AIRCRAFT CABIN TROLLEY, AIRCRAFT GALLEY ARRANGEMENT AND AIRCRAFT

An aircraft cabin trolley, including: a body with a top, a bottom, a front and a rear, wherein a door for accessing the inside of the trolley is provided at the front, which is the operator side of the trolley; an electrical cooling unit, including a compressor, an evaporator and a condenser, configured to actively cool the inside of the trolley; and a power transfer unit configured to transfer electrical power from a power source outside the trolley to the cooling unit. An aircraft galley arrangement including the aircraft cabin trolley, wherein the power transfer unit is configured to dock with a galley power transfer unit on a galley wall. An aircraft with at least one of the aforementioned.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the European Patent Application No. 24154863.5 filed on Jan. 30, 2024, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by way of reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an aircraft cabin trolley and an aircraft galley arrangement comprising the trolley. It further relates to an aircraft with at least one of the aircraft cabin trolley or aircraft galley arrangement comprising the trolley.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The current solutions for aircraft cabin trolleys and aircraft galley arrangements comprising such trolleys are different and depending on the aircraft program. The galleys always provide different designs in terms of chilled or non-chilled galleys. A chilled galley has a cold air distribution system in the lower part of the galley, trolley compartments with doors to keep the trolley compartments and the trolleys parked therein cold, a drain interface for the condensation water, and space for the installed cooling unit. In some aircraft, an air chiller is installed inside the galley beside the trolleys. The customer must abstain of the waste compartment in case of a chilled galley because the air chiller is installed around the waste compartment.

On Airbus A330 aircraft, air chillers are installed underfloor. Air ducts route the cold air between the chiller and the galley in a closed loop. This needs a lot of additional space, weight and installation effort in the aircraft.

On Airbus A350 aircraft, a very large and heavy liquid cooling loop connects each galley with the cooling system outside of the pressurized area. In the galley, cooling units are installed which use the cold liquid to cool the air within a heat exchanger. These systems have an installation weight of several hundred kilograms.

All current installations have in common that they are heavy, and that their weight is integrated into the respective aircraft, whether needed or not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A problem to be solved is to improve the efficiency of the cooling of aircraft cabin trolleys, in particular in combination with an aircraft galley arrangement. This includes an improvement of the comfort for the operator of such aircraft cabin trolleys.

The problem underlaying the invention is particularly solved by the following technical teachings:

Wheels may be connected to the bottom. The coolant used in the cooling unit may be a non-fluorinated gas. A door for accessing the inside of the trolley may be provided at the front, i.e., the operator side of the trolley. The aircraft cabin trolley, e.g., its body, may have outer dimensions corresponding to a common aircraft cabin trolley standard, such as the KSSU standard or the ATLAS standard. Waste heat from the trolley, e.g., from the condenser and/or a battery described below, may be removed at the rear of the trolley. For this purpose, a fan may be provided in the trolley or at a galley wall facing the rear of the trolley. This fan could direct the waste heat towards the galley crown, i.e., a space above an aircraft galley.

This makes operation much easier, efficient, and intuitive for the operator. Further, in case of d), the cooling chain can be controlled to ensure the quality of the food stored in the trolley.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A shows a side view of a trolley 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention and FIG. 1B shows a vertical cross-section through the trolley 1 in a plane that is parallel to a front of the trolley 1. The trolley 1 comprises a box shaped body with a top 3, a bottom 5, a front 7, also referred to as the operator side of the trolley 1, and a rear 9 connected by two sides illustrated in the cross-section. Food and/or beverage trays 11 are located on shelves within the body of the trolley 1. The trolley 1 further comprises wheels 13 connected to the bottom 5 of the body and a handle 15 connected to the trolley 1 at the top 3 and/or front 7 of the body, allowing the trolley 1 to be moved, i.e., pushed or pulled, by an operator, such as a flight attendant. A door 17 for accessing the food and/or beverage trays 11 is provided at the front 7 of the body, and a power transfer unit 19, which here is an inductive power transfer unit 19, e.g., an induction panel, is connected to the rear 9 of the body such that the trolley 1 is configured to be placed with the power transfer unit 19 in contact with or near a corresponding galley power transfer unit 21 on a galley wall 23. The aircraft cabin trolley 1, e.g., its body, has outer dimensions corresponding to a common aircraft cabin trolley standard, such as the KSSU standard or the ATLAS standard.

The trolley has an electrical cooling unit 25, comprising the following components: a compressor 27, an evaporator 29, an evaporator fan 31, a condenser 33 and a condenser fan 35. The evaporator 29 may have a power consumption of 50 to 100 W, the condenser 33 may have a power consumption of 80 to 150 W, and each fan may have a power consumption of 1 to 5 W. While the cooling efficiency is improved using fans, a cooling effect will still be achieved using only one of the fans 31, 35 or by omitting the fans 31, 35 altogether. Here, the cooling unit 25 and its components are provided at the top 3, wherein each component can be arranged as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In particular, the evaporator 29 is arranged closer to the inside of the body of the trolley 1 than the condenser 33. The evaporator fan 31 directs airflow to the evaporator 29 such that the air is cooled by the evaporator 29 and circulated in the direction shown by the four arrows of the ellipse drawn in FIG. 1A, i.e., towards the rear 9, where the airflow is diverted to the bottom 5 around the trays 11 to cause an air circulation through the whole trolley 1. On the other side, the condenser fan 35 directs airflow to the condenser 33 such that air is heated by the condenser 33 and directed towards the handle 15, thus warming the handle 15 and the hands of an operator of the trolley 1, which increases the comfort for the operator. Condensation water is evaporated at the compressor 27, so that a dedicated drain interface is not necessary.

