Ami Industries, Inc.

Goodrich Corporation

B/e Aerospace, Inc.

Icon Health & Fitness, Inc.

Icon Ip, Inc.

Chad R Pacheco

Douglas E Hoover

Douglas Foisie

Timothy Brownsberger

Kyler Marutzky

Martin Shawn Day

Donald Pinkal

Jacob W Kirkley

William T Dalebout

Jaremy T Butler

Daniel N Moe

Moises Perez

Rodrigo A Lalli

Troy Brodish

Farid Farbod

Max Slavin

Seat mounted inboard flight controllers for aircraft pilot seats cause the flight controllers to move with the pilot and copilot seats as the seats are adjusted forward and aft. The flight controllers are tied to the seats and move with the seats via the extenders and flight controller mounting brackets. The two flight controllers are coupled together using a linear bearing. One half of the linear bearing is attached to the inboard side of the flight controller. The other half of the linear bearing attaches to the inboard side of the copilot cyclic flight controller. The flight controllers attach to a mounting bracket that extends down to the extenders that attach to the seats. A complete load path is formed between the pilot and copilot seats that support the flight controllers without mounting anything to the cockpit center column.

Seat mounted inboard flight controllers for aircraft pilot seats

A double-shear secured vehicle seating assembly includes an operator seat (e.g., for a pilot or operator of a rotorcraft or like vehicle) and a seat frame structure via which the operator seat is secured to floor tracks in the cabin floor. Floor track grippers attached to the underside of the seat frame structure 'grip' the floor tracks by extending down and around an upper portion of the floor track. The floor track grippers are further united with the floor tracks by locking pins that extend through holes in the grippers as well as the floor track itself, which includes a rail and a plurality of evenly spaced holes extending through the rail. The locking pin fully pierces the floor track gripper on a first side, fully piercing the aligned hole in the rail, and at least partially piercing the floor track gripper on the opposing side, creating the double-shear condition.

Aircraft seat with double shear track fitting assembly

A seat frame structure for a rotorcraft or other vehicle operator seat is convertible between non-breakover and breakover configurations. The structure includes fixed frame members mounted to the cabin floor (e.g., via floor tracks) and pivoting frame members for supporting the operator seat, the pivoting and fixed frame members connected by a bushing assembly. The seat frame structure includes a tilt controller with coupling pins extending into the fixed frame members, locking the structure into the non-breakover configuration. A control lever mounted to the seat frame structure controls the coupling pins via connecting cables; the occupant of the seat may, via the control lever, transition the seat frame structure to the breakover configuration by retracting the coupling pins into the pivoting frame members, enabling rearward rotation of the pivoting frame members (e.g., at least 80 degrees, or contact with the cabin floor).

Breakover vehicle operator seat convertible to non-breakover configuration

An aircraft seat assembly including stanchions defining elongated guide channels and elongated motion sleds nested in the guide channels and affixed to a seat bucket. An energy absorber implemented as a wire bender assembly is coupled between the stanchions and the motion sled. In use, the elongated guide channels guide motion of the motion sleds and the wire bender assemblies attenuate energy during a dynamic event exceeding a predetermined threshold load value. The elongated interface between the guide channels and motion sleds serve to transfer excessive loading to the seat frame thereby protecting the seat assembly from damage and the occupant from excessive lumbar spinal loads.

Aircraft seat with nested energy attenuation guide system

An aircraft seat assembly including first and second stanchions forming interior spaces open through forward slots. A seat pan is pivotally attached to the stanchions and includes rearward extensions that extend through the forward slots and are received in the interior spaces. First and second spring mechanisms reside in the respective first and second interior spaces and are attached at opposing ends to their respective stanchion and to the seat pan. In use, rotating the seat pan toward a deployed position elongates the first and second elongation springs thereby energizing a return force of the spring mechanisms.

Aircraft seat with internal seat pan return spring mechanism

A cabin attendant seat includes a housing having an upper portion and a lower portion, a headrest rotatably coupled to the upper portion, a seat pan coupled to the lower portion, and a drop-down tray assembly rotatably coupled to the upper portion. The seat pan is detached from the headrest. The drop-down tray assembly and the headrest are configured to rotate along a first axis such that the drop-down tray assembly defines a platform.

Split cabin attendant seat

A singular energy absorber and an offset pilot seat including the same. The pilot seat includes a seat base, a seat bucket positioned laterally offset relative to a centerline of the seat base, a singular motion controller movably coupling the seat bucket to the seat base, wherein the singular motion controller is centered relative to the seat bucket and laterally offset relative to the seat base, and the singular energy absorber associated with the singular motion controller, the singular energy absorber operative to maintain relative positions of components of the singular motion controller during normal use of the rotorcraft pilot seat and allow relative motion between the components of the singular motion controller during a dynamic event.

