DE102012100382B4 - Seat rail, its manufacturing process and preserved floor - Google Patents

Abstract

Seat rail (200) comprising the following components:- a horizontal upper part, called head (210), provided on its longitudinal plane of symmetry with a groove (211) preformed as a rack, which receives the fastening modules of the seats,- a vertical flat intermediate part, called core (220), which connects in the upper projection (221) to the lower face (212) of the head (210),- a lower part which connects in the lower projection (222) of the core (220) and comprises a plurality of base plates (230 and 240) having functional support surfaces on both sides of the vertical plane formed by the core (220) at two heights, the base plates mounted at an intermediate height being called upper base plates (230) and the base plates mounted below being called lower base plates (240),wherein the head (210), the core (220) and the lower part made of titanium, wherein the upper and lower base plates (230 and 240) located on a same side of the vertical plane of symmetry defined by the core (220) are connected to each other by means of an additional connecting profile (250), wherein the lower projection (222) of the core (220) is made to follow the part formed by the connection between the base plates (230 and 240) and the connecting profile (250), wherein the base plates (230 and 240) and the connecting profile (250) located on both sides of the vertical plane defined by the core (220) are made of a same curved flat profile and wherein the base plates (230 and 240), the connecting profile (250), the core (220) and the head (210) are connected by laser welding, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the seat rail (200) is connected in extension to linear elements such as false rails (300), the end of the false rail (300) welded to the end of the seat rail (200) having a projection (310) of a dimension extending into the hollowed volume formed by the groove (211) to increase the contact surfaces as well as the surfaces that can be welded between them.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of aeronautical engineering and, more particularly, to adaptations which make it possible to manufacture, under the best conditions, the seat rails which form the floors of aircraft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE ART

Seat rails are linear elements designed to support, hold and keep the seats in position in an aircraft. These rails work with a variety of other elements to form the floor of an aircraft. These rails therefore have functional surfaces associated with the seating of the seats, as well as functional surfaces that allow their integration into the floor.

• - einen horizontalen oberen Teil, genannt Kopf, ausgestattet auf seiner Längs-Symmetrieebene mit einer Rille, vorgeformt als Zahnstange, die die Befestigungsmodule der Sitze aufnimmt,
• - einen vertikalen flachen Zwischenteil, genannt Kern, der sich im oberen Vorsprung mit der unteren Seite des oberen Teils, der den Kopf bildet, verbindet,
• - einen unteren Teil, der sich mit dem unteren Vorsprung des Kerns verbindet und eine Vielzahl von Bodenplatten umfasst, die funktionelle Stützflächen auf zwei verschiedenen Höhen aufweisen, wobei die Bodenplatten, die auf einer Zwischenhöhe angebracht sind, obere Bodenplatten genannt werden, und wobei die Bodenplatten, die darunter angebracht sind, untere Bodenplatten genannt werden.

These rails typically include:

• - a horizontal upper part, called head, equipped on its longitudinal plane of symmetry with a groove, preformed as a rack, which houses the seat fixing modules,
• - a vertical flat intermediate part, called the core, which connects in the upper projection with the lower side of the upper part forming the head,
• - a lower part connecting to the lower projection of the core and comprising a plurality of floor panels having functional support surfaces at two different heights, the floor panels mounted at an intermediate height being called upper floor panels and the floor panels mounted below being called lower floor panels.

These rails are traditionally manufactured by extrusion and then by machining.

However, such a manufacturing process has the disadvantage of the loss of a significant part of the material and a particularly long duration.

This problem of material loss is all the more significant as the material used, such as titanium, is particularly expensive.

