Aviation Occupant Safety (AOS) has announced that one of its parent companies, Key Safety Systems (KSS), has received a US Patent (8,939,465 B2) for “Safety Restraint Protection for Aircraft Occupants Seated Facing the Side of the Aircraft.”
The inflatable, monument-mounted device(s) are used in business and general aviation aircraft cabin applications where passengers are seated facing perpendicular to the aircraft’s cabin to protect the passengers’ head and torso areas from lateral movement, while further mitigating lateral injury from leg flail.
Tony Nardone, KSS President of Specialty Division and AOS Director explained, “These new passenger restraint units will dramatically reduce lateral movement, while absorbing impact forces from adjacent passenger-to-passenger and passenger-to-cabin structure surfaces. These units are already in use aboard a popular mid-size aircraft and now that we have received the patent we can continue selling it to other aircraft manufacturers knowing the technology is accepted and proven.”
Devine also noted that during the system’s development, engineers worked hard to make sure the location and appearance of the inflating systems would blend into the aircraft’s cabin. “They are designed to provide maximum occupant safety with minimal impact on the interior’s aesthetics,” he said.
You can see a simulation of the system in action HERE.