WO2001074664A1

WO2001074664A1 - Connection coupling for waste water disposal from aircraft

Info

Publication number: WO2001074664A1
Application number: PCT/FI2001/000320
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oliver Claas
Original assignee: Evac International Oy
Priority date: 2000-04-05
Filing date: 2001-04-03
Publication date: 2001-10-11
Also published as: AU2001252295A1; DE20006269U1

Abstract

The invention relates to a connection coupling for an aircraft waste water disposal system, which connection coupling (1) is arranged to be connected to a waste water drainage pipe socket on the aircraft. The waste water disposal system comprises a waste water receiving arrangement and thereto connected hose means (2,3), which are fastenable to the connection coupling (1). In order to provide for an effective and multifunctional connection coupling (1), the connection coupling comprises a transition portion (10) provided at the lower part of the connection coupling (1). The hose means (2,3) are fastenable to the transition portion (10) and the connection coupling (1) is provided with at least one closable or lockable air inlet aperture (5).

Description

CONNECTION COUPLING FOR WASTE WATER DISPOSAL FROM AIRCRAFT

Technical Field The invention relates to a connection coupling for an aircraft waste water disposal system according to the preamble of claim 1 . Background Art

For the disposal of waste water from an aircraft, a pipe socket for receiving a connection coupling is provided at a lower part of the aircraft body or fuselage. The pipe socket has a standard size and a standard construction.

The pipe socket has a diameter of 4 inches, about 1 0,2 cm. For carrying out the drainage or disposal, a connection with a hose is established from the outside, which hose has an inner diameter of about 4 inches, about 10,2 cm.

The disposal process is started by connecting the hose to the aircraft from below for example by a threaded coupling device, after which the drainage can be carried out.

Despite standardisation there are, however, two different methods for disposal of waste from an aircraft, i.e. by way of gravity and by way of vacuum. Therefore, also the maintenance personnel has to know exactly which type of system is applied in an aircraft so that appropriate measures can be taken. The use of vacuum can be very dangerous with some aircraft, as the storage tanks are not designed to be subjected to vacuum or underpressure and would consequently be deformed permanently, if vacuum is directed to an empty or partially empty tank. The modern concept of airports is designed so that the hose for the drainage or disposal of waste water from the aircraft is not brought to the aircraft by means of a vehicle. Instead the disposal system, including the hose, is arranged in a storage location in the foundation, i.e. below the vehicle plane of the airport grounds. This means that four inch hoses, as indi- cated above, cannot be used due to handling difficulties arising from the weight and length of such hoses. This has resulted in that hoses with a di~ ameter of two inches (about 5, 1 cm) are used instead of the four inch hoses Such hoses can be properly handled by the maintenance personnel.

The use of a such a thin hose, however, results in problems with regard to effective and quick emptying of the waste water storage tank due to the small through-flow cross-section of the hose, if this would be done only by way of gravity. In order to achieve and ensure an appropriate emptying within an acceptable time, vacuum, or usually a vacuum pump has to be used. However, as discussed above, using vacuum is not suitable for all aircraft. If vacuum is used at a wrong instance, it results in damages in the equipment aboard the aircraft. For the maintenance personnel the problem also remains to decide for which aircraft it is safe to use vacuum and for which it is not safe. Disclosure of the Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a connection coupling for an emptying device, which ensures effective and sufficiently rapid waste water disposal from aircraft by way of vacuum, and also from such aircraft where the waste water storage or collection tank is not designed to be subjected to vacuum.

This object is attained by a connection coupling according to claim 1 . The connection coupling comprises a transition portion that is designed so that it may be connected to a two inch (about 5, 1 cm) hose at one end and to the generally 4 inch (about 1 0,2 cm) pipe socket on the aircraft body at the other opposite end. The connection coupling is further provided with at least one air inlet aperture in the area between the pipe socket on the aircraft and the transition portion, which aperture extends from the outside into the interior of the connection coupling.

The air inlet aperture is closable or lockable and is arranged to be closed or locked when the connection coupling is used with aircraft having collection or storage tanks that may be subjected to vacuum. With regard to air- craft, where the collection or storage tanks may not be subjected to vacuum, the air inlet aperture is arranged to be open so that the vacuum may be effective inside the hose, however, without acting towards the collection or storage tank of the aircraft This is achieved by allowing additional air to be sucked into the connection coupling through the air inlet aperture This makes it possible to employ an efficient vacuum drainage or disposal process, without causing any risk of damages to the aircraft equipment. The use of vacuum in the disposal or drainage process not only makes this process more effective in itself, but also ensures that the hose, which generally lies on the ground for some time before it may be retrieved into a storage location, also may effectively be emptied so that no contamination of the surroundings of the airport will occur. Many ways are conceivable in order to implement this closable or lock- able air inlet aperture and it lies within the scope of the present invention to arrange said aperture at another location than in the area between the disposal socket on the aircraft and the transition portion, e.g. in the disposal socket on the aircraft. This arrangement would give the advantage that the service personnel would not have to know which type of aircraft they are servicing, i.e. an aircraft system that may be subjected to vacuum or an aircraft system that may not be subjected to vacuum. The connection coupling only has to be connected, whereby the closing or opening of the air inlet aperture adjusts to the aircraft in question. According to a preferred embodiment, the air inlet aperture is connected to at least one pipe extending into the actual transition area of the transition portion, in order to positively influence the flow of waste water in the connection coupling.

