| US 7,523,888 B2 | ||
| Seating system and a passenger accommodation unit for a vehicle | ||
| David Ferry, Hove (United Kingdom); Adam Bernard Wells, Stapleford (United Kingdom); Luke Miles, London (United Kingdom); Andrew Leslie Lawler, Aylesbury (United Kingdom); Simon Frederick Mills, Princes Risborough (United Kingdom); Gary Doy, Kenilworth (United Kingdom); and David Edward Starkey, Princes Risborough (United Kingdom) | ||
| Assigned to Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited, Crawley West Sussex (United Kingdom) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 06, 2004, as Appl. No. 10/774,244. | ||
| Application 10/774244 is a continuation of application No. PCT/GB02/03701, filed on Aug. 09, 2002. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 0119459.6 (GB), filed on Aug. 09, 2001; and application No. 0202389.3 (GB), filed on Feb. 01, 2002. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2004/0232283 A1, Nov. 25, 2004 | ||
| Int. Cl. B64D 11/06 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 244—118.6 [244/122 R; 297/354.13; 297/423.1] | 45 Claims |
| 1. A passenger accommodation unit for a vehicle, including a seat assembly adapted to provide self-contained, individual seating
and sleeping accommodation for a passenger, said passenger accommodation unit comprising:
supporting structure for supporting said unit off the floor of a vehicle;
one or more movable passenger-bearing, structural components; and
means for connecting said movable, structural components to said structure such that said components can be selectively moved
between a seat configuration, in which a plurality of passenger-bearing surfaces on said one or more structural, movable components
or said supporting structure form a seat for the passenger, and a bed configuration, in which a plurality of said bearing
surfaces are disposed substantially coplanarly and substantially contiguously to form a bed for the passenger;
wherein at least one of said movable components is double-sided, comprising first and second opposite sides, one of said sides
defining a first seat surface that forms part of the seat in said seat configuration, and the other side defining a second
bed surface that forms part of said bed in said bed configuration, said at least one double-sided movable component being
a back-rest component that is connected to said supporting structure such that it can be selectively pivoted between a first
generally upright position, in which said first surface is arranged to form part of said seat, and a second prone position
in which said second surface is arranged to form part of said bed, and
wherein one or more of said passenger-bearing surfaces comprise a bed extension surface, separate from said second bed surface
of said moveable component, which bed extension surface is positioned or deployable to be positioned rearwardly of the seat
to form part of said bed in said bed configuration,
wherein one or more of said passenger-bearing surfaces comprises a forward bed extension surface, which forward bed extension
surface is positioned or deployable to be positioned forwardly of the seat in said seat configuration.
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