Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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UNDERSEAT STOWAGE DEVICE
FOR PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001]The invention relates to a support for passenger use
personal electronic devices in an aircraft cabin mounted to
the cabin floor within the seat tracks and stowed under the
passenger seat.
BACKGROUND OF THE ART
[0002]Aircraft passenger cabins are currently constructed or
are being retrofit with a wide assortment of personal
electronic devices with entertainment options accessible
from the passenger seat. To improve service and make the
flight more enjoyable or productive, airlines may provide
audio and video entertainment, telephone, intercom,
television, video games, Internet, email and electrical
power supply for laptop computers, especially in business
class and first class cabins thus permitting passengers to
work during the flight, to communicate or to be entertained
without leaving their seat or disturbing other passengers.
[0003] Passenger entertainment systems such as seat mounted
flat screen video monitors, and credit card activated
cellular telephones are now commonly mounted in the seat
backs and seat arm rests of passenger aircraft. Some
airlines also distribute compact personal DVD players with
a choice of movies, or personal audio CD players in first
class and business class cabins. Passengers may carry
their own laptop computers or CD players and seek power
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outlets to preserve batteries and extend use during long
flights.
[0004]Within the confines of a passenger seat fitted with a
conventional food service tray table, use of such
entertainment and personal electronic equipment creates
conflicts with the food and beverage service in an aircraft
cabin. The available space is often inadequate, the
electrical equipment is exposed to spillage of beverages,
and equipment may be damaged after sliding off the tray
table on to the cabin floor.
[0005]Given existing aircraft cabins and seating
arrangements, conventionally it has been considered
necessary to fit all such equipment within the passenger
seat itself. Armrests and seat backs are built with
compartments for such purposes adding to the cost of the
seats and requiring regulatory approval since the weight,
centre of gravity and performance during a crash could be
effected by adding the weight of equipment or modifying the
seat frame structure. Airlines desiring to upgrade service
by providing electric power, entertainment and personal
electronic device capacity are faced with the problem of
replacing expensive passenger seats before their service
life has ended and submitting new designs for regulatory
approval, both of which consume significant time and money.
[0006]Conventionally, passenger seat units are often fitted
with power sources, entertainment and personal electronic
system units that are mounted in armrests, in consoles, in
the seat back or under the seat as an interim measure.
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[0007]It is an object of the present invention to separate
the provision of personal electronic devices entirely from
the passenger seats.
[0008]It is a further object of the invention to provide a
compact foldable support that stows personal electronic
devices on an arm that rotates from under the seat thereby
relieving the passenger seats of the need to be redesigned
or retrofit to accommodate entertainment or personal
electronic functions.
[0009]Further objects of the invention will be apparent from
review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the
invention below.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0010]The invention provides a support for equipment
associated with a passenger seat assembly mounted to a
floor in a passenger cabin. The support having a base
adapted to anchor to two seat tracks in the cabin floor
with a post extending upwardly from the base. Individual
support arms each have a proximal end mounted to the base
and a distal end with an equipment mount. Each arm has
independent deployment transferring the associated arm from
a stowed position under an associated passenger seat and a
deployed position extending upwardly from the post.
[0011] A significant benefit of the invention is that
existing seats or existing seat designs need not be changed
in order to accommodate newly added services, such as
personal video entertainment, laptop computer power,
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virtual reality video games, email, Internet capacity or
other such entertainment and personal electronic services
within the confines of the immediate passenger airline seat
area. The invention provides a completely independent
stand alone support that is independently supported within
the seat tracks of the cabin floor to support various
devices such as flat screen video monitors or DVD players
as well as accommodating power source cables and
receptacles in a compact foldable unit that stows under the
seat.
[0012]Therefore, it is no longer necessary for airlines to
consider replacing existing seats in the passenger cabin or
purchasing newer more expensive seat designs nor for
modifications to the seats to require testing and
regulatory approval in order to provide personal electronic
services to the passengers. The invention provides an
independent stand-alone support unit for electrical
components, which can be modified to support any such
entertainment or personal electronic device.
[0013]A further advantage of the invention is the
flexibility of design that aircraft operators can achieve
through complete separation of the seating function and the
entertainment or personal electronic function within the
cabin. More particularly, the seats can be designed for
maximum safety, service life and passenger comfort without
premature replacement. Seats can be used throughout their
entire functional operating life without considering
upgrades or modification to the entertainment or personal
electronic systems. Audio and video signals can be
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conveyed to the independent support that houses video
displays for example and includes receptacles or jacks for
headphones completely independently of the seat. The
airline operator can quickly reconfigure the cabin (for
5 charters, long haul or short commuter flights), adding or
removing entertainment or personal electronic services by
simply installing or removing the independent support unit.
