EXPANDABLE HOUSING UNIT

• US 3,850,470 A
• Filed: 08/13/1973
• Issued: 11/26/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Roy Kay Trelle
• Original Assignee: Roy Kay Trelle
• Inventors: Trelle, Roy Kay
• Primary Examiner(s): Reeves, Robert B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Skaggs, Jr., H. Grant
• Application Number:
  US05/387,917
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 296/26,23R,23C,23MC,27 49/425 312/296 52/66,67
• US Class Current: 296/175
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 3/32 comprising living accommodation for people, e.g. caravans, camping, or like vehicles tents or canopies, in general E04H15/00

Abstract

An expandable housing unit which has an upper housing section mounted for telescopic extension and retraction over a lower housing section, and drawers which are mounted in each side of the lower housing section for lateral movement between the extended and retracted positions when the upper housing member is raised. The drawers are fitted with vertically moveable roof sections which are normally in a retracted position when the upper housing member is in the lowered position and which are spring-urged upwardly so as to follow the upper housing member as the latter is raised.

Claims

1. An expandable housing unit including:

a. a roofless lower housing section having four walls and a floor, b. a roofed upper housing section having four walls mounted over the lower housing section for telescopic movement a raised position and a lowered position, c. means for moving the upper housing section between said positions, d. an opening in at least one wall of the lower housing section extending substantially from end to end thereof, e. a drawer having end walls mounted in the opening, f. a roof section over the drawer lying below and clear of the lower edge of an adjacent wall of the upper housing section when the latter is fully raised, g. means for mounting the drawer for movement between a retracted position within the lower housing section and an extended position projecting outward therefrom with said means including;

i. a rail having an inboard portion secured to an end wall of the lower housing section, ii. and having an outboard portion hingedly connected to the inboard portion for swinging movement between a substantially vertically upstanding position co-extensive with the inboard portion, iii. an elongated support member secured to an adjacent end wall of the drawer for engaging the rail and supporting the drawer thereon, iv. a plurality of rollers mounted on the support member for movement between the retracted positions above the support member and extended positions extending below the support member for engagement with the rail so as to provide rolling support for the drawer on the rail and, v. manually operative means for moving the rollers between said positions.

2. An expandable housing unit as claimed in claim 1 in which the means for moving the rollers between extended and retracted positions include:

a. a yoke for each roller pivotally mounted substaNtially intermediately between its ends having an axle at a lower end on which each roller is mounted, b. an operating rod having a pivotal connection at the upper end of each of the yokes, c. a lever hingeably mounted at outer end of the support member and having a pivotal connection with the operating rod for pivoting the yokes so as to move the rollers between the extended and retracted positions.

3. An expandable housing unit as claimed in claim 2 in which the yokes move through an over center position when the rollers are moved between their extended and retracted positions and including stop means for limiting the movement of the yokes when the rollers reach the extended positions so as to releaseably lock the rollers in said extended positions.

4. An expandable housing unit including:

a. a roofless lower housing section having four walls and a floor, b. a roofed upper housing section having four walls mounted over the lower housing section for telescopic movement between a raised position and a lowered position, c. means for moving the upper housing section between said positions, d. an opening in at least one wall of the lower housing section extending substantially from end to end thereof, e. a drawer having end walls mounted in the opening, f. a roof section over the drawer mounted for telescopic movement between raised and lower positions and, g. resilient means operable independently of position of the drawer relative to the upper housing section for yieldably urging the roof section of the drawer upwards against the upper housing section so that said roof section automatically follows said upper housing section as the latter is moved between its raised and lowered positions, h. means for mounting the drawer for movement between a retracted position within the lower housing section and an extended position projecting outward therefrom.

5. An expandable housing unit as claimed in claim 4 in which means for raising and lowering the roof section of the drawer include:

a. pulley means mounted adjacent the upper edge of an end wall of the drawer, b. a cable means passing over the pulley means and connected to the lower edge of an end wall of the roof section, c. a preloaded spring urged mechanism connected to the cable means for moving the roof section of the drawer to its raised position when the upper housing section is raised and yieldably permitting return of the roof section to its lowered position under the weight of the upper housing section when the latter descends to its lowered position.

6. An expandable housing unit as claimed in claim 5 in which the preloaded spring urged mechanism includes:

a. a lever mounted adjacent one end on an end wall of the drawer for swinging movement and connected at an opposite end to the cable means, b. a preloaded spring connected at one end to the lever at substantially the midlength thereof for urging the lever to rotate in a direction to apply tension on the cable means.

7. An expandable housing unit as claimed in claim 6 in which the cables and lever are disposed so that the internal angle between the cables and lever increases from an acute angle to substantially a right angle as the drawer roof is moved from its raised position to its lowered position so as to reduce effective lever advantage on the spring so that the tension on the cables remains substantially the same throughout movement of the drawer roof between its raised and lowered positions.