There may be a need, to solve among other things the problems as cited above relevant to conventional aircraft by proposing, in particular, an aircraft in which patients on board the aircraft can receive emergency medical assistance during flight and in which predevised ambulance services can be implemented, wherein a bedded patient care area in which the patient can be transported recumbently is preferably configurable so that no additional space needs to be reserved in the cabin of the aircraft.
This need may be achieved by the subject matter of the independent claim. Advantageous further embodiments of the invention read from the dependent claims.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention an aircraft having a seating arrangement is provided in which a plurality of seats is arranged in-line in the fore and aft direction of the aircraft, each having a seat pan and a backrest. In a first configuration the seats are arranged so that the in-line spacing s between neighboring seats is smaller than the height h of a backrest. In accordance with the invention at least one of the seats of the seating arrangement can be reconfigured into a second configuration in which with the aid of the seat a bedded patient care area may be made available.
Features, properties, advantages and alternative embodiments of the invention will now be detailed.
The plurality of seats is to include two, preferably three seats arranged in-line in the fore and aft direction of the aircraft. As regards the size of the seat pan and of the backrest the seats may feature a similar geometry as the seats used in the economy class of conventional aircraft. The seats preferably have a substantially horizontal seat pan and a backrest near vertical or slightly reclined to the rear from the vertical.
At least in a first configuration the seats are arranged such that a spacing between neighboring seats located in-line in the fore and aft direction is smaller than the height of the backrest of the corresponding seats. In other words, the seats are arranged relatively closely located in-line as is usual in the economy class of passenger aircraft.
In accordance with the invention at least one of the seats can be reconfigured into a second configuration in which the seat is a component of a bedded patient care area. Reconfiguring the at least one seat into a second configuration is achievable by various technical means as detailed below.
Arranging for at least one of the seats of an in-line seating arrangement in accordance with the invention to be reconfigurable from a first configuration into a second configuration to make a bedded patient care area available now does away with the need to reserve space for such a bedded patient care area in the aircraft cabin in advance when the possibility of bedded transportation of patients is to be provided. The seat spacing in the cabin of the aircraft can continue to be fully configured as is usual in the economy class. Should it become necessary in flight to bed a patient flat, the at least one seat can be reconfigured into its second configuration to then serve as a bedded patient care area. If due to reconfiguration of the at least one seat, neighboring seats are not to be occupied as may be the case in the aspects as detailed below, the passengers originally seated there can be relocated to emergency seats as are always provided in an aircraft for the crew or in the cockpit.
In accordance with one embodiment the backrest of the at least one seat can be folded down substantially horizontal for the second configuration. Herein, “substantially flat” may be understood as a position in which the backrest is arranged parallel to the floor of the aircraft cabin, but also as a position in which the backrest is reclined at an angle of up to 20 degrees from the floor of the cabin.
In conventional aircraft, closely neighboring economy class in-line seats can only be tilted slightly out of the vertical with their backrest, permitting, at the most, just a reclined but not a flat bedding position for a patient. Tilting and lowering the backrest further was hitherto not considered necessary nor sensible since this would make the seat behind unusable. The necessity and the benefits associated therewith of being able to reconfigure an economy class seat into a second configuration in which the backrest of a seat can now be further lowered was first recognized by the inventors of the present invention.
With the backrest down the seat reconfigured into the second configuration forms a bedded patient care area in which at least the head, trunk and hips of a patient can be bedded flat as has been proven to be sufficient in many emergency medical situations.
In accordance with another embodiment the backrest of the at least one seat can be folded down to the seat pan of a seat behind. Thus, the backrest of the at least one seat can be supported by the seat pan of the seat behind in the second configuration. Accordingly there may be no need for additional technical stabilizing means such as e.g. supporting legs.
