LOCK MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT PASSENGER SEAT

Abstract

In order to improve ease of maintenance of an aircraft passenger seat, the aircraft passenger seat 100 is adapted to be changeable between an upright position and a bed mode position at which the backrest is folded forward. A mechanism for locking the seat at each of the positions is provided with lock pins 350 provided on both sides of the backrest, a handle unit 200 mounted to a rear face of the backrest, and two wires 300 for connecting the handle unit 200 and the lock pins 350. A structure for connecting the wires 300 to the handle unit 200 is improved to facilitate the maintenance of the wires and to make the handle unit lightweight.

Claims

1. A lock mechanism for aircraft passenger seat comprising an upright position in which a backrest is positioned upright, and a bed mode position in which the backrest is folded forward, wherein the lock mechanism comprises lock pins provided on both sides of the backrest locking the backrest at positions corresponding to the upright position and the bed mode position, a handle unit provided on a rear face of the backrest, and two wires connecting the handle unit and the lock pins; and a bracket of the handle unit comprises a center hole provided at a center of the bracket, a pair of wire mounting holes to which each of the wires provided in the center hole are mounted, and a pair of slits communicating the wire mounting holes with the center hole.

2. The lock mechanism for aircraft passenger seat according to claim 1, wherein the slit comprises a dimension allowing a metal wire provided within each wire to pass through the slit.

3. The lock mechanism for aircraft passenger seat according to claim 1, wherein the center hole comprises a dimension allowing a wire mounting terminal member mounting an end portion of the metal wire to the handle side to pass through the center hole.

4. The lock mechanism for aircraft passenger seat according to claim 1, wherein the bracket of the handle unit is formed of aluminum alloy.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 is rear perspective view illustrating a configuration of a handle of an aircraft passenger seat according to the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view illustrating a configuration of the handle of the aircraft passenger seat according to the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a three orthographic view of a relevant portion of FIG. 2.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a front view of an aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a side view of the aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

[0035] FIG. 6 is an explanatory view illustrating a general arrangement of a lock mechanism for an aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a prior art handle of an aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

[0037] FIG. 8 is a mechanism view of the prior art handle of an aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

[0038] FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the prior art handle of an aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

[0039] FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the prior art handle of an aircraft passenger seat to which the present invention is applied.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a handle unit from a rear side, illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] The configuration of components of a handle unit 400 other than a wire mounting bracket 410 to which wires 300 are mounted is similar to the prior art configuration described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, so that equivalent components are denoted with the same reference numbers, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0042] The wire mounting bracket 410 has a center hole 420 with a large diameter formed at a center portion thereof. The dimension of the center hole 420 is designed to allow wire mounting terminal members 250 supporting stoppers 320 of metal wires 310 to pass through the hole.

[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates a step for removing the wires 300 for maintenance. Retaining rings 247 are removed from pins 246, to pull out the pins 246, and connections between wire mounting terminal members 250 and a link lever 240 are disconnected. The nuts 330 are loosened and the wires 300 are freed from mounting holes 430 of the wire mounting bracket 410, the metal wires 310 are passed through slits 432 to gather the wires 300 to the center hole 420, and the wire mounting terminal members 250 are drawn out through the center hole 420.

[0044] Since this wire mounting bracket 410 is not provided with a slit communicated with the exterior, the bracket 410 can be formed with a high rigidity. Therefore, a lightweight material such as aluminum alloy can be used to reduce the weight of the whole bracket.

[0045] FIG. 3 is a three orthographic view of the wire mounting bracket 410. A large-diameter center hole 420 is formed at a center of a bottom face plate of the wire mounting bracket 410.

[0046] A pair of wire mounting holes 430 are provided on both sides of the large-diameter center hole 420, and slits 432 are formed to communicate the holes 430 with the large-diameter center hole 420.

[0047] Lightening holes 412 are formed on a rear face plate of the wire mounting bracket 410 to realize lightweight. Further, flanges 440 and 450 for mounting are formed on both sides, and screw holes 442 and 452 are provided on the flanges.

[0048] The lock mechanism for aircraft passenger seat according to the present invention adopts the above configuration, so that maintenance operations such as replacement or trimming of wires mounted to the mechanism for locking the seat to the upright position and the bed mode position can be facilitated.

[0049] Further, the handle unit constituting the lock mechanism can be made lightweight, so that the reduction of weight of the whole aircraft passenger seat can be achieved.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0050] 1 Aircraft passenger seat [0051] 10 Back shell [0052] 100 Seat assembly [0053] 110 Seat bottom [0054] 120 Backrest [0055] 130 Headrest [0056] 200 Handle unit [0057] 210 Mounting bracket [0058] 220 Wire mounting bracket [0059] 230 Handle [0060] 240 Link lever [0061] 250 Wire mounting terminal member [0062] 300 Wire [0063] 310 Metal wire [0064] 320 Stopper [0065] 330 Nut [0066] 410 Wire mounting bracket [0067] 420 Center hole [0068] 430 Wire mounting hole [0069] 432 Slit