Patent Abstract:
An internal wall in an aircraft cabin separates a lavatory and a galley of the aircraft. The internal wall has an intermediate notch that increases a lateral width dimension of the lavatory above the notch and thereby improves the spatial environment of the lavatory.

Full Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention pertains to the configuration of an internal wall in an aircraft cabin that separates a lavatory and a galley of the aircraft. In particular, the present invention pertains to an aircraft cabin having a lavatory and galley separated by an internal wall, where the internal wall has an intermediate notch that increases a lateral width dimension of the lavatory above the notch and thereby improves the environment and enhances the functionality and ergonomics of the lavatory. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Commercial aircraft set up for the transportation of passengers typically include rows of seats along the length of the aircraft cabin that are separated by a central aisle, at least one galley in the cabin, and one or more lavatories in the cabin. Because the primary purpose of a commercial aircraft is to transport passengers, the aircraft cabin is usually set up to maximize the number of seats in the cabin. As a result, it is challenging to provide adequate lavatory space without reducing seat count. 
     A typical passenger aircraft includes at least one lavatory enclosure that is positioned along the central aisle of the aircraft among the rows of seats. The lavatory enclosure is accessed through a doorway from the central aisle. The width of the lavatory enclosure is typically not much larger than the width of the doorway. The dimensions of the lavatory enclosure often make it difficult for a user to move around in the enclosure, much less provide comfortable elbow room in the enclosure. Thus, passengers who are above median height and weight and are using conventional aircraft lavatories may feel uncomfortably confined in the lavatory enclosure. 
     SUMMARY 
     The aircraft lavatory enclosure of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art aircraft lavatory enclosures discussed above. This is accomplished by repositioning the lavatory enclosure in the aircraft cabin away from the rows of the seats and the central aisle. The lavatory enclosure of the invention is moved to a position adjacent a cross-aisle at the rear of the aircraft cabin that provides access to two aircraft cabin doors on laterally opposite sides of the aircraft. Moving the aircraft lavatory to a position rearwardly of the cross-aisle enables the lavatory enclosure to be reconfigured to make the best use of available space at the rear of the aircraft cabin. 
     In the aircraft of the invention, a pair of lavatory enclosures are positioned adjacent laterally opposite sides of the aircraft body. Each of the lavatories is positioned in areas on opposite sides of a galley located at the rear of the aircraft cabin. The first lavatory of the pair is positioned between one side of the galley and a first interior sidewall of the aircraft body and the second lavatory of the pair is positioned between the opposite side of the galley and a second interior sidewall of the aircraft body. The first and second lavatories are basically mirror images of each other. Therefore, only the first lavatory enclosure will be described in detail, with it being understood that the second lavatory enclosure is a mirror image thereof. 
     The first lavatory enclosure includes a front wall with a doorway that is accessible from the cross aisle of the cabin. The front wall extends laterally from the first interior sidewall of the aircraft body to the galley in the rear of the aircraft cabin. An internal wall in the cabin separates the lavatory from the galley. The internal wall extends longitudinally from the lavatory front wall to a rear bulkhead wall of the aircraft cabin. The internal wall is comprised of a lower section, and intermediate section and an upper section that are all interconnected. The wall lower section extends vertically upwardly from the floor surface between the adjacent lavatory and the galley. The lower section extends upwardly to a vertical height above the toilet in the adjacent lavatory where the lower section connects with the intermediate section. The wall intermediate section extends from the lower section laterally towards the centerline of the airplane and over a lower portion of the galley. The wall upper section then extends vertically upwardly from the intermediate section to the roof of the cabin. The intermediate section of the wall moves the upper section of the wall laterally away from the center of the toilet. This creates a notch in the lavatory that increases the lateral width of the lavatory above the wall intermediate section. The increase in the lavatory width provides more usable space in the lavatory for passengers using the lavatory, while still retaining the small footprint of the lavatory on the floor surface of the aircraft between the wall lower section and the adjacent interior sidewall of the aircraft. The increased usable space gives the lavatory an impression of additional spaciousness and a more comfortable atmosphere. Additionally, the repositioned lavatory has made more space available along the central aisle of the aircraft to add passenger seating and improve the economic efficiency of the aircraft. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features of the aircraft lavatory of the invention are set forth in the following detailed description of the aircraft and in the drawing figures. 
