Flexible door for aircraft seat

Abstract

Flexible door (10) for an aircraft, in particular aircraft, passenger access seating unit (100), characterised in that it comprises a plurality of parallel slats (11) articulated relative to one another in the longitudinal direction and transversely connected by at least one tensioning member (13) providing the door with flexibility.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of passenger seats for transportation means, in particular to the field of aircraft passenger seats, and more specifically relates to a flexible door for aircraft seats.

[0002] The invention has direct, but not limited, application to the arrangement of business class cabins in passenger aircraft. Prior art

[0003] Passenger comfort is an important component in aircraft seat design, especially when aircraft offer improved comfort levels (such as business class). However, airlines that operate aircraft often try to maximize cabin occupancy while maintaining appropriate comfort levels to increase the profitability of the flight.

[0004] This goal has led airlines to move towards densified cabin layouts, including in business class, where premium comfort seats (especially those convertible into beds) are more or less cleverly arranged to achieve the maximum possible density for a given comfort level.

[0005] Regardless of the layout, the seats are arranged in consecutive rows along the relevant part of the cabin. The spacing between these rows defines the interval between two consecutive seats and therefore also defines the aisle width for passengers.

[0006] This longitudinal spacing, known in technical terms as "seat pitch" or simply "pitch", is subject to dimensional regulations and must allow passengers to enter and exit the seats easily. To this end, regulations stipulate minimum aisle width values ​​for access to the passenger seats. The minimum aisle width may vary depending on whether the seat unit includes a door or not.

[0007] Therefore, in Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the illustrated prior art seating unit 1 , the aisle width and thus the size of the door 2 determine the pitch and the maximum density of the passenger compartment.

[0008] Indeed, when a seating unit has direct access (one passenger can reach his seat without passing in front of another passenger), it is equipped with a door.

[0009] In known solutions, these doors are rigid and usually slidingly mounted in the housing of the seat unit.

[0010] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 , each door 2 slides in a housing 3 which must be of sufficient size to accommodate said door.

[0011] Since the door 2 must be able to be almost completely retracted into the housing 3 to clear the passage, when it is in a position such as Figure 2In the open position shown in detail A, the dimension of the housing 3 in the door sliding direction is at least equal to the dimension of the door in this direction.

[0012] Therefore, the rigid nature of the door does not allow for a reduction in the size of the shell, on which the maximum density of the cabin depends. It is therefore difficult to increase cabin density while maintaining the aisle width required by regulations using this conventional design.

[0013] For example, for qualification reasons, the minimum aisle width must be 15 inches above a 25-inch height and 9 inches below this height.

[0014] This size problem of rigid sliding doors has also been encountered in other areas and the solution has been developed with flexible doors which consist of mutually hinged parts and can be stored in a small space by bending or rolling up like a roller blind.

[0015] One of the earliest patented flexible doors was the door described in patent US490448 in 1893. The door consisted of a number of parallel hinged slats that enabled it to be rolled up around a vertical roller.

[0016] Such flexible doors with hinged slats are used in various applications. For example, such doors are described in patents US4432591 and US20080272617.

[0017] However, these doors cannot be directly applied to seat units in the aviation sector for the following reasons: On the one hand, they require guide rails and a specific retracting mechanism to open and close, which is either manual, thus cumbersome and unsuitable for aircraft business class, or automatic, thus very costly).

[0018] On the other hand, they require a storage box which is small in the direction of the door axis but has a large thickness, which is contrary to the thin shells usually used in aircraft seat units.

[0019] For all these reasons, no previous solution has proposed the use of flexible doors in aircraft seating units.

[0020] In addition to the limited space between rows, another problem with rigid doors is that they can get stuck during an emergency evacuation. Indeed, in a state of panic, passengers can prevent the sliding of rigid doors. To prevent getting stuck during an evacuation, rigid doors are equipped with an emergency system. Summary of the invention

[0021] The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and to propose an innovative door for increasing the density of an aircraft cabin while maintaining passenger comfort and complying with regulatory aisle widths and spacings.

[0022] Another advantage of the invention is that emergency evacuation does not require an emergency system, since the passengers can actually pass through the closed door, like a "bar door" (une porte de "saloon").

