Seal assembly for a galley door of a galley and method of assembling a galley with a seal assembly

A galley door received within a door frame of a galley of an aircraft, the galley door comprising:

• a door body having a front wall for facing a galley space exterior of the galley, a rear wall for facing a galley cart compartment of the galley, and a bottom for facing a floor of the galley space;
• and
• a seal assembly provided at the bottom of the door body, the seal assembly comprising a seal holder and a seal coupled to the seal holder, the seal having a seal interface at an outer surface, the seal being compressible to seal the seal interface of the seal against a sealing surface at a floor of the galley, the seal interface forming a continuous seal against the floor of the galley, the seal holder being movably coupled to the door body, the seal assembly comprising a biasing mechanism coupled to the seal holder configured to hold the seal in an open position by applying a biasing force to the seal holder, the seal assembly comprising an activation mechanism operably coupled to the seal holder configured to overcome the biasing force to move the seal from the open position to a sealed position, the activation mechanism including a handle accessible at a front of the door operated by a user to move the seal from the open position to the sealed position, the outer surface being deformed in the sealed position when the seal interface is sealed against the sealing surface at the floor of the galley to form the continuous seal against the floor of the galley
• wherein the seal is aligned with and contained within the door frame below the bottom of the door body in the sealed position, the seal interfacing with the door frame to seal against the door frame and prevent side leakage between the seal and the door frame.

A galley for an aircraft comprising:

• a cart compartment configured to be cooled;
• a door frame defining a front wall of the cart compartment;
• a door coupled to the door frame at a hinge, the door having a bottom for facing a floor of the galley;
• and
• a seal assembly provided at the bottom of the door, the seal assembly comprising a seal holder and a seal coupled to the seal holder, the seal having a seal interface at an outer surface, the seal being compressible to seal the seal interface of the seal against a sealing surface at a floor of the galley, the seal interface forming a continuous seal against the floor of the galley, the seal holder being movably coupled to the door, the seal assembly comprising a biasing mechanism coupled to the seal holder configured to hold the seal in an open position by applying a biasing force to the seal holder, the seal assembly comprising an activation mechanism operably coupled to the seal holder configured to overcome the biasing force to move the seal from the open position to a sealed position, the activation mechanism including a handle accessible at a front of the door operated by a user to move the seal from the open position to the sealed position, the outer surface being deformed in the sealed position when the seal interface is sealed against the sealing surface at the floor of the galley to form the continuous seal against the floor of the galley
• wherein the seal is aligned with and contained within the door frame in the sealed position, the seal interfacing with the door frame to seal against the door frame and prevent side leakage between the seal and the door frame.

A method of assembling a galley with a seal assembly including a seal holder, a seal coupled to the seal holder having a a seal interface at an outer surface of the seal, and a biasing mechanism coupled to the seal holder, the method comprising:

• coupling a door to a door frame above a floor of the galley to close a galley cart compartment, the door being configured to be opened and closed;
• coupling the seal holder to a bottom of the door such that the seal is configured to seal against the floor, the seal holder causing the seal to be compressible to seal the seal interface of the seal against a sealing surface at the floor of the galley, the seal interface forming a continuous seal against the floor of the galley;
• coupling the biasing mechanism to the door and to the seal holder to hold the seal in an open position by applying a biasing force to the seal holder, the biasing mechanism applying the biasing force in a door opening direction and rotating the seal holder and the seal inwardly away from the door opening direction;
• and
• coupling an activation mechanism proximate to the door frame to interact with the seal holder to overcome the biasing force to move the seal from the open position to a sealed position against the floor, the outer surface being deformed in the sealed position when the seal interface is sealed against the sealing surface at the floor of the galley to form the continuous seal against the floor of the galley, wherein the activation mechanism positions the seal within the door frame in the sealed position to interface and seal the seal against the door frame and prevent side leakage between the seal and the door frame.