Device and method for floor heating in an aircraft
AssigneeAirbus Deutschland GmbH
InventorsJohannes Eichholz, Johannes Bruns, Philipp Autenrieth
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to floor heating for an aircraft which has a floor (20) made up of heatable panels (18). In order to be able to heat up the panels (18) in an energy-saving way, the same are provided with hollow chambers (26) which pass through them, wherein a feed line (28) for warm waste air originating from the cooling of the aircraft's electronic equipment which is connected to the first hollow chambers (26), conveys hot air to the first hollow chambers (26) when the floor heating system is in operation.
Claims22
Aircraft floor heating comprising:
- an aircraft with a fuselage having a forward cockpit section and a cabin section located aft of the cockpit section and extending along the length of the aircraft, the cockpit section including a cockpit and an avionics bay containing electronic equipment;
- a floor within the cabin section made up of heatable panels defining a plurality of first hollow chambers formed integrally with the panels and wherein each hollow chamber has a first end proximate to the cockpit section and a second end distal of the cockpit section;
- and
- a feed line operatively connected to the avionics bay and the first ends of the first hollow chambers and providing fluid communication therebetween, the feed line supplying warm waste air to the first ends of the hollow chambers, the warm waste air having originated from the cooling of the electronic equipment contained in the avionics bay, whereby the warm waste air travels through the first hollow chambers along the fuselage of the aircraft and heats the floor of the cabin section,
- a cargo door located in the fuselage aft of the first hollow chambers, the cargo door including heatable panels defining a plurality of second hollow chambers formed integrally with the panels, the second hollow chambers residing in fluid communication with the second ends of the first hollow chambers,
- the second hollow chambers being in fluid communication with one of (a) the cabin section, and (b) the outside of the aircraft, whereby warm waste air flows from the second hollow chambers to one of the cabin section and the outside of the aircraft.
Method for heating the floor of an aircraft having a forward cockpit section and a cabin section located aft of the cockpit section and extending along the length of the aircraft, the cockpit section including a cockpit and an avionics bay containing electronic equipment, wherein the aircraft includes a cargo door formed with panels, the method comprising:
- conveying air over the electronic equipment in the avionics bay to cool the electronic equipment and to warm the conveyed air, thereby to form warm waste air;
- conveying the warm waste air aftwardly from the cockpit section to a plurality of first hollow chambers that reside below a floor of the cabin section, the first hollow chambers having first ends in fluid communication with the cockpit section and second ends located aft of the first ends thereby to heat the floor of the cabin section
- maintaining fluid isolation between the warm waste air conveyed in the first hollow chambers and the cabin section of the aircraft between the first ends and the second ends of the first hollow chambers;
- conveying the warm waste air, after having flowed though the first hollow chambers, through a plurality of second hollow chambers defined by the panels in the cargo door;
- and
- venting, via the second hollow chambers, the warm waste air to one of (a) the cabin section and (b) the outside of the aircraft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.