Warped-floor tolerant aircraft seat

• US 8,998,323 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2012
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AMI Industries, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: AMI Industries, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Pacheco, Chad R., Pinkal, Donald R., Day, Martin S.
• Primary Examiner(s): BARFIELD, ANTHONY DERRELL
• Application Number:
  US13/571,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20140042273A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 297/344.1, 297/216.18
• US Class Current: 297/344.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/427 Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42736 of the whole seat
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0696 Means for fastening seats to floors, e.g. to floor rails
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 Weight reduction

Abstract

A track-mounted aircraft seat has seat track locking pins that are capable of moving independently to remain engaged with the seat track assembly in a warped-floor condition. The seat track locking pins are actuated by means of a pair of torque tubes that rotate independently about a common pilot shaft. A control link, which is operated by the user, acts on a pair of bell cranks each of which acts on one of the torque tubes. The control link is attached to the bell cranks by means of a spherical joint. Because the torque tubes rotate independently and because the spherical joint allows the bell cranks also to move independently, in the event of a warped-floor condition, rotation of one torque tube caused by the skewed seat track will not cause the other torque tube to release its track locking pin.

Claims

1. A seat for use in an aircraft having a seat track assembly adapted to permit the seat to move along the seat track assembly, the seat track assembly having a plurality of apertures adapted to be engaged by a plurality of moveable locking pins to selectively lock the seat in position along the seat track assembly, the seat comprising:

a seat frame having a seat pan portion and a seat back portion;

first and second locking pins carried on the seat frame, the first and second locking pins being moveable into an engaged position in which the first and second locking pins engage the plurality of apertures in the seat track assembly to lock the seat in a predetermined position along the seat track assembly, the first and second locking pins being further moveable to a disengaged position in which the first and second locking pins disengage the plurality of apertures to permit the aircraft seat to be moved along the seat track assembly;

a first actuator arm for moving the first locking pin from the engaged position to the disengaged position;

a second actuator arm for moving the second locking pin from the engaged position to the disengaged position, the first and second actuator arms being capable of independent movement to move the first and second locking pins independently; and

a control link adapted to be moved by a user, the control link providing a differential input to the first and second actuator arms such that the sum of the displacement of the first and second actuator arms is fixed for a given displacement of the control link;

wherein;

the seat track assembly comprises first and second seat track members; and

the control link is operatively attached to the first and second actuator arms by a rotating joint, the rotating joint permitting the first and second locking pins to remain in the engaged position as the first and second seat track members move from a parallel to a skewed configuration.

2. The seat of claim 1, wherein:

the first actuator arm comprises a first torque tube having a first input bell crank and a first actuator bell crank; and

the second actuator arm comprises a second torque tube having a second input bell crank and a second actuator bell crank, the first and second torque tubes pivoting independently about a common pivot axis.

3. The seat of claim 2, wherein:

the seat track assembly comprises first and second seat track members; and

the first and second torque tubes telescope along the common pivot axis as the first and second seat track members move from a proximal to a distal position.

4. The seat of claim 3, wherein:

the control link is operatively attached to the first and second actuator arms by a rotating joint including an elongate clevis pin that remains operatively engaged with the first and second torque tubes as the first and second seat track members move from the proximal to the distal position.

5. The seat of claim 1, wherein:

the first and second locking pins are spring-loaded into the engaged position.

6. The seat of claim 1, further comprising:

an input link operatively attached to the control link via a rocker arm.

7. A seat for use in an aircraft having a seat track assembly adapted to permit the seat to move along the seat track assembly, the seat track assembly comprising first and second seat track members, the seat track assembly further comprising a plurality of apertures adapted to be engaged by a plurality of moveable locking pins to selectively lock the seat in position along the seat track assembly, the seat comprising:

a seat frame having a seat pan portion and a seat back portion;

first and second locking pins carried on the seat frame, the first and second locking pins being moveable into an engaged position in which the first and second locking pins engage the plurality of apertures in the seat track assembly to lock the seat in a predetermined position along the seat track assembly, the first and second locking pins being further moveable to a disengaged position in which the first and second locking pins disengage the plurality of apertures to permit the aircraft seat to be moved along the seat track assembly;

a first actuator arm comprising a first torque tube having a first input bell crank and a first actuator bell crank, the first actuator bell crank being operatively attached to the first locking pin;

a second actuator arm comprising a second torque tube having a second input bell crank and a second actuator bell crank, the second actuator bell crank being operatively attached to the second locking pin, the first and second torque tubes pivoting independently about a common pivot axis;

a control link adapted to be moved by a user, the control link operatively attached to the first and second input bell cranks via a pivoting joint for urging the first and second input bell cranks to move the first and second locking pins from the engaged position to the disengaged position.

8. The seat of claim 7, wherein:

the flexible link pivots to permit the first and second locking pins to remain in the engaged position as the first and second seat track members move from a parallel to a skewed configuration.

9. The seat of claim 7, wherein:

the flexible link provides a differential input to the first and second input bell cranks such that the sum of the displacement of the first and second input bell cranks is fixed for a given displacement of the control link.

10. The seat of claim 7, wherein:

the first and second torque tubes telescope along the common pivot axis as the first and second seat track members move from a proximal to a distal position.

11. The seat of claim 7, wherein:

the first and second locking pins are spring-loaded into the engaged position.

12. The seat of claim 7, further comprising:

An input link operatively attached to the control link via a rocker arm.