Floor system for a vehicle and a vehicle having a cabin and a floor made by such a floor system

Abstract

A floor system for a vehicle is provided. The floor system includes at least one floor panel having a top surface, a bottom surface and a first recess extending through the top surface, at least one primary coil device having at least one primary coil and a connection line, and at least one cover plate. The at least one primary coil device is positioned inside the first recess and the at least one cover plate is located in the recess above the at least one primary coil device so as to close the first recess flush with the top surface. It is possible to provide the at least one floor panel made from a carbon fiber reinforced material as it cannot electrically shield the at least one primary coil to a space above the top surface, when the at least one cover plate is made from a non-conductive material.

Claims

1. A floor system for a vehicle, comprising: at least one floor panel having a top surface, a bottom surface and a first recess extending through the top surface and the bottom surface, at least one primary coil device having at least one primary coil and a connection line, at least one cover plate, and a conduit raceway, wherein the conduit raceway is installed at the bottom surface extending away from the top surface, wherein the at least one primary coil device is positioned inside the first recess and the at least one cover plate is located in the first recess above the at least one primary coil device so as to close the first recess flush with the top surface, the at least one floor panel is made from a carbon fibre reinforced material and the at least one cover plate is made from a non-conductive material, wherein the first recess includes sides that are inclined, such that the width of the first recess is larger at the top surface than at the bottom surface, and wherein the at least one primary coil device comprises a bracket, which has inclined side faces corresponding to the side faces of the first recess, such that the bracket holds the primary coil device in place above the conduit raceway through a positive connection with the side faces of the first recess.

2. The floor system of claim 1, wherein the first recess has an elongate shape and is designed for carrying a plurality of primary coil devices.

3. The floor system of claim 2, wherein the first recess has a plurality of grid means that are distributed along the first recess at a predetermined distance to each other.

4. The floor system of claim 1, wherein the at least one primary coil device comprises a plurality of primary coils.

5. The floor system of claim 4, wherein the at least one primary coil device comprises an elongate shape with a length that equals a minimum seat row distance in a cabin of the vehicle.

6. The floor system of claim 1, wherein the connection line of the at least one primary coil device is connected to a central control unit.

7. The floor system of claim 1, wherein the at least one primary coil device includes single primary coils or groups of primary coils, and the single primary coils or groups of primary coils are connected to an individual decentralized control unit.

8. The floor system of claim 1, wherein the cover plate is made from a glass fibre reinforced plastic material.

9. A vehicle, comprising: a cabin with a floor made by a floor system, the floor system including at least one floor panel having a top surface, a bottom surface and a first recess extending at least through the top surface; and at least one contactless power and data transfer system including at least one primary coil device having at least one primary coil and a connection line, the at least one primary coil device positioned inside the first recess, wherein at least one cover plate is located in the first recess above the at least one primary coil device so as to close the first recess flush with the top surface, wherein the first recess includes inclined sides, such that the width of the first recess is larger at the top surface than at the bottom surface, and wherein the at least one primary coil device comprises a bracket, which has inclined side faces corresponding to the side faces of the first recess, such that the bracket holds the primary coil device in place above a conduit raceway through a positive connection with the side faces of the first recess.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the vehicle is an aircraft.

11. The vehicle of claim 9, further comprising a conduit raceway, wherein the first recess extends through the bottom surface and the conduit raceway is installed at the bottom surface.

12. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the first recess includes sides having faces, and the at least one primary coil device comprises a bracket, which is insertable between the faces of the sides of the first recess underneath the top surface.

13. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the first recess has an elongate shape and is designed for carrying a plurality of primary coil devices.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the first recess has a plurality of grid means that are distributed along the first recess at a predetermined distance to each other.

15. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the first recess includes sides and the sides of the first recess are inclined.

16. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the at least one primary coil device comprises a plurality of primary coils.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The various embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a floor system.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a floor system in a sectional view.

(4) FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D show a floor made under use of a floor system.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a vehicle having a floor made under use of a floor system in a lateral view having partial sections.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure or the application and uses of the present disclosure. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.

(7) FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a floor system 2 according to the various teachings of the present disclosure. Here, a floor panel 4 made from a carbon fibre reinforced plastic is depicted, which comprises a first recess 6 extending through a top surface 8 and a bottom surface 10, to which a conduit raceway 12 is mounted. The recess 6 comprises side faces 14 and 16 delimiting the recess 6 in a lateral direction. Exemplarily, as shown in sectional view A, the side faces 16 and 14 are inclined so as to enclose an angle with an axis 18 arranged perpendicular to the top surface 8 and the bottom surface 10, respectively. The recess 6 allows placement of various lines onto the conduit raceway 12 from above the floor panel 4, such as electrical lines for transferring power and/or data.

(8) For the purpose of providing a contactless transfer of power and data to objects that are placed above the floor panel 4 and that may be attached to a seat rail 20, a primary coil device 22 is provided. The primary coil device 22 comprises at least one primary coil 24, wherein the expression primary coil stands for a coil or magnetic element that is connectable to a central source of power and/or data for transferring power that may be aligned above/adjacent to the primary coil 24. A system for transferring power and/or data from a primary coil to a secondary coil is e.g. described in DE 10 2008 024 217 A1 as mentioned above.

