This invention relates to recreational vehicle or manufactured housing unit having a retractable room in which the floor of the retractable room moves to a position flush with the floor of the main living area when the retractable room is extended.
The widths of recreational vehicles and manufactured housing units are limited to that which may be accommodated for travel on public roads. Accordingly, it is increasingly common to provide recreational vehicles and manufactured housing units with a slide out room that can be retracted into the main living quarters when the unit is being moved or driven, but which can be extended from the main living quarters to provide auxiliary living space when the unit is parked for use or when the manufactured home is assembled at the home site. When the room is retracted into the main living quarters, the floor of the retractable room slides over the floor of the main living quarters and hence the level of the retractable room floor must be offset from the main floor when the retractable room is retracted. When the retractable room is extended to provide additional living space, most users find the difference in floor levels between the main living quarters and the extended room to be unsatisfactory, and thus it is desirable to provide a mechanism for bringing the floor of the slide out room flush with the floor in the main living quarters when the slide out room is extended. Such mechanisms known in the prior art require relatively complicated mechanisms and are relatively costly.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, bending of the extendible members which support the slide out room is designed to correspond to movement of the room such that in the fully extended position the extendible member connected to the slide out room deflects just enough to permit the floor of the slide out room to be flush with the floor of the main living quarters. Accordingly, the extendible member may be rigidly connected to the slide out room, eliminating the complicated prior art movable linkages. Optionally, an adjustment mechanism adjusts the angle of the extendible members so that the floor of the slide out room is level with the floor of the main living quarters when the slide out room is fully extended. According to another embodiment of the invention, the extendible members are mounted on a pivot mechanism which is adjustable to adjust the angle of extension of the members so that the floor of the slide out room is flush with the floor of the main living quarters. Accordingly, the slide out room drops into a position which is flush with the floor of the main living quarters as the slide out room is moved into the extended position. According to the other embodiments of the invention, the extendible members are mounted at a fixed angle, the angle being chosen to allow the floor of the slide out room to move into a position flush with the main floor, and/or the inner member is designed to move through a clearance with the outer member as the slide out room moves into the fully extended position. The actuation mechanism requires only a few additional components than prior art mechanisms which maintain a difference in levels between the floors of the main living quarters and the floor of the slide out room.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds