DE102016211643B4 - Method for arranging a plurality of built-in units and arrangements of a plurality of built-in units - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for arranging a large number of built-in units (7), each with a predefined outline (9; 15; 21) within a flat surface area (4), with the steps: starting from polygonal tile shapes suitable for a gapless, area-filling coverage of the flat, selecting a polygonal Tile shape depending on the predefined outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7); arranging a large number of imaginary tiles (10; 10a-o) which are designed with the selected tile shape and are each uniform or uniform except for at least one reflection , such that the imaginary tiles (10; 10a-o) cover the surface area (4) without gaps and without overlapping; andarranging the built-in units (7) such that each of the built-in units (7) is associated with one of the tiles (10; 10a-o) and each of the built-in units (7) within the tile (10; 10a-o) associated therewith in the arranged in such a way that the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) comes to lie within the associated tile (10; 10a-o); the tile shape being selected in such a way that the outline (9; 15 ; 21) the built-in unit (7) corresponds as closely as possible to the tile shape, and/orwhere the tile shape is selected in such a way that the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) and at least one of the built-in unit (7) for its intended use assigned further surface section (11a; 11a''; 11a'''; 11a'''') can be arranged completely within the tile shape and a surface section determined by the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) and the at least one further surface section (11a; 11a''; 11a'''; 11a'''') taken together correspond as closely as possible to the shape of the tile.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for arranging a plurality of built-in units. Furthermore, the invention relates to arrangements of a large number of built-in units, in particular in the field of aviation or space travel.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Although the present invention can be useful when arranging a wide variety of built-in units in a large number of technical fields, the invention and the problem on which it is based are explained in more detail below using the example of arranging passenger seats or passenger seat assemblies within a surface area defined by a substantially flat cabin floor of an aircraft.

It is known to divide passenger cabins of aircraft into different areas in which seat comfort and seat spacing are different. Thus, it is known to provide part of the aircraft cabin with seating that meets the needs of passengers who wish to travel in the most economical and cost-effective manner possible. It is also known, for example, to provide a further area of a passenger cabin with somewhat more comfortable seating and to design it as a so-called business class area. In addition, it is known to also provide a first-class area with particularly comfortable seats and correspondingly large seat spacings.

It is also known to arrange passenger seats next to one another in an aircraft cabin in regular rows that run transversely to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage.

In addition, a seat arrangement for an aircraft cabin has been proposed, for example in WO 2015/083 088 A1, in which a row of the seat arrangement has at least one forward-facing seat and at least one rear-facing seat, and a shoulder area on one side of the forward-facing Seat overlaps with an adjacent shoulder area of the rear facing seat.

In addition, in the DE 60 2005 000 106 T2 a seat arrangement for an aircraft cabin is described, with seats being described which can be placed in a reclining position and are arranged in rows. Each of the rows runs in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft and each seat faces forward. Lateral groups of two adjacent rows are described. Each group is arranged along a wall of an aircraft fuselage, and the seats in one row are longitudinally offset from the seats in the other row. At least one central group of two adjacent rows is also described, with the seats in one row being longitudinally displaced relative to the seats in the other row.

Furthermore, in the field of mathematics, tilings of the plane with suitable polygons are generally known as such.

It would be advantageous to be able to accommodate as large a number of passenger seats as possible in an aircraft cabin, in particular taking into account different comfort classes, without there being a significant loss of comfort for the passenger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Against this background, the present invention is therefore based on the object of accommodating the largest possible number of built-in units, for example passenger seats, in a further improved manner within a flat surface area without the built-in units being impaired as a result in terms of their function and intended usability.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method having the features of patent claim 1 and/or by an arrangement having the features of patent claim 9 and/or by an arrangement having the features of patent claim 13 and/or by an arrangement having the features of patent claim 15 .

In the arrangement according to claim 15, the tiles are each formed as regular hexagons or irregular pentagons. In the arrangement according to claim 9 and/or the arrangement according to claim 13, the tiles are in particular designed as regular hexagons or irregular pentagons. In the method according to claim 1, the polygonal tile shape is designed in particular as a regular hexagon or an irregular pentagon.

According to the invention, the solution to the above-mentioned problem is based on optimal coverage of the plane, preferably with regular hexagons or irregular pentagons. The area is filled without gaps by the polygons, in particular the regular hexagons or the irregular pentagons. In this way one can optimized, dense packing of the built-in units can be achieved within the flat surface area.

The method according to the invention makes it possible to arrange the built-in units, for example passenger seats, in a way that is determined in a systematic way, in order to achieve the densest possible packing of the built-in units without impairment of function or use. The systematic selection of the arrangement succeeds in that a suitable tile shape is initially selected starting from polygonal tile shapes suitable for a gapless, area-filling coverage of the plane. This selection is made depending on the predefined outline of the built-in units to be arranged. In the method according to the invention, covering the surface area without any gaps and without overlapping the tiles leads to a gapless arrangement of imaginary tiles, which can be selected to match the outline of the built-in unit. Each of the built-in units can thus be conveniently arranged within one of the tiles, as a result of which a dense, optimized packing of the built-in units can be achieved.

The invention thus makes it possible to arrange built-in units more densely and thus more advantageously without wasting space unnecessarily.

In the context of the present application, regular polygons, in other words regular polygons, are understood to mean polygons or polygons that have both sides of the same length and internal angles that are the same. They are preferably planar, simple polygons, the sides of one and the same polygon not crossing one another, and also preferably convex polygons, the interior angles of which are all less than 180°.

