Patent ID: 12246838

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A plan view of an aircraft cabin100according to an embodiment of the invention is shown inFIG.1. The cabin100is that of a wide-body aircraft and comprises a starboard wall102, which is shown on the left-hand side of theFIG.1, and a port wall103, which is shown on the right-hand side ofFIG.1. The fore of the aircraft would therefore be located below the image shown inFIG.1and the aft of the aircraft would therefore be located above the image shown inFIG.1. The cabin100comprises a starboard plurality of pairs of seat seats120arranged in a column along the starboard side of the cabin100, between the starboard wall102of the cabin100and a starboard aisle101, a port plurality of pairs of seat units140arranged in a column along the port side of the cabin100, between the port wall103of the aircraft cabin100and a port aisle104, and an inboard plurality of seat units160arranged in a column centrally along the length of the cabin100between the port and starboard aisles101,104. The inboard plurality of seat units160comprises a plurality of sets of three seat units161A,161B,161C arranged in a column along the length of the cabin100.

The port and starboard aisles101,104run the length of the cabin100and are oriented substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis X of the aircraft cabin100which runs centrally along the length the cabin100. As can be seen inFIG.1, the starboard plurality of pairs of seat units120and the port plurality of pairs seat units140are arranged symmetrically about the longitudinal axis X and are therefore substantially identical mirror images of one another whereas the each set of three seat units161A,161B,161C of the inboard plurality of seat units160is arranged asymmetrically about the longitudinal axis X of the cabin100.

Because each of the starboard pairs of seat units121A,121B,121C are arranged in substantially the same way as each of the port pairs of seat units141A,141B,141C, the arrangement of the pairs of seat units will now be described with reference only to the single pair of starboard seat units121A that is depicted in isolation inFIG.2. The pair of seat units121A consists of an aisle seat unit122A comprising an aisle seat125A and an aisle footwell126A and a non-aisle seat unit123A comprising a non-aisle seat127A and a non-aisle footwell128A. The seats are configurable between an upright sitting configuration and a lie-flat bed mode configuration. In the lie-flat configuration a leg rest of the seat extends into its respective footwell. The aisle seat unit122A is situated immediately adjacent the aisle101with direct access to the aisle101, and the non-aisle seat unit123A is situated immediately adjacent the starboard wall102of the aircraft cabin100. The aisle seat unit122A is therefore positioned between the non-aisle seat unit123A and the starboard aisle101.

The aisle seat unit122A and non-aisle seat unit123A of the pair121A are situated side-by-side in a “head-to-toe” configuration. Configured as such, the seats of the pair of seat units are spaced apart along the longitudinal axis X of the aircraft cabin100and face in substantially opposite directions, with the aisle seat125A facing towards the aft of the cabin100and the non-aisle seat127A facing towards the fore of the cabin100. The non-aisle footwell128A is located at substantially the same position along the longitudinal axis X as the aisle seat125A and the aisle footwell126A is located at substantially the same position along the longitudinal axis X as the non-aisle seat127A.

The pitch of a seat unit is the distance along the longitudinal axis X of the aircraft cabin100between a given point on a seat unit and the corresponding point the immediately adjacent seat unit situated to the front or to the rear. In order to reduce the pitch of the pairs of seat units120, the both the aisle and non-aisle seat units122A,123A are oriented at an angle to the longitudinal axis X of the aircraft cabin100. The non-aisle seat127A faces in a direction defining an non-aisle seat unit axis Y2which is oriented at an non-aisle seat unit angle α2of 2.5 degrees to the longitudinal axis X of the cabin100. The aisle seat125A faces in a direction defining an aisle seat unit axis Y1which is oriented at an aisle seat unit angle α1of 17.1 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the cabin100. The angle between the aisle seat unit axis and non-aisle seat unit axis is therefore 19.6 degrees. Such an arrangement results in an outboard seat unit pitch P1of 201 centimetres.

