Cushion for a Plane Seat, Having Antimicrobial Effect

Abstract

Provided is a cushion for an aircraft seat including at least one antimicrobially active pad made of at least one plastic material, the pad having at least two antimicrobially active substances contained therein. The antimicrobially active substances do not contain silver or silver ions, and at least one antimicrobially active flame retardant fabric covering side at least one pad.

Claims

1. A cushion for an aircraft seat comprising at least one antimicrobially active pad of at least one plastic material, wherein at least two antimicrobially active substances are contained in the pad, wherein the antimicrobially active substances do not contain silver or silver ions, and at least one antimicrobial flame retardant fabric covering the at least one pad.

2. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein at least one antimicrobial active substance is at least one thiabendazole.

3. The cushion according to claim 2, wherein the at least one thiabendazole is present in the cushion in an amount between 5 and 25% by weight, preferably between 10 and 20% by weight, more preferably between 12 and 18% by weight, most preferably 15% by weight.

4. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein at least one antimicrobial active substance is at least one pyrithione.

5. The cushion according to claim 4, wherein the at least one pyrithione is a zinc pyrithione.

6. The cushion according to claim 5, wherein the at least one pyrithione is present in the cushion in an amount between 5 and 25% by weight, preferably between 10 and 20% by weight, more preferably between 12 and 18% by weight, most preferably 15% by weight.

7. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein the at least two antimicrobially active substances are used in the cushion in a weight ratio of between 1:5 and 5:1, preferably between 1:3 and 3:1, more preferably between 1:2 and 2:1, most preferably 1:1.

8. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein the at least one cushion is made of a plastic foam, preferably polyurethane foam, polyurethane-graphite foam, polyethylene foam, polystyrene foam, polycarbonate foam, polyether foam, polyester foam, PVC foam, silicone foam, PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) foam.

9. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein said at least one flame retardant fabric comprises: at least one barrier layer comprising at least one nonwoven fabric of at least one type of flame-resistant fiber, and at least one abrasion-resistant layer provided on the barrier layer comprising at least one textile material with high abrasion resistance made of at least one type of fiber, preferably at least two types of fiber.

10. The cushion of claim 9, wherein the at least one barrier layer comprises at least one nonwoven fabric of at least two, preferably at least three, types of fibers.

11. The cushion according to claim 9, wherein the at least one barrier layer comprises at least one nonwoven fabric of at least three types of fibers comprising 50 to 90% by weight, preferably 60 to 80% by weight, more preferably 70% by weight of a first type of fiber, 5 to 30% by weight, preferably 10 to 20% by weight, more preferably 15% by weight of a second type of fiber, and 5 to 30% by weight, preferably 10 to 20% by weight, more preferably 15% by weight of a third type of fiber.

12. The cushion according to claim 9, wherein the at least one abrasive layer comprises a textile fabric of 50 to 90% by weight, preferably 60 to 80% by weight, more preferably 70% by weight of a first type of fiber, and 10 to 50% by weight, preferably 20 to 40% by weight, more preferably 30% by weight of a second type of fiber.

13. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flame protection fabric has at least one intumescent layer, in particular of exfoliated graphite.

14. The cushion according to claim 1, wherein at least one antimicrobially active coating is provided on the upper side of the flame retardant fabric.

15. The cushion according to claim 1, further comprising at least one stabilizing means embedded in the at least one pad.

16. The cushion according to claim 15, wherein said at least one stabilizing means comprises spaced apart profiled support rails.

17. An aircraft seat comprising at least one cushion according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0106] The solution is explained in more detail below with reference to the figures in the drawings.

[0107] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a seat cushion according to the solution according to a first embodiment;

[0108] FIG. 2A shows a schematic view of a seat cushion according to the solution according to a second embodiment; and

[0109] FIG. 2B shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a support rail integrated into a seat cushion of FIG. 2A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0110] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an antimicrobial seat cushion 10 for an aircraft seat. The padding 11 of the seat cushion 10 consists of a PU foam with 15 wt % thiabendazole and 15 wt % Zn-pyrithione (in each case based on the total weight of PU foam).