(9) The primary coil device 22 exemplarily comprises a bracket 26, which holds the primary coil 24 in place. The bracket 26 comprises side faces 28 and 30 that are shaped corresponding to the side faces 14 and 16 of the recess 6 in the floor panel 4. Consequently, the side faces 28 and 30 have an inclined shape, which leads to a positive connection between the bracket 26 and the floor panel 4 inside the recess 6 as well as a guiding function for the primary coil device 22. Of course, further combinations of indentations, protrusions, cut-outs, grooves and other singularities are useable for providing a guiding function for the primary coil device 22.

(10) Exemplarily, a connection line 32, which is connected to the primary coil 24, is positioned inside a second recess 34 laterally distanced from the primary coil 24, in which second recess 34 a connection to at least one primary coil 24 or to a connection line for connecting a plurality of primary coils 24 is made. The connection line 32 may also be placed in the conduit raceway 12. By means of the connection line 32, the primary coil 24 can be connected to a central source of power and/or data.

(11) It is imaginable to provide a plurality of primary coil devices 22 in the floor panel 4 or a plurality of floor panels 4 arranged adjacent to each other for forming a closed floor, and to connect all primary coils 24 by means of the connection line 32. For this purpose, single, decentralised control units would be advantageous in order to reduce the required amount of cables from the primary coil devices to a central control unit.

(12) Providing the primary coil device 22 in the first recess 6, which is accessible from above the top surface 8, leads to avoiding a shielding function that would be caused by the conductivity of the floor panel 4 when primary coils were arranged under the floor panel 4. For the purpose of providing a flush arrangement with a top surface 8, a cover plate 36 is provided. This cover plate 36 is generally manufactured by use of a glass fibre reinforced plastics material, but also other non-conductive materials may be feasible.

(13) The floor panel 4 may comprise a third recess 38, which may be arranged at a distance from an outer edge 40 of the floor panel 4 and provides a support for the cover plate 36. The outer edge 40 may be positioned on a seat rail 20. Consequently, the thickness of the floor panel 4 at the outer edge 40 is reduced by the thickness of the cover plate 36.

(14) The installation of the primary coil device 22 may be conducted from a cabin side. This means that with installed floor panels 4, primary coil devices 22 may be inserted into the first recess 6 and may afterwards be connected to a central source of power and/or data by means of the connection line 32. Maintenance may also be performed from a cabin side and may only require lifting a floor covering, e.g. a carpet, above the cover plate 36 and change or repair the respective primary coil device 22.

(15) FIG. 3A shows a cabin floor in the cabin of a vehicle, e.g. an aircraft. Here, it is clearly visible that a plurality of floor panels 4 is arranged in an array so as to constitute the floor. The setup is merely an example and does not limit the subject-matter of the present disclosure. Here, exemplarily, two pairs of seat rails 20 are arranged on the floor such that a central aisle 44 between the two pairs of seat rails 20 is created. In each pair of seat rails 20, passenger seat groups may be installed and fixed. On both sides of the cabin floor, conduit raceways 12 are positioned underneath a recess 6, in which a plurality of primary coil devices 22 is arranged. Through the cover plate 36, the floor has a completely even surface. The conduit raceway 12 and the cover plate 36 extends over a substantial part of the floor in the cabin, such that electrical lines may be routed from a foremost end of the cabin to a rearmost end of the cabin and vice-versa.

(16) As shown in FIG. 3B, the recess 6 may comprise grid means 42 that are capable of supporting the arrangement of primary coil devices 22 with predetermined distances to each other. For this purpose, the primary coil devices 22 may comprise second grid means that correspond to the first grid means of the first recess 6. For example, the grid means 42 are protrusions and the second grid means 43 are indentations with a shape that corresponds to the shape of the protrusions. Of course, all other known grid means 42 are possible for aligning the primary coil devices 22, either with a single kind of grid means or a combination thereof, e.g. a combination of pins and boreholes in the first recess and a combination of boreholes and pins in the primary coil devices 22.

(17) In FIG. 3C, a primary coil device 48 is depicted, which exemplarily comprises three elongated primary coils 46. These may be connected over an electrical connector 54 to a control unit, which is not shown in this drawing. The primary coil device 48 may have an extension that is in a range of a minimum seat row distance, which ensures that secondary coils may reliably be positioned above such a primary coil device 48. If necessary, place holders or distance elements may be installed between the edges of two adjacent primary coil devices 48 that face each other in order to allow for larger seat row distances. As an alternative, these primary coil devices 48 may also be arranged in an edge-to-edge relationship, as shown in FIG. 3D.

(18) Exemplarily, the primary coil device 48 comprises a number of bore holes 50, which constitute grid means for allowing a precise aligning of the primary coil device 48 in correspondingly shaped pins located in the first recess. At outer edges in a longitudinal direction of the primary coil device 48 cut-outs 52 are provided, which may constitute an opening comparable to a bore hole 50, when the primary coil device 48 is positioned directly adjacent to a further primary coil device 48 having the same cut-outs 52, in combination.

(19) Finally, FIG. 4 shows a vehicle 56 in the form of an aircraft, which vehicle 56 comprises a cabin 58 having a floor 60 made from a floor system 2. For this purpose of clarification, only the floor panels 4 are shown.

(20) While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.