Aircraft Suite Bridge Structure for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional passenger suite seating units in aircraft face a challenge in balancing privacy and openness while maintaining structural integrity, leading to excessively heavy privacy shell elements that increase the overall weight of the aircraft.
Innovation Solution
A passenger suite seating unit design incorporating a bridge structure that structurally supports privacy shell elements and includes actuable curtains and doors, reducing the weight of the privacy shell elements by distributing structural loads and providing adjustable privacy options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional privacy shell elements and actuatable walls are used to provide sufficient privacy options, then privacy is improved, but the overall weight of the aircraft increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional rigid actuatable walls with flexible curtains that can be selectively deployed to provide privacy. These thin film elements provide the necessary privacy function without the excessive weight of rigid structures, while still allowing for adjustable privacy options when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the privacy-providing function from the heavy rigid wall structure and separates it into a dedicated curtain system. This allows the main shell elements to be lighter while the privacy function is provided independently through the curtain mechanism, reducing overall weight while maintaining adaptability.
2Strength
If privacy shell elements are made heavier to provide structural support, then structural integrity is improved, but the weight of the passenger suite seating unit increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a bridge structure as an intermediary element that provides the necessary structural support between privacy shell elements. This allows the shell elements themselves to be lighter since they don't need to bear the full structural load, which is now handled by the dedicated bridge structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the structural support function from the privacy shell elements and assigns it to separate bridge structures. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the shell elements can be lighter while the bridge structures provide the necessary structural integrity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple privacy structures are added to provide both openness and privacy, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dynamically deployable curtains that can be selectively actuated between deployed and stowed positions rather than multiple fixed rigid structures. This dynamic approach provides the same adaptability with simpler mechanics, as the curtains can be easily deployed or retracted as needed without complex locking or positioning mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
A passenger suite seating unit is disclosed. In embodiments, the passenger suite seating unit includes a first set of one or more passenger suites (202) and a second set of one or more passenger suites. The passenger suite seating unit may further include a first privacy shell element (206) defining at least a portion of a first side of the passenger suite seating unit, and a second privacy shell element defining at least a portion of a second side of the passenger suite seating unit. The passenger suite seating unit may further include a privacy bridge assembly (201) including a bridge structure (203) extending from the first privacy shell element to the second privacy shell element, and a partition wall (210) coupled to the bridge structure, the partition wall configured to at least partially separate the first set of one or more passenger suites and the second set of one or more passenger seats.