From the US 2008 / 0 149 804 A1 a seat rail is known which has a horizontal upper part, a fastening profile, two cores connected to the lower side of the upper part, a lower part connected to a lower projection of the core and upper and lower base plates. It is provided that the horizontal upper part, the cores and the lower part are made of titanium and that the upper and lower base plates are connected to each other by means of an additional connecting profile. Furthermore, the base plates and the connecting profile, arranged on both sides of the vertical plane defined by the core, are made of a same curved flat profile. Another seat rail, comprising a horizontal upper part, a fastening profile, cores connected to the lower side of the upper part, a lower part connected to a lower projection of the core and upper and lower base plates is derived from the US 2009 / 0 282 655 A1 From the EN 10 2004 026 228 A1 a seat rail for an aircraft passenger seat is known, which has a first region made of a titanium material and a second region made of an aluminum material, wherein the first region and the second region are connected to one another in a material-locking manner. Furthermore, US 2005 / 0 133 666 A1 a seat rail for fastening seats in commercial aircraft, consisting of an upper profile element for fastening the seats and a lower support element connected to the latter, wherein the profile element consists of a titanium alloy, while the support element consists of an aluminium alloy, and wherein the two elements are connected to one another by a thermal joining process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In view of this fact, the applicant has carried out studies aimed at simplifying the manufacture of the seat rails and their integration into the floors. The objects of the invention are in particular to reduce the mass, limit the loss of material, reduce the manufacturing time and reduce the cost of production.

A further object of the invention is to be able to produce a complete seat rail made of titanium without the disadvantages of the prior art.

Finally, a further object of the invention is to optimize the integration of the seat rail of the invention into the interior of a floor.

These objects are solved by the features of main claim 1 and dependent claims 3 and 4.

Advantageous further training is the subject of the dependent claims.

• - einen horizontalen oberen Teil, genannt Kopf, ausgestattet auf seiner Längssymmetrieebene mit einer Rille, vorgeformt als Zahnstange, die die Befestigungsmodule der Sitze aufnimmt,
• - einen vertikalen flachen Zwischenteil, genannt Kern, der sich im oberen Vorsprung mit der unteren Seite des oberen Teils verbindet,
• - einen unteren Teil, der sich mit dem unteren Vorsprung des Kerns verbindet und eine Vielzahl von Bodenplatten umfasst, die funktionelle Stützflächen auf beiden Seiten der vertikalen Ebene aufweisen, gebildet vom Kern auf zwei verschiedenen Höhen, wobei die Bodenplatten, die auf einer Zwischenhöhe angebracht sind, obere Bodenplatten genannt werden, und wobei die Bodenplatten, die darunter angebracht sind, untere Bodenplatten genannt werden.

The investigations carried out by the applicant have led to the design of a particularly novel seat rail comprising the following components:

• - a horizontal upper part, called head, equipped on its longitudinal plane of symmetry with a groove, preformed as a rack, which accommodates the fastening modules of the seats,
• - a vertical flat intermediate part, called core, which connects to the lower side of the upper part in the upper projection,
• - a lower part connecting to the lower projection of the core and comprising a plurality of floor panels having functional support surfaces on both sides of the vertical plane formed by the core at two different heights, the floor panels arranged at an intermediate height being called upper floor panels and the floor panels arranged below being called lower floor panels.

The seat rail according to the invention is remarkable in that the upper and lower base plates, arranged on a same side of the vertical plane of symmetry defined by the core, are connected to each other by means of an additional profile, called connecting profile.

Here, the lower projection of the core is made to follow the part formed by the connection between the base plates and the connecting profile, whereby the base plates, the connecting profile, the core and the head are joined together by welding.

The seat rail according to the invention is light and easy to manufacture.

• - Verbindung mit Hilfe eines zusätzlichen Profils, genannt Verbindungsprofil, der oberen und unteren Bodenplatten, die auf einer gleichen Seite der vertikalen Symmetrieebene angeordnet sind, die durch den Kern definiert wird,
• - Vorformung des unteren Teils des Kerns, um dem Teil, der durch die Verbindung zwischen den Bodenplatten und dem gebogenen Verbindungsprofil gebildet ist, zu folgen,
• - und Zusammenfügung der Bodenplatten, des Profils, des Kerns und des Kopfes durch Schweißung.