         FIG. 1  is a representation of a front perspective view of the aircraft lavatory. 
         FIG. 2  is a representation of a front view of the lavatory of the invention at the rear of the aircraft cabin. 
         FIG. 3  is a representation of a portion of a conventional aircraft floor plan at the rear of the aircraft cabin showing the typical locations of lavatories of the aircraft relative to the passenger seating and the galley of the aircraft. 
         FIG. 4  is a representation of the floor plan at the rear of the aircraft of the invention with the relocated lavatory of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 3  is a representation of the floor plan at the rear of a typical aircraft cabin where lavatories of the aircraft are located. In  FIG. 3  a rearward portion of the aircraft fuselage or body  12  that surrounds the aircraft cabin is shown in cross section. As is conventional, the aircraft cabin has a longitudinal length between a front  14  of the cabin and a rear  16  of the cabin. The cabin also has a lateral width between opposite outboard first  18  and second  22  interior sidewalls of the aircraft body. 
     A plurality of rows of seats  24 ,  26  may be arranged on the floor surface  28  of the aircraft cabin. The rows of seats  24 ,  26  may also be arranged on laterally opposite sides of the cabin and define a central aisle  32 . The central aisle  32  may also extend longitudinally through the cabin across the floor surface  28  between the front  14  and rear  16  of the cabin and between the rows of seats  24 ,  26 . A galley  34  may be provided in the rear of the cabin at the rearward end of the central aisle  32 . This space could be used for other purposes and could be broadly described as a stowage space  34 . 
     A cross aisle  36  may extend laterally across the rear  16  of the cabin in front of the galley  34 . The cross aisle  36  may extend between a pair of boarding doors  38 ,  42  in the respective sidewalls  18 ,  22  of the aircraft body. 
     The galley  34  may typically include a galley cart compartment  44  containing a plurality of galley carts  46 . In the example shown in  FIG. 1  the galley cart compartment  44  contains four galley carts  46 . Each galley cart  46  is supported by rollers on the floor surface  28  and is inserted longitudinally into a slot provided for the cart in the compartment  44 . The galley also includes a countertop  48  on top of the compartment  44 . Although not shown, the galley  34  also may include appliances such as a coffee maker, a hotplate, a microwave oven, etc. above the counter  48 . 
     Galley equipment is produced according to basically two worldwide standards, namely ATLAS and KSSU. These have their origins in the industry in legacy maintenance resource pools (ATLAS=Alitalia, TAP, Lufthansa, Air France, Sabena and KSSU=KLM, Swissair, SAS, UTA) and have subsequently developed into industry standards to enable modular equipment interchange between aircraft of different manufacturers. 
     Each piece of ATLAS standard equipment is preferably able to fit in any ATLAS galley on any aircraft type of any airline worldwide. The same is true for the KSSU standard equipment. ATLAS equipment is today&#39;s leader for worldwide market share with about 75% of galley equipment manufactured being either ATLAS standard or ATLAS compatible. KSSU has about a 20% market share and a handful of legacy air lines with proprietary standards (BA has a proprietary standard called “ACE” for example) account for the remaining 5%. 
     Equipment standards for ATLAS and KSSU include specifications for most anything ranging from carts to oven racks to coffeepots to plastic cups to storage boxes. A variation of even a single millimeter from the standard specifications for galley equipment could result in equipment not being able to stow securely and the consequent safety issues that result. 
     Most equipment is actually manufactured by the same companies. For example, rotatable or movable equipment (carts, etc.) are manufactured by companies such as Driessen and Diethelm-Keller. Consumables such as trays, cups, etc. are manufactured by companies such as DeSter and Helios. These companies either provide airlines with branded or generic versions of existing designs or developed entirely new product lines within the existing standards. 
