Seat assembly with sacrificial backrest breakover feature

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11279488-B2
Application number	US-202016795743-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2020
Priority date	Feb 20, 2020
Publication date	Mar 22, 2022
Grant date	Mar 22, 2022

Abstract

An aircraft passenger seat assembly and backrest unit attachable to a seat assembly, the backrest being pivotally attached or fixed, and the backrest unit including at least one frame member having adjacent weakened and intact sections provided along a peripheral edge, the weakened section having a first failure load and the intact section having a second failure load greater than the first failure load such that, when a load on a backside of the backrest unit exceeds the first failure load, the weakened section fails and the intact section deforms allowing a portion of the backrest unit to tilt forward beyond an upright sitting position to absorb impact energy.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aircraft passenger seat assembly, comprising:
a support frame;
a seat bottom unit mounted on the support frame; and
a backrest unit pivotally mounted to the support frame, the backrest unit configured to pivot relative to the support frame between an upright position and a reclined position, the backrest unit including at least one frame member including spaced apart first and second frame portions, each of the spaced apart first and second frame portions comprising a weakened section and an adjacent intact section positioned along a peripheral edge thereof, the weakened section having a first failure load and the intact section having a second failure load greater than the first failure load such that, when a load on a backside of the backrest unit exceeds the first failure load, the weakened section is configured to fail and the intact section is configured to deform while remaining attached thereby allowing a portion of the backrest unit above the weakened and intact sections to rotate forward beyond the upright position;
wherein the weakened section and the intact section are positioned relative to each other such that the weakened section is configured to open responsive to force on the backrest unit exceeding the second load failure thereby causing the intact section to deform; and
wherein the weakened section comprises a continuous opening positioned along a portion of opposing sides and a rear end of the respective one of the first and second frame portions, at least one first spot weld positioned on at least one of the opposing sides proximate the rear end, and at least one spot weld positioned on at least one of the opposing sides proximate the intact section, wherein each of the at least one spot welds couples spaced upper and lower portions of the respective one of the first and second frame portions across the continuous opening, and wherein the at least one spot welds collectively determine a value of the first failure load.

2. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one frame member is a tubular body and the continuous opening is formed by an elongated cut.

3. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the weakened section and the adjacent intact section together form an annular section around the peripheral edge of the tubular body.

4. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the backrest unit pivots about a first pivot axis and the weakened and intact sections are positioned spaced above the first pivot axis.

5. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one frame member is a U-shaped frame member having spaced apart ends pivotally attached to the support frame, wherein the weakened and intact sections are symmetrically provided on each of the spaced apart ends positioned above the respective pivotally attached spaced ends.

6. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the support frame is stationary and comprises:
at least two leg modules;
at least two section assembly modules; and
at least two beam elements connecting the at least two leg modules and the at least two section assembly modules in spaced-apart relation to each other;
wherein the backrest unit is pivotally mounted between two of the at least two section assembly modules.

7. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the backrest unit includes an upper portion supporting a headrest unit.

8. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one frame member is a metal part.

9. An aircraft passenger seat assembly, comprising:
a support frame;
a seat bottom unit mounted on the support frame; and
a backrest unit mounted to the support frame, the backrest unit providing a fixed sitting position, the backrest unit including at least one frame member including spaced apart first and second frame portions each having a weakened section and an adjacent intact section positioned along a peripheral edge thereof, the weakened section having a first failure load and the intact section having a second failure load greater than the first failure load such that, when a load on a backside of the backrest unit exceeds the first failure load, the weakened section is configured to fail and the intact section is configured to deform while remaining attached thereby allowing a portion of the backrest unit above the weakened and intact sections to rotate forward beyond the fixed sitting position;
wherein the weakened section and the adjacent intact section are positioned relative to each other such that the weakened section is configured to open responsive to force on the backrest unit exceeding the second load failure thereby causing the intact section to deform; and
wherein the weakened section comprises a continuous opening positioned along a portion of opposing sides and a rear end of the respective one of the first and second frame portions, at least one first spot weld positioned on at least one of the opposing sides proximate the rear end, and at least one spot weld positioned on at least one of the opposing sides proximate the intact section, wherein each of the at least one spot welds couples spaced upper and lower portions of the respective one of the first and second frame portions across the continuous opening, and wherein the at least one spot welds collectively determine a value of the first failure load.

10. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one frame member is a tubular body and the continuous opening is formed by an elongated cut.

11. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 10 , wherein the weakened section and the adjacent intact section together form an annular section around the peripheral edge of the tubular body.

12. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one frame member is a U-shaped frame member having spaced apart ends attached to the support frame, wherein the weakened and intact sections are symmetrically provided on each of the spaced apart ends positioned above the respective attached spaced ends.

13. The aircraft passenger seat assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the at least one frame member is a metal part.

14. A backrest unit pivotally attachable to a support frame and providing an upright sitting position and a reclined sitting position of the backrest unit relative to the support frame, the backrest unit comprising:
at least one frame member including spaced apart first and second frame portions each having a weakened section and an adjacent intact section positioned along a peripheral edge thereof;
wherein the weakened section has a first failure load and the intact section has a second failure load greater than the first failure load such that, when a load on the least one frame member exceeds the first failure load, the weakened section is configured to fail and the intact section is configured to deform while remaining attached thereby allowing a portion of the backrest unit above the weakened and intact sections to rotate forward beyond the upright sitting position;
wherein the weakened section and the adjacent intact section are positioned relative to each other such that the weakened section is configured to open responsive to force on the backrest unit exceeding the second load failure thereby causing the intact section to deform; and
wherein the weakened section comprises a continuous opening positioned along a portion of opposing sides and a rear end of the respective one of the first an

Assignees

• Be Aerospace Inc

Inventors

• D'Alessio Bradford
• Suhre Ryan
• Puglisi Stephen

Classifications

• B64D11/064

  Adjustable inclination or position of seats · CPC title

• B64D11/0619 Primary

  with energy absorbing means specially adapted for mitigating impact loads for passenger seats, e.g. at a crash · CPC title

• B64D11/0639

  with features for adjustment or converting of seats · CPC title

• B60N2/42709

  involving residual deformation or fracture of the structure · CPC title