Adjustable Armrest System

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019071184-A1
Application number	US-201715695738-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 5, 2017
Priority date	Sep 5, 2017
Publication date	Mar 7, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

An embodiment vehicle control structure includes a control podium, a control stick mounted on the control podium and having a range of motion, a mounting sleeve affixed to the control podium, and an armrest having a platform structure and an armrest support, wherein a first portion of the armrest support is disposed in the mounting sleeve. The platform structure is adjustably attached to the armrest support a first angle of a plurality of angles relative to the armrest support, and a first angle of the plurality of angles corresponds to the range of motion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle control structure, comprising:
a control podium; a control stick mounted on the control podium and having a range of motion; a mounting sleeve affixed to the control podium; and an armrest having a platform structure and an armrest support, wherein a first portion of the armrest support is disposed in the mounting sleeve; wherein the platform structure is adjustably attached to the armrest support a first angle of a plurality of angles relative to the armrest support, and wherein a first angle of the plurality of angles corresponds to the range of motion.

2 . The vehicle control structure of claim 1 , wherein the armrest support further has a height adjustment mechanism disposed in the first portion.

3 . The vehicle control structure of claim 1 , wherein the armrest support has a plurality of fingers extending substantially laterally away from the first portion of the armrest support, wherein the platform structure is adjustably attached to the plurality of fingers.

4 . The vehicle control structure of claim 3 , wherein each of the plurality of fingers has a pivot hole and a plurality of adjustment holes.

5 . The vehicle control structure of claim 4 , wherein each adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes in each finger of the plurality of fingers corresponds to an angle of the plurality of angles, wherein a first adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes corresponds to the first angle, and wherein the platform structure is attached to the armrest support at the pivot hole and the first adjustment hole of each finger of the plurality of fingers.

6 . The vehicle control structure of claim 5 , wherein a second angle corresponds to a second adjustment hole in each finger of the plurality of fingers, and wherein the first angle is different from the second angle.

7 . The vehicle control structure of claim 5 , wherein the armrest further has a first removable fastener disposed in the pivot hole and a plurality of second removable fasteners each extending through the first adjustment hole of each of the plurality of fingers.

8 . The vehicle control structure of claim 7 , wherein the platform structure has a contact surface and a plurality of attachment structures disposed on an opposite side of the platform structure from the contact surface, wherein each of the plurality of attachment structures has a first attachment hole corresponding to the pivot hole of a respective finger of the plurality of fingers, and wherein each of the one or more attachment structures has a second attachment hole corresponding to each adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes of the respective finger.

9 . The vehicle control structure of claim 1 , wherein the control stick is one of a cyclic control stick and a collective control stick.

10 . An armrest, comprising:
an armrest support having one or more fingers, wherein each of the one or more fingers has a pivot hole and a plurality of adjustment holes; a platform structure having a contact surface and one or more attachment structures disposed on an opposite side of the platform structure from the contact surface, wherein each of the one or more attachment structures has a first attachment hole; and one or more fasteners disposed in the first attachment hole of a first attachment structure of the one or more attachment structures and extending through a first adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes in a first finger of the one or more fingers with the contact surface held in a raised position, wherein a second adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes in the first finger is disposed below the first adjustment hole.

11 . The armrest of claim 10 , wherein the armrest support further has a post, wherein the one or more fingers extend substantially laterally away from the post.

12 . The armrest of claim 11 , wherein the post has a height adjustment mechanism disposed in the post.

13 . The armrest of claim 10 , wherein the one or more fingers comprises two fingers spaced apart by a gap, and wherein a portion of each of the one or more fasteners extends from inside the gap through a respective one of the one or more fingers.

14 . A rotorcraft, comprising:
a first control podium having a first control stick with a first range of motion; a second control podium having a second control stick with a second range of motion that is different from the first range of motion; and a plurality of armrests, each of the plurality of armrests having an armrest support with a post and a platform structure with a contact surface, wherein a first armrest of the plurality of armrests is installed in the first control podium and a first platform structure of the first armrest is attached to a first armrest support of the first armrest with a first contact surface of the first armrest corresponding to the first range of motion, and wherein a second armrest of the plurality of armrests is installed in the second control podium and a second platform structure of the second armrest is attached to a second armrest support of the second armrest with a second contact surface of the second armrest corresponding to the second range of motion.

15 . The rotorcraft of claim 14 , wherein the first control stick is a cyclic control stick, and the second control stick is a collective control stick.

16 . The rotorcraft of claim 14 , wherein the first armrest support and second armrest support each have a height adjustment mechanism disposed in the respective post.

17 . The rotorcraft of claim 14 , wherein the first contact surface has a first angle with respect to the post of the first armrest, wherein the first angle corresponds to the first range of motion, and wherein the second contact surface has a second angle with respect to the post of the second armrest, wherein the second angle corresponds to the second range of motion.

18 . The rotorcraft of claim 17 , wherein the armrest support of each of the plurality of armrests has a plurality of fingers extending substantially laterally away from the post of the respective armrest of the plurality of armrests, wherein the platform structure of the respective armrest is adjustably attached to the plurality of fingers of the respective armrest.

19 . The rotorcraft of claim 18 , wherein each of the plurality of fingers has a pivot hole and a plurality of adjustment holes, wherein a first adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes corresponds to the first angle and a second adjustment hole of the plurality of adjustment holes corresponds to the second angle;
wherein the first armrest has first removable fasteners disposed in the pivot hole of the first armrest and extending through a first attachment hole in the first platform structure; and wherein the first armrest has a plurality of second removable fasteners each extending through the first adjustment hole of a respective finger of the plurality of fingers and through a respective second attachment hole in the first platform structure, the first fastener and the second fasteners attaching the first platform structure the first armrest support.

20 . The rotorcraft of claim 18 , wherein the first platform structure has a first pad with the first contact surface and a first attachment structure disposed on an opposite side of the first platform structure from the first contact surface, wherein the first platform structure is attached to the first armrest support by a first plurality of removable f

Assignees

• Bell Helicopter Textron Inc

Inventors

• Haugeberg Chad Richard

Classifications

• G05G1/62

  Arm rests · CPC title

• B64C13/0421 Primary

  control sticks for primary flight controls · CPC title

• B64C13/04

  actuated personally · CPC title

• B64D11/0644

  Adjustable arm rests · CPC title

• B64D11/0689 Primary

  specially adapted for pilots · CPC title