Abstract:
A passenger seat for a vehicle includes a seat back; and a seat bottom. The seat bottom is selectively moveable between a first, generally flat position for supporting a passenger in an upright seating position with the passenger&#39;s hips located at a first height above the floor, and a second, raised position for supporting a passenger in a semi-standing position wherein the passenger&#39;s hips are positioned at a second height above the floor substantially greater than the first height.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/529,686 filed Dec. 15, 2003, and Provisional Application No. 60/589,297, filed Jul. 20, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to seating and more particularly to a tourist/coach class aircraft seating arrangement. Aircraft seating is typically divided into various classes, for example first class, business class, and coach or tourist class. For each class of seating, an individual passenger is allotted a preselected amount of space (both area and volume). First-class seats provide the most individual space, and also may include features to improve comfort, such as fully reclining sleeper functions. In contrast, the tourist/coach class is provided with a relatively small amount of space, in order to provide the most efficient transportation and lowest cost. For example, the longitudinal space or “pitch” of the seat rows may be as little as 71 cm (28 in.) However, this space limitation in combination with the seat design can create a very ineffective environment for either working (e.g.: on a lap top computer) or sleeping/stretching (lack of comfort). This lack of effectiveness can result in passenger frustration. In addition, passengers sitting in a row directly forward of another passenger can “recline” their seat into the “living space” of the passenger behind, resulting in a lack of harmony between passengers and a phenomenon known as “air rage”. The lack of passenger effectiveness and harmony between rows of passengers results in economy class travel being frequently considered as a “bad experience”. Modern aircraft are increasingly capable of longer flight segments, thus, the ability to create a more “effective” environment within economy class travel, allowing passengers to adopt multiple postures such as sleep and creating better harmony between passengers during long flights is increasingly important. 
     One of the primary factors causing angst among passengers is the act of reclining a seat into the living space of another passenger. Another is the natural competition for armrest space resulting from shared armrests. To alleviate the anger generated within a cabin due to the competition for living space, inventors have conceptualized items that modify FAA certified seating to restrict or eliminate the recline of the seat directly in front of them. Passengers also use violence and intimidation, to regain their living space at the expense of the passenger sitting directly in front of them. 
     To alleviate discomfort, it is advantageous for a passenger to sit or lie in various positions during a flight. Overall, with longer flight segments, passengers find it necessary to adopt an increasing number of postures and undertake an increasing number of activities. Such activities include but are not limited to, sitting upright, reclining, watching a movie, working on a lap top computer, stretching or slouching, sleeping, and “perching”. Unfortunately, conventional coach class seats do not readily accommodate positions other than simple sitting in the upright or reclined positions, and the amount of recline is limited by the above-mentioned seat pitch. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a passenger seating arrangement in which the passenger may maintain a semi-standing “perch” position with his or her hips elevated above a conventional sitting position. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This and other objects are met by the present invention, which in one embodiment provides a passenger seat for a vehicle comprising a seat back and a seat bottom. the seat bottom is selectively moveable between a first, generally flat position for supporting a passenger in an upright seating position with the passenger&#39;s hips located at a first height above the floor, and a second, raised position for supporting a passenger in a semi-standing position wherein the passenger&#39;s hips are positioned at a second height above the floor substantially greater than the first height. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, the seat bottom has a front edge and a rear edge, and the seat bottom is pivotable upward about the front edge from a lowered position to a raised position. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, the seat bottom has a front edge and a rear edge, and the seat bottom is pivotable upward about the front edge from a lowered position to a raised position 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, the seat bottom is translatable in a forward-and-aft direction relative to the backshell when the seat bottom is in the raised position 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, the passenger seat includes a fixed, upwardly-extending backshell, and the seat back and seat bottom are attached to the backshell. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, the seat bottom is generally horizontal in the first position; and the seat bottom is generally parallel to the seatback and disposed against the seatback in the second position. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, a passenger seat for a vehicle includes: a frame for being attached to a floor of the vehicle; a fixed backshell attached to the frame; a moveable seat back attached to the backshell; and a seat bottom attached to the backshell. The seat bottom is selectively moveable between a first, generally flat position for supporting a passenger in an upright seating position with the passenger&#39;s hips located at a first height above the floor, and a second, raised position for supporting a passenger in a semi-standing position wherein the passenger&#39;s hips are positioned at a second height above the floor substantially greater than the first height. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter that is regarded as the invention may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which: 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a passenger seat set constructed in accordance with the present invention, disposed in an upright sifting position; 
         FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the passenger seat set of  FIG. 1 , with one of the seats disposed in a reclining position; 
         FIG. 1C  is a perspective view of the passenger seat set of  FIG. 1 , with one of seats disposed in a “slouching” position; 
         FIG. 1D  is a perspective view of the passenger seat set of  FIG. 1 , with one of seats disposed in a “side sleep” position; 
         FIG. 1E  is a perspective view of the passenger seat set of  FIG. 1 , with one of seats disposed in a “perch” position; 
         FIG. 2  is rear perspective view of the passenger seat set of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of two adjacent seat rows; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a seat frame and attached backshells; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a seat back and perimeter frame; 
         FIG. 6  is front view of a partially disassembled seat, showing the internal construction thereof; 
         FIG. 7  is front view of a seat bottom having a pivoted support wing; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the upper portion of a seat back 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a headrest; 
         FIG. 10  is another perspective view of a headrest; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a seat; and 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a seat incorporating a shoulder harness attached thereto. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings wherein identical reference numerals denote the same elements throughout the various views,  FIGS. 1A–1E ,  2 , and  3  illustrate an exemplary passenger seat set  10 . In the illustrated example, the seat set  10  includes three seats  12   a,    12   b,  and  12   c,  which are supported by rigid backshells  14   a,    14   b,  and  14   c,  respectively, each of which includes a stationary video screen  13  and a folding tray table  15 . In contrast to prior art seats, the backshells  14   a,    14   b,  and  14   c  are contoured with sculpted clearance areas  16  and  17  to provide room for the knees of an aft-seated passenger. The seats  12  could alternatively be arranged as single units or in side-by-side units of any number of adjacent seats. The backshells  14   a,    14   b,  and  14   c  are attached to and supported by a transverse main beam  18  in a cantilevered fashion. The main beam  18  is attached to leg units  20  and  22  that are in turn mounted to the floor of the vehicle. Each leg unit  20  and  22  includes a longitudinal bottom member  24 , a vertical upright member  26 , and a longitudinal top member  28 . The leg units  20  and  22  are tied together by a transverse front beam  30 , which may be a hollow box-section member suitable for containing electronics or other seat-related equipment (not shown). 
     The seats  12   a,    12   b,  and  12   c  are substantially identical to each other, accordingly any part of the following description specifically referring to one of the seats  12   a,    12   b,  or  12   c,  or to the components thereof, may be taken to apply to the other seats as well. The seat  12   a  includes a seat bottom  32   a,  a seat back  34   a,  and a headrest  36   a.  Armrests  38  and  40  are positioned on opposite sides of the seat  12   a.  One or more of the armrests  38  and  40  may be shared with the adjacent seat  12   b  in the seat set  10 . The armrests  38  and  40  are moved forward from the backshell  14   a  so that no gap is required between adjacent backshells  14 . The seat bottom  32   a  includes a central portion  42   a  and at least one support wing  44   a.  In the illustrated example, a pair of support wings  44   a  and  44   a′  are pivotally attached to the central portion  42   a  at angled hinge lines. 
     The seat  12   a  allows a passenger seated therein to reconfigure the seat  12   a  to achieve a number of different sitting postures while ensuring that the living space of the individual passengers are mutually protected from each other. In each of these configurations, no part of the seat  12   a  extends beyond the backshell  14   a  or the backshell of the seat which is positioned directly in front of the seat  12   a.  In contrast to prior art seats, these protected living space postures are possible even though the seat rows are mounted with a very small longitudinal spacing or pitch, denoted “P”, The pitch P is set according to the wishes of the individual aircraft operator. In the illustrated example, the pitch P will be in the accepted range for “coach class” seats which have not heretofore had the capability of providing multiple postures with fixed living space. This range for the pitch “P” is about 79 cm (31 in.) to about 92 cm (36 in.), and more typically about 81 cm (32 in.) to about 86 cm (34 in.) The seats  12  may also be spaced at an even smaller pitch by limiting their motion somewhat, for example about 71 cm (28 in.) For comparison, it is noted that the accepted pitch between prior art business-class seats is substantially larger, for example about 140 cm (55 in.) or greater. These postures are described in detail below. The seat  12   a  may be reconfigured by various means. For example, the moving components of the seat  12   a  may be connected to actuators which operate in response to commands from individual switches or a control unit. Alternatively, individual manual controls may be provided for the various seat components. 
       FIG. 1A  shows the seat  12   a  configured for a regular sitting posture. In this configuration, the seat bottom  32   a  is at its most rearward location, the seat back  34   a  is at its most upright position against the backshell  14   a,  and the headrest  36   a  is at its highest position. The passenger is comfortably supported in the regular sitting posture by the cushioning of the headrest  36   a  and the seat bottom  32   a,  and the flexing action of the seat back  34   a,  described in more detail below. The seat bottom  32   a  may be equipped with a “waterfall” feature, described in more detail below, which allows the effective front-to-rear length of the seat bottom  32   a  to be selectively reduced for increased passenger comfort. Because the backshell  14   a  of the passenger&#39;s seat  12   a  and those of all the surrounding seats are rigid and do not move, the passenger&#39;s individual allotted space is protected from intrusion of the other passengers. 
