Dynamic energy absorbing seat
AssigneeJoby Aero, Inc.
InventorsJacek Kawecki, Ian Andreas Villa, Philipp Haban
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments relate to dynamic stroking seats for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Seat ballast tanks are attached to aircraft seats. The seats are sprung by a fixed or variable load energy absorption system. The weight of a user is determined and assigned to a corresponding seat of the user. Based on the weight of the user, the fluid level in the ballast tank is monitored and adjusted to achieve a target weight range.
Claims20
An energy absorbing seat comprising:
- a seat frame;
- a ballast tank coupled to the seat frame, the ballast tank defining a cavity for receiving a fluid ballast;
- a valve operatively coupled to the ballast tank;
- a supply line fluidly coupled to the ballast tank;
- a return line fluidly coupled to the ballast tank;
- and
- a controller operative to perform actions comprising:
- receiving a weight of a passenger assigned to the seat;
- determining, based on the weight of the passenger, an amount of fluid ballast to be added or removed from the ballast tank;
- and
- transferring the amount of fluid ballast to or from the ballast tank from or to a ballast reservoir via the valve and either the supply line or the return line.
A method of controlling an energy absorbing seat comprising a seat frame, a ballast tank coupled to the seat frame, the ballast tank defining a cavity for receiving a fluid ballast, a valve operatively coupled to the ballast tank, a supply line fluidly coupled to the ballast tank, a return line fluidly coupled to the ballast tank, and a controller, the method comprising:
- receiving a weight of a passenger assigned to the seat;
- determining, based on the weight of the passenger, an amount of fluid ballast to be added or removed from the ballast tank;
- and
- transferring the amount of fluid ballast to or from the ballast tank from or to a ballast reservoir via the valve and either the supply line or the return line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.