Door-Mounted Deployable Seat for Aircraft Cabin Space Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flight attendant seat mounting on partitions or walls reduces available floor space in aircraft and fails to effectively restrain occupants during turbulence or landing, while also not providing a direct view of the cabin aisle.
Innovation Solution
A deployable seat system integrated into a door with a movable seat bottom and locking mechanism that engages with a fixed door-frame structure, allowing the seat to support lateral and vertical loads and maintain a clear view of the cabin aisle by immobilizing the door during use and retracting for passenger access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flight attendant seats are mounted on partitions or walls, then the seats can provide restraint during turbulence or landing, but the total floor space available for passenger seats is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The seat bottom is made movable between a stowed position (within the door) and a deployed position (extended outward), allowing the seat to dynamically adapt its configuration. This dynamic design enables the seat to provide restraint capability when deployed while minimizing floor space occupation when stowed, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and floor space area
2Strength
If the seat is mounted on a partition or wall, then the seat can support lateral and vertical loads, but the seat does not provide a direct view of the main aisle
Solution Approach 1:
The seat is repositioned from traditional wall-mounted locations to a door-mounted configuration that protrudes into the cabin space. This dimensional change allows the seat to simultaneously achieve load support through the door structure and provide an unobstructed direct view of the main aisle, eliminating the trade-off between strength and observation capability
3Area of stationary object
If the seat bottom is made movable between stowed and deployed positions, then floor space is maximized, but the locking mechanism and door immobilization system increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is integrated directly into the door structure, merging the seat mounting function with the door assembly. This integration reduces the need for separate complex mounting hardware and simplifies the overall system, allowing the seat to be securely mounted while maximizing floor space utilization
Data Source
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AI summary
A seat system (200) may include a door (202) and a locking mechanism (270). The door may be movable between an open position (218) and a closed position (216). The seat system may include a seat (236) mounted to the door and including a seat bottom (250) that may be movable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The seat system may further include a locking mechanism operatively coupled to the seat bottom and configured such that movement of the seat bottom from the stowed position to the deployed position when the door is in the closed position causes the locking mechanism to engage fixed door-frame structure (120) located adjacent the door and to immobilize the door against movement from the closed position. Movement of the seat bottom from the deployed position to the stowed position may cause the locking mechanism to disengage from the fixed door-frame structure and to allow the door to be moved from the closed position.