EP-4290431-B1 - AIRCRAFT CABIN DISMANTLING AND RECYCLING

Inventors

• REISS, MATTHIAS
• FREITAG, MICHAEL
• Pupkes, Birte
• TERNO, ANTJE
• OTTO, THORSTEN
• POGGENSEE, Matthias
• REHSÖFT, Sonja
• BECKER, AXEL
• GONZALEZ EIZAGUIRRE, Maite
• MORTENSEN ERNITS, Rafael
• KEISER, DENNIS

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20220608

Claims (15)

1. A device (10) for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization, comprising: - a data input (12); - a data processor (14); and - an output interface (16); wherein the data input is configured: to provide a plurality of cabin base types from a database; to provide a plurality of initial equipment installation states of the aircraft cabin from an installation state database; wherein the initial equipment installation state comprises data of at least one of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation; and to provide a plurality of implementable transferring options from a database of transferring options; wherein the data processor is configured: to identify a cabin base type for a current part of the aircraft cabin by selecting one of the plurality of cabin base types from a database; to assign, based on the identified cabin base type, one of the plurality of initial equipment installation states of the aircraft cabin; to estimate changes of the current part over the identified cabin base type for at least one of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation; to determine at least one current parameter of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation for the current part of the aircraft cabin based on the assigned initial equipment installation state and the estimated changes; to identify implementable transferring options for the current part of the aircraft cabin from a database of transferring options based on the at least one determined current parameter; and to select at least one of the identified transferring options for the current part of the aircraft cabin; and wherein the output interface is configured: to provide the selected identified transferring option.
2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the selection is made based on a weighting of a resulting environmental impact comprising at least energy consumption and CO2 emission in view of a predetermined parameter comprising at least one of the group of: a complete life cycle assessment, a remaining life of the aircraft cabin part, a possible energy conversion and a possible material recovery; and wherein a user interaction interface (27) is provided for selecting at least one of the identified transferring options.
3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the data processor is configured to provide instructions for disassembly steps and further proceedings for achieving minimized energy consumption and reduced CO2 emission.
4. Device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein an imaging arrangement (28) is provided for supplying image data of at least one of the group of: i) the current part of the aircraft cabin; and ii) a current situation of the aircraft cabin of the current part of the aircraft cabin; wherein the data processor is configured to analyze the image data for similarities with stored image data of a plurality of standard aircraft cabin layouts as provided by at least one of the group of: aircraft manufacturer, original equipment manufacturer, supplier and reftrofitter.
5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for the identification of the cabin base type, a first database (30) is provided comprising a plurality of cabin base types provided by the aircraft manufacturer with first sale and delivery of aircrafts; and wherein a second database (32) is provided comprising data related to the transferring options.
6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the transferring options comprise at least one of the group of: re-using the current part, re-using materials from the current part and recycling materials from the current part; and wherein the transferring options comprise at least one of the group of: demounting procedure, disassembling procedure, deconstructing procedure, dismantling procedure, demolishing procedure, shredding procedure, separating procedure and decomposing procedure.
7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for the identification of the cabin base type, the data input is configured: to provide information by a documentation related to the particular aircraft to the current part of the aircraft cabin belongs.
8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for at least one of the group of: the estimation of the changes of the current part and the determination of the at least one current parameter, the current part comprises an identificator enabling a user to retrieve information allowing the estimation and/or the determination.
9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for at least one of the group of: the identification of the cabin base type and the estimation of the changes of the current part, the data processor is configured: to provide image data representing a current situation of the aircraft cabin of the current part of the aircraft cabin; and to analyze the image data for similarities with stored image data of a plurality of standard aircraft cabin layouts as provided by at least one of the group of: aircraft manufacturer, original equipment manufacturer, supplier and reftrofitter.
10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for the selection, the data processor is configured: to weigh the identified transferring options regarding predetermined categories with declining priorities for reuse as preferred option, followed by recycling and then energy recovery as well as disposal as the final option; wherein minimized CO2 emissions and reduction of energy consumption are key parameters of the weigh criteria; and wherein the data processor is configured: to provide, based on the weighting, a scoring for the identified implementable transferring options.
11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for the identification of the implementable transferring options, the data input is configured: to provide data from at least one of the following categories: - up-to-date material- and construction-related recycling technologies; - available material- and construction-related recycling technologies; - up-to-date achievable prizes for materials and compounds; - aircraft spare parts market place; - environmental benefit factor; and - environmental impact factor.
12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising an aircraft cabin part assessment assembly (50); wherein the assessment assembly comprises: - a movable base (52); - an imaging device (54) for imaging the aircraft cabin parts or samples of the aircraft cabin parts; and - a user interface (56) for controlling an assessment procedure and for displaying instructions for performing the identified transferring options.
