Connecting means comprising a hatch and a bellows

US9605472B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• AIRBUS OPERATIONS LIMITED · DE

Inventors

• Stefan Ebeling · Wilhelmshaven, DE
• Jens Gärtner · Hamburg, DE
• Andreas Kohler · Hamburg, DE
• Raj Kotian · Hamburg, DE
• Ralph M. Hoffmann · Eden Prairie, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 17, 2014
• Grant date: Mar 28, 2017
• Expiry date: Apr 29, 2035

Classification

• Technology area (CPC E): Fixed Constructions
• CPC primary: E06B2009/2625
• WIPO field: Transport
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A connecting means provides a connecting passage between a first compartment of a vehicle and a storage means located in a second compartment of the vehicle. The first and the second compartment are separated by a wall. A catering system for a vehicle includes the connecting means. A method provides a sealed connecting passage between a first compartment of a vehicle and a storage means located in second compartment of a vehicle. The connecting means includes a frame, a hatch arrangement for selectively closing and opening a frame aperture with a hatch cover and a bellows arrangement including a flexible bellows. The flexible bellows can be extended from the frame to a storage means located in the second compartment of the vehicle. A continuous passage defined by the flexible bellows and the frame provides a sealed connecting passage between the first compartment and the storage means.