Patent ID: 7866723

Claim:
A method for loading and unloading a passenger sitting on a seat of a vehicle having a front end and a rear end, the vehicle having a door adjacent the seat that opens from a closed position in a direction outwardly from the vehicle and in a direction toward the front end, the seat facing the rear end and being slidable on a transfer coupling from a first position within the vehicle and confronting an adjacent seat to a second position substantially outside the vehicle while maintaining the rearwardly-facing orientation of the seat, the transfer coupling including respective telescoping elements received within cushion portions of the seat and the adjacent seat, the method comprising: opening the door in a direction outwardly from the vehicle and toward the front end of the vehicle; sliding the seat from the first position to the second position on the transfer coupling while maintaining the rearwardly-facing orientation; and unloading the passenger from the seat with the seat in the rearwardly-facing orientation by moving the passenger in a direction toward the rear of the vehicle.