Patents by Inventor Mark B. Dowty

Mark B. Dowty has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11708163
    Abstract: A static aircraft seat privacy panel may include a body. At least a portion of a surface of the body may be shaped to at least partially conform with at least a portion of an aircraft seat. A lower edge of the body may be configured to couple to a floor via a set of floor-mounted components. The set of floor-mounted components may be within the floor separate from a set of seat tracks of an aircraft seat compliant with 16G force requirements for aviation transport. An upper edge of the body may be configured to be offset a selected distance from a surface of one or more overhead structures of the aircraft cabin when the body is coupled to one or more structures positioned proximate to a ceiling of the aircraft cabin. The static aircraft seat privacy panel may be compliant with 9G force requirements for aviation transport.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Glenn A. Johnson, Mark B. Dowty, Jefferey M. McKee, Tracy Pence, Michael M. Princip
  • Publication number: 20230227164
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides an aircraft passenger seat installable in an aircraft cabin at an angle relative to an aircraft longitudinal axis. The passenger seat includes movable or shape changing seat elements for temporarily re-indexing the passenger orientation according to at least one predetermined flight condition such that the seat assembly meets predefined regulatory certification criteria in at least one of the predetermined flight conditions. The present disclosure further provides a method for effecting a temporary change in position of a seated passenger relative to the aircraft longitudinal axis (i.e., direction of flight) according to at least one predetermined flight condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2022
    Publication date: July 20, 2023
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Tracy N. Pence, Alen WYSS
  • Patent number: 11613358
    Abstract: An aircraft interior structure may include a social area section including a surface. The social area section may be accessible from a floor area of an aircraft cabin. The aircraft interior structure may include a passenger seating section proximate to an aircraft seat. The passenger seating section may include a footwell. The aircraft interior structure may include a partition separating the passenger seating section and a first portion of the social area section. The footwell of the passenger seating section may be positioned underneath at least one of the partition or the surface of the social area section in a second portion of the social area section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Daniel N. Moe
  • Patent number: 11613359
    Abstract: An aircraft seat for an aircraft passenger compartment suite may include a primary section with an upper actuatable portion and a lower actuatable portion. The primary section may be configured to actuate between a primary upright position and a primary lie-flat position. The aircraft seat may include an auxiliary section including an auxiliary seatback portion coupled to a privacy shell element of the aircraft passenger compartment suite and an auxiliary seat base portion configured to actuate between an auxiliary upright position and an auxiliary lie-flat position. The auxiliary seatback portion may include an actuatable element. The actuatable element may be configured to actuate between an open position and a closed position. The actuatable element may be configured to provide access to a stowage compartment when the actuatable element is in the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Ian L. Frost, Martti Johannes Lampela, Adil Mumdood Ali, Garen P. Moreno, Suzuko Hisata, Robert J. Henshaw
  • Patent number: 11613360
    Abstract: An actuatable door for an aircraft passenger suite may include a flexible privacy divider configured to actuate between a stowed divider position and a deployed divider position, a cartridge configured to actuate between a stowed cartridge position and a deployed cartridge position via at least one intermediate cartridge position, and a mechanism housed within the cartridge and configured to actuate the flexible privacy divider between the stowed divider position and the deployed divider position, where the flexible privacy divider may be at least partially stowed within the cartridge when in the stowed divider position. The actuatable door may be configured to actuate between a stowed door position and a deployed door position via at least one intermediate door position, and configured to separate the aircraft passenger suite from an open area within an aircraft cabin when in the deployed door position and provide privacy to the aircraft passenger suite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Publication number: 20230064972
    Abstract: A passenger seat arrangement for a vehicle including first and second partition walls positioned in spaced apart relation forming an area therebetween, each of the walls including at least a portion angled relative to an aisle and each of the walls having an end position proximate the aisle such that the area formed between the walls is directly accessible from the aisle. A passenger seat positioned in the area is coupled to a guide mechanism such that the passenger seat is configured to travel within the area between a first position distal from the aisle and a second position proximate the aisle for facilitating transfer of a person of reduced mobility (PRM), and in some implementations through an intermediate position for enhancing socialization between the passenger seat and an adjacent passenger seat.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2022
    Publication date: March 2, 2023
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Tracy N. Pence
  • Patent number: 11572170
