A retractable ramp system for facilitating mobility-challenged individual's entrance to and exit from a structure, particularly, from a motorized vehicle. The ramp system includes a frame having a front member, a first side member, a second side member, a rear member, and a floor. The rear member is pivotally coupled to the frame between an open position and a closed position. The ramp system includes a first track coupled to the first side member and defining a longitudinal channel therein, and a second track coupled to the second side member and defining a longitudinal channel therein. A ramp is pivotably coupled to the first and second tracks about a pivot axis, and includes a ramp floor, a first side panel, and a second side panel. The system includes a latch to maintain the ramp in a stowed positon.

A cutaway bus is provided with a monocoque body attached to an OEM cab frame having the chassis removed. The bus body includes a horizontal frame to which panels are attached to define a continuous, non-stepped floor for the passenger area of the bus. The floor resides at a lower level than the OEM cab frame. The bus entryway is sloped and includes a deployable ramp for wheelchair ingress and egress.

A vehicle floor structure includes a floor member that includes an opening that is open at an end corresponding to an entrance, the opening extending toward a vehicle cabin side, and a floor panel that is supported by the floor member to cover the opening and includes an open end at a position corresponding to the entrance. The floor panel is configured by sequentially arranging and integrating unit panels in a width direction with a direction parallel to the open end serving as a longitudinal direction of the unit panels.

A vehicle entrance system includes: an upper gate configured to open and close an upper portion of a vehicle entrance through a sliding operation or a rotational operation; and a lower door provided at a lower portion of the vehicle entrance and configured to close the lower portion of the vehicle entrance or be stretched from the lower portion of the vehicle entrance to the outside to provide an entrance/exit guide panel extending from a floor of the vehicle.

Provided herein is a balanced locking pawl. In particular, the center of gravity of the locking pawl is located at or near the pivot point of the locking pawl. The balanced approach allows for a faster locking response during the rebound (whiplash/return) forces of a crash.

The subject disclosure relates to techniques for application-based controls of a wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle. A process of the disclosed technology can include steps for receiving a request for a wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle (WAV) to execute an ingress function, wherein the ingress function includes a deployment of a wheelchair ramp by the WAV, sending an ingress command to the WAV in response to the request, wherein the ingress command comprises instructions cause the WAV to execute the ingress function at a specified pick-up location, and receiving feedback from the WAV, the feedback includes sensor data associated with a wheelchair ramp and status information associated with the ingress function. Machine-readable media and systems are also provided.

The subject disclosure relates to features for improving wheelchair accessibility in autonomous vehicles (AVs) and in particular, for enabling automatic ingress/egress of a wheelchair ramp to facilitate the loading and unloading of a passenger wheelchair. In some aspects, a process of the disclosed technology includes steps for identifying one or more visual reference features on at least one surface of an autonomous vehicle (AV), automatically deploying a ramp to facilitate ingress of a wheelchair, and tracking ingress of the wheelchair based on the one or more visual reference features. Systems and machine-readable media are also provided.

A low floor electric bus is provided. The bus includes a frame extending longitudinally from a front end to a rear end, the frame having two sidepieces and a plurality of crossmembers extending between and coupled to the sidepieces, wherein the frame has a central section positioned at a lower height relative to the front and/or rear sections. The bus further includes a battery pack mounted to the central portion of the frame; a powertrain having an electric motor and a driveshaft, wherein the electric motor is mounted to the rear section of the frame behind a rear axle coupled to the frame and the driveshaft extends from the electric motor to the rear axle; and a cradle coupled to the front section of the frame. A mixed-material cabin is also provided. The cabin includes a passenger cabin with a floor, sidewalls, and ceiling having steel, ceramic, and composite components.

An autonomous vehicle includes an autonomously driven vehicle frame with a retractable pivot mechanism disposed on a platform surface of the vehicle frame. Changeable utility pods are configured to attach to and be removed from the vehicle frame by way of the retractable pivot mechanism onboard the frame, and autonomously change the vehicle from a passenger transport to a logistics transport by changing utility pods. A processor provides autonomous vehicle operations that include extending the retractable pivot mechanism from a retracted position recessed in the platform surface of the vehicle frame to an extended position that engages a utility pod conveyor channel. The retractable pivot mechanism engages a conveyor channel disposed on a mating surface of a utility pod, and conveys the utility pod along the conveyor channel to a centered and laterally-aligned position on the vehicle frame by rotating the pod into position once centered over the pivot mechanism.

A tread device for a retractable step access system for a vehicle includes a tread and at least one wiper device. The wiper device is coupled or couplable movably to the tread and configured in the form of a flap and is arranged and designed to wipe off dirt and to form a ramp by lying, under the force of gravity, on the retractable step. The wiper device is arranged and designed to lie on the retractable step both in an operating state, in which the retractable step is arranged protruding from under the tread, and also in a rest state, in which the retractable step is arranged underneath the tread.