Abstract:
A retractable cover for a slide-out unit on a recreational vehicle, mobile home, travel trailer, or the like, includes a roll bar that is movable with the slide-out unit away from the side of the vehicle with the roll bar mounted in a housing having a closure plate which is easily pivoted to an open position or removed to facilitate maintenance or removal of debris that may accumulate in the housing during a retraction of the cover. The housing is mounted on the slide-out unit with brackets permitting the brackets to be located at any position along the length of the housing and also permitting the housing to assume a length that is much greater than the width of the slide-out unit providing a better cover for the slide-out unit during inclement weather.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     A cover for a slide-out unit found on recreational vehicles, mobile homes, and the like, includes a canopy and scissors-type support arms which extend as the slide-out unit is extended from the main body of the vehicle. The scissors arms are mounted at a bias so that a support bar across the underside of the canopy is raised as the awning cover is extended and lowered as the awning cover is retracted with the slide-out unit. One edge of the canopy is secured to the side of the vehicle while the other edge is secured to a roll bar mounted in a housing secured to the slide-out unit so that the roll bar is moved away from the vehicle as the cover is extended and retracted toward the side of the vehicle as the cover is retracted. The housing includes a pivotal and removable closure plate providing easy access to the roller for maintenance and for the removal of debris that accumulates on the canopy and is captured in the housing when the cover is retracted.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Relevant Art  
         [0004]     Mobile homes have been a mainstay for housing for many years and in more recent years motor home type structures have been used and are commonly referred to recreational vehicles. Similarly, trailers incorporating features of a recreational vehicle are becoming more popular and in each instance, it has become desirable to have the main body of the mobile home, recreational vehicle, trailer, or the like, expandable to selectively enlarge the living space within the vehicle. In order to accommodate such enlargement, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, trailers, and the like, are now sometimes provided with a slide-out unit which is a box-like structure having top and bottom walls as well as side walls and an outer wall with the box-like structure being motor driven between a retracted position within the interior of the vehicle and an extended position away from one side of the vehicle.  
         [0005]     A common problem encountered with slide-out units resides in the fact that debris, such as leaves, dust, dirt, or the like, will accumulate on the top wall of the slide-out unit when the unit is extended. When the unit is subsequently retracted, the debris is brought into the interior of the vehicle. To avoid debris being brought into the vehicle during a retraction of a slide-out unit, covers have been provided over the top of the unit which extend with the slide-out unit and also retract with the unit. Any debris accumulating on the cover is therefore discarded as the unit retracts and the cover is rolled into a housing typically provided on the side of the vehicle.  
         [0006]     An example of an extendible cover for slide-out units is found in U.S. Pat. No. RE37,567, which is of common ownership with the present application, and while the system disclosed in this patent overcomes some problems that were previously prevalent with the use of slide-out units, the solutions have not been entirely satisfactory as the cover is flat when extended and generally coextensive with the top of the slide-out unit so that debris, rain, and the like will accumulate on the cover. An improvement is found in copending application Ser. No. 10/964,840 filed Oct. 13, 2004 entitled Awning Cover for Slide-Out Unit for Recreational Vehicles, which is also of common ownership with the present application. In the cover disclosed in that application, the canopy component of the cover is raised at an intermediate location as the cover is extended so as to form a gable-like configuration encouraging debris and the like to be automatically discarded from the cover.  
         [0007]     All debris is not discarded during retraction of the awning even in an awning of the type described and disclosed in application Ser. No. 10/964,840, and, accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system whereby such debris could be more effectively prevented from being brought into the interior of the vehicle upon retraction of the awning.  
         [0008]     It is to provide improvements in awning covers for slide-out units solving the problems raised above that the present invention has been developed.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     A cover for a slide-out unit on a mobile home, recreational vehicle, travel trailer, or the like, includes a canopy having one edge secured to the side of the vehicle and the other edge to a roll bar mounted to the outer wall of the slide-out unit. The canopy is adapted to be wrapped about the roll bar when the slide-out unit and the cover are moved into a retracted position and unwrapped from the roll bar when extended.  
         [0010]     The roll bar is mounted in an aesthetically attractive housing and a support system, which may be of the type described in the afore-noted U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/964,840, supports the canopy in a gabled configuration between the side of the vehicle and the outer wall of the slide-out unit where the roll bar is mounted.  
         [0011]     The housing for the roll bar has a mounting bar extending along its length with the mounting bar being at least as wide as the slide-out unit but can extend any distance beyond the side walls of the slide-out unit to accommodate larger canopies if desired. The mounting bar is designed to be connectible to any number of mounting brackets on the outer wall of the slide-out unit depending upon the length of the cover and the width of the slide-out unit.  
