Aircraft Seat Floor Attachment Assembly with Movable Adapter Plates

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Solution Overview

Problem

Aircraft seat substructures face challenges in maintaining safety and rigidity while absorbing kinetic energy during crashes, as standard designs lead to deformation and increased weight, and existing solutions conflict with safety requirements for force limitation and rotational movement.

Innovation Solution

A floor attachment assembly with four attachment points and movable/rotatable adapter plates that pre-deform the aircraft floor structure without transmitting forces to the seat substructure, allowing for a rigid and lightweight seat design by decoupling the seat from floor deformations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the seat substructure uses a metal structure that plastically deforms to absorb kinetic energy, then the force limitation for the passenger is achieved, but the weight of the aircraft seat increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveforce limitationVSAvoidweight of aircraft seat

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The floor attachment assembly is divided into multiple independent attachment points (at least four) distributed across the floor structure. This segmentation allows the crash energy to be distributed across multiple attachment points rather than concentrated at a single point, enabling weight reduction while maintaining force limitation through distributed energy absorption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs dynamic deformation characteristics of the seat substructure that adapt to crash conditions. The structure is designed to deform in a controlled manner during impact, absorbing kinetic energy through progressive collapse mechanisms that activate only under extreme load conditions, thereby maintaining lightweight construction during normal operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Stability of the object's composition

If the seat substructure is reinforced to reduce rotation in the event of a translational crash, then the rotational movement is reduced, but the force limitation for the passenger deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverotational stabilityVSAvoidforce limitation

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The seat substructure utilizes dynamic deformation characteristics that allow controlled rotation during crash events. Rather than rigidly preventing rotation, the structure is designed to rotate in a controlled manner while simultaneously absorbing energy through progressive collapse, achieving both rotational stability and force limitation through time-dependent deformation behavior.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the seat substructure by introducing controlled deformation zones with specific stiffness characteristics. These zones are designed to yield at specific load thresholds, allowing the structure to transition from a rigid state during normal operation to a compliant state during crash, thereby achieving both rotational stability and force limitation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If the seat substructure has mechanical resilience to follow deflections in the aircraft floor structure, then the pre-deformation is absorbed, but the rotational movement and movement envelope increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepre-deformation absorptionVSAvoidmovement envelope

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The floor attachment assembly uses multiple segmented attachment points distributed across the floor structure. This segmentation allows the seat to follow floor deflections through distributed compliance rather than rigid coupling, absorbing pre-deformation while limiting rotational movement through the geometric arrangement of multiple attachment points that constrain the movement envelope.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Productivity

If two aircraft seats share a connection to the floor structure, then the attachment points are efficiently utilized, but the load per attachment point increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment point utilizationVSAvoidload per attachment point

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the load path into multiple independent attachment points (at least four) distributed across the floor structure. This segmentation allows two seats to share the connection efficiently by distributing the combined load across multiple points, reducing the force per attachment point while maintaining high attachment point utilization through the shared connection architecture.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS10144516B2Floor attachment assembly and aircraft seat

Publication Date: 2018.12.04 LUFTHANSA TECHNIK AG

AI summary

The invention relates to a floor attachment assembly for mechanically connecting two aircraft seats to a floor structure of an aircraft, which assembly comprises four attachment points. The floor attachment assembly can be attached to the floor structure by means of one attachment element in each case at the four attachment points. The floor attachment assembly comprises two adapter plates, the two adapter plates being interconnected by means of a connection element. The mechanical connection between at least one of the adapter plates and at least one of the attachment elements is movable along at least one axis. Furthermore, the invention relates to a corresponding aircraft seat.