In-flight meal service cart

Details In-flight meal service cart In-flight meal service cart

2001-01-22

2002-07-30

Wilkens, Janet M. (Department: 3637)

Supports: cabinet structure

Spaced insulated wall

Fire-resistant cabinet

C150S154000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06425649

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a meal service cart used in an aircraft.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
The meal service for passengers in an aircraft is provided using a meal service cart. During the service, the meal service cart passes through a narrow passenger aisle, so that outer walls of the meal service cart were liable to be damaged from colliding with the passenger seats or other interior decorations, or get its side walls scraped. Also, the outer walls were badly stained from soups or other watery dishes during providing of the meal service.
Generally, there are defined requirements that the outer walls of the interior decorations in an aircraft must be made from fireproof materials. Moreover, for aircrafts carrying passengers of 20 or more, it is defined in a flightworty examination procedure that a special material satisfying a strict fireproof requisite must be used for the faces of linings for ceilings and side walls, and of outer shell of lavatories and the like that are exposed to inner side of a cabin at least during takeoff and landing. As one of the requirements in this special requirement regulation, there is provided a combustion characteristic in order to prevent occurrence of fire in case of an airplane crash and the like.
This is a regulation concerning limits on peak heat value and total heat value when heat energy is applied to a material. Under this regulation, the peak heat value must be 65 Kw/m
2
or less, and total heat value must be 65 Kw·min/m
2
or less.
This regulation is also applied to the outer walls of a meal service cart, so that the outer walls of a meal service cart were formed from a special fireproof material satisfying the strict requisite concerning limitation on peak heat value and total heat value. The repair or reform of the outer walls of the meal service cart made of such special fireproof material was expensive, and also the cleaning thereof was troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to prevent damage or stain of the outer walls made of special fireproof material as well as to ease cleaning while satisfying the fireproof regulations on flightworthiness, by mounting a detachable cover to a meal service cart during operation such as providing of the meal service and the like.
The in-flight meal service cart of the present invention is equipped with a box-shaped main body composed of a special fireproof material, a plurality of connecting means provided to at least both outer side wall surfaces of the main body, and a cover body composed of cloth for covering at least both side wall surfaces and upper surface of the box-shaped main body, and the cover body is constituted detachably from said main body. And, the cover body is detached from said main body of the meal service cart at least during takeoff and landing of an aircraft, so that a special fireproof material is exposed as outer wall surfaces of the box-shaped main body.
Moreover, the cover body is provided at the surface thereof with an advertising function portion for indicating advertising graphics, or advertising phrases, or is constituted so as to be washable.


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patent: 0 922 413 (1999-06-01), None
patent: 1 002 515 (1997-09-01), None

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