It should also be mentioned that, in the context of the present invention, uniformity of the tiles should be understood to mean that the tiles have the same shape and size and are therefore identical in terms of shape and size, but the tiles are rotated and/or translated relative to one another within the planar surface area are shifted and/or twisted in the plane. If, in the context of the present invention, the tiles are described as being uniform except for at least one reflection, this should be understood to mean that one or more of the imaginary tiles from the total number of tiles can or can emerge from one of the other tiles, for example through an axis reflection .can emerge, for example by reflection on a common side. Of course, the mirrored tiles can also be translated and/or rotated within the plane.

Advantageous refinements and developments of the invention result from the further dependent claims and from the description with reference to the figures of the drawing.

According to one embodiment, the surface area is a surface area in an aircraft or spacecraft. With regard to energy efficiency, fuel consumption, space utilization and operating costs, an optimal arrangement of installation units with a predefined outline can be advantageous, especially in aircraft or spacecraft.

In one configuration, the built-in units are of essentially identical design. For the dense arrangement of essentially identical built-in units within a flat surface area, imaginary polygonal tiles that are uniform or uniform except for at least one reflection are of particular advantage, since the tile shape can then be chosen to be particularly well adapted to each of the built-in units and particularly little wasted space occurs.

In one development, the built-in units are each designed as a passenger seat or each as a passenger seat assembly or each as part of a passenger seat assembly. In passenger aircraft in particular, a relatively large part of the available space is used to accommodate passengers inside the aircraft. An optimal, dense arrangement of passenger seats, passenger seat assemblies or parts of passenger seat assemblies can thus make it possible to accommodate a larger number of passengers within the passenger cabin, as a result of which economic advantages can be achieved both for the operator of the aircraft and for the passengers. In this embodiment of the invention, this is achieved without any loss of comfort for the passengers, in that the choice of tile shape avoids unnecessary use of space and optimizes the arrangement.

In exemplary configurations, the installation units can each be designed as a passenger support seat, or as an economy passenger seat, or as a business class passenger seat, or as a first class passenger seat. In variants, the installation unit can also be formed by a passenger support seat, an economy passenger seat, a business class passenger seat, or a first class passenger seat, which forms part of a passenger seat assembly of the corresponding class of seating. Alternatively, the built-in unit itself could also form a passenger seat assembly.

Within the respective comfort class, the number of transportable passengers can thus be increased by means of an optimized arrangement with the aid of the invention, while a loss of comfort is avoided within the class.

In particular, in one configuration, the flat surface area is designed as a floor area in the aircraft or spacecraft or as a part of such a floor area.

For example, in one configuration, the floor area can be a floor area of a passenger cabin.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in addition to a surface section determined by the outline of the built-in unit, each of the tiles is assigned at least one further surface section assigned to the built-in unit for the intended use of the same. In this configuration, the surface section determined by the outline and the at least one further surface section lie essentially completely within the tile. Thus, the arrangement of the built-in units together with the further surface sections provided for their use, in the example of a built-in unit designed as a passenger seat, for example space for the legs and/or feet of the passenger, can advantageously be particularly dense and space-saving. The space-saving arrangement of the built-in units is thus advantageously carried out in this embodiment, taking into account other required or desirable surface sections, with the surface section occupied by the outline of the built-in unit and the additional surface section(s) being provided together having a good overall shape fit into the selected tile shape.

In a further development, space for body areas of a passenger is created by means of the at least one further surface section.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a number of imaginary tiles connected to one another in succession define a surface area free of built-in units. Such a free surface area can thus be created without impairing the dense arrangement of the built-in units.

In particular, in a further development, the free surface area can be designed as an aisle, in particular as an aisle for use by passengers and/or cabin crew in an aircraft or spacecraft.

In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, an arrangement according to the invention is formed by means of the method.

In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the tile shape is selected in such a way that the outline of the built-in unit and at least one further surface section assigned to the built-in unit for its intended use can be arranged completely within the tile shape. In this way, a particularly advantageous, dense arrangement of the built-in units is achieved while maintaining their usability, in particular while maintaining comfort in the case of passenger seats. In this embodiment of the method according to the invention, the tile shape is selected in such a way that a surface section determined by the outline of the built-in unit and the at least one further surface section assigned to the built-in unit for the intended use thereof, taken together, correspond as closely as possible to the tile shape. In this way, there is advantageously as little “waste” as possible, in other words, the arrangement of the built-in units together with associated additional required or desired surface sections succeeds in a space-saving manner.

Alternatively, in an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the tile shape can be selected in such a way that the outline of the built-in unit corresponds as closely as possible to the tile shape.

In particular, in further configurations, the “waste” achieved in this way, i.e. the area proportion of the total area of an imaginary polygonal tile, which is neither for the area section defined by the outline of the built-in unit nor for the additional area section(s) which/ which is/are intended for the intended use of the installation unit, can be less than or equal to about 15 percent, i.e. a maximum of about 15 percent of the total area of the tile is "waste". More preferably, the "waste" in the sense of the above definition is at most about 10 percent, even more preferably at most about 5 percent of the total area of the tile.

The above configurations and developments can each be applied accordingly to the method according to the invention and the arrangements according to the invention.