Offset helicopter pilot seat with singular energy absorber

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a rotorcraft pilot seat including a seat base attachable to floor tracks, a seat bucket positioned laterally offset relative to a centerline of the seat base, and a singular motion controller movably coupling the seat bucket to the seat base, wherein the singular motion controller is centered relative to the seat bucket and laterally offset relative to the seat base. In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a rotorcraft cockpit configuration including a floor defining a well configured to receive retracted landing gear, a pilot seat positioned to one lateral side of the well, and a copilot seat positioned to an opposing lateral side of the well, each seat including an offset configuration.

Offset helicopter pilot seat with centered vertical motion system

A bulkhead-mounted aircraft seat assembly configured for independent vertical and horizontal adjustment includes an aircraft seat (seatback and seat frame/cushion) for supporting a pilot, passenger, or other occupant. Parallel rails attach to the bulkhead and extend along the bulkhead (vertically or near vertically) with opposing slots set into each rail. A sled translates along the rails via paired sliding members set into the slots, each pair of sliding members connected to an axle extending through the sled. A four-bar linkage attached to the sled and to the aircraft seat; the four-bar linkage extends from a default position to allow the aircraft seat to translate along a horizontal linear rail under the seat while maintaining a stable vertical reference point above the cabin floor. The seat is independently configured for substantially vertical adjustment via a metering plate attached to the bulkhead.

Aircraft bulkhead-mounted pilot seat with horizontal and vertical adjustment

A seat base assembly for an aircraft seat includes parallel rails attached to an aircraft bulkhead, each rail including a slot extending vertically within the rail. The seat (e.g., seatback and seat frame) is attached to a sled capable of vertical translation relative to the bulkhead via slidable members that translate along the slots. The sled includes a hole for accommodating a locking pin controllable by the seat occupant. A metering plate attached to the seat base behind the sled is folded over a lateral axis into a forward and rear layer, the forward layer including holes for the locking pin wherein each hole corresponds to a desired seat height to which the seat may be adjusted by securing the locking pin through the sled hole and metering hole. In response to an impact event, the metering plate deforms to absorb impact energy and control downward deceleration of the seat.

Aircraft seat with energy attenuating metering plate

A rotorcraft seating assembly includes a seat base supporting a seat bucket, the seat base having left- and right-side panel portions. Each side panel portion has a linear bucket guide channel set into its inside face (including an upper portion for adjusting the seat bucket relative to the seat base for pilots of varying heights, and a lower portion for energy attenuation (EA) stroking in response to a crash event) and a bucket guide slot set into its outside face (including a linear upper portion corresponding to the range of adjustment of the seat bucket and a curved lower portion allowing the seat bucket to translate forward and away from the seat base during EA stroking). The curved outer bucket guide slot allows for the required EA stroking distance within a minimal vertical space between the seat bucket and the flight deck floor.

Compact rotorcraft seating assembly with non-linear bucket guide channels

A passenger seating assembly with an integrated cabin attendant seat (CAS) is disclosed. In embodiments, a CAS folds down from a monument mounted to the cabin floor via a combined track fitting that secures into the left-side or right-side track rail. A group of passenger seats (e.g., two to five) faces opposite the CAS monument and includes left-side and right-side leg assemblies mountable to the track rails via track fittings. One rear portion of a leg assembly attaches to the combined track fitting to integrate the passenger seats and CAS monument, eliminating unused space between the passenger seats and CAS monument.

Passenger seat assembly with integrated cabin attendant seat

An aircraft seat may include a backrest and a seat pan coupled to the backrest. The backrest may include a plurality of backrest panels. A set of backrest panels of the plurality of backrest panels may be coupled via a coil hinge. The coil hinge may include a first plurality of holes formed in a first backrest panel of the set of backrest panels. The coil hinge may include a second plurality of holes formed in a second backrest panel of the set of backrest panels. The coil hinge may include a coil spring wound through the first plurality of holes and the second plurality of holes. The first backrest panel and the second backrest panel may be configured to rotate about an axis through the coil hinge when the seat pan and the backrest actuate between a stowed position and a deployed position.

Coil hinge for aircraft seat

A suspension recline system for a stowable seat may comprise a suspension member comprising a first end configured to be coupled to a seat back of the stowable seat, and a second end configured to be coupled to a legrest for the stowable seat, wherein the suspension recline system is moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The stowable seat may recline in response to the suspension recline system being moved to the deployed position. An end of the suspension member may be configured to be inserted into a slot disposed in the legrest, in the deployed position.

Suspension recline system

In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides an energy attenuating mounting foot comprising a load beam having a longitudinal axis, a top surface, a bottom surface, an inner track interface lobe, and an outer track interface lobe, the inner track interface lobe and the outer track interface lobe extending laterally from the load beam, and a channel along the longitudinal axis having a depth extending from the load beam bottom surface toward the top surface. In various embodiments, the inner track interface lobe has a first length extending in a direction from the bottom surface towards the top surface and the outer track interface lobe has a second length extending in a direction from the bottom surface towards the top surface, the first length being less than the second length.

Growing community of inventors

Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America

Chad R Pacheco