Collapsible Vehicle Cabin Door for FAA-Compliant Emergency Egress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing FAA Part 25 rules prohibit a door from being placed between a seated passenger and an emergency exit, and existing suite doors are permanently secured, which impedes occupant egress when the door latching device fails, requiring additional emergency egress paths and violating regulatory exemptions.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible, removable, and storable door for a vehicle cabin with a frame that expands and collapses along a longitudinal axis, featuring a pivoting brace mechanism and retractable flexible covers, allowing for selective mounting and dismounting, and remote storage, thus complying with regulatory requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a permanently secured door is installed in a vehicle cabin suite, then the door provides reliable separation and privacy, but it impedes occupant egress when the latching device fails and requires additional emergency egress paths
Solution Approach 1:
The door frame is designed to be collapsible along its longitudinal axis, transitioning from an expanded position that provides full door functionality to a collapsed position that creates an open egress path. This dynamic structural change allows the door to adapt between normal operation and emergency egress modes, resolving the contradiction between reliable separation and ease of egress.
Solution Approach 2:
The door frame is divided into multiple segments that can collapse relative to each other along the longitudinal axis. This segmentation allows the door to be disassembled into compact sections, enabling rapid deployment of emergency egress paths while maintaining full door functionality during normal operation.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a permanently secured door is installed in a vehicle cabin suite, then the door provides stable structural separation, but it violates FAA regulations during critical phases of flight
Solution Approach 1:
The door frame transitions from a stable expanded position during normal flight operations to a collapsed position during critical phases such as taxi, takeoff, and landing. This dynamic adaptability allows the door to comply with FAA regulations requiring unobstructed emergency egress paths during critical phases while maintaining structural stability for privacy and separation during normal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The door operates in periodic cycles between expanded and collapsed states based on flight phases. During normal cruise flight, the door remains expanded for privacy and separation. During critical phases (taxi, takeoff, landing), the door collapses to provide unobstructed egress paths, then returns to expanded position when these phases are complete.
3Ease of operation
If a collapsible door frame is used in a vehicle cabin suite, then the door can be collapsed to provide emergency egress paths, but the door complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door frame incorporates collapsible sections with hinges and connecting mechanisms that allow controlled deformation from expanded to collapsed state. While this increases structural complexity compared to a fixed door, the dynamic design enables the frame to transform into an emergency egress path by collapsing along predetermined lines, providing life-saving functionality despite the added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A door is provided for a furniture structure of a vehicle cabin. The door includes a frame configured to expand and collapse along a longitudinal axis of the door between a collapsed position and an expanded position. The door includes a cover extending over at least a portion of the frame.