The above configurations and developments can be combined with one another as desired, insofar as this makes sense. Further possible refinements, developments and implementations of the invention also include combinations of references previously or below that are not explicitly mentioned Lich the embodiments described features of the invention. In particular, the person skilled in the art will also add individual aspects as improvements or additions to the respective basic form of the present invention.

character list

• 1 ein beispielhaftes Flugzeug in einer perspektivischen Ansicht, in welchem Einbaueinheiten gemäß Ausführungsbeispielen der Erfindung angeordnet sind;
• 2 das Flugzeug der 1 in einer Draufsicht, wobei der Rumpf des Flugzeugs teilweise aufgebrochen gezeigt ist und ein als Kabinenboden ausgebildeter ebener Flächenbereich im Inneren des Flugzeugs sichtbar ist;
• 3 eine Anordnung von Passagier-Stützsitzen gemäß einem ersten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung, in schematischer Draufsicht;
• 4 eine Anordnung von Passagier-Stützsitzen gemäß einem zweiten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung, in schematischer Draufsicht;
• 5 schematisch die fünfzehn derzeit bekannten Kachelungen der Ebene mit unregelmäßigen Fünfecken, welche die Ebene lückenlos und ohne Überlappung füllen (Figur basierend auf einer Abbildung von EdPeggJr/Wikipedia, abgeändert: Farben entfernt und Bezugszeichen hinzugefügt);
• 6 eine Anordnung von Passagier-Stützsitzen gemäß einem dritten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung, in schematischer Draufsicht;
• 7 eine Anordnung von Economy-Class-Passagiersitzen gemäß einem vierten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung, in schematischer Draufsicht;
• 8 schematisch einen Erster-Klasse-Passagiersitz, perspektivisch;
• 9 eine in der Überblicksfigur der 5 enthaltene Kachelung der Ebene mit Fünfecken (Figur basierend auf einer Abbildung bei Süddeutsche.de, Dalila Keller/chrb, abgeändert: Bezugszeichen eingefügt);
• 10 eine Anordnung von Erster-Klasse-Passagiersitzen unter Nutzung der Kachelung der 9, gemäß einem fünften Ausführungsbeispiel, in schematischer Draufsicht; und
• 11 eine Variante der Anordnung der 10, gemäß einem sechsten Ausführungsbeispiel der Erfindung, in schematischer Draufsicht.

The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments given in the schematic figures of the drawings. They show:

• 1 an exemplary aircraft in a perspective view, in which installation units are arranged according to embodiments of the invention;
• 2 the plane of 1 in a plan view, the fuselage of the aircraft being shown partially broken away and a flat surface area designed as a cabin floor being visible inside the aircraft;
• 3 an arrangement of passenger support seats according to a first embodiment of the invention, in a schematic plan view;
• 4 an arrangement of passenger support seats according to a second embodiment of the invention, in a schematic plan view;
• 5 schematic of the fifteen currently known tiling of the plane with irregular pentagons that fill the plane without gaps and without overlap (figure based on a figure from EdPeggJr/Wikipedia, modified: colors removed and reference numbers added);
• 6 an arrangement of passenger support seats according to a third embodiment of the invention, in a schematic plan view;
• 7 an arrangement of economy class passenger seats according to a fourth embodiment of the invention, in a schematic plan view;
• 8th schematic of a first-class passenger seat, perspective;
• 9 one in the overview figure of 5 contained tiling of the plane with pentagons (figure based on an illustration at Süddeutsche.de, Dalila Keller/chrb, modified: reference number inserted);
• 10 an arrangement of first class passenger seats utilizing the tiling of the 9 , according to a fifth embodiment, in a schematic top view; and
• 11 a variant of the arrangement of the 10 , according to a sixth embodiment of the invention, in a schematic plan view.

The accompanying drawings are provided to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the invention. They illustrate embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain principles and concepts of the invention. Other embodiments and many of the foregoing advantages will become apparent by reference to the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale with respect to one another.

In the figures of the drawing, elements, features and components that are the same in function and have the same effect are provided with the same reference symbols unless otherwise stated.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The 1 and 2 show an aircraft 1, which is designed as an example as a passenger aircraft. The aircraft 1 has an elongated fuselage 2, within which a passenger cabin is provided for accommodating a large number of passengers. In 2 1 shows, purely schematically and by way of example for illustration, the area of the passenger cabin 3 broken away, it being understood that the passenger cabin 3 can be shaped differently in other types of aircraft, or also in spacecraft. The passenger cabin 3 has in the example of 2 a surface area 4 designed as a flat, essentially flat bottom area, which in the example of FIG 2 is equipped with a variety of passenger seating, these passenger seats being of different types and levels of comfort, and in 2 are not shown in detail. By dashed lines is in 2 also indicated that the cabin interior of the passenger cabin 3 can be divided into a first-class area 5a, a business-class area 5b, and an economy area 5c, with different aircraft 1 being able to vary this division with regard to the areas provided in each case and in various examples, one or more of the classed areas (first class area 5a, business class area 5b, economy area 5c) may be missing.

Arrangements of passenger seats, as in the aircraft designed as an aircraft 1 according to 1 and 2 Application can be found below based on execution examples referring to the 3 until 11 explained in more detail.

In 3 an arrangement 6 of a plurality of built-in units 7 according to a first exemplary embodiment is shown. The built-in units 7 of 3 are identical and designed as passenger support seats 8, with in 3 Devices for supporting and fastening the passenger support seats 8 are not illustrated in detail, for example, on the floor of the passenger cabin 3 for the sake of clarity. In 3 For each passenger support seat 8, only one seat section, ie a support element for the buttocks of a passenger, is shown. The standing passenger can support themselves on the passenger support seat 8 (“supported standing”). Also for a better overview, not all built-in units are 7 in 3 provided with reference numbers.

