Air curtain systems and methods for vehicle cabins
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsBryce Avery Vandyke, Douglas Dean Maben, Jonathan William Collins, Tateh Wu, Anders Michael Pedersen, Edmund Fidelino P. Cordero
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system includes an outflow vent that has a cap releasably mounted to a panel within an internal cabin of a vehicle. The cap is elongated from a first end of the cap to a second end of the cap opposite the first end. The cap has a base wall that is overlaid on the panel and defines at least one slot therethrough. The cap receives an airflow generated by an airflow generator, and the at least one slot emits the airflow from the cap to form an air curtain within the internal cabin.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- an outflow vent including a cap releasably mounted to a panel within an internal cabin of a vehicle, the cap having a base wall that is overlaid on the panel and defines a cavity between the panel and the base wall, the base wall defining at least one slot therethrough, the base wall extending from a first end of the cap to a second end of the cap opposite the first end, the first end defining an inlet opening to the cavity and configured to be coupled to a rail so that the inlet opening is fluidly connected to a channel defined by the rail, wherein the cap is configured to receive airflow from the rail into the cavity via the inlet opening and to emit the airflow from the cavity through the at least one slot in the base wall to form an air curtain within the internal cabin.
A system comprising:
- an outflow vent comprising a cap and an attachment unit, the cap releasably mounted to a panel within an internal cabin of a vehicle, the cap having a base wall that is overlaid on the panel and defines at least one slot therethrough,
- wherein the attachment unit is mounted to an interior surface of the cap and includes a frame that has a deflectable mounting latch, the frame configured to extend into an outlet opening defined by a vent housing connected to the panel, the deflectable mounting latch configured to catch on the vent housing to secure the outflow vent to the panel,
- wherein the cap is configured to receive airflow and to emit the airflow through the at least one slot to form an air curtain within the internal cabin.
A vehicle comprising:
- an internal cabin including a row of seats and a personal service unit (PSU) disposed above the row of seats, the PSU including a panel and multiple outlet openings through which air is emitted from the PSU;
- and
- an air curtain system within the internal cabin, the air curtain system comprising an outflow vent including a cap releasably mounted to the panel above the row of seats, the cap having a base wall that is overlaid on the panel and defines a cavity between the panel and the base wall, the base wall defining at least one slot therethrough, wherein the cap mounted to the panel covers at least two of the outlet openings so that the air emitted from the at least two outlet openings is received into the cavity of the cap before being emitted from the cap through the at least one slot to form an air curtain associated with the row of seats below.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.