Wall mounted stowage compartment

Abstract

A wall mounted stowage compartment for a passenger cabin of an aircraft includes a housing having a rearwardly facing wall mounted to a forwardly facing interior monument wall. The stowage compartment is located under an aft most passenger seat adjacent to the forwardly facing interior monument wall. The stowage compartment includes a stowage compartment drawer, and a protective breathing equipment compartment is mounted to a side wall of the aircraft cabin monument, and includes a forwardly facing edge that follows a contour of the forwardly facing wall of the aircraft cabin monument extending from a forwardly facing recess to the floor of the cabin.

Claims

1. A monument for a passenger cabin of an aircraft, comprising: a forwardly facing interior monument wall having a forwardly facing recess formed in the forwardly facing interior monument wall that is substantially not flat in a vertical plane; a side wall connected to said forwardly facing interior monument wall, said side wall being adjacent an aisle area; and a protective breathing equipment compartment mounted to the side wall, wherein the protective breathing equipment compartment is configured to extend a first distance from a plane defined by the side wall laterally toward an aisle area, said first distance being smaller than a second distance that a passenger seat positioned adjacent the forwardly facing wall extends from the plane defined by the side laterally toward the aisle area.

2. The monument of claim 1, wherein said passenger seat is nested into the forwardly facing interior monument wall when in an upright or unreclined position.

3. The monument of claim 1, wherein the monument comprises a lavatory.

4. The monument of claim 1, wherein a seat back of the passenger seat includes an aft portion with a rearwardly facing aft most exterior surface that is substantially not flat and that generally conforms to a shape of the forwardly facing recess formed in the forwardly facing interior monument wall.

5. The monument of claim 4, wherein the seat back has an upright position and a reclined position such that the rearwardly facing aft most exterior surface of the seat back extends within the forwardly facing recess when the seat in is a reclined position.

6. The monument of claim 1, wherein said protective breathing equipment compartment includes a forwardly facing surface that follows a contour of the forwardly facing interior monument wall.

7. The monument of claim 1, further comprising a housing including a rearwardly facing wall mounted to the forwardly facing interior monument wall and extending under the passenger seat.

8. The monument of claim 7, wherein the housing comprises a stowage compartment drawer.

9. The monument of claim 8, wherein the passenger seat is an aisle seat, and wherein the stowage compartment drawer is configured to open into an aisle of the aircraft.

10. The monument of claim 8, further comprising a door adjacent the stowage compartment drawer.

11. A monument for a passenger cabin of an aircraft, comprising: a forwardly facing interior monument wall having a forwardly facing recess formed in the forwardly facing interior monument wall that is substantially not flat in the vertical plane; a side wall connected to said forwardly facing interior monument wall; and a protective breathing equipment compartment mounted to the side wall; wherein the forwardly facing recess is configured to accept an exterior surface of a portion of a seat back of a forward positioned passenger seat, the seat back having an aft portion with a rearwardly facing aft most exterior surface that is substantially not flat in a vertical plane, wherein, when the passenger seat is in a reclined position, the aft most exterior surface of the back seat is nested within the forwardly facing recess; and wherein the arm rest overlaps and extends laterally beyond said protective breathing equipment compartment, and said seat back laterally extends beyond said side wall.

12. The monument of claim 11, wherein said passenger seat is at least partially nested within the forwardly facing recess when the seat is in an upright or reclined position.

13. The monument of claim 11, wherein the monument comprises a lavatory.

14. The monument of claim 11, further comprising a stowage compartment drawer adjacent to the protective breathing equipment compartment.

15. The monument of claim 11, wherein said protective breathing equipment compartment includes a forwardly facing edge that follows a contour of the forwardly facing wall of the aircraft cabin monument extending from the forwardly facing recess to the floor of the cabin.

16. The monument of claim 11, further comprising a housing including a rearwardly facing wall mounted to the forwardly facing interior monument wall and extending under the passenger seat.

