US 12,291,136 B2
Hands-free release system for a passenger seat
Kristyan Khalil Escobar, Chihuahua (MX); Nicolas Chauland, Plaisir (FR); and Mark Anil Mathew, Issoudun (FR)
Assigned to Safran Seats USA LLC, Gainesville, TX (US)
Appl. No. 17/925,655
Filed by Safran Seats USA LLC, Gainesville, TX (US)
PCT Filed Aug. 11, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/045743
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 16, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/236137, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 25, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/026,598, filed on May 18, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0219477 A1, Jul. 13, 2023
Int. Cl. B60N 2/90 (2018.01); B60N 3/00 (2006.01)
CPC B60N 2/919 (2018.02) [B60N 3/002 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A passenger seat comprising:
a tray table moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position; and
a hands-free release system comprising at least one actuator coupled to at least one portion of the tray table,
wherein the at least one actuator is activable without direct contact with a passenger's hand to change a lock state of the tray table;
a pedal coupled to the at least one actuator, the pedal being pressable without direct contact with the passenger's hand to activate the at least one actuator to change the lock state of the tray table and being positioned entirely underneath a seat bottom of the passenger seat; and
a lock that maintains the stowed position of the tray table in a locked state, wherein the lock is coupled to the at least one actuator, is engaged with the tray table in the locked state, is disengaged from the tray table in an unlocked state, and is rotatable to disengage from the tray table in the unlocked state via activation of the at least one actuator; and
wherein the unlocked state of the tray table permits movement of the tray table between the stowed position and the deployed position.