US20100101013A1

US20100101013A1 - Modular Shower Cabin For Aircrafts

Info

Publication number: US20100101013A1
Application number: US12/606,004
Authority: US
Inventors: Nico von Obstfelder
Original assignee: Lufthansa Technik AG
Current assignee: Lufthansa Technik AG
Priority date: 2008-10-27
Filing date: 2009-10-26
Publication date: 2010-04-29
Also published as: EP3564125B1; EP3564125A1; EP2179923B1; EP2179923A3; DE102008053228A1; EP2179923A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a modular shower cabin for aircrafts comprising an integratable faucet unit (6), and integrated technical facilities, like for example a water drain (15), illumination, a ventilation device, oxygen masks or the like, wherein the shower cabin comprises a center portion (2), in which an entrance area formed by a recess (5) and a mounting for the faucet unit (6) are provided, and wherein the shower cabin comprises a ceiling portion (4) adjoining the center portion (2) at the top, and a bottom portion (3) adjoining the center portion (2) at the bottom, and wherein the technical facilities are allocated to the ceiling portion (4) and/or to the bottom portion (3).

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

The application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of German Patent Application No. DE 102008053228.2, filed on Oct. 27, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a modular shower cabin for aircrafts.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

In aircrafts, shower cabins are provided for example as special equipment or in the first class area, where these then need to meet highest optical as well as haptic quality demands being standard in this class. These shower cabins further need to comprise certain technical facilities, like for example illumination, faucets, water drain, ventilation, oxygen masks, which preferably are pre-assembled with the shower cabin when being mounted in the aircraft, in order to reduce the time required for the initial mounting in the aircraft. As the space available in the aircraft is limited, the shower cabin itself and the arrangement of the connections as well as of the technical facilities should be designed to require minimum space. Furthermore, possible future repairs should involve as little time as possible. Moreover, for safety reasons, the shower cabins in aircrafts need to have certain predetermined fire resistance properties and, at the same time, they need to be paintable providing high optical quality.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Previous shower cabins have a two-part configuration consisting of an upper segment and a lower segment connected with each other via a horizontal welded joint. The water drain is provided as an integral component in the lower segment, whereas further technical facilities, like for example the ventilation, the illumination, an overhead shower head or the like, are located in the upper segment. On one side of the upper segment, a recess is further provided, in which a faucet unit is connected. The entrance area is formed from two partial recesses which are provided in the segments and complement each other to form one large recess when the segments are joined together.
It is a disadvantage of this embodiment that the upper and the lower segment have to be joined together very accurately, in order that the joint is preferably not visible at all or at least runs evenly so that the harmonic overall impression is preferably not irritated by the joint and the large recess of the entrance area taking shape when the segments are joined together is as accurate to shape as possible. Moreover, the arrangement of the faucet unit is predetermined by the position of the joint, as far as the recess for locating the faucet box for quality reasons shall be provided in one of the segments only. Furthermore, due to integrating the technical facilities into the segments it is not possible to individually replace them in the event of repair, as they are hard to access from inside the shower cabin. In an extreme case, the whole shower cabin needs to be dismounted for repairing one of the technical facilities involving great effort and high costs.
It is the object of the invention to provide a shower cabin for aircrafts avoiding the above-mentioned disadvantages.
The object is solved according to the invention by a modular shower cabin comprising the features of claim 1. Further advantageous developments are specified in the sub claims.
For the solution of the object, a modular shower cabin for aircrafts with an integratable faucet unit and integrated technical facilities, like for example a water drain, illumination, a ventilation device, oxygen masks or the like is proposed which comprises a center portion, in which an entrance area formed by a recess and a mounting for the faucet unit are provided, and a ceiling portion adjoining the center portion at the top and a bottom portion adjoining the center portion at the bottom, and in which the technical facilities are allocated to the ceiling portion and/or to the bottom portion.
