Patent Publication Number: US-6336293-B1

Title: Door of lavatory unit

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a door of a lavatory unit provided inside a closed space, and particularly, to a door equipped with a vent louver for providing air into the lavatory unit. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     The lavatory unit equipped inside a closed space, in an airplane for example, includes a vent louver mounted to its door, having air holes allowing air to flow into the lavatory unit. The vent louver is provided to the lower area of the door, and therefore, dusty air existing near the floor flows through continuously. Therefore, the vent louver was liable to collect dust. 
     The structure of the conventional lavatory unit will be explained with reference to FIG.  5 . 
     A door  11  allowing access of lavatory users is equipped to a lavatory unit  10 . 
     A vent louver  13  having air holes  15  is mounted to the lower portion of the door  11 . Further, an exhaust port  17  connected to a vacuum mechanism is provided to a ceiling  12  of the lavatory unit  10 . The air inside the cabin is taken into to the lavatory unit  10  by discharging the air inside the lavatory unit  10  through the exhaust port  17  as shown by arrow a, and air within the cabin is flown into the lavatory unit  10  through the air holes  15  of the vent louver  13  mounted to the door  11  by the intake of the air in the direction of arrow a. 
     In the conventional lavatory unit  10  having the structure mentioned above, when the dust is gathered to the vent louver  13 , the flow of air is blocked, and the cleaning of air inside the lavatory unit  10  is not carried out well, thereby making users feel uncomfortable. 
     In such case, the vent louver  13  is taken off from the door  10  and cleaned in order to evacuate the plugging of the air hole  15  of the vent louver. 
     However, the vent louver  13  is inserted to the disposition port of the door  11 , and fixed at the bottom to the frame  11   a  of the door with a fastener  19 . In order to dismount the vent louver  13  from the door  11 , it is necessary to dismount the door  11  from the lavatory unit  10  and to take off the fastener  19  of the frame  11   a.    
     Further, even when the door  11  is dismounted from the lavatory unit  10 , the door is handled in inverted position, so it is difficult to carry out the dismounting operation of the vent louver  13 . 
     Therefore, the cleaning of the vent louver in airplanes has been a very difficult task. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the present invention aims at providing a door of a lavatory unit which enables simple dismount of the vent louver. Thereby, the air inside the lavatory unit provided in a closed space is maintained clean, and the users feel more comfortable. 
     The door according to the present invention of the lavatory unit allowing users to access said lavatory unit is equipped with a vent louver mounted to an opening perforated on the lower portion of a door body via a frame of the door. 
     The vent louver comprises a ventilation having a plurality of air holes provided to the central portion thereof, amounting portion fixed with fasteners to the door body provided to the upper portion of the ventilation, and a mounting portion for mounting the lower portion of the ventilation to the door body via the door frame. Also, the mounting portion on the lower portion of the vent louver comprises a connector connected to the outer wall of the frame, and an elastic connector inserted to the frame and flexibly connected to the inner wall of the frame. When the vent louver is in an opened condition having the fastener of the upper mounting portion taken off, it is rotatable in the direction perpendicular to the door surface centering on the elastic connector of the lower mounting portion, so that it is able to be detached from the door body. 
     The lower portion of the vent louver grips the frame with the connector and the elastic connector. Also, the elastic connector of the lower mounting portion is provided with a leaf spring which is biased toward the inner wall direction of the frame when the lower mounting portion is inserted and provided in the frame. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the vent louver according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A—A and line B—B in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial front view and a cross-sectional view of the door equipped with the vent louver; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lavatory unit according to the present invention; and 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the conventional lavatory unit. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiment of the invention will now be explained referring to the drawings. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the fundamental section of a lavatory unit  100  equipped with a door of the present invention. 
