HOLDING SYSTEM FOR A WHEELCHAIR IN AN AIRCRAFT

Abstract

A holding system for a wheelchair in an aircraft is proposed, including a plate-shaped base unit having first fastening elements at an underside configured to be connected to complementarily shaped second fastening elements in the form of seat rails on a floor or surrounding structure in the aircraft for fastening the base unit, a front holding unit and a rear holding unit arranged on an upper side of the base unit at a distance from each other and defining therebetween a placement area for a wheelchair. The front holding unit and the rear holding unit are configured to form a releasable form-fit connection with the wheelchair disposed on the placement area so that the wheelchair is braced between the front holding unit and the rear holding unit. The holding system is configured to fix the wheelchair stationarily to the floor during operation of the aircraft.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A holding system for a wheelchair in an aircraft, comprising: a plate-shaped base unit having first fastening elements at an underside configured to be connected to complementarily shaped second fastening elements in formed as floor rails or hard points on a floor or surrounding structure in the aircraft for fastening the base unit, a front holding unit and a rear holding unit spaced apart on an upper surface of the base unit and defining therebetween a placement area for the wheelchair, wherein the front holding unit and the rear holding unit are configured to form a releasable, form-fit connection with the wheelchair arranged on the placement area, so that the wheelchair is braced between the front holding unit and the rear holding unit, and wherein the holding system is configured to fix the wheelchair stationarily on the floor during operation of the aircraft.

22. The holding system according to claim 21, wherein the base unit is beveled on at least one outer edge.

23. The holding system according to claim 21, further comprising a plurality of bearing elements on an underside of the base unit for maintaining a distance of the underside of the base unit and the floor.

24. The holding system according to claim 23, wherein the first fastening elements are at least one of attached to, integrated into, or coupled with the bearing elements.

25. The holding system according to claim 21, wherein the base unit comprises a pattern created by a plurality of attachment points, and wherein the pattern is configured for receiving a set of first fastening elements in different position constellations to adapt to different sets of second fastening elements in the respective aircraft.

26. The holding system according to claim 25, wherein the set of first fastening elements comprises four first fastening elements.

27. The holding system according to claim 21, wherein the front and rear holding units comprise fixing elements, each of which has a connecting element at a free end for form-fit connection to the wheelchair.

28. The holding system according to claim 21, further comprising a safety belt for a user of the wheelchair that is couplable to the base unit.

29. The holding system according to claim 21, further comprising a support arranged on the base unit and comprising at least one support element for a user of the wheelchair.

30. The holding system according to claim 29, wherein the at least one support element is adjustably arranged on the support.

31. The holding system according to claim 29, wherein the support is positioned vertically on the base unit.

32. The holding system according to claim 21, wherein the base unit is divided into two separate surface sections, and wherein each surface section is individually attachable to the floor rails.

33. The holding system according to claim 32, wherein the base unit is tapered for a placement in a conical region of the respective aircraft.

34. The holding system according to claim 27, wherein the base unit comprises an additional surface section laterally spaced from the placement area for additional installations.

35. The holding system according to claim 34, further comprising a first vertical wall arranged on a rear side of the base unit behind the additional surface section.

36. The holding system according to claim 29, further comprising a second vertical wall pivotally mounted to the support and pivotable to a closed position located directly behind the placement area and to an open position in a distance to the placement area.

37. The holding system according to claim 36, wherein the second wall further comprises an arresting device configured to releasably engage a complementary shaped receptacle of the wheelchair.

38. An aircraft, comprising: a cabin having a floor, and at least one holding system according to claim 21, wherein the floor comprises second fastening elements to which the first fastening elements are fastenable.

39. The aircraft according to claim 38, wherein the holding system is arranged directly in or adjacent to a door region.

40. The aircraft according to claim 38, wherein the holding system is arranged in a conical region of the aircraft.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Further features, advantages and possible applications of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiments and the figures. In this context, all the features described and/or illustrated constitute the subject-matter of the invention on their own and in any combination, also irrespective of their composition in the individual claims or their references. Furthermore, in the figures the same reference numerals stand for the same or similar objects.

[0043] FIGS. 1 to 3 show various base units.

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a wheelchair secured by means of a holding system.

[0045] FIG. 5 shows a support with support elements on a base unit.

