Overhead sliding door and foldable cabin panel assembly for an airplane

In combination with a convexly contoured vehicle fuselage having an exterior passenger doorway and a generally horizontal cabin ceiling with a ceiling opening therein above said doorway, and wherein the top of said doorway is lower than said cabin ceiling, an overhead sliding door and cooperable retracting, foldable cabin panel assembly comprising:

• an overhead sliding door movable along a predetermined travel path between a closed position occupying said doorway and an overhead stowed position wherein at least a portion of said door is located above said cabin ceiling, said travel path extending upwardly through said ceiling opening from said doorway;
• foldable interior cabin panels including an inboard ceiling panel, an outboard ceiling panel and a side panel successively hinged together edgewise for mutual folding motion about mutually parallel axes of rotation extending substantially parallel to said fuselage and said cabin ceiling, said inboard and outboard ceiling panels being operable to occupy inboard and outboard portions respectively of said ceiling opening with said door closed, said inboard ceiling panel being pivotably connected to said ceiling for swinging motion between a closed position occupying said inboard portion of said ceiling opening and a range of positions wherein said inboard ceiling panel is swung upwardly and inwardly therefrom about a pivot axis extending generally parallel to said fuselage and said cabin ceiling, said side panel depending downwardly from the outboard edge of said outboard ceiling panel with said door in said closed position to thereby cover a portion of the fuselage above the doorway;
• and
• lost motion coupling means connecting said side panel to said door whereby said door travels upwardly alongside said side panel along a first portion of said travel path of said door, and whereby initial inboard motion of said door upon opening operates through said lost motion coupling and said side panel to partially fold said ceiling panels inboard along said ceiling opening to thereby permit said door to pass through said ceiling opening as said door travels over said first portion of said travel path, and further whereby said door engages said side panel for conjoint motion of said door and said side panel along a second portion of said travel path extending to the end of said travel path, and whereby said ceiling panels are swung upwardly and inwardly over said ceiling as said door is raised to said overhead stowed position at the end of said travel path.