Chairs and seats – With holder or receptacle for disparate article – On or integral with armrest
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-04
2001-07-24
Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3624)
Chairs and seats
With holder or receptacle for disparate article
On or integral with armrest
C297S188210
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264273
ABSTRACT:
CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Wieczorek et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,958), Troy U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,017, Doughty et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,976), Schiff (U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,054), Spykerman (U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,011), and Spykerman et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,331).
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Piloting a small aircraft requires a high degree of concentration and organization. It is important to have all navigational aids, e.g. maps charts, and electronic devices, e.g., computers, portable GPS's, moving maps, lorans, etc., readily accessible and available to the pilot for safe flight.
Avoiding fatigue is something that all conscientious pilots attempt to do as fatigue impedes one's performance. Some makes and models of small aircraft with two front seats have standard wall mounted and door mounted armrests that are designed for the pilot's left arm and the front passenger's right arm. However, no such planes have interrelated multiple use devices as depicted in my invention which includes a portable floor mounted armrest that fits between the front seats for the pilot's right arm and the passenger's left arm.
Pilots must be alert and have in-flight navigational aids, tools and accessories readily accessible and conveniently located. These aids may include pens, pencils, eyeglasses, eye shades, flashlights (for night flights), Allen wrenches (for radio knobs that sometime come off during flight), screw drivers, wrenches, tape, batteries, etc.
Distractions for a pilot can have serious and even fatal consequences. Small aircraft generally do not come equipped with drink cup holders and consequently, there is no suitable place for open drinks except for one's hand. As a general rule, spillage and sometimes breakage is almost assured if open beverages drinks are used during flight in a small aircraft. Spillage and breakage can cause major distractions to a pilot.
Cockpit space is very limited in small aircraft. It is often desirable and necessary for pilots, copilots, and passengers to utilize multiple place portable intercom devices for effective communication. Since these accessories are optional (not built-in), there is no convenient place for them and consequently, they are often placed on the console or floor where they are stepped on or kicked around. These devices sometimes are laid on the seat and the wires often become entangled. This assembly provides a convenient and easily accessible mounting platform for positioning and supporting such intercom devices, thereby minimizing distractions and maximizing organization.
My newly invented Aircraft Armrest/Flight Accessory Box Assembly, Console and Flat Floor Support Assembly, Drink Cup Holders, and Adjustable Map and Electronic Device Holder, addresses problems of fatigue, pilot disorganization, and distraction. It is toward the resolution of those problems that have not been solved by prior art that my present invention is directed.
To my knowledge, no one anywhere in the world has ever invented or produced an interrelated multiple use device consisting of an aircraft Armrest/Flight Accessory Box Assembly, Console and Flat Floor Support Assembly, Drink Cup Holders (Retractable and External), Adjustable Map and Electronic Device Holder, and Mounting Platform for Multiple Place Portable Intercom Devices.
It is believed that my invention is distinctly different from all of the references cited i.e., Wieczorek et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,958), Troy U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,017, Doughty et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,976), Schiff (U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,054), Spykerman (U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,011), and Spykerman et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,331) and that none of the above anticipated the art claimed in my application for the following reasons:
My application, which consists of an aircraft armrest/flight accessory box assembly, console and flat floor support assembly, drink cup holders, adjustable map, chart, and electronic device holder, and mounting platform for multiple place portable intercom devices, shown in
FIGS. 1-5
, has little or no similarity to that of Wieczorek et al nor other cited references.
The design features of my invention were intended to resolve problems associated with pilot fatigue and flight safety, aircraft organization, storage, and improving communications between the pilot, co-pilot and passengers.
None of the devices in the cited references are designed for, adaptable to, or intended for small aircraft. They are all designed for automobile application. The physical structure, construction materials, design requirements, specifications, components, space limitations, service and general equipment needs are different for automobiles and aircraft. Likewise, the purposes of communications equipment differ as well as licensing requirements, for aircraft and pilots. The environments, within which aircraft and pilots operate, are all very different. Therefore, there are little or no relationship aircraft and automobile parts.
Automobile and aviation parts have different design and specification criteria and these parts cannot be legally interchanged. For example, there are rigid weight and balance criteria that must be taken into consideration as total weight and weight distribution affects flight safety and determines whether an airplane can fly or not. Further, all non-metallic materials i.e., cockpit appointments must be rated and certified as being flame proof or flame retardant. An example of this difference is when one replaces the upholstery or carpet in an aircraft, there must be written certification from the manufacturer that the replacement materials are flame proof. Additionally, their installation has to be done or at least validated by a licensed mechanic who is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The automobile and aviation industry is regulated by separate governmental agencies. Automobile parts do not meet the more rigid specifications required for aircraft parts. None of the cited art anticipated aviation needs.
Aircraft and automobiles have completely different travel constraints. In the background of the invention for the automotive cup holder, Wieczorek's et al invention specifies that their device was useful for “a short cross town commute or a trip of longer duration”. In contrast, my invention addresses cockpit space constraints, in-flight organizational needs, and offers a device to assure safe and comfortable travel in small aircraft for short and long flights. Pilots of small aircraft, which have very small cockpits, have difficulty recovering dropped or lost pens, pencils, flashlights, flight computers, or other navigational aids, and as a result, sometimes find it necessary to land prematurely, which can increase safety risks.
Pilots do not share the same ability that automobile drivers have, that is, the ability to stop by the roadside to search for lost items or for a brief walk to recover from fatigue. Pilots who fly alone often place a suitcase on the front passenger's seat to lean on since most small aircraft only provide a left armrest for the pilot and he/she have nothing to lean upon and rest their right arm. Therefore, my invention is intended to improve pilot and passenger comfort, as well as cockpit organization.
None of the cited references are designed nor intended for frequent removal or detachment each time the vehicle is used. My invention, out of necessity, is designed to be portable and detachable in whole or in part individual component.
Unlike all cited references, my invention is intended to be either manipulated, moved, detached, assembled or disassembled with each boarding and use of the aircraft due to the cockpit's space limitations and specific flight plan needs.
Unlike all cited references, my invention covers both major designs in small aircraft i.e., low wing and high wing configurations. Each wing configuration results in a different floor contour and requires a different supp
Cuomo Peter M.
Vu Stephen
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