Airplane passenger seating unit and corresponding cabin layout

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of passenger seats for transport vehicles, in particular airliners, and relates more particularly to an aircraft passenger seat unit and a cabin arrangement obtained with such units.

[0002] The present invention has a direct application in the design of business class cabins. (business class (in Anglo-Saxon terminology) of medium or long-haul aircraft, without being limited to them. STATE OF THE ART

[0003] In air transport, passenger comfort is a key competitive factor. For most airlines, this comfort is contingent on profitability requirements and the need to reduce environmental impact, resulting in high-density seating arrangements, meaning that as many passengers as possible are placed in the available space.

[0004] The level of comfort required in the upper classes (first class and business class) must, for example, offer passengers the possibility of lying down in a sleeping position, especially when the flight duration is long, and of enjoying a certain degree of privacy from other passengers.

[0005] Convertible seats that turn into beds have been around for a long time and come in many different configurations.

[0006] Aircraft passenger seats are subject to strict design constraints, many of which do not apply to seats in other types of vehicles. One issue is the need to comply with safety standards applicable to aircraft passenger seats, such as the 16g test, which requires seats to withstand a 16g deceleration during takeoff / landing. Another issue is the need to minimize seat weight, as carrying extra weight on an aircraft increases fuel consumption and therefore the monetary and environmental cost. The seat must therefore be both strong and lightweight.

[0007] Another issue concerns space utilization. Every aircraft has a maximum area for passenger seats, which must be used as efficiently as possible to maximize seating and legroom for each passenger, while also allowing for unobstructed exit from the seat. It is also important, for cost reasons, to fit as many passenger seats as possible into the available space.

[0008] Another issue concerns seat comfort. Aircraft passenger seats may be used for daytime flights, during which passengers may want to work, eat, and / or relax, and for nighttime flights, during which passengers may want to sleep. Ideally, an aircraft passenger seat should allow for comfortable positions for all these activities, while also meeting relevant safety standards during takeoff and landing.

[0009] Another issue concerns the psychological and / or social needs of airplane passengers, who may wish for privacy while working, eating, or sleeping, or who may wish to interact with a fellow traveler. Certain features are also undesirable for aesthetic reasons; for example, it is preferable that certain parts of the seat mechanism not be visible to the passenger.

[0010] For business class seats, passengers demand the highest possible level of comfort, and it is accepted that the available space will allow for fewer passenger seats than in economy class. For lie-flat seats, it is desirable to offer a sleeping experience as close as possible to a normal bed. However, standard single beds are considerably wider than what an airplane passenger seat should be.

[0011] As a general rule, the most comfortable passenger seats are reserved for long-haul (or wide-body) aircraft and are arranged in dense configurations with transverse rows comprising four or more seats.

[0012] The relatively narrow cabins of medium-haul aircraft, especially single-aisle aircraft, do not allow airlines to use seats identical to those they use on long-haul aircraft.

[0013] Furthermore, convertible business and first-class seats incorporate complex motorized mechanisms that individually operate each part of the seat, including the seat cushion and backrest. These mechanisms represent a certain mass and cost, making them unsuitable for use in medium-haul aircraft with reduced cabin width. WO 2013 / 136080 A2 discloses a seat unit according to the prior art. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention aims to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art described above and offers a simple and economical solution, which is suitable for both long-haul (wide-body) aircraft cabins and single-aisle medium-haul aircraft cabins, while offering the same level of comfort for the passenger.

[0015] For this purpose, the present invention relates to a passenger seat unit for a means of transport such as an airliner according to claim 1.

[0016] This configuration makes the seat unit adaptable to both long-haul and medium-haul aircraft, while retaining the same features and amenities. This is a significant advantage over prior art solutions where seat units have very different designs depending on the aircraft type.

[0017] Advantageously, the seat unit includes a single motorized mechanism to simultaneously operate the movements of the seat and backrest of the seat, and remains suitable for receiving one or more additional motorized mechanisms.

