Stowable seat for wheel chair accessible kiosk

Abstract

A stowable seating apparatus for a wheel chair accessible electronic kiosk includes a first curved track attached to an interior wall of the kiosk that has a horizontal portion and a vertical portion; a second curved track attached to the opposite interior wall of the kiosk, parallel to the first track, that has corresponding horizontal and vertical portions; and a bench seat that moves along the tracks on rollers between a horizontal seating position and a vertical stowed position. The stowable seating apparatus also includes a latch for retaining the seat in the seating position and a tensioning spring that applies force to the seat to assist in moving the seat from the stowed position to the seating position. The seat in the seating position allows a non-wheel chair user to sit in the same position relative to the enclosure as a wheel chair user when the seat is stowed.

1 . A stowable seating apparatus, comprising: 
 a track having a horizontal portion, a vertical portion and a curved portion connecting the horizontal and vertical portions; and    a seat adapted to move along the track between the horizontal portion of the track and the vertical portion of the track.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 rollers rotatably mounted on the seat for moving the seat along the track.    
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the seat is in a seating position when located along the horizontal portion of the track and in a stowed position when located along the vertical portion of the track.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , further comprising: 
 a latching device for retaining the seat in the seating position.    
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , further comprising: 
 a tensioning device applying force to the seat to assist in moving the seat from the stowed position to the seating position.    
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the tensioning device is a spring which is stretched as the seat moves from the seating position to the stowed position.  
   
   
       7 . A stowable seating apparatus, comprising: 
 a first track having a horizontal portion, a vertical portion and a curved portion connecting the horizontal and vertical portions;    a second track parallel to the first track, the second track having corresponding horizontal, vertical and curved portions: and    a seat being disposed between the tracks and adapted to move along both the first and second tracks between the horizontal portions of the tracks and the vertical portions of the tracks.    
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the seat has a first end and a second end opposite the first end and the apparatus further comprises: 
 first rollers rotatably mounted proximate to the first end of the seat for moving the seat along the first track; and    second rollers rotatably mounted proximate to the second end of the seat for moving the seat along the second track.    
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the seat is in a seating position when located along the horizontal portions of the first and second tracks and in a stowed position when located along the vertical portions of the first and second tracks.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , further comprising: 
 a latching device for retaining the seat in the seating position.    
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , further comprising: 
 a tensioning device for applying force to the seat to assist in moving the seat from the stowed position to the seating position.    
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the tensioning device is a spring which is stretched as the seat moves from the seating position to the stowed position.  
   
   
       13 . A kiosk comprising: 
 an enclosure having sufficient room inside to accommodate a user in a wheelchair; and    a stowable seating apparatus within the enclosure for a non-wheel chair-bound user,    wherein the stowable seating apparatus comprises: 
 a first track attached to the enclosure having a horizontal portion, a vertical portion and a curved portion connecting the horizontal and vertical portions;  
 a second track attached to the enclosure, parallel to the first track and having corresponding horizontal, vertical and curved portions; and  
 a seat disposed between the first and second tracks and adapted to move along the first and second tracks between the horizontal portions of the tracks and the vertical portions of the tracks.  
   
   
   
       14 . The kiosk of  claim 13 , wherein the seat has a first end and a second end opposite the first end and the seating apparatus further comprises: 
 first rollers rotatably mounted proximate to the first end of the seat for moving the seat along the first track; and    second rollers rotatably mounted proximate to the second end of the seat for moving the seat along the second track.    
   
   
       15 . The kiosk of  claim 13 , wherein the seat is in a seating position when located along the horizontal portions of the first and second tracks and in a stowed position when located along the vertical portions of the first and second tracks.  
   
   
       16 . The kiosk of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 a latching device for retaining the seat in the seating position.    
   
   
       17 . The kiosk of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 a tensioning device for applying force to the seat to assist in moving the seat from the stowed position to the seating position.    
   
   
       18 . The kiosk of  claim 17 , wherein the tensioning device is a spring which is stretched as the seat moves from the seating position to the stowed position.  
   
   
       19 . The kiosk of  claim 15 , wherein the seat in the seating position allows the non-wheel chair-bound user to sit in about the same position in the enclosure as the user in a wheelchair sits when the seat is the stowed position.  
   
   
       20 . The kiosk of  claim 13 , wherein the first and second tracks are spaced sufficiently far apart to accommodate the user in a wheelchair between them.