The present invention pertains to an aircraft with a fuselage, in which a resting and sleeping zone (overhead compartment) for the service or operating personnel, which is referred to as a room element and can be reached from a floor structure via a room element referred to as a stair assembly (stairhouse), is provided a certain distance above a seating area for the passengers.
According to legal regulations, aircraft that are used for intercontinental flights need to be equipped with individual compartments or rest areas for the pilots and for the flight attendants that also referred to as crew-rest, crew rest compartment or crew rest areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,227 A1 describes a so-called mezzanine construction on the main deck floor of the passenger compartment that can be used as a rest area for the flight attendants or the flight crew. The concept that incorporates a disadvantageous rigid connection between the floor structure and the fuselage of the aircraft disadvantageously reduces the passenger capacity. In an aircraft known from EP 1 279 593 B1, a room element for the flight personnel, which is realized in the form of a module, is provided in the overhead region of the passenger deck. This zone can be reached via a ladder that can be adjusted between an operative and a stowed position. This solution requires a complicated manipulation of the stairs and makes it more difficult to access the rest area.
In order to provide a rest area that offers sufficient comfort for the flight crew, as well as to prevent forces from being introduced into the structure of the room elements (overhead compartment, stairhouse), the invention aims to find other solutions.
It is an objective of the present invention to arrange a stair assembly (stairhouse) in such a way that it does not cause a disadvantageous noise development and is not subjected to any transmission of forces within the aircraft.
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 1, the room element in the form of a stairhouse features elastic locking elements, by means of which an acoustic decoupling from the other room element (overhead compartment) is realized. This decoupling technique between the room elements largely prevents the transmission of structure-borne noise and reduces the noise development. In this case, the acoustic decoupling is realized with consideration of optionally fixing the monuments relative to one another. According to another characteristic of the invention, the stair assembly (stairhouse) is on the one hand fixed on the floor structure by means of joints and the resting and sleeping zone (overhead compartment) is on the other hand fixed on the frame or fuselage structure of the aircraft by means of joints. Due to these measures, an optimal introduction of forces and distribution forces is realized in the aircraft structure, in which the suspended room element (overhead compartment) is assigned to the fuselage and the other, largely upright positioned room element (stairhouse) is assigned to the floor structure. This results in a structural design, in which the floor structure can always absorb the forces of a monument such as, for example, the galley, namely even if no module is in place. The upper frame structure of the aircraft therefore can be designed with consideration of the introduction of forces of the room element (overhead compartment), for example, with consideration of bunk modules (bunks). These measures cause an advantageous harmonic distribution of forces in the structure of all room elements (crew rest, crew rest compartment, stairhouse) and prevent a disadvantageous direct transmission of forces from the upper frame structure into the floor structure via the room elements. The inventive fixing of the room elements, as well as their acoustic decoupling, reduces the noise level in the passenger area of the aircraft to a level of 65 to 70 dB, i.e., a level that meets or lies below the required limit.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 2, the locking element used in accordance with the invention allows a relative movement in the Z-direction and largely prevents relative movements in the X- and Y-directions. This characteristic of the locking element takes into account the requirement, according to which no direct transmission of forces from the frame structure into the floor structure of the aircraft should take place via the room elements (overhead compartment, stairhouse).
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 3, it is proposed to use a vibration-absorbing solid body or a spring element that respectively is functionally connected to a room element directly or indirectly as insulator for the locking element. Particularly suitable materials for the insulator are natural rubber elements made of caoutchouc, plastic elements that are preferably made of neoprene, spring elements or elements made of another functionally equivalent material, wherein said elements are connected to the room elements. These materials on the one hand are suitable for achieving a sufficient acoustic decoupling of the room element (stairhouse) and on the other hand allow relative movements in the Z-direction. If they are constructively designed and/or arranged accordingly, such insulators are suitable for compensating shearing forces that occur in the X- or Y-direction.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 4, the locking element is formed by a laminated fabric block. The laminated fabric block assigned to one room element comprises a vertically inserted guide pin that is preferably made of metal, wherein said guide pin engages into a receptacle of the other corresponding room element and cooperates with a spring. Alternatively, it would be possible to provide a metal tube, in which a first spring is inserted into the tube and a second spring encloses the tube on its outer side. Sections of the springs that protrude relative to the tube are directly or indirectly supported on the other room element. The guide pin or the metal tube is preferably enclosed by a bushing that simultaneously guides the outer spring.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 5, the locking element includes a disk-like insulator in the form of a rubber or plastic element that features correspondingly positioned guide pins on both sides. To this end, it is preferred to provide corrosion-protected steel pins such as, for example, galvanized steel pins, the corresponding end disk of which is integrally connected to the insulator, for example, by means of a vulcanization.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 6, the locking element comprises an insulator in the form of a cylindrically shaped block made of rubber or plastic. A radially stepped holder that is mounted on one room element and centers the insulator is pressed into the insulator on one side in a form-fitted fashion. On the opposite side, the insulator is mounted by means of a guide pin that is integrally connected to the connecting piece together with a disk.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 7, each room element features two holders that are spaced apart from one another in order to form the locking elements. Accordingly, each holder features a limb that is bent at a right angle on its end, wherein said limbs are aligned toward one another on the first room element and opposite to one another on the second room element. In the installed position, the limbs that overlap to a limited degree are elastically connected by means of insulators realized in the form of a disk.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 8, the locking element features an insulator with the geometric shape of a ring that is arranged upright. The ring can be advantageously dimensioned such that it is relatively soft in the Z-direction in order to carry out an unhindered relative movement and to simultaneously achieve an optimal acoustic decoupling. Two opposing pins realized in the form of screws are preferably assigned to the insulator for mounting purposes, wherein the disk-shaped screw heads of said screws are supported on an inner contour of the ring element and tightened by means of a screw nut arranged on the outer wall of the insulator on the opposite side. In order to achieve a permanent mounting, the screw connections are corrosion-treated such as, for example, cadmium-plated, phosphorized or galvanized.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 10, the locking element features a bracket, in which an insulator in the form of a rubber or plastic element is held in a form-fitted fashion. The end of a holding pin or connecting piece inserted into the insulator features a top disk that extends radially and covers an opening region of the bracket. The design and the arrangement of this locking element are preferably suitable for realizing a relative movement between the room elements in the Z-direction.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 11, the locking element features a bracket that is mounted on the first room element and comprises an elastic annular bead as insulator. This insulator is enclosed by a pot-like receptacle assigned to the second room element. In order to ensure a reliable mounting, the insulator is integrally connected to the components bracket and receptacle, for example, bonded or vulcanized thereto.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 12, the locking element comprises a housing that is preferably made of steel and assigned to the first room element. The metal pin positioned in the other room element is guided through a bottom opening in the housing. The locking element causes an acoustic decoupling and allows a relative movement in the Z-direction by means of a spring that connects the end of the metal pin and the housing bottom.
According to another advantageous exemplary embodiment of the present invention that is defined in claim 13, a lining or casing is provided in order to effectively cover the locking elements. Due to the casing of the locking elements that is preferably realized in the form of a ceiling lining, in particular, a relative movement between the room elements in the Z-direction is not visible.
Advantageous exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the enclosed figures.
In the following description of
As an alternative to the description of
As a supplement, it should be noted that “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and that “an” or “a” does not exclude a plurality. It should furthermore be noted that characteristics or steps that were described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments can also be used in combination with other characteristics or steps of other above-described exemplary embodiments.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2008 016 418.6 | Mar 2008 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP09/51987 | 2/19/2009 | WO | 00 | 11/29/2010 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61072514 | Mar 2008 | US |