The basic idea of the invention is that, turning away from the two-part solution known from prior art, now a three-part configuration consisting of a center portion, a ceiling portion adjoining at the top and a bottom portion adjoining at the bottom is proposed with the technical facilities being allocated to the ceiling portion and/or the bottom portion which are easier to access and/or easier to dismount. Furthermore, the entrance area is formed by one single recess located in the center portion so that it can be produced with high shape accuracy regardless of a joint. As the entrance area itself can be produced with essentially higher shape accuracy, a door which is usually provided in the entrance area can be sealed much better and a possibly provided panelling can be mounted with essentially higher fitting accuracy. Moreover, the shower cabin due to the proposed three-part basic configuration no longer comprises an irritating, horizontally running joint within the visible area so that the optical overall impression is substantially improved thereby. Visible area here shall be considered as the center portion within the observer's field of vision so that a joint between the center portion and the bottom portion or the ceiling portion can of course be provided at the upper and/or the lower edge of the shower cabin without leaving the idea of the invention. If necessary, the joints between the center portion and the ceiling portion and the bottom portion can however be covered very easily by the center portion enclosing the ceiling portion and the bottom portion from the outside. A further advantage of the invention is that the mounting for the faucet unit can be located at any height in the center portion, in particular at the door handle height standardized in aircraft construction, without the need for taking into account the previously present horizontal joint.
It is further proposed that the center portion is formed by at least two structural components, and that the structural components are connected with each other at their vertically running sides. Thereby, the center portion can be formed to have different cross-sectional geometries, for example as a barrel having a circular cross-section, as a cuboid having a rectangular cross-section, or with any radii in adaptation to the mounting conditions in the aircraft cabin. It is important in this respect that the joints run vertically or are hidden in the form of vertically running edges and thus do not cut the recesses.
It is further proposed that at least one of the structural components has a radius, and that the structural component at the end of the radius passes into a planar side wall. As the shower cabin often is located adjacent to side walls of an aircraft cabin which are arranged at an angle in particular at a right angle to each other, a free space between the shower cabin and the side walls adjacent to each other is provided by the radius, in which free space the faucet unit can be attached to the shower cabin from the outside, whereas with the planar side wall the shower cabin then rests against the side wall of the aircraft cabin.
In this case, it is particularly advantageous if at least two structural components having an identical radius are provided and the structural components are joined together in such a way that the planar opposite side walls are located to be parallel to each other. In this case, structural components having an identical basic shape can be used which can be produced in a joint form or a joint manufacturing process. By using a joint form for producing the structural components the manufacturing costs for the shower cabin are significantly reduced.
It is particularly easy to adapt the shaping of the shower cabin to the mounting conditions available in the aircraft cabin by the planar side walls adjacent to each other having different widths. The structural components in particular can then initially be produced to be oversized and subsequently they can be adapted to the respective mounting conditions by individually cutting the planar side walls to size. The only unchangeable geometry is the radius to which the faucet unit is connected.
It is further proposed that at least one ventilation gap is provided between the center portion and the ceiling portion. The ventilation gap can be realized by the geometric design of the outer contour of the ceiling portion or the geometric design of the inner contour of the center portion so that it automatically takes shape when the portions are joined together. The cross-section of the ventilation gap in particular can be chosen independent of other components in such a way that the humid air present in the shower cabin can be sucked off to a sufficient extent and silently.
A further preferred design of the invention is that the bottom portion and/or the ceiling portion are covered by a detachable cover plate towards the interior of the shower cabin. Thus, on the one hand, the technical facilities are hidden optically, and, on the other hand, are easy to access for being repaired by removing the cover plate.
In this case, a particularly mounting-friendly and repair-friendly attachment of the cover plate is a magnetic attachment. The magnetic attachment allows the cover plate to be mounted and dismounted without the use of tools and does not require fastening means which are visible from inside the shower cabin or rather have to be covered. The magnetic attachment can be achieved for example by magnetic strips located on the cover plate and/or on the bottom portion or the ceiling portion, which magnetic strips are fastened for example by form closure or by an adhesive bond.
It is further proposed that support elements are provided between the cover plate and the bottom portion by which the cover plate is held at a distance from the bottom portion. By the proposed support elements, on the one hand, the cover plate is supported, and, on the other hand, the technical facilities located in the bottom portion are prevented from being loaded when the shower cabin is entered.
It is further proposed that a water drain gap or a ventilation gap is provided between the cover plate or plates and the center portion. The water drain gap or the ventilation gap can be provided by a simple geometrical design of the cover plate or the center portion in the adjacent area, wherein the water can be drained off very easily utilizing the hollow spaces provided by the support elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention is described in more detail on the basis of several preferred embodiments. The figures show in detail:

