Pilot seat

A pilot seat or the like provided with lumbar support and armrests. Research into the anthropometry has revealed that the height of the armrest and the center of the lumbar support of people between 5'2" and 6'3" are practically the same. Accordingly, a unitary adjustment means is provided for simultaneously raising or lowering the armrests and the lumbar support.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to pilot or crew seats and particularly 
relates to such a seat assembly having a unitary adjustment for both the 
lumbar support and the armrests. 
Many chairs or seat assemblies have been devised in the past. Many of 
these, as evidenced by prior patents, have separate adjustments for the 
armrests of the seat assembly and for a lumbar support. For example, the 
patent to Leonard, U.S. Pat. No. 840,348 shows armrests rigidly connected 
to the chair back. It further reveals adjustment means for raising or 
lowering the armrests simultaneously with the back. 
The patent to Rabinowitz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,894 discloses a 
combined armrest and lower back support. However, the dental chair shown 
and disclosed therein does not feature any adjustment for either armrests 
or back. 
Another posture chair and seat is disclosed in the patent to Huebener, U.S. 
Pat. No. 2,647,560. In this case separate adjustment means are provided 
for both the backrest and the armrests. Also, the adjustments are not 
readily accessible to the person occupying the chair. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a unitary 
adjustment means for both the lumbar support and the armrests of a pilot 
or crew seat assembly. The invention is based on research into the 
anthropometry of flight crews and the like. This has revealed that the 
dimensions for the height of the armrest and the center of the lumbar 
support are substantially the same for 5'2" to 6'3" persons. It will hence 
be evident that combining the two adjustments into a unitary structure 
simplifies the design, cuts cost and weight and simplifies the adjustment 
of the seat. 
The novel features that are considered characteristic of this invention are 
set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, 
however, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as 
additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from 
the following description when read in connection with the accompanying 
drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, there is 
illustrated a seat assembly embodying the present invention. The seat 
assembly includes a seat portion 10 and a backrest 11 consisting of two 
sections 12 and 14. Furthermore, the seat assembly is provided with two 
armrests 15 and 16. There may further be provided a headrest 17 which may 
be retracted into a suitable slot in the upper section 12 of the backrest. 
As clearly shown in FIG. 1, there may be provided a hand wheel or 
adjustment knob 20 by means of which the backrest 11 may be tilted 
backwards or forwards as is conventional. Such an adjustment is shown in 
the patent to Mensendieck et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,139,028. Furthermore, 
the seat assembly may have a lap belt 21 and a shoulder harness 22 as is 
conventional. 
In accordance with the present invention the two arm rests 15 and 16, as 
well as a lumbar support 24 shown in FIG. 2, are simultaneously adjusted 
either up or down. By way of example, the arm rests may normally have a 
distance of 9" from the seat pan 10. It is desirable to adjust the 
armrests 15 and 16 one inch up or one inch down from their normal 
position. At the same time the lumbar support 24 will also be adjusted up 
and down in unison with the adjustment of the armrests 15 and 16. To this 
end the rear of the backrest 11 is provided with a suitable vertical slot 
25 which permits a shaft 26 to move up and down, the shaft being shown in 
FIG. 3. The shaft 26 passes through the two armrests 15 and 16 and 
accordingly they move up and down together with the shaft 26. At the same 
time the lumbar support 24 is secured to the shaft 26, the shaft being 
permitted to rotate within the lumbar support 24. 
For purposes of adjustment there is provided a fixed adjustment rack 27 
with which meshes a pinion gear 28. However, the pinion gear 28 is 
normally locked by a locking rack 30 which is relatively narrow with 
respect to the adjustment rack 27 and disposed adjacent and parallel 
thereto. 
Hence in order to adjust the positions of the two armrests 15, 16 and of 
the lumbar support 24, it is necessary to move the shaft 26 towards the 
right of FIG. 3 as shown by arrow 31. This will disengage the pinion gear 
28 from the locking rack 30 and permit the pinion gear to be rotated 
thereby to move the shaft 26 up or down. To this end there is provided an 
adjustment knob 33 secured to the shaft 26 and which may be outwardly 
knurled as shown. 
When the proper adjustment has been made the adjustment knob 33 is released 
whereupon the pinion gear 28 is pulled toward the left by a spring 35 
which bears against a stop 36. 
It will thus be seen that by merely pulling out the knob 33 both armrests 
15 and 16, as well as the lumbar support 24, may be moved up or down to 
suit the particular person occupying the seat assembly. This adjustment 
may readily be performed by the person sitting on the seat assembly. 
As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the seat 10, the backrest 11 and the two 
armrests 15 and 16 are preferably covered with sheepskin or lambs wool as 
shown at 40. The thickness of the lambs wool may be on the order of 2 cm. 
It has been found that sheepskin absorbs moisture much more readily than 
plastic materials such as foam or fiber. At the same time the moisture 
evaporates even faster. This, of course, means that the person occupying 
the seat assembly of the invention keeps his back dry and cool. Lambs wool 
basically consists of a large number of tiny curled springs. Therefore, 
the body weight is evenly distributed over the surface of the seat. Hence 
the creation of pressure spots and the like is avoided. Since the air 
circulates freely through the wool there is no buildup of heat or 
moisture. 
It will be realized that this unitary adjustment mechanism simplifies the 
design, reduces cost and weight and particularly facilitates adjustment of 
the seat assembly.