[0046] FIGS. 6 and 7 show further embodiments of a support and other features of the holding system.

[0047] FIGS. 8 to 14 show various arrangements and holding systems in an aircraft cabin.

[0048] FIG. 15 shows an aircraft.

[0049] FIG. 16 shows a base unit with a tapered outer edge in a top view.

[0050] FIG. 17 shows a base unit with beveled edges.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a holding system 2 for a wheelchair in an aircraft. The holding system 2 comprises a base unit 4, which is designed as a plate-shaped component. In particular, it may be a rigid plate. It would also be conceivable to tolerate a defined deformation. First fastening elements 8 are arranged on an underside 6, which are only shown as dashed lines in FIG. 1 due to their position. The first fastening elements 8 serve to connect the base unit 4 to complementary shaped second fastening elements (not shown here). They may be provided in the form of studs or the like.

[0052] By way of example, the edge shown on the left in the drawing plane is a front side 10, while the edge shown on the right is a rear side 12. A front holding unit 14 is arranged on the front side 10. This has, by way of example, two lashing straps 16 as fixing elements, each of which has a front connecting element 18. The lashing straps 16 are each arranged on the base unit 4 via a holder 20, wherein the holder 20 may each have a winding mechanism which manipulates the length of the lashing straps 16 and may apply a tensile force. The lashing straps 16 may be connected to a wheelchair via the front connecting element 18, in order to brace the wheelchair forwards towards the front 10 by applying a tensile force.

[0053] Similarly, a rear holding unit 22 is located at the rear side 12, which is equipped with two lashing straps 16 as fixing elements, each with a rear connecting element 24. The lashing straps 16 are also connected there to the base unit 4 via holders 20. All holders 20 shown in FIG. 1 are arranged on an upper side 28 of the base unit 4 via base rails 26. The base rails 26 allow variable positioning in the horizontal direction. On the front side 10, for example, two base rails 26 are arranged at a distance from each other and parallel to each other, allowing easy adjustment along the longitudinal direction. A placement area 30 is defined between the front holding unit 14 and the rear holding unit 22. A wheelchair can be placed and braced on the placement area 30.

[0054] FIG. 2 shows the holding system 2 having an additional holding rail 32 on the placement area 30, on which an additional arresting device (see FIG. 7) may be arranged to enable additional holding or bracing of the wheelchair.

[0055] FIG. 3 shows a somewhat modified variant in the form of a holding system 34. Here, a base unit 36 is provided in the form of two plate-shaped surface sections 38, each of which are attachable to floor rails or seat rails 40 in an aircraft. For this purpose, both plate-shaped surface sections 38 comprise corresponding first fastening elements 8 which are provided for such floor rails 40. It should be noted at this point that the base units 4 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may also be designed for attachment to such floor rails 40.

[0056] The advantage of the two-part design of the base unit 36 is the particularly flexible positionability of the individual holding units 14 and 22, which can adjust a size of the placement area 30. As indicated in FIG. 3, the holding units may also have only individual, significantly wider holders 20, which extend over a significantly greater width than the holders 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, the function remains the same.

[0057] FIG. 4 shows the holding system 2 in which the holders 20 are designed as in FIG. 3. Here, a wheelchair 42 is arranged on the placement area 30. The lashing straps 16 are braced with the wheelchair 42 so that it stands securely on the base unit 4 even with the inertial forces that arise. In addition to this, an additional safety belt 44 is coupled to the base unit 4. In the embodiment shown, the safety belt 44 is placed by coupling with the connecting elements 24. The combination of base unit 4 and wheelchair 42 can be mounted on a floor in a cabin of an aircraft without the floor requiring special adaptations to the dimensions of the wheelchair 42.

[0058] FIG. 5 illustrates a modified variant in the form of a holding system 46, in which the base unit 4 of FIG. 4 is provided with an additional support 48. It stands vertically on a lateral edge 50 of the base unit 4 in the area of the rear side 12, where two support elements 52 and 54 are attached. They are mounted on the support 48 via corresponding slides 56 so as to be pivotable, horizontally and vertically displaceable. The upper support element 52 may serve as a headrest for a user of the wheelchair 42, while the lower support element 54 may serve as a backrest.

