Front-Row Passenger Seating With Bulkhead Recess for Higher Density
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger seating designs face a trade-off between maximizing seat density, passenger comfort, and safety, particularly in aircraft, where providing sufficient space for seat recline and minimizing head collision risk in accidents is challenging.
Innovation Solution
A passenger seating installation with a bulkhead featuring a recess aligned with the predicted head path of a passenger, allowing the seat to be positioned closer to the bulkhead without compromising safety, and incorporating a foot well and a deployable monitor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the seat is positioned closer to the bulkhead to increase seat density, then productivity is improved, but passenger safety deteriorates due to increased risk of head collision with the bulkhead
Solution Approach 1:
The bulkhead is designed with a recess at its forward end that creates a localized safe zone. This recess modifies the local geometry of the bulkhead to accommodate the passenger's head space, allowing the seat to be positioned closer to the bulkhead while maintaining safety. The recess is specifically shaped and positioned to coincide with the end portion of the head space, creating a local quality change that resolves the contradiction between seat density and safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The recess in the bulkhead utilizes the third dimension (depth) to create safety space. Instead of increasing the lateral distance between the seat and bulkhead, the invention projects the recess forward from the bulkhead face, effectively using depth to provide the necessary head clearance. This dimensional approach allows the seat to be positioned closer to the bulkhead while maintaining adequate safety clearance.
2Ease of operation
If space is allocated for seat recline and passenger comfort features, then passenger comfort is improved, but the number of seats that can be accommodated decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the safety function and space optimization function into the bulkhead structure itself. By integrating the recess directly into the bulkhead, the design combines safety requirements with space utilization, allowing comfort features like recline to be accommodated without sacrificing seat density. The bulkhead's recess simultaneously provides safety clearance and enables optimal seat positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The recess utilizes the depth dimension of the bulkhead to provide safety space, thereby preserving lateral and vertical space for comfort features. By resolving the safety requirement in the depth dimension, the invention frees up lateral space that can be used for seat recline and other comfort features without reducing the number of seats that can be accommodated.
Data Source
AI summary
A passenger seating installation for a vehicle comprises a front seat located adjacent a bulkhead and facing in a direction that is oblique to the direction of travel of the vehicle. The bulkhead includes a recess for receiving the head of a passenger in the front seat in the event of an accident. The recess is spaced apart from the front seat in the direction of travel and in a direction that is obliquely disposed with respect to the direction in which the seated passenger faces. The recess allows the front seat to be located closer to the bulkhead than would be the case in the absence of the recess, which can increase seat density in a seating area.