[0018] According to one embodiment, at least one contour in cross-section is inscribed in a parallelogram, each side of said parallelogram being at least partially coincident with a straight part of said contour.

[0019] More specifically, the circumscribed parallelogram is not a rectangle. According to one embodiment, the straight parts belong respectively to the rear partition, the side panel, a free edge of the seat, and the outer wall of the console.

[0020] Advantageously, the seat has a horizontal sleeping surface formed by the seat and backrest, when said seat is in a reclined position, said sleeping surface being able to be extended by means of a lateral extension attached to the console and the height-adjustable armrest located at the level of the side panel.

[0021] The armrest has an axis that is substantially parallel to an axis of the seat, the latter being inclined relative to the aircraft axis.

[0022] Another object of the invention is an aircraft cabin seating arrangement comprising a plurality of seat units as shown.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the arrangement comprises two lateral groups and a central group in a herringbone (or chevron) configuration.

[0024] According to another embodiment, the seating arrangement comprises only two side groups, each with one seat unit per transverse row.

[0025] According to an advantageous embodiment, each seat unit has a distance L substantially equal to 1549.4mm.

[0026] Finally, another object of the invention is a single-aisle, medium-range airliner, comprising a seating arrangement as shown.

[0027] The fundamental concepts of the invention having been set forth above in their most elementary form, other details and characteristics will become clearer upon reading the following description and in view of the attached drawings, giving by way of non-limiting example an embodiment of a seat unit conforming to the principles of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0028] The figures are provided for illustrative purposes only to aid understanding of the invention without limiting its scope. The various elements may be represented schematically and are not necessarily to the same scale. Throughout the figures, identical or equivalent elements are identified by the same numerical reference.

[0029] This is illustrated as follows: Figure 1 : a front perspective view, from the console side, of a seating unit according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 : a front perspective view, from the access side, of the seating unit; Figure 3 : a rear perspective view of the siege unit, revealing the Ottoman; Figure 4 : a top view of the siege unit; Figure 5 : the unit of seating inscribed in a parallelogram; Figure 6 : the maximum sleeping area obtained with successive seating units; Figure 7: a top view of the seating unit with the retractable tray extended; Figure 8 : two adjoining seating units of the central group of an arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 : a transverse row of a long-haul aircraft cabin arrangement; Figure 10 : a transverse row of a cabin arrangement for a single-aisle, medium-haul aircraft; Figure 11 : a rear perspective view of two successive seating units; Figure 12 : a forward perspective view of two successive seating units. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF IMPLEMENTATION METHODS

[0030] It should be noted that certain technical elements well known to those skilled in the art are described here to avoid any insufficiency or ambiguity in the understanding of the present invention.

[0031] In the embodiment described below, reference is made to an aircraft passenger seat unit, primarily intended for use in a business class cabin on an airliner. This non-limiting example is given for the sake of clarity and does not preclude the use of an identical or similar unit in other suitable means of transport.

[0032] In the following description, the term "shell" refers by extension to a receiving structure extending behind the seat and laterally to it, allowing both the seat to be isolated from neighboring seats and to accommodate various amenities for passenger comfort.

[0033] There figure 1 represents a seating unit 100 comprising a seat 10 partially surrounded by a shell 20 defining a usable passenger space and including for this purpose various amenities, as is customary in air transport.

[0034] The seat 10 mainly comprises a seat 11 and a backrest 12, both movable so that the seat 10 is convertible between a sitting position, in which the backrest 12 is upright and forms a substantially perpendicular angle with the seat 11, and a lying position in which the backrest is folded down to align with a mean plane of the seat 11 and thus form a substantially horizontal sleeping surface serving as a bed for the passenger.

[0035] The seat 10 moves from the sitting position to the lying position, and vice versa, continuously by means of a single motorized mechanism operating both the seat 11 and the backrest 12. Between these two positions, the seat 10 may optionally occupy at least one intermediate position such as a "relaxation" position in which the backrest 12 is inclined relative to the seat 11 at a more or less significant obtuse angle.

