Laterally and recline adjustable aircraft passenger seat

• US 10,000,288 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2016
• Issued: 06/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Udriste, Daniel, De La Garza, Javier Valdes, Bunea, Catalin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bonzell, Philip J
• Application Number:
  US15/059,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20160288910A1
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/062 transversally slidable
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0015 Arrangements for entertainment or communications, e.g. radio, television
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0602 Seat modules, i.e. seat systems including furniture separate from the seat itself
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0606 with privacy shells, screens, separators or the like class dividers B64D11/0023
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/064 Adjustable inclination or position of seats
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2011/0046 Modular or preassembled units for creating cabin interior structures

Abstract

A laterally and recline adjustable aircraft passenger seat assembly including a seat, spaced forward and rear rails, a seat recline motion assembly attached to the seat and slidable along the length of the spaced forward and rear rails and including a first actuator dedicated for seat recline motion, and a lateral seat motion assembly disposed between the spaced forward and rear rails and including a second linear actuator dedicated for driving lateral motion of the seat recline motion assembly.

Claims

1. A laterally and recline adjustable aircraft passenger seat assembly, comprising:

a seat including a seat bottom and a seat back;

spaced forward and rear rails;

a seat motion assembly comprising spaced primary frame members slidable along the spaced forward and rear rails, spaced secondary frame members interconnecting the spaced primary frame members, and spaced actuator frame members fixed to the spaced secondary frame members;

a seat recline motion assembly affixed to the seat and nested between the spaced actuator frame members, the seat recline motion assembly dedicated for driving seat recline motion and including a first linear actuator oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis of the seat; and

a lateral seat motion assembly affixed to an intermediate frame member disposed between the spaced primary frame members, the intermediate frame member fixed to the forward and rear rails, the lateral seat motion assembly dedicated for driving lateral seat motion and including a second linear actuator oriented perpendicular to the first linear actuator;

wherein the first linear actuator is disposed above the second linear actuator such that the first linear actuator is configured to pass over the second linear actuator as the seat motion assembly travels along the spaced forward and rear rails, and the second linear actuator is disposed beneath the seat regardless of a lateral position of the seat.

2. The aircraft passenger seat assembly of claim 1, wherein the second linear actuator is attached to one of the spaced primary frame members such that linear motion of the second linear actuator drives lateral seat motion.

3. The aircraft passenger seat assembly of claim 1, wherein the spaced primary frame members are attached to respective spaced seat spreaders of the seat.

4. The aircraft passenger seat assembly of claim 1, wherein the second linear actuator is attached to one side of the intermediate frame member.

5. The aircraft passenger seat assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

spaced forward and rear beams tubes positioned inward of the spaced forward and rear rails;

left and right legs attached to ends of the spaced forward and rear beam tubes; and

left and right spreaders positioned inward of the left and right legs and attached to the spaced forward and rear beam tubes and the spaced forward and rear rails.

6. The aircraft passenger seat assembly of claim 1, wherein the laterally and recline adjustable aircraft passenger seat assembly is adapted to be positioned within a suite in an airliner and is adapted to move laterally across a width of the suite.

7. The aircraft passenger seat assembly of claim 6, wherein the suite includes a video monitor positioned forward of the seat, and the seat is configured to travel across the width of the suite between a first position in which the video monitor is directly forward of the seat and a second position in which the video monitor is at an angle to the seat.

8. An aircraft passenger seating arrangement, comprising:

a suite including a video monitor positioned on a forward wall of the suite; and

a laterally and recline adjustable aircraft passenger seat assembly positioned within the suite, comprising;

a seat facing the video monitor and including a seat bottom and a seat back;

spaced forward and rear rails;

a seat motion assembly comprising spaced primary frame members slidable along the spaced forward and rear rails, spaced secondary frame members interconnecting the spaced primary frame members, and spaced actuator frame members fixed to the secondary frame members;

a seat recline motion assembly affixed to the seat and nested between the spaced actuator frame members, the seat recline motion assembly dedicated for driving seat recline motion and including a first linear actuator oriented parallel to a longitudinal axis of the seat; and

a lateral seat motion assembly affixed to an intermediate frame member disposed between the spaced primary frame members, the intermediate frame member fixed to the forward and rear rails, the lateral seat motion assembly dedicated for driving lateral seat motion and including a second linear actuator oriented perpendicular to the first linear actuator;

wherein the first linear actuator is disposed above the second linear actuator such that the first linear actuator is configured to pass over the second linear actuator as the seat motion assembly travels along the spaced forward and rear rails, and the second linear actuator is disposed beneath the seat regardless of a lateral position of the seat.

9. The aircraft passenger seating arrangement of claim 8, wherein the second linear actuator is attached to one of the spaced primary frame members such that linear motion of the second linear actuator drives lateral seat motion.

10. The aircraft passenger seating arrangement of claim 8, wherein the spaced primary frame members are attached to respective spaced seat spreaders of the seat.

11. The aircraft passenger seating arrangement of claim 8, wherein the second linear actuator is attached to one side of the intermediate frame member.

12. The aircraft passenger seating arrangement of claim 8, further comprising:

spaced forward and rear beams tubes positioned inward of the spaced forward and rear rails;

left and right legs attached to ends of the spaced forward and rear beam tubes; and

left and right spreaders positioned inward of the left and right legs and attached to the spaced forward and rear beam tubes and the spaced forward and rear rails.

13. The aircraft passenger seating arrangement of claim 8, wherein the laterally and recline adjustable aircraft passenger seat assembly is positioned within the suite such that the seat is adapted to travel across a width of the suite.

14. The aircraft passenger seating arrangement of claim 13, wherein the seat is configured to travel across the width of the suite between a first position in which the video monitor is directly forward of the seat and a second position in which the video monitor is at an angle to the seat.