Optimally configured air-flow galley cart

Abstract

A galley cart has a rear wall with an inlet port and an outlet port. A first divider has a first edge, wherein a first distance is defined between the first edge and a front wall. A second divider has a second edge, wherein a second distance is defined between the second edge and the front wall. The second distance is less than the first distance for control of the flow of cooling air.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A galley cart the galley cart comprising:
 a housing with an inlet port and an outlet port;   a first divider having a first edge, wherein a first distance is defined between the first edge and a front wall; and   a second divider having a second edge, wherein a second distance is defined between the second edge and the front wall, and wherein the second distance is less than the first distance.   
     
     
         2 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a plurality of dividers of equal length including the first and second dividers wherein odd dividers positioned nearer a bottom wall than the first divider have first edges positioned at the first distance and even dividers positioned nearer the bottom wall than the second divider have second edges positioned at the second distance providing evenly staggered spacing of even and odd dividers. 
 
     
     
         3 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 2  wherein the second distance is substantially null placing the second edge substantially flush with the front wall. 
     
     
         4 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 2  wherein the front wall is a door and the dividers are removable, and further comprising stops mounted to side walls extending from the door to a rear wall to restrain the odd dividers at an even spacing from the rear wall, the even and odd dividers evenly staggered to provide a serpentine flow of cooled air from the inlet port to the outlet port. 
     
     
         5 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 4  further comprising a first cove in a top wall adjacent the door. 
     
     
         6 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of dividers of equal length including the first and second dividers, wherein dividers successively lower from the first and second dividers have front edges at sequentially narrowing distance from the front wall. 
     
     
         7 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 6  further wherein the dividers successively lower from the first and second dividers have rear edges at sequentially widening distance from the rear wall, said front edges forming an inflow channel with reducing area descending from the first divider to a bottom divider and the rear edges forming an outflow channel with increasing area descending from the first divider to a bottom divider. 
     
     
         8 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 7  wherein the front wall is a door and the dividers are removable, and further comprising stops mounted to side walls extending from the door to a rear wall to restrain the odd dividers at an even spacing from the rear wall at the outflow channel. 
     
     
         9 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 8  further comprising a triangular bumper mounted to the door and contacting the front edges of the dividers to urge the dividers against the stops. 
     
     
         10 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 7  further comprising ramps mounted to the front wall to direct a flow of cooling air into volumes between the dividers. 
     
     
         11 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 7  wherein the inlet port is aligned with a first volume between a top wall and the first divider for flow into the first volume. 
     
     
         12 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 7  wherein the inlet port is aligned with the first divider for bisected flow into a first volume and a second volume, the first volume defined between a top wall and the first divider and the second volume defined between the first divider and the second divider. 
     
     
         13 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 7  wherein the exhaust port is aligned with a bottom volume to receive flow from the bottom volume, the bottom volume defined between the bottom wall and a divider adjacent the bottom wall. 
     
     
         14 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 7  further comprising and a second cove in the bottom wall adjacent the door. 
     
     
         15 . A galley cart comprising:
 a housing with an inlet port and an outlet port;   a first divider having a front edge spaced from a front wall;   a second divider having a front edge spaced from the front wall, and   a ramp mounted to the front wall to direct cooling air flow from a first volume between a top wall and the first divider into a second volume between the first divider and the second divider.   
     
     
         16 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 15  further comprising:
 a plurality of dividers including the first and second divider, each divider having a front edge spaced from the front wall; and, 
 a plurality of ramps mounted to the front wall to direct cooling air flow from each ramp into a volume between dividers associated with each ramp. 
 
     
     
         17 . The galley cart as defined in  claim 16  wherein each of the plurality of dividers has a rear edge spaced from a rear wall and further comprising a plurality of ramps mounted to the rear wall to direct flow from a volume between dividers associated with each ramp downward toward a bottom wall. 
     
     
         18 . A method for uniform distribution of cooling air flow in a galley cart, the method comprising:
 positioning an inlet port to discharge a flow into a first volume between a top wall and a first divider;   spacing a front edge of the first divider at a distance from a front wall; and,   spacing a front edge of a second divider at a lesser distance from the front wall to control flow from the first volume into a second volume between the first divider and a second divider.   
     
     
         19 . The method as defined in  claim 18  further comprising:
 spacing front edges of a plurality of dividers spaced downward between the second divider and a bottom at sequentially reduced distances from the front wall; and, 
 spacing rear edges of the plurality of dividers at sequentially increased distances from a rear wall to provide an inflow channel with decreasing cross sectional area and outflow channel with increasing cross sectional area for distribution of cooling air into volumes over the dividers. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method as defined in  claim 18  further comprising:
 evenly staggering the distance of front edges of a plurality of dividers spaced downward from the second divider from the front wall and evenly staggering the distance of rear edges of the plurality of dividers from the rear wall to provide a serpentine path for flow of the cooling air through the succeeding lower volumes to the outlet port. 
 
     
     
         21 . The method as defined in  claim 18  further comprising:
 providing ramps on the front wall for directing flow into volumes above each divider to enhance uniform flow into the volumes. 
 
     
     
         22 . The method as defined in  claim 21  further comprising:
 providing ramps on the rear wall for directing flow from volumes above the second and succeeding lower dividers downward to enhance uniform flow from the volumes.