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EP-4371879-B1 - AIRCRAFT GALLEY INSERT

EP4371879B1EP 4371879 B1EP4371879 B1EP 4371879B1EP-4371879-B1

Inventors

  • PANJER, FREDERIK ADRIAN STEPHAN

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221117

Claims (10)

  1. A galley insert (100, 200, 300) for an aircraft galley, the galley insert (100, 200, 300) comprising heating equipment (120) and an exhaust arrangement (10, 20, 30) configured to pass an exhaust air stream out of the galley insert (100, 200, 300), characterized in that the exhaust arrangement (10, 20, 30) comprises a plurality of deflection lamellas (11, 11a, 11b) configured to adjust a direction of the exhaust air stream, wherein at least some of the deflection lamellas (11, 11a, 11b) are angularly adjusted on the basis of a temperature of the exhaust air stream using one or more temperature-dependent actors.
  2. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to claim 1, wherein the, or at least one of the, temperature dependent actors is or includes one or more bimetallic coils (17).
  3. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one or more adjustment rods (14, 14a, 14b) are provided which is or are configured to engage with one or more groups of the deflection lamellas (11, 11a, 11b).
  4. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to claim 3, wherein the, or at least one of the, adjustment rods is configured to engage with the, or at least one of the, temperature-dependent actors via one or more mechanical couplings.
  5. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to claim 4, wherein the, or at least one of the, mechanical couplings is provided as a rotatable connection, a rigid connection, or a geared coupling such as a rack-and-pinion arrangement.
  6. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to any one of the preceding claims wherein at least one of the deflection lamellas (11, 11a, 11b) is individually coupled with the, or at least one of the, temperature-dependent actors.
  7. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the, or at least of the, temperature-dependent actors are configured to provide a continuous adjustment depending on the temperature.
  8. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the exhaust stream is generated using an exhaust fan arrangement (130) arranged within a housing (110) of the galley insert.
  9. The galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to any one of the preceding claims being configured to be operated as an oven selected from a convection oven, a microwave oven, and a steam oven, a bun warmer, a plate warmer, a coffee maker, a beverage maker, a water boiler, a water heater, a rice cooker, a coffee warmer and a hot jug.
  10. A method of heating a food or beverage or food or beverage carrier in a galley of an aircraft, characterized in that a galley insert (100, 200, 300) according to any one of the preceding claims is used.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to an aircraft galley insert with heating equipment and to a method of operating such an aircraft galley insert. BACKGROUND Design and qualification requirements for aircraft galley systems are the subject of regulatory documents such as joint aviation requirements (JAR). The present disclosure relates to galley inserts comprising heating equipment, such as, but not limited to, ovens and furnaces, including convection, microwave and steam ovens, bun, packed food and plate warmers, coffee makers, hot beverage makers, water boilers, water heaters, rice cookers, coffee warmers and hot jugs. The term "heated galley insert" is used hereinbelow for such types of galley inserts, irrespective of the specific heating mode and purpose. An aircraft galley insert (GAIN) device is disclosed in US 2021/221513 A1. In embodiments, the aircraft GAIN device may be an oven or chiller, and includes an exterior housing installable in an aircraft galley structure and a forward door operable via a handle. The GAIN device includes an inner shell fashioned of a one or more sheets of titanium (e.g., Grade 1 and/or Grade 2) of optimal thickness. The inner shell contains an interior cavity within its upper, lower, left-side, and right-side surfaces, the interior cavity accessible via the forward door. The GAIN device includes a backplate fastened to the inner oven shell and defining a rear surface of the interior cavity, the backplate fashioned of a thicker sheet of titanium. EP 2 874 880 A1 relates to an aircraft galley comprising at least one cooling compartment for receiving a container for goods to be cooled, characterised in that at the rear of the galley there is arranged at least one panel connected to a cooling air cell and an exhaust air discharge and having integrated air ducts is arranged, in which at least one exhaust air opening directed towards the cooling compartment and at least one cooling air opening directed towards the cooling compartment are provided, the at least one cooling air opening being provided above the at least one exhaust air opening. Galley inserts, when installed in an aircraft galley, usually are required to be designed to prevent operating temperatures of all external surfaces exposed to flight and cabin crew from exceeding certain temperature levels, such as 71 °C (160 °F) for health and safety reasons. For bare or painted metal surfaces and glass or ceramic surfaces, these temperature levels may even be lower. This means that there may generally be a need for effective heat dissipation from a galley insert to the environment. Regarding such heat dissipation from galley inserts, particularly to a surrounding space which is at least partly taken by a galley structure, there is still a need for improvements. SUMMARY A galley insert with heating equipment is proposed herein which, particularly by virtue of an improved, temperature-dependent, and variable deflection of a hot exhaust air stream from the galley insert, provides significant advantages over conventional solutions. Generally, exhaust air from heated galley inserts influences the temperature of the surrounding galley structure. Current air vent designs in galley inserts focus the exhaust air stream to a fixed location. This can lead to hot spots on the galley structure. If the flow direction of the exhaust air is be made variable and temperature-dependent, as is the case according to embodiments disclosed herein, the occurrence of hot spots can be prevented. Embodiments disclosed herein may particularly help passing certification requirements on external temperatures of galley inserts, such as referred to above, which are observed to get more and more strict in recent times. A galley insert for an aircraft galley is proposed herein. The galley insert comprises heating equipment and an exhaust arrangement configured to pass an exhaust air stream out of the galley insert, wherein the exhaust arrangement comprises a plurality of deflection lamellas configured to adjust a direction of the exhaust air stream. The air forming the exhaust air stream particularly is propelled by a ventilator arrangement within the galley insert. The terms "galley" and "galley insert" ("GAIN") are used herein in the customary meaning in the field of aviation technology. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to a modular galley for an aircraft in which a galley structure comprising several vertical structural or comparting elements and horizontal structural or comparting elements is provided and, in embodiments, fixedly mounted in the aircraft. Between the vertical and horizontal elements, compartments in the form of slide-in spaces or "bays" may be provided which may be adapted for slide-in galley inserts. Locking structures may be provided for holding said galley inserts in place. The bays and the slide-in galley inserts may comprise structures such as rollers and tracks or guiding grooves and guiding rails, but