CARGO HOLD OF AN AIRCRAFT WITH CLADDING ELEMENTS AND AT LEAST ONE HOUSING ELEMENT

Abstract

A cargo hold of an aircraft having cladding elements and at least one housing element for accommodating electronic components and/or cables. The cladding elements are attached to supports, in particular structural elements, of the aircraft and have a plurality of cladding holes with predefined cladding hole spacings for attachment. The at least one housing element has at least one pair of housing holes for receiving fastening devices. The housing holes have a housing hole spacing which corresponds to at least one pair of cladding hole spacings.

Claims

1. A cargo hold of an aircraft, comprising: cladding elements which are attached to supports of the aircraft, wherein the cladding elements have a plurality of cladding holes with predefined cladding hole spacings for attachment, and at least one housing element for accommodating electronic components and/or cables, wherein the housing element has at least one pair of housing holes for receiving fastening devices, wherein the housing holes have a housing hole spacing corresponding to at least one pair of cladding hole spacings.

2. The cargo hold according to claim 1, wherein the at least one housing element is mounted on one of the cladding elements.

3. The cargo hold according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the housing elements is designed as a cable duct for guiding a cable, a connecting element for connecting a plurality of cable ducts, or a housing box for an electrical component.

4. The cargo hold according to claim 3, wherein: the at least one housing element in the form of a cable duct has a symmetrical cross-section, in particular semi-elliptical, and/or at least one central web segment, which is arranged such that the central web segment divides an inner region of the cable duct (in the longitudinal direction) into at least two inner ducts.

5. The cargo hold according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one cargo loading system having at least one cable, and at least one housing element in the form of a cable duct, wherein the cable duct accommodates at least one cable of the cargo loading system.

6. The cargo hold according to claim 3, wherein the at least one housing element in the form of a connecting element is configured for connecting two or three or four cable ducts and/or has a guide element.

7. The cargo hold according to claim 1, wherein at least one housing element is made of a flame-retardant material.

8. The cargo hold according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the housing elements is manufactured in an injection molding process and/or is formed of a metal alloy for mounting at or on a floor of the cargo deck.

9. A housing element for housing electronic components and/or cables for a cargo hold according to claim 1, wherein: at least one pair of housing holes for mounting the housing element on a cladding element have a housing hole spacing corresponding to at least one pair of cladding hole spacings.

10. An aircraft having a cargo hold according to claim 1.

11. A method for mounting housing elements in a cargo hold of an aircraft according to claim 1, the method comprising: removing fastening devices, with which housing elements are fixed on structural elements, from fastening receptacles of the structural elements; mounting the housing elements with prefabricated housing holes on the cladding elements using the fastening receptacles, wherein fastening devices are introduced into the housing holes and fastened in the fastening receptacles, and arranging cables in cavities of at least some housing elements.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of: fabricating at least one housing element having housing holes and having a housing hole spacing substantially equal to a fastening receptacle hole spacing.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the step of fabricating comprises: an extrusion; and/or an injection molding; and/or a 3D printing; and/or a mold lamination of a glass fiber reinforced plastic.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The invention is described below with reference to exemplary embodiments, which are explained in more detail with reference to the figures, which show as follows:

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a cargo hold with cladding elements and housing elements in the mounted state;

[0038] FIG. 2 shows housing elements mounted on cladding elements (exploded view);

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a connecting element for three cable ducts;

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a connecting element for two cable ducts;

[0041] FIG. 5 shows a housing element for a rocker switch;

[0042] FIG. 6 shows a housing element for a switching rocker according to an alternative exemplary embodiment.

[0043] In the following description, the same reference numbers are used for identical parts and parts with the same effect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] FIG. 1 shows the upper deck (“main deck”) of a cargo aircraft having a cargo hold 1. The cargo hold 1 is covered with several rectangular, curved panels 2, which are attached to frames 3 of the cargo aircraft.

[0045] Various housing elements according to the invention in the form of cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ as well as a T-piece 20 as a connecting element for the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ and two housing boxes 30, 30′ are mounted on the panels 2.

[0046] In the exemplary embodiment, the housing boxes 30, 30′ serve to receive switching rockers 31, by means of which roller drive units (not shown), for example, can be controlled. Such roller drive units are usually mounted on the cargo hold floor 6 and serve to convey cargo in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft. Common roller drive units support two conveying directions.

[0047] In order to ensure that the switching rockers 31 can be reached conveniently by the loading personnel, the housing boxes 30, 30′ are mounted on the panels 2 at handle height (approx. 1.2 meters) above the cargo compartment floor 6.

