Convertible aircraft passenger seats

An improved, convertible aircraft seating arrangement, for converting side-by-side aircraft seats from a three seating space configuration to a two seating space configuration, and vice versa, said seats extending transversely between two aisles in an aircraft passenger cabin, comprising:

• a main seating frame;
• a central seat frame assembly mounted on said main seating frame and including a cushioned seat base portion, and a cushioned seat back portion having opposite lateral recesses;
• a pair of aisle seat frame assemblies slidably mounted on said main seating frame, said aisle seat frame assemblies being positioned adjacent opposite lateral sides of said central seat frame assembly, each one of said aisle seat frame assemblies having its own cushioned seat base portion and its own cushioned seat back portion, and each of said aisle seat frame assemblies being slidably movable relative to said main seating frame outboardly and inboardly relative to said central seat frame assembly between a first position in which its seat base portion is spaced from the seat base portion of said central seat frame assembly and a second position in which its seat base portion abuts the seat base portion of said central seat frame assembly;
• and
• an intermediate armrest pivotably mounted on the seat back portion of each said aisle seat frame assembly;
• each said armrest being pivotable between a generally horizontal position and a generally upright position, to provide a folding armrest adjacent each side of said central seat frame assembly when each of said aisle seat frame assemblies is in said first position;
• and said armrests being received into said recesses, when said armrests are in said upright position and said aisle seat frame assemblies are in said second position, to nest within said seat back portion of said central seat frame assembly.

An improved, convertible aircraft seating arrangement, for converting a row of aircraft seats in an aircraft passenger cabin from six abreast to seven abreast, and vice versa, comprising:

• a central set of side-by-side aircraft seats having a first two-seat configuration with a first width, and a second three-seat configuration with a second width greater than said first width;
• first and second outboard main frames;
• and
• first and second outboard pairs of side-by-side aircraft seats slidably mounted on said first and second outboard main frames, respectively;
• said pairs being positioned on opposite sides of said central set, each said pair being separated from said central set by an aisle, and said pairs and said central set together defining a row of seats across said passenger cabin;
• wherein, in each said pair, said seats of said pair are slidable together as a unit relative to the main frame on which said pair is mounted inboardly and outboardly relative to said passenger cabin;
• and each said pair includes an armrest which is mounted on one of said seats of said pair to be movable inboardly and outboardly, as a unit with said seats of said pair, relative to the main frame on which said pair is mounted, and is movably mounted on said one of said seats to be movable inboardly and outboardly relative to said seats of said pair.

For use onboard a commercial aircraft having a passenger cabin, an improved method of converting a row of seats in said cabin from seven seats abreast to six seats abreast, and vice versa, to convert between economy and business class seating;

• said row including a central set of seats, and a first pair of outboard seats and a second pair of outboard seats on opposite sides of said central set, respectively;
• all of said seats having a seat base that includes a base cushion, and a seat back that includes a back cushion and is tiltable relative to said seat base;
• said central set being separated from each of said pairs of outboard seats by an aisleway;
• said central set including a centermost seat having opposite lateral sides, and an aisle seat adjacent each said lateral side of said centermost seat;
• each said aisle seat being laterally shiftable between a first position in which it is spaced at least slightly apart from said centermost seat to give said central set a three-seat configuration, and a second position in which said cushions of said aisle seat abut against said cushions of said centermost seat;
• said seat back of said centermost seat being vertically split into a central cushioned portion and first and second lateral cushioned portions on opposite sides of said central cushioned portion, respectively;
• and each said lateral cushioned portion forming, with said seat back of one of said aisle seats, a cushioned seat back area, when said aisle seats are in said second position, to give said central set a two-seat configuration and give said aisle seats a greater width than when said aisle seats are in said first position, said improved method comprising:
• making each said pair of outboard seats laterally shiftable, as a single unit, both inboardly and outboardly relative to said cabin;
• providing an outboard armrest adjacent an outboard side of each said pair of outboard seats, and fixing each said outboard armrest against lateral movement relative to said cabin;
• providing an inboard armrest adjacent an opposite inboard side of each said pair of outboard seats, and making each said inboard armrest laterally shiftable relative to the adjacent pair of outboard seats;
• for each said pair of outboard seats, providing an intermediate armrest positioned between the seats of said pair, and making said intermediate armrest laterally shiftable along with said seats of said pair;
• providing a pair of intermediate armrests on opposite sides of said centermost seat of said central set of seats, and making each one of said pair of intermediate armrests stowable into one of said cushions of said centermost seat when said aisle seats are shifted from said first position to said second position;
• providing a central armrest that is stowable in a forward portion of said back cushion of said centermost seat;
• providing said central set of seats with an outer armrest adjacent an outboard side of each said aisle seat, each said outer armrest being laterally shiftable inboardly and outboardly relative to said outboard side of the adjacent aisle seat;
• configuring said row of seats from a row of six seats abreast into a row of seven seats abreast by:
• (1) laterally shifting each pair of outboard seats, together, as a unit, outboardly relative to said cabin and toward the adjacent outboard armrest, and laterally shifting each inboard armrest outboardly and toward the adjacent pair of outboard seats;
• and
• (2) stowing said central armrest in said forward portion of said back cushion of said centermost seat;
• shifting said aisle seats outboardly into said first position, and unstowing said pair of intermediate armrests to provide armrests on each side of said centermost seat;
• and laterally shifting each said outer armrest outboardly relative to said outboard side of the adjacent aisle seat;
• and
• configuring said row of seats from a row of seven seats abreast into a row of six seats abreast by reversing the steps of paragraphs (1) and (2) above.