Expandable room flat floor system utilizing notched inner rails and ramped outer rails

• US 5,902,001 A
• Filed: 03/25/1997
• Issued: 05/11/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lippert Components Manufacturing (LCI Industries)
• Original Assignee: Applied Power Incorporated (ICC-Nexergy, Inc)
• Inventors: Schneider, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): PAPE, JOSEPH
• Application Number:
  US08/823,169
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 296/26.13, 296/26.12, 296/26.01, 296/26.08, 296/26.09, 296/171, 296/172, 296/173, 296/175, 296/176, 296/165, 52/67
• US Class Current: 296/26.13
• 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

An interior arrangement used in an expandable room structure includes a first room section having a stationary floor with an upper surface. A second room section is movable relative to the first section between a retracted position and an extended position to expand the interior volume of the vehicle, and the second room section has a floor with a top surface. A pair of substantially parallel outer rails is provided for supporting the first room section, and a pair of substantially parallel inner rails is provided for supporting the second room section. Each of the inner rails is slidably mounted for longitudinal movement relative to one of the outer rails. An operating mechanism selectively moves the inner rails relative to the outer rails to extend and retract the second room section relative to the first room section. The operating mechanism is constructed and arranged to translate inward and outward movement between the inner rails and the outer rails into substantially vertical movement of the second room section relative to the stationary floor. The operating mechanism includes a gear track extending along a sloped path of travel defined by the inner rails so as to align the top surface of the second room section floor with the upper surface of the stationary floor as the second room section is moved to its extended position, and to vertically offset the top surface of the second room section floor relative to the upper surface of the stationary floor as the second room section is moved to its retracted position. The operating mechanism substantially maintains parallelism between a longitudinal axis of the inner rail and the floor of the second room section, and between a longitudinal axis of the outer rail and the stationary floor over the entire range of movement of the second room section relative to the first room section.

Claims

1. In a slide-out arrangement for a vehicle having an interior with a stationary floor and including a movable room section movable between a retracted position and an extended position to expand the volume of the vehicle interior, the movable room section having a floor, wherein the top surface of the movable room section floor is substantially coplanar with an upper surface of the stationary floor when the movable room section is in its extended position and is vertically offset relative to the stationary floor when the movable room section is in its retracted position, the slide-out arrangement including an operating system for moving the movable room section between its extended and retracted positions, the improvement comprising the operating system being constructed and arranged so as to provide simultaneous lateral and vertical movement of the movable room section relative to the vehicle interior as the movable room section is moved between its extended and retracted positions while maintaining the floor of the movable room section substantially parallel to the stationary floor during movement of the movable room section to and between its extended and retracted positions,

wherein a pair of substantially parallel outer rails are disposed below the stationary floor and the movable floor is interconnected with a pair of substantially parallel inner rails, each of the inner rails being slidably mounted for longitudinal movement within one of the outer rails, and including a drive arrangement provided on each pair of inner rails and outer rails having a drive gear, a drive shaft joining each of the drive gears to provide rotational force thereto and means connected to the drive shaft assembly for rotating the drive gears to move the inner rails relative to the outer rails.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein the drive arrangement includes drive gear engagement structure disposed along a sloped path on each inner rail and engageable with the drive gear to enable movement of the movable room section between an operative position in which a top surface of the movable room section floor is substantially coplanar with an upper surface of the stationary floor when the movable room section is in its extended position, and an inoperative position in which the movable room section is vertically offset relative to the stationary floor so as to permit the movable room section to move to the retracted position.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein the drive gear engagement structure disposed along a sloped path on each inner rail comprises a roller chain secured to each inner rail along a ramped surface defined by each inner rail.

4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein each inner rail defines an inner end which includes a notched portion defining the ramped surface along which the roller chain is secured.

5. The improvement of claim 2, including an inclined ramp located toward an outer end defined by each outer rail, and a support roller arrangement located toward an inner end of each inner rail for engagement with the inclined ramp as the inner rails are moved relative to the outer rails.

6. The improvement of claim 5, including a second roller arrangement mounted for rotation on the drive axis of the drive gear for engagement with each inner rail as the inner rails are moved relative to the outer rails.

