Patent Abstract:
A seat having a seat leg assembly for use on a mobile platform, especially on an aircraft. The seat comprises a front seat leg, a rear seat leg, and a spreader bar coupled to and extending between the front seat leg and the rear seat leg. The spreader bar has a door. The door is movable between a closed position in which the door prevents access to areas beneath the spreader bar and an open position in which the door permits access to areas beneath the spreader bar. In this manner, the open door allows an installer to grasp electrical cabling beneath the spreader bar and feed the cabling through a hole in the door so that the cable can be connected a connection point on or adjacent to the seat track.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to mobile platform passenger seats. In particular, the present invention relates to an aircraft passenger seat having a spreader bar that extends between two seat legs, the spreader bar being movable to permit access to areas below the spreader bar that house cabling.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Commercial aircraft operators and passengers are increasingly requesting in-flight entertainment (IFE) and electrical power outlets to enable passengers and/or crew members to operate various personal electronic devices, such as laptop computers, at their seats. To provide passengers and/or crew members with such features, electrical power and data must be delivered to each seat. Power and data are delivered to aircraft passenger seats via one or more cables that extend from a power or data source to the passenger seats. The cables typically extend through one or more seat tracks recessed within the floor of the aircraft passenger cabin. The seat track is covered by a seat track cover.  
         [0003]     The passenger seats are mounted to the passenger cabin floor via the same seat track that the power/data cables extend through. Connection between pig-tail cables of the seats and the cables within the seat track is made in a variety of different ways. For example, a hole is often made in the seat track cover so that either the cables within the seat track or the cables of the seats can pass through the hole to mate with each other.  
         [0004]     In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide a seat support structure that provides even easier and more convenient access to cabling used to supply power, or to enable data transfer, between a given seat and its associated seat track.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     In one preferred form the present invention provides for a seat leg assembly for a mobile platform seat comprising a front seat leg, a rear seat leg, and a spreader bar extending between the front seat leg and the rear seat leg. The spreader bar has a door. The door is movable between a closed position in which the door prevents access to areas beneath the spreader bar and an open position in which the door permits access to areas beneath the spreader bar.  
         [0006]     The invention further provides for a mobile platform seat comprising a seat base and a seat leg assembly extending from the seat base. The seat leg assembly includes a front seat leg, a rear seat leg, and a spreader bar extending between the front seat leg and the rear seat leg. The spreader bar includes a door portion, a first stationary portion, a second stationary portion, and an opening between the first stationary portion and the second stationary portion. The door is movable between a closed position in which the door covers the opening and an open position in which the door at least partially exposes the opening.  
         [0007]     The invention still further provides for a method for gaining access to areas beneath a spreader bar that extends between two seat legs of a mobile platform seat. The method comprises moving a door of the spreader bar from a closed position in which the door obstructs access to areas beneath the spreader bar to an open position in which the door permits access to areas beneath the spreader bar.  
         [0008]     The features, functions, and advantages can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present inventions or may be combined in yet other embodiments. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a number of aircraft passenger seat groups each having seat legs with a spreader bar according to the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of one of the seat legs having a spreader bar according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of one of the seat legs having a spreader bar according to another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one of the seat legs having a spreader bar according to yet an additional embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of one of the seat legs having a spreader bar according to still another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of one of the seat legs having a spreader bar according to the invention, a seat track configured to cooperate with the seat leg, and a data/power cable extending to the seat leg; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the seat leg of  FIG. 5  secured to the seat track and the data/power cable extending through the spreader bar to cooperate with a seat electronic unit of the seat group. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.  
         [0018]     With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , a number of mobile platform seats, in this example aircraft passenger seat groups, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, are illustrated at  10 . It will be appreciated, however, that the present invention is not limited to use only in aircraft and aircraft passenger seats, but can be implemented in any form of mobile platform such as a ship, train, bus, motor-craft, etc., as well as on any stationary platform, such as in theatre seats and stadium seats.  
         [0019]     The seat groups  10  each cooperate with a seat track  12  to secure the seat groups  10  to a floor  14  of an aircraft passenger cabin. A power/data source  16  supplies power and/or data that is transferred to a seat electronic unit (SEU)  18  of each seat group  10  in any suitable manner, such as via a series of cables  20 A through  20 C. Each cable  20 A through  20 C provides power or data to a different one of the seat electronic units  18 . Further, power or data can also be supplied to each SEU  18  in any other suitable manner, such as by a conductor rail, which is fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,555 titled “Electrical Power Transfer System For Aircraft Passenger Entertainment System” and is incorporated herein by reference. Still further, the seat groups  10  could be wired in a “daisy chain” fashion in which each seat group  10  is wired to a neighboring seat group  10 . The portions of the seat track  12  between two of the seat groups  10  are covered by a seat track cover  22 .  
