Judge Burke construes claim terms of patent related to aircraft seating systems

In Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. v. Delta Airlines, Inc., C.A. No. 11-61-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Apr. 27, 2012), Judge Burke issued a Report and Recommendation construing the claim terms of U.S. Patent No. 7,469,861 entitled “Seating System and a Passenger Accommodation Unit for a Vehicle.”  The ‘861 patent discloses a seating system “by which the passenger seats are oriented at an angle to the aisle . . . of the plane.”  Id. at 2.  The principal focus of the ‘861 patent “appears to be on seating systems that convert to a ‘substantially flat bed.’”  Id.  Judge Burke construed the following claim terms:

“substantially flat bed”

“having”

“behind”

“substantially horizontal surface”

“upper sleeping surface”

“about the same height”

“usable space to a passenger”

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. v. Delta Airlines, Inc., C.A. No. 11-61-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Apr. 27, 2012)