In 3 each of the built-in units 7, in other words each of the passenger support seats 8, has a predefined outline 9. Each of the built-in units 7 of 3 an imaginary polygonal tile 10 is associated with it, with the tiles 10 in the first exemplary embodiment all being of uniform design, ie of the same shape and the same size, and each of the tiles 10 having the shape of a regular hexagon. The outline 9 of each of the built-in units 7 is arranged completely within the tile 10 assigned to the respective built-in unit 7 .

In the first exemplary embodiment, the hexagonal tiles 10 are arranged in such a way that they form a flat surface area 4, which is designed as the flat floor area of the passenger cabin 3, and in 3 is indicated only schematically, cover without gaps, area-filling, and without overlapping the tiles 10. In other words, 3 shows an arrangement 6 of built-in units 7, which is selected in such a way that the imaginary tiles 10 cover the surface area 4 without gaps occurring between the tiles 10. It should be mentioned that the tiles 10 are only imaginary tiles, which are used to arrange the arrangement 6 of the passenger support seats 8 (also referred to as so-called "support seats" in English) within what is designed as the level floor area Area 4 to define.

In the case of arrangement 6, each of the tiles 10 is assigned not only the surface section of the surface area 4 designed as the floor area determined by the outline 9 of the installation unit 7, but also a further surface section 11 in addition to this surface section determined by the outline 9, which covers the rest of the interior of the respective tile 10, outside the outline 9 includes. This is for some of the tiles 10 in 3 implied. From this surface section 11, as in an example in 3 illustrated, a larger proportion of the installation unit 7, and therefore the passenger support seat 8, assigned for its intended use. This larger proportion of the surface section 11 forms in 3 another surface section 11a, which is shown dotted for illustration, while another, smaller surface section 11b can remain unused, for example, and forms “waste”. The “waste” formed by the surface section 11b is preferably as small as possible. The further surface section 11a in turn is in 3 intended to accommodate body areas of a passenger supporting himself on the passenger support seat 8 assigned to the tile 10, if possible without the in 3 not shown passenger is restricted in his comfort. The further surface section 11a is thus assigned to the built-in unit 7 for its intended use, namely to support a passenger during the flight, and is designed accordingly, and—together with the surface section defined by the outline 9—is arranged completely within the tile 10.

A particularly advantageous and as complete as possible utilization of the surface area 4 designed as the floor area can be achieved when the surface section defined by the outline 9 of the built-in unit 7 and the further surface section 11a assigned to the built-in unit 7 are necessary for the intended use of the built-in unit 7 or is desired, taken together, that is to say in their entirety, correspond to the shape of the tile 10, with a suitable choice of the size of the tile 10, as well as possible, in particular with the least possible waste formed by the surface section 11b.

In the first embodiment of the 3 all passenger support seats 8 point in one direction, for example forward in the direction of flight.

4 however, shows an arrangement 6 'according to a second embodiment, which is a variant of the embodiment of FIG 3 represents. Here, the built-in units 7 are arranged in four rows R1, R2, R3 and R4, similar to FIG 3 , however, in the second embodiment, the passenger support seats 8 of adjacent rows, such as R1 and R2, are oriented in the opposite direction. The passenger support seats 8 of rows R1 and R3 have in 4 for example forward in the direction of flight, while the passenger support seats 8 of the rows R2 and R4 point backwards in the direction of flight.

In addition, the explanations for the arrangement 6 according to the first exemplary embodiment can be applied to the arrangement 6′ according to the second exemplary embodiment, with FIG 4 again, an area-filling, uninterrupted covering of the surface area 4 designed as the flat floor area was carried out with the aid of identical hexagonal tiles 10 in order to arrange identical passenger support seats (“support seats”) 8 in an optimized manner.

Because the passenger support seats 8 together with foot / leg room for the passengers well into the hexagonal tiles 10 of 3 or 4 fit in, are the assemblies 6, 6 'of 3 and 4 cheaper than square packing of the passenger support seats 8 according to a square-tiled checkerboard pattern because the hexagonal packing is denser. If the surface area required for the outline of a passenger support seat 8 together with the area for the passenger is approximated by a circle, this can be seen, for example, from the fact that the hexagonal circular lattice packing in the plane is denser than the square circular lattice packing.

5 shows a schematic overview of the fifteen currently known tilings or tilings of the plane with uniform or pentagonal tiles that are uniform except for one reflection, which may be identical in shape and size except for at least one reflection and cover the plane completely and without overlapping . The individual tiling types are in 5 denoted by the reference numerals 12a to 12o and each shown in a rectangular section. The tiles of each of the tiles 12a to 12o in 5 can be used to arrange built-in units 7 within a flat surface area 4 in an advantageous manner, for example in an aircraft designed as an aircraft 1. Corresponding imaginary polygonal tiles are shown in FIG 5 referred to by way of example with the reference numerals 10a to 10o. Should one or more further tiling(s) of the plane with irregular pentagons be discovered in the future, which makes it possible to cover the plane without overlapping and without gaps, then these could also be arranged with a suitable tile shape of built-in units 7 come into consideration.

In 6 an arrangement 6" of a large number of built-in units 7, which in turn are designed as passenger support seats 8, is shown according to a third exemplary embodiment, with imaginary tiles 10f designed as irregular pentagons in the third exemplary embodiment, as for the tessellation 12f in 5 shown, are used.

