Armrest assembly for aircraft

Details Armrest assembly for aircraft Armrest assembly for aircraft

2003-07-22

2004-09-21

Barefoot, Galen (Department: 3644)

Aeronautics and astronautics

Aircraft structure

Details

C244S129500, C296S146700, C049S502000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06793181

ABSTRACT:

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an armrest assembly for an aircraft.
2. BACKGROUND
Purchasers of modern aircraft are demanding more amenities in their aircraft, such as a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing interior. However, such interiors add weight to aircraft. Such increase in weight decreases the performance, i.e., the range, speed, and climb rate, of the aircraft. Thus, a need exists for lightweight aircraft interiors that are both comfortable and aesthetically pleasing to aircraft purchasers.
One function of aircraft interiors is to provide a comfortable surface to rest a pilot's or passenger's arm. One prior art armrest
100
is shown in
FIGS. 1A-1C
. As shown in
FIG. 1A
, this armrest
100
contains a flange
110
that is designed to couple to the rear surface of an aircraft interior panel. Just inside of the flange
110
, the armrest
100
contains a protruding portion
120
. The protruding portion
120
is designed to fit within an opening in an aircraft interior panel.
As shown in
FIG. 1C
, the armrest
100
also includes a recessed portion
130
. The recessed portion
130
includes a rear surface
140
and a lower surface
150
. (The rear surface
140
and lower surface
150
would normally be hidden in FIG.
1
C. However, for clarity, the rear surface and lower surface is shown as a solid line in
FIG. 1C.
) As shown in
FIG. 1B
, the length of the lower surface
150
is approximately 12 inches. An aircraft pilot or passenger can rest a portion of his or her arm on the lower surface
150
. In order to make the armrest
100
aesthetically pleasing, the armrest
100
is typically covered with a covering such as leather.
The armrest
100
is not optimal. First, the length of the lower surface
150
does not allow an adult pilot or passenger to rest his or her entire arm, including his or her hand, on the armrest
100
. Instead, only a portion of an adult's arm can be rested on the lower surface
150
of the armrest
100
. Thus, the armrest
100
does not support an adult user's hand as well as his arm. Further, as shown in
FIG. 1C
, the width of the lower surface
150
is only 1.8 inches. Thus, a user could not comfortably rest his or her arm on the lower surface
150
.
Second, the armrest
100
is difficult to cover with an aesthetically pleasing covering such as leather. As shown in
FIG. 1C
, the interface between the rear surface
140
and the lower surface
150
creates a concave surface
160
with a small radius. It is difficult to cover the concave surface
160
with an aesthetically pleasing covering such as leather because of the small radius of the concave surface
160
. As users of the aircraft utilize the armrest
100
, the covering over the concave surface
160
can detach from the concave surface
160
. Such a detachment significantly detracts from the aesthetics of the armrest.
Thus, a need exists for an improved armrest for aircraft.
3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the invention is an armrest assembly for an aircraft. The armrest assembly includes an insert. The insert includes a flange for coupling to an aircraft interior panel. The insert also includes a protruding portion. The protruding portion includes a cavity. The cavity has a length greater than 12 inches and has a width greater than 2 inches. The armrest assembly also includes an armrest. The armrest is attached to the cavity. The armrest includes an upper surface for supporting the arm of an aircraft pilot or passenger. The armrest's upper surface has a length that is greater than 12 inches and has a width that is greater than 2 inches.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3015516 (1962-01-01), Clark
patent: 3791693 (1974-02-01), Hellriegel et al.
patent: 4456644 (1984-06-01), Janz et al.
patent: 4541595 (1985-09-01), Fiala et al.
patent: 5044578 (1991-09-01), White et al.
patent: 5904002 (1999-05-01), Emerling et al.
patent: 6183038 (2001-02-01), Hansen et al.
patent: 6409250 (2002-06-01), Schultheiss
patent: 6565142 (2003-05-01), Gibney et al.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Armrest assembly for aircraft does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Armrest assembly for aircraft, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Armrest assembly for aircraft will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3267474