         [0012]     End caps are secured to the ends of the mounting bar and rotatably support the roll bar, which is spring-biased and in which the outer edge of the canopy is secured in a conventional manner. At least one intermediate support member may be removably connected to the mounting bar at any desired location along the length of the mounting bar to prevent sagging of the roll bar particularly on relatively long roll bars and wide slide-out units. The intermediate support member has rollers adapted to engage the canopy as it is wrapped around the roll bar to prevent sagging of the roll bar and therefore assure a smooth deployment and retraction of the canopy.  
         [0013]     The housing has a closure plate or panel pivotally and removably connected to the end caps to conceal the roll bar during normal operation. The closure plate can be pivoted open or completely removed from the remainder of the housing to expose the roll bar for maintenance purposes or to remove debris that may accumulate within the housing as the cover is retracted and the canopy is wrapped around the roll bar. In other words, while the canopy is preferably mounted in a gable configured manner as described in the afore-noted U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/964,840 so that debris is encouraged to naturally slide off the canopy, any remaining debris will drop off the canopy as it wraps around the roll bar so that such debris can be captured within the housing and removed therefrom by pivotally opening or removing the closure plate.  
         [0014]     Other aspects, features, and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is an isometric of a recreational vehicle having an extended slide-out unit incorporating the cover of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a rear elevation of the recreational vehicle as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged fragmentary isometric showing the slide-out unit along with the cover of the present invention in a retracted position.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged fragmentary isometric similar to  FIG. 3  with the slide-out unit and cover in an extended position.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a further enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a further enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is a section similar to  FIG. 6  with the cover partially extended and with the cover plate in a closed position.  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  is an isometric looking downwardly on the partially extended cover as shown in  FIG. 7  with the canopy removed to show the support system for the cover.  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  is an isometric similar to  FIG. 8  with the cover further extended.  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 11  is a fragmentary isometric looking at the top edge of the slide-out unit along its juncture with the side of the recreational vehicle illustrating the mounting brackets on the vehicle and the slide-out unit.  
         [0026]      FIG. 12  is an enlarged section with parts removed taken along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 13  is a fragmentary section taken along line  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 14  is a fragmentary section taken along line  14 - 14  of  FIG. 12 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 15  is a fragmentary section taken along line  15 - 15  of  FIG. 12 .  
         [0030]      FIG. 16A  is an exploded isometric showing the left end of the roll bar and its housing.  
         [0031]      FIG. 16B  is an exploded isometric similar to  FIG. 16A  showing the right end of the housing for the roll bar.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0032]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a recreational vehicle  20  having a slide-out unit  22  in an extended position is shown with the retractable cover  24  of the present invention interconnecting a side wall  26  of the vehicle with an outer wall  28  of the slide-out unit. In  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the slide-out unit is shown retracted and extended, respectively, with the cover of the present invention shown retracted and extended accordingly.  
         [0033]     As best seen in  FIGS. 3-5 , the retractable cover can be seen to include a support system  30  anchored with mounting brackets  32  to the side wall  26  of the recreational vehicle immediately above the opening in the side wall of the vehicle in which the slide-out unit is disposed. The support system includes pivotally interconnected support arms  34  which extend and retract in a scissors-type manner when the cover is extended and retracted respectively. Along the outer edge of the support system, a housing  36  for a roll bar  38  is provided with the housing being connected to the outer edge of the support system and to support brackets  40  on the outer wall  28  of the slide-out unit  22  adjacent the upper edge thereof. The roll bar is rotatably disposed within the housing and is anchored in a conventional manner to an outer edge of a flexible canopy  42  whose inner edge is anchored with a mounting rail  44  to the side wall of the vehicle immediately above the side wall mounting brackets  32 . As will be explained hereafter, the roll bar is spring biased toward a retracted position wherein the canopy is wrapped therearound with the biasing being in a clockwise direction as viewed in  FIG. 5 . Accordingly, when the cover  24  is moved from the extended position of  FIG. 5  to the retracted position of  FIG. 3 , the canopy automatically wraps about the roll bar with the roll bar being drawn toward the side of the vehicle as the slide-out unit is retracted into the vehicle and as the scissors-type support arms collapse. The scissors-type support system could be of the type disclosed in detail in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/964,840 filed Oct. 13, 2004, which is of common ownership with the present application and which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.  
         [0034]     It will be appreciated that the support system  30  is uniquely designed so that when fully retracted, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the support arms  34  in the support system are folded in compact adjacent side-by-side relationship next to the side wall  26  of the recreational vehicle but as the slide-out unit is extended along with the housing  36  and its enclosed roll bar, the support system is extended and due to an angulated mounting of the support arms to brackets  46  at the distal ends of the support arms, a support beam  48  at the center of the support arms is elevated so as to create a gabled configuration for the canopy over the top of the slide-out unit. The gabled configuration encourages debris in the form of leaves, dust, rain, and the like, to naturally run or fall off the canopy so that when the slide-out unit is retracted the debris is kept off the top of the slide-out unit and is thereby prevented from being drawn into the recreational vehicle. As will be explained hereafter, to the extent any debris does not naturally run off the canopy in its extended position, the debris will accumulate within the housing  36  for the roll bar  38  as the canopy is wrapped around the roll bar and can be removed from the housing in a convenient manner.  