    Abstract: An aircraft interior structure may include a primary monument, an auxiliary monument, and a passenger seating section. The primary monument may include one or more storage compartments and a primary panel configured to actuate between a primary panel stowed position and a primary panel deployed position. The auxiliary monument may be spaced a select distance from the primary monument across a floor area of an aircraft cabin, and may include an auxiliary panel configured to actuate between an auxiliary panel stowed position and an auxiliary panel deployed position. The passenger seating section may include a footwell at least partially within the primary monument and proximate to the one or more storage compartments. The footwell may correspond to an aircraft seat. The aircraft seat may be configured to form a bed surface with at least a portion being within the footwell when the aircraft seat is in a lie-flat position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Daniel N. Moe, Jefferey M. McKee, Shawn W. Raybell
  • Publication number: 20230008304
    Abstract: Passenger seating positioned proximate to an aircraft interior structure includes at least one seat base assembly and at least one seatback assembly. The at least one seat base assembly includes a seat pan, and is attached to a floor of an aircraft cabin. The at least one seatback assembly includes a support structure and a seatback couplable to the support structure. The seatback includes a surface contoured to a passenger profile. The support structure is couplable to the aircraft interior structure attached to the floor of the aircraft cabin via at least one quick-release mounting assembly, with components of the at least one quick-release mounting assembly being coupled to the support structure and the aircraft interior structure. The at least one seatback assembly is not directly coupled to the at least one seat base assembly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Publication date: January 12, 2023
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Patent number: 11548640
    Abstract: A system and method for vehicle compartment item presence indication senses an item within a vehicle compartment and notifies a user if the item is expected or unexpected within the compartment based on a vehicle state. Should the item be expected in a compartment during a phase of flight where the compartment is expected to contain items, there is no abnormal indication. However, if a compartment is expected to be empty during a specific phase of flight and the sensors indicate an item is present, the system will alert the user to the unexpected item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Patent number: 11535381
    Abstract: A deployable cabin attendant seat system may include a primary cabin attendant seat, an auxiliary cabin attendant seat, a main support coupled to at least one of the primary cabin attendant seat or the auxiliary cabin attendant seat, and an actuation assembly coupled to at least the primary cabin attendant seat. The actuation assembly may be configured to actuate the primary cabin attendant seat relative to the auxiliary cabin attendant seat between a stowed seat position and a deployed seat position. The primary cabin attendant seat and the auxiliary cabin attendant seat may be arranged in a side-by-side configuration when the primary cabin attendant seat is in the deployed seat position. The primary cabin attendant seat may be stacked on the auxiliary cabin attendant seat when the primary cabin attendant seat is in the stowed seat position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Patent number: 11529987
    Abstract: An aircraft cart retention system may include at least one aircraft cart retention device. The at least one aircraft cart retention device may be configured to retain an aircraft cart in a position proximate to an exterior surface of the structure with at least two combined points of contact during non-taxi, takeoff, or landing (non-TTL) stages of flight when the at least one aircraft cart retention device is in at least one deployed position. The at least one aircraft cart retention device may be configured to allow the aircraft cart to be removed from the position proximate to the exterior surface of the structure when the at least one aircraft cart retention device is in the stowed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Daniel M. Rodriguez
  • Publication number: 20220388664
    Abstract: An aircraft interior structure for an aircraft cabin may include a main body with a plurality of walls, where at least one wall of the plurality of walls may be shared with an adjacent passenger suite including an aircraft seat. The passenger suite may be installed at an angle relative to an aisle of the aircraft cabin. The aircraft interior structure may include a cavity defined within the main body. The cavity may be a trapezoidal shape defined at least in part by the angle at which the passenger suite is installed in the aircraft cabin. The cavity may be configured to receive a plurality of galley carts. A length of each of the plurality of galley carts may be dependent on a depth of the cavity at respective locations in the trapezoidal shape.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: David D. Nicolato, Mark B. Dowty, Tracy Pence, Jefferey M. McKee, Thomas L. Phillips
  • Patent number: 11498681
    Abstract: An aircraft seat for an aircraft passenger compartment suite is disclosed. In embodiments, the aircraft seat includes a primary section including a primary seatback portion and a primary seat base portion, and an auxiliary section including an auxiliary seatback portion and an auxiliary seat base portion. In embodiments, the aircraft seat may further include an actuatable element configured to actuate between an open position and a closed position. The actuatable element may include a first surface which defines at least a portion of the auxiliary seatback portion when the actuatable element is in the closed position, and a second surface which defines a surface of an armrest when the actuatable element is in the open position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Martti Johannes Lampela, Adil Mumdood Ali, Garen P. Moreno, Suzuko Hisata, Robert J. Henshaw
  • Publication number: 20220340285
    Abstract: A deployable cabin attendant seat system may include a primary cabin attendant seat, an auxiliary cabin attendant seat, a main support coupled to at least one of the primary cabin attendant seat or the auxiliary cabin attendant seat, and an actuation assembly coupled to at least the primary cabin attendant seat. The actuation assembly may be configured to actuate the primary cabin attendant seat relative to the auxiliary cabin attendant seat between a stowed seat position and a deployed seat position. The primary cabin attendant seat and the auxiliary cabin attendant seat may be arranged in a side-by-side configuration when the primary cabin attendant seat is in the deployed seat position. The primary cabin attendant seat may be stacked on the auxiliary cabin attendant seat when the primary cabin attendant seat is in the stowed seat position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2021
