Patent ID: 8465078

Claim:
A method of designing a driver's compartment for accommodating a predetermined range of driver's sizes comprising a smallest size and a largest size, the compartment having a floor and a top end, the method including: a. designing a driver's seat having a seat reference point (SRP) used to define a position of a corresponding part of the seat in the compartment and a seat pan height reference point (SPHRP) used to define a position of the front portion of the seat in the compartment; b. providing a seat moving mechanism configured to move at least the SRP vertically in the compartment between a first position in which the SRP is disposed at a first vertical distance H 1 from the top end and the SPHRP is disposed at a vertical distance of H 3 from the floor, and in which the seat is configured to accommodate a driver of the smallest size, and a second position in which the SRP is disposed at a second vertical distance H 2 from the top end, and the SPHRP is disposed at another vertical distance of at most H 3 or less from the floor, H 2 being greater than H 1 and in which the seat is configured to accommodate a driver of the largest size; c. disposing the top end at a vertical distance H 4 from the floor, the distance H 4 corresponds to the sum of H 1 and H 3 , so that the vertical distance H 4 of the top end is suitable for accommodating the driver of the largest size only when the seat is in the second position; and d. designing the seat moving mechanism to maintain, in the first and second positions, a vertical distance of the SPHRP from the floor at a substantially constant height.