Pivoting Passenger Seat Leg Assembly for Adjustable Living Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger seat configurations in vehicles, such as aircraft, are inflexible and require significant engineering and certification efforts to adjust living space, limiting airlines' ability to respond to varying customer demands and route-specific needs.
Innovation Solution
A leg assembly for passenger seats that includes a pivotable leg and adjuster system, allowing the leg to pivot forward and aft from a base position, enabling quick adjustment of living space without disconnection from the vehicle floor, thus eliminating the need for re-engineering and recertification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the seat configuration is fixed to address certain customer demands, then the living space for those passengers is optimized, but the ability to respond to varying customer demands for different routes and locations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the leg assembly pivotable between multiple positions (forward, aft, and intermediate positions) to dynamically adjust living space. The leg assembly can pivot forward to decrease living space or aft to increase living space, allowing the same seat to adapt to different customer demands and flight routes without requiring multiple fixed configuration types
2Adaptability or versatility
If premium economy seats with extra leg room are provided, then customer satisfaction for passengers wanting more space is improved, but the cost of re-pitching seats through engineering and certification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables dynamic adjustment of living space through the pivotable leg assembly, allowing airlines to offer premium economy seating with extra leg room by simply pivoting the leg assembly aft, rather than requiring permanent re-pitching of seats. This dynamic adjustment eliminates the need for costly engineering and certification processes that would be required for fixed configuration changes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the position parameter of the leg assembly (forward, intermediate, or aft positions) to vary living space. By adjusting the leg assembly position, the same physical seat can provide different living space configurations, allowing airlines to offer premium economy seating without permanent structural modifications or recertification
3Adaptability or versatility
If the leg assembly is made pivotable to adjust living space, then the flexibility to match customer demand is improved, but the structural complexity of the leg assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pivotable leg assembly that can rotate between forward, intermediate, and aft positions to dynamically adjust living space. This dynamic mechanism allows the leg assembly to adapt to different customer demands while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure compared to alternative solutions that would require completely reconfigurable seating systems
Data Source
AI summary
A leg assembly for a passenger seat includes a base member (102), a leg (104B), and an adjuster (106). The leg includes an upper end (110) and a lower end (112). The upper end of the leg includes an aperture (126) configured to receive a base frame tube, and the lower end is pivotally connected to the base member such that the leg is pivotable forward and aft from a base position. The adjuster is configured to pivotally position the leg relative to the base member.