Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Camper
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-29
2001-04-17
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Camper
C296S169000, C296S170000, C005S119000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217106
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to folding camping trailers and, more particularly, to folding camping trailers having expandable beds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Folding camping trailers typically have a trailer body with an extendable hard-shell top portion. The trailer body usually includes two expandable beds that extend slidably outward from end walls of the trailer body. An example of a folding camping trailer having a pair of expandable beds is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,235 to Zwick.
Prior to the use of expandable beds in folding camping trailers, the sleeping area of the beds in folding camping trailers was generally constrained by the area defined by the trailer body. For example, a trailer body 8 feet long by 5 feet wide has a total “living” area of 40 square feet without expandable beds. Therefore, if a prior art trailer body without expandable beds was equipped with two equally sized beds, each bed could be no larger than 4 feet long and 5 feet wide for a total usable sleeping area of 40 square feet.
To provide a usable sleeping area that is larger than the living area defined by the trailer body, the Zwick patent generally discloses a pair of expandable beds which extend outward from the end walls of the trailer body. The expandable beds disclosed by the Zwick patent each generally include a pair of parallel extension arms, a first mattress frame attached to the parallel extension arms and a second mattress frame coupled to the first mattress frame. A rear mattress portion is supported on the first mattress frame and a front mattress portion is supported on the second mattress frame. The second mattress frame is pivotally connected to the first mattress frame by parallel pivot links, with the second mattress frame resting on an upper surface of the rear mattress portion during periods of nonuse. The parallel pivot links are connected by a torsion bar.
In operation, the expandable beds disclosed by the Zwick patent are extended slidably away from the end walls of the trailer body. The first mattress frame at each end of the trailer body does not rest on the trailer body but extends beyond the trailer body a distance approximately equal to the width of the second mattress frame. When each expandable bed is pulled out to its full extent, or to its extended position, the second mattress frame for each expandable bed is pivotally moved toward the respective end walls of the trailer body. The second mattress frame at each end of the trailer body rests on the parallel extension arms connected to the respective first mattress frames. The second mattress frame at each end of the trailer body fills in the space between the respective first mattress frames and the trailer body. The second mattress frame in combination with the first mattress frame at each end of the trailer body create two flat sleeping surfaces that together have a total usable sleeping area which is larger than the living area defined by the trailer body.
One disadvantage of the arrangement disclosed by the Zwick patent is that stacking the second mattress frame on top of the first mattress frame when the trailer is in the folded position increases the overall height of the folding camping trailer and, in particular, the top portion. In order to keep the overall height of folding camping trailers standardized, folding camping trailers with stacked beds necessarily suffer a corresponding decrease in the trailer body height to compensate for the additional height of the top portion. Therefore, two different trailer bodies must be manufactured along with two different top portions in order for the overall height of folding camping trailers with expandable beds to be equal to the overall height of folding camping trailers without expandable beds.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a folding camping trailer with expandable beds which do not increase the overall height of the folding camping trailer and which overcomes the disadvantages present in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above objects are accomplished with a folding trailer with an expandable bed assembly in accordance with the present invention. The folding trailer generally includes a trailer body having sidewalls and a guide rail attached to each of the sidewalls. The trailer body defines an internal space. The folding trailer further includes a first mattress frame having extension rails received slidably in the guide rails attached to the sidewalls of the trailer body. The first mattress frame is movable between a retracted position in which the first mattress frame at least partially encloses the internal space defined by the trailer body and an extended position in which the first mattress frame extends outward from an end wall of the trailer body leaving an external space between a leading edge of the first mattress frame and the end wall. The leading edge of the first mattress frame includes a support member extending into this external space. A second mattress frame is connected to the end wall of the trailer body and is movable between a first position in which the second mattress frame is received within the internal space defined by the trailer body and a second position in which the second mattress frame is positioned in the external space defined between the leading edge of the first mattress frame and the end wall of the trailer body. The second mattress frame is supported in the external space by the support member and the end wall. The second mattress frame is positioned beneath the first mattress frame when the first mattress frame is in the retracted position.
A first mattress portion may be supported on top of the first mattress frame. The second mattress frame may include a base member and have a second mattress portion connected to the base member. The second mattress portion may be detachably connected to the base member such that when the second mattress frame is moved between the first and second positions, the second mattress portion remains attached to the base member. The second mattress frame is preferably rotatably connected to the end wall of the trailer body with at least one hinge. A handle attachment may be connected to the second mattress frame for rotating the second mattress frame between the first and second positions. The second mattress frame may be supported in the first position by a support structure located within the internal space defined by the trailer body. The support member at the leading edge of the first mattress frame may extend substantially a distance between the extension rails of the first mattress frame. The first and second mattress frames may be made of aluminum and the base member of the second mattress frame may be made of wood. A method of using a folding trailer having an expandable bed assembly is also part of the present invention.
Further details and advantages of the present invention will become apparent with the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings.
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patent: 5011216 (1991-04-01), Baughman
patent: 5050927 (1991-09-01), Montanari
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patent: 5992920 (1999-11-01), Bailey et al.
patent: 6102468 (2000-08-01), Lowrey et al.
Dayoan D. Glenn
Fleetwood Folding Trailers, Inc.
Gutman Hilary
Webb Ziesenheim Logsdon Orkin & Hanson, P. C.
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