Aircraft Seat Spring Layout for Clearer Cabin Aisles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flight passenger seats in airplanes often obstruct the narrow cabin corridors due to large mechanical components, hindering efficient boarding, deboarding, and maintenance processes, as well as reducing available space for passenger movement.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates pivotable seat and back elements with integrated reset elements that occupy minimal space, allowing for compact mechanical arrangements that do not obstruct the traffic area, featuring reset elements that can be vertically positioned or integrated within the seat and back elements, and utilizing mechanisms like linear guides and turn-around levers to facilitate automatic resetting without obstructing the cleared area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional mechanical components are used in flight passenger seats, then the seat structure is stable and functional, but the mechanical components occupy large space and obstruct the narrow cabin corridors
Solution Approach 1:
The reset element is integrated within the volume of the seat element or back element, nesting the mechanical component inside the existing seat structure. This eliminates the need for separate external housing for the reset mechanism, thereby reducing the space occupied by mechanical components in the traffic area while maintaining all necessary functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The reset element is positioned vertically within the seat structure rather than extending horizontally into the corridor space. By utilizing the vertical dimension within the seat volume, the design accommodates the mechanical component without encroaching on the narrow horizontal corridor space, thus enlarging the effective traffic area.
2Ease of operation
If manual folding mechanism is used, then the seat structure is simple, but the folding mechanism has to be operated manually in a disadvantageous manner
Solution Approach 1:
The reset element is configured to automatically return the seat element or back element to its initial position after pivoting, without requiring manual intervention. The mechanical design utilizes spring force or gravitational assistance to facilitate the resetting action, making the folding mechanism self-operating and eliminating the need for disadvantageous manual cranking or forcing.
3Ease of operation
If automatic pivoting mechanism is used, then the folding operation is automated, but elements extend into the cleared space and obstruct the traffic area
Solution Approach 1:
All automatic pivoting mechanism elements are nested within the volume of the seat element or back element. The reset element, pivoting mechanism, and associated components are integrated into the seat structure's internal volume, ensuring that no mechanical elements extend into the corridor space when the seat is in its normal position, thus maintaining clear traffic area.
4Reliability
If seat mechanicals are made large, then the mechanical components are robust and reliable, but they occupy excessive space and create obstructions
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical components are integrated within the existing seat structure volume, utilizing the internal space of the seat element or back element. This nesting approach allows robust mechanical components to be housed without increasing the external footprint, maintaining reliability while minimizing obstruction of the traffic area.
Solution Approach 2:
The design optimizes the dimensional parameters of the mechanical components by positioning them vertically within the seat volume rather than horizontally in the corridor. By changing the spatial orientation and distribution of mechanical elements, the system maintains structural integrity and reliability while reducing the horizontal space occupation in the narrow cabin corridor.
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
This design enhances passenger mobility by reducing mechanical obstructions in the cabin, allowing for faster boarding and deboarding, and minimizing the space required for seat mechanics, thus optimizing the use of the available cabin space while maintaining comfort and ergonomic considerations.
Implementation Method 1
at least one reset element acts upon at least one of the back element and the seat element
Data Source
AI summary
A flight passenger seat for an airplane. The flight passenger seat may comprise a back element, a seat element and an arm rest. The seat element, back element, and arm rest may be pivotable. Reset elements for an automatic pivoting may be integrated into the back element and the seat element in such a way that they occupy as little traffic area space as possible. In an advantageous manner, this allows for an enlargement of a traffic area in an airplane and thereby may effectuate a reduction of a “turn around” time of an airplane.