[0111] The pad 11 is completely surrounded by a flame protection fabric 12. A protective cover 13 is attached to the pad 11 including the flame protection fabric by means of adhesive or loop tapes. The cover 13 extends over the entire upper side of the pad including the back of the knee area.

[0112] The antimicrobial flame retardant fabric 12 comprises a barrier layer and an abrasion layer. The abrasion layer is provided on one side (here on the upper side) of the barrier layer.

[0113] The barrier layer consists of a nonwoven made of 70% Pyrotex(bi-grade) fibers (acrylonitrile fibers), 15% para-aramid fibers (regenerated) and 15% preox PAN (polyacrylonitrile) fibers. The basis weight of the barrier layer in this case is 70 g/m.sup.2. The abrasion layer consists of a fabric made of 70% PAN (polyacrylonitrile) fibers and 30% para-aramid fibers. The basis weight of the abrasion layer is 130 g/m.sup.2.

[0114] In addition to the barrier layer and abrasion layer, a third intumescent layer of exfoliated graphite may be provided in the flame protection fabric 12, the exfoliated graphite beginning to expand at 180° C. The exfoliated graphite layer is provided as an intermediate layer between the abrasion layer and the barrier layer. The exfoliated graphite layer is applied to the abrasion layer with a basis weight of 50 g/m.sup.2.

[0115] A protective cover 13 (e.g. leather cover or fabric cover) is then attached to the structure of flame protection fabric 12 and antimicrobial padding by means of adhesive or fleece tapes.

[0116] In the embodiment of the seat cushion 20 according to the solution shown in FIG. 2A, a stabilizing means in the form of U-shaped support rails 21 is provided.

[0117] The support rails 21 have a U-profile. The wall thickness of the support rails is between 1.5 and 2 mm. The support rails consist of carbon fibers or glass fibers. The fibers are embedded in a resin system, such as a phenolic resin or epoxy resin. The support rails can be profiled, for example, by compression molding of fiber wet laminates or by means of the sheet molded compound (SMC) process.

[0118] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, three support rails are shown parallel with a center-to-center distance of 100 mm in a seat cushion (with a width of 450 mm). The support rails have a U-profile or a trapezoidal profile. The depth of the U-profile or trapezoidal profile is in a range between 10 and 12 mm.

[0119] The support rails 21 are either made of a flame-resistant material or are additionally provided with a flame-retardant material in the form of a flame-resistant fabric 22 made of temperature-stable fibers, in particular plastic fibers based on polypropylene, polyacrylate or polyamides such as aramides or polybenzimidazole. For this purpose, the support rails 21 can be laminated with the flame-resistant fabric 22 (see FIG. 2B).

Example 1: Efficacy Against Staphylococcus aureus ATTC 6538p

[0120] The antimicrobial activity of the pad of the solution (15 wt % thiabendazole/15 wt % Zn-pyrithione) was tested according to ISO20743:2013 (E).

[0121] For this purpose, one sample of each material (0.4±0.05 g) was placed in a Petri dish I container. Dropwise 0.2 ml of a Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538) inoculum (Nutrient broth) was placed on the sample surface. . . . Samples were incubated at 35° C. for 24 hours. After 00, 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours, 3 samples each were transferred to 10 ml of a neutralizing liquid (EN+ neutraliser) and shaken. The number of bacteria in the resulting suspensions were quantified using dilution series on plates (TSA agar) compared to an untreated control sample. For this purpose, plates were incubated at 35° C. for 5 days and the number of colonies were counted after 2 days and 5 days.

[0122] As a result, the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in the treated sample was reduced by more than 99.9% after 24 h compared to the untreated control sample.

Example 2: Efficacy Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 13142

[0123] The sample preparation and experimental procedure are analogous to those in embodiment 1. The result showed a reduction in the growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the treated sample after 24 h of more than 99.9% compared to the untreated control sample.

Example 3: Efficacy Against E. coli DSM 1576

[0124] The sample preparation and experimental procedure are analogous to those in embodiment 1. The result showed a reduction in the growth of E. coli in the treated sample after 24 h of more than 99.9% compared to the untreated control sample.