Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Camper
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-28
2001-09-25
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Camper
C296S165000, C296S175000, C296S026140
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293611
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to slide-out rooms for recreational vehicles, and particularly to a slide-out room support system for providing a flush floor when the room is expanded.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to increase available interior space of recreational vehicles, e.g., motor homes and trailer homes, slide-out rooms or sections are provided. During transit, these rooms are retracted and stored in the interior of the vehicle or trailer, with the exterior end wall of the slide-out room approximately flush with the adjacent exterior wall of the vehicle or trailer. To use the slide-out room, the vehicle is parked and leveled. The slide-out room is then slid outward from the vehicle, using the slide-out room support system, thereby increasing the interior space of the vehicle.
These slide-out rooms usually include a floor, a roof, an end wall and one or more side walls. In the retracted position, the roof, floor and side walls are typically inside the stationary part of the vehicle, concealed from exterior view, and the room end wall forms a portion of the vehicle side wall. The floor of the slide-out room typically rests on the floor of the stationary part of the vehicle, and may form a portion of the usable interior floor during transit of the vehicle.
In prior art constructions, the floor of the slide-out room is moved generally horizontally to an extended position. Unless the slide-out floor is somehow lowered by approximately the height of its upper surface above the upper surface of the stationary floor, the slide-out floor remains above the fixed floor in the extended position, creating a height differential, or step up, between the stationary floor and the moveable floor. This height differential is undesirable, inconvenient and creates a trip hazard.
Many methods are known in the art that attempt to avoid a height differential between the fixed and slide-out floors. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,749 issued on Feb. 25, 1992 to Lee, wheels of a slide out floor inner rail support member settle into recesses thereby lowering the extended slide-out floor to the same level as the fixed floor. Other methods utilize a mechanical linkage to raise and lower the slide-out floor as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,351 issued on Nov. 26, 1996 to Dewald et al., or require the entire slide-out floor to traverse a ramp thereby lowering the slide-out floor to the desired elevation as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,224 issued on Apr. 15, 1997 to DiBiagio et al. These structures can be unduly complex, high in cost, difficult to manufacture, and heavy.
Typical prior art flush floor slide-out room operating systems require an abrupt change in direction to lower the floor when extending the room, or to raise the floor when retracting. This change in motion increases the peak power required of the operating system since upon retraction, essentially the entire room must be lifted abruptly, and also increases the potential for failure during extension, since the entire floor is abruptly dropped.
One known structure incorporates an angled outer rail that has a substantially parallel telescoping inner rail connected to the slide-out floor. This configuration positions the slide-out floor as it is extended. This structure, however, requires precious space under the slide-out floor to accommodate the angled outer rail. It therefore remains desirable to provide a flat floor arrangement that is simple, economical to manufacture, dependable in use and fits into the available space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a flush floor slide-out room support system that accomplishes the above objectives. The outer rail is fixed to the vehicle frame or chassis so that it is substantially parallel to the stationary floor, and the inner rail has a support wall which is downwardly and outwardly angled relative to the stationary floor. As the inner rail is telescopically extended, the angle increases, so that the moveable floor is gently and continuously lowered to an elevation so that it is coplanar with the stationary floor when fully extended.
Any type of drive system may be used with the present invention, for example, rack and pinion, hydraulic or cable. It is preferred to provide a roller or other anti-friction means on the top side of the inner end of the inner end of the inner rail, to reduce the friction there as the rails are telescoped, and to provide rollers or other anti-friction means below the inner rail at the outer end of the outer rail, to reduce the friction there.
The invention could also be applied to a system in which the support for the inner rail is not an outer rail, but some other form of fixed frame, having roller or other anti-friction means for supporting the rail that is fixed to the moveable floor.
Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3106750 (1963-10-01), Jarman
patent: 5090749 (1992-02-01), Lee
patent: 5295430 (1994-03-01), Dewald, Jr. et al.
patent: 5491933 (1996-02-01), Miller et al.
patent: 5577351 (1996-11-01), Dewald, Jr. et al.
patent: 5620224 (1997-04-01), DiBiagio et al.
patent: 5758918 (1998-06-01), Schneider et al.
patent: 5787650 (1998-08-01), Miller et al.
patent: 6109683 (2000-08-01), Schneider
Ashbeck Jeffrey N.
Schneider Robert H.
Actuant Corporation
Morrow Jason
Pape Joseph D.
Quarles & Brady LLP
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