GB2370515A

GB2370515A - Exercise device for aircraft seat

Info

Publication number: GB2370515A
Application number: GB0100872A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jonathan Austin Ma
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-12-29
Filing date: 2001-01-10
Publication date: 2002-07-03
Also published as: GB0112130D0; GB0100366D0; GB0100872D0

Abstract

An exercising method and apparatus for use in aircraft seats comprises a tensioning member 22 directly or indirectly attached to the seat 30 which is repetitively extended by the passenger's foot in loop 24 while seated. The device may be permanently attached 34 and 36 to the back support of the seat 32 or a separate mounting frame (54 figure 2) may be provided for attachment to the back support. The device may be mounted adjacent to the passenger's shoulder. An inelastic strap (46 figure 2) may be provided to prevent rubbing of the device over the passenger's shoulder. The tensioning member may be an elastic pull cord 22, a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (64 figure 3) with a restricting orifice and return spring or a pull cord wound on a spring loaded and braked drum (82, 84, 86 figure 4). A pair of devices may be provided for each passenger. The device may be used on commercial aircraft seats during flight or coach journeys to prevent blood clots and deep vein thrombosis.

Description

AIRCRAFT SEAT FOR PERSONAL EXERCISE

Field of the invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for enabling a passenger to exercise his or her legs on board an aircraft.

Background of the invention It is known in air travel on long haul flights that passengers are confined to their seats in a rest position for many hours. There is a need for the passenger to exercise his or her legs from time to time in order to increase blood circulation but this is difficult in the cramped environment of the aircraft cabin. On the other hand, poor blood circulation may increase the risk of blood clots which may cause distress or even death for some people after a long flight.

Summary of the invention The aim of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus enabling a passenger to increase his or her blood circulation whenever desired during a long haul flight by exercising his or her legs while remaining seated and without disturbing other passengers.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for a passenger to exercise his or her legs on board an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of attaching a tensioning exercise apparatus directly or indirectly to the passenger's aircraft seat, and the passenger operating the apparatus by exerting a tensioning force on the apparatus repetitively using his or her foot extending the apparatus while sitting on the said seat.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a passenger seat on board an aircraft for use according to the aforementioned method, the seat having at least one tensioning exercise apparatus attached directly or indirectly only to the said seat, the apparatus having a retractable tensioning member which is extendable to reach the passenger's foot when the passenger is sitting on the seat, and which acts to partially resist a tensioning force exerted on it repetitively by the passenger using his or her foot extending the apparatus while sitting on the seat and without disturbing other passengers.

In the invention, because the tensioning exercise apparatus, for example an elastic pull cord, is attached only to the seat, pulling and stretching of the cord by the passenger will cause reaction forces which are contained entirely within his seat and isolated from the adjacent seats, thus will not disturb other passengers. Also the space required by the passenger in pulling and stretching the cord is the same space as he would use to stretch his legs without disturbing other passengers while remaining seated. Thus the invention provides a personal facility for the passenger to exercise his legs conveniently and without increasing the seating space allocated to each passenger.

Herebefore, no aircraft passenger seat is known to provide such a personal exercising facility simply because it was not obvious for the proposed method of the present invention to be applied to meet a perceived passenger need.

The tensioning exercise apparatus may be attached when desired to a mounting member fixed permanently on the back support of the seat. Alternatively, it may be attached to a separate mounting frame which is attachable when desired to the back support to form part of the seat. For example, the mounting frame may be designed in the shape of a clamp which clamps securely to the back support of the seat.

Preferably, the tensioning exercise apparatus is positioned on the back support of the seat adjacent or above the passenger's shoulder such that the apparatus does not interfere with the shoulder when it is operated by the passenger using his or her foot while sitting on the seat.

Alternatively, the tensioning exercise apparatus may be attached to the back support of the seat via an inelastic strap resting on the passenger's shoulder so that the apparatus does not rub against the shoulder when it is operated by the passenger using his or foot while sitting on the seat.

Preferably a pair of identical tensioning exercise apparatus are attached to the seat enabling the passenger to exercise both legs in pairs or in alternate motion. Of course the same apparatus may also be used by the passenger for exercising his or her arms.

The tensioning exercise apparatus may be an elastic pull cord with a hook at one end for attaching the cord to the seat.