[0023] To this end, the object of the present invention is to provide a door for aircraft, in particular airplane, passengers to enter a seat unit, comprising a plurality of slats hinged relative to each other and connected by at least one tensioner providing flexibility to the door.

[0024] Such a flexible door, for example, can achieve a 9-inch regulatory aisle (because it is larger than 7 inches) and fit the comfort level of business class. Therefore, in certain cabin arrangements, this width can reduce the 38-inch pitch to 33 inches, making it possible to increase cabin density.

[0025] Preferably, the slats are arranged parallel to each other and are hinged along their length.

[0026] According to one embodiment, at least one tensioning member is provided at each end of the door.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the door further comprises a slide at each end of each slat, said slide being crossed by at least one tensioning element.

[0028] Each tensioning member is, for example, a resilient rod having a sufficient length to connect all the slats.

[0029] According to one embodiment, adjacent slats are separated by a gap over most of their length.Another object of the present invention is to provide a seating unit for aircraft, in particular airplane, passengers comprising a flexible door as described above.

[0030] More specifically, in such a seating unit, preferably, the door is slidably mounted between two parallel arc-shaped plates of the housing.

[0031] As an alternative, the door may be opened by bending under thrust rather than sliding.Another object of the invention is to provide an aircraft cabin arrangement comprising at least one seat unit as described above.

[0032] While the basic concepts of the above invention have been explained in their most basic form, other details and features will become more apparent upon reading the following description and referring to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of non-limiting example, one embodiment of a flexible door in accordance with the principles of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only, so as to better understand the present invention, but not to limit its scope. Various elements may be shown in a schematic manner and are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the group of drawings, the same or equivalent elements have the same number marks.

[0034] As shown in the figure:

[0035] - Figure 1 : (already mentioned) shows a perspective view of two seating units equipped with conventional sliding rigid doors according to the prior art;

[0036] - Figure 2 : (mentioned) shows Figure 1 Detailed top view of

[0037] - Figure 3 : shows a front view of a flexible door according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] - Figure 4 : shows a fragmentary partial view of a flexible door showing a tensioner passing through a slat slider;

[0039] - Figure 5 : shows a partial top view of a seat unit with a flexible door in a normally closed position;

[0040] - Figure 6 : shows a partial top view of a seat unit with a flexible door in a normally open position;

[0041] - Figure 7 : Shows Figure 6 Details showing the curvature of the door when closed;

[0042] - Figure 8 : shows a perspective view of a seat unit with a flexible door in an emergency open position; - Fig. 9 : Shows Figure 8 A top view of

[0043] - Fig.10a : shows a perspective view of a flexible door in a closed position according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] - Fig.10b : Shows Fig.10a The flexible door is in an outwardly opened position;

[0045] - Fig.10c : Shows Fig.10b The flexible door in the housing is in the inwardly opened position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In one embodiment described below, it is related to a flexible door for an aircraft passenger seat that is mainly used for a seat unit that can be converted into a bed and is usually equipped in a passenger aircraft business class. This non-limiting example is used to better understand the present invention and does not exclude the use of the flexible door in other transportation vehicles with similar aircraft seat arrangements.

[0047] In this specification, the term "flexible" refers to the ability of a structure to undergo very large magnitude deformations and return to its equilibrium position in the absence of bending forces.

[0048] Figure 3 A flexible door 10 is shown, which includes a plurality of parallel and side-by-side slats 11, which are hinged relative to each other along their longitudinal edges (along the Y-axis) to provide lateral flexibility (i.e., the flexibility of the door), and two sliders 12 are provided at the end of each slat 11, and each tensioning member 13 passing through adjacent sliders 12 in the same row to provide lateral elasticity to offset the flexibility of the door, thereby giving the door 10 flexibility.

[0049] Indeed, in each pair of adjacent slats 11, these are articulated about a common longitudinal axis A substantially coinciding with the proximal longitudinal edges of said slats, so that the respective articulation axes are offset in the transverse direction (along the X axis), giving the door 10 a "hinged arm" type of kinematics. The relative movement of the slats 11 is not completely free, but is limited by the tensioning members 13 which exert a restoring force on each slat 11, returning the door 10 to its resting position without bending.