     To the center of a door body  110  of the lavatory unit  100 , there is provided a latch  111  allowing a user to lock the door. To the lower portion of the door body  110 , there is provided a plurality of openings, a plurality of mounting holes  113 , for mounting plural vent louvers  130 . Generally, two vent louvers are provided thereto. However, the drawing shows the state where one vent louver is taken off (mounting hole  113 ) for explanation. To the mounting hole  113  of the door body  110 , a fastening hole  117  for mounting the vent louver  130  is perforated. 
     Next, the composition of the vent louver  130  will be explained referring to FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     The vent louver  130  has a ventilation  131  having a ventilation structure and provided to the center of the vent louver, an upper mounting portion  133  provided continuously at the upper part of the ventilation  131 , and a lower mounting portion  135  provided continuously at the lower part of the ventilation  131 . 
     The ventilation  131  is comprised of two boards, each provided with a plurality of air holes  131   a  opened downwardly. 
     The upper mounting portion  133  is made by superposing two plates, and a mounting hole  133   a  for mounting the fastener is opened to both ends thereof. The upper mounting portion  133  is mounted by matching the mounting hole  133   a  to the fastening hole  117  of the fitting hole  133  of the door body  110 . 
     The lower mounting portion  135  has an elastic connector  135 S at the center thereof, and having at both sides thereof a connector  135 F for being connected to the door frame and having a substantially L-shaped cross section. 
     The elastic connector  135 S of the lower mounting portion  135  is provided with a leaf spring  1350  and a support plate  1355  for the leaf spring  1350  having a substantially Z-shaped cross section. The leaf spring  1350  is mounted to the lower mounting portion  135 , with one end of the leaf spring  1350  being fixed to one side of the support plate  1355 , and the other ends being free ends. 
     The vent louver  130  having the above-mentioned structure is mounted to the fitting hole  113  of the door body  110  (FIG.  3 ). 
     First, the lower mounting portion  135  of the vent louver  130  is equipped to the opening side of the frame  115  of the door body  110  having a substantially U-shaped cross section. One side of L-shaped connector  135 F is connected to the frame  115 , and the elastic connector  135 S is inserted via the opening of the frame  115  so as to flexibly pressurize the leaf spring  1350  to the inner wall of the frame  115 . The leaf spring  1350  is biased toward the direction of the inner wall of the frame  115 , when being inserted inside the frame  115 . The upper mounting portion  133  is mounted to the upper portion of the fitting hole  113  of the door, and the vent louver  130  is equipped to the door body  110  by fixing the fastener  140  via the fastening hole  117  of the door body and the hole  133   a  for the fastener of the vent louver  130 . 
     Next, dismantlement of the vent louver  130  from the door body  110  will be explained. 
     First, the fastener  140  of the upper mounting portion  135  is removed, and the upper mounting portion  133  of the vent louver  130  is rotated about in the direction of arrow O shown in FIG.  2 . Both ends of the lower mounting portion  135  of the vent louver are easily removed, since only one side of the L-shaped connector  135 F is connected at the frame  115 . As for the elastic connector  135 S, the leaf spring  1350  rotates about centering on the contact point with the inner wall of the frame  115 , accompanying the rotation of the vent louver  130 . At this point, the leaf spring  1350  is pressed opposing to the bias force, and is removed from the frame  115 . 
     As seen from above, the vent louver  130  of the present invention could be mounted to and dismounted from the door body  110  with ease, in which the door body  110  is equipped to the lavatory unit  110 , by fastening and removing two fasteners  140  according to the present embodiment. 
     Moreover, by placing the upper mounting portion (fastening position) to the retracted position from the surface of the lower part of the door  110 , and with the cabin generally being dim, it is hardly noticed by passengers or users, so the appearance of the door is maintained well. 
     According to the door body  110  having the above-mentioned structure mounted for example in an airplane, the removed vent louver  130  could be cleaned with air or water at a cleaning facility, and therefore, it is possible to clean the vent louver  130  with ease during everyday maintenance. 
     The door of a lavatory unit according to the present invention enables to mount and dismount the vent louver with the door being fixed to the unit, and therefore, the cleaning task is simplified.