[0036] Preferably, and for simpler kinematics, seat 10 does not occupy any intermediate position between the sitting and lying positions.

[0037] During a transition from the sitting to the lying position, the movement of the seat 11 is primarily a forward translation, from position 1 to position 2 as shown in the figure 1 , while the movement of file 12 consists of a downward curvilinear translation and a rotation. Naturally, the reverse transition is accompanied by the respective inverse movements.

[0038] The seat 10 can have any shape, preferably optimized to occupy the available space and ensure the passenger's comfort. In the example shown, the seat 11 and the backrest 12 have beveled edges. This shape is particularly well-suited to accommodate a headrest at the top 121 of the backrest 12. The headrest can be fixed or removable, allowing the passenger to remove it when reclining.

[0039] The seat 10 also includes a cover 13 under the seat 11 to conceal undesirable appearance elements such as the motorized conversion mechanism, lower structural elements, fixings, etc.

[0040] Seat 10 is arranged within the shell 20 which is designed to be adapted to the different positions of said seat and to isolate said seat from neighbouring seats in a cabin arrangement comprising a plurality of units 100.

[0041] The shell 20, of complex structure, includes a rear bulkhead 21 extending laterally to the seat 10 by a side panel 22, a sliding door 23 arranged inside the side panel, an adjustable armrest 24 located on the side of said side panel, a console 25 on the other side of the seat surmounted by a cocktail table 26 and a functional assembly 27 for the storage and control of the seat 10.

[0042] The rear partition 21, according to the illustrated embodiment, has a flat section adapted to receive a screen 40 which serves as a display for the passenger of a seat unit located immediately behind the unit in question, as shown on the figure 3 , and a curved part joining said flat part and the side panel 22.

[0043] The side panel 22 has a thickness greater than that of the rear partition 21 to accommodate the sliding door 23 and a height equal to that of said partition and sufficient to ensure the privacy of the passenger in a seated position.

[0044] The sliding door 23 preferably allows the passage between two successive seat units 100 to be completely closed. Therefore, when fully closed, the sliding door 23 of one seat unit 100 is flush with the side panel 22 of the next seat unit.

[0045] The armrest 24 is height-adjustable as indicated by the double-headed arrow on the figures 1 and 2 . This setting allows the passenger to use the armrest 24 in its main function in the seated position, in which case the said armrest is in the high position, but also as an extension of the sleeping surface in the reclining position, in which case the armrest is in the low position.

[0046] On the opposite side, the passenger also has a second armrest in the form of a recess 264 made in the structure of the cocktail table 26.

[0047] The console 25, according to the illustrated embodiment, has a shape that, internally, generally follows the shape of the seat 10 and, externally, adapts to the position of the seat unit 100 in the cabin arrangement. To this end, the console 25 is delimited by a flat external wall 251 so that it can be easily attached either to the external wall of an identical adjacent seat unit in a central group of the cabin arrangement, or to the internal wall of the fuselage when the unit belongs to a lateral group of the cabin arrangement. The possible cabin arrangements are described later in this document.

[0048] The cocktail table 26 mainly comprises a retractable tray 261 and slots 262 allowing the passenger to place various objects.

[0049] There figure 7 represents in top view the retractable tray 261 taken out of its housing, said tray being mobile in rotation with respect to an off-center axis perpendicular to the plane of the shelf 26.

[0050] The functional assembly 27, according to the illustrated embodiment, is externally delimited by a flat wall 271 substantially coplanar with the external wall 251 of the console 25, and includes a closed compartment 272 which can, for example, accommodate a minibar, an open compartment 273 for placing various personal belongings of the passenger, a control unit 274 for, for example, adjusting the position of the seat 10 and a touch screen 275 for displaying flight data, for example.

[0051] Of course, the functional set 27 can be arranged differently.