In the following the invention will be described more in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a connection coupling according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a connection coupling according to the invention, and

Fig. 3 shows a third second embodiment of a connection coupling according to the invention. In Fig 1 the connection coupling for an aircraft is indicated by reference numeral 1 The connection coupling 1 tapers from its upper part, which is intended to be connected to a waste water drainage pipe socket on the aircraft, towards its lower part, i e in the direction of the waste water disposal system, from a large diameter to a smaller diameter and is designed so that a hose means 3 can be attached to the lower part In the illustrated embodiment the connection coupling 1 comprises a transition portion 1 0, which is separately fixable to the connection coupling 1 forming a transition area 20 of the connection coupling 1 The transition portion 1 0 is provided with a ball valve 2 and connected to the hose means 3, which extends to a vacuum generation device (not shown), e g a vacuum pump, of the waste water disposal system

At least one closable or lockable air inlet aperture 5 is arranged in the upper part of the connection coupling 1 , as is also a closure part 6, which serves as an air by-pass The air inlet aperture 5 and the closure part 6 may be arranged in the transition portion 1 0 itself as shown Reference numeral 4 indicates a rinse head for cleaning the connection coupling 1

Reference numeral 20 indicates the actual transition area in the transition portion 10 of the connection coupling 1 , i e the zone where the connec- tion coupling 1 enters into the hose means 3 This transition area 20 is further discussed below with regard to Figs 2 and 3

The embodiments shown in Figs 2 and 3 in principle comprise the same elements as in Fig 1 above, whereby the same reference numerals relate to corresponding elements In these embodiments the connection coupling 1 and the transition portion 1 0 are formed into an integrated structure, i e into

Further, in the embodiment according to Fig 2 , each air inlet aperture 5 is connected to an external pipe 7 arranged on the outside of the connection coupling 1 , and in Fig 3, each air inlet aperture 5 is connected to a internal pipe 8 arranged on the inside of the connection coupling 1 The external pipes 7 and the internal pipes 8 terminate i e have outlet ends respectively that extend into the transition area 20, whereby they enhance the flow of waste water.

The advantage with introducing additional air at the lower part of the connection coupling 1 , more specifically in the transition area 20, in compaπ- son with introducing additional air at the upper part of the connection coupling 1 , is that any possible flow or "leakage" of vacuum from the upper part of the connection coupling 1 towards the aircraft and to the collection or storage tanks aboard the aircraft is effectively avoided as the vacuum only can act up to the transition area 20, i.e. up to the area of the outlet ends of said external pipes 7 or internal pipes 8.

The outlet ends of said pipes 7 and 8 may further be configured (not shown) so that they produce a swirl or an advantageously downwards inclined tangentially directed flow of air in the transition area 20, which further would increase the effectiveness of the emptying process when employing a connection coupling according to the invention.

The starting up and the carrying out of the emptying or drainage process are substantially equal to the measures taken with previously known devices. The essential feature with the present invention is that the drainage process may be adapted according to the aircraft type by monitoring the air inlet apertures 5 and closure parts 6 as indicated by the double arrows in the figures.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but several modifications thereof are feasible within the scope of the ensuing claims.

Claims

1 Connection coupling for an aircraft waste water disposal system, which connection coupling (1 ) is arranged to be connected to a waste water drain- age pipe socket on the aircraft, said waste water disposal system comprising a waste water receiving arrangement and thereto connected hose means (2,3), which are fastenable to the connection coupling ( 1 ), characterised in that the connection coupling ( 1 ) comprises a transition portion ( 1 0) provided at the lower part of the connection coupling ( 1 ), that the hose means (2,3) are fastenable to the transition portion ( 1 0), and that the connection coupling ( 1 ) is provided with at least one closable or lockable air inlet aperture (5).

2. Connection coupling according to claim 1 , characterised in that the transition portion ( 1 0) is separately fixable to the connection coupling ( 1 ).

3. Connection coupling according to claim 2, characterised in that the closable or lockable air inlet aperture (5) is provided in the transition portion

( 1 0).

4. Connection coupling according to claim 1 , characterised in that the transition portion ( 1 0) and the connection coupling ( 1 ) are formed into an integrated structure.

5. Connection coupling according to claim 1 , characterised in that each air inlet aperture (5) is connected to a pipe (7,8) and that an outlet end of the pipe (7,8) extends to a transition area (20) in the transition portion ( 1 0) of the connection coupling (1 ).