Bed Extension Deploying Between Aircraft Seat Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger seat designs in aircraft and other vehicles are limited in maximizing available space for bed extensions, as they are constrained by the configuration and dimensions of the seat units, which restricts the ability to create a fully utilized horizontal bed surface when in the bed position.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a bed extension that deploys from a stowed position within the next-front seat unit into the space between the next-front and next-back seat units, utilizing a vertically aligned foot well and pivotally or slidingly coupled to a privacy shell or vertical partition, allowing for maximum space utilization and additional bed dimensions without being directly linked to the seat, thus enabling a horizontal bed surface without leaving unused space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a bed extension is attached to the passenger seat and stows/deploys from the seat, then additional bed dimensions are provided, but the extension is limited in the amount of space that can be covered due to seat configuration and dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The bed extension is extracted from the seat unit itself and positioned in the open space between seat units. The extension is coupled to the privacy shell rather than the seat, allowing it to deploy into the previously unused space between rows without being constrained by seat dimensions or configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The bed extension utilizes the third dimension (depth between rows) rather than extending laterally from the seat. By positioning the extension in the space between the next-front and next-back seat units, the design maximizes available volume without being limited by seat width or recline geometry.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If privacy shells and side monuments are added to provide passenger privacy, then passenger privacy and independence are enhanced, but open space within the seat unit is left unused
Solution Approach 1:
The bed extension is merged with the privacy shell structure, using the privacy shell as the coupling point and structural support. This integration allows the extension to occupy the space between privacy shells of adjacent seats, simultaneously maintaining privacy boundaries and maximizing usable bed area.
Solution Approach 2:
The privacy shell serves as an intermediary structure that both provides privacy separation and supports the bed extension. The extension is coupled to the privacy shell rather than the seat, allowing it to bridge the space between adjacent privacy shells and convert previously wasted space into functional bed area.
3Volume of moving object
If the bed extension is coupled to the next-front seat unit rather than the seat itself, then maximum space utilization is achieved, but the coupling mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The privacy shell serves multiple functions: it provides passenger privacy separation, acts as a structural support for the bed extension, and serves as the coupling point for deployment mechanisms. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate structural elements and simplifies the overall coupling mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
Arrangements of at least one column of seats for passengers of a vehicle, the column including a next-front seat unit positioned in front of a next-back seat unit. Each seat unit includes a seat having a chair position and a bed position, and a bed extension coupled to the next-front seat unit. The bed extension has a stowed position within the next-front seat unit and a deployed position that is located within a space between the next-front seat unit and the next-back seat unit that is not occupied by the seat in the next-back seat unit when the seat in the next-back seat unit is positioned in the bed position.