Seating system and a passenger accommodation unit for a vehicle

Abstract

A passenger seat assembly for a vehicle, particularly an aircraft, which is adapted to provide self-contained, individual seating and sleeping accommodation for a passenger, said seating assembly includes a supporting structure ( 42 ) for supporting said assembly off the floor of a vehicle; one or more movable, passenger-bearing, structural components ( 71,72 ); 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 ( 71,71 ) or said supporting structure form a seat for the passenger, and a bed configuration, in which a plurality of said bearing surfaces ( 47,48,67,74,76 ) are disposed substantially coplanarly and substantially contiguously to form a bed for the passenger; characterized in that at least one of said movable components ( 72 ) is double-sided, comprising first and second opposite sides, one of said sides having a first seat surface ( 73 ) that forms part of the seat in said seat configuration, and the other side having a second bed surface ( 74 ) that forms part of said bed in said bed configuration.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A seating system for use in an airplane, comprising:
 a plurality of seats arranged in a column adjacent to an airplane aisle to define a longitudinal column axis, wherein each of the plurality of seats is positioned with the seat axis at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal column axis;   each seat having a front end and a back end and further including a foot-rest at the front end of the seat, a reclinable back rest at the back end of the seat, each seat having a seat axis extending from the front end to the back end and having a first sitting position and a second sleeping position wherein an almost flat bed is formed;   each of the plurality of seats having an associated rear wall substantially parallel to the aisle and being positioned behind its associated seat;   at least one screen associated with each seat, the at least one screen having a first end positioned adjacent to the rear wall of the associated seat to form a wall-screen corner and a second end positioned adjacent to the aisle to separate the associated seat from an adjacent seat so that at least a portion of the screen extends at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal column axis;   each seat having a space that is defined by a portion of its associated rear wall, a portion of its associated screen and the back end of the seat when in the sitting position; and   wherein, in the second sleeping position, the almost flat bed is formed with the foot-rest defining a first bed end and having an opposite second bed end that uses the space.   
     
     
         22 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein for each seat, its associated screen extends continuously from the rear wall to the aisle. 
     
     
         23 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein each foot-rest is spaced apart from its associated seat pan. 
     
     
         24 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein for each seat, its associated foot-rest is formed in the screen associated with the seat or the screen associated with the adjacent seat. 
     
     
         25 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein the airplane includes a cabin formed by two opposing side walls and wherein the rear wall associated with a seat is a portion of one of the side walls of the airplane. 
     
     
         26 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein each screen extends substantially parallel to the seat axis along a majority of a length of the screen. 
     
     
         27 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein each of the plurality of seats is at the same fixed angle. 
     
     
         28 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein each of the plurality of seats has a horizontal surface positioned behind the back end of the seat, the substantially horizontal surface being at a height above a floor and extending from the wall-screen corner towards the back end of the seat, wherein the substantially horizontal surface behind the back end of each seat is generally triangular or trapezoidal shaped. 
     
     
         29 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein the plurality of seats is a subset of all seats on the airplane. 
     
     
         30 . The seating system of  claim 21 , wherein the airplane includes a plurality of cabins separated by dividing walls that extend a majority of a width of the airplane, and wherein the plurality of seats includes a majority of seats in a cabin. 
     
     
         31 . A seating system for use in an airplane, comprising:
 a plurality of seats arranged in a column adjacent to an airplane aisle to define a longitudinal column axis, each seat having a forward end and a rearward end, a back rest at the rearward end of the seat and a seat pan positioned between the forward end and the rearward end, each seat having a first sitting position and a second sleeping position wherein a substantially flat bed is formed, wherein each of the plurality of seats is positioned with the seat axis at a fixed angle of between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the longitudinal column axis;   each of the plurality of seats having an associated rear wall positioned behind its associated seat;   a plurality of screens, wherein each of the plurality of seats is associated with at least one screen, the at least one screen having a first end positioned adjacent to the rear wall of the associated seat to form a wall-screen corner and a second end positioned adjacent to the aisle to separate the associated seat from an adjacent seat;   each of the plurality of seats having a first surface positioned behind the rearward end of the seat, the first surface extending from the wall-screen corner towards the rearward end of the seat;   each seat having a space that is defined by a portion of its associated rear wall, a portion of its associated screen and the rearward end of the seat when in the sitting position; and   wherein, in the second sleeping position, the substantially flat bed is formed having a first bed end and having an opposite second bed end that extends into the space adjacent to the first surface.   
     
     
         32 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein for each seat, its associated screen extends continuously from the rear wall to the aisle and adjacent the seat pan. 
     
     
         33 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein for each seat, its associated foot-rest is formed in the screen associated with the seat or the screen associated with the adjacent seat. 
     
     
         34 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein the airplane includes a cabin formed by two opposing side walls and wherein the rear wall associated with a seat is a portion of one of the side walls of the airplane. 
     
     
         35 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein each of the plurality of screens is positioned an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the longitudinal column axis for at least a majority of a length of the screen. 
     
     
         36 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein each of the plurality of seats is at the same fixed angle. 
     
     
         37 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein the space behind the rearward end of each seat is generally triangular shaped. 
     
     
         38 . The seating system of  claim 31 , wherein the plurality of seats is a subset of all seats on the airplane.