The present invention relates to a portable table and in particular to a portable table suitable for aircraft.
Tables for aircraft are generally in the form of a folding table. In the case of an economy section of an aircraft, the tables usually fold down from a back of a seat and are used by a person sitting in a seat behind. Tables in business or first class sections of an aircraft usually fold away in the arm rest of the seat.
With the advent of larger passenger aircraft some flight services also offer passengers an option of a reclining seating that can transform into a bed or even a permanent bed separate from a seat.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a portable table that may, for example, be capable of being used on or interchanged between reclining seats, non-reclining seats or even a permanent bed.
According to the present invention there is provided a portable table suitable for an aircraft, the portable table including:
The object may be any object to which the table can be attached and that can act as a support for the table, including but not limited to a hospital bed or a wheel chair.
However, the object of particular interest to the applicant is aircraft fittings and furniture such as aircraft beds, reclining seats or non-reclining seats.
One end of the stand assembly may be pivotally connected to the table top to allow the table-top to pivot between the erected orientation and the collapsed orientation.
The pivot connection may allow the table-top to be separated from the stand assembly.
However, the pivot connection may also be a hinge mechanism that retains the table-top and the stand assembly interconnected during movement of the table-top between the collapsed and the erected orientations.
The hinge mechanism may be pivotally connected to an underside of the table-top.
Although the table-top may have any shape, suitably the table top is a square or rectangular shape.
The table may include a stop member that, when in an operative position, bears against and prevents the table-top from moving into the collapsed orientation when the table-top is erected, and when in an inoperative position allows the table-top to move into the collapsed orientation.
The stop member may be in the form of a retractable arm that can be moved between the operative position in which the arm bears against the underside of the table-top and the inoperative position in which the table-top can be moved into the collapsed position. Suitably, the arm is pivotally mounted to the stand assembly and can be pivoted between the operative position and the inoperative position.
The table may include a locking mechanism that can lock the stop member arm in the operative position and thereby prevent the table-top from inadvertently collapsing while in use. In other words, if a passenger moving about the cabin inadvertently knocks the table-top, the stop member will secure the table-top in position preventing the table-top from collapsing.
The locking mechanism may be any suitable mechanism that can secure the stop member in the operative position and may, for example, be in the form of pins, bolts, co-operating magnetised portions or co-operating inter-fitting male and female formations on the table-top and the stop member.
The locking mechanism may include a flange protruding from the underside of the table-top and the stop member may be coupled to the flange by the locking mechanism to secure the stop member in the operative position and to prevent the table-top from pivoting into the collapsed position.
The table may include a swivel mechanism that allows the table-top to pivot or rotate about an axis substantially lateral to a plane of the table-top when in the erected orientation.
The swivel mechanism may be built into the table-top itself, or alternatively, may form part of the stand assembly including the releasable connector for mounting the table to the object.
The stand assembly may include two sections which, when the table is viewed in the erected orientation, are upper and lower sections, and the sections are interconnected by the swivel mechanism.
The swivel mechanism may be of any form but is suitably in the form of co-operating male and female formations that allow free rotation relative to each other.
The female formation may be in the form a cavity having a large diameter and a shoulder that defines a narrow opening to the cavity. The male formation may have a head located in the cavity and a neck located in the narrow opening and extending between the upper and lower formations. The female and the male formations may form part of either one of the upper and lower sections of the stand assembly.
The upper and lower sections of the stand assembly may have a narrow waist section at the swivel mechanism.
The upper section may have shoulders that can abut against and extend in a direction across the width of the table-top when erected.
The releaseable connector is suitably capable of releasably engaging, coupling or locking the stand assembly to the object. For example, the stand assembly may be locked to the object by means of pins, bolts or other members that are received by openings. The openings that receive the pins, bolt or other members may form part of the object or alternatively, may form part of the stand assembly.
However, preferably the releaseable connector is in the form of a clamping device having a fixed engagement surface and an adjustable engagement surface that can each bear against the object and frictionally secure the stand assembly to the object.