Alternatively, the tensioning exercise apparatus may comprise a tensioning member operating within a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder. In this case, a restricting orifice may be provided for increasing the fluid resistance in the cylinder when the tensioning member is being extracted and a relief valve may be provided for relaxing the fluid resistance when the tensioning member is being retracted. A return spring may be provided for retracting the tensioning member automatically. A hook may be provided for attaching the apparatus to the seat.

As a further alternative, the tensioning exercise apparatus may comprise a tensioning member which is a pull cord wound around a rotatable drum within a housing. In

this case, the rotatable drum may be spring-loaded in the retractable direction of the cord, and braked only in the extractable direction of the cord, thus enabling the cord to retract freely and to provide resistance when pulled. The housing may be attachable to the seat when desired or it may be incorporated permanently inside the seat.

In all the above embodiments, it is essential that the mounting member to the seat and the seat itself are designed to withstand the reaction forces caused by the tensioning exercise apparatus repetitively during prolonged use. On the other hand, the resistance required in the apparatus for increasing blood circulation would need only be moderate and less than that for fitness training.

Brief description of the drawing The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a passenger seat incorporating a preferred embodiment of a tensioning exercise apparatus attached to a mounting member fixed on the back support of the seat, Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a passenger seat incorporating an alternative embodiment of a tensioning exercise apparatus attached to a separate mounting frame which is attachable to the back support to form part of the seat, Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a passenger seat incorporating another alternative embodiment of a tensioning exercise apparatus attached to the seat, and Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a passenger seat incorporating yet another alternative embodiment of a tensioning exercise apparatus attached to the seat.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

In Figure 1, one of two identical tensioning exercise apparatus is shown in the form of an elastic pull cord 22 attached to a mounting member 34 fixed to the back support 32 of an aircraft passenger seat 30. The mounting member 34 is shaped like a button and is secured by wires 36 pulling it tightly against the seat upholstery to be attached finally to the frame of the back support 32. An eye is provided on the mounting member 34 for easy attachment of the elastic pull cord 22 by means of a hook 20 at one end of the cord 22. The mounting member 34 is positioned adjacent or above the passenger's shoulder such that the elastic pull cord 22 attached to it does not interfere with the shoulder when the cord 22 is pulled and stretched by the passenger using his or her foot while sitting on the seat 30.

In use, as shown in Figure 1, the passenger would exercise his leg by putting around his foot a loop 24 attached to the other end of the elastic pull cord 22 and pulling and stretching the cord 22 with his foot. Of course, the passenger may also exercise his arm by pulling and stretching a shorter elastic pull cord with his arm.

Moreover, with a pair of elastic pull cords secured to two mounting members adjacent or above the passenger's shoulders, the passenger would exercise both legs or both arms in pairs or in alternate motion, and he does so entirely within his personal seating space and does not disturb other passengers.

When not in use, the elastic pull cord 22 may be detached from the mounting member 34 and stowed away.

In Figure 2, one of two elastic pull cords 42 is shown attached via a length of inelastic strap 46 to a separate mounting frame 54 which is attachable to the back support 52 to form part of an aircraft passenger seat 50. The mounting

frame 54 is designed in the shape of a clamp which fits securely onto the back support 52 by clamping against the front and the rear of the back support 52. An eye is provided on the mounting frame 54 for easy attachment of the strap 46 and the elastic pull cord 42 by means of a hook 40 at one end of the strap 46. The mounting frame 54 is positioned adjacent or above the passenger's shoulder such that the strap 46 rests on the passenger's shoulder and the elastic pull cord 42 does not rub against the shoulder when it is operated by the passenger using his or foot while sitting on the seat 50.

In use, as shown in Figure 2, the passenger would exercise his leg by putting around his foot a loop 44 attached to the other end of the elastic pull cord 42 and pulling and stretching the cord 42 with his foot. When not in use, the entire frame 54 may be detached from the back support 52 and stowed away.

In Figure 3, an alternative tensioning exercise apparatus is shown in the form of a tensioning member 62 operating within a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 64. A hook 60 is provided at the end of the cylinder 64 for easy attachment of the cylinder to a mounting member 74 fixed to the back support 72 of an aircraft passenger seat 70. The hydraulic cylinder is a well known piece of fitness training equipment with smooth adjustable resistance in one direction and low resistance in the other direction achieved by a combination of restricting orifice, relief valve and return spring (not shown). Such a design will be obvious to a person familiar with the state of the art.

