Aircraft Seat Bed Configuration via Side Ottoman Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft seat designs fail to provide a longer bed configuration while maintaining or reducing seat pitch, limiting passenger comfort and space efficiency in aircraft cabins.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a pivotally mounted backrest and a fixed side ottoman that extends into the footwell of the adjacent seat, forming a longer bed configuration without increasing overall seat pitch, with optional extension pieces to fill gaps and form a flat bed surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the bed length is increased by extending the seat structure, then passenger comfort is improved, but the seat pitch increases reducing space efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The ottoman is nested within the footwell space of the adjacent seat, allowing the bed surface to extend into the footwell area. This nesting arrangement enables the bed length to be increased without increasing the overall seat pitch, as the ottoman utilizes the existing footwell volume rather than occupying additional linear space in front of the seat.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the bed length purely in the forward direction (increasing seat pitch), the invention utilizes the lateral dimension by positioning the ottoman within the footwell area. This dimensional shift allows the bed surface to extend into the footwell space, effectively increasing bed length while maintaining the same seat pitch footprint.
2Length of moving object
If the ottoman extends into the footwell of the adjacent seat, then bed length is increased, but the footwell space for the adjacent seat is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The ottoman is designed to be movable relative to the adjacent seat, allowing it to be positioned within the footwell when the adjacent seat is not in use or when bed configuration is required. This dynamic arrangement enables the ottoman to be relocated or removed to restore full footwell access, thus resolving the space conflict between bed extension and footwell accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The ottoman is pre-positioned within the footwell space during seat configuration, allowing the bed to be formed without requiring additional space. The ottoman's location is predetermined to utilize the footwell volume, and it can be easily repositioned or removed beforehand to restore footwell access when needed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the backrest is made pivotally mounted to enable flat position, then bed configuration is achieved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backrest is divided into multiple segments that can pivot relative to each other and to the seat base. This segmentation allows the backrest to be folded down to a flat position to form a bed surface, while each segment can be independently positioned. The segmented design enables bed configuration capability while managing structural complexity through modular construction.
Data Source
AI summary
A seating arrangement for an aircraft cabin is disclosed which includes seats having a backrest (16) which is pivotally moveable from an upright position to a flat position. A side ottoman (22) having a front portion (42) is located beside the seat base (14) of the seat. The seat has a footwell (32) into which the front portion of the side ottoman locates so that when the seat (16) is in the flat position a bed is formed by the rear surface (17), the front portion (42) located in the footwell of a front seat in front of the said seat and a base (34) of an open space (30) behind is the backrest (16) when in an upright position.