High-capacity fuselage for aircraft

An aircraft fuselage having a forward end section, a rear end section, and a central section, the central section constituting a major part of the length of the fuselage and being formed by first and second elongated lobes placed side by side such that the lobes intersect along a top longitudinal junction line and a bottom longitudinal junction line to form a bilobed fuselage shell, wherein the fuselage comprises:

• a top stiffening longeron extending along the top junction line of the two lobes;
• a bottom stiffening longeron extending along the bottom junction line of the two lobes, the bottom stiffening longeron being located below the bottom junction line;
• a first floor dividing the central section into an upper internal space adapted to serve as a passenger cabin and a lower internal space adapted to serve as a freight and baggage hold;
• means for supporting the first floor and for connecting the first floor to a lower portion of the fuselage;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse rows of seats arranged in the upper internal space;
• and
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced upright connecting means disposed at intervals in the rows of seats for connecting the top longeron to structural members located in the lower internal space.

An aircraft fuselage having a forward end section, a rear end section, and a central section, the central section constituting a major part of the length of the fuselage and being formed by first and second elongated lobes placed side by side such that the lobes intersect along a top longitudinal junction line and a bottom longitudinal junction line to form a bilobed fuselage shell, wherein the fuselage comprises:

• a top stiffening longeron extending along the top junction line of the two lobes, the top stiffening longeron being located above the top junction line;
• a bottom stiffening longeron extending along the bottom junction line of the two lobes, the bottom stiffening longeron being located below the bottom junction line;
• a first floor dividing the central section into an upper internal space adapted to serve as a passenger cabin and a lower multiple-purpose internal space adapted to serve as a freight hold;
• means for supporting the first floor and for connecting the first floor to a lower portion of the fuselage;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse rows of seats arranged in the upper internal space;
• and
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced upright connecting means disposed at intervals in the rows of seats for connecting the top longeron to structural members located in the lower internal space.

An aircraft fuselage having a forward end section, a rear end section, and a central section that constitutes a major part of the length of the fuselage, the central section being formed by first and second elongated lobes placed side by side such that the lobes intersect along a top longitudinal junction line and a bottom longitudinal junction line to form a bilobed fuselage shell, wherein the fuselage comprises:

• a top stiffening longeron extending along the top junction line of the two lobes;
• a bottom stiffening longeron extending along the bottom junction line of the two lobes;
• a first floor dividing the central section into an upper internal space adapted to serve as a passenger cabin and a lower internal space adapted to serve as a freight and baggage hold;
• means for supporting the first floor and for connecting the first floor to a lower portion of the fuselage;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse rows of seats arranged in the upper internal space;
• and
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced upright post means disposed in a plane containing the top and bottom junction lines, each post means having an upper end and a lower end connected respectively to the top longeron means and to the means for supporting the first floor, the dimension of each post means in the longitudinal direction of the fuselage being less than the minimum longitudinal dimension of a seat, and adjacent post means having a pitch that is at least equal to the minimum pitch of the rows of seats.

An aircraft fuselage having a forward end section, a rear end section, and a middle section that constitutes a major part of the length of the fuselage, the middle section including first and second elongated lobe shells placed side by side such that the lobes intersect along a top longitudinal junction line and a bottom longitudinal junction line to form a bilobed fuselage shell, central structural means connecting the top and bottom junction lines of the fuselage shell to enable the bilobed fuselage to withstand operational stresses and internal pressurization, and a floor dividing the middle section into an upper internal space adapted to serve as a passenger cabin and a lower internal space adapted to serve as a freight and baggage hold, wherein the central structural means comprises:

• a top longeron means attached to the first and second lobe shells along the top junction line for stiffening the bilobed fuselage shell at said top junction line;
• a bottom longeron means attached to the first and second lobe shells along the bottom junction line for stiffening the bilobed fuselage at said bottom junction line;
• longitudinal girder means having an upper portion that is rigidly attached to the floor and a lower portion that is rigidly connected to the bottom longeron means for supporting the floor and for connecting the floor to a lower portion of the fuselage shell;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse rows of seats arranged in the upper internal space;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced upright post means disposed in a plane containing the top and bottom junction lines, each post means having an upper end and a lower end;
• first hinge means connecting the upper end of each post means to the top longeron with a hinge axis that is transverse to said plane;
• and
• second hinge means connecting the lower end of each post means to the upper portion of the longitudinal girder means with a hinge axis that is transverse to said plane, there being no structural connections intermediate adjacent post means between the top longeron means and the upper portion of the longitudinal girder means.

An aircraft fuselage having a forward end section, a rear end section, and a middle section that constitutes a major part of the length of the fuselage, the middle section being formed by first and second elongated lobes placed side by side such that the lobes intersect along a top longitudinal junction line and a bottom longitudinal junction line to form a bilobed fuselage shell, wherein the fuselage comprises:

• a top stiffening longeron extending along the top junction line of the two lobes;
• a bottom stiffening longeron extending along the bottom junction line of the two lobes;
• a floor dividing the middle section into an upper internal space adapted to serve as a passenger cabin and a lower internal space adapted to serve as a freight and baggage hold;
• means for supporting the floor, said supporting means being carried by the bottom longeron;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse rows of seats arranged in the upper internal space;
• a plurality of longitudinally-spaced upright posts disposed at intervals in the rows of seats, each post having an upper end linked to the top longeron and a lower end linked to the means for supporting the floor such that upper and lower ends of the post can pivot about axes perpendicular to a plane containing the top and bottom junction lines, whereby the posts are loaded only axially by forces acting on the top longeron and on the means for supporting the floor;
• and
• cross beams connecting the means for supporting the floor to the fuselage shell.