The present invention relates to an exterior wall structure, or mounting wall, such as for use in recreational vehicles.
In recreational vehicles, it is generally known to arrange kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators, and other devices to be ventilated, within the interior of the vehicle as defined by its exterior walls. For ventilation of a device, one or several openings covered by ventilating grids are provided for in the external walls of the vehicle. Against the interior surface of the ventilated external wall of the vehicle, the device is arranged such that the backside of the device can be ventilated through the ventilating grids.
For maintenance of the device, it is moved into the interior of the vehicle in order to be able to carry out the required maintenance or repairs on the backside of the device. This is inefficient, since the devices in most cases have to be held by several fixation means which have to be detached for maintenance purposes. A further disadvantage lies in that the useful volume within the vehicle is not used optimally, as the device, at best, is positioned directly on the interior surface of the external wall of the vehicle. The external wall of the vehicle, however, for safety and insulation reasons is about 4 cm thick, such thickness not being structurally required at the backside of the device to be ventilated.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a wall structure for a recreational vehicle, which optimizes the inside space of the vehicle and by which maintenance work can be performed from the vehicle exterior on a device such as a kitchen appliance.
In accordance with the invention, a movable, panel-like cover member is provided on an exterior wall of the vehicle covering an opening in the wall permitting access to the backside of the device from the exterior of the vehicle so as to provide a lockable service opening. In order to have access to the backside of the device, for maintenance purposes, the lockable service opening is provided for in the exterior wall against which the device is mounted so that an expensive de-installation of the device is no longer required. In case of a service opening sized to match the geometry of the device, the device, furthermore, can be positioned closer to the external wall of the vehicle than would be possible in case of a continuous vehicle wall.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the service opening is closed by a lockable cover member containing at least one opening for ventilation and aeration. Thereby, the cover member can be constructed in large-area design, it preferably having low thickness in order to increase the useful interior volume in the vehicle. Preferably, the cover member is a hinged flap or a cover plate fastened detachably, which preferably can also be positioned on the external wall of the vehicle. For avoiding entrance of dust, ventilation grids (e.g., filters) are provided for in the cover member.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the openings for ventilation and aeration are connected to the device by means of flexible hoses, so that the device can be positioned in the vehicle in accordance with the individual needs and requirements and the space behind the device can be used for other purposes. Simple installation of the flexible hoses is achieved by fixation of clamp connections to the opening.
In the following, the invention is described with reference to preferred embodiments and to the attached drawings.