Aircraft multi-function overhead space access module
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorKwun-Wing W. Cheung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An access module for an aircraft for enabling access to an overhead area of said aircraft, as well as providing a changing room for a crewmember. The access module has dimensions comparable to a standard lavatory module and includes a ladder that may be moved from a stowed position, in which it takes up substantially no interior area of the module, to an extended position, which allows a crewmember to easily gain access to the overhead area.
Claims17
A multi-function access module for use within an aircraft to enable access to an overhead storage area, comprised of:
- an enclosure having at least one wall, said wall having an outside surface and an inside surface;
- a partition that is movable from a closed position to an open position, said partition being suitably attached to said at least one wall;
- and
- a ladder movably positioned within said enclosure between a stowed position, wherein said ladder takes up substantially no area within said enclosure, and an extended position, wherein said ladder may be used to easily access said overhead area;
- wherein a floor portion is attached to said at least one wall for securing said ladder in said extended position.
A multi-function access module for enabling access to an overhead area within a fuselage of an aircraft, as well as providing a changing area for a crewmember, said access module comprising:
- a generally box shaped enclosure having a plurality of walls;
- a partition that is movable from a closed position to an open position, said partition being suitably attached to at least one of said walls to form a doorway allowing entry and egress from said box shaped enclosure;
- a track-mount mechanism that is fixedly attached to at least one of said walls;
- and
- a ladder situated within said enclosure that is movable between a stowed, substantially upright position, and an extended, inclined position, said ladder being coupled to said track-mount mechanism for pivoting and sliding movement relative to said track-mount mechanism, said ladder being held against one or more walls of said enclosure when in said stowed position such that substantially an entire interior area of said enclosure is unobstructed and may therefore be used as a changing room by a crew member;
- wherein said ladder is secured in said extended position by one of said plurality of walls.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.