     In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , the aircraft includes three lavatory enclosures  52 ,  54 ,  56 . Each of the enclosures is accessible through a respective door  58 ,  62 ,  64  of the enclosures  52 ,  54 ,  56 . A small coat closet  66  is also provided in the cabin. As can be seen in  FIG. 3 , the width dimension of each of the lavatory enclosures  52 ,  54 ,  56  set in order to maximize the passenger seating in the aircraft cabin. The width of each lavatory enclosure  52 ,  54 ,  56  is not much larger than the width of its respective door  62 ,  64 ,  66 . The dimensions of the lavatory enclosures  52 ,  54 ,  56  often make it difficult for a user to enter the enclosure from the central aisle  32  and move around in the enclosure, much less provide comfortable elbow room in the enclosure. The narrow width of the enclosures  52 ,  54 ,  56  may result in passengers using the lavatories feeling uncomfortably confined in the enclosures. 
     The aircraft lavatory enclosure of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art aircraft lavatory enclosures discussed above. This is accomplished by repositioning the lavatory enclosure in the aircraft cabin away from the rows of the seats and the central aisle. The enclosure is moved to a position rearwardly of the cross-aisle  36  at the rear of the aircraft cabin. Moving the aircraft lavatory to a position rearwardly of the cross-aisle  36  enables the lavatory enclosure to be reconfigured to make the best use of available space at the rear of the aircraft cabin. 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of a pair of lavatories  72 ,  74  of an embodiment of the present invention that have been installed at the rear of the aircraft cabin shown in  FIG. 1 . The lavatories  72 ,  74  are positioned rearwardly of the cross-aisle  36  and on laterally opposite sides of or outboard of the galley  34 . In comparing  FIGS. 1 and 2 , it can be seen that the lavatories  72 ,  74  have been positioned in areas available between the galley  34  and the opposite outboard first  18  and second  22  interior sidewalls of the aircraft body.  FIG. 1  is a perspective review of a pair of lavatories of the invention, and  FIG. 4  is a plan view of one of the lavatories of the invention. In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  the pair of lavatories may include a first  72  and second  74  lavatory that are mirror images of each other. Only the first lavatory  72  will be described in detail. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the lavatory  72  may include a front wall  76  as part of its enclosure. The aircraft body first internal sidewall  18  and a rear bulkhead wall or aft pressure bulkhead (APB)  78  of the aircraft may also form portions of the enclosure of the lavatory. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the aircraft body first interior sidewall  18  substantially conforms to an outboard portion of the enclosure of the lavatory and the aft pressure bulkhead  78  substantially conforms to an aft portion of the enclosure of the lavatory. The front wall  76  may have a doorway  82  that is accessible from the cross-aisle  36 . A door  84  is secured to the front wall  76  and can be manually operated to selectively open and close the doorway  82  in a conventional manner. The door  84  selected for the lavatory  72  may be a double fold door that basically folds into the area of the lavatory  72  when opening the door. This prevents the door  84  from obstructing movement through the cross aisle  36  at the rear of the cabin. 
     In addition, the enclosure of the lavatory  72  includes an inboard internal wall  86 . The inboard internal wall  86  may be positioned laterally between the galley  34  and the lavatory  72 . In this position the inboard internal wall  86  of the enclosure of the lavatory serves to separate the lavatory  72  and the stowage space  34 . In a further embodiment an aircraft may contain two lavatories  72 ,  74  in the aircraft cabin. They may be arranged such that, a pair of internal walls  86 ,  88  in the cabin separate each of the respective lavatories  72 ,  74  from the galley  34  at the center of the cabin. 
     The first internal wall  86  is comprised of a lower section  92 , an intermediate section  94  and an upper section  96 . Each of the sections may be interconnected as seen in the drawing figures. Additionally, each of the wall sections extend longitudinally through the cabin from the lavatory enclosure front wall  76  to the rear bulkhead wall  78 , thereby completing the lavatory enclosure. 