FIG. 1 shows modular shower cabin with barrel-shaped center portion.

FIG. 2 shows modular shower cabin with center portion having a lemon-shaped cross-section.

FIG. 3 shows modular shower cabin with planar side walls having different widths and with two identical radii.

FIG. 4 shows modular shower cabin with two planar side walls and with one side wall having a radius.

FIG. 5 shows bottom view of the modular shower cabin from FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows bottom view of the modular shower cabin from FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows bottom view of the modular shower cabin from FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 shows bottom view of the modular shower cabin from FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 shows exploded view of the modular shower cabin having a lemon-shaped cross-section.

FIG. 10 shows modular shower cabin with seating accommodation.

FIG. 11 shows bottom portion with support elements without cover plate.

FIG. 12 shows cut-out of the bottom portion with cover plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The indications of location and direction in the following description of the modular shower cabins always relate to a shower cabin in the upright position.
First of all, FIG. 1 shows a modular shower cabin comprising a barrel-shaped center portion 2. The barrel-shaped center portion 2 is limited towards the top by the ceiling portion 4 and towards the bottom by the bottom portion 3, and is formed by two structural components 2 a and 2 b having been joined together. The structural components 2 a and 2 b are designed to have the shape of a divided circle and are joined together at their vertical side edges 21 and 22 so that the cross-section of a full circle takes shape, as can also be seen in FIG. 6 in the viewing direction from the bottom to the bottom portion 3 with the drain 15 located in the center. A recess 5 is provided in the structural component 2 a, which recess forms the entrance area and due to the design of the shower cabin according to the invention now is provided in the structural component 2 a only. The shaping of the recess 5 thus is not irritated by welded joints and can be effected in one single manufacturing step. At the side of the structural component 2 b a mounting 6 for a faucet unit is provided, the positioning height of which now can be freely chosen due to the omitted welded joint. The faucet unit can then be fastened in the mounting 6 in the aircraft or also during the pre-assembly depending on the order.
A through hole 14 is provided in the ceiling portion 4, in which a technical facility, like for example illumination, ventilation, an overhead shower head or the like can be located. Technical facilities here shall be regarded as all required facilities which are desired or required for using the shower cabin in the aircraft, in particular in the luxury class.
FIG. 2 shows a modular shower cabin comprising a center portion 2 having a lemon-shaped cross-section. The center portion 2 is also formed from two structural components 2 a and 2 b which are connected at their vertically running side edges in the edges 7 b and 7 c, as shown in FIG. 8. On the top of the center portion 2, a ceiling portion 4 is provided, and, on the bottom, a bottom portion 3 is provided. The structural components 2 a and 2 b have an identical basic shape and are each formed from a radius 12 and 13 and planar side walls 8, 9, 10 and 11 adjoining the radius 12 and 13. In the region of the radius 13, a recess 5 is provided which forms the entrance area and due to the radius allows entering the shower cabin from different directions. On the radius 12, the mounting 6 for the faucet unit is located which extends into the free space 23 provided by the radius 12 when the shower cabin is located in an edge 24 of the aircraft cabin. The planar side walls 10 and 11 then rest against the walls of the aircraft cabin without forming a gap and without being disturbed by the mounting 6. The structural components 2 a and 2 b are aligned and dimensioned in such a way that the opposite planar side walls 8 and 11 and 9 and 10 run parallel to each other and have the same widths.
FIG. 3 shows a further form of the modular shower cabin, in which the center portion 2 again is formed by two structural components 2 a and 2 b, each of which has an identical radius 12 and 13 and comprises planar side walls 8, 9, 10 and 11. However, in contrast to the embodiment from FIG. 2, here the planar side walls 8 and 9 of the structural component 2 b and the planar side walls 10 and 11 of the structural component 2 a are chosen to have different lengths.
In the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3, an overall square or rectangular layout takes shape, in each of which two opposite edges are replaced by radii. The structural components 2 a and 2 b can be produced to be identical and in one joint form, whereas the individual adaptation of the basic shape to the aircraft cabin then is carried out by cutting the planar side walls 8, 9, 10 and 11 to size. Provided the planar side walls 8 and 9 and 10 and 11 at the structural components 2 a and 2 b are positioned at right angles to each other, each pair of the opposite planar side walls 8 and 11 and 9 and 10 should have the same width.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a further embodiment, in which the center portion 2 is formed by a structural component 2 a having a radius 12 and adjacent planar side walls 10 and 11 and two planar structural components 2 b and 2 c. The planar structural components 2 b and 2 c are connected with the structural component 2 a at the vertically running sides of the same in the edges 7 b and 7 c, and the planar structural components 2 b and 2 c themselves are connected with each other in a vertically running edge 7 a as well. The modular shower cabin provided that way thus has a rectangular or square layout with a radius 12 replacing an edge. In this case, the recess 5 forming the entrance area is located in the planar structural component 2 b so that it can be closed with an also planar door.