[0059] FIG. 6 shows an alternatively designed support in the form of a vertical wall 58, which is further referred to below as a third wall 58, on which a pivotable second vertical wall 60 is arranged. This is located directly behind the placement area 30 and can be brought into a swung-open position (shown here) or a closed position for driving over the placement area 30. In addition to this, an arresting device 62 is arranged on the second vertical wall 60 as a further possible fixing element, which has engagement elements 64 that are insertable into corresponding receptacles 66 of the wheelchair 42. This may be used, for example, to provide additional support for the rear holding unit 22. The arresting device 62 permits adjustment to the height and lateral position of the receptacles 66. A wall-mounted X-Y rail system 68 is provided for this purpose.

[0060] FIG. 7 shows a further modified variant of a holding system 70, in which the base unit 72 also comprises the placement area 30, which is supplemented laterally by an additional surface section 74. Behind the additional surface section 74, a first vertical wall 76 is arranged which is fixed. The second vertical wall 60 is likewise provided and carries, by way of example, a safety belt 78. The second vertical wall 60 is arranged on a third vertical wall 80, which may correspond to the wall 58 of FIG. 6. Here, however, the support elements 52 and 54 of FIG. 5 are supplemented accordingly. In addition, the placement area 30 may comprise an additional holding element 82 as a fixing element, which is attachable to the rails 32 from FIG. 2, for example.

[0061] FIG. 8 shows a lateral half of a passenger cabin 84 of an aircraft 86 in a plan view. There, a conical region is shown in which a width of the cabin 84 descends in a direction opposite to the direction of flight. Three seat sections are provided, divided into two outboard lateral seat sections and a middle seat section. Here, as an example, the holding system 46 is provided directly in front of a door region 85 in the area of a lateral seat section. A wheelchair 42 is disposed on the base unit and is directly adjacent to an aisle 87. Consequently, the placement area 30 can be accessed directly from the door region 85, which is very convenient because the wheelchair 42 can be maneuvered there very easily. The base unit 4 ends at a clear distance in front of the associated lateral cabin wall. The base unit 4 is connected, by way of example, via four first fastening elements 8 which are connected, by way of example, to two directly adjacent floor rails 40. For this purpose, a pair of floor rails 40 adjacent to the aisle 87 of a total of three floor rails 40 extending parallel to and spaced apart from each other is used. The floor rails 40 extend parallel to the longitudinal direction x of the respective aircraft.

[0062] FIG. 9 shows a somewhat modified variant compared to FIG. 8, in which a holding system 88 with a base unit 72 that is mirror-inverted compared to the illustration in FIG. 7 and a wheelchair 42 is also provided directly in front of the door region 85. A surface section of the base unit 72, which contains the placement area 30, corresponds approximately to the size of the base unit 4 of FIG. 5 and is placed in the same manner. However, an additional surface section 74 is provided in this case and extends laterally outward toward the cabin wall. The additional surface section 74 can be used to accommodate a storage compartment, table or seat not shown here. Exemplarily, the base unit 72 is secured by four first fasteners 8 connected to a laterally outward pair of adjacent floor rails 40. These also extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the respective aircraft.

[0063] FIG. 10 shows a further modified embodiment of the embodiment examples of FIGS. 8 and 9 in the form of a holding system 90, which has a base unit 92 that is significantly enlarged compared to the previous illustrations. This is exemplarily connected via four first fastening elements 8 to two exemplarily not directly adjacent floor rails 40. The floor rails 40 extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the respective aircraft. Again, the base unit 92 is directly adjacent to the door region 85. The enlarged base unit 92 may allow consideration to be given to accommodating an additional passenger seat for an attendant. This could be provided or removed as needed, for example.

[0064] In FIG. 11, the holding system 46 is shown at the door region 85 in a slightly differently configured passenger cabin and is likewise adjacent to a lateral seat section. Here, only a pair of adjacent seat rails 40 is provided to which the base unit 4 is attached. In this case, the seat rails 40 and the longitudinal axis of the respective aircraft enclose an angle of more than 0°. Exemplarily, they extend substantially parallel to a cabin wall in the conical region.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 12, the holding system 90 may also be disposed, by way of example, in a middle seat section immediately adjacent to or forward of a door region 85. Here, the rails 40 extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the respective aircraft.

