IP Library Granted Patent US 8,979,194
Granted Patent B2
US 8,979,194 · App. 13/546,003 · Granted Mar 17, 2015

Passenger seat for a system of seats of an aircraft cabin

Inventors: Gunter Boomgarden (Scharbeutz, DE); Mark Niedostatek (Wenzendorf, DE); Wolfgang Rittner (Ahrensbok, DE); Rüdiger Meckes (Berkenthin, DE)
Assignee: Zodiac Aerotechnics
B64D11/06H01L35/30B64D11/0015B64D2011/0627B64D2011/0637H02N2/18Y02T50/53
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,979,194
App. No.
13/546,003
Granted
Mar 17, 2015
Kind
B2
Abstract

Passenger seat for a system of passenger seats of an aircraft cabin, comprising: a seat body, an energy harvesting system for providing electrical energy, in particular for use in the passenger seat electrical net and/or aircraft electrical net, wherein an energy harvesting device of the energy harvesting system is provided to the seat body, wherein the energy harvesting device is adapted for capturing from the seat body ambient energy.

Claims (47)

1. A system of passenger seats of an aircraft cabin, each passenger seat comprising:

a seat body;

at least one load consuming device; and

an energy harvesting system for providing electrical energy, the energy harvesting system comprising an energy harvesting device provided to the seat body, wherein:

an aircraft electrical net connects a number of passenger seat electrical nets for a predetermined number of passenger seats such that each passenger seat electrical net connects a respective energy harvesting system for the predetermined number of passenger seats;

load wiring connects the aircraft electrical net to each of the at least one load consuming devices for the predetermined number of passenger seats; and

each energy harvesting device for the predetermined number of passenger seats is adapted for capturing ambient energy from the seat body and each energy harvesting system is configured to transfer electrical energy from each energy harvesting device to both (1) at least one of the number of passenger seat electrical nets and (2) the aircraft electrical net.

2. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein the ambient energy is provided by a passenger to the seat body when the passenger is disposed in the seat body.

3. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein the ambient energy is provided to the seat body by a construction of the aircraft cabin to which the seat body is attached.

4. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting device provides electrical energy based on a piezoelectric effect, a thermoelectric effect, or a solarelectric effect.

5. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein the seat body comprises:

a stable seat construction inside the seat body; and

a seat coverage comprising an inside seat cushion and an outside seat cover, wherein:

each energy harvesting device is configured such that the ambient energy is provided by a passenger to the seat coverage when the passenger is disposed in the seat body;

each energy harvesting device is adapted for capturing ambient energy from the stable seat construction when the stable seat construction is mounted near a floor and a sidewall of the aircraft cabin; or

each energy harvesting device is adapted for capturing residual light from the aircraft cabin when the seat body is placed in the aircraft cabin.

6. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein a seat coverage is flexible such that the seat coverage is movable and deformable based on movement of a passenger disposed in the seat body, wherein:

each energy harvesting device comprises a flexible energy harvesting structure incorporated in the seat coverage for capturing kinetic energy when the passenger moves in the seat body; and

each flexible energy harvesting structure is adapted to provide electrical energy based on a piezoelectric effect.

7. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting device comprises an energy harvesting structure and each energy harvesting structure comprises a fabric having a multitude of piezoelectric fibers.

8. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein a piezoelectric fiber is woven into a seat cover or is incorporated in a seat cushion.

9. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein a piezoelectric fiber is provided in a flexible sleeve and the flexible sleeve is layered adjacent to a seat cushion and a seat cover.

10. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein:

a warmable seat coverage is configured to be capable of being warmed up by body heat of a passenger in the seat body;

each energy harvesting device comprises an energy harvesting structure incorporated in the warmable seat coverage for capturing heat energy when the passenger warms up the warmable seat coverage; and

each energy harvesting structure is adapted to provide electrical energy based on a thermo-electric effect.

11. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting device comprises an energy harvesting structure and each energy harvesting structure comprises a plate of Peltier-elements.

12. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting device comprises an energy harvesting structure and each energy harvesting structure comprises a solar cell.

13. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting system further comprises an energy storing device electrically connected to the energy harvesting device such that each energy storing device is assigned individually to the passenger seat and is adapted to provide energy for each of the at least one load consuming devices electrically connected to the passenger seat electrical net and integrated in the passenger seat.

14. The system of passenger seats of claim 13 wherein each energy storing device is a capacitor, a super capacitor, or a rechargeable battery.

15. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting system further comprises an energy storing device electrically connected to the energy harvesting device and each energy storing device is assigned to a number of passenger seats and is adapted to store energy from a number of energy harvesting devices to provide energy for each of the at least one load consuming devices in the aircraft cabin.

16. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein the energy is provided for each of the at least one load consuming devices in form of a WLAN- or other wireless-system in the aircraft cabin.

17. An aircraft cabin comprising the system of passenger seats of claim 1 , wherein the seat bodies are attached to a construction near a floor of the aircraft cabin.

18. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each energy harvesting device provides electrical energy based on a piezoelectric effect, a thermoelectric effect, and a solarelectric effect.

19. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein the seat body comprises:

a stable seat construction inside the seat body; and

a seat coverage comprising an inside seat cushion and an outside seat cover, wherein:

each energy harvesting device is configured such that the ambient energy is provided by a passenger to the seat coverage when the passenger is disposed in the seat body;

each energy harvesting device is adapted for capturing ambient energy from the stable seat construction when the stable seat construction is mounted near a floor and a sidewall of the aircraft cabin; and

each energy harvesting device is adapted for capturing residual light from the aircraft cabin when the seat body is placed in the aircraft cabin.

20. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein the seat body comprises:

a stable seat construction inside the seat body; and

a seat coverage comprising an inside seat cushion and an outside seat cover, wherein

each energy harvesting device is configured such that the ambient energy is provided by (1) body heat of a passenger transferred to the seat coverage and (2) kinetic energy of the passenger transferred to the seat coverage when the passenger is disposed in the seat body.

21. The system of passenger seats of claim 1 wherein each passenger seat electrical net comprises a seat energy storing device and the aircraft electrical net comprises an aircraft energy storing device such that the electrical energy transferred from each energy harvesting device is stored in both the seat energy storing devices and the aircraft energy storing device.

22. The system of passenger seats of claim 21 wherein the electrical energy transferred from the energy harvesting devices is sufficient to charge both the seat energy storing devices and the aircraft energy storing device.

23. The system of passenger seats of claim 21 wherein the electrical energy transferred from the energy harvesting devices is sufficient to charge a battery.

Assignments (7)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE THE PREVIOUS RECORDED ASSIGNMENT PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 68238 FRAME: 929. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Apr 3, 2025
From: SAFRAN AEROTECHNICS
To: SAFRAN AEROSYSTEMS
Reel/Frame 070721/0187 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 9, 2024
From: SAFRAN AEROTECHNICS
To: SAFRAN AEROSYSTEMS
Reel/Frame 068238/0928 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE THE NAME OF RECEIVING PARTY, SAFRAN AEROTECHNICS SAS; PLEASE REMOVE 'SAS' FROM THE NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 055556 FRAME 0867. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SAFRAN AEROTECHNICS. Recorded May 25, 2022
From: ZODIAC AEROTECHNICS
To: SAFRAN AEROTECHNICS
Reel/Frame 060177/0282 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jan 26, 2021
From: ZODIAC AEROTECHNICS
To: SAFRAN AEROTECHNICS SAS
Reel/Frame 055556/0867 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 2, 2014
From: MECKES, RUDIGER
To: INTERTECHNIQUE
Reel/Frame 033665/0702 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Aug 22, 2014
From: INTERTECHNIQUE
To: ZODIAC AEROTECHNICS
Reel/Frame 033593/0266 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 10, 2012
From: BOOMGARDEN, GUNTER; NIEDOSTATEK, MARK; RITTNER, WOLFGANG
To: INTERTECHNIQUE
Reel/Frame 029102/0038 →
Priority Claims (1)
EP 11173449 · Jul 11, 2011 · regional
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 61506206 · Jul 11, 2011
Related Publication 20130020845A1 · Jan 24, 2013