Patent ID: 7740201

Claim:
Aircraft floor heating comprising: an aircraft with a fuselage having a forward cockpit section and a cabin section located aft of the cockpit section and extending along the length of the aircraft, the cockpit section including a cockpit and an avionics bay containing electronic equipment; a floor within the cabin section made up of heatable panels defining a plurality of first hollow chambers formed integrally with the panels and wherein each hollow chamber has a first end proximate to the cockpit section and a second end distal of the cockpit section; and a feed line operatively connected to the avionics bay and the first ends of the first hollow chambers and providing fluid communication therebetween, the feed line supplying warm waste air to the first ends of the hollow chambers, the warm waste air having originated from the cooling of the electronic equipment contained in the avionics bay, whereby the warm waste air travels through the first hollow chambers along the fuselage of the aircraft and heats the floor of the cabin section, a cargo door located in the fuselage aft of the first hollow chambers, the cargo door including heatable panels defining a plurality of second hollow chambers formed integrally with the panels, the second hollow chambers residing in fluid communication with the second ends of the first hollow chambers, the second hollow chambers being in fluid communication with one of (a) the cabin section, and (b) the outside of the aircraft, whereby warm waste air flows from the second hollow chambers to one of the cabin section and the outside of the aircraft.