Airplane with a fuselage having side outgrowth delimiting storage spaces

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9637234-B2
Application number	US-201314139153-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2013
Priority date	Dec 26, 2012
Publication date	May 2, 2017
Grant date	May 2, 2017

Abstract

An aircraft of which the transversal section of the fuselage is reduced optimally at the price of a reduced carrying capacity of luggage or merchandise but adapted to short- and medium-haul type routes. The fuselage has for this purpose lateral protuberances defining storage areas arranged on either side of a passenger cabin and able to house luggage and/or merchandise, and/or onboard service equipment, and/or removable fuel tanks.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An airplane for the commercial transport of passengers, comprising:
a fuselage comprising:
a front part;
a rear part; and
an intermediate portion connecting the front part to the rear part and wherein is housed a passenger cabin provided with a plurality of passenger seats,
wherein said intermediate portion of the fuselage comprises a first longitudinal portion, comprising:
a median portion centered in relation to a median vertical plane of the airplane and wherein is housed at least one portion of said passenger cabin, and
at least two lateral protuberances arranged on either side of said median portion,
said lateral protuberances being separated from said passenger cabin respectively by means of two longitudinal partitions laterally delimiting said passenger cabin,
said lateral protuberances defining respectively at least two storage areas on either side of said median vertical plane,
and said lateral protuberances having an upper end and a lower end which connect to said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage,
wherein the connection of said upper end and lower end of each of said lateral protuberances forms an upper discontinuity and a lower discontinuity of the curvature of an external surface of the fuselage as viewed in transverse section wherein the upper discontinuity is positioned above a passenger cabin floor which divides the intermediate portion of the fuselage into an upper portion corresponding to the passenger cabin and into a lower portion, and the lower discontinuity is positioned below the passenger cabin floor,

wherein said intermediate portion of the fuselage further comprises a second longitudinal portion, wherein is housed a portion of said passenger cabin, and having a constant transversal section along a longitudinal direction of the airplane, and at least one portion of said first longitudinal portion having a constant transversal section along the longitudinal direction of the airplane extending laterally beyond said second longitudinal portion on each side of said median vertical plane.

2. The airplane according to claim 1 , wherein each of said longitudinal partitions has upper and lower ends connected to said fuselage.

3. The airplane according to claim 1 , wherein said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage has as a transversal section a shape that can be substantially superimposed on the shape of said second longitudinal portion as a transversal section.

4. The airplane according to claim 1 , wherein the passenger cabin floor extends to a height such that, when said intermediate portion is seen as a transversal section, a vertical extent of said lower portion, measured in said median vertical plane of the airplane, is less than half of a vertical extent of said passenger cabin also measured in said median vertical plane.

5. The airplane according to claim 4 , wherein at least one portion of each of said storage areas is delimited at the bottom by a storage area floor extending in the extension of said passenger cabin floor.

6. The airplane according to claim 5 , wherein each storage area floor is separated from the passenger cabin floor by the corresponding longitudinal partition.

7. The airplane according to claim 1 , comprising devices for storing at least one of luggage and merchandise integrated to at least one of said storage areas.

8. The airplane according to claim 1 , comprising at least one onboard service equipment housed in at least one of said storage areas.

9. The airplane according to claim 1 , comprising two fuel tanks housed respectively in said storage areas.

10. The airplane according to claim 1 , comprising two landing gear compartments housed respectively in said lateral protuberances.

11. The airplane according to claim 1 , further comprising two wings as well as two wing spar boxes connecting respectively each of said wings to said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage and extending entirely laterally in relation to this median portion.

12. The airplane according to claim 1 , wherein said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage is provided with a plurality of windows integrated to an upper wall of said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage.

13. The airplane according to claim 1 , wherein said lateral protuberances are arranged symmetrically in relation to said median vertical plane of the airplane.

14. An airplane for the commercial transport of passengers, comprising:
a fuselage comprising:
a front part;
a rear part; and
an intermediate portion connecting the front part to the rear part and wherein is housed a passenger cabin provided with a plurality of passenger seats,
wherein said intermediate portion of the fuselage comprises a first longitudinal portion, comprising:
a median portion centered in relation to a median vertical plane of the airplane and wherein is housed at least one portion of said passenger cabin, and
at least two lateral protuberances arranged on either side of said median portion,
said lateral protuberances being separated from said passenger cabin respectively by means of two longitudinal partitions laterally delimiting said passenger cabin,
said lateral protuberances defining respectively at least two storage areas on either side of said median vertical plane,
and said lateral protuberances having an upper end and a lower end which connect to said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage,
wherein the connection of said upper end and lower end of each of said lateral protuberances forms a discontinuity of the curvature of an external surface of the fuselage as viewed in transverse section,

wherein said intermediate portion of the fuselage further comprises a second longitudinal portion, wherein is housed a portion of said passenger cabin, and having a constant transversal section along a longitudinal direction of the airplane, and at least one portion of said first longitudinal portion having a constant transversal section along the longitudinal direction of the airplane extending laterally beyond said second longitudinal portion on each side of said median vertical plane, and
wherein each of said longitudinal partitions integrates vertical uprights each having:
an upper end connected jointly to the upper end of the corresponding lateral protuberance and to an upper lateral end of said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage, and
a lower end connected jointly to the lower end of the corresponding lateral protuberance and to a lower lateral end of said median portion of said first longitudinal portion of the fuselage.

15. The airplane according to claim 14 , wherein the discontinuity includes an upper discontinuity and a lower discontinuity of the curvature of an external surface of the fuselage as viewed in transverse section wherein the upper discontinuity is positioned above a passenger cabin floor which divides the intermediate portion of the fuselage into an upper portion corresponding to the passenger cabin and into a lower portion, and the lower discontinuity is positioned below the passenger cabin floor.

16. The airplane according to claim 15 , wherein each lateral protuberance is provided with a door within the longitudinal partitions to allow for access to each lateral protuberance.

17. An airplane for the commercial transport of passengers, comprising:
a fuselage comprising:
a front part;
a rear part; and
an intermediate portion connecting the front part to the rear

Assignees

• Airbus Operations Sas
• Airbus Opeations (Sas)

Inventors

• Gallant Guillaume
• Delahaye Romain

Classifications

• B64D9/00 Primary

  Equipment for handling freight; Equipment for facilitating passenger embarkation or the like · CPC title

• B64C1/1484

  Windows (B64C1/1492 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B64C1/26

  Attaching the wing or tail units or stabilising surfaces · CPC title

• B64C1/00 Primary

  Fuselages; Constructional features common to fuselages, wings, stabilising surfaces or the like · CPC title

• B64C2001/0045

  Fuselages characterised by special shapes · CPC title