Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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10 BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT, IN PARTICULAR AN ENCLOSED COMPARTMENT
FOR AN AIRCRAFT CABIN
The present invention relates to a baggage compartment,
in particular an enclosed compartment for an aircraft cabin.
This invention relates to the field of passenger
transport, for example in an aircraft. During a trip,
travelers' baggage, generally large-sized baggage, is placed
in a hold or similar area, while smaller and relatively light
baggage can accompany the travelers in the space - often
called a cabin or compartment, depending on the mode of
transport - in which they are traveling. In this space,
storage compartments are provided for this smaller baggage,
also called carry-on luggage.
In an aircraft, more often than not the compartments
for carry-on luggage are arranged in the upper portion of the
aircraft cabin, beneath the ceiling of this cabin and above
the seats intended to accommodate the passengers.
In aircraft, there are two major types of baggage
compartments such as described previously. On the one hand
there are baggage bins and on the other hand baggage racks. A
baggage bin is a compartment fixed in relation to the
aircraft cabin, and a door, generally pivoting, allows the
opening and closing of access to the baggage compartment. A
baggage rack, for its part, also has a compartment intended
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to accommodate baggage and comprising an access. Here this
compartment is a compartment movable between a first extended
position in which access to the compartment is open, allowing
the introduction and removal of baggage, and a position
retracted inside the ceiling of the aircraft cabin, in which
access to the compartment is closed.
This invention relates to these two types of baggage
compartments and more generally any enclosed baggage
compartment. The problem behind the present invention is to
be able to determine whether an enclosed baggage compartment
is occupied without having to open it and/or to be able to
find a piece of baggage in a space for travelers more
rapidly, without having to open several baggage compartments.
This concern is in line with increasing passenger comfort, in
particular when the baggage compartments are arranged
overhead and opening thereof is made difficult because of
their position.
To this end, the invention proposes an enclosed baggage
compartment arranged in a space intended to accommodate
travelers in a vehicle, this compartment comprising at least
one wall defining it and visible from the travelers' space
within which it is located.
According to the invention, said wall comprises at
least one opening closed off with a transparent material
associated with concealing means making it possible to either
see through said opening or conceal this opening, as desired.
In this way it is possible to see inside such a
compartment without having to open it. In addition, the
compartment remains enclosed since the openings are closed
off. No object then can fall out of the compartment when the
vehicle is in motion. In an aircraft, this is particularly
advantageous, because it then becomes unnecessary to open all
the baggage compartments prior to boarding of the passengers.
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It is possible to check that the compartments are empty
without opening them.
A compartment according to the invention also makes it
possible for a passenger to see his baggage during the trip.
In this way he can retrieve it more easily in the course or
at the end of the trip.
It also is possible to see through the opening
implemented in the wall of the compartment or to conceal this
opening, as desired. In the latter case, the concealing means
preferably are such that the baggage compartment has a
uniform appearance in the cabin. They can involve a curtain
or a movable flap of the same color as the exterior of the
baggage compartment so as to blend into the surroundings.
According to a preferred embodiment, these concealing
means comprise a liquid crystal layer associated with means
for subjecting this liquid crystal layer to an electric
potential difference, this layer being opaque or translucent
depending on the potential difference applied.
Said wall can comprise several openings in the form of
slits spaced over the length of said wall, each of the slits
being closed off with a transparent material. These multiple
slits then make it possible to see clearly what is inside the
baggage compartment over the entire length thereof.
In order better to see the inside of the compartment
through the openings provided, the inner face of the wall
advantageously comprises means for illumination of the inside
of the compartment. These means comprise, for example, an
light-emitting sheet.
The inner face of the wall provided with at least one
opening preferably has at least one concave area, and the
openings are arranged in this concave area. By virtue of the
concave shape, the baggage, for the most part, does not reach
the back of the concave area and thus forms a "bridge" over
this concave area. By positioning the openings at this point,
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a space is left free between the inner face of the wall and
the baggage. This makes it possible to see the inside of the
compartment better through the openings. The illumination
means, to the extent that they are provided, preferably shine
into this area.
This invention also relates to an aircraft cabin and/or
an aircraft, characterized in that they comprise at least one
baggage compartment such as described above.
Other features and advantages of the invention will
become apparent from the following description, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawings in
which:
Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a baggage
compartment according to the invention in its closed
position,
Fig. 2 shows a component of the compartment of Fig. 1,
and
Fig. 3 shows a perspective view on a reduced scale of a
portion of the compartment of Fig. 1.
A baggage rack 2 of the type mounted in an aircraft
cabin is seen in Figs. 1 and 3. It is a rack mounted so as to
pivot around a pivot axis 4, and located, for example, in the
upper portion of this cabin, above the passenger seats not
depicted. A suitcase 6 is depicted inside this compartment in
Fig. 1. The pivot axis 4 is a longitudinal axis with respect
to the aircraft cabin.
The baggage rack 2 comprises a lower wall 8, a back 10,
an upper wall 12 and side walls 14. The overall shape of this
rack is more or less parallelepipedal with a rounded lower
face. The face opposite the back 10 is an entirely open face.
When the baggage rack 2 is in its closed position, only
the lower wall 8 thereof is visible from the cabin in which
it is located. In the open position, this lower wall 8 is
partially concealed and the face opposite the back 10, for
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its part, also is visible - and accessible - in order to make
it possible to move baggage into or out of the baggage
compartment.
The lower wall 8 of the baggage rack 2 comprises two
5 components: a rear panel 16 and a front portion 18.