In 6 in the arrangement 6", the tiles 10f again fill a flat surface area 4, shown only in sections, without gaps and without overlapping. The illustration in 6 can only be understood in part, which is why some tiles lying at the edge of the section are not shown in full. The arrangement 6" shown of built-in units 7 can be continued in the plane in any direction. The passenger support seats 8 are in 6 formed in the same way as above to the 3 and 4 described. Each of the built-in units 7 designed as a passenger support seat 8 is in 6 that is, an imaginary polygonal tile 10f, namely an irregular pentagonal tile 10f, is assigned, with the outline 9 of each of the built-in units 7 being arranged within the respective tile 10f. Again, the flat surface area 4 is a floor area of a passenger cabin 3 of an aircraft or spacecraft, for example the aircraft 1 designed as an aircraft according to FIGS 1 and 2 , or part of such a ground area.

Also in 6 the tiles 10f are each formed uniformly or uniformly except for a mirror image. For example, the in 6 Tiles 10fa and 10fb designated by way of example are identical except for an axis reflection along a common side GS''. The built-in units 7 in 6 are again all identical.

6 also shows that a partial area of the surface area 4 of the passenger cabin 3 designed as the level, flat floor area is filled with imaginary tiles 10f, each of which is assigned a passenger support seat 8, while other partial areas of the surface area 4 designed as the floor area are occupied by tiles 10f are assigned to which no passenger support seat 8 is assigned, which are thus free of built-in units 7. These tiles define free surface areas 13" of built-in units 7, with the tiles 10f of the free surface areas 13" being distinguished from the other tiles in 6 are backed with a checkered pattern. The surface areas 13'' free of built-in units can be used as an aisle in the passenger cabin 3 of the aircraft 1 designed as an airplane, in particular for use by passengers and cabin crew. It is understood that in 6 the two aisles shown, formed by the surface areas 13'', are only shown in sections and can be continued at both ends in order to largely or completely fill the floor area of a passenger cabin 3 in an aircraft 1 designed as an airplane.

In addition, 6 schematically outlined that in the third exemplary embodiment the tiles 10f which are assigned to the free surface areas 13" are connected to one another in a sequential manner such that through the imaginary tiles 10f of the surface areas 13 continuous corridors are defined.

In the third exemplary embodiment, each of the tiles 10f is also assigned a further surface section 11a'' in addition to a surface section that is determined by the outline 9 of the built-in unit 7, which is provided for the intended use of the respective passenger support seat 8. Body areas of a passenger, such as legs and/or feet, can be accommodated within the further surface section 11a'' when the passenger support seat 8 is in use. Such a surface section 11a'' is in 6 for one of the imaginary tiles 10f indicated by dotted lines, and is accommodated together with the surface section defined by the outline 9 completely within the tile 10f.

Each of the fifteen in 5 The plane's tiling, shown schematically, uses planar, irregular, or irregular pentagons.

7 shows an arrangement 6''' according to a fourth exemplary embodiment. The fourth embodiment uses the tiling 12b according to FIG 5 , wherein a surface area 4 designed as the flat floor area of a passenger cabin 3 of an aircraft 1 designed as an airplane, as is shown in 1 and 2 is shown, or a part of such a surface area 4 designed as a floor area is covered by imaginary, pentagonal tiles 10b, filling the area without gaps and without overlapping.

In the embodiment of 7 a plurality of built-in units 7 are again arranged within the planar surface area 4 to form the arrangement 6''', the built-in units 7 being designed as economy passenger seats 14 in the fourth exemplary embodiment, for example. Also in 7 all built-in units 7 are essentially identical. Each built-in unit 7 is assigned an imaginary tile 10b.

Each of the economy passenger seats 14 has a predefined outline 15, the outline 15 of each of the economy passenger seats 14 being arranged within the tile 10b assigned to the installation unit 7 in each case. The economy passenger seat 14 is thus arranged completely within the assigned tile 10b in terms of its outline 15 in each case.

In the fourth exemplary embodiment, each of the tiles 10b is assigned, in addition to a surface section that is defined by the outline 15, at least one further surface section that is intended for the intended use of the respective economy passenger seat 14 and is associated with the economy passenger seat 14 and, for example provides leg room for the feet of a passenger seated thereon. As in the first to third exemplary embodiments above, the arrangement 6''' of the built-in units 7 according to the fourth exemplary embodiment is such that the surface section determined by the outline 15 and the at least one other surface section are suitable for the intended use of the economy passenger seat 14 taken together, ie in their entirety, lie completely within the respective associated tile 10b. One of the tiles 10b in 7 such a further surface section 11a''' is indicated.

Also to the fourth embodiment of 7 it should be noted that the arrangement 6''' can be continued in all directions in the plane to fill a floor area of a passenger cabin 3, and thus also 7 can only be understood partially.

In the fourth exemplary embodiment, a number of consecutively connected tiles 10b form two surface areas 13''' free of built-in units 7, which in turn can each be used as a corridor for use by passengers and cabin crew.

Referring to the 8th until 10 A further arrangement 6'''' according to a fifth exemplary embodiment will be described below, with the built-in units 7 each being designed as a first-class passenger seat 16 in the fifth exemplary embodiment. Such a first-class passenger seat 16 with a foot part 16a is shown in FIG 8th shown schematically. A first-class passenger seat 16 occupies a relatively large amount of space compared to the passenger support seats 8 or the economy passenger seats 14 and, especially when in a rest position, as in FIG 8th shown, is placed, a comparatively elongated outline 21 on.

