Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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AIRCRAFT GALLEY STOWAGE COMPARTMENT EXTRACTOR
BACKGROUND
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.
61/534,191,
filed September 13, 2011, and from U.S. Non-Provisional Application No.
13/606,808, filed
September 7, 2012, incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Commercial aircraft that service hundreds of passengers or more are typically
equipped
with a galley to cater to those passengers. The galley of an aircraft provides
the flight
attendants with an area to store, cook, and prepare food and beverages for the
crew, as well as
other services of comfort and convenience for the passengers. Galleys include
all of the
equipment and utensils to conduct the passenger service, which are arranged in
as efficient a
manner as possible. Aircraft galleys must utilize available space in an
economical manner
since storage space is at a premium on an aircraft. To store everything that
is required, galleys
are equipped with tall bays with various compartments that house the equipment
and other
service items. In large aircraft the bays are deep and high, and the upper
compartments require
a certain height and arm length to reach back into a deep bay to retrieve an
object that is stored
or has settled to the rear of the compartment. If the object cannot be
reached, the flight
attendant may have to fashion a step or ladder to reach the object in
question, which can lead to
safety issues. In other instances, the rear portion of an upper compartment is
not used for this
reason, wasting available storage space. What is needed is a safe and
effective way to retrieve
an object that has settled in the rear of an aircraft bay so that all
available compartment space
can be utilized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an extractor formed of a sheet of flexible material
or the like
that is fixed to a bottom surface of a galley bay compartment and extends
first rearward to the
back wall of the compartment, then up the back wall, and finally along the
ceiling of the
compartment toward the compartment's opening. The first end is secured to the
galley bay
compartment's floor, and the second end is free and is held against the
compartment's ceiling,
either by shape memory, guides, or other means. In a preferred embodiment, the
free end
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includes a pull cord that allows the free end to be pulled toward and even out
of the
compartment. When the leading edge of the free end or the pull cord of the
extractor is pulled
away from the back wall of the galley bay compartment, the extractor is
unfurled, carrying with
it like an ocean wave any objects in the rear of the compartment and bringing
them forward. In
this manner, objects that have been placed or has settled in the rear of the
compartment can be
retrieved easily and safely.
In another preferred embodiment, the front of the compartment at or near the
ceiling can
also include a mirror that allows a user whose eye level is below the entrance
of the
compartment an opportunity to view objects as they approach the compartment's
opening. To
facilitate the viewing of objects as they are brought to the entrance by the
extractor, the
extractor may be made of a transparent or translucent material. As the free
end of the extractor
is withdrawn from the compartment, any object seated on the extractor within
the compartment
can be slowly brought to within reach without reaching into the back of the
compartment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an elevated perspective view of a bay incorporating the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a side view, with a side panel removed, of a compartment of the
bay of
Figure 1 illustrating the present invention;
Figure 3 is an elevated perspective view of the bay with the extractor
extended; and
Figure 4 is a side view of the bay of Figure 3 with the extractor extended.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 illustrates a sample aircraft bay 10 that includes a top compartment
as is
common in many of today's aircraft. The bay 10 is shown without a side wall so
that the
interior can be seen, and the bay 10 includes many compartments that house
serving carts 12,
shelves 14, and various other storage devices 16. The top compartment 18 of
the bay 10 is a
substantially open volume that can house objects of a larger or unusual size.
The compartment
18 is rectangular, with a floor 20, ceiling 22, rear wall 24, and left and
right walls 26. A cover
or door would typically close the compartment 18 at the front to prevent any
contents from
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falling out during flight. With the compartment 18 on the top of the bay 10,
an object 28 that
has settled to the rear of the compartment 18 may be out of reach of an
attendant who needs to
retrieve the object.
The extractor 30 of the present invention may be any suitable material that is
flexible
15 A first end 32 of the extractor 30 is fixed to the floor 20 of the
compartment 18
approximately one third to one half of the distance from the front to the rear
of the from the left
wall to the right wall, with the sheet extending rearward from this first end.
Of course, the
extractor's location where it is fixed to the floor of the compartment can
change depending
upon the needs and conditions of the galley. The extractor extends to the rear
wall 24 lying flat
As can be seen in Figure 2, where an object 28 is located at the rear of the
compartment
18 it will be seated on top of the extractor 30, possibly against or adjacent
the rear wall 24. In
many cases, this object 28 may occupy a location that cannot be reached by
certain attendants
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without stepping on some nearby step of some kind. Because turbulence on a
flight can happen
at any time, this is a potentially dangerous situation that is avoided by the
present invention.
The flight attendant wishing to retrieve object 28 pulls either the free end
38 of the extractor or
the pull cord 34, to extend the free end 38 of the extractor 30 out of the
compartment. As the
free end 38 of the extractor 30 continues to be pulled toward and then out of
the entrance of the
compartment 18, the object 28 at the rear of the compartment will be collected
by the extractor
30 and urged forward by the unfurling flexible sheet. By this method and
further movement of
the extractor 30, the object 28 can be slowly and safely brought to the
opening of the
compartment where it can be acquired easily without any safety concerns to the
attendant.
Once the object is retrieved, the extractor is returned to its original
position either by the
resiliency of the flexible sheet, by shape memory, or other means to
reestablishing the full
volume of the compartment 18.
To further aid in the retrieval of the object 28 and improve the safety of the
device, a
mirror 40 may be placed on or about the ceiling 22 of the compartment near the
opening,
positioned at an angle that allows a flight attendant a view of objects
approaching the entrance
of the compartment 18. That is, if the bay is very high, to avoid objects
falling on an attendant
because they cannot be seen at eye level, the mirror 40 provides an early
notice that an object
28 is approaching the entrance of the compartment. The mirror 40 need only be
located near
the opening of the compartment and should have a low profile so as not to
interfere with the
operation of the flexible extractor during extraction and reinsertion. To
further increase
visibility, the extractor may be made transparent or translucent so that the
mirror 40 can be
viewed through the extractor 30, and also so that the object may come into
view through the
extractor as it approaches the edge of the compartment 18. This invention
allows full use of the
entire volume of the compartment 18 by creating a method of retrieval of an
object in a bay
compartment no matter how deep the compartment.
The present invention lends itself to many possible variations and
modifications that
would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, and the
invention is intended to
include all such modifications and variations, whether they are specifically
described herein or
not, and whether they are specifically shown in the drawings or not. For
example, the extractor
could operate while attached to a side wall rather than the floor of the
compartment, dragging
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the object as the free end is pulled out of the compartment. The material used
to construct the
extractor can be made of various materials that yield a sturdy but flexible
device capable of
retrieving a heavy object without tearing. Accordingly, the scope of the
invention is properly
interpreted by the words of the appended claims using their ordinary and
customary meanings,
5 in light of the teachings herein without limiting the invention to any
specific embodiment
described or shown herein.
