GB2284146A - Safety arrangements in convertible aircraft passenger seating units - Google Patents

Abstract

A convertible aircraft passenger seating unit providing seats for two or more passengers which has one part which is laterally movable between selected positions relative to a main component in order to vary the width and/or number of seats and may be located and secured in a selected position by a slidable pin 9 or 10 entering a hole includes an indicator device 30 connected to the pin so as to give an indication when the pin is or is not properly engaged with the hole. The indicator device may be mechanical, such as a rotatable pointer or a slidable rod, or electrical, such as a buzzer or bulb. <IMAGE>

Description

SAFETY ARRANGEMENTS IN CONVERTIBLE AIRCRAFT PASSENGER SEATING UNITS Aircraft passenger seating units, providing seats for two or more passengers, are knawn in which one or more parts is/are laterally movable between selected pitons relative to a main component in order to vary the width and/or number of seat5 provided by the unit The main component is intended to be fixed in an aircraft when the unit is in use. Examples of such units are described and Illustrated in the Specication of European Patent Application No.0 530 900 Al, in U.S. Patent Speifications Nos. 4,881,702, 5,104,065, S, 131 ,W7 and 5,178,345 and in our British Patent Application No.9308227.9.

To locate and secure a laterally movable part releasably in its selected positions relative to the main component it is usual to provide holes appropriately positioned in one of the said elements for alignment with and engagement by pins slidably mounted on the other of the said elements when the laterally movable part is in the said selected positions. Examples of such arrangements are described and illustrated in the said U.S. Patent Sleeficatiors Nos. 4,881,702, 5,131,607 and 5,178,345.

Usually the pins are urged by springs towards the element having the holes so that they enter the holes automatically when they are conectly aligned and they are withdrawn by a mechanism such as a lever linkage operated by a handle conveniently positioned at a side of the seating unit, preferalily a side which will be adjacent to an aisle when the sent is in use. To avoid the mechanism being operated by unauthonzed persons the handle is usually screened from the direct view of passengers, for example by locating it behind a ilxmge in a Jecess in the side member of a seating unit OJ at the bottom edge of a side member.

If a laterally movable part is not in one of its selected positions the pin or pins will not enter respective holes and the part will be able to be moved laterally without use of the handle. Therefore to ensure the safety of passengers using a seating unit a person performing a lateral movement of the part should ensure that it is correctly moved to the selected position so that an appropriate hole is entered by each pin. With a concealed handle and spring-opelated pin or pins as desired that may not be easy, especially if the mechanism permits return movement of the handle without the pin or pins entering a hole or holes after withdrawal, as is often the case.It is therefore possible for a seating unit to have been set almost in one of its sSispositions so that the or each pin rests on an element having holes adjacent to the hole it is intended to enter. Then it would be free to move towards or into another disposition without warning, for example under a reaction to some movement of an aircraft in flight If the unit was occupied that could be dangerous to the passengers. The invention aims to reduce the likelihood of such an occurrence.

According to this invention a seating unit priding seats for two or more passengers in which one or more parts is/are laterally movable between selected positions reative to a main component in order to vary the width andror number of seats provided and such a laterally movable part may be located and secured in a selected position by a slidable pin entering a hole in the part or the main component includes an indicator device connected to the pinko as to give an indication when the pin is or is not properly engaged with the hole.

The indicator device may be a movable element mounted in the seting unit in a readily visible position and mechanically connected to the pin It could be a rotatable pointer giving indications on an adiacent dialor a slidable element arranged to lie subsantially flush with or below the surrounding surface when the pin is corectiyengagedwith aholebnttoprojectabcvethesurbcewhenftis not so engaged It would then be easy, when the spiting unit is in use, for an ain rut crew member to detect correct engagement or lack of it by vision or by touch The mechanical connection could be a linkage or a sleeved cable.