[0048] A number of cable ducts, in particular the first cable duct 10 and the second cable duct 10′, are arranged one behind the other in such a way that they form a cable guide running essentially over the entire length of the cargo hold 1 and extending on the panels 2 (approx. 0.5 meters from the cargo hold floor). At the level of the first housing box 30, the third cable duct 10″ branches off vertically from the cable guide extending in the longitudinal direction and leads upwards to the first housing box 30. The first housing box 30 encloses the third cable duct 10″ in such a way that the cables running in the third cable duct 10″ are completely covered.

[0049] The cables may be cables for a bus, so that control commands detected by means of the switching rockers 31 can be communicated to the roller drive units and/or a control computer (not shown). Such cables may, for example, be in the form of round cables having a thickness of 6 to 12 mm.

[0050] At the intersection of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″, the T-piece 20 is inserted to connect the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″.

[0051] FIG. 2 shows in detail the attachment of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″, the T-piece 20, a connecting element 21 and the first housing box 30 to the panels 2.

[0052] It is common for the panels 2 to have a plurality of cladding holes 4 at regular cladding hole spacing dV, in which fastening screws are arranged to hold the panels 2 to the frames 3. The housing elements according to the invention, in particular the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are mounted using these cladding holes 4.

[0053] For this purpose, the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ have a plurality of housing holes 11, each of which is provided at a housing hole spacing dG. In the exemplary embodiment, the housing hole spacing dG coincides with the cladding hole spacing dV, i.e. dG=dV. The cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are arranged in such a way that the housing holes 11 exactly cover a part of the cladding holes 4. In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2, the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are each held to the panels 2 by a plurality of fastening screws.

[0054] The first housing box 30 has two housing holes 11, with one arranged at the upper end and one at the lower end of the first housing box 30. The housing hole spacing dG between the housing holes 11 also corresponds here to the cladding hole spacing dV. Furthermore, the first housing box 30 is positioned such that its two housing holes 11 are located exactly above a pair of cladding holes 4 of the panels 2. Two screws are therefore provided for fastening the first housing box 30, which pass through the housing holes 11 and cladding holes 4.

[0055] A single housing hole 11 is provided in each case for mounting the T-piece 20 and the connecting element 21 on the panels 2. The cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are dimensioned precisely so that the respective T-piece 20 comes to lie above the housing hole 4 and can be screwed on accordingly.

[0056] In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the housing hole spacing dG between two housing holes 11 of a housing element, for example the third cable duct 10″, is not equal to the housing hole spacing dV, but is many times greater. Thus, dG=n.Math.dV applies, where n is a natural number. This is particularly advantageous if the panels 2 have a large number of cladding holes 4 at a short distance apart, but a few fastening means at a greater distance apart are sufficient for fastening the third cable duct 10″. Case n=3 thus corresponds, for example, to the case in which every third cladding hole 4 of a panel 2 coincides with a housing hole 11 of the second cable duct 10″.

[0057] FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the three cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ connected by the T-piece 20.

[0058] The cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ have an open, thin-walled profile (e.g. wall thickness=2 or 3 mm) with an approximately semicircular cross-section (for example with a diameter of 8 to 15 mm).

[0059] In addition, the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ have continuous central webs 12. These are arranged in such a way that two inner ducts 13, 13′ are formed in each of the cavities of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″, which are separated from the central webs 12.

[0060] When arranging cables in the cavities of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″, this structure can be used to separate different cables. For example, one of two cables or cable bundles, one of which is used to feed the switching rocker 31 and the other to pass on a signal, can each be placed in the inner ducts 13, 13′ of the third cable duct 10″.

[0061] The housing holes 11 of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are arranged so that they penetrate the central web 12. Thus, in addition to separating the cables, the central webs 12 ensure that the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are not deformed when the screws are tightened.

[0062] A guide ring 22 is provided in the T-piece 20, which serves to guide a fastening screw. The cables running along the bent sections between cable duct 10 and 10″ or 10′ and 10″ can be arranged tangentially around the guide ring 22.

[0063] The central webs 12 shown in FIG. 3 have a substantially rectangular cross-section. Alternatively, geometrically more complicated cross-sections are conceivable, resulting in more than two inner ducts 13, 13′, for example three or four. In this way, the cable routing can be structured even better, which can greatly facilitate maintenance work.

[0064] FIG. 4 shows an exemplary embodiment in which, unlike the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3, no branch is provided at the transition between the first cable duct 10 and the second cable duct 10′. Instead of the T-piece 20 according to FIG. 3, the connecting element 21 is placed at the interface. A guide ring 22 for guiding a fastening screw is also installed in the connecting element 21.