The rear panel 16 has an elongated shape slightly
curved along a longitudinal axis. It is connected to the back
of the baggage rack 2. It is noted in Figs. 2 and 3 that
this rear panel 16 is provided with a series of slits 20
10 distributed over the entire length of the panel. Each of
these slits 20 forms an opening in the rear panel 16 that is
closed off by a window pane 22 made of a transparent
material, preferably of a synthetic material in order to
avoid any problem of broken glass.
When the baggage rack 2 is closed, the slits 20 form
fixed windows that make it possible to see inside the rack.
In a preferred embodiment, a liquid crystal layer
covers each window pane 22 associated with a slit 20. Means
for subjecting this liquid crystal layer to a potential
difference then also are provided and this layer is opaque or
translucent, depending on the potential difference applied.
For esthetic reasons, the color of this liquid crystal layer,
when it is opaque, preferably corresponds to the color of the
outer face of the rear panel 16. From the inside of the
aircraft cabin, the rear panel 16 therefore has a uniform
appearance when the window panes 22 of the slits 20 are made
opaque.
The front portion 18 of the lower wall 8 is a molded
part that extends so as to overlap the rear panel 16. The
inner face 24 of the front portion 18 is substantially flat.
As for the outer face 26 of the front portion 18, it is of
overall cylindrical shape and takes on the curvature of the
rear panel 16, thus permitting a reliable assembly of the two
components in order to form the lower wall 8. The outer face
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26 of the front portion has a groove 28 that can be used as a
handle for opening and closing the baggage rack 2.
In the embodiment depicted in the drawings, the front
portion 18 overlaps the area of the rear panel 16 in which
the slits 20 are famed. Therefore, notches 30 are provided
in the corresponding edge of the front portion 18 so that the
front portion 18 does not cover the slits 20 of the rear
panel 16.
The slits 20 make it possible to see inside the baggage
rack 2, even when the latter is closed, to the extent that
the window panes 22 are not concealed by the liquid crystals.
In order to make it possible to see better into the baggage
rack 2 in its closed position, in an advantageous alternative
embodiment, an illumination means is provided inside the
rack.
In a preferred embodiment, this illumination means
comprises a light-emitting sheet 32. This is a sheet of small
thickness (on the order of a millimeter) that lights up under
the effect of an electric pulse. This illumination means has
the advantage on the one hand of occupying little space, and
on the other hand of causing little - or no - heating. This
sheet covers, for example, the portion of the rear panel 16
that is not covered by the front portion 18. This light-
emitting sheet 32 of course does not cover slits 20. Thus,
the sheet is near the bottom 10 of the baggage rack 2. Such a
light-emitting sheet 32, or other illumination means, also
could be positioned, for example, on the inner face 24 of the
front portion 18 of the lower wall 8 or on the inner face of
the back 10.
As is obvious from the above, it is possible to see
into a baggage rack 2 without having to open it. Therefore,
at the time of boarding of passengers in an aircraft, it is
not necessary to open all the baggage compartments in order
to check that they are empty. Likewise, at the time of
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deplaning of passengers, or else in the course of a flight,
if a passenger is looking for his carry-on luggage, it is
easy for him to see in what compartment his baggage is
located. As a result, he does not need to open a compartment
in order to realize that his baggage is not there.
The operation mode of the liquid crystals described
above and through which the window panes can be made opaque
can be left to the preference of the airline companies. It
may be provided, for example, that the window panes are made
opaque when the rack is in open position. At night, when the
interior illumination of the cabin is turned off, it also can
be provided to make the window panes of the baggage-rack
slits opaque. Indeed, most of the travelers are sleeping and
therefore do not need to access their baggage.
The illumination means inside the baggage rack can be
turned on as soon as the rack is closed and the window panes
of the openings formed in the baggage compartment are not
concealed. When the compartment is open, it can be assumed,
in this case, that sufficient ambient light from the cabin
illumination illuminates the inside of the baggage
compartment and the baggage placed therein, and it is
unnecessary to illuminate the inside of the baggage
compartment when it is closed and the window panes are made
opaque by the liquid crystals (or other means).
By virtue of the special shape of the lower wall 8,
inside the baggage rack 2, the above described light-emitting
sheet 32 illuminates the inside of the rack efficiently even
when baggage is placed therein. This is because, as can be
noted in Fig. 1, the inner face of the lower wall 8 toward
the back 10 is of concave shape. Thus when an object with a
substantially flat face, such as the depicted suitcase 6, is
positioned in the rack, it does not come to cover the light-
emitting sheet 32. This sheet, therefore, can illuminate the
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lower face of the suitcase 6 efficiently. The latter then is
fully visible from the cabin through the slits 20.
It thus is advantageous initially to provide a concave
area in the inner face of the lower wall (that is to say, the
wall of the baggage compartment which is visible from the
cabin). The openings implemented in the lower wall then
preferably are in this concave area. Thus, the baggage, or at
least most of it, does not come to rest directly on the
openings, leaving a space between the baggage and the
opening. In that way, the field of view from the outside of
the baggage compartment toward the inside of this compartment
is broader. Finally, it is advantageous to illuminate this
free space between the inner face of the baggage compartment
and the baggage. The illumination means, to the extent that
any are present, are, for their part, also close to this
concave area.
The present invention is not restricted to the above
preferred embodiment given by way of non-limiting example. It
also includes any alternative embodiment which will be
readily apparent to those skilled in the art, within the
scope of the appended claims.