In Figure 4, a further alternative tensioning exercise apparatus is shown in the form of a tensioning member which is a pull cord 82 wound around a rotatable drum 84 within a housing 86. The rotatable drum 84 is spring-loaded in the retractable direction and braked only in the extractable

direction (not shown) of the cord 82, thus enabling the cord 82 to retract freely and to provide resistance when pulled.

Once again this is a well known piece of fitness training equipment and the design will be obvious to a person familiar with the state of the art. A hook 80 is provided on the housing 86 for easy attachment of the housing to a mounting member 94 fixed to the back support 92 of an aircraft passenger seat 90. Alternatively, the housing 86 may be incorporated permanently inside the back support 92 of the seat 90.

The above various embodiments may be provided on board a commercial passenger aircraft according to the quality of service expected by the passengers. For example, a refined tensioning exercise apparatus such as a pair of fully retractable and resistance adjustable pull cords may be incorporated unobtrusively inside the back support of a business class seat for passenger use at any time during flight. On the other hand, for coach class passengers, a pair of elastic pull cords may be included in the welcome pack given to each passenger when he or she boards the aircraft. In this case, a pair of attachment points provided on the back support of the passenger's seat will enable the elastic pull cords to be used by the passenger according to the method of the present invention at any time during flight.

By providing the facility on board the aircraft according to the present invention and encouraging the passengers to use it to exercise their legs frequently during a long haul flight, the well being of the passengers would be better cared for by the commercial airlines both during and after a long trip.

Claims

1. A method for a passenger to exercise his or her legs on board an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of attaching a tensioning exercise apparatus directly or indirectly to the passenger's aircraft seat, and the passenger operating the apparatus by exerting a tensioning force on the apparatus repetitively using his or her foot extending the apparatus while sitting on the said seat.

2. A passenger seat on board an aircraft for use according to the method as claimed in claim 1, the seat (30) having at least one tensioning exercise apparatus attached directly or indirectly only to the said seat (30), the apparatus having a retractable tensioning member (22) which is extendable to reach the passenger's foot when the passenger is sitting on the seat (30), and which acts to partially resist a tensioning force exerted on it repetitively by the passenger using his or her foot extending the apparatus while sitting on the seat (30) and without disturbing other passengers.

3. A passenger seat (30) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus is attached when desired to a mounting member (34) fixed permanently on the back support (32) of the seat (30).

4. A passenger seat (50) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus is attached to a separate mounting frame (54) which is attachable when desired to the back support (52) to form part of the seat (50).

5. A passenger seat (30 or 50) as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus is positioned on the back support (32 or 52) of the seat adjacent or above the passenger's shoulder such that the

apparatus does not interfere with the shoulder when it is operated by the passenger using his or her foot while sitting on the seat (30 or 50).

6. A passenger seat (30 or 50) as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus is attached to the back support (32 or 52) of the seat via an inelastic strap (46) resting on the passenger's shoulder so that the apparatus does not rub against the shoulder when it is operated by the passenger using his or foot while sitting on the seat (50).

7. A passenger seat (30 or 50) as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus is an elastic pull cord (22 or 42).

8. A passenger seat (70) as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus comprises a tensioning member (62) operating within a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder (64), the apparatus being provided with a restricting orifice for increasing the fluid resistance in the cylinder when the tensioning member (62) is being extracted, a relief valve for relaxing the fluid resistance when the tensioning member (62) is being retracted, and a return spring for retracting the tensioning member (62) automatically.

9. A passenger seat (90) as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the tensioning exercise apparatus comprises a tensioning member which is a pull cord (82) wound around a rotatable drum (84) within a housing (86), the rotatable drum (84) being spring-loaded in the retractable direction and braked only in the extractable direction of the cord (82) thereby enabling the cord (82) to retract freely and to provide resistance when pulled, and the housing (86) being attachable to the seat (90) when desired or incorporated permanently inside the seat (90).

10. A tensioning exercise apparatus adapted for attachment to a passenger seat as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9 on board a commercial passenger aircraft.

11. An passenger seat as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, provided for passenger use on board a commercial passenger aircraft at any time during flight.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 instructed for passengers to follow while travelling on board a commercial passenger aircraft.