The present invention relates generally to enhancements of space extant below passenger decks, also designated as “main” decks, of, principally, commercial passenger aircraft. Conventionally, such space is used for the transport of cargo or is unused if insufficient cargo is available for transport. Embodiments of the invention may allow pre-flight conversion of the otherwise-unused space extant below passenger decks into areas available for use by passengers primarily, but not necessarily exclusively, during cruise portions of an aircraft flight.
Commercial passenger aircraft may transport passengers over long distances. Many of these aircraft are configured with at least one “main” deck having a floor to which arrays of passenger seats are directly or indirectly secured to form a passenger cabin. Some commercial aircrafts, such as the Airbus A380 series aircraft or the Boeing 747 series aircraft, contain two main decks arranged one above the other.
Convention and governmental regulations require passengers to be restrained in the seats of these main decks during specific flight phases of the aircraft, mainly during taxi, take-off, and landing (also designated by the acronym “TTL”) phases, and at times when commanded by the aircraft flight crew. At other times, including during the cruise portion of a flight, however, passengers need not be restrained in their seats, and, instead, may move about in passenger cabins bounded by the main decks.
Also typically present in commercial aircrafts is a cargo area positioned below the main deck. The cargo area is also often positioned in an area of an aircraft fuselage below a plane formed by the fixed portions of the wings, although this is not necessarily true for all aircrafts. Regardless of its placement, the cargo area defines one or more areas available conventionally to transport cargo during an aircraft flight. Thus, in general terms, the cargo area of an aircraft may be considered to be or to include areas below the lowest floor of the passenger cabins of the aircraft, according to a conventional vertical direction of the aircraft.
For some flights, insufficient monetary incentive exists for flight operators to transport cargo, or insufficient cargo exists to fill the designated cargo areas arranged below main decks. This is especially, although not exclusively, true for some long-haul routes with substantial passenger demand, as large, wide-body aircrafts may be employed with great frequency to meet the passenger transport need. These flights thus often travel with cargo areas being vacant, resulting in waste of that space for each entire flight.
International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2015/181801 (hereinafter “WO 2015/181801”) details various opportunities to use these otherwise-wasted cargo areas. In particular, WO 2015/181801 contemplates utilizing the cargo areas for additional passenger seating during various flight phases, e.g. during TTL phases. Accordingly, it addresses issues to create a lower deck, arranged in the cargo area, in which passengers may stand, providing stairs for ingress into and egress from the lower deck, and projecting or simulating views from outside the aircraft to account for a lack of windows in the lower deck. Also mentioned in WO 2015/181801, is the possibility of placing vending machines in the lower deck to allow passengers seated in the lower deck to select beverages, snacks, and meals for consumption while on-board the aircraft without having to access the main deck. In addition, WO 2015/181801 addresses issues to create a lower deck while lowering technical floors of the cargo area in which passengers may stand.
Affixing additional passenger seats in the lower deck of an aircraft presents opportunities for airlines to expand the proceeds produced for any particular flight by changing the otherwise-wasted cargo areas into a revenue-generating passenger space. However, utilizing the lower deck for passenger seating adequate to comply with TTL phases requirements essentially precludes the space from being used for any other material purpose. Consequently, airlines desiring not to add passenger seats in the lower deck will continue to face challenges in avoiding waste of the space when cargo is unavailable or insufficient to fill it.
Versions of the invention disclosed herein seek to supply alternate manners of utilizing areas of lower decks of an aircraft. Although these manners of utilization preferably occur during cruise portions of flight, i.e. non-TTL phases, in certain situations they may be employed during TTL phases as well. Often, they may provide airlines, and perhaps others, with opportunities to generate additional revenue from passengers without necessarily adding seats. At the same time, they may provide passengers with additional opportunities to move, shop, meet, relax, bathe, exercise, cook, eat, work, or otherwise engage in activities conventionally unavailable or difficult to perform while on-board a commercial aircraft.
Numerous changes to the lower deck potentially may occur consistent with the invention. Benches, tables and/or shelves, for example, as well as individual seats, may be added to transform a lower deck space into a passenger cabin comprising any or all of retail stores, meeting rooms, restaurants, etc. Embodiments of these components could be movable, moreover, folding flat against walls, for example, when not in use. They also could be securable so as not to move during turbulent flying conditions or other than when desired.
In some embodiments of the invention, areas of the lower deck are transformed into shops. In these areas, tables and shelves may be used to display wares for examination or purchase, and benches and/or seats may be used by passengers desiring to examine the wares. The benches and/or seats may include seat belts and/or other restraints intended to mitigate adverse effects of turbulence on the seating passengers. Passenger service units (also designated as “PSUs”), which may comprise emergency oxygen supplies, may be located in the vicinities of the benches and seats as well.
