Overhead Crew Rest Station with Trapezoid Bunks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft crew rest facilities are typically heavy and occupy valuable cargo space, limiting cargo or passenger capacity, and existing overhead designs do not efficiently utilize space or provide optimal access and safety features.
Innovation Solution
An overhead crew rest station with interfitting alternating trapezoid-shaped bunks in the aircraft crown area, a central entry vestibule for common access, an emergency escape hatch, and fold-down seating, configured to minimize weight and maximize space usage while maintaining FAA requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional heavy metal frame bunks are used, then structural strength is improved, but weight increases and cargo capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials consisting of a foam core enclosed within a fabric or mesh shell to construct the bunk structure. This composite construction provides the necessary structural strength while dramatically reducing weight compared to traditional heavy metal frames. The foam core delivers structural integrity and the fabric shell provides the outer form and safety coverage, creating a lightweight yet strong bunk system suitable for aircraft.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes flexible fabric or mesh shells that enclose the foam core to create the bunk structure. These thin film shells provide structural containment and safety while minimizing weight. The flexible nature of these shells allows them to conform to the aircraft's crown space geometry while maintaining structural integrity through the enclosed foam core.
2Adaptability or versatility
If crew rest facility is placed in lower lobe cargo bay, then crew accommodation is provided, but cargo space and freight capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the crew rest facility from the traditional lower lobe cargo bay location to the overhead crown space above the passenger cabin. This dimensional relocation utilizes previously underutilized vertical space in the aircraft structure, allowing crew accommodation without encroaching on the lower cargo bay volume. The overhead positioning provides access through the passenger cabin ceiling area, effectively separating crew and cargo spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The crew rest facility is divided into multiple independent bunk units (typically six bunks) that can be individually configured within the overhead space. This segmentation allows the facility to be optimized for crew accommodation while minimizing impact on overall aircraft layout and cargo capacity. The modular bunk structure can be arranged to maximize space utilization in the crown area.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional bunk configurations are used, then crew sleeping accommodation is provided, but spatial optimization and access efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a movable or telescopic ladder structure that provides dynamic access to the overhead bunks. The ladder can be extended when crew members need to access the bunks and retracted or folded when not in use, optimizing the access mechanism for both ease of operation and space efficiency. This dynamic access system eliminates the need for fixed, bulky access structures while maintaining safe and convenient crew access to the overhead sleeping quarters.
Data Source
AI summary
An aircraft crew rest station includes an overhead crew rest portion including a central deck portion, forward and aft bunk portions, and a central entry vestibule connected between a passenger seating area and the central deck portion. The forward and aft bunk portions include a plurality of adjacent partitioned individual sleeping berths configured in interfitting alternating trapezoid shapes to optimize spatial accommodation of body proportions of crew members in the available aircraft space. The central deck portion includes an emergency escape hatch, a fold-down jump seat, and a fold-down entry door that removably covers a stairway of the central entry vestibule.