Seating system and a passenger accommodation unit for a vehicle

• US 7,472,957 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited (Liberty Global Plc)
• Original Assignee: Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited (Liberty Global Plc)
• Inventors: Mills, Simon Frederick, Doy, Gary, Miles, Luke, Ferry, David, Starkey, David Edward, Lawler, Andrew Leslie, Wells, Adam Bernard
• Primary Examiner(s): Collins; Timothy D
• Application Number:
  US11/395,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20070080566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• Field of Search: 244/118.6, 244/118.5, 244/122.R, 297/343, 297/342, 297/341, 297/354.1, 297/340
• US Class Current: 297/343
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/20 the back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access B60N2/04, B60N2/22 , B60N2/3002 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/206 to a position in which it can be used as a support for objects, e.g. as a tray
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/3031 in a longitudinal-vertical plane
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/3065 in a longitudinal-vertical plane
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/309 rods
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/34 into a bed
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/00 Passenger or crew accommodation; Flight-deck installations not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/06 Arrangements of seats, or adaptations or details specially adapted for aircraft seats crew seat constructions for emergency purposes B64D25/04
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0601 Arrangement of seats for non-standard seating layouts, e.g. seats staggered horizontally or vertically, arranged in an angled or fishbone layout, or facing in other directions than the direction of flight
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0604 including a bed, e.g. cocoon type passenger seat modules
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0606 with privacy shells, screens, separators or the like class dividers B64D11/0023
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0626 with individual temperature or ventilation control
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/064 Adjustable inclination or position of seats
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0641 Seats convertible into beds
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0646 Seats characterised by special features of stationary arms, foot or head rests
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0696 Means for fastening seats to floors, e.g. to floor rails

Abstract

A passenger seat assembly for a vehicle, particularly an aircraft, which is adapted to provide self-contained, individual seating and sleeping accommodation for a passenger, said seating assembly including a supporting structure (42) for supporting said assembly off the floor of a vehicle; one or more movable, passenger-bearing, structural components (71,72); and means for connecting said movable, structural components to said structure such that said components can be selectively moved between a seat configuration, in which a plurality of passenger-bearing surfaces on said one or more structural, movable components (71,71) or said supporting structure form a seat for the passenger, and a bed configuration, in which a plurality of said bearing surfaces (47,48,67,74,76) are disposed substantially coplanarly and substantially contiguously to form a bed for the passenger; characterized in that at least one of said movable components (72) is double-sided, comprising first and second opposite sides, one of said sides having a first seat surface (73) that forms part of the seat in said seat configuration, and the other side having a second bed surface (74) that forms part of said bed in said bed configuration.

Claims

1. A seat having a reclinable back-rest, said seat comprising:

a fixed supporting portion adapted for supporting the seat off a floor;

a seat portion comprising a reclinable back-rest and a seat connecting device adapted for connecting said seat portion to said supporting portion, said connecting device including a back-rest reclining mechanism adapted for allowing and controlling movement of said back-rest between a first upright position and a second fully reclined position;

wherein said back-rest comprises a first lower back-rest member having an upper end and a second upper back-rest member that is superposed to said first back-rest member and pivotably coupled to the upper end thereof so as to transmit translational movement therebetween, said back-rest reclining mechanism comprises first and second elongate guide tracks attached to the supporting portion or a part connected thereto, said first track having two opposing track-ends, a plurality of first spaced track-engaging follower members attached to said first back-rest member adapted to engage and slide in one of said tracks and a second track-engaging follower member coupled to said second back-rest member or a part connected thereto, said first track being curvilinear such that as the first track-engaging follower members slide along said first track from one end to the other, said first back-rest member is caused to rock progressively relative to said supporting portion between said first upright position and said second fully reclined position, and said second track having a profile such that as said second track-engaging follower member is caused to slide along said second track, said second back-rest member is caused to rock progressively with respect to said first back-rest member.

2. A seat having a reclinable back-rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said back-rest reclining mechanism comprises a rocker lever having two arms which subtend at an obtuse angle, which rocker is pivoted to said first back-rest member at a point intermediate said two arms, one of said arms carrying said second track-engaging follower member, and a connecting lever having two opposite ends, one of said ends being pivoted to the other arm of said rocker and the other end being fixedly secured to the second back-rest member;

the arrangement being such that as the second follower member is caused to slide along said second track, the rocker is caused to rock about its pivot to the first back-rest member, causing said lever to pivot about its pivot to the other arm of the rocker, thereby causing the second back-rest member to rock about its pivot to the first back-rest member.