         [0020]     Each seat group  10  includes a pair of seat leg assemblies  24 . Each seat leg assembly  24  extends downward from a seat base  26  of one of a plurality of individual seats  28  of each seat group  10 . The seat leg assemblies  24  are secured to the seat track  12  to mount the seat groups  10  to the floor  14  of the passenger cabin.  
         [0021]     With additional reference to  FIG. 2 , each seat leg assembly  24  includes a front leg  30 , a rear leg  32 , a reinforcement beam  34 , and a spreader bar  36 . The front leg  30  extends from a front portion of the seat base  26  at an approximately right angle to the seat base  26 . The front leg  30  includes an upper portion  38  that is secured to the seat base  26  and a lower portion  40  that is opposite the upper portion  38 . The lower portion  40  includes one or more seat studs  42  that extend from the terminus of the lower portion  40 .  
         [0022]     The rear leg  32  extends from a rear portion of the seat base  26 . The rear leg  32  includes an upper portion  44  and a lower portion  46 . The upper portion  44  is secured to the seat base  26 . The lower portion  46  is opposite the upper portion  44  and includes one or more seat studs  48 . The rear leg  32  is generally curved such that the lower portion  46  is not aligned directly beneath the upper portion  44 . Instead, the lower portion  46  is further from the front leg  30  than the upper portion  44 .  
         [0023]     The reinforcement beam  34  extends between the front leg  30  and the rear leg  32 . The reinforcement beam  34  can be unitary with the front leg  30  and the rear leg  32  or it can be fastened to the front leg  30  and the rear leg  32  in any suitable manner. As illustrated, the reinforcement beam  34  extends between the front leg  30  and the rear leg  32  at an angle. However, the reinforcement beam  34  can also extend between the legs  30  and  32  parallel to the passenger cabin floor  14 . The reinforcement beam  34  can be of any suitable shape, such as circular or planar.  
         [0024]     The spreader bar  36  also extends between the front leg  30  and the rear leg  32 . Specifically, the spreader bar  36  extends between the lower portion  40  of the front leg  30  and the lower portion  46  of the rear leg  32 . The spreader bar  36  is generally an elongated panel having edges  50  that extend along the length of the spreader bar  36 . The edges  50  are curved downward and away from the upper portions  40  and  46  towards the floor  14 . The width of the spreader bar  36  is generally greater than the width of the seat track  12 .  
         [0025]     The spreader bar  36  includes a stationary portion  52  and an actuating door portion  54 . The door  54  can be substantially planar with the other portions of the spreader bar  36  as illustrated or the door  54  can be located within a box or a shroud that extends from the spreader bar  36 . The door  54  has an opening in the form of a through hole  56 . As illustrated, the hole  56 A is positioned generally in the center of the door  54 . However, the hole  56  can be positioned at any suitable position in the door  54  or the spreader bar  36 , such as at one of the edges  50  of the door  54  or in the stationary portion  52  as the hole  56 B is.  
         [0026]     The door  54  opens to provide access to areas below the spreader bar  36 . With reference to  FIG. 2A , actuation of the door  54  between a closed position in which the door  54  and the stationary portion  52  are in the same horizontal plane and an open position ( FIG. 2A ) is provided by a hinge  58  that extends along the width of the spreader bar  36 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2   b , a hinge  60  that extends along the length of the spreader bar  36  can also be used to permit actuation of the door  54  between an open position ( FIG. 2   b ) and a closed position in which the stationary portion  52  and the door  54  are in the same plane.  
         [0027]     The hinges  58  and  60  can be any suitable hinge, such as a shaft hinge or a living hinge. The shaft hinge includes a rod or shaft that extends through a slot in the door  54 . The rod or shaft is anchored to the spreader bar  36 . The door  54  pivots about the rod or shaft to provide actuation between the open position and the closed position. The living hinge is typically made of molded plastic having a flex point at the hinges  58  or  60  to permit actuation of the door  54  between the open position and the closed position.  
         [0028]     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the door  54  further includes one or more locking tabs  62 . The tabs  62  are operable to engage an undersurface of the stationary portion  52  to lock the door in the closed position. The tabs  62  are flexible tabs that disengage the stationary portion  52  to permit movement to the open position when upward force is applied to the door  54 . The tabs  62  can take the form of any suitable fastening device, but are typically flexible plastic tab shaped portions that extend from the door  54 .  
         [0029]     With additional reference to  FIG. 3 , access to regions beneath the spreader bar  36  can also be provided by sliding the door  54  from a closed position to an open position. The stationary portion  52  includes a first stationary portion  52 A and a second stationary portion  52 B defining an opening or a gap between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B. The gap is covered by the door  54  when the door  54  is in the closed position. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , if the door  54  is a sliding door the spreader bar  36  includes a recessed track  64  having a first portion  64 A located on the first stationary portion  52 A and a second portion  64 B located on the second stationary portion  52 B. The door portion  54  includes rails  66  that protrude from an inner surface of the door  54  and extend along at least a portion of the length of the door  54 . The rails are sized and shaped to cooperate with the recessed track  64 .  
