Lavatory with expandable door
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsGregory T. Eisele, James A. Fullerton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lavatory is provided which includes a plurality of walls including a first wall having a doorway, and an expandable door. The expandable door includes a main panel having dimensions that conform to the doorway and a main hinge connecting the main panel to the first wall. The lavatory further includes a latch. The main panel is configured to, in a deployed state, increase in at least one dimension to form a privacy barrier around an expansion zone located outside of the plurality of walls. The latch is configured to lock the expandable door in place in the deployed state.
Claims22
A lavatory comprising:
- a plurality of walls including a first wall having a doorway;
- an expandable door including:
- a main panel having dimensions that conform to the doorway and is configured to cover the doorway in a closed state;
- and
- a main hinge connecting the main panel to the first wall;
- and
- a latch, wherein
- the expandable door is configured to, in a deployed state, increase in at least one dimension from the main panel dimensions in the closed state to form a privacy barrier around an expansion zone located outside of the plurality of walls, and
- the latch is configured to lock the expandable door in place in the deployed state.
A method of manufacturing a lavatory, the method comprising:
- providing a lavatory enclosure having a first volume;
- attaching an expandable door configured to convert between the following latched states:
- a first latched state in which the expandable door is arranged to close a doorway of the lavatory enclosure;
- and
- a second latched state in which the expandable door is manipulated to enclose an expansion zone in an aisle outside of the lavatory enclosure having a second volume contiguous with the first volume.
An expandable door for retrofitting to an aircraft lavatory, the expandable door comprising:
- a main panel;
- a main hinge connecting the main panel to a wall of a plurality of walls of the aircraft lavatory;
- and
- a latch, wherein
- the expandable door is configured to, in a deployed state, increase in at least one dimension to form a privacy barrier around an expansion zone located outside of the plurality of walls,
- the latch is configured to lock the expandable door in place in the deployed state, and
- the latch is further configured to lock the expandable door in place in a closed state in which the main panel covers a doorway of the aircraft lavatory and the privacy barrier around the expansion zone is not formed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.