In accordance with yet another embodiment, the at least one seat can be shifted in the fore and aft direction of the aircraft. For example, the at least one seat may be mounted on a track on the cabin floor or on a pallet connected to the cabin floor with guides for shifting the seat in the fore and aft direction thereon on the track. In the first configuration the seat can then be arranged so that all seats of the arrangement can be used conventionally by seated passengers, the spacing between all seats being the same. For the second configuration the seat can be shifted in the fore and aft direction either to the fore to a seat arranged in front or back to a seat as arranged to the rear thereof. It is in this way that further possibilities materialize for configuring the bedded patient care area, particularly in extending its length.
When, for instance, the at least one seat is the last seat in-line and the space behind this seat is normally to be left clear, for example, before a toilet door or before a door in the fuselage, this seat can be reconfigured into a second configuration in an emergency when a person is suddenly taken ill and needs to be transported bedded. For this purpose, for example, the backrest can be folded down horizontally and, where necessary, the seat can be additionally shifted back so that a sufficiently large leg-rest can be folded up in place to the fore of the seat. It is in this way that in an emergency a bedded patient care area can be configured so that the patient can be transported bedded flat.
In accordance with yet another embodiment at least two of the seats of the seat arrangement can be reconfigured into second configurations so that with the aid of at least two seats a bedded patient care area can be made available. In other words, two seats located in-line are reconfigurable so that they can form a component of a bedded patient care area. Since the spacing available for two seats located in-line is greater than that available for a single seat, a bedded patient care area can be created by combining two or more seats to offer enough surface for bedding an adult fully flat.
In accordance with still a further embodiment based on including at least two seats, the space between the two seats can be bridged by the backrest of the fore seat of the two. The seat pan of the aft seat may then support the backrest. As an alternative the aft seat can also be shifted back so that the backrest of the fore seat preferably fills out the spacing between the two seat pans of the two seats in thus achieving a fully flat bedded patient care area by simple ways and means.
In accordance with yet another embodiment based on including two seats, the backrest of the fore seat of the two is removable. The removable backrest of the fore seat can be fitted to its seat pan so that it can be removed easily and fast where possible without the aid of a tool. This permits instant reconfiguration of the seat also during the flight.
In accordance with still another embodiment the at least one seat comprises a folding leg-rest which can be deployed to bridge a gap between two seats. In this way a substantially flat bedded patient care area may be achieved without one of the seats needing to be shifted fore or aft.
In accordance with a further embodiment an additional, special adapter is provided for the seat arrangement in the second configuration to bridge the spacing between the two seats. The adapter may comprise a suitable geometry and size so that it simply fills out the spacing between the seats and, for example, is supported by its own legs. As an alternative the adapter can rest on and be supported by the seat pans of the two seats. In the first configuration, for example, the adapter can be stowed under the seats or under the cabin ceiling or at some other separate location in the aircraft.
In accordance with yet a further embodiment the seat arrangement of the aircraft may further comprise a bedding assembly for placement on the at least one seat or in an alternative aspect on at least two seats such that it provides a substantially flat bedding surface. In other words, not the seat pan(s), nor the backrest(s) nor the leg-rest(s) of the seat(s) themselves form the bedding surface in the bedded patient care area, but instead an additional bedding assembly placed thereon.
The bedding assembly may be flat and cushioned as is an optimum for bedding patients. In addition the bedding assembly can bridge a spacing between two or more seats located in-line for added comfort of the patient.
Furthermore, the bedding assembly may be dimensioned wider than the width of the seat pan of a seat, by, for example, the bedding surface being located above the arm-rests of the seat in making use of the space available for the arm-rests.
In accordance with yet a further embodiment the at least one seat features fixation means for safely locating a patient in the bedded patient care area. These fixation means may be provided in the form of straps adjustable in length. Preferably on the at least one seat several straps are provided spaced apart in the fore and aft direction to safely locate the patient in the bedded patient care area also during take-off and landing of the aircraft.
It is to be noted that the features as described by the individual embodiments of the present invention may be provided for singly or in any combination thereof.
The embodiments, features and benefits of the present invention as described above and further included will now be detailed in the description of specific embodiments with reference to the attached drawings:
It is to be noted that in the figures like features are identified by like reference numerals, in the various embodiments being distinguished solely by the first numeral.