Integrated utility/camper shell for a pick-up truck

• US 5,421,633 A
• Filed: 08/24/1994
• Issued: 06/06/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Chrysler Corporation (Stellantis NV)
• Original Assignee: Chrysler Corporation (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Chapman, Gilbert B. II, Dinda, Subimal, DeRees, Delbert D., Lalik, Lawrence M., Moore, Thomas S., Mack, Kenneth S., Kowall, David J., Walling, K. Neil, Jay, Donald E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pedder, Dennis H.
• Application Number:
  US08/295,187
• Time in Patent Office: 286 Days
• Field of Search: 296/100, 296/164, 296/165, 296/183, 296/901, 296/203, 296/204, 296/203, 296/29, 16/231, 16/232, 16/258, 16/261, 16/267, 16/270
• US Class Current: 296/165
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 3/34 the living accommodation being expansible, collapsible or capable of rearrangement B60P3/38 takes precedence; tents supported at least partially by vehicles E04H15/06

Abstract

There is disclosed herein a utility/camper multiple purpose shell integrated with a pick-up truck frame and cab. The shell is adaptable (1) to being fully opened at the rear, (2) to having the roof thereof pivotally raised to permit standing room for a user, (3) to having flexible walls attached to the raised roof suitable for camping therein, and (4) to having the roof thereof lifted off of the front and side walls. The shell components are formed of light weight materials and bonded together.

Claims

1. A utility/camper shell for use on a truck frame supporting a front cab, said utility/camper shell comprising oppositely disposed outer and inner side walls, oppositely disposed wheel wells, and a front wall bonded together with the bottom portions of each of said front wall, said inner side walls, and said wheel wells being bonded to respective front and side edges of a floor, said floor including a plurality of transverse braces positionable on top of the frame, a roof, and a hinge sub-assembly for pivotally and releasably connecting said roof at the leading edge thereof to the upper edge of said front wall, wherein said transverse braces include extended portions, each of which spreads in a stepped configuration beyond one of the oppositely disposed sides of said floor, and said inner side walls are each formed to include a pair of shoulders which seat directly on uppermost surfaces of each of said floor and said extended portion and each said inner side wall, between said shoulders, abuts flush against a respective said side edge of said floor to be bonded thereto.

2. A utility/camper shell for use on a truck frame supporting a front cab, said utility/camper shell comprising oppositely disposed outer and inner side walls, oppositely disposed wheel wells, and a front wall secured together and to a floor, said floor secured to the frame, a roof, and a hinge sub-assembly for pivotally and releasably connecting said roof at the leading edge thereof to the upper edge of said front wall, wherein said hinge sub-assembly includes a hinge strap secured to said roof, a receiver bracket secured to said front wall and operatively connected to said hinge strap, adapted to permit said roof to be pivoted upwardly about said hinge subassembly, and a spring-loaded handle releasably connected to said hinge strap and said receiver bracket, said spring-loaded handle being adapted to manually release said hinge strap from said receiver bracket to thereby permit said roof to be manually removed from and reinstalled adjacent and above said front and side walls, wherein said receiver bracket includes a first flat portion secured at the forward end thereof to said front wall, a further flat portion mounted on a portion of said front wall, a pair of 180°

bends interconnecting said first and further flat portions, and aligned openings formed through said portion of said front wall and through said further flat portion.

3. The utility/camper shell described in claim 2, and an acrylic sheet pivotally connected at the upper edge thereof to the trailing edge of said roof, said acrylic sheet serving as a lift gate rear window.

4. The utility/camper shell described in claim 2, and side-by-side paired window openings formed in each outer and inner side walls, and an acrylic cover mounted over each of the paired window openings, serving as a window.

5. The utility/camper shell described in claim 2, wherein said hinge strap includes a flat portion, an opening formed through said flat portion, a circular portion formed on the forward edge of said flat portion and adapted to being pivotally mounted in one of said 180°

bends of said receiver bracket, and a substantially inverted U-shaped portion extending from the rear edge of said flat portion and secured to said roof.

6. The utility/camper shell described in claim 5, and an inner segment formed in said front wall, a handle support member mounted through said inner segment, an opening formed through said support member, wherein said spring-loaded handle includes a rod adapted to extend upwardly in seriatim through said openings formed in said handle support member, said portion of said front wall, said further flat portion of said receiver bracket, and said flat portion of said hinge strap, a first pin mounted through said rod adapted to abut against the bottom surface of said handle support member, a second pin mounted through said rod adjacent said portion of said front wall, a coil spring mounted around said rod between said second pin and the upper surface of said handle support member for urging said rod upwardly through said opening and said first pin against said bottom surface of said handle support member, and a laterally extending grippable handle formed on the lower end of said rod for manually pulling said rod out of said opening in said hinge strap to thus permit the roof to be manually removed from the front and side walls, and later reinstalled in the reverse sequence.