[0052] The shell 20 may also include other equipment such as a personal lighting device 28 of the reading or ambient light type.

[0053] The seat unit 100 also includes a lateral extension 31 attached to the console 25 to widen the sleeping area when the seat 10 is in the reclined position. In fact, the lateral extension 31 has an upper surface 311 located at approximately the same level as the sleeping area created by the movable elements of the seat 10, namely the seat cushion 11 and the backrest 12.

[0054] With reference to the figure 3 , the seat unit 100 includes an ottoman 32 placed at the rear of the shell 20 in an interior volume 252 of the console 25, so as to constitute an extension of the sleeping surface of the seat of the seat unit immediately behind, on which extension the rear passenger can place at least his feet.

[0055] There figure 6represents the maximum sleeping area that can be obtained with two successive seating units, a front unit 100-1 and a rear unit 100-2. This sleeping area, shown in widely spaced hatching, is available to the passenger of the rear seat 10-2 and includes the seat 11-2 and the backrest 12-2, with its headrest 121-2, of said rear seat, the armrest 24-2 and the side extension 31-2 of the rear unit, as well as the ottoman 31-1 of the front unit.

[0056] The 100 seat unit thus offers the necessary passenger comfort while remaining compact and space-saving. This gives it the advantage of adapting to aircraft of different sizes, including long-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and single-aisle medium-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A320.

[0057] There figure 4The diagram shows the seat unit 100 in a top view to highlight the parallelism between the plane of the side panel 22 and the common plane of the external walls 251 and 271, these two planes being represented by dashed lines. This configuration allows the seat unit 100 to occupy the smallest transverse distance with a width L, for example, between 1000 mm and 1550 mm, preferably between 1016 mm (or 40") and 1549.4 mm (or 61") inclusive.

[0058] In order to maintain a small footprint (surface area occupied on the cabin floor) while optimizing the arrangement of seat units in a "high density" configuration, seat unit 100 is inscribed in a parallelogram P, as shown in the figure 5 More specifically, the 100 seat unit has a longer contour in cross-section inscribed in a parallelogram.

[0059] In three-dimensional representation, this translates to the fact that the unit of seat 100 is contained in a parallelepiped, of right section the parallelogram P, being perfectly adjacent to each of the lateral faces of said parallelepiped.

[0060] Preferably, the side panel 22 and the external walls 251 and 271 are contained, totally or partially, in opposite faces of the parallelepiped, while the free edge of the seat 11 and part of the rear partition 21, located just behind the backrest, are contained, totally or partially, in the other opposite faces of the parallelepiped.

[0061] Of course, because of the obliquity of the seat 10 relative to the hull 20 (the axis of the seat being inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the hull), the circumscription parallelogram P is not a rectangle.

[0062] The above geometric characteristics make the 100 seat unit particularly suitable for both classic business class arrangements on long-haul (wide-body) aircraft and more restricted arrangements on single-aisle medium-haul aircraft.

[0063] In the first case, a central group can be formed by joining two pairs of seat units 100 according to a specular (mirror) symmetry.

[0064] There figure 8 This represents a first seating unit 100b, referred to as the left, and a second seating unit 100c, referred to as the right, joined at their brackets 25b and 25c, such that the external walls 271b and 271c are also joined. Thus, the two brackets are well separated and isolated from each other, unlike prior art solutions which feature a common central bracket.

[0065] It should be noted that units 100b and 100c are identical except for one symmetry. Indeed, in the left unit 100b, console 25b is located to the left of a passenger in the seat of said unit, while in the right unit 100c, console 25c is located to the right of a passenger in the seat of said unit.

[0066] The central group thus obtained can be placed between two lateral groups in a wide-body aircraft cabin.

[0067] There figure 9 represents a transverse row of such an arrangement. The latter comprises two lateral groups attached to the fuselage 200 and a central group separated from each of said lateral groups by a traffic corridor 210.

