Patent Application
20110316305
This invention relates to recreational vehicles, and in particular to a living space extension for a recreational vehicle, typically for a tent attachment.
Recreational vehicles are becoming more sophisticated, with slide out rooms and tent attachments, with the typical tent attachments being located on a panel door that is movable from a stowed position to an operational position. Typically, in the past, the skirt of the tent is attached to the panel door by means of a hook-and-loop attachment mechanism, which, although holding the tent in place, cannot bear much force before the hook portion of the hook-and-loop fastener separates from the loop portion of the hook-and-loop fastener.
Various means have been proposed for securing a flexible cover of some sort to a vehicle or the like. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,147 discloses a sealing arrangement for the tailgate of a vehicle for a removable and flexible top. U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,525 discloses attachment of a tent-like shelter to a rigid outdoor cabinet. U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,361 discloses a particular means of fastening a flexible cover to a boat for protecting the boat interior. Published U.S. Application No. US 2007/0120396 discloses a means of securing a tent attachment to a recreational vehicle for deployment and storage.
The invention is directed to a system for securing a cover to a panel door of a recreational vehicle, and the resulting living space extension. The system comprises two elements. First is an elongated, rigid extrusion having a center cavity, with an elongated rigid projection extending into the cavity. The projection has at least one rigid retention component. The second element comprises an elongated channel shaped to fit in the cavity and engage the projection. The channel has at least one flexible retention component complementary to the rigid retention component.
In accordance with the preferred form of the invention, the retention component comprises a barb. The flexible retention component of the elongated channel comprises a tab. Preferably there is a plurality of the barbs located on opposite sides of the projection, and there is a like plurality of the tabs, each tab being in registration with one of the barbs when the rigid projection is engaged in the channel.
The extrusion has spaced mounting flanges which are shaped to be secured to a peripheral margin of the panel door in order to maintain the extrusion in place on the panel door. A sealing flange, used when the door is in a stowed position, is formed in the extrusion, extending from the extrusion opposite the mounting flanges.
The living space extension for a recreational vehicle comprises a panel shaped to be moved from a stowed position to a substantially horizontal operational position, the panel, in the operational position, comprising at least a portion of a floor for the extension. A cover is provided, the cover being formed to create a living space above the panel and contiguous to the recreational vehicle when the panel is in the operational position. A system is provided for securing the cover to the panel, the system comprising first and second elements connected to the cover. One of the elements comprises an elongated, rigid projection having at least one rigid retention component, and the other of the elements comprises a channel shaped to engage the projection and having at least one flexible retention component complementary to the rigid retention component.
In accordance with the preferred form of the invention, the panel is hingedly secured to the recreational vehicle, with the panel, in the stowed position, forming an exterior wall for the recreational vehicle. The cover comprises a tent that is deployed when the exterior wall is in the operational position.
The rigid retention component comprises a barb. The flexible retention component comprises a tab. Preferably, there is a plurality of the barbs located on opposite sides of the projection, and there is also a plurality of the tabs, with each tab being in registration with one of the barbs when the rigid projection is engaged in the channel.
In accordance with the preferred form of the invention, the projection is located on an elongated extrusion, the extrusion having spaced mounting flanges shaped to be secured to a peripheral margin of the panel. The projection is located in a cavity in the extrusion. A sealing flange may also be provided, extending from the extrusion opposite the mounting flanges, with the sealing flange forming a seal when the panel is in the stowed position.
The invention is described in greater detail in the following description of examples embodying the best mode of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which:
A typical recreational vehicle employing the invention is shown generally at 10 in
The recreational vehicle 10 is typical, and is therefore not described in detail. It employs two extendable elements, a slide out room 12 and a living space extension 14. It is the living space extension 14 that is the primary focus of this invention.
The living space extension 14 includes two major components, a panel 16 which is shaped to be moved from a stowed position to a substantially operational position, and a cover 18, typically a tent, which is secured to both the panel 16 and the recreational vehicle 10 so that, as shown in
The tent 18 can also be conventional. It is typically accessed from the interior of the recreational vehicle 10, although it may include zippered or other type of entry from the exterior, as well. The tent 18 is typically formed from a flexible material that can be folded into a stowed orientation when the panel 16 is moved to the stowed and closed position. This is well known and conventional.
A critical location is the union between the panel 16 and the tent 18. If the tent 18 is not appropriately affixed to the panel 16, there is the possibility that the two can separate, and a person in the living space extension 14 could fall from the recreational vehicle 10. Therefore, the junction of the lower skirt of the tent 18 to the panel 16 is critical.
For securing the tent 18 to the panel 16, two elements are employed, an elongated, rigid extrusion 22 and an elongated channel 24. The channel 24 comprises a first element connected to the cover and the extrusion 22 comprises a second element connected to the panel door 16.
The extrusion 22 may be formed of aluminum, any other metal, or any other material that is sufficiently rigid, and includes an elongated, rigid projection 26. The projection 26 includes a series of rigid retention components in the form of barbs 28. The projection is located in a cavity 30 formed in the extrusion 22.
The extrusion 22 includes spaced mounting flanges 32 and 34 shaped to be secured to a peripheral margin of the panel 16. As shown, the mounting flanges 32 and 34 include teeth engaging the panel 16, which may be sufficient for a friction fit between the extrusion 22 and the panel door 16 to hold the extrusion 22 in place. If not, however, various types of fasteners, not illustrated, can be employed to securely retain the extrusion 22 on the panel 16.
When the panel 16 is in the stowed position, it forms part of the rear wall 20 of the recreational vehicle 10. To help effect a seal, the extrusion 22 can also include a sealing flange 36, as shown.
The channel 24 includes a leg 38 extending from a U-shaped portion 40. The channel 24 is formed of a more flexible material than the extrusion 22, such as being formed from plastic, but is sufficiently rigid so that when it is engaged on the projection 26 as shown in
The channel 24 can be appropriately secured to the tent 18. One means is by stitching 44, shown in
Various changed may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof or scope of the following claims.