Displayed wares may be secured to walls, tables, shelves and/or otherwise within the shops. Certain versions of the invention allow wares to be restrained within shelving units, as by covering the units, for example. Restraint actions, furthermore, may be performed manually by crew members and/or shop personnel, for example, and/or may be automated. In the latter circumstance, movement of a restraint may be actuated electrically based on information sent via a communication system of an aircraft as, for instance, when a pilot and/or other crew member believes the aircraft is approaching turbulent conditions and/or is preparing for TTL phases.
Monuments, which may be in the form of vertical dividers and/or doors, may, if desired, transform portions of the lower deck into rooms for meeting, sleeping and/or otherwise. Benches, tables, shelves and/or seats, as discussed above, may, if available, be used in support of passenger meetings and/or rest. PSUs likewise may be located within the rooms.
Any or all of the equipment and/or assemblies thereof may be modular for uniformity, ease of installation and/or removal, or otherwise. Likewise, standardized and/or modular fittings may be located on walls, floors and/or ceilings of the lower deck to which the equipment and/or assemblies may connect.
Additionally contemplated are changes to the lower deck discussed in WO 2015/181801. As an example, lowering of the technical floor of the lower deck in some areas may be necessary to provide adequate standing room for passengers. Stairs or other means for accessing the lower deck also may be needed. Such stairs, if present, preferably span the main deck and the lower deck both to allow passage therebetween and to assist in passenger evacuation from the lower deck, if ever needed.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent with reference to the remaining text and the drawings of this application. Both the descriptive text and the drawings are provided for illustrative purposes and not to restrict any of the inventive concepts detailed or depicted herein. Instead, such concepts may be interpreted as broadly as permitted under applicable law and practice.
In the above-identified figures, structural and functional elements which are common to different embodiments may have the same reference. Thus, unless otherwise stated, such elements may have identical structural, dimensional, and material properties.
Shown in
The aircraft A may include a fuselage F defining an interior space defined therein. The aircraft A may also include at least a wing W, which schematically forms a generally horizontal plane projecting out of the sheet on which
The technical floor F1 may be positioned at a first vertical distance H1 from a ceiling CE of the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT. The ceiling CE may be the underside of a partition floor forming the lowermost main deck of the aircraft A, or it may be some other roof or boundary.
The first vertical distance H1 is generally insufficient to allow many persons to stand fully upright on the technical floor F1. Consequently, if the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT is to be used as a lower deck cabin for in-flight activities during which passengers desire to stand upright, the first vertical distance H1 needs to be enlarged.
One approach to doing so involves lowering the technical floor F1 to a lower level so as to define a lowered floor F2. Alternatively, it may involve decreasing the thickness of the technical floor F1 to define a lowered floor F2.
With these approaches, a greater second vertical distance H2 exists between the lowered floor F2 and the ceiling CE. By contrast with the first vertical distance H1, the second vertical distance H2 of this modified cargo area may be sufficiently large to allow at least most, if not all, passengers and crew to stand upright on and/or move about the lowered floor F2.
In some embodiments, the lowered floor F2 may extend the entire length of cargo areas such as the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT.
Alternatively, as illustrated in
Alternatively, the co-existence may be appropriate for structural reasons so as to cooperate with existing frames around, e.g., doors D or existing components of a wingbox of the wing W.
Even if only the first vertical distance H1 exists in part of the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT, that part of the area may be used to place monuments and/or equipment not requiring passengers or crew to stand as, for example, sitting or sleeping arrangements.
As noted here-above, for some flights of the aircraft A, insufficient cargo may be available to fill either or both of the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT. Alternatively, the operator of the flight may elect not to transport available cargo in portions or all of the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT. In either situation, either or both of the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT may be repurposed and used instead for activities other than transportation of cargo.
Non-limiting examples of such conversions include using the areas for meeting rooms, retail shops, restaurants, casinos or gaming zones, theaters or cinemas, pet interaction areas, libraries, virtual reality areas, sports venues, product presentation areas, kitchens, stowage areas, bars, clubs, or lounges, swimming pools, saunas, or spas, religious areas, gymnasiums or fitness zones, laundries, auction houses, living areas, work spaces, showers or bathrooms, pop-up stores, or other passenger accommodations, whether separately or in any combination.
Such areas of the front cargo area FWD and/or the rear cargo area AFT, and of any other cargo area that may be present in an aircraft, converted for human uses by passengers and, possibly, crew may create one or more “lower deck cabins” in the aircraft A.
Conversions of cargo areas into lower deck cabins may be permanent or temporary as they relate to a particular aircraft A. Because they preferably are modular, monuments and/or other equipment added during a conversion, for example, may be quickly and easily removed if a lower deck cabin is to be returned to being a cargo area.
