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Vehicle seats and components thereofVehicle seats and components thereof description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070200414, Vehicle seats and components thereof. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATION [0001] This application is based on and hereby refers to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/776,968, filed Feb. 27, 2006, having the same title as appears above, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to seats and components thereof, including but not limited to tray tables, beverage holders, arm rests, and hand rails, and more particularly (although not exclusively) to aircraft passenger seats with improved characteristics for, among other things, enhanced comfort and convenience. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,421 to Brennan, et al. are existing aircraft seats with various conventional components. Illustrated, for example, in FIG. 7 of the Brennan patent is a typical tray table adapted to deploy from the rear face of the seat in front of the user. Such table may assume either of two positions: (1) a horizontal position parallel to the deck on which the seats are mounted (when the table is in use) and (2) a vertical position substantially perpendicular to the deck for when the table is stowed. No beverage holder or hand rail appears as part of any seat depicted in the Brennan patent, and the arm rests either are fixed in position or pivot solely upward from their nominal positions of FIG. 1 of the patent. [0004] Described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,593 to Lambiaso is an alternative aircraft seat in which a tray table is stowed in a cavity within an arm rest. Again, however, the table is adapted for placement only horizontally (for use) or vertically (for stowage). Further, although a cover of the arm rest may pivot to allow access to the cavity, the position of the remainder of the arm is fixed relative to the seating deck. No beverage holder is detailed in the Lambiaso patent, nor does any reference to a hand rail appear. [0005] Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,994 to Bentley, et al., finally, also discloses improved seats useful by passengers of vehicles. Unlike conventional tray tables, those associated with these seats are designed to be adjusted upward and downward when in a horizontal position for use. Additionally, an upper section of these tables, which normally rests atop a horizontally-deployed base, may pivot between horizontal and vertical positions and thereby function "as a non-horizontal rest for books, magazines, computers, or other objects." Like the Brennan and Lambiaso patents, the Bentley patent does not illustrate any beverage holder or hand rail, and the arm rests depicted in the patent preferably do not move independently of the seat frame (although their covers may pivot to allow access to tray tables stored within). Nevertheless, the contents of the Brennan, Lambiaso, and Bentley patents are incorporated herein in their entireties by this reference. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention, by contrast, incorporates a beverage container and a hand rail into a passenger seat. It additionally may include arm rests adapted to move downward from a nominal position, either to be essentially flush with a seat bottom or to be positioned between the seat bottom and the deck on which the seat is mounted. Portions of a tray table, further, may tilt as desired, as may the in-flight entertainment (IFE) equipment, with one or more reading lights installed as part of the tilt mechanism for the IFE equipment (or in an extendable portion of a seat back) designed to project downward onto the table. By so positioning the reading lights, adverse effects of their illumination on the picture provided by a seat-back video monitor may be reduced or eliminated. [0007] The beverage holder of the invention may support not only cups, cans, bottles, or other beverage containers, but also at least some other objects or containers. A preferred holder is designed to fit into a recess in the underside of the tray table so that it is accessible when the table is in its (generally vertical) stowed position. Included in the holder may be a collar to which both a gimbal and a support bar are attached, with the collar pivoting outward from the recess toward the passenger for use. Utilizing the gimbal permits the beverage or other object to be maintained substantially upright regardless of the position of the associated seat back, with the support bar supporting the object at its bottom. [0008] Hand rails of the present invention advantageously may be placed on some or all seats adjoining an aisle of the vehicle deck on which they are located. These rails typically will be located in upper portions of seat backs so that they may readily be grasped by passengers traversing the aisles of the vehicle. Preferred versions of the rails are offset in the seat back so as to be closer to the aisle, facilitating their being grasped by traversing passengers both regardless of the recline of the seat back and during periods of turbulence (if installed in aircraft or, perhaps, watercraft) when the seat and aisle are moving vertically relative to the ground. [0009] Whereas existing pivoting arm rests typically consist of single-piece arms pivoting about single points, those of the present invention may include multiple pieces with either multiple pivot points or able both to translate and pivot. Consequently, greater flexibility of movement exists in arm rests of the invention. In particular, in one version of the arm rests with multiple pivot points, the rests may be repositioned more or less horizontally--essentially flush with seat bottoms, while in a dual translating/pivoting and other versions, the rests may be repositioned more or less vertically, between forward portions of seat bottoms and the vehicle deck. [0010] Tray tables of the invention may include a hinged section so as to provide support for books or other objects positioned other than substantially horizontally to the deck. The hinged section preferably is the center portion of the table, although those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other portions may be hinged as well or instead. This arrangement avoids any need for the separate upper sections and bases disclosed in the Bentley patent. A pull-out handle or other device incorporating a reading light may be positioned in the IFE equipment or seat back above the table but below any video monitor of the IFE present in the seat back. By pulling the handle and activating the light, a passenger may cause light to be projected downward onto the table without disrupting the quality of the video presentation from the monitor. [0011] It thus is an optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats, and components of seats, for vehicles (including, but not limited to, passenger aircraft). [0012] It also is an optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats into which holders for beverage containers (or other objects) are incorporated. [0013] It additionally is an optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats having hand rails, particularly (although not exclusively) when the seats are installed in vehicles subject to significant rapid vertical movement relative to the ground (or sea). [0014] It is, furthermore, an optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats in which arm rests are adapted to move down, rather than up, from a nominal use position. [0015] It is another optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats in which arm rests include multiple pieces adapted either to pivot about multiple points or both to pivot and translate. [0016] It is, moreover, an optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats having tiltable sections of tray tables for supporting objects other than by simply providing a horizontal base. [0017] It is yet another optional, non-exclusive object of the present invention to provide seats having lighting assemblies adapted to project light onto the tray tables without adversely impacting quality of video pictures provided by video monitors installed in the seats. [0018] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art with reference to the remaining text and the drawings of this application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019] FIGS. 1-3 illustrate aspects of a beverage holder consistent with the present invention. Continue reading about Vehicle seats and components thereof... Full patent description for Vehicle seats and components thereof Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Vehicle seats and components thereof patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Vehicle seats and components thereof or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Head restraint adjustment and trim closeout apparatus and method Next Patent Application: Seating unit with adjustable components Industry Class: Chairs and seats ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Vehicle seats and components thereof patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.11642 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Accenture , Agouron Pharmaceuticals , Amgen , AT&T , Bausch & Lomb , Callaway Golf 174 |
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