Seats need not be modified at all unless the seat pitch is
to be changed.
[0014]In contrast, seat designs that require modification to
include fold up video display monitors or additional audio
equipment for example often suffer from a change in the
seat's centre of gravity or from other structural
modifications to the seats to accommodate the added
equipment. Any such change requires significant regulatory
approval or testing since the seat and lap belt are safety
features of the aircraft in any crash scenario. The
primary functions of the seats are to provide comfort and
safety and therefore any modification requires approval to
ensure that there has been no compromise of structural
integrity or safety features.
[0015] Further, airlines often acquire aircraft from other
airlines through mergers or purchases and require that all
of their aircraft provide a consistent level of passenger
service throughout the fleet. In such circumstances,
retrofitting of passenger seats to accommodate
entertainment and personal electronic devices may be a
costly exercise. The invention provides a simple solution
enabling retrofitting of existing aircraft or reconfiguring
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of aircraft with a rapid turn around. For example,
entertainment and personal electronic devices are usually
more desirable on long haul flights while use of the same
aircraft for commuter flights places a premium on cabin
space and number of passengers per aircraft.
Reconfiguration to provide such services is relatively
simple when the invention is used since the independent
supports may be installed and removed very quickly to
reconfigure the aircraft, whereas conventional
reconfiguration involves removing and replacing the entire
seat assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(0016]In order that the invention may be readily understood,
one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of
example in the accompanying drawings.
[0017] Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of a three
passenger seat assembly with the invention provided
spanning between the two seat tracks with an equipment
supporting arm extending upwardly on three arms that can be
individually folded and rotated downwardly in a stowed
position under the seats.
[0018]Further details of the invention and its advantages
will be apparent from the detailed description included
below.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Referring to Figure l, a support 1 for personal
electronic devices 2 is shown mounted to seat tracks 3
independently of the associated seat assembly 4. In the
embodiment shown, the seat assembly 4 has three passenger
seats 5 on a common base with seat legs 6 mounted to the
seat tracks 3 in a conventional manner. Two to five or
more seats 5 can be accommodated in a like manner.
[0020]Completely independently of the seat assembly 4 and
mounting of the seat legs 6 in the seat track 3 is the
support 1 which includes a base 7 adapted to anchor to the
two seat tracks 3 in the cabin flour of the aircraft cabin.
The base 7 includes two mounting brackets 8 each adapted to
engage the associated parallel seat track 3. Extending
upwardly from the mounting bracket 8 of the base 7 is a
post 9. A beam 10 expands between the upward end of each
post 9 and rotatably supports three arms 11.
[0021]Each arm 11 can be independently deployed from the
stowed position shown on the left of Figure 1 (under the
associated passenger seat 5 and to a deployed position
extending upwardly from the post 9. In the embodiment
shown, the base 7 is adapted for disposition between the
seat legs 6, however depending on the orientation of seat
legs 6, the base 7 may be positioned anywhere along the
seat track 3.
[0022]The arm 11 may include a telescoping portion to raise
and lower the equipment mount 12 and attached personal
electronic device 2 as indicat=ed in arrows on the right
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side of Figure 1. Further, the equipment mount 12 is
rotatably connected at pivot joint 13 to a distal end of
the arm 11 so that the personal electronic device 2 can be
flipped downwardly as indicated in the left portion of
Figure 1 and then rotated about the lower end of the arm 11
on beam 10 to an under seat stowed position.
[0023]In order to power the personal electronic device 2 and
avoid unsightly cables, preferably the arm 11 is hollow or
includes a cable raceway enclosing cables extending between
the base 7 and a top portion of the arm 11. The beam 10
may also be hollow and include a cable raceway. Any wires
and cables can extend under the cabin floor or under the
carpet in cable raceways within the floor through mounting
bracket and up post 9 through the beam 10 and into arms 11.
Also preferably, the arms 11 can include a receptacle in
communication with cables for providing auxiliary power,
headphones jacks or other types of receptacles and
consoles.
[0024]Although the above description relates to a specific
preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by the
inventor, it will be understood that the invention in its
broad aspect includes mechanical and functional equivalents
of the elements described herein.
