Airliner Suite Seating with Shared Lateral Aisle Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current seating arrangements on wide-body jets limit the number of individual passenger suites that can be positioned abreast while compromising suite privacy, as they require access from longitudinal aisles, which interrupts the privacy of adjacent passengers and restricts suite orientation.
Innovation Solution
The seating arrangement features a four-suite unit with shared lateral aisles allowing access to outboard suites without disturbing inboard passengers, including lay-flat seats, ottomans, and privacy walls, enabling suites to be positioned closer together while maintaining privacy and accessibility through a network of longitudinal and branch aisles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If suites are arranged to maximize suite density, then the number of suites positioned abreast increases, but suite privacy is compromised due to interrupted access paths
Solution Approach 1:
The access pathway is segmented into multiple independent routes: a first access path through a first suite and a second access path through a second suite. This segmentation allows passengers to access outboard suites without passing through inboard suites, eliminating privacy interruptions while maintaining high suite density.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary access paths through inboard suites that do not require passing through adjacent outboard suites. These intermediary paths act as mediators that provide alternative routes for accessing suites, thereby preserving privacy while enabling closer suite positioning.
2Productivity
If suites are positioned closer together to increase density, then space utilization improves, but access to outboard suites without disturbing inboard passengers becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The access network is divided into separate pathways: a first access path for accessing first suites and a second access path for accessing second suites. This segmentation allows independent access to outboard suites without requiring passage through inboard suites, maintaining ease of operation at high density.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a multi-dimensional access network by introducing lateral access paths that branch off from longitudinal aisles. This dimensional change allows passengers to access outboard suites through lateral routes rather than only through longitudinal passages, simplifying access while maximizing suite density.
3Ease of operation
If longitudinal aisle access is used for all suites, then access simplicity is maintained, but the number of suites that can be positioned abreast is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The access system is segmented into multiple independent pathways distributed across different suites. This segmentation allows the aircraft to accommodate more suites abreast while maintaining simple access through clearly defined first and second access paths for different suite types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal access network where both inboard and outboard suites have dedicated access paths. The first access path serves first suites and the second access path serves second suites, making the system universally applicable to different suite configurations while enabling higher suite density.
Data Source
AI summary
A four-suite unit positionable in an aircraft cabin to one side of a longitudinal aisle and including first and second suites positioned longitudinally-aligned and facing each other, a shared passageway positioned between foot ends of the first and second suites, third and fourth suites positioned longitudinally-aligned and to one side of the respective first and second suites, a first passageway positioned between a portion of the first suite and a portion of the third suite for accessing the third suite from the shared passageway, and a second passageway positioned between a portion of the second suite and a portion of the fourth suite for accessing the fourth suite from the shared passageway.