9 shows enlarged the tiling 12o, which is already in the overview of 5 is shown. The tiles 10o of this tiling, see 9 , are in turn all either uniform, i.e. identical in shape and size, or identical except for an axis reflection, the tiles 10o of course being able to be translated and/or rotated relative to one another within the plane in order to cover the plane completely and without gaps. Also in 9 the tiles do not overlap 10o. Two tiles 10oa and 10ob that emerge from one another by mirroring the axes along a common side GS'''' are designated as examples. It is understood that the tiling 12o of 9 in the plane can be continued in all directions and also 9 only shows an excerpt.

10 shows the arrangement 6'''' according to the fifth exemplary embodiment, with the tiles 10o according to 9 were used to completely cover a surface area 4 designed as a flat, planar floor area of the passenger cabin 3 in the aircraft 1 designed as an airplane or a part of the floor area. The comparatively elongated shape of the tiles 10o is advantageous for the arrangement of first-class passenger seats 16, such as 10 makes clear. An imaginary polygonal tile 10o is assigned to each first-class passenger seat 16 .

How 10 also illustrated, in the arrangement 6'''', two installation units 7 each, ie two first-class passenger seats 16 each, are arranged side by side in parallel. The arrangement of 10 could therefore also be further developed to the effect that two first-class passenger seats 16 arranged parallel to one another are combined to form a passenger seat assembly 22, with one first-class passenger seat 16 remaining assigned to the respective tile 10o as part of the passenger seat assembly 22. The two first-class passenger seats 16 arranged parallel next to one another could be connected to one another along their adjoining sides, for example by suitable elements, components or measures.

Also with the arrangement 6'''' the 10 All built-in units 7 are of identical design, and each of the built-in units 7, i.e. each first-class passenger seat 16, is positioned entirely within the respective associated tile 10o, as a result of which an outline 21 of the first-class passenger seat 16 lies within the associated tile 10o. The arrangement 6'''' can be continued in any direction in the plane, the 10 is again only to be regarded as a section of the flat surface area 4 covered without gaps with imaginary tiles 10o.

In 10 each of the tiles 10o is preferably in addition to the surface section determined by the predefined outline 21 of the installation unit 7 at least one further surface section 11a''' assigned to the installation unit 7 for its intended use, i.e. for the intended use of the first-class passenger seat 16. 'Assigned, for example for the feet of the passenger, the area defined by the outline 21 lying together and together with the further area section 11a'''' essentially completely in each case within the associated tile 10o.

In 10 each define a number of consecutively connected tiles 10o surface areas 13'''', which are kept free of installation units 7. 10 shows three surface areas 13'''' free of built-in units 7, which in turn can each be used as a corridor for use by passengers or cabin crew.

11 1 shows how, according to a sixth embodiment, which forms a variant of the preceding fifth embodiment, the assembly 6'''' can be further improved to form an assembly 106''''. The arrangement 106'''' of the 11 based on the arrangement 6'''' according to 10 , so the remarks too 10 on the arrangement of 11 are applicable except for the differences mentioned below.

The arrangement 106'''' differs from the arrangement 6'''' in that to fill the surface area 4 designed as the floor area, ie a cabin floor of the passenger cabin 3 of the aircraft 1 designed as an airplane, corners of individual imaginary tiles 10o were rounded off , and that one in 10 free surface area 13'''' formed by successive tiles 10o was subsequently narrowed, ie after the installation units 7 formed by first-class passenger seats 16 were arranged. In other words, after arranging the first-class passenger seats 16 on the basis of the tiling 12o, the two sub-assemblies 18 and 19 have been shifted towards one another in the direction of arrows P1 and P2 by the width D of the aisle 17 and to adapt it to the aisle width desired in the aircraft 1 designed as an airplane. Rounded corners of imaginary tiles 10o are denoted by the reference numeral 20. For example, the longitudinal axis L of the aircraft designed as an airplane is 1 in 11 drawn.

Again, it goes without saying that the arrangement 106'''' can also be continued in the plane, in particular along the longitudinal axis L 11 to be understood only in part, as in the figures for the previous exemplary embodiments, individual imaginary tiles are shown cut off at the respective edge of the area shown, and 11 , similar to 10 , only partially showing some of the first class passenger seats 16.

In variants of the exemplary embodiments, a passenger seat assembly with seats for more than one person could also be arranged within a suitable tile, as a result of which an arrangement of a large number of passenger seat assemblies can be formed as built-in units 7 .

For arranging a large number of built-in units 7, for example the passenger support seats 8, the economy passenger seats 14, or the first-class passenger seats 16, or business class seats not shown in detail in the figures, such as for the above-mentioned exemplary embodiments have been described, the procedure is preferably as follows according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In a first step, depending on the predefined outline of the built-in unit 7, for example depending on the outline 9, the outline 15 or the outline 21, a suitable polygonal tile shape is selected for imaginary tiles of the tile shape either around a regular hexagon or around one of the irregular pentagons suitable for covering the plane without gaps, for example one of the fifteen known pentagons of this type in 5 , acts. A size of the tiles provided to cover the planar surface area 4 is also selected here. Tile shape and tile size are therefore selected as a function of the lateral outline, in other words, the floor plan of the built-in unit 7, of which one wants to pack a large number as optimally as possible in the plane, in such a way that the built-in unit 7, for example one of the passenger Support seats 8, economy passenger seats 14 or first class passenger seats 16, into which tile fits as well as possible. Here, not only the outline 9, 15 or 21 is preferably taken into account, but also when selecting the tile shape and size, it is also taken into account that for the intended use of the built-in unit 7 one or more other area(s) of the surface area 4, i.e. additional surface sections, such as foot space for passengers, is/are required. In other words, the tile shape and tile size are preferably selected in such a way that both the surface section defined by the outline of the built-in unit 7 and the other surface section(s) assigned to the built-in unit 7 for the intended use ), for example the surface section 11a, 11a'', 11a''' or 11a'''', can be arranged together completely within the tile shape and, taken together, correspond as well as possible to the tile shape.