[0065] FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of the first housing box 30 in which the switching rocker 31 for controlling a roller drive unit is housed. The connecting cables leading to the switching rocker 31 are received in the third cable duct 10″, which leads vertically downwards away from the first housing box 30. Labels for operating the switching rocker 31 are provided on the surface of the housing box 30. The first housing box 30 has a housing hole 11 at each of its upper and lower ends and is mounted as described earlier.

[0066] FIG. 6 shows another exemplary embodiment of the first housing box 30. Here, the first housing box 30 comprises a mounting plate 32 and a housing frame 33. In this case, the housing holes 11 are located on the mounting plate 32. The housing frame 33 sits on the mounting plate 32 and is clamped or plugged there, for example.

[0067] In principle, a two-part design, as in this exemplary embodiment by means of mounting plate 32 and housing frame 33, is also conceivable for other housing elements according to the invention. For cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ in particular, this can have the advantage that the cables can be accessed (for example for maintenance work) without having to undo the fastening screws of the cable ducts and thus the panels 2.

[0068] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is also possible to describe the assembly of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″, the T-piece 20 and the first housing box 30 in accordance with a method according to the invention. Such a procedure may be advantageous, for example, in the course of converting a passenger compartment into the cargo hold 1.

[0069] In this exemplary embodiment, prefabricated cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ are used in which the housing hole spacing dG corresponds to the cladding hole spacing dV. In addition, cables are pre-routed in the cavities of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ and equipped with plug-in connectors.

[0070] The first step is to remove selected fastening screws with which the panels 2 are bolted to the frames 3. This exposes not only the cladding holes 4 of the panels 2 but also the fastening receptacles 5 of the frames 3.

[0071] This is followed by the assembly of the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ and the first housing box 30 on the panels 2. For this purpose, the housing holes 11 are aligned with the respective cladding holes 4 of the panels 2. Suitable screws are then inserted into the fastening receptacles 5, with the screws penetrating both the housing holes 11 and the cladding holes 4.

[0072] Once the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ and the first housing box 30 have been fitted in this way, the cables can be connected to each other via the plug-in connectors. Finally, the T-piece 20 is mounted so that it completely covers the cables running in the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″.

[0073] By using the existing cladding holes 4 on the panels 2, the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ as well as the T-piece 20 and the first housing box 30 can thus be mounted without damaging the surface of the panels 2. Since the panels 2 are burn-through resistant and the housing elements are preferably made of flame-retardant material, in particular polyamide 12, the panels 2 with the housing elements mounted thereon continue to act as an intact burn-through barrier in the aircraft. In addition, the panels 2 ensure that the minimum distance between cables running in the cable ducts 10, 10′, 10″ to further cable systems running behind the panels 2 is easily maintained or extended.

[0074] The exemplary embodiments described so far have in common that the housing elements used exclusively house cables and/or electronic components. However, fastening to cladding elements using existing fastening devices, one of the basic ideas of this invention, is in principle possible for objects and devices of any kind. This seems particularly useful for devices for which easy access in the cargo hold should be possible. The mounting method according to the invention results in similar advantages as in the exemplary embodiments described above.

[0075] At this point, it should be pointed out that all parts described above are to be regarded individually—even without features additionally described in the respective context, even if these have not been explicitly identified individually as optional features in the respective context, e.g. by using: in particular, preferably, for example, e.g., optionally, round brackets, etc.—and in combination or any sub-combination as independent designs or further developments of the invention as defined in particular in the introduction to the description. Deviations therefrom are possible. Specifically, it should be noted that the word in particular or round brackets do not indicate any features that are mandatory in the respective context.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0076] 1 Cargo hold

[0077] 2 Panel

[0078] 3 Frames

[0079] 4 Cladding hole

[0080] 5 Fastening hole

[0081] 6 Cargo hold floor

[0082] 10, 10′, 10″ Cable duct

[0083] 11 Housing hole

[0084] 12 Central web

[0085] 13 First inner duct

[0086] 13′ Second inner duct

[0087] 20 T-piece

[0088] 21 Connecting element (for connecting two cable ducts)

[0089] 22 Guide ring

[0090] 30, 30′ Housing box

[0091] 31 Switching rocker

[0092] 32 Mounting plate

[0093] 33 Housing frame

[0094] dB Fastening receptacle hole spacing

[0095] dG Housing hole spacing

[0096] dV Cladding hole spacing