Alternatively the indicator device could be an electric indicator connected to the pin or a part Of Its operating mechanism by a circuit to be connected to a source of electric power such as a battery or the main supply of an aircraft so as to be completed and to give a signal when the pin is correctly engaged with whole butto be opened so as to give no signal when it is not correctly engaged The indicator could be a bulb located in a visible position or a device giving an audible signal such as a buzzer.When a seating unit is in position in an aircraft, such a bulb or buzzer could be located in a part of the aircraft away fiom the seating unit, for example in crew quarts, and be connected to the circuit by wires.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example by the accompanying drawling in which each of the two Ages is a diagrammatic perspective view, from the front and one side which is to be adjacent to an aisle in an aircraft, of part of a seating unit in which pins engage holes to locate and secure a laterally movablepart in selected positions, in which: Figure 1 shs ponts in their positions when the pins are properly engaged with holes and Figure2 shows the components in their positions when the pins are not properly engaged with boles.

Certain components of the seating unit are broken away or shown in phantom form in the drawing in order to illustrate particularly the feats of the invention.

The seating unit comprises two parallel transverse beams 1, 2 secured in a 1aine (not shown) which is intended to be mounted on the floor at an aircraft. A supporting structure for a side seat laterally sliably mounted on the beams comprises a side longitudinal member or web 3 and an inboard longitudinal member or web 4 joined by tubes 5 parallel to the beams 1,2 and covered by a sheet metal cushion tnppon 6.Tubes (not shown) fitting closely witbin the beams are connected to the side web 3 to guide its sliding movemenL The supporting structure for the side seat is shown in its laterally-innermost or first selected position relative to the beams 1,2 and the frame in which the unit provides narrower seats andfor fewer seats. It is movable laterally outwardly to a second selected position in which the tubes within the beams are partially withdrawn from them and the unit defines wider seats and/or more seats.Holes 7, 8 are provided at appropriate positions in the beams 1,2 to locate and secure the supporting structure in the two selected positions and the supporting structure carries a mechanism including pins 9, 10 for engaging the holes 7 or 8 in the respective beams. Figure 1 shows the positions of the parts when the pins 9 and 10 are correctly engaged with holes 8, locating and securing the supporting structure in its first selected position.

The pins 9and 10 are siidably moumed in brackets 11, 12 secured to the inboard web 4 and are urged towards the respective beams 1,2 by springs 13, 14. Their ends remote from the beams have pin-and slot connections to the opposite ends of a lever 15 seemed to a spindle 16 it rotatably mounted in a bracket 17 also secured to the web 4. The spindle 16 alsocarriesasecandlever 18 to which is secmed by a dews 19 the end of an operating cable 0 whidb is camedin a sheath 21 and connected at its other end to the stem 22 ofanopeating handle23 which is slidablymountedin a bracket 24 secured to the outboard web 3 and concealed behind the flange of a fairing 25 which is mounted on the side of the web 3.With this assembly it will be appreciated that by pulling outwardly on the handle 23 relative to the bracket 24 an operator is able to rotate the lever 18 and thus the spindle 16 anri the lever 15 in an anti-clockwise direction as seen in the driwing so as to withdraw the pins 9, 10 ffom a hole 7 or 8 and pull them back from the beams 1, 2, compressIng the springs 13, 14. Figure 2 shows the positions of the parts when the pins 9 and 10 are withdrawn Irram the holes 8.The supporting structure comprising the webs 3 and 4 and associated parts may then be moved laterally outwardly relative to the beams 1,2 so as to widen the seating unit until the pins are aligned with the holes 7 which they can enter to locate and secure the structure in its second selected position.

On releasing the handle when the supporting structure is in any lateral position the springs will move the pins 9 and 10 towards the beams and pull the cable 20 and thus the handle back towards their previous positions. ff a pin 9 or 10 is aligned with a hole 7 or 8 the pin will enter the hole. If both pins correctly enter holes then the cable 20 will draw the handle 23 completely back to its previous position.

However, if they are not so aligned they will engage the surfaces of the beams 1,2, leaving the supporting structure ieee to be moved laterally, svien they would ride along the surfaces of the beams. The handle 23 would not be drawn back filly to its original position as shown in Figure 1. That might not be noticed by an operator, or the handle could over-ride the movement of the cable 20 and realm or be pushed completely back to its original position so there was no visible indication that the pins were not engaged with holes.