FIG. 9 shows an exploded view of the configuration of a modular shower cabin according to the invention having a geometry which corresponds to the embodiment from FIG. 2. The structural components 2 a and 2 b joined together to form the center portion 2 each have a radius, in which the recesses 5 and 18 are provided. The mounting 6 for the faucet unit is located in the recess 18 at the side of the shower cabin so that the water supply via the faucet unit can be controlled from inside the shower cabin. The recess 5 serves as entrance area and thus is designed to be as large as possible. Neither the structural component 2 a nor the structural component 2 b comprise a horizontal joint cutting the recesses 5 and 18, which would have to be hidden optically or, for the purpose of a high-quality optical appearance, would have to be finished very accurately. As the vertically running edges 7 b and 7 c abut against the walls of the aircraft cabin when the shower cabin is mounted in the aircraft, they cannot explicitly be identified by the observer as the connecting points of two different portions, but are rather the result of the basic shape to be provided so that the center portion 2 is not noticed to have a two-part configuration. On the top of the center portion 2, a ceiling portion 4 is provided which has an outer geometry that corresponds to the layout of the shower cabin and is put onto the center portion 2 from above or is invisibly embedded into the same. In the ceiling portion 4, different technical facilities, like illumination, ventilation, oxygen masks, overhead shower head, loudspeakers or the like are provided, by means of which the stay in the shower cabin can be arranged to be accordingly comfortable or which are required due to the special use of the shower cabin in the aircraft. A bottom portion 3 adjoins the center portion 2 at the bottom, in which a water drain is provided. The bottom portion 3 is further covered by a detachable cover plate 17 which is formed in such a way that a drain gap takes shape between the center portion 2 and the cover plate 17. All in all, the proposed configuration of the shower cabin provides a possibility to design the shower cabin to meet highest optical demands. Moreover, the use of the shower cabin can be arranged to be as comfortable as possible for the passenger by dimensioning and positioning the recesses accordingly. Furthermore, a door to be inserted into the recess 5 can be sealed in an essentially easier and more effective way due to the no longer present welded joint.
In the event of one of the technical facilities in the ceiling portion 4 or of the drain in the bottom portion 3 being defective, the repair can be carried out very easily by making the ceiling portion 4 or the bottom portion 3 accessible, without the need to dismount the whole shower cabin. In an extreme case, the whole bottom portion 3 or the whole ceiling portion 4 can also be replaced due to lack of time so that a repair is also possible when the aircraft stays on the ground for a very short period of time only.
FIG. 10 shows a further embodiment of the invention, in which a seating accommodation 19 is provided between the structural components 2 c and 2 a. The seating accommodation 19 can be formed as an integral component of one of the structural components 2 a or 2 c or can also be mounted as an additional part. Besides its actual function, the seating accommodation can further be used for stiffening the shower cabin. Furthermore, the bottom portion 3 with the water drain 15 located therein is shown, which bottom portion is covered by a cover plate 17. The outer geometry of the cover plate 17 corresponds to the scale-reduced layout of the shower cabin so that a circumferential gap having a constant width takes shape between the cover plate 17 and the center portion 2.
FIG. 11 shows the bottom portion 3 from FIG. 1 without cover plate 17. The bottom portion 3 is provided with ring-shaped support elements 16 protruding upwards, on which the cover plate 17 rests, as can also be seen in FIG. 12. The support elements 16 prevent the drain 15 or other technical facilities from being loaded when the shower cabin is entered. Hollow spaces 20 are further provided by the support elements 16, through which the water can drain off into the drain 15. The cover plate 17 is fastened to the support elements 16 by snap-in connections 21 so that it can be mounted and dismounted without tools. The shape and the arrangement of the support elements 16 can of course be varied so that an overall good support of the cover plate 17 is achieved or rather the load of the cover plate 17 when the shower cabin is entered is distributed and thus the maximum load is reduced. Furthermore, the arrangement and the shaping of the support elements 16 can be effected in such a way that the technical facilities located in the bottom portion 3 are accessible and/or are unloaded.
All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, and publications referred to or cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety, including all figures and tables, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification.
It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application.