    Publication date: October 27, 2022
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Publication number: 20220332421
    Abstract: An aircraft interior structure may include a passenger seating section proximate to a passenger compartment including an aircraft seat. The aircraft interior structure may include a seat extension cavity defined within the passenger seating section. The seat extension cavity may correspond to the aircraft seat. The aircraft interior structure may include a bassinet cavity defined within the passenger seating section proximate to the seat extension cavity. The bassinet cavity may be configured to receive a bassinet via an opening in the surface of the aircraft interior structure within the passenger compartment. The bassinet cavity and the bassinet may be accessible from the passenger compartment via the opening in the surface of the aircraft interior structure. The bassinet may be positioned in the bassinet cavity at a location selected to provide an unobstructed line of sight between the aircraft seat and an interior of the bassinet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2021
    Publication date: October 20, 2022
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Kent M. Kroener
  • Patent number: 11420750
    Abstract: A set of consolidated electronics packages for staggered aircraft seats may include a first consolidated electronics package and a second consolidated electronics package. The first consolidated electronics package and a second consolidated electronics package may be installed within a primary passenger compartment. The first consolidated electronics package and the second consolidated electronics package may be configured to provide electrical connectivity to the primary passenger compartment and an auxiliary passenger compartment including an auxiliary aircraft seat. A primary aircraft seat and the auxiliary aircraft seat may be installed in a staggered configuration within an aircraft cabin including the primary passenger compartment and the auxiliary passenger compartment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Publication number: 20220242571
    Abstract: An actuatable door for an aircraft passenger suite may include a flexible privacy divider configured to actuate between a stowed divider position and a deployed divider position, a cartridge configured to actuate between a stowed cartridge position and a deployed cartridge position via at least one intermediate cartridge position, and a mechanism housed within the cartridge and configured to actuate the flexible privacy divider between the stowed divider position and the deployed divider position, where the flexible privacy divider may be at least partially stowed within the cartridge when in the stowed divider position. The actuatable door may be configured to actuate between a stowed door position and a deployed door position via at least one intermediate door position, and configured to separate the aircraft passenger suite from an open area within an aircraft cabin when in the deployed door position and provide privacy to the aircraft passenger suite.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventor: Mark B. Dowty
  • Patent number: 11365008
    Abstract: An aircraft passenger compartment suite may include a first side with a first display device, a second side with a second display device, and a privacy divider separating the first side and the second side. The first display device may be configured to actuate between a first deployed position and a first stowed position via a first stowage mechanism. The second display device may be configured to actuate between a second deployed position and a second stowed position via a second stowage mechanism. The privacy divider may include one or more panels configured to actuate between a panel deployed position and a panel stowed position. The privacy divider may be open when at least one of the first display device is in the first stowed position, the second display device is in the second stowed position, or the one or more panels are in the panel stowed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Dennis M. Heuer, Lyle T. Davis, Robert J. Henshaw, Robert D. Wilkey
  • Patent number: 11345476
    Abstract: Arrangements for an aircraft passenger cabin including a seating area containing first and second passenger seats, a monument disposed at one end of the seating area, and at least one privacy divider deployable in a longitudinal direction of the seating area to divide at least a portion of the seating area for privacy. In some embodiments, the at least one privacy divider includes a first privacy divider adapted to deploy to divide the seating area forward of the first and second passenger seats and a second privacy divider deployable to the seating area between the first and second passenger seats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark B. Dowty, Eric J. Aulet, Ian L. Frost, Shirley E. Govea Bravo, John R. Kuyper, Robert J. Lawrence
  • Patent number: 11332249
    Abstract: An aircraft passenger compartment suite may include a privacy divider configured to separate a first side of the aircraft passenger compartment suite including a first aircraft seat and a second side of the aircraft passenger compartment suite including a second aircraft seat. The aircraft passenger compartment suite may include a collapsible display device positioned proximate to the privacy divider of the aircraft passenger compartment suite. The aircraft passenger compartment suite may include a first display device and a first plate configured to be an extension of a horizontal surface in the first side when the first display device is in a first display device stowed position. The aircraft passenger compartment suite may include a second display device and a second plate configured to be an extension of a horizontal surface in the second side when the second display device is in a second display device stowed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: B/E Aerospace, Inc.
    Inventors: Glenn A. Johnson, Robert D. Wilkey, Mark B. Dowty, Lyle T. Davis, Dennis M. Heuer