The aisle seat unit122A is positioned such that the aisle seat125A is directly adjacent the non-aisle footwell128A and, due to the angle between the seat units, such that the aisle footwell126A is spaced apart from the non-aisle seat127A. The gap between the aisle footwell126A and the non-aisle seat127A provides an aisle access path129A defining a passenger access path axis Y3that is substantially parallel with the aisle seat axis Y1. A passenger of the non-aisle seat unit123A can therefore access the aisle101without passing through the aisle seat unit122A. Furthermore, because the non-aisle seat unit123A is entered from behind the non-aisle seat127A via the access path129A, when sitting in the non-aisle seat127A there is no direct line of sight from the non-aisle seat127A into the aisle101. Such a configuration therefore results in enhanced privacy for the passenger of the non-aisle seat unit123A.

The seat units121A,122A are angled with respect to the longitudinal axis X of the aircraft cabin100in order to reduce their pitch P1. However, rotating the seat units122A,123A in this way increases the space occupied by the seat units122A,123A across the width of the cabin100, the width of the cabin100being measured substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X. In order to efficiently use the space available across the width of the aircraft cabin100, the arrangement of the aisle and non-aisle seat units122A,123A of each pair takes advantage of the fact that, while the width of the non-aisle seat unit is dictated by the width of the W1non-aisle seat127A at the seat-end of the seat unit, the non-aisle footwell128A can be made with a smaller width W2than the non-aisle seat127A so that the non-aisle seat unit123A can be made narrower at its footwell end.

As can be seen inFIG.2, the non-aisle seat unit123A is at its narrowest at its footwell end, where the width of the seat unit is dictated by the width W2of the non-aisle footwell128A. In order to reduce the combined width of the aisle and non-aisle seat units122A,123A, the aisle seat125A is placed directly adjacent the non-aisle footwell128A. So while the seat units122A,123A have been rotated away from the longitudinal axis X of the cabin100to reduce the pitch P1of the seat units, the resulting increase in width of the pair of seat units has been mitigated by moving the aisle seat125A directly adjacent to the non-aisle footwell128A, which corresponds to the narrowest part of the non-aisle seat unit123A. In this configuration, both the aisle seat unit122A and the non-aisle seat unit123A overlap a seat unit pair axis S, which, in this embodiment of the invention, is simply a straight line drawn through the cabin100parallel with the longitudinal axis X of the cabin100. As can be seen inFIG.2, a section of the seat unit pair axis S of length L1passes through the pair of seat units121A, the length L1being equal to the pitch P1of the pair of seat units121A. The non-aisle seat unit123A overlaps the section of length L1along a length Q1of the section, which is approximately equal to 75% of the length L1. Similarly, the aisle seat unit122A overlaps the section of length L1along a length Q2of the section, which is approximately equal to 25% of the length L1. In this configuration the seat unit pair axis S also passes through both the aisle seat125A and the non-aisle seat127A.

A single set of three seat units161A from the inboard plurality of seat units160is shown in isolation inFIG.3. As can be seen, the set of three seat units161A comprises a port aisle seat unit162A situated directly adjacent to the port aisle104, a starboard aisle seat unit170A situated directly adjacent to the starboard aisle101, and a central non-aisle seat unit163A between the port aisle seat unit162A and the second non-aisle seat unit. The central non-aisle seat unit163A and the port aisle seat unit162A form a pair of seat units that are configured in substantially the same way as the pair of seat units120A as described above with respect to the first outboard plurality of seat units120. InFIG.3, features that the central non-aisle seat unit163A and the port aisle seat unit162A have in common with the pair of seat units120A shown inFIG.2have therefore been numbered with corresponding reference numerals but having the prefix “16” instead of “12”. For example, the pair of starboard seat units121A comprises an aisle seat footwell126A whereas the pair of seat units formed by central non-aisle seat unit163A and the port aisle seat unit162A comprises a port aisle footwell166A.

As with the outboard pluralities of pairs of seat units, the central non-aisle seat unit163A and the port aisle seat unit162A are arranged “head-to-toe”, with the port aisle seat165A facing towards the aft of the cabin100and the central non-aisle seat167A facing towards the fore of the cabin100so that the central non-aisle footwell128A is located at substantially the same position along the longitudinal axis X as the port aisle seat165A and vice versa. However, the arrangement of the central non-aisle seat unit163A and the port aisle seat unit162A differs from the outboard pluralities of pairs of seat units120,140in that the port aisle seat unit162A is oriented at a port aisle seat unit angle θ1of 12.1 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the cabin100and the central non-aisle seat unit163A is oriented at an angle θ2of 8.6 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft cabin100. The angle between the port aisle seat unit axis Z1and central non-aisle seat unit axis Z2is therefore 20.7 degrees.

