Device for varying the distance between the seats in commercial aircraft

Claim 1

A device for varying the distance or pitch between seats of commercial aircraft, comprising: longitudinal rails having upper horizontal flanges; said rails having dovetail shaped grooves defined by two inner lips of the rails, and holes in said lips, the distance between two adjacent holes being equal to that of an elementary pitch of displacement of the seat; each seat having a front foot and a rear foot, each provided with hooks, and on each foot of a seat, a device for securing said seat to said rail in the desired position; one of said feet comprising a vertically mobile bolt engaging in a hole in said rail and the hook on said rear foot; said seats including a fixed driving seat having a drive mechanism and mobile seats, at least one of said mobile seats being disposed in front of, and another of said mobile seats being disposed behind said driving seat; driving racks coupled to said drive mechanism, located one on each rail and able to be displaced forwards or backwards by a predetermined distance depending on the desired change in pitch; a transmission mechanism between said driving and said mobile seats comprising a set of slats and slidable on said rails, connecting, at rail level, the feet of said mobile seats together, said slats of the mobile seats nearest said driving seat being coupled to said connection racks, and said racks actuating said slats; at least one of said mobile seats being located in front of the driving seat and placed on said two slats for establishing a connection of variable length between the foot of said at least one mobile seat and the rear foot of the preceding seat and the rear foot of said at least one mobile seat and the front foot of the following seat; each of said slats having at the front thereof slots of constant dimensions for all the slats, enveloping the bolt and the hook of a rear foot; at the rear of said slats, another longitudinal slot enveloping said hooks of the front foot and of a length equal to A+(ΔP-2), A being the length of said hooks and ΔP being the difference between the largest pitch of the seat and the smallest pitch in front of the seat in question; and control and securing means associated with the feet of each mobile seat for automatically controlling the unlocking of the seat as soon as said slats are displaced; each slat having a cross section in the form of an inverted U and being slidably mounted on said flange of a said rail; each slat bearing on its upper surface two parallel and opposite cams, and a vertically movable bolt between said cams; each slat having lateral catches and being pierced, in its median part, with a longitudinal slot allowing said slat a forward or backward movement equal to two elementary pitches by enabling said slat to slide between said rail and said control means, whatever the vertical position of said bolt; said forward movement being determined by the abutting of the rear end of the slot against said securing means, said rearward movement being determined by said catches on said slat and abutting against said securing means.

Claim 2

A device for varying the distance or pitch between seats of commercial aircraft, comprising: longitudinal rails having upper horizontal flanges; said rails having dovetail shaped grooves defined by two inner lips of the rails, and holes in said lips, the distance between two adjacent holes being equal to that of an elementary pitch of displacement of the seat; each seat having a front foot and a rear foot, each provided with hooks, and on each foot of a seat, a device for securing said seat to said rail in the desired position; one of said feet comprising a vertically mobile bolt engaging in a hole in said rail and the hook on said rear foot; said seats including a fixed driving seat having a drive mechanism and mobile seats, at least one of said mobile seats being disposed in front of, and another of said mobile seats being disposed behind said driving seat; driving racks coupled to said drive mechanism, located one on each rail and able to be displaced forwards or backwards by a predetermined distance depending on the desired change in pitch; a transmission mechanism between said driving and said mobile seats comprising a set of slats and slidable on said rails, connecting, at rail level, the feet of said mobile seats together, said slats of the mobile seats nearest said driving seat being coupled to said connection racks, and said racks actuating said slats; at least one of said mobile seats being located in front of the driving seat and placed on said two slats for establishing a connection of variable length between the foot of said at least one mobile seat and the rear foot of the preceding seat and the rear foot of said at least one mobile seat and the front foot of the following seat; each of said slats having at the front thereof slots of constant dimensions for all the slats, enveloping the bolt and the hook of a rear foot; at the rear of said slats, another longitudinal slot enveloping said hooks of the front foot and of a length equal to A+(ΔP-2), A being the length of said hooks and ΔP being the difference between the largest pitch of the seat and the smallest pitch in front of the seat in question; and control and securing means associated with the feet of each mobile seat for automatically controlling the unlocking of the seat as soon as said slats are displaced; each slat having a cross section in the form of an inverted U and being slidably mounted on said flange of a said rail; each slat bearing on its upper surface two parallel and opposite cams, and a vertically movable bolt between said cams; each slat having lateral catches and being pierced, in its median part, with a longitudinal slot allowing said slat a forward or backward movement equal to two elementary pitches by enabling said slat to slide between said rail and said control means, whatever the vertical position of said bolt; said forward movement being determined by the abutting of the rear end of the slot against said securing means, said rearward movement being determined by said catches on said slat and abutting against said securing means.