Seating system and a passenger accommodation unit for a vehicle

• US 20070069073A1
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Published: 03/29/2007
• 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: Doy, Gary, Miles, Luke, Ferry, David, Mills, Simon, Lawler, Andrew, Starkey, David, Wells, Adam
• Granted Patent: US 7,469,861 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 244/118.600
• 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 includes 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 seating system for a passenger vehicle comprising:

a plurality of seat units, each seat unit defining a notional longitudinal seat axis and comprising a supporting structure adapted for attaching the seat unit to a floor of a vehicle and elements forming or being selectively configurable for forming a seat and a substantially flat bed, each said seat unit comprising a seat-pan and a back-rest configurable into a seat position and a substantially flat bed position;

wherein said seat units are arranged to form a column defining a notional longitudinal column axis, in which column said seat-units are arranged side-by-side in a longitudinally offset relation at an acute angle to said notional column axis, thereby defining a space to the rear of each seat, and when the seat unit is configured in the substantially flat bed position a proportion of the substantially flat bed is disposed at a forward position with respect to said seat-pan and said substantially flat bed extends rearwardly into said space to extend the substantially flat bed.

2. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said seat unit further comprises a passenger supporting element disposed in said space to the rear of said seat, which passenger supporting element forms part of said substantially flat bed.

3. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said acute angle is in the range of from about 30 to about 60°

.

4. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises an accommodation cabin, which cabin defines a notional longitudinal cabin axis, and wherein said notional column axis is substantially parallel to or subtends at an acute angle with respect to said cabin axis.

5. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said seat units are disposed adjacent a side wall of the vehicle and face inwardly, or are disposed back-to-back with the seat units in another column.

6. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said seat unit further comprises a foot-rest that is positioned forwardly of said seat.

7. A seating system as claimed in claim 6, wherein each said seat unit further comprises a first privacy screen that is positioned forwardly of said foot-rest.

8. A seating system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said elements comprise one or more movable passenger-bearing elements which are selectively configurable to form, in a seat mode, at least part of the seat for a passenger or, in a bed mode, at least part of said substantially flat bed, and wherein the substantially flat bed in the bed mode is disposed at substantially the same level as said seat-pan when said seat is configured in said seat mode.

9. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each seat unit comprises a first passenger-supporting element in said space to the rear of the seat, which first passenger-supporting element is disposed substantially coplanarly with said one or more movable elements when said movable elements are configured in the bed position and is adapted to form part of said substantially flat bed.

10. A seating system as claimed in claim 9, wherein each said seat unit further comprises a second passenger-supporting element to one side of said seat, which second passenger-supporting element is disposed substantially coplanarly with said first passenger supporting element and is adapted to form part of said substantially flat bed when the elements are configured in said bed position, thereby extending said substantially flat bed laterally.

11. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first fixed element of one seat unit is disposed substantially contiguously to a second fixed element of an adjacent seat unit, said first and second elements being divided from one another by a second privacy screen.

12. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said acute angle is in the range of from about 40 to about 50°

.

13. A seating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said acute angle is about 45°

.

14. A seating system for a passenger vehicle comprising:

a plurality of seat units configurable into a seat and a substantially flat bed;

each seat unit defining a space positioned to the rear of the seat when the seat unit is configured into the seat;

wherein when said seat unit is configured into the substantially flat bed, a portion of the substantially flat bed extends rearwardly into said space to extend the substantially flat bed.

15. The seating system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said seat units are arranged in a column having a notional longitudinal column axis, in which column each said seat unit is disposed at an acute angle to said column axis.

16. The seating system as claimed in claim 14 wherein at least one of said seat units further comprises a passenger supporting element disposed in the space to the rear of said seat, which passenger supporting element forms part of said substantially flat bed.

17. The seating system as claimed in claim 14 wherein at least one of said seat units further comprises a foot-rest disposed at a position forward of said seat.

18. The seating system as claimed in claim 14 wherein at least one of said seat units further comprises a privacy screen.

19. The seating system as claimed in claim 14 wherein at least one of said seat units further comprises a passenger supporting element disposed in the space to the rear of said seat and a foot-rest disposed at a position forward of said seat such that said foot rest, said substantially flat bed, and said passenger supporting element form a contiguous surface when the seat unit is configured into the substantially flat bed.

20. A seating system for a passenger vehicle comprising:

a plurality of seat units configurable into a seat and a substantially flat bed, said seat units being arranged in a column having a notional longitudinal column axis, in which column at least some of said seat units are arranged in a longitudinally offset relation at an acute angle to the column axis;

each seat unit comprising a space positioned to the rear of the seat when the seat unit is configured into the seat;

wherein when said seat unit is configured into the substantially flat bed, a portion of the substantially flat bed extends rearwardly into said space to extend the substantially flat bed.