3. A seat having a reclinable back-rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said seat connecting device further comprises a selectively operable, bi-directional linear actuator connected between said supporting portion or a part connected thereto and said back-rest for moving said back-rest translationally relative to said supporting portion, the arrangement being such that when said back-rest is caused to move translationally relative to said supporting portion, said first follower members on said first back-rest member are caused to slide progressively along said first track, thereby causing said back-rest to rock progressively between said first upright and second fully reclined positions.

4. A seat having a reclinable back-rest as claimed in claim 1, wherein said seat portion comprises a seat-pan and said linear actuator is connected to said seat-pan for moving said seat-pan along a predetermined linear path between a first position and second position.

5. A seat having a reclinable back-rest as claimed in claim 4, wherein said linear actuator is pivotably coupled to said seat-pan.

6. A seat having a reclinable back-rest as claimed in claim 4, wherein said linear actuator is pivotably coupled to said back-rest by a lost motion device.

7. A seat having a back-rest reclinable between an upright position and a reclined position, said seat comprising:

a lower back-rest portion;

an upper back-rest portion pivotably coupled with respect to the lower back-rest portion;

a first follower coupled to said lower back-rest portion;

a second follower coupled to said lower back-rest portion and to said upper back-rest portion;

a support comprising a first guide configured to receive said first follower, said first guide being oriented such that as the first follower moves along said first guide from one end toward the other, said lower back-rest portion moves relative to said support between an upright position and a reclined position, said support also comprising a second guide configured to receive said second follower, said second guide being oriented such that as the second follower moves along said second guide, said upper back-rest portion pivots with respect to said lower back-rest portion;

wherein said upper back-rest portion is configured to pivot forwardly with respect to said lower back-rest portion from the upright position to the reclined position, and said upper back-rest portion is configured to pivot rearwardly with respect to said lower back-rest portion from the reclined position to the upright position.

8. The seat of claim 7, wherein the support further comprises a fixed portion adapted for supporting the seat off a floor of a vehicle.

9. The seat of claim 7, wherein said first guide is curvilinear.

10. The seat of claim 7, further comprising a lever pivotally coupled to the lower back-rest portion, wherein said second follower is coupled to an end portion of said lever and an opposite end portion of said lever is coupled to the upper back-rest portion, said lever being positioned such that as the second follower moves along said second guide, said lever moves said upper back-rest portion with respect to said lower back-rest portion.

11. The seat of claim 7 further comprising a bidirectional linear actuator coupled to said support and configured to guide movement of said lower back-rest portion between the upright position and the reclined position.

12. The seat of claim 11, wherein said linear actuator is also coupled to a seat-pan and is configured to move said seat-pan along a path between a first position and second position.

13. The seat of claim 12, wherein said linear actuator guides movement of said lower back-rest portion between the upright position and the reclined position through a lost motion device.

14. The seat of claim 7, wherein said first follower and said second follower are located at an elevation below a top of said lower back-rest portion.

15. The seat of claim 7, wherein no direct supportive contact exists between said upper back-rest portion of said seat and said support.

16. A seat having a back-rest reclinable between an upright position and a reclined position, said seat comprising:

a lower back-rest portion;

an upper back-rest portion pivotably coupled with respect to the lower back-rest portion;

a support coupled to said lower back-rest portion and configured to guide movement of said lower back-rest portion between an upright position of the lower back-rest portion and a reclined position of the lower back-rest portion, said support also being coupled to said upper back-rest portion and configured to pivot said upper back-rest portion with respect to said lower back-rest portion;

wherein said upper back-rest portion is configured to pivot forwardly with respect to said lower back-rest portion from the upright position to the reclined position, and said upper back-rest portion is configured to pivot rearwardly with respect to said lower back-rest portion from the reclined position to the upright position.

17. The seat of claim 16, wherein said support is indirectly coupled to said upper back-rest portion.

18. The seat of claim 16, wherein said support is configured for moving said seat between the reclined position and a stowed position.

19. The seat of claim 16, wherein no direct supportive contact exists between said upper back-rest portion of said seat and said support.

20. The seat of claim 16, further comprising a lever pivotally coupled between said lower back-rest portion and said upper back-rest portion, said lever being configured to pivot said upper back-rest portion forwardly with respect to said lower back-rest portion from the upright position to the reclined position, and said lever further being configured to pivot said upper back-rest portion rearwardly with respect to said lower back-rest portion from the reclined position to the upright position.