Aircraft interior lavatory

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9783281-B2
Application number	US-201615234374-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 11, 2016
Priority date	Apr 20, 2010
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

In a preferred embodiment, a lavatory for an aircraft cabin includes a wall having a forward wall portion disposed immediately aft of and substantially conforming to an exterior aft surface of an aircraft passenger seat, that is substantially not flat in a vertical plane.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of retrofitting an aircraft to reduce a volume of unusable space in a cabin area of a passenger aircraft, said cabin area containing passenger seats each having a seat back with an exterior aft surface that is substantially not flat, a seat bottom, and a seat support that interfaces with a floor of the cabin area and holds the seat bottom in an elevated position above the floor of the cabin area, the method comprising:
replacing at least a previously-installed forward wall of a pre-existing full height lavatory unit in the cabin area of the passenger aircraft with a contoured forward wall, wherein
an outward facing vertical surface of the previously-installed forward wall is substantially flat, and
the contoured forward wall is substantially not flat and configured to receive a portion of the exterior aft surface of the seat back when the seat back is in an unreclined seat position; and
installing a passenger seat in front of the contoured forward wall, wherein installing comprises positioning a seat support further aft in said aircraft cabin than the seat support could have been positioned prior to replacing the previously-installed forward wall;
wherein, upon installation, a portion of the exterior aft surface of the seat back is received by the forward wall when the passenger seat is in an upright seating position.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contoured forward wall is further configured to receive an aft-extending portion of the seat support at a position previously occupied by the previously-installed forward wall.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the contoured forward wall comprises an aft-extending recess extending along substantially a full width of the contoured forward wall, wherein the aft-extending recess is configured to receive the portion of the seat support.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the passenger seat is installed immediately forward of the contoured forward wall, the contoured forward wall being configured, upon installation, to accept loads from the passenger seat.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contoured forward wall comprises an aft-extending recess extending along substantially a full width of the contoured forward wall, wherein the aft-extending recess is configured to receive the portion of the exterior aft surface of the seat back.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the contoured forward wall further comprises an upper projection that, upon installation, protrudes forward over a top of the seat back when the passenger seat is in an unreclined position.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the upper projection is configured to abut an upper surface of the cabin area.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the upper projection defines an interior storage space in the aircraft lavatory.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the interior storage space includes one or more secondary storage spaces.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said passenger seat has a contoured shape including a first section extending along a first axis and a second section extending along a second axis, said first section adapted to support a passenger's head and a second adapted to support a passenger's back, wherein said first axis is not parallel with said second axis.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein a combined weight of the contoured forward wall and passenger seat is reduced in comparison to a combined weight of the previously installed forward wall and the passenger seat.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the exterior aft surface of the seat back received by the forward wall is substantially more than a headrest portion of the exterior aft surface of the seat back.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the exterior aft surface of the seat back received by the forward wall is more than an upper half of the exterior aft surface of the seat back.

14. An aircraft lavatory enclosure for installing in a cabin area of a passenger aircraft, the aircraft lavatory enclosure comprising:
an aft partition; and
a contoured forward partition having
means for providing space for a head rest of a fore positioned passenger seat, and
means for providing space for a seat back of the fore positioned passenger seat,
wherein the means for providing space for the head rest and the means for providing space for the seat back cooperate to provide additional space forward of the aircraft lavatory enclosure for the fore positioned passenger seat to be positioned further aft in the cabin when compared with a position of the passenger seat if the forward partition was instead substantially flat;

wherein the aft partition and the contoured forward partition define a full-height lavatory space disposed therebetween; and
wherein the fore positioned passenger seat comprises a seat support having a plurality of seat legs, and the contoured forward partition further comprises means for receiving at least a portion of the seat support.

15. The aircraft lavatory enclosure of claim 14 , wherein:
the means for providing space for the head rest is immediately adjacent but not abutting the head rest of the fore positioned passenger seat while the fore passenger seat is in an upright position; and
the means for providing space for the seat back is immediately adjacent but not abutting the seat back of the fore positioned passenger seat while the passenger seat is in the upright position.

16. The aircraft lavatory enclosure of claim 14 , wherein the passenger seat is installed immediately forward of the contoured forward partition, the contoured forward partition being configured, upon installation, to accept loads from the fore positioned passenger seat.

17. The aircraft lavatory enclosure of claim 14 , wherein the means for providing space for the seat back extends along substantially a full width of the contoured forward partition.

18. The aircraft lavatory enclosure of claim 14 , wherein the contoured forward partition further comprises an upper projection that, upon installation, protrudes forward over a top of the seat back.

19. The aircraft lavatory enclosure of claim 18 , wherein the upper projection defines an interior storage space in the aircraft lavatory.

Assignees

• Be Aerospace Inc

Inventors

• Cook Donald F
• Harrington Liberty
• Steiner Philipp
• Brauer Robert K
• Skelly Trevor

Classifications

• B64D11/02 Primary

  Toilet fittings · CPC title

• B64C1/10 Primary

  Bulkheads · CPC title

• B64D11/064

  Adjustable inclination or position of seats · CPC title

• B64D11/06

  Arrangements of seats, or adaptations or details specially adapted for aircraft seats (crew seat constructions for emergency purposes B64D25/04) · CPC title

• B64F5/00

  Designing, manufacturing, assembling, cleaning, maintaining or repairing aircraft, not otherwise provided for; Handling, transporting, testing or inspecting aircraft components, not otherwise provided for · CPC title