     The wall lower section  92  may extend vertically upwardly from the floor surface  28  between a lower area of the adjacent lavatory  72  and a lower area of the galley  34 . The lower section  92  may be perpendicular to the floor surface  28  and extends upwardly from the floor surface to the wall intermediate section  94 . The height of the lower section  92  may position the intermediate section  94  at a position vertically above the toilet  98  in the lavatory  72 . Additionally, the height of the lower section  92  may position the intermediate section  94  vertically above the galley cart compartment  44 . 
     The intermediate section  94  extends horizontally from the lower section  92  over the lower area of the galley and the galley cart compartment  44  and inboard or toward the centerline of the airplane from the lavatory  72 . The intermediate section  94  extends from the lower section  92  to the wall upper section  96 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the wall intermediate section  94  may be coplanar with the galley counter top  48 . In an alternative embodiment, the intermediate section  94  may be continuous with the galley counter top  48 . In a further embodiment a single structure may form the wall intermediate section  94  and the galley counter top  48 . The intermediate section also adds a countertop  104  to the lavatory  72 . Depending on the type of equipment employed in the galley, for example whether ATLAS or KSSU equipment is used, and what quantities of equipment, for example whether four carts or three carts are used, the intermediate section  94  could have a lateral width dimension ranging from 2 inches to 20 inches. In other environments, the intermediate section  94  could have other lateral width dimensions and other orientations than the horizontal orientation shown. 
     The wall upper section  96  may extend vertically upwardly from the intermediate section  94  between an upper area of the lavatory and an upper area of the galley to the roof  102  of the aircraft cabin. Due to the tapered configuration of the aircraft fuselage or body  12 , as the aircraft extends from a front  14  of the aircraft cabin to a rear  16  of the aircraft cabin, the fuselage crowned surface of the aircraft has an increased height in a region of the front wall  76  of the lavatory enclosure as compared to the height in the region of the aft pressure bulkhead  78  or rear of the lavatory enclosure. As represented in  FIG. 1 , this difference in height of the fuselage crowned surface of the aircraft body  12  adjacent the lavatory front wall  76  enables the lavatory ceiling or roof  102  that is spaced from the fuselage crowned surface as shown in  FIG. 2  to have an increased standing height in the region of the front wall  76  of the lavatory as compared to the height in the region of the rear wall or aft pressure bulkhead  78  of the lavatory. The intermediate section  94  positions the upper section  96  laterally further inboard from the first interior sidewall  18  of the aircraft body from the lower section  92 . Thus as shown in  FIG. 4 , the lateral width dimension  106  of the lavatory  72  above of the intermediate section  94  is larger than the largest lateral width dimension  108  of the lavatory  72  below the intermediate section  94 . Furthermore, the intermediate section  94  and the upper section  96  together form a notch in the lavatory  72  that provides additional area to the lavatory. The increase in the lavatory width above the intermediate section  94  provides more usable space in the lavatory for passengers using the lavatory, while still retaining the small footprint of the lavatory on the floor surface  28  between the lower section  92  and the first interior sidewall  18 . The increased usable space gives a lavatory an impression of speciousness and a more comfortable atmosphere. Additionally, as represented in  FIG. 1 , the visual apparent width in the notch in the lavatory  72  formed by the intermediate section  94  and the upper section  96  can be further increased by locating a mirror in the notch and on the upper section  96  of the inboard internal wall  86  of the enclosure. 
     With the modification of the rear of the aircraft cabin shown in  FIG. 1  by the repositioned lavatories of the invention, the lavatory enclosures  52 ,  54 ,  56  shown at the rear of the aircraft cabin  16  in  FIG. 3  can be removed, enabling the addition of more passenger seating to the aircraft and thereby improving the economic efficiency of the aircraft. 
     As various modifications could be made in the construction of the invention herein described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1