If suitably configured, the lowered floor F2 may be raised to return to the technical floor F1. Alternatively, the lowered floor F2 may be covered by a further floor, which may be for instance a spacer or pallet, to add to its thickness and thus return a front cargo area FWD and/or a rear cargo area AFT to having a first vertical distance H1 between the flooring and its ceiling CE.
Yet alternatively, a lower deck cabin may be created as an integral structure loaded into the aircraft A similar to a conventional cargo container and connected to suitable fittings (e.g. power, water, waste, etc.) for use.
Included in either or both of shops S1 and S2 may be any or all of shelving 10, lights 14 and/or tables 18, the latter advantageously functioning as surfaces on which products may be displayed. Storage areas 22 may also be present in shops S1 and/or S2, with
In either or both of shops S1 and S2, passengers may examine and purchase merchandise or contract for services, potentially generating revenue for the operator of the aircraft A, the operators of shops S1 and/or S2, or both. Either or both of shops S1 and S2 may be self-service or manned with dedicated sales personnel or crew members and may include fitting rooms, for example.
Shown in
Each of the meeting room M1 and the meeting room M2 is illustrated as having a seating arrangement 34, table 38, display 42 and/or stowage area 46. The embodiment of
Additionally, either or both of seats 30 and seating arrangements 34 may include seat belts and/or other passenger restraints. The shop S1 and/or the shop S2 and/or the meeting room M1 and/or the meeting room M2 may include emergency oxygen supplies and/or other amenities provided by PSUs.
The meeting room M1 and/or M2 may further include any or all of microphones, speakers, electronic boards, video cameras, paper reproduction equipment, power supplies, data connections, refreshments, in-flight entertainment (also designated as “IFE”) systems among other features.
Persons skilled in the art will, of course, recognize that any of the shop S1 and/or the shop S2 and/or the meeting room M1 and/or the meeting room M2 may be configured or outfitted differently than as shown and described herein.
An embodiment of the shelving 10 is depicted in
Security of the lower deck cabin is important. Prevention of theft of wares available for purchase also is important. Accordingly, not only should objects O, for example, be restrained when appropriate, but they also should be restrained in a manner reducing the likelihood they could be shoplifted from the shop S1 or the shop S2. The invention thus contemplates methods and systems for automatically restraining items including objects O utilizing aircraft communications networks and equipment.
Shown in
Systems consistent with
Depicted in
By contrast, favored locations for stairs 118 are shown as areas “D.” In at least some instances, favored locations for stairs 118 beneficially are located vertically above the lowered floor F2 of the lower deck cabin of the aircraft A. Benefits for favored locations for stairs 118 may be achieved by placing stairs 118 in galley or lavatory areas of the main deck cabin and/or between classes of seating on-board the aircraft A. As well, benefits for favored locations for stairs 118 may be achieved by placing stairs 118 in locations likely to incent persons to visit the lower deck cabin and/or facilitate their doing so. Non-limiting examples of designs for stairs 118 are shown in
The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, and describing embodiments of the present invention. Modifications and adaptations to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For example, any of the structures, systems, equipment, and objects identified herein may be modular—including, if desired, the entire lower deck cabin, an entire shop (S1 or S2) or meeting room (M1 or M2), etc. Pre-installed interfaces for water, waste, and electrical systems may be employed, for example, as may pre-installed tracks and attachment points for structures such as seats, walls, other dividers, and monuments.
Moreover, although the application relates primarily to new uses of cargo areas of a commercial passenger aircraft, concepts detailed herein alternatively may be employed on other decks or areas of passenger aircraft or on other aircraft or vehicles. The present invention thus is not limited to the embodiments here-above described and provided solely by way of example. Instead, the present invention includes all changes, different shapes and orientations, and other alternatives that may be considered within its scope and, particularly, all combinations of different embodiments previously described, which may be taken separately or together. Unless expressly designated as mutually exclusive herein, aspects of the invention may be combined and deployed in any desired combination. The contents of WO 2015/181801 also are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference.
This application claims the benefit of and priority to each of (1) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/378,951, filed Aug. 24, 2016, entitled “Automated Shelf Insurance,”(2) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/378,957, filed Aug. 24, 2016, entitled “Lower Deck Modular System Including Bench, Table and/or Shelf,” and(3) U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/394,906, filed Sep. 15, 2016, entitled “Spatial Arrangements for a Lower Deck Commercial Cabin in Widebody A/C,” the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by this reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2016/057048 | 11/22/2016 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62378951 | Aug 2016 | US | |
62378957 | Aug 2016 | US | |
62394906 | Sep 2016 | US |