US 6,209,956 B1Granted

Seating unit

AssigneeBritish Airways PLC

InventorsIan Dryburgh, Simon Lunn, Russel Mulchansingh

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A seating unit (1) comprises a fixed housing (10) containing a primary seat with a reclinable back arranged to recline in such a manner that it remains within the housing. The seating unit is suitable for a aircraft cabin and may further comprise a leg-rest arranged to cooperate with the seating portion to form part of a substantially flat surface when the back is reclined in a substantially horizontal position. The seating unit may further comprise a secondary seat (3) positioned to face the primary seat, the secondary seat having a seating portion positioned to cooperate with the leg-rest of the primary seat to form a portion of the substantially flat surface when the back of the primary seat is reclined in the substantially horizontal position. Privacy between seats and use of available space within an aircraft cabin may be optimised by arranging at least some of the seats in an echelon.

Claims54

Dependent claims

An aircraft accommodation unit comprising a seat and a cooperating unit different from the seat and positioned in front of the seat;

the seat comprising;
a back portion;
a support for supporting said back portion to enable said back portion to be reclined between a substantially upright position and a substantially horizontal position, the degree to which said back portion is reclined being selectable by a user;
a seating portion;
a support for supporting said seating portion and arranged to allow said seating portion to move forward as said back portion is reclined and to move backward as said back portion is moved toward said upright position;
and
a leg support connected to move with said seating portion and positionable between a retracted position and an extended position forward of said seating portion;
the cooperating unit having an elevated surface adapted for cooperation with the seat to define a sleeping surface;
the seat and The cooperating unit being arranged so that with said back portion in said substantially horizontal position and said leg support in said extended position, said back portion, said seating portion, said leg support and said elevated surface of the cooperating unit together form a substantially flat and continuous surface constituting said sleeping surface.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/182,055Filed 29 Oct 1998 · division
Priority: 18 Sep 1995
Granted: 3 Apr 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification22 codes

A47C 1/034
Having coupled concurrently adjustable supporting parts: the parts including a leg-rest or foot-rest
A47C 1/0352
In combination with movably-coupled seat and back-rest: characterised by coupled seat and back-rest slidingly movable in the base frame, e.g. by…
A47C 17/163
Seating furniture changeable to beds by tilting or pivoting the back-rest: and a foot-rest
B60N 2/34
Convertible for other use: into a bed

Family

Application08/529,818Parent of this continuation · filed 18 Sep 1995
Application09/097,149Parent of this division · filed 12 Jun 1998
US 6,059,364 AParent of this division
Application09/097,149Parent of this continuation
US 6,209,956 B1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.