7. The improvement of claim 6, wherein the inner rails and the outer rails are suitably dimensioned such that, at a predetermined point in movement of the movable section between the retracted position and the extended position, the first support roller arrangement will move along the inclined ramp and the drive gear will simultaneously engage the sloped path of the drive gear engagement structure thereby moving the inner rails laterally as well as vertically so as to move the movable room section between the operative and inoperative positions.

8. In a vehicle having an interior with a stationary floor and including a movable section movable between a retracted position and an extended position to expand the volume of the vehicle interior, and a pair of substantially parallel outer rails secured to the vehicle, each of the outer rails having an inner end and an outer end, the vehicle further including a movable section supported on a pair of substantially parallel inner rails and having a floor, each of the inner rails being mounted for longitudinal movement relative to one of the outer rails, each of the inner rails having an inner end and an outer end, the improvement comprising:

a cooperating ramp arrangement located toward the outer end of each outer rail and the inner end of each inner rail for permitting the movement of the movable room section floor between an operative position in which a top surface of the movable room section floor is substantially coplanar with an upper surface of the stationary floor when the movable room section is in the extended position, and an inoperative position in which the movable room floor is vertically offset above the stationary floor so as to enable the movable room section to be moved to the retracted position.

9. The improvement of claim 8, wherein the movable room section floor defines an inner end and wherein the stationary floor defines an outer end, and wherein the inner end of the movable room section floor is supported on the outer end of the stationary floor when the movable room section is moved to its extended position.

10. The improvement of claim 9, wherein the inner end of the movable room section floor and the outer end of the stationary floor have complementary inclined surfaces engageable with each other when the movable room section is in its extended position.

11. The improvement of claim 10, wherein the movable room section floor defines a bottom surface engageable with a top surface defined by the stationary floor during movement of the movable room section to its retracted position, wherein the lower surface of the movable room section floor remains in engagement with the stationary floor upper surface when the movable room section is in its retracted position.

12. The improvement of claim 8, wherein a longitudinal axis of each outer rail remains parallel to the upper surface of the stationary floor, and a longitudinal axis of each inner rail remains parallel to the top surface of the movable room section floor, when the movable room section is moved between its extended and retracted positions.

13. The improvement of claim 8, wherein an outer end defined by each outer rail includes an interior portion having an inclined surface and a bottom surface offset with and parallel to a top wall defined by each outer rail.

14. The improvement of claim 13 wherein a first support roller is mounted on an inner end defined by each inner rail for rolling supportive engagement along a top wall of each outer rail, and along the inclined surface and the bottom surface on the interior portion of the outer rail.

15. The improvement of claim 14, wherein an outer end defined by each outer rail includes a drive gear rotatably mounted about a drive axis thereon for engagement with engagement structure provided on each inner rail.

16. The improvement of claim 15, including a pair of second support rollers rotatably mounted on the drive axis, one of the second support rollers being disposed on each side of the drive gear for rolling supportive engagement along a bottom wall of the inner rail.

17. The improvement of claim 8, wherein an inner end defined by each inner rail includes a sloped surface and a raised bottom wall offset with and parallel to a bottom wall defined by the inner rail to define a notched portion of the inner rail.

18. The improvement of claim 17, wherein the bottom wall of each inner rail carries a flexible rack in the form of a roller chain defining a sloped path of travel in the region of the notched portion, and wherein an outer end defined by each outer rail includes a drive gear engageable with the roller chain.

19. In a slide-out arrangement for a vehicle having an interior with a stationary floor and including a movable room section movable between a retracted position and an extended position to expand the volume of the vehicle interior, the movable room section having a floor, and an operating mechanism interconnected with the movable room section for moving the movable room section between its retracted position and its extended position, the operating mechanism including a rail member interconnected with the movable room section and a drive mechanism drivingly engaged with the rail member for moving the rail member relative to the vehicle, the improvement comprising a movable support interconnected with the rail member for supporting the rail member as the rail member moves relative to the vehicle, the movable support being interconnected with the rail member at a location spaced from the interconnection of the rail member with the movable room section, a rotatable drive member associated with the drive mechanism and engageable with engagement structure provided on the rail member for moving the rail member relative to the vehicle, wherein the rail member engagement structure includes a sloped area between the support member and the interconnection of the rail member with the movable room section for simultaneously vertically displacing the rail member relative to the vehicle and laterally moving the rail member relative to the vehicle to thereby cause simultaneous lateral and vertical movement of the movable room section relative to the vehicle.