         [0030]     The sliding door  54  of  FIG. 3  includes a locking flange  68  that takes the place of the locking tab  62 . The locking flange  68  extends from an undersurface of the door  54 . The second stationary portion  52 B includes a locking recess  70  that is sized to receive the locking flange  68 .  
         [0031]     In the closed position, the door  54  is positioned such that the rails  66  cooperate with portions of the recessed track  64  on both the first stationary portion  52 A and the second stationary portion  52 B to cover the open gap in the spreader bar between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B. To lock the door  54  in the closed position, the door  54  is positioned so that the locking flange  68  is seated within the locking recess  70  of the second stationary portion  52 B.  
         [0032]     To permit access to areas below the spreader bar  36 , the door  54  is moved from the closed position to the open position of  FIG. 3 . To move the door  54  to the open position, a sliding force is applied to the door  54  to move the locking flange  68  from engagement with the locking recess  70  and to slide the door  54  over the first stationary portion  52 A. Sliding the door  54  over the first stationary portion  52 A exposes the gap between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B to permit access to areas beneath the spreader bar  36 .  
         [0033]     With additional reference to  FIG. 4 , access to regions beneath the spreader bar  36  can also be provided by completely removing the door  54  from the spreader bar  36 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the door  54  can be a separate and independent part from the spreader bar  36  that is not permanently secured to the spreader bar  36 . The door  54  is seated between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B to prevent access to areas beneath the spreader bar  36 . The door  54  includes the tabs  62 , which cooperate with the spreader bar  36  to hold the door  54  in the closed position between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B.  
         [0034]     To move the door  54  of  FIG. 4  to the open position in which it does not cover the gap between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B, the door  54  is pulled upward and away from the spreader bar  36  to break the contact between the tabs  62  and the spreader bar  36  and remove the door  54  from its position between the first and second stationary portions  52 A and  52 B. To prevent the door  54  from becoming lost when it is moved to the open position, the door  54  can include a lanyard (not shown) that is secured to the spreader bar  36 .  
         [0035]     The seat leg assembly  24  can be made of any suitable material, such as a metal alloy, that is of a sufficient strength to support the weight of the seat group  10  and the passengers/articles seated on the seats  28 . The spreader bar  36  and the spreader bar door  54  are typically made of formed metal alloys or formed polymers, but other suitably strong materials can also be used.  
         [0036]     With additional reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the seat track  12  generally includes a base  72  and a seat track crown  74 . The base  72  is secured to a fuselage floor beam (not shown) in any suitable manner to secure the seat track  12  beneath the floor  14 . The crown  74  includes a series of circular apertures  76  that receive and secure the seat studs  42  and  48 .  
         [0037]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the cables  20  extend through the seat track  12  to the different seat groups  10 . Before or after the seat leg assembly  24  is secured to the seat track  12 , the door  54  is opened in any of the ways described above depending upon the type of the door  54  provided to allow an installer to grasp the cable  20  and thread the cable  20  through the hole  56 . The cable  20  is then attached to the SEU  18  to permit the transfer of power and/or data between the seats  28 , via the SEU  18 , and the power/data source  16 .  
         [0038]     The SEU  18  is mounted to at least one seat leg assembly  24  of each seat group  10 . The SEU  18  is mounted to the seat leg assembly  24  using any suitable fastening device or system. The SEU  18  is surrounded by an SEU shroud (not shown) that protects the SEU  18  from being damaged. The SEU  18  is in cooperation with various user interfaces (not shown) of the seat assembly  10 , such as passenger audio and video systems.  
         [0039]     With reference to  FIG. 6 , the spreader bar  36  is of such a width that when the seat leg assembly  24  is secured to the seat track  12 , the spreader bar  36  entirely covers the seat track  12  and a portion of the floor  14 , which is usually covered by a carpet  78 . The curved edges  50  of the spreader bar  36  extend downward to contact the carpeting  78 . Because the spreader bar  36  covers the seat track  12  and a portion of the carpeting  78  surrounding the seat track  12 , the spreader bar  36  prevents foreign objects from entering the seat track  12 .  
         [0040]     While the above invention is described in terms of using the spreader bar door  54  to gain access to the cables  20  that extend along the seat track  12  and threading one or more of the cables  20  through the hole  56  of the door  54 , it must be understood that the spreader bar door  54  can be opened to gain access to any type of wiring device, wiring system, or any other component that is positioned along or near the seat track  12 . Further, the hole  56  in the door  54  can be modified to permit passage of any other wire or wiring system in addition to the cables  20 .  
         [0041]     While various preferred embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the inventive concept. The examples illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit it. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1