[0050] Figure 4 In the figure, it can be seen that the tensioning member 13 passes through the same row of sliders 12. In this example, the flexible door includes two tensioning members 13 in each row of sliders 12, that is, a total of four tensioning members, two at the lower end and two at the upper end of the door.

[0051] The tension members 13 extend to the entire width of the flexible door 10 to provide flexibility at each slat 11. In addition, each set of tension members 13 placed at the end of the door 10 has the same Young's modulus of elasticity (or stiffness) so that bending of the door is not accompanied by twisting, in other words, the door 10 does not twist when the passenger pushes the door.

[0052] Of course, the level of elasticity required for the flexible door 10 depends on the modulus of elasticity generated by each set of tensioners 13, which itself depends on the number of tensioners of the same nature in each set. According to the example shown, each tensioner 13 is a flexible rod of circular straight section inserted into a suitable channel provided in the body of the slider 12.

[0053] Each slider 12 is firmly fixed to one end of the slat 11 by any suitable fixing means. As an alternative, each slat can be integrally formed with its two end sliders. However, for the sake of easy maintenance and replacement, it is preferred that the slat 11 is independent of the slider 12 and can be separated therefrom.

[0054] The strip 11 is in the form of, for example, a rectangular thin plate and has sufficient mechanical strength so as not to be deformed independently during use of the flexible door 10 .

[0055] In addition, gaps 15 are reserved between adjacent slats 11 to facilitate their mutual hinge connection and reduce contact wear and noise generated by movement.

[0056] Figure 5 A flexible door 10 is shown installed in a seating unit 100 of the type that includes a seat that is convertible into a bed and various amenities that are typically provided to business class passengers. The seats and amenities of the seating unit are not the purpose of the present invention and will not be described. Only the outer shell of the seating unit is involved in the operation of the flexible door and will therefore be described in that regard. Indeed, the exterior of the seating unit 100 is covered by a shell 20 that is typically composed of a planar portion that extends into a circular or continuously broken portion, with which the flexible door 10 cooperates.

[0057] More specifically, the flexible door 10 is slidably mounted within a housing 20 between two parallel plates: an outer plate 21 and an inner plate 23, like a conventional pocket door.

[0058] The panels 21 and 23 separate and define an interior space 22 into which the flexible door 10 is fully or partially received, depending on whether it is in an open, slightly open or closed position.

[0059] exist Figure 5 In the embodiment of the invention, the flexible door 10 is in a closed position, completely closing the passage by abutting against the shell 20 of the seat unit directly in front of the seat unit 100 (to which the door belongs). In this closed position, the slats 11 are substantially coplanar, so that the door 10 remains flat as a whole, with a hidden first part embedded in the flat part of the shell 20, and a visible second part extending from the shell and abutting against the front shell.

[0060] Of course, the flexible door 10 may include any gripping means, such as a male or female handle, that enables a user to slide the door along the housing 20 between the closed position and the open position.

[0061] The seating unit may also include a control button for automatically opening and closing the flexible door 10. The sliding movement of the flexible door 10 is achieved by one or more rollers 25 in contact with the lower and / or upper sliders 12.

[0062] Figure 6 The flexible door 10 is shown in a fully open position, which frees up passageway P for ingress and egress to the seating unit 100. In this open position, the flexibility of the door 10 enables it to be inserted into the curved and angled portion of the shell 20 and thus be completely stored therein. This therefore enables the door 10 to occupy a portion of the storage space 22 that does not extend in the same X direction as the planar portion of the shell 20 adjacent the passageway P, thereby limiting the extension of the shell 20 in that direction while maintaining the minimum regulatory width of the passageway P.

[0063] Thus, the aircraft cabin can accommodate more seat units equipped with flexible doors according to the invention than seat units each equipped with a conventional rigid door.

