Mini Suite Egress Panels for Blocked Sliding Door Escape
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Solution Overview
Problem
Passenger seats with privacy features, such as screens or sliding doors, pose a challenge in ensuring safe emergency egress, as primary egress routes can become obstructed, potentially trapping occupants without a viable secondary exit option, which is a concern in vehicles like aircraft where safety and comfort must be balanced.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a passenger seat egress system that includes both primary and secondary egress routes, where the primary egress is a sliding door that can hinge or accordion fold, and the secondary egress involves removable panels or doors that can be released from their track systems, providing an alternative path in case of obstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a privacy feature (sliding door or screen) is installed to divide the passenger seat from the aisle area, then passenger comfort and privacy are improved, but safe emergency egress is compromised because the primary egress route may become obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The privacy feature is divided into multiple independent panels that can be separated from each other. The door assembly includes a first panel and a second panel that can be detached, allowing the upper portion to be removed while the lower portion remains in place, providing both privacy during normal operation and emergency egress capability when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The egress solution transitions from a horizontal sliding motion to a vertical removal action. The upper panel can be detached and removed vertically from the door assembly, creating a new dimension of movement that bypasses the obstruction problem of the horizontal sliding track system
2Ease of operation
If a sliding door is used as the primary egress feature, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates because the door may become stuck in the deployed position with no secondary egress option
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is pre-configured with detachable connections between panels and the frame. In the event the sliding mechanism fails, the detachable nature of the panel connections allows for quick manual separation and removal of the upper panel, providing a pre-planned secondary egress path without requiring complex mechanical failover systems
Solution Approach 2:
The door is segmented into multiple panels with detachable connections to the frame and to each other. This segmentation allows the upper panel to be separated and removed independently if the sliding mechanism fails, creating an alternative egress path that bypasses the stuck sliding door
Data Source
AI summary
Passenger seats having improved comfort emergency egress solutions for mini suites or other types of passenger seats that have a privacy screen, wall, or sliding door that divides the passenger seat from the aisle area or other common area. Specific embodiments find particular use on-board passenger transportation vehicles, such as aircraft, where comfort and privacy must be balanced with safety and federal regulations.