Back to results
US 12,728,996 B2Granted
Vehicle lavatory with air replenishment system
AssigneeSafran Cabin Inc.
InventorsRon Verweij, Romain Ducos, Thomas Marino, Dale Doddington
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle lavatory monument assembly that includes an enclosure having a plurality of walls that cooperate to define a lavatory interior, an entry door, and a toilet positioned in the lavatory interior. The enclosure includes an inlet and the toilet includes an outlet. An air replenishment system is configured to move a first volume of air from the lavatory interior and through the outlet and a second volume of air through the inlet an into the lavatory interior to replenish the air in the lavatory interior.
Claims18
A vehicle lavatory monument assembly comprising:
- an enclosure that includes a plurality of walls that cooperate to define a lavatory interior, wherein one of the plurality of walls includes an entry door thereon, and wherein the enclosure includes an inlet,
- a toilet positioned in the lavatory interior, wherein the toilet includes an outlet,
- an air replenishment system configured to be manually or automatically actuated to create two airflow paths simultaneously, the air replenishment system comprising a controller configured to complete the air replenishment in less than 30 seconds by:
- activating a toilet dry flush to move a first volume of air from the lavatory interior and through the outlet of the toilet, wherein the first volume of air is greater than 50% of the total volume of the lavatory interior;
- and
- concurrently activating an environment control system (ECS) of the vehicle to force a second volume of air through the inlet and into the lavatory interior such that a cycle time of the air replenishment system is less than 30 seconds.
3 more elements
A vehicle lavatory monument assembly comprising:
- an enclosure that includes a plurality of walls that cooperate to define a lavatory interior, wherein one of the plurality of walls includes an entry door thereon, and wherein the enclosure includes an inlet,
- a toilet positioned in the lavatory interior, wherein the toilet includes an outlet,
- an air replenishment system configured to move a first volume of air from the lavatory interior and through the outlet and a second volume of air through the inlet and into the lavatory interior, wherein the air replenishment system includes an activation assembly positioned on an outside of the entry door,
- wherein the activation assembly includes a manual activation switch configured to activate the air replenishment system and a plurality of indication lights, wherein the indication lights that include a first indication state that indicates that the lavatory interior is clean and a second indication state that indicates that the lavatory interior is not clean, wherein the manual activation switch is disabled when the lavatory interior is occupied and when the entry door is locked,
- wherein the air replenishment system includes a controller that is configured to activate the air replenishment system a predetermined number of seconds after the lavatory interior has been vacated, wherein the controller is configured to complete the air replenishment in less than 30 seconds by activating a toilet dry flush to move a first volume of air from the lavatory interior and through the outlet of the toilet, wherein the first volume of air is greater than 50% of the total volume of the lavatory interior;
- and concurrently activating an environment control system (ECS) of the vehicle to force a second volume of air through the inlet and into the lavatory interior such that a cycle time of the air replenishment system is less than 30 seconds,
- wherein the air replenishment system is configured to automatically lock the entry door to prevent the entry door from being opened when the air replenishment system is active, and open a toilet cover.
4 more elements
A method of replenishing air in a lavatory interior of a vehicle lavatory that includes a toilet with an outlet, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) activating a toilet dry flush to move a first volume of air from the lavatory interior and through the outlet of the toilet, wherein the first volume of air is greater than 50% of the total volume of the lavatory interior;
- and
- (b) concurrently with (a) activating an environment control system (ECS) of the vehicle to force second volume of air through an inlet and into the lavatory interior such that a cycle time of air replenishment is less than 30 seconds.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.