That would leave the seating unit in a potentially dangerous condition in which the supping structure comprising the webs 3 and 4 and associated parts might move laterally inwardly or outwardly whilst the unit was occupied, causing at least some surprise to the occupants.

To avid such an occurrence the ends of a second cable 26 in a sheath 27 are connected to the lever 18 by a pin-and-slot connection 28, 29 and to a longitudinally slidable indicator rod 30 in a housing 31 which is mounted in the side of the fairing 25. Alight spring (not shown) in the housing 31 urges the indicator rod 30 outwardly so as to maintain the cable 26 taut but the spring is not of such strength as to ovcrcome the spungs 13 and 14. Rhe length of the cable 26 is ad3mted so that when the pins 9 and 10 are fully engaged in holes 7 or 8, as shown in Figure 1, the end of the indicator rod 30 lies substantially flush with the end of the housing 31. When the handle 23 is pulled towards the position shown in Figure 2 the initial movement of the lever 18 is taken up by the pant slot connection.The pin 28 reaches the end of the slot 29 before the pins are withdrawn from the holes they are engaging, then further movement of the lever 18 causes the pin 28 to push the cahle 26 into its sheath 27, whereupon the light spring urges the indicator rod 30 outwardly in the housing 31 so that it projects as shown in Figure 2, giving a visible and tactihle indication that the pins 9 and íO are not propelly engaged with holes 7 or 8. The end of the indicator rod may be coloured so as to draw attention to its projection from the housing.

If the handle is releared when the pins9 and 10 are not aligned with holes 7 or 8, the pins will be advanced by their springs 13 and 14, rotting the spindle 16 and the lever 18, until they engage the surfaces of the beams 1 and 2, as previously described. This movement of the lever 18 will be taken up by the pin 28 sliding in tbe slot 29, so that the rnhle 2B and the indicator rod 30 are not movev and the latter sti gives an indication that the pins are not engaged with holes.

With the anangement illustrated an operator using the handle 23 to convert the seating unit from one configuration to another can see at a glance when the pins areproperly engaged with holes and is thus safe for occupaion. Likewise a person looking down the aisle of an aircraft could readily see the indicator rod 30 projecting from any seating unit on that aisle and could take appropriate action to engage the pins 9 and 10with appropriate holes 7 or 8.

In the arrangement illustrated the holes are in the beams 1 and 2 and the pins 9 and 10 are mounted in the supporting structure. However it will be understood that the holes could be in the supporting structure, for example in the tubes S and the pins and associated mechRmsm could be mounted onthe beams or the frame which supports them.

Claims (7)

CLAIMS:

1. A convertible aircraft passenger seating unit providing seats for two or more passengers in which one or more parts is/are laterally movable between selected positions relative to a main component in order to vary the width andror number of seats provided and such a laterally movable part may be located and secured in a selected position by a slidable pin entering a hole in the part or the main component including an indicator device connected to the pin so as to give an indication when the pin is or is not properly engaged with the hole.

2 A convertible aircraft passenger seating unit as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the indicator device is a movable element mounted in the seating unit in a readily visible position and mechanics connected to the pin so as to be moved when the pin moves to engage or b disengaged from a hole.

3. A convertible aircraft passenger seating unit as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the movable element is slidable and mounted to lie substantially flush with or below a surrounding surface when the pin is corwectly engaged vrth a hole but to pxoject above the sufice when it is not so engagetL

4. A convertible aircraft passenger seating unit as claimed in CLaim 1 wherein the indicator device is an electric indicator connected to the pin or a part of its operadng mechaniR by a circuit to be connected to a source of electric power such as a battery or the main supply of an aircraft so as to be completed and to give a signal when the pin is correctly engaged with a hole but to be opened so as to give no signal when it is not correctly en8agei

5. A coirvertible aircraft passenger seating unit as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the indicator is separate from the seating unit so that it may be mounted conveniently in an aircraft when the seating unit is in a position of use.

6. A convertible aircraft passenger seting unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.

7. An aircraft including a convertible aircraft passenger seating unit as claimed in any preceding claim.