Suitably, the fixed engagement surface and the adjustable engagement surface are oppositely disposed and can engage opposite sides of the object, and the adjustable engagement surface is mounted to the stand assembly by way of a screw threaded rod that enables the spacing between the adjustment engagement surface and the fixed engagement surface to be adjusted. In other words, the portable table can be mounted to the object by manoeuvring the adjustable engagement surface into engagement with the object and removing the table from the object by releasing the adjustable engagement surface.
In use, it is preferred that the table be mounted to the object with the fixed and the adjustable engagement surfaces extending longitudinally on the object.
The releasable connector may be in the form of an invert U-shape that can straddle the object to which the portable table is mounted and the adjustable engagement surface may be screw threadably mounted to one of the legs of the U-shape and the fixed engagement may be provided by the other leg of the U-shape.
The inverted U-shape may be located at the foot of the lower section.
According to the present invention there is also provided a combination including:
The combination of the aircraft lounge and the portable table of the present invention may also include any one or a combination of the features of the portable table described in paragraphs above.
Preferably the aircraft lounge comprises a reclining seating that can transform into a bed or a bed that is separate from a seat.
An embodiment of the present invention is now described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures, of which:
The present invention will now be described with reference to a portable table that can be releasably mounted to aircraft seats including conventional upright seats that recline to a small extent, seats that can recline into a substantially horizontal bed, and dedicated beds. However, it will be appreciated that the portable table of the present invention can be used in a variety of applications and can be mounted to seats or beds of various vehicles including ships, buses and trains or in applications other than vehicles such as hospital beds and wheel chairs.
With references to the figures, the portable table comprises a table-top 10, and a stand assembly 11 to which the table-top 10 is pivotally connected. The table-top 10 is pivotal about an axis at the top of the stand assembly that allows the table-top to move from an erect orientation, as shown in side view in
The stand assembly 11 is specifically adapted to enable the portable table to be releasably mounted to objects 25 such as railings on the side of aircraft seating or beds thereby enabling cabin crew to mount the portable to a passenger's chair or bed depending upon the passenger's requirements. When the portable table is not required, the cabin crew can dismount the portable table from the chair or bed, fold the portable table into a collapsed orientation as shown in
As can be seen in
The stand assembly 11, when viewed in an upright position as shown in
In addition, a stop member, in the form of an arm 16 for securing the table-top 10 in the erected orientation is pivotally mounted to the upper section of the stand assembly 12. The arm 16 is pivotable in the directions of arrows B between an operative position as shown in
Although not shown in detail in the Figures, the flange 18 and the arm 16 include locking mechanisms such as cooperating magnetised portions or inter-coupling male and female formations which when the arm 16 is pivoted in the direction of arrows B secures the arm in the operative position as shown in
The upper and lower sections 12 and 13 of the stand assembly 11 are interconnected at a junction identified by circle Z in
The lower section 13 of the stand assembly 13 is a body having a foot formation 24 in the form of an inverted U-shape that straddles an object such as railings 25, specifically mounted to the outside of an aircraft bed, the outside frame of the aircraft bed or a member extending on the outside of an aircraft chair. The inverted U-shape straddles the railing 25 and is releasably mounted to the railing 25 by way of a clamping device having an adjustable engagement surface 26. One side of the U-shaped provides a fixed engagement surface 27 and the other side of the U-shape comprises a threaded opening which receives a threaded rod 28 connected to the adjustable engagement surface 26. As can be seen in
In use, the adjustment knob 29 can be rotated to tighten and loosen contact between the fixed and adjustable engagement surfaces 26 and 27 on the railings 25 of a bed or seat as desired. It is also evident from the figures generally that the portable table is interchangeable in the sense that the table can be used with any orientation of aircraft seating. Hence, it is only necessary for one form of the table to be manufactured and carried on an aircraft and the use of the table is simplified. With regard to the latter point, cabin crew will not have to select the correct table from a range of tables.
As can be seen in
Those skilled in the art of the present invention will appreciate that many modifications and variations may be made to the preferred embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/SG2008/000309 | 8/22/2008 | WO | 00 | 5/9/2011 |