       FIG. 1B  shows the seat  12   a  configured for a “reclined” posture. The seat bottom  32   a  is translated forward relative to the backshell  14   a.  The clearance areas  16  and  17  of the backshell  14   a  and the forward-positioned armrests of the seat positioned ahead of seat  12   a  accommodate the passenger&#39;s knees and thus allow the passenger in the seat  12   a  to move farther forward than would otherwise be possible. The bottom end of the seat back  34   a  is pulled forward along with the seat bottom  32   a,  and the upper end of the seat back  34   a  moves down the surface of the backshell  14   a,  in a manner discussed in more detail below. The seat back  34   a  thus moves forward while tilting backwards into a reclined position. The head rest  36   a  may also be lowered, either manually or automatically in unison with the motion of the seat back  34   a,  so that the head rest  36   a  maintains a constant relative height compared to the upper end of the seat back  34   a.  Throughout the recline motion, the seat back  34   a  is restrained by the backshell  14   a  and does not move aft, thus it does not intrude into the space of a passenger seated behind seat  12   a.  This recline position is achieved with the need to lower the passenger&#39;s center of gravity. Thus, no special equipment is needed to lift the passenger, unlike prior art designs which lower the passenger&#39;s center of gravity, and thus have to generate a “return” force sufficient to lift the weight of the heaviest anticipated passenger, in order to return to the upright position. 
       FIG. 1C  shows the seat  12   a  configured for a “slouch” or “slump” posture. The seat bottom  32   a  is translated yet further forward relative to the backshell  14   a  as compared to the “reclined” position. The bottom end of the seat back  34   a  is pulled farther forward along with the seat bottom  32   a,  and the upper end of the seat back  34   a  moves further down the surface of the backshell  14   a.  The front edge of the seat bottom  32   a  is lowered. This configuration allows the passenger to stretch out his or her body and legs, and makes it easier for the passenger to place his or her feet beneath the seat bottom of the seat mounted forward of the seat  12   a.    
       FIG. 1D  shows the seat  12   a  configured for a “side sleep” or “fetal” posture. In this configuration, the seat bottom  32   a  is translated forward and its front edge is lowered, and the seat back  34   a  is pivoted back as for the “slouch” posture. The seat back  34   a  is rotated about a line essentially parallel to the passenger&#39;s spine, thus creating a shoulder niche “N”. One of the support wings  44   a  of the seat bottom  32   a  is pivoted upward along the hinge line  46 , depending on the direction the passenger wishes to turn. The head rest  36   b  about a generally longitudinal axis, causing the side of the head rest  36   a  towards the direction of the passenger&#39;s roll to be lowered towards the shoulder niche N. This position allows the passenger to stretch out vertically, creates a suitable shoulder resting area and head rest, supports the passenger&#39;s hips in the rotated position with one hip higher than the other, and prevents the passenger from slipping down off of the seat  12   a.  The passenger may thus remain in the sleeping position without requiring any muscular activity. It is noted that the support wings  44  need not be hinged. Any structure with allows a portion of the seat bottom  32   a  to effectively lift upward to support the passenger&#39;s in a rotated position may be used. For example, the hinged support wings  44   a  may be replaced with cushions which can be selectively inflated to create an effectively raised support wing. 
       FIG. 1E  shows the seat  12   a  configured for a “perching” posture as follows. The seat bottom  12   a  is translated backwards and rotated upwards into a raised position. In the raised position the back edge of the seat bottom  32   a  provides a surface for the passenger to prop against, much the same as sitting on a raised stool. As well as providing an alternative posture, the perch position may be used to facilitate ingress or egress between seat rows by substantially reducing the effective front-to-back length of the seat bottom  32   a.    
