Aircraft seat deployable bridge table, mounting provisions, and storage provisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft passenger seat trays do not adequately address the increasing need for flexible, multi-functional surface areas to accommodate electronic devices, beverages, and food, especially in seating rows where not all seats are occupied, and in situations where passengers prefer non-adjacent seating.
Innovation Solution
A bridge table system that spans the armrests of seating positions, featuring a deployable and storable design with engagement features, such as hooks and levers, allowing it to be securely mounted and easily removed, and a storage box for stowing when not in use, providing additional surface area that can be used across multiple seating configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional seat back mounted trays are used, then passengers have a surface for beverages and food, but additional surface area for electronic devices and multi-tasking is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge table is divided into a modular structure with a tabletop and multiple mounting panels that can be independently attached to different armrest configurations. This segmentation allows the same table to be adapted to various seating arrangements, whether seats are adjacent or non-adjacent, while providing sufficient surface area for multiple uses.
Solution Approach 2:
The bridge table system is designed as a universal solution that can be mounted on different armrest configurations (single armrest, dual armrests, forward row armrests) and serves multiple functions: supporting beverages, food, electronic devices, and other passenger effects. The standardized mounting panels with engagement features enable the same table to universally accommodate various seating layouts.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a deployable bridge table system is added to provide additional surface area, then versatility and surface area are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting panels incorporate self-latching engagement features with hooks and levers that automatically secure the table to the armrests when brought together. The system is designed to be self-aligning and self-securing, reducing the need for complex adjustment mechanisms or multiple fastening steps, thereby simplifying the overall device complexity while maintaining versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting panels are designed to nest within or alongside the existing armrest structures when not in use, and the bridge table components can be stored in a compact configuration. This nesting approach minimizes the space required for the additional components and reduces the visual and structural complexity of the overall system.
3Reliability
If mounting panels with engagement features are used to securely mount the bridge table, then reliability of mounting is improved, but ease of operation for removal and installation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement system uses movable levers that can be actuated to release the hooks from their latched positions. This dynamic mechanism allows the mounting to be secure during normal use (when levers are engaged) but easily released when needed (when levers are actuated), providing both reliability and ease of operation without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever acts as an intermediary between the user's manual input and the hook engagement/disengagement. By providing a simple lever interface, the system translates a small user action into the larger motion needed to release the secure mounting, making removal and installation easy while maintaining strong engagement during use.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances passenger convenience by providing a versatile, easily accessible surface for various items across multiple seating arrangements, including non-adjacent seats, while maintaining the aesthetic and functional integrity of the seating environment.
Implementation Method 1
the first and second mounting panels are biased to the horizontal deployed positions by torsion springs or the like
Implementation Method 2
the latch levers are biased to respective latching positions thereby latching the mounting panels in the vertical stowed positions
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A
AI summary
A seat assembly including a first armrest (200) having a first lateral side and a first mounting panel pivotally attached to the first lateral side, and a second armrest having a second lateral side facing the first armrest, and a second mounting panel pivotally attached to the second lateral side. The mounting panels are pivotable between stowed positions and deployed positions. A bridge table (100) is removably positionable between the first and second armrests and has a first lateral side for mounting upon the first mounting panel and a second lateral side for mounting upon the second mounting panel, each lateral side including a respective engagement feature for releasably engaging one of the mounting panels. When not in use, the bridge table stores within a box (400) attachable below a seat position of the seat assembly.