The starboard aisle seat unit170A is configured “head-to-toe” with the central non-aisle seat unit163A so that the starboard aisle seat unit170A faces in a direction towards the aft of the aircraft and the footwell168A of the central non-aisle seat unit163A is located at substantially the same position along the longitudinal axis X as the starboard aisle seat175A and vice versa. Because an aisle access path169A for the central non-aisle seat167A has been provided between central non-aisle seat167A and the port aisle footwell166A, the footwell178A of the starboard aisle seat unit170A is positioned directly adjacent to the central non-aisle seat167A, and the footwell of the central non-aisle seat167A unit163A is positioned directly adjacent to the seat of the starboard aisle seat unit170A in order to efficiently use the space available across the width of the aircraft cabin100. Arranged as such, the starboard aisle seat175A faces in a direction defining a starboard aisle seat axis Z3that is oriented at an angle θ3of 7.2 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft cabin100. Configured as such the pitch P2of a set of three seat units161A from the inboard plurality of seat units160is 205 centimetres.

A plan view of an aircraft cabin200according to a second embodiment of the invention is shown inFIG.4. The cabin200is that of a narrow-body aircraft and comprises a starboard plurality of pairs of seat units221A,221B,221C arranged along a starboard side of the cabin200and a port plurality of pairs of seat units241A,241B,241C arranged along a second, opposite side of the cabin200. The cabin200has a single aisle201that runs the length of the cabin200between the pluralities of pairs of seat units220,240. The outboard seat units221A,221B,221C,241A,241B,241C are substantially identical to the respective starboard and port pairs of seat units121A,121B,121C,141A,141B,141C of the wide-body aircraft cabin100according to the first embodiment of the invention and described with reference toFIG.1andFIG.2.

Whilst the present invention has been described and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention lends itself to many different variations not specifically illustrated herein. By way of example only, certain possible variations will now be described.

An aircraft cabin according to a third embodiment of the invention is substantially identical to the aircraft cabin according to the first embodiment of the invention. However, the orientation of the seat units is reversed such that the non-aisle seats face towards the aft of the cabin and the aisle seats face towards the fore of the cabin. This arrangement is equivalent to that shown inFIG.1but with the port wall on the left-hand side of the figure and the starboard wall on the right-hand side of the figure so that the fore of the aircraft would be located above the figure and the aft of the aircraft would be located below the figure.

An aircraft cabin according to a fourth embodiment of the invention is substantially identical to the aircraft cabin according to the first embodiment of the invention. However, the orientation of the seat units of the inboard plurality of seat units is reversed such that the port and starboard aisle seats face towards the fore of the cabin and the central non-aisle seats face towards the aft of the cabin.

An aircraft cabin according to a fifth embodiment of the invention is substantially identical to the aircraft cabin according to the second embodiment of the invention. However, the orientation of the starboard seat units is reversed such that while, for the port seat units, the aisle seats face towards the aft of the cabin and the non-aisle seats face towards the fore of the cabin, for the starboard seat units the non-aisle seats face towards the aft of the cabin and the aisle seats face towards the fore of the cabin.

An aircraft cabin according to a sixth embodiment of the invention is substantially identical to the aircraft cabin according to the second embodiment of the invention. However, the orientation of the pairs of seat units alternates from pair to pair along the length of the cabin such that while, for a given pair, the aisle seats face towards the aft of the cabin and the non-aisle seats face towards the fore of the cabin, the seat units of the pair situated immediately forward or aft of the given pair are oriented such that the aisle seats face towards the fore of the cabin and the non-aisle seats face towards the aft of the cabin.

Where in the foregoing description, integers or elements are mentioned which have known, obvious or foreseeable equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims for determining the true scope of the present invention, which should be construed so as to encompass any such equivalents. It will also be appreciated by the reader that integers or features of the invention that are described as preferable, advantageous, convenient or the like are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that such optional integers or features, whilst of possible benefit in some embodiments of the invention, may not be desirable, and may therefore be absent, in other embodiments.