In operation, the compressor 27 pressurizes coolant which flows to the condenser 33. There, the coolant is cooled convectively by the surrounding air. Subsequently, the coolant flows through an expansion valve or, preferably a capillary tube (both not shown), and thereby decreases in pressure and temperature, e.g., to a temperature range between 0 to 5° C. In the evaporator 29, heat transmitted from the inside of the trolley 1 warms up the coolant, which then reaches the compressor 27 to repeat the cycle. The coolant may be a non-fluorinated gas. Such gas/refrigerant causes no damage to the ozone layer and its global warming potential is non-existent or negligible.

The electric power for the compressor 27 and the fans 31, 35 comes either directly from the power transfer unit 19 and/or from an integrated battery 37, which here is arranged at the bottom 5 and closer to the rear 9 than to the front 7.

The power transfer unit 19 is equipped with an electronic control (not shown) for direct power transfer prior to charging the battery 37, when the trolley 1 is in its parking position in contact with or near a corresponding galley power transfer unit 21 on a galley wall 23, and for switching to battery power supply, when the trolley 1 leaves this parking position.

A human machine interface 39, e.g., a touch screen, is provided at the door 17. However, it can alternatively be provided at the top 3 of the trolley 1 and/or in a galley, e.g., in a galley door, and configured to perform any combination of the following functions:

switching on/off the cooling unit 25;

selecting a target temperature of an inside of the trolley 1;

showing an actual temperature of an inside of the trolley 1; and/or

showing a temperature curve of a temperature of an inside of the trolley 1 over a certain time.

Here, a freezer compartment 41 is proved at the top shelf inside the trolley 1. To access the freezer compartment 41, it may be configured as a drawer to be drawn to the front 7, once the door 17 is opened, and/or a flap 43 may be provided at the door 17 or at the top 3, wherein the latter is shown in FIG. 1.

The wall of the trolley 1, including the door 17, may be made of a vacuum insulation wall. Such a vacuum insulation wall is an evacuated gas impermeable heat insulation wall with a core material comprising or consisting of a pressed powder board of fumed silica. A vacuum insulation wall may also be used for the freezer compartment 41.

FIG. 2A shows a side view of a trolley 1′ according to a second embodiment of the invention and FIG. 2B shows a vertical cross-section through the trolley 1′ in a plane that is parallel to the front 7 of the trolley 1′.

Here, the cooling unit 25 and its components are provided at the bottom 5, wherein each component can be arranged as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In particular, the evaporator 29 is arranged closer to the inside of the body of the trolley 1′ than the condenser 33. The evaporator fan 31 directs airflow to the evaporator 29 such that the air is cooled by the evaporator 29 and circulated in the direction shown by the four arrows of the ellipse drawn in FIG. 2A, i.e., towards the front 7, where the airflow is diverted to the top 3 around the trays 11 to cause an air circulation through the whole trolley 1′. On the other side, the condenser fan 35 directs airflow to the condenser 33 such that air is heated by the condenser 33 and directed towards the front 7, thus warming the feet of an operator of the trolley 1′. The condenser fan 35 may be configured to draw air surrounding the battery 37, thus cooling the battery 37. In fact, the condenser fan 35 may be placed such, e.g., closer to the rear 9 than the battery 37, that its airflow first reaches the battery 37 and then the condenser 33. Further, the condenser fan 35 may direct an airflow of air heated by the condenser 33 during operation that is directed towards the operator side of the trolley 1′, thus creating a warm airflow along the bottom 5 and beyond the front 7, thereby warming the feet of an operator of the trolley 1, which increases the comfort for the operator. In a modification, part of the airflow may be directed upwards towards the handle 15 to further achieve the effect described in the first embodiment. Condensation water is evaporated at the compressor 27, so that a dedicated drain interface is not necessary.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a trolley 1″ according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Here, the cooling unit 25 and its components are provided at the front 7, e.g., are integrated in the door 17, wherein each component can be arranged as shown in FIG. 3. While FIG. 3 does not show a condenser fan, such a condenser fan can readily be provided as in the other two embodiments. In particular, the evaporator 29 is arranged closer to the inside of the body of the trolley 1″ than the condenser 33. The evaporator fan 31 directs airflow to the evaporator 29 such that the air is cooled by the evaporator 29 and circulated in the direction shown by the four arrows of the ellipse drawn in FIG. 3, i.e., towards the top 3, where the airflow is diverted to the rear 9 around the trays 11 to cause an air circulation through the whole trolley 1″. On the other side, air is heated by the condenser 33 and rises upwards towards the handle 15, thus warming the handle 15 and the hands of an operator of the trolley 1″, which increases the comfort for the operator. Condensation water is evaporated from the compressor 27, so that a dedicated drain interface is not necessary.

FIG. 4 shows an aircraft galley 45 in an aircraft 47, wherein the trolley 1, 1′, 1″ is configured to be parked in a compartment of the aircraft galley 45.

In another embodiment, which is not shown in the figures, waste heat from the trolley, e.g., from the condenser 33 and/or the battery 37, may be removed at the rear 9 of the trolley. For this purpose, a fan (not shown) may be provided in the trolley or at the galley wall 23 facing the rear 9 of the trolley. This fan could direct the waste heat towards the galley crown, i.e., a space above the aircraft galley 45.