17. The monument of claim 16, wherein the housing comprises a stowage compartment drawer.

18. The monument of claim 17, wherein the passenger seat is an aisle seat, and wherein the stowage compartment drawer is configured to open into an aisle of the aircraft.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a wall mounted stowage compartment in a passenger cabin, according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the wall mounted stowage compartment of FIG. 1, showing the stowage compartment door and protective breathing equipment door closed.

(3) FIG. 3 is a front view of the wall mounted stowage compartment of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 is a side perspective view similar to FIG. 2, showing the stowage compartment door and protective breathing equipment door open.

(5) FIG. 5 is a rear view of the wall mounted stowage compartment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) Referring to the drawings, which are provided for purposes of illustration and by way of example, the present invention provides for stowage compartment 10 for a passenger cabin 12 of an aircraft (not shown). The stowage compartment includes a housing 14 having a rearwardly facing wall 16, and preferably includes a drawer 18 that is slidably contained within the housing. The passenger cabin includes an aircraft cabin monument 20 such as a lavatory, having a forwardly facing interior monument wall 22, and typically having a side wall 24 and a monument or lavatory door 26, although the aircraft cabin monument may also be an aircraft closet, or an aircraft galley, or another similar enclosed or structurally defined space, for example.

(7) The stowage compartment preferably is mounted to the forwardly facing interior monument wall under a last or aft most passenger seat 28 such as in a last row or aft most row of passenger seats 30 located adjacent to or in close proximity to the forwardly facing interior monument wall. The housing of the stowage compartment preferably is located under and extends under the aft most passenger seat in the last row or aft most row of passenger seats adjacent to the forwardly facing interior monument wall. The last or aft most passenger seat includes a seat back 32, having an aft portion 34 with a rearwardly facing aft most exterior surface 36 that is substantially not flat in a vertical plane, and that generally conforms to a shape of a forwardly facing recess 38 formed in the forwardly facing interior monument wall, that is also substantially not flat in the vertical plane. As is illustrated in FIG. 1, the seat back has an upright position 40 and a reclined position 42 such that the rearwardly facing aft most exterior surface of the seat back extends within the forwardly facing recess. The passenger seat also preferably includes a seat cushion 44 and an arm rest 46. As is illustrated in FIG. 5, the seat back typically overlaps and extends beyond the side wall of the aircraft cabin monument, and the arm rest typically overlaps and extends beyond a protective breathing equipment (PBE) compartment 50 that is mounted to the side wall of the aircraft cabin monument, although the protective breathing equipment compartment may alternatively house an emergency medical kit or other equipment, for example. The protective breathing equipment compartment may optionally be formed as a part of the stowage compartment or may be connected to or mounted to the stowage compartment. Referring to FIG. 4, the protective breathing equipment compartment typically includes a protective breathing equipment door 52 providing access to oxygen bottles 54 and a protective breathing equipment hood or mask (not shown). The protective breathing equipment compartment typically includes a forwardly facing edge 56 that generally follows the contour of the forwardly facing wall of the aircraft cabin monument extending from the forwardly facing recess to the floor 58 of the cabin. Referring to FIG. 3, a seat track 60 is also provided adjacent to the stowage compartment under the last row or aft most row of passenger seats for mounting of the last row or aft most row of passenger seats to the floor of the cabin.

(8) As should be readily apparent, it would also be possible to make the stowage compartment drawer longer, or to add a smaller stowage compartment door above the stowage compartment drawer. The oxygen bottles may also be accommodated in the stowage compartment drawer, which can be large enough for protective breathing equipment or emergency medical kit or other equipment, or other miscellaneous items of a similar size. The stowage can also be taller in areas where the aisle clearance permits, and the door of the monument or lavatory may be a bi-fold, articulating or translating type of door to avoid interference of opening of the door with the protective breathing equipment compartment or stowage compartment.

(9) It will be apparent from the foregoing that, while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.