What a bright idea! Aerospace firm files patent for solar window shade that would charge passengers' mobile phones and tablets at 35,000ft 

  • Window shade would have a solar panel on the outside face to receive light
  • Shade would be equipped with a wired or wireless charging port
  • B/E Aerospace, based in Wellington, Florida, filed a patent for the concept

By CHRIS KITCHING FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

The window seat on a plane could get another perk if this concept ever makes its way into the skies.

Designed by a leading aerospace firm, it’s a solar window shade that would charge passengers’ electronic devices, including mobile phones and tablets, during a flight.

It looks like a standard window shade, but it would have a solar panel on the outside face to receive light from outside the passenger cabin at any altitude.

The solar window shade looks like a normal shade
The shade has a solar panel on the outside face to receive light

The solar window shade looks like a normal shade (left), but has a solar panel on the outside face (right)

Florida-based B/E Aerospace, which has designed cabin interiors for a number of airlines, has filed a patent for the solar window shade.

It would be equipped with a wired or wireless charging port that would allow passengers to keep their devices charged from take-off to landing.

Modern planes are already equipped with traditional power points or USB outlets, depending on the aircraft model and seating class, in the seat backs, consoles or armrests, and powered by the plane’s electrical system.

Those set-ups require long lengths of wiring and numerous interconnections, which add undesirable cost, weight and complexity to the interior construction, B/E Aerospace wrote in the patent filing.

The solar window shade would allow passengers to keep their mobiles or tablets fully charged during a flight

The solar window shade would allow passengers to keep their mobiles or tablets fully charged during a flight

The shade would be equipped with a wired or wireless charging port to keep passengers' devices charged

The shade would be equipped with a wired or wireless charging port to keep passengers' devices charged

But this concept would eliminate that reliance while addressing one of passengers’ biggest needs – keeping their electronics at full power on a long-haul flight – by using sunlight.

In the patent filing, B/E Aerospace wrote that the shade could be adapted for use on airliners or other conveyances.

It said: ‘By providing a solar powered charging port at the window seats on an airliner, it is possible to substantially reduce the number of hard-wired connections needed to serve all passenger seats.’

MailOnline has contacted B/E Aerospace for comment. 

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