cab, wherein the driver seat and the steering column are centered about a central seating plane, wherein the central seating plane is positioned a distance from a side of the cab, and wherein the distance is less than 25% of a total width of the cab.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising A-pillars positioned at a front end of the cab, the A-pillars having a length of a least one meter to facilitate providing a lower hood position and a larger front windshield.

8. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the A-pillars have an overlapping construction including an inner portion and an outer portion overlapping the inner portion.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first door has a first height and the first window has a second height that is at least 50% of the first height.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the second height is at least 60% of the first height.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein, when the driver seat is in the position that accommodates the operator being in the 95th male height percentile, the driver seat is positioned a distance of at least four inches forward of a rear edge of the first window.

12. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein each of the first angle and the second angle is at least 100 degrees.

13. The vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the first angle is at least 110 degrees.

14. The vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the first angle is at least 120 degrees.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the first angle is at least 130 degrees.

16. A vehicle comprising:
a chassis defining a longitudinal axis;
a cab coupled to the chassis, the cab having a driver side door with a window; and
a driver seat disposed within the cab;
wherein, when the driver seat is in a position that accommodates an operator being in a 95th male height percentile, the operator within the driver seat can see out of the window at an angle of at least 120 degrees relative to a forward looking direction that is parallel with the longitudinal axis.

17. The vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the angle is at least 130 degrees.

18. The vehicle of claim 16 , wherein, when the driver seat is in the position that accommodates the operator being in the 95th male height percentile, the driver seat is positioned a distance of at least four inches forward of a rear edge of the window.

19. The vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the driver side door has a first height and the window has a second height that is at least 50% of the first height.

20. A vehicle comprising:
a chassis defining a longitudinal axis;
a cab coupled to the chassis, the cab having a first door with a first window and a second door with a second window;
a cargo body coupled to the chassis and positioned rearward of the cab;
a driver seat disposed within the cab; and
a steering column positioned within the cab;
wherein the driver seat and the steering column are centered about a central seating plane;
wherein the central seating plane is positioned a first distance from a side of the cab;
wherein the first distance is less than 25% of a total width of the cab;
wherein, when the driver seat is in a position that accommodates an operator being in a 95 th male height percentile, (i) the driver seat is positioned a second distance of at least four inches forward of a rear edge of the first window and (ii) the operator within the driver seat can see out of (a) the first window at a first angle relative to a forward looking direction that is parallel with the longitudinal axis and (b) the second window at a second angle relative to the forward looking direction;
wherein the first angle is at least 130 degrees; and
wherein the second angle is at least 100 degrees.

Assignees

• Oshkosh Corp

Inventors

• Andrews Benjamin
• Holliday Robert Wesley
• Nett Dan
• Rantanen Annette
• Schmidt Paul
• Winter Nick
• Wolfrath Mitchell

Classifications

• B60P3/007 Primary

  for delivery of small articles, e.g. milk, frozen articles · CPC title

• B60N2/015

  Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis · CPC title

• B60N2/005

  Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles {, e.g. dismountable auxiliary seats}(B60N2/02 takes precedence {; for railway vehicles B61D1/04}) · CPC title

• B60N2/065

  Rear seats · CPC title

• B60N2/06

  slidable (B60N2/12 {, B60N2/2209} take precedence) · CPC title