Ami Industries, Inc.

Discovision Associates

Douglas E Hoover

Keith Michael Ferguson

Chad R Pacheco

Dominic John Maglia

Ryan S Porter

Keith M Ferguson

Leonardus J Grassens

Pradeep Acharya

Kyler Marutzky

David A Ross

Moises Perez

Hollis O'Neal Hall

Othar P Kennedy

Kent Thomas Murphy

Jason Michael Sharpe

Wilhelm Taylor

Akhil Rajagopal Kozhipuram

Kyle David Doughty

Troy Brodish

Russell A Meyer

David L Papiernik

Christopher A Knorr

Christopher Isherwood

Herbert E Heaton

Christopher J Monsen

Robert G Russell

Zdenek A Hollen

James K Louie

Charles DePuy

Gary Anderson

Pilot seat

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 locking mechanism to prevent back-drive includes a locking shaft with guide grooves. Locking shaft guides engage the guide grooves to constrain lateral motion of the locking shaft. A nut includes corresponding grooves to the locking shaft, and engages the locking shaft to prevent linear translation. The locking mechanism may be incorporated into a aircraft seat armrest to create a positive lock in the armrest position.

Mechanical shaft locking mechanism with back-drive prevention

An assembly for an energy attenuation system is described. The assembly offers a lower profile configuration that fits better into tight spaces that exist in the compact seats that are required for military helicopters. The assembly includes a cable that is oriented and positioned to work with the profile. The assembly includes an actuator which ejecting the pins in a multi-stage sequence. The design of the assembly also ensures the pins cannot back drive when the pins are in the ejected position. Additionally, the pins may have part commonality reducing a unique part of the assembly.

Method for translating pins using a rotary actuator

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

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

A flight controller ingress and egress system is implemented using an assembly. The assembly pivots an outboard flight controller. The pivoting of the outboard flight controller creates a space for the pilot to ingress and egress through the aircraft door more easily. The assembly improves pilot safety and convenience when during ingress and egress from the aircraft. The assembly includes a seat bracket, a pivot bracket, a carriage, and a link.

Flight controller ingress and egress system

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 shaft locking mechanism includes a rack disposed on a translating shaft and a toothed locking lever disposed on a corresponding translation post. The toothed locking lever engages the rack in a locked orientation to prevent the shaft translating within the translation post. The toothed locking lever is disengaged during translation and the shaft may be translated and locked in place with very granular adjustability. A control rod release mechanism may be biased to maintain the toothed locking lever in the locked orientation. A cam feature on the toothed locking lever engages the body of the control rod which defines a recessed portion that coincides with the cam while in an unlocked orientation.

Shaft locking method using a gear rack and toothed locking lever

A console mounted armrest includes an adjustable post to raise and lower the armrest, and a linkage. The linkage defines the tilt of the armrest with respect to the post. A single control mechanism controls the motion of the post, and thereby also controls the tilt of the armrest to maintain a desirable orientation with respect to the sidestick. The control mechanism defines multiple positive lock-out positions with respect to the post such that the control mechanism will always engage one of the positive lock-out positions.

Single control console mounted armrest

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 rack is made from a plurality of laminated layers. Each layer defines an alignment feature that allows all of the layers to be affixed to a base plate of an aircraft seat assembly and align the teeth of the rack to within five ten-thousandths of an inch. The rack includes a straight portion and a curved portion such that a pinion gear on the aircraft seat assembly can move the aircraft seat assembly along tracks with straight and curved portions.

Laminated rack assembly for powered motion of aircraft seats

An aircraft armrest lifting mechanism generally biases the aircraft armrest toward a raised configuration. A linear actuator applies tension to a cable connected to a portion of an armrest hub connected to an armrest shaft. The portion of the armrest hub extends some distance from the armrest shaft so that the linear actuator applies a moment between an attachment point on the armrest and the armrest shaft that tends to rotate the armrest toward a raised configuration.

Automatic lifting mechanism for aircraft armrest

An aircraft seat includes infinitely adjustable, lateral tilt control within a specified range. The aircraft seat includes a stationary support, a tilting frame rotatably or translatably attached to the stationary base, and a tilt control mechanism to adjust the tilt within the defined range and positively lock the frame without back-driving. The tilt control mechanism may include a plurality of linkages connected to the stationary support and the tilting frame, and to each other via a threaded block; a threaded shaft adjusts the linkages and thereby adjust the tilt. Alternatively, the tilt control mechanism comprises a curved rack and a pinion. The threaded block and threaded shaft, or the rack and pinion define ACME threads to prevent back-driving.

Growing community of inventors

Colorado Springs, CO, United States of America

Douglas E Hoover