       FIGS. 4–11  illustrate an example of how the internal construction of the seat  12   a  may be arranged. Referring to  FIG. 11 , The seat  12   a  includes a rigid bottom perimeter frame  48  which is connected to the rigid backshell  14   a  so that it can translate forwards and backwards with respect thereto, for example using slide rail assembly  50 . The bottom perimeter frame  48  is covered by a flexible seat pan  52  (removed for clarity in  FIG. 11 ) and a padded bottom cushion (not shown). The bottom perimeter frame  48  is attached to the main beam  18  so that its front end can be selectively raised and lowered to positions above or below horizontal, for example it may be allowed to rock on spaced apart bottom frame pivots  54  and  56 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , the seat pan  52  includes a pair of angled hinge lines  58  defining a pair of flaps  60  and  60 ′ that form portions of the support wings  44   a  and  44   a′.  Each of the flaps  60  and  60 ′ overlies a left or right support lever  62  or  64 , respectively. The support levers  62  and  64  can be individually pivoted to either a lowered position or a raised position (see  FIG. 7 ), and there are provisions for maintaining the support levers  62  and  64  in the selected position. In the raised position, the selected flap  60  or  60 ′ is pivoted upward to support the passenger&#39;s hip and thigh as described above. The seat bottom  32   a  may also incorporate a front “waterfall” feature. Specifically, a portion of the front edge of the bottom perimeter frame  48  may be constructed so that it can be selectively folded downwards, thus allowing the seat pan  52  to curl downwards under the passenger&#39;s weight and reduce the effective front-to-back length of the seat bottom. In the illustrated example, a hinged lateral support bar  66  (see  FIG. 11 ) is disposed between the support levers  62  and  64  and the front edge of the seat pan  52 . Both support levers  62  and  64  may be pivoted downwards simultaneously along with the support bar  66 . 
     A rigid back perimeter frame  68  (see  FIG. 5 ) is connected to the bottom perimeter frame  48  at back pivots  70  and  70 ′. The upper end of the back perimeter frame  68  includes rollers  72  or other suitable structure which bear against the backshell  14   a  and allow the back perimeter frame  68  to slide up and down with respect thereto. The reclining motion of the seat back  34   a  is governed by the interaction of the rollers  72  with the backshell  14   a  as the bottom end of the seat back  34   a  is pulled forwards or backwards relative to the backshell  14   a  by the seat bottom  32   a  The amount of recline (i.e. change in seat back tilt angle) for a given amount of motion of the seat bottom  32   a  may be thus be selected by appropriate contouring of the surface of the backshell  14   a.    
     A backrest  74  is attached to the back perimeter frame  68 . The backrest  74  is a compound-curved member having a plurality of spaced-apart lateral elements  76 . The entire backrest  74  is constructed of an appropriate resilient material such as plastic or synthetic rubber. The lateral elements  76  of the backrest  74  can flex individually to separate positions when a passenger sits in the seat  12   a.  This provides a relatively constant support to the passenger&#39;s spine while allowing for variance in the exact seating position. The backrest  74  may be enclosed by a dress cover  78  as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 ,  9  and  10 , the head rest  36   a  is attached to the backshell  14   a  above the seat back  34   a.  The head rest  36   a  comprises a center portion  82  and two forward-angled side portions  84  and  84 ′. The entire head rest  36   a  is mounted so that is can rotate about a generally longitudinal axis. It may also be arranged to translate vertically. For example, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a bar  86  may link the head rest  36   a  to the seat back  34   a.  A side pad  88  is mounted on each of the side portions  84  and  84   a  of the head rest  36   a.  Each side pad  88  is tapered in thickness and is centrally mounted so that it can both rotate about its center and move laterally relative to the side portion  84  or  84 ′. Rotation of the tapered side pad  88  has the effect of changing the angle at which it meets the passenger&#39;s head, even though the side portion  84  or  84 ′ is not pivoted, and lateral motion of the side pad  88  changes the effective width of the head rest  36   a,  as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a seat  12   a′  which incorporates a shoulder harness  90 . The shoulder harness  90  may be connected to a lap belt  92  with a buckle  94  with the shoulder harness  90 . The shoulder harness  90  restrains the passenger in his or her own seat  12   a  during an impact, unlike prior art designs in which the seat forward of the passenger&#39;s seat  12   a  is expected to dissipate the impact of the passenger. Thus, the headpath trajectory of a passenger seated in the seat  12   a  during an impact is reduced. This allows the front row seat in each zone of an aircraft cabin to be placed closer to the forward bulkhead. This results in increased space in the cabin which can be used to provide addition seat rows or provide addition space (i.e. increased seat pitch) for some or all of the passengers. 
     The seating arrangement described above has multiple advantages over prior art seating arrangements. By virtue of the fixed backshell  14  with no conventional “aft recline”, the last row in each of an aircraft cabin can be placed closer to the rear bulkhead of the zone, increasing the available room in the aircraft cabin. 
     It should be noted that the fixed living space described herein can be achieved in a number of alternate ways. For example, the backshells  14  may be configured to move, so long at it does not move aft. Alternatively, a backshell may be provided that is fixed for only part of its length, i.e. the upper portion of the backshell  14  may be allowed to recline while the lower part remains fixed. 
     The foregoing has described a seating arrangement having a features which allow a passenger to assume multiple postures within limited space constraints. These seat features may be combined with each other as desired to produce a seat having multiple comfort features. While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications thereto can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and the best mode for practicing the invention are provided for the purpose of illustration only and not for the purpose of limitation.