Claims

1. A modular shower cabin for aircrafts, comprising:

an integratable faucet unit; integrated technical facilities;

a center portion, in which an entrance area formed by a recess and a mounting for the faucet unit are provided;

a ceiling portion adjoining the center portion at a top of the center portion; and

a bottom portion adjoining the center portion at a bottom of the center portion,

wherein the integrated technical facilities are allocated to the ceiling portion and/or to the bottom portion.

2. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein the center portion is formed by at least two structural components, and wherein the structural components are connected with each other at their vertically running sides.

3. The modular shower cabin according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the at least two structural components has a radius, and wherein the at least one of the at least two structural components at an end of a corresponding radius passes into a corresponding planar side wall.

4. The modular shower cabin according to claim 3, wherein two of the at least two structural components have identical radii, wherein the two of the at least two structural components at the end of the corresponding radius passes into a corresponding planar side wall, and wherein the two of at least two structural components are joined together in such a way that opposite planar side walls are arranged to be parallel to each other.

5. The modular shower cabin according to claim 4, wherein planar side walls adjacent to each other have different widths.

6. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein at least one ventilation gap is provided between the center portion and the ceiling portion.

7. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein the bottom portion and/or the ceiling portion are covered by a cover plate towards an interior of the modular shower cabin.

8. The modular shower cabin according to claim 7, wherein the cover plate is fastened magnetically.

9. The modular shower cabin according to claim 7, wherein support elements are provided between the cover plate and the bottom portion, by which support elements the cover plate is held at a distance from the bottom portion.

10. The modular shower cabin according to claim 7, wherein a water drain gap is provided between the cover plate and the center portion.

11. The modular shower cabin according to claim 7, wherein a ventilation gap is provided between the cover plate and the center portion.

12. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein the integrated technical facilities comprise a water drain.

13. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein the integrated technical facilities comprise an illumination device.

14. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein the integrated technical facilities comprise a ventilation device.

15. The modular shower cabin according to claim 1, wherein the integrated technical facilities comprise oxygen masks.