A large number of imaginary tiles, i.e. tiles 10 or one of the tiles 10a to 10o, are then arranged in the flat surface area 4, for example the floor area of the passenger cabin 3 of the aircraft 1, in such a way that the imaginary tiles fill the surface area 4 without gaps and without overlapping cover. The tiles used are of the same size with the selected tile shape and are each of the same design or of the same design apart from at least one reflection. Each of the built-in units 7 is associated with one of the tiles, and each of the built-in units 7 is then positioned within the associated tile such that the outline of the built-in unit 7, e.g., outline 9, 15 or 21, lies within the associated tile.

The better the tile shape, and also the tile size, corresponds to the outline of the built-in unit 7 as well as the one or more other surface sections intended for the intended use of the built-in unit 7, i.e. the better, for example, the passenger support seat 8, economy passenger seat 14 or First-class passenger seat 16, together with the required foot or leg room for the passenger, fits into the tile, e.g. 10, 10a-o, the more advantageous the arrangement, e.g. 6, 6', 6'', 6''' is. , 6'''' or 106'''', of the built-in units 7 obtained with this method. If the built-in unit 7 and the required additional surface fit exactly into the selected tile, an advantageously space-saving arrangement of the built-in units 7 in the flat surface area 4 is achieved, so little or no space is wasted.

If no additional surface section, such as the surface section 11a, 11a'', 11a''' or 11a'''', is required or desirable for the use of the built-in unit 7, it is also possible to proceed in such a way that the tile shape, and also the tile size, should be selected in such a way that the outline of the built-in unit - seen from above - corresponds as closely as possible to the shape and size of the tile.

The correspondence can be, but need not be, complete in order to take advantage of the method according to the invention. A certain, preferably small, portion of the tile area can remain unused, for example about 10% at most, or for example about 5% at most. However, the lower this proportion is, i.e. the less "waste", the cheaper. The better, for example, the type of seat to be arranged together with the associated foot space fits into the tile, the more advantageous the invention is. With a suitable selection of the tile, the densest with the method according to the invention Packing in the plane can be achieved for a chosen seat type.

Each of the assemblies 6, 6', 6'', 6''', 6'''', 106'''' according to the embodiments described above can be formed using the method described.

However, the present invention is not only suitable for arranging seats in the passenger cabin 3 of an aircraft 1 designed as an airplane. Instead, the invention can be applied to filling each two-dimensional flat surface as optimally and densely as possible with identical built-in units of the most varied types and possibly associated further surface sections.

In a first variant, the invention can be applied to the arrangement of seating for passengers of other means of transport or vehicles, and can be applied, for example, to passenger areas of rail vehicles such as trains, road vehicles such as buses, water vehicles such as ships, etc.

In a second variant, the invention can, for example, also be applied to seating in buildings, in which case the level surface area can then be a level floor area of a room in the building. For example, seating in waiting rooms, cinemas, concert halls or the like could be designed more optimally in this way.

In a third variant, the invention can also be applied to improved arrangements of built-in units that are not designed as seating, for example to an arrangement of rechargeable batteries that saves as much space as possible, or of such batteries together with associated heat sinks and/or other devices. This variant can also be advantageous and useful in an aircraft or spacecraft, e.g. an aircraft 1 designed as an airplane.

Also, for example, again in aircraft or spacecraft, containers for freight or the like could advantageously be arranged in a space-saving manner by being arranged according to the method according to the invention. This can be particularly advantageous when the containers have an irregular shape.

In addition, it should be noted that polygons other than regular hexagons or irregular pentagons can also be used as polygons for covering the flat surface area 4 without any gaps and without overlapping imaginary tiles, in order to arrange built-in units 7 as optimally as possible within the flat surface area 4 according to the method described here. In this case, the polygonal shape should in turn be selected as a function of the lateral outline, that is to say the floor plan of the built-in unit 7 viewed from above. For example, regular or irregular triangles, regular or irregular squares, or also irregular hexagons can be used as polygons for the tile shape, depending on the shape of the surface section required for each built-in unit 7 .

Although the present invention has been fully described above on the basis of preferred exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto but can be modified in a variety of ways.