[0068] Each side group comprises one seat unit in each transverse row, so the number of seat units per transverse row is four. Indeed, each transverse row in a wide-body aircraft arrangement comprises a first unit 100a, a second unit 100b, a third unit 100c identical to the first unit, and a fourth unit 100d identical to the third unit, resulting in an A-BA-B configuration.

[0069] In itself, the arrangement of the figure 9 is a herringbone arrangement ( herringbone (in Anglo-Saxon terminology) known in art.

[0070] However, the 100 seat unit according to the present invention also remains perfectly suited to a more restricted arrangement intended for single-aisle aircraft in which airlines do not usually offer such a level of comfort.

[0071] There Figure 10represents a transverse row of a single-aisle aircraft cabin arrangement, comprising only two side groups with no center group. The side groups are each attached to the fuselage 200 and separated from each other by a passageway 210. In a transverse row, each side group comprises a single seat unit. Thus, each transverse row comprises a first unit 100a and a second unit 100d, symmetrical about a median longitudinal plane of the cabin.

[0072] Given the difference in width between cabins, seat units intended for wide-body aircraft have a width of L1 and seat units intended for single-aisle aircraft have a width of L2, preferably greater than L1, subject of course to a compromise between comfort and mass.

[0073] Regardless of the seating arrangement, all seats are oriented away from adjacent aisles for greater peace and quiet and less distraction from passenger and crew movement. Thus, seats in the side groups face towards the fuselage, and seats in the center group face towards the centerline of the cabin.

[0074] In each lateral or central group of the arrangement, units 100-1 and 100-2 of successive transverse rows are arranged relative to each other as shown on the Figures 11 and 12 .

[0075] It is clear from the present description that certain elements of the seat unit can be modified, replaced or removed and that certain adjustments can be made to their arrangements, without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. Seat unit (100) for a passenger of a means of transport such as an airliner, comprising a seat (10) convertible into a bed and a shell (20) isolating said seat from neighboring seats, said seat comprising a seat section (11) and a backrest (12) that are movable, said shell comprising a rear partition (21), a side panel (22), on one side of the seat, and a console (25) surmounted by a tray (26), on the other side of the seat, the side panel (22) and an outer wall (251, 271) of the console (25) being parallel and spaced apart by a distance L between 1000 mm and 1600 mm, characterized in that it comprises a single motorized mechanism for simultaneously actuating the movements of the seat section (11) and of the backrest (12) of the seat (10), such that said seat moves from a seated position to a reclined position and vice versa continuously, and in that it is capable of receiving one or more additional motorized mechanisms, and in that it comprises a heightadjustable armrest (24), placed on the side panel (22), which can be used as an extension of the lying surface in the reclined position, in which case the armrest (24) is in the low position.

2. Seat unit (100) according to claim 1, wherein at least one cross-sectional contour is inscribed in a parallelogram (P), each side of said parallelogram being at least partially coincident with a straight portion of said contour.

3. Seat unit (100) according to claim 2, wherein the circumscribing parallelogram (P) is not a rectangle.

4. Seat unit (100) according to claim 2, wherein the straight portions respectively belong to the rear partition (21), to the side panel (22), to a free edge of the seat (11), and to the outer wall (251, 271) of the console.

5. Seat unit (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the seat (10) has a horizontal lying surface formed by the seat section (11) and the backrest (12), when said seat is in a reclined position, said lying surface being extendable by means of a lateral extension (31) adjoined to the console (25).

6. Arrangement of seats for an aircraft cabin, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of seat units (100) according to any one of the preceding claims.

7. Arrangement of seats according to claim 6, comprising two side groups and a center group in a chevron configuration.

8. Arrangement of seats according to claim 6, comprising only two side groups each comprising one seat unit (100) per transverse row.

9. Arrangement of seats according to claim 8, wherein each seat unit (100) has a distance L substantially equal to 1549.4 mm.

10. Single-aisle medium-haul aircraft, characterized in that it comprises an arrangement of seats according to claim 8 or 9.