[0064] When the user opens the flexible door 10, it slides from the outside to the inside of the housing 20, guided by the curvature of the plates 21 and 23. To this end, the slats 11 of the door 10 are narrower in their so-called distal portion, which is intended to enter the curved portion of the housing 20, where some of the curved areas are significantly curved. In this distal portion of the door 10, the small width of the slats 11 prevents them from getting stuck in the curved area Z of the housing 20 during the sliding of the door.

[0065] Figure 7 As Figure 6 The detail of FIG. 1 clearly shows that the small width of the slat 11 enables the flexible door to slide into the inner space 22 reserved for it between the curved panels 21 and 23 .

[0066] In contrast, the slats 11 of another portion (referred to as a proximal end) of the door 10 close to the passage P have a greater width. More specifically, the width of the slats 11 gradually decreases from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion.

[0067] This change in Figure 3 It is clearly shown in FIG. 1 that the door 10 has a larger width L1 and a smaller width L2. The large width of the slats 11 at the proximal portion does facilitate opening the door 10 during emergency evacuation, as the passengers will push the door head-on.

[0068] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The deformation of the flexible door 10 when pushed from the front by a passenger, especially in an emergency evacuation situation, is shown in a perspective view and a top view respectively.

[0069] The flexibility of the door 10 obtained by the hinged slats 11 and the tensioners 13 enables it to behave like a "bar door", which is well known for being easy to open and close.

[0070] The design of the flexible door 10 complies with all current regulatory requirements, both as to its construction and manufacturing materials, and its arrangement in the seating unit 100. For example, when installed in the housing 20, the door 10 is raised relative to the cabin floor by a height h.

[0071] Figures 10a to 10c A flexible door 10 ′ according to another embodiment is shown, in which the door is not slidably mounted in the housing of the seating unit in which the door adjusts the passage, but is embedded in the housing of the seating unit immediately ahead.

[0072] Indeed, the flexible door 10' is embedded in the housing 20 located in front of the seat unit that ensures the passage along the vertical Y axis. This embedding enables the flexible door 10' to rotate relative to the Y axis by virtue of its flexibility.

[0073] Reference Fig.10a The flexible door 10', like the first embodiment, comprises a plurality of hinged slats 11, sliders 12 fixed to the ends of the slats, and a tensioning member 13 passing through the sliders.

[0074] The flexible door 10 ′ is fixed to the housing 20 by means of an insert element (not shown) to which the first strip 11 is hingedly connected.

[0075] In order to adapt to the specific geometry of the interval between two consecutive shells 20, the slats 11 have a shape suitable for enclosing the interval shape in the closed position. Therefore, one end slat 11 has an inverted triangular shape to correspond to the inclined edge of the shell 20, while being vertically hinged with the adjacent rectangular slat.

[0076] Fig.10a , Fig.10b and Fig.10c The door 10 ′ is shown in a closed position, a position opened outwardly when a passenger leaves the seating unit, and a position opened inwardly when a passenger enters the seating unit, respectively.

[0077] According to this embodiment, the normal operation of the flexible door 10' is closer to the operation of a "bar door".

Claims

1. A flexible door (10, 10') for providing access to a seat unit (100) for aircraft passengers, in particular airplane passengers, characterized in that It comprises a plurality of slats (11) which are hinged relative to each other and connected by at least one tensioning member (13), so that the door has flexibility.

2. The door according to claim 1, wherein: The slats (11) are arranged parallel to each other and are hinged along their length.

3. The door according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: At least one tensioning member (13) is provided at each end of the door.

4. Door according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a slide (12) at each end of each slat (11), said slide being crossed by at least one tensioner (13).

5. A door according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: Each tensioning member (13) is a resilient rod having a sufficient length to connect all of the slats (11).

6. A door according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: Adjacent strips (11) are separated by gaps (15) over most of their length.

7. A seat unit (100) for aircraft passengers, in particular airplane passengers, characterized in that It comprises a door (10, 10') according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The seating unit of claim 7, wherein: The door (10) is slidably mounted between two parallel arc-shaped plates (21, 23) of the housing (20).

9. The seating unit of claim 8, wherein: The door (10) opens by bending under the action of a thrust, without sliding.

10. A cabin arrangement of an aircraft, in particular an airplane, comprising at least one seat unit (100) according to claim 7.

Images