Reference List

1

aircraft

2

hull

3

passenger cabin

4

surface area

5a

First class area

5b

business class area

5c

economy area

6

arrangement

6'

arrangement

6"

arrangement

6'''

arrangement

6''''

arrangement

106''''

arrangement

7

built-in unit

8th

passenger support seat

9

Outline (Passenger Support Seat)

10

tile

10a-o

tile

10fa

tile

10fb

tile

10oa

tile

10ob

tile

11

area section

11 a

area section

11a''

area section

11a'''

area section

11a''''

area section

11b

area section

12a-o

tiling

13''

area free of built-in units

13'''

area free of built-in units

13''''

area free of built-in units

14

Economy passenger seat

15

Outline (economy passenger seat)

16

First class passenger seat

16a

Footboard (First Class Passenger Seat)

17

corridor

18

subassembly

19

subassembly

20

cut corner (tile)

21

Outline (First class passenger seat)

22

First class passenger seat assembly

D

Broad

L

Longitudinal axis (plane)

P1

Arrow

p2

Arrow

R1, R2, R3, R4

Row

GS''

common side

GS''''

common side

Claims (15)

Method for arranging a large number of built-in units (7), each with a predefined outline (9; 15; 21) within a flat surface area (4), with the steps: starting from polygonal tile shapes suitable for a gapless, area-filling coverage of the plane, selecting a polygonal tile shape depending on the predefined outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7); Arranging a large number of imaginary tiles (10; 10a-o), which are designed with the selected tile shape and are each uniform or uniform except for at least one reflection, such that the imaginary tiles (10; 10a-o) cover the surface area (4) without gaps cover the entire area and without overlapping; and Arranging the built-in units (7) in such a way that each of the built-in units (7) is assigned one of the tiles (10; 10a-o) and each of the built-in units (7) within the tile (10; 10a-o) assigned to it in the arranged in such a way that the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) comes to lie within the associated tile (10; 10a-o); wherein the tile shape is selected in such a way that the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) corresponds as well as possible to the tile shape, and/or wherein the tile shape is selected in such a way that the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) and at least one further surface section (11a; 11a''; 11a''' assigned to the built-in unit (7) for its intended use ; 11a'''') can be arranged completely within the tile shape and a surface section determined by the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7) and the at least one further surface section ( 11a; 11a''; 11a'''; 11a'''') taken together correspond as closely as possible to the shape of the tile. procedure after claim 1 , characterized in that the tile shape is designed as a regular hexagon or an irregular pentagon. procedure after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the surface area (4) is a surface area (4) in an aircraft or spacecraft. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the built-in units (7) are of essentially identical design. Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the built-in units (7) are each designed as a passenger seat or as a passenger seat assembly (22) or as part of a passenger seat assembly (22). procedure after claim 5 , characterized in that the installation units (7) are each designed as a passenger support seat (8) or as an economy passenger seat (14) or as a business class passenger seat or as a first class passenger seat (16). Method according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface area (4) is designed as a floor area in the aircraft or spacecraft or as part of such a floor area. procedure after claim 7 , characterized in that the floor area is a floor area of a passenger cabin (3). Arrangement (6; 6';6'';6''';6'''';106'''') of a large number of built-in units (7), each with a predefined outline (9; 15; 21) within a flat surface area (4), wherein the arrangement (6; 6';6'';6''';6'''';106'''') by means of a method according to any one of Claims 1 until 8th is formed, with each of the built-in units (7) being assigned an imaginary polygonal tile (10; 10a-o), the outline (9; 15; 21) of each of the built-in units (7) within the respectively assigned tile (10; 10a-o ) is arranged and the built-in units (7) are arranged in such a way that the tiles (10; 10a-o) cover the surface area (4) without gaps, completely and without overlapping, and wherein the tiles (10; 10a-o) are each uniform or bis are formed uniformly to at least one reflection. arrangement according to claim 9 , characterized in that each of the tiles (10; 10a-o), in addition to a surface section determined by the outline (9; 15; 21) of the built-in unit (7), at least one further surface section assigned to the built-in unit (7) for its intended use (11a; 11a'';11a''';11'''') and the surface section determined by the outline (9; 15; 21) and the at least one further surface section (11a; 11a'';11a''';11a'''') lie essentially completely within the tile (10; 10a-o). arrangement according to claim 10 , characterized in that the at least one further surface section (11a; 11a'';11a''';11a'''') creates space for body areas of a passenger. Arrangement according to at least one of claims 9 until 11 , characterized in that a number of consecutively connected tiles (10; 10a-o) define a surface area (13'';13''';13'''') free of built-in units. Arrangement (6''; 6'''; 6''''; 106'''') of a plurality of built-in units (7), each with a predefined outline (9; 15; 21) within a flat surface area (4) in one aircraft or spacecraft, each of the built-in units (7) being assigned an imaginary polygonal tile (10b, f-o), the outline (9; 15; 21) of each of the built-in units (7) being arranged within the respectively assigned tile (10b, f-o) and the built-in units ( 7) are arranged in such a way that the tiles (10b, f-o) cover the surface area (4) without gaps and without overlapping, and wherein the tiles (10b,f-o) are each formed uniformly or uniformly except for at least one reflection and the tiles (10b,f-o) comprise uniform tiles (10b,f-o) which are uniform except for at least one reflection. arrangement according to Claim 13 , characterized in that the tiles (10b, fo) are each designed as irregular pentagons. Arrangement (6; 6'; 6''; 6''') of a large number of built-in units (7), each with a predefined outline (9; 15) within a flat surface area (4) in an aircraft or spacecraft, each of the built-in units (7) being assigned an imaginary polygonal tile (10; 10a-o), the outline (9; 15) of each of the built-in units (7) being arranged within the respectively assigned tile (10; 10a-o) and the Built-in units (7) are arranged in such a way that the tiles (10; 10a-o) cover the surface area (4) without any gaps and without overlapping, wherein the tiles (10; 10a-o) are each configured uniformly or uniformly apart from at least one reflection, and wherein the built-in units (7) are each configured as a passenger support seat (8) or as an economy passenger seat (14) and the tiles (10; 10a-o) are each formed as regular hexagons or irregular pentagons.

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