[0066] A top view in FIG. 13 shows a holding system 94 in which an additional attendant seat 96 is arranged on the base unit 92, which is located directly in front of the door region 85. The attendant seat 96 is facing in the direction of flight. In FIG. 13, however, the additional attendant seat 96 is facing opposite to the direction of flight so that an attendant 98 has slightly more legroom available. In addition, the attendant 98 can make eye contact with the person on the wheelchair 42.

[0067] FIG. 15 shows the aircraft 86 in a 3-dimensional view.

[0068] FIG. 16 shows a base unit 100, which is provided as a plate-shaped component. In the illustration the placement area 30 on the upper side is indicated with dashed lines. On the left side in the drawing plane, an arrow to the left is shown, which indicates the longitudinal direction of the respective aircraft (x-axis).

[0069] Exemplary, the base unit 100 is tapered on one lateral side 104, which is shown on the upper side of the drawing plane. A tapering angle α of approximately 10° is used. This allows to place the base unit 100 in a conical region of an aircraft cabin, where the seat rails 40 extend parallel to the longitudinal axis x of the aircraft.

[0070] The opposite edge 105, however, exemplarily extends parallel to the x axis. The tapered edge may thus be placed in the aircraft cabin on the right-hand side directly adjacent to a tapering cabin wall. By the tapering, a collision between the base unit 100 and the cabin wall is prevented. The opposite edge 105, however, extends parallel to an aisle that is parallel to the longitudinal axis x of the aircraft.

[0071] Furthermore, a pattern or arrangement of attachment points 102 is shown. These may be realized in the form of through-holes, which allow to attach first fastening elements 8 to the base unit 100. It is conceivable that the pattern is designed in such a way, that the base unit 100 may be inserted into several different aircraft, different cabin configurations, different installation positions within the cabin, etc. It may be possible to design the pattern in such a way, that the base unit 100 is arrangeable literally in every possible installation position of existing aircraft of a single or multiple manufacturers. Thus, the base unit 100 may be brought into the aircraft cabin when desired and the aircraft cabin does not need to be modified at all.

[0072] In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 16, the base unit 100 is dimensioned in such a way, that an installation space 106 for an attendant seat is provided directly adjacent to the placement area 30.

[0073] In FIG. 17, the base unit 100 is shown in a side view. At the underside 6, four bearing elements 108 are provided, wherein two of which are visible in this illustration. Thus, a gap 110 between a cabin floor 112 and the underside 6 is created. The gap 110 is directly dimensioned by the extension of the bearing elements 108. At the bearing elements 108, the first fastening elements 8 are attached. These are connected to the floor rails 40 to fix the base unit 100. The bearing elements 108 may be designed to at least partially compensate a twist or torsion-bending of the aircraft structure.

[0074] It is conceivable to provide a gap height in a range of 3 mm to 10 mm. It should be noted that it may be beneficial to limit the height of the placement area to not exceed 25 mm in order to avoid a trip hazard.

[0075] Furthermore, outer edges 114 of the base unit 100 are beveled. Here, the outer edges 114 and the cabin floor 112 or the underside 6 enclose an angle β of about 30°. Resultantly, a wheelchair may be brought more easily onto the upper side of the base unit 100. As shown with dashed lines, the outer edges 114 may also comprise a chamfer 116 at the underside 6. Hence, if the cabin floor 112 twists, a contact between the base unit 100 can reliably be prevented. As an alternative, a plurality of elastically deformable pads 118 may be provided optionally. These may increase a contact surface between the base unit 100 and the cabin floor 112 in situations, where the aircraft structure is twisted or torsion-bent to such an extent, that the outer edges 114 of the base unit 100 are likely to contact the cabin floor 112.

[0076] In addition, it should be noted that “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality.

[0077] While at least one exemplary embodiment of the present invention(s) is disclosed herein, it should be understood that modifications, substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the exemplary embodiment(s). In addition, in this disclosure, the term “or” means either or both. Furthermore, characteristics, features or steps which have been described may also be used in combination with other characteristics, features or steps and in any order unless the disclosure or context suggests otherwise. This disclosure hereby incorporates by reference the complete disclosure of any patent or application from which it claims benefit or priority.