Aeronautics and astronautics – Aircraft structure – Fuselage and body construction
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-02
2001-06-05
Eldred, J. Woodrow (Department: 3644)
Aeronautics and astronautics
Aircraft structure
Fuselage and body construction
C297S228130, C297S219100, C297S283200, C297S218100, C297S218300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241188
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to aircraft seats.
Aircraft seats normally have fabric covers (which may be upholstered) which are removable from the seat frames at regular intervals for cleaning. This requirement alone marks out aircraft seats as different from other vehicle seats, such as car or bus seats, where the fabric covering is fixed to the seat frame and any cleaning of the fabric covering is normally done in situ.
The fabric panels of aircraft seats are generally attached to the seat frames by hook and loop fastenings of the form known as “Velcro”. These are quick and easy to fasten and separate but suffer from the disadvantage that if the co-operating Velcro parts are initially placed together out of the required positioning or alignment, the engaged parts cannot then be slid one relatively to another to achieve the correct positioning.
A modern aircraft typically has a few hundred seats. After a period of use the fabric covers are removed for cleaning. Cleaned covers are then attached by an operative who will aim to fit the large number of cleaned covers in the minimum time. The result is that many covers are not properly fitted and correction frequently requires the entire cover to be removed and carefully refitted in the correct position. In one aspect, the invention tackles this problem by providing a means enabling more accurate attachment and location of fabric covers onto aircraft seats. In another aspect, the invention provides an improved front cover for fitting to an aircraft seat assembly.
According to one aspect the invention provides a seat for an aircraft, the seat comprising a seat frame assembly with a back portion and seat portion, and a cover for attachment to the seat frame assembly in order to cover a front surface of the back portion and/or an upper surface of the seat portion, the cover being detachably securable on the seat frame assembly by a plurality of clips having manually engageable and disengageable formations positioned to retain and locate the cover accurately with respect to the seat frame assembly.
Each clip preferably comprises a socket component and a plug component, and in a preferred embodiment the plug component has a rotatable toggle movable between a locking position in which the plug is locked in the socket and a release position in which the plug can be inserted in or removed from the socket.
The cover preferably has a back portion and a seat portion which adjoin along a curved line, such that the seat portion and back portion are capable of being folded together to lie substantially flat against one another, when the cover is detached from the seat frame assembly.
A front edge of the seat panel is preferably attachable by said clips to an underside front edge of the seat portion of the seat frame assembly. An upper edge of the back panel may be attached by further clips to the headrest region of the seat frame assembly, or alternatively this attachment may be achieved by forming the upper region of the cover into a hood which fits closely over the upper end of the seat frame assembly. In either case, it is desirable to attach the transitional region of the base panel and the seat panel to the seat frame assembly, and this is conveniently achieved by a two-component plastics clasp, one component being attached to the seat frame assembly and the other to the cover in the region of the curved line.
A semi-rigid back panel may be provided to cover the rear of the back portion of the seat frame assembly, and this back panel is conveniently of a composite construction having a foam layer covered by a fabric. The back panel is preferably attachable to the seat frame assembly by fasteners which afford repeated attachment to and removal from the seat frame assembly, and these fasteners may be the same as or different from the clips used to attach the cover to the seat frame assembly.
The seat frame assembly preferably comprises a rigid seat frame to which is attached a foam cushion, preferably by clips similar to the clips used to attach the cover to the seat frame assembly.
According to another aspect of the invention a front cover for fitting to an aircraft seat frame assembly comprises a seat portion and a back portion each formed by moulding to a three-dimensional shape conforming to the shape presented by the seat frame assembly, so that the front cover is a neat and accurate fit on the seat frame assembly, the cover comprising a seat portion and a back portion each formed by moulding to a three-dimensional shape conforming to the shape presented by the seat frame assembly, so that the front cover is a neat and accurate fit on the seat frame assembly, the front cover having formulations for cooperation with complementary formations on the seat frame assembly, allowing for repeated attachment and removal of the cover with respect to the assembly.
The seat portion and the back portion of the front cover may be joined together along a line which is concave when the front cover is viewed from the front, and the portions may be joined along this line by stitching.
Each portion of the front cover may be of composite construction, having an intermediate layer of foam sandwiched between a backing scrim and a decorative top layer of fabric on the surface of the cover which is visible in use.
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patent: 1160398 (1969-08-01), None
Harcourt Geoffrey
Simpson Leslie James
Eldred J. Woodrow
Fieldcroft Management Limited
Lee Mann Smith McWilliams Sweeney & Ohlson
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