In fact, the additional connection profile allows an original connection between the upper and lower floor panels, creating rigidity and better absorption of the forces acting on the seat rail, through:

• - connection by means of an additional profile, called connection profile, of the upper and lower floor panels, which are arranged on the same side of the vertical plane of symmetry defined by the core,
• - Pre-forming the lower part of the core to follow the part formed by the connection between the floor panels and the curved connection profile,
• - and joining the base plates, the profile, the core and the head by welding.

This rigidity and better absorption of forces make it possible to propose a solution of manufacturing by welding. The thicknesses of the various elements that make up the seat rail can thus be reduced, allowing the desired gain in mass. In fact, the machining used until now required greater minimum thicknesses than those required for welding.

One of the embodiments envisaged is that the connecting profile and the bottom plates consist of independent elements, fixed to each other and to the core by welding. Another of the embodiments envisaged, which is part of the desired simplification, consists in making the bottom plates and the connecting profile by bending a single and identical flat profile. The lower part of the core is preformed to follow the angles formed by the curved surfaces.

The choice of a welding process also has the advantage of avoiding machining operations or at least operations that require the removal of a large volume of material on the lower part of the seat rail, thus making it possible to save on them.

According to the embodiment now considered, the pre-formation of the head as a rack is still carried out by machining.

Another particularly advantageous feature lies in the choice of material. Thus, according to the invention, the head, the core and the lower part are made of titanium. This choice of material is adapted to the choice of the embodiment, which avoids as much as possible the operations of removing material and makes it possible to save not only on the duration of the operations but also on the required mass of material used. This choice improves the corrosion resistance of this element.

The resulting seat rail is particularly novel as it has a structure entirely welded from titanium.

According to another particularly advantageous feature of the invention, the welding is carried out by laser. This choice of welding has the advantages of better control of the operating process, less heating of the workpiece and the need for metal input is avoided.

This choice of laser welding has led the applicant to preform the various subassemblies that make up the seat rail in order to facilitate the laser welding operations. For example, the lower surface of the head is preformed on its plane of symmetry with a groove that accommodates the upper part of the core, the depth of the groove allowing a weld to be made on the upper part of the head. The use of laser transparency welding thus facilitates the manufacture of the seat rail.

Another characteristic that facilitates the realization of the seat rail lies in the fact that, according to another manufacturing choice, the base plates and the connecting profile positioned on both sides of the vertical plane defined by the core (and not only those positioned on one side of the plane) are made on a same curved flat profile. A single and identical piece thus performs the functions of the base plates and the connecting profile of the two sides of the seat rail of the invention.

The seat rail according to the invention can combine all or only some of the properties described above. A seat rail made of titanium which is welded according to the invention nevertheless fulfils all the objects of the invention.

The invention also relates to the floor of the aircraft interior in which the seat rail of the invention is integrated, which according to the invention is mounted in the extension of other linear elements such as false rails. This floor is particularly noteworthy because the end of the false rail has a projection of an adapted dimension that extends into the hollowed volume formed by the groove made in the rail, in order to fill this hollowed volume and create surfaces that can be welded in addition to those already present due to the connection between the profiles.

• - Extrusion des Kopfes,
• - Schnitt des Kerns,
• - Verbindung der Bodenplatten mit Hilfe eines zusätzlichen Verbindungsprofils, und

The invention also relates to the method for producing the titanium seat rail according to the invention, which consists in:

• - Extrusion of the head,
• - Cutting the core,
• - Connection of the floor panels using an additional connection profile, and

Joining the different elements together by laser welding.

Another method involves making the base plates and the connecting profile by bending a single and identical flat profile.

The head is then machined. Other functional surfaces may be subject to material removal for grinding after the welding has been carried out.

