Passenger Seat Privacy Divider for Pathogen Transmission Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Passengers in close proximity on vehicles, such as aircraft, face challenges in minimizing the transmission of pathogens due to involuntary contact and proximity, especially during high transmission periods like the Coronavirus pandemic.
Innovation Solution
A passenger seat design featuring a center console with a deployable privacy divider that can be coupled to the seat back or headrest, providing a physical barrier to reduce contact and airborne particle transmission, and can be easily deployed or stowed based on vehicle occupancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If passengers are seated in close proximity to maximize vehicle capacity, then productivity is improved, but the transmission of pathogens increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seat back is divided into a stationary portion and a moveable portion that can be separated. The moveable portion can be deployed to create a physical barrier between adjacent passengers, segmenting the shared space while maintaining the overall seating arrangement for capacity utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The privacy divider is designed to be moveable between a stowed position (when not needed) and a deployed position (when pathogen protection is needed). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to adapt to changing occupancy and health risk conditions without permanently reducing vehicle capacity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a privacy divider is deployed to reduce pathogen transmission, then harmful factors are reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The privacy divider is integrated into the existing seat back structure, combining the functions of seat support and pathogen protection into a single unified component. This merging approach minimizes additional complexity while achieving the harmful factor reduction goal.
Solution Approach 2:
The moveable portion of the seat back serves multiple functions: it provides structural support as part of the seat back, acts as a privacy divider when deployed, and can be stowed when not needed. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a moveable privacy divider is added to the seat back, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The privacy divider incorporates a moveable portion that can transition between stowed and deployed positions, allowing the system to adapt to varying occupancy levels and health risk conditions. This dynamic capability provides the desired adaptability while integrating smoothly into the seat structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The moveable portion is designed to nest within or alongside the stationary portion of the seat back when not in use. This nesting arrangement allows the adaptive privacy divider to be stored compactly within the existing seat structure, minimizing the increase in device complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Described is a passenger seat having a seat bottom, a seat back, and a privacy divider. The seat back may have a stationary portion and a moveable portion, wherein the moveable portion is substantially upright in stowed position and is substantially horizontal over the seat bottom in a deployed position. The privacy divider may be coupled to at least an upper surface of the moveable portion in the deployed position.