13. A system (100) for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization, comprising: - a device (10) for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization according to one of the preceding claims; and - a transferring arrangement (102) to conduct a transfer of the aircraft cabin part; wherein the transferring arrangement is configured to perform the selected identified transferring option on the current aircraft cabin part.
14. A method (200) for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization, comprising the following steps: - identifying (202) a cabin base type for a current part of the aircraft cabin by selecting one of a plurality of cabin base types from a database; - assigning (204), based on the identified cabin base type, an initial equipment installation state of the aircraft cabin selected from an installation state database; wherein the initial equipment installation state comprises data of at least one of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation; - estimating (206) changes of the current part over the identified cabin base type for at least one of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation; - determining (208) at least one current parameter of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation for the current part of the aircraft cabin based on the assigned initial equipment installation state and the estimated changes; - identifying (210) implementable transferring options for the current part of the aircraft cabin from a database of transferring options based on the at least one determined current parameter; and - selecting (212) at least one of the identified transferring options for the current part of the aircraft cabin.
15. Computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method of claim 14.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to aircraft cabin dismantling and recycling. The present invention relates in particular to a device for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization, to a system for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization and to a method for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Environmental aspects are of increasing importance for the use of aircrafts, besides economical aspects. While the environmental impact of the actual operation is continuously reduced, for example by substantial reductions in fuel consumption and generated noise, also the manufacturing process is constantly improved with regards to sustainability. As a further example, in the context of life cycle assessment (LCA), the environmental impact of products or services is assessed considering the entire life cycle. One important aspect regarding the environmental impact, besides materials, manufacturing and the operation, is concerning what happens after an aircraft is no longer used for its actual purpose of flying. Recycling of complete aircrafts has thus become increasingly important. However, it has been shown that besides the aircraft fuselage and wings, also the fate and further disposition of cabin interior needs to be considered when reducing the overall environmental impact of an aircraft. US 9452582 B2 describes an aircraft collapsing device that collapses an aircraft fuselage inward. The device includes a gate-shaped shell which covers a circumference of both sides and an upper portion of a fuselage of an aircraft body from which horizontal wings and a vertical wing have been decoupled, a wedge-shaped pressing member that is mounted to an upper portion of the shell to press at least one portion of a circumference of at least one of annular frames juxtaposed in a longitudinal direction of the fuselage toward a center of the fuselage, a pair of sidewall pressing members that is mounted to both sides of the shell to press the fuselage simultaneously from two directions crossing a pressing direction of the wedge-shaped pressing member at the center of the fuselage after pressing by the wedge-shaped pressing member, and a moving unit that moves the fuselage of the aircraft and the shell relative to one another. US 2009/0200212 A1 describes a recycling method with a preliminary phase of selectively labelling the objects, the parts of the objects and/or the components of the objects that include the materials to be recycled, and a phase of concentrating the recyclable materials involving grinding the objects down into particles, remotely detecting the labels that may be borne by each of the particles, extracting those parts in which a label has been detected and directing them to a storage area specific to said label. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There may thus be a need to provide improved guidance relating to aircraft cabins when they are no longer used in their initial purpose. The object of the present invention is solved by the subject-matter of the independent claims; further embodiments are incorporated in the dependent claims. It should be noted that the following described aspects of the invention apply also for the device for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization, for the system for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization and for the method for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization. According to the present invention a device for transferring aircraft cabin parts to secondary utilization is provided. The device comprises a data input, a data processor and an output interface. The data input is configured to provide a plurality of cabin base types from a database. The data input is also configured to provide a plurality of initial equipment installation states of the aircraft cabin from an installation state database. The initial equipment installation state comprises data of at least one of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation. The data input is also configured to provide a plurality of implementable transferring options from a database of transferring options. The data processor is configured to identify a cabin base type for a current part of the aircraft cabin by selecting one of the plurality of cabin base types from a database. The data processor is also configured to assign, based on the identified cabin base type, one of the plurality of initial equipment installation states of the aircraft cabin. The data processor is further configured to estimate changes of the current part over the identified cabin base type for at least one of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation. The data processor is also configured to determine at least one current parameter of the group of: material, construction, equipment and installation for the current part of the aircraft cabin based on the assigned initial equipme