The fundamental concepts of the invention, set out above in their most elementary form, other details and characteristics will become clearer on reading the following description and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an embodiment of a seat rail according to the invention is given as a non-limiting example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• 1 is a schematic drawing of a perspective view of a drawing of an embodiment of a floor integrating the seat rails according to the invention,
• 2 is a schematic drawing of a perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of a seat rail according to the invention.
• 3 is a schematic drawing of a portion of a seat rail according to the invention;
• 4 is a schematic drawing of a portion of another embodiment of a connection between the floor panels and the lower part of the core;
• 5 is a schematic drawing of a portion of another embodiment of a connection between the floor panels and the lower part of the core;
• 6 is a schematic drawing of a top view of the joint according to the invention between one end of the seat rail and one end of the false rail.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As in the drawing by 1 As illustrated, the floor of the aircraft with the reference P consists entirely of crossbeams 100 which support in particular seat rails 200 according to the invention, extended or not by false rails 300.

The seat rails according to the invention are thus elements ranging from fifty (50) centimeters to several meters, only a representative section being shown by the drawing of 2 is illustrated.

• - einen horizontalen oberen Teil, genannt Kopf 210, ausgestattet auf seiner Längssymmetrieebene mit einer Rille 211, vorgeformt als Zahnstange, die die Befestigungsmodule der Sitze (nicht veranschaulicht) aufnimmt,
• - einen vertikalen flachen Zwischenteil, genannt Kern 220, der sich im oberen Vorsprung 221 mit der unteren Seite 212 des Kopfes 210 verbindet,
• - einen unteren Teil, der sich im unteren Vorsprung 222 des Kerns 220 verbindet und eine Vielzahl von Bodenplatten 230 und 240 umfasst, die funktionelle Stützflächen auf beiden Seiten der vertikalen Ebene, gebildet vom Kern 220, auf zwei verschiedenen Höhen aufweisen, wobei die Bodenplatten, die auf der Zwischenhöhe angebracht sind, obere Bodenplatten 230 genannt werden, und wobei die Bodenplatten, die darunter angebracht sind, untere Bodenplatten 240 genannt werden.

As in this 2 As illustrated, the seat rail 200 comprises the following classic components, namely:

• - a horizontal upper part, called head 210, equipped on its longitudinal plane of symmetry with a groove 211 preformed as a rack, which accommodates the fixing modules of the seats (not illustrated),
• - a vertical flat intermediate part, called core 220, which connects in the upper projection 221 to the lower side 212 of the head 210,
• - a lower part which joins the lower projection 222 of the core 220 and comprises a plurality of floor panels 230 and 240 having functional support surfaces on both sides of the vertical plane formed by the core 220, at two different heights, the floor panels mounted at the intermediate height being called upper floor panels 230 and the floor panels mounted below being called lower floor panels 240.

According to the invention, the upper floor panels 230 and the lower floor panels 240 are connected to each other on a same side of the vertical plane of symmetry defined by the core 220 by means of an additional connecting profile 250.

As illustrated, the lower projection 222 of the core is preformed to follow the contour formed by the bottom plates 230, 240 and the connecting profile 250. Thus, the lower projection 222 of the core 220 follows in particular the angle formed between the connecting profile and the bottom plates. The formation of the core is carried out by preforming, cutting or machining according to a preferred but non-limiting embodiment.

According to the illustrated preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the bottom plates 230 and 240 and the connecting profile 250 are made by bending an identical flat profile. In order to take into account the symmetry of the seat rail 200, an identical flat profile is welded on both sides of the lower part of the core, as shown in the drawings of 2 and 5 As shown in the drawings by 3 and 4 , it is nevertheless also envisaged that the bottom plates and the connecting profiles, which are arranged on both sides of the plane of symmetry formed by the core 220, are carried out by a single and identical curved flat profile 260. According to the embodiment illustrated by the 4 As illustrated, this flat profile 260 may also be preformed with a groove 261 on its upper surface to facilitate laser welding to the lower projection 222, cut in a suitable manner.

According to the embodiment illustrated, the presence of the connecting profile 250 prevents the ends of the floor panels 230 and 240 from being superimposed, thus allowing a non-negligible gain in material and therefore in mass. According to a preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the connecting profile 250 forms an angle of substantially eight (8) degrees with the latter.

This choice of welding has led the Applicant to consider optimizing the connection between the head 210 and the upper part of the core. Thus, as shown in the drawings of 2 and 3 illustrates the lower face 212 of the head 210, at the level of the downward projection formed by the groove 211, preformed on its plane of symmetry with a groove 213 receiving the upper projection 221 of the core 220, the depth of the groove 213 allowing a weld to be made on the upper part of the head 210 by transparency, by orienting the laser beam according to the arrow F1 and thus facilitating the passage of the seat rail 200.

6 illustrates an embodiment devised by the Applicant to demonstrate the properties of the connection shown in the drawing of 1 illustrated several times, between the profile of the seat rails 200 preformed with a groove 211 to accommodate a rack and that of the false rails 300 which do not have this function.

The floor P according to the invention is thus notable in that the end of the false rail 300 welded to the end of the seat rail has a projection 310 of an adapted dimension that extends in the axis of the racks into the hollowed volume formed by the groove 211, in order to increase the contact surfaces as well as the surfaces that can be welded between them, as indicated with short broken lines. Still for the same function, according to a preferred embodiment, the end of the groove that receives the projection 311 is not preformed with the recesses of the rack.

These arrangements allow for better welding.

List of reference symbols:

100

Crossbeam

200

Seat rail

210

Head

211

groove

212

lower side of the head

213

Groove

220

core

221

upper projection

222

lower projection

230

upper floor panels

240

lower floor panels

250

Connection profile

260

flat profile

261

Groove

300

wrong rail

310

projection

311

projection

F1

Arrow

P

floor

Claims (5)

Seat rail (200) comprising: - a horizontal upper part, called head (210), provided on its longitudinal plane of symmetry with a groove (211) preformed as a rack, which receives the fastening modules of the seats, - a vertical flat intermediate part, called core (220), which connects in the upper projection (221) to the lower face (212) of the head (210), - a lower part which connects in the lower projection (222) of the core (220) and comprises a plurality of base plates (230 and 240) having functional support surfaces on both sides of the vertical plane formed by the core (220) at two heights, the base plates arranged at an intermediate height being called upper base plates (230) and the base plates arranged below being called lower base plates (240), the head (210), the core (220) and the lower part being made of Titanium, the upper and lower bottom plates (230 and 240) arranged on a same side of the vertical plane of symmetry defined by the core (220) being connected to each other by means of an additional connecting profile (250), the lower projection (222) of the core (220) being made to follow the part formed by the connection between the bottom plates (230 and 240) and the connecting profile (250), the bottom plates (230 and 240) and the connecting profile (250) arranged on both sides of the vertical plane defined by the core (220) being made of a same curved flat profile and the bottom plates (230 and 240), the connecting profile (250), the core (220) and the head (210) being connected by laser welding, CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the seat rail (200) is in extension with linear elements such as false rails (300), the end of the false rail (300) welded to the end of the seat rail (200) having a projection (310) of a dimension extending into the hollowed volume formed by the groove (211) to increase the contact surfaces as well as the surfaces that can be welded between them. Seat rail (200) after Claim 1 , CHARACTERIZED IN THAT the lower face (212) of the head (210) is preformed on its plane of symmetry with a groove (213) which receives the upper projection (221) of the core (220), the depth of the groove (213) allowing a weld to be carried out on the upper part of the head (210). Floor (P) having a seat rail (200) according to Claim 1 records. Method for producing a seat rail (200) according to Claim 1 , CHARACTERIZED IN THAT it comprises: - extrusion of the head (210), - cutting of the core (220), - joining of the base plates (230 and 240) by means of an additional joining profile (250), and assembly of the various elements by laser welding. Process for the preparation of Claim 4 , CHARACTERIZED IN THAT it comprises the manufacture of base plates (230 and 240) and the connecting profile (250) by bending a single and identical flat profile (260).

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