         [0035]     The inner edge of the canopy  42  is secured to the side wall  26  of the recreational vehicle with the mounting rail  44  which is an elongated continuous rail having a groove of C-shaped cross section adapted to conventionally receive a hem in the inner edge of the canopy with a retaining rod therein. As possibly best seen in  FIGS. 7, 9 ,  10 , and  11 , the scissors support arms  34  for the support system  30  are mounted on a pair of the mounting brackets  32  with the inner end of an inner arm in the support system being mounted on a pivot bracket  46  which in turn is secured to an associated mounting bracket  32  on the side wall of the vehicle.  
         [0036]     Each mounting bracket  32  as best seen in  FIGS. 6, 7  and  10  has a vertical flange  49  securable to the side wall  26  of the vehicle with a suitable fastener  50  and a lower out turned arm  52  having an upwardly opening ridged groove  54  so that a fastener  56  as best shown in  FIG. 7  can be passed through the pivot bracket  46  of the support system and into the upwardly opening groove to secure the pivot bracket to the mounting bracket  46 . It should also be appreciated in the support system, that each of the scissors arms  34  is distinguishable from those utilized in the afore-mentioned U.S. application Ser. No. 10/964,840, which has been incorporated by reference in that the arms in the present disclosure are made to be telescoping and can be fixed at any predetermined length with set screws  58  so that one adjustable support system  30  can be used to accommodate various sized covers  24 . In other words, each scissors arm remains of a fixed length once the size of the cover has been determined but due to the adjustable length of the scissors arm, they can be used in various sized covers.  
         [0037]     The housing  36  for the roll bar  38  is mounted on the outer wall  28  of the slide-out unit with two or more of the support brackets  40  best seen in  FIGS. 6, 7  and  10 , the number of which would depend on the length of the housing and thus the support felt necessary for the housing. In the disclosed embodiment, there are two such support brackets shown with one bracket being near one side edge of the outer wall  28  and the other near the opposite side edge. The support brackets are identical and are extruded into a fairly short length that may be for example six inches to a foot in length. Each bracket has a recess  62  near its lower edge with an opening therethrough to receive  64  fasteners that secure the bracket to the outer wall of the slide-out unit. A decorative cover strip  66 , as seen in  FIG. 7 , may be snapped into the recess to cover the fasteners for aesthetic purposes. The bracket  40  extends upwardly in spaced relationship from the outer wall  28  of the slide-out unit and has a lower upwardly opening channel  68  formed on its outer face. Above the lower opening channel, the bracket has a horizontal leg with an upper upwardly opening channel  70  adjacent to its outer edge. The lower  68  and upper  70  channels are used to hang and secure the housing  36  to the bracket as will be described later.  
         [0038]     The housing  36 , which is probably best seen in  FIGS. 6, 7 ,  16 A and  16 B, has an extruded base rail  72  of a length substantially the same as the width of the canopy. It is to be appreciated the length of the base rail and the width of the canopy can be much greater than the width of the slide-out unit if desired so that the canopy  42  can extend beyond the sides of the slide-out unit to prevent rain water from blowing beneath the canopy onto the top of the slide-out unit.  
         [0039]     The extruded base rail  72  can be seen to be of generally triangular tubular cross section having a somewhat arcuate upwardly concave top wall  74  along its forward edge and an upwardly opening groove  76  extending along its length approximately midway between a front edge  78  and rear edge  80 . Immediately behind the upwardly opening groove  76 , there is an upper horizontal shelf  82  with a downturned lip  84  adapted to be seated in the upper channel  70  of a support bracket  40 . Immediately beneath the upper shelf there is a lower rearwardly projecting shelf  86  having a downturned lip  88  adapted to be received in the lower channel  68  of a support bracket  40 . A pair of C-shaped, inwardly opening grooves  90  ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ) are formed in the interior of the extruded base rail along the front edge  78  and along the rear lower edge  80  with the C-shaped grooves opening through opposite ends of the extruded base rail. The C-shaped grooves are adapted to receive fasteners  92  to secure end caps  94  and  96  to opposite ends of the extruded base rail  72  as possibly best seen in  FIGS. 16A and 16B . A third C-shaped groove  98  is provided along the length of the base rail on the front of the upwardly opening groove  76 . The third groove is also open at opposite ends of the base rail to again receive a fastener  92  for securing the end caps to the base rail ( FIGS. 16A and 16B ).  
         [0040]     A closure plate or panel  100  as possibly best seen in  FIG. 16B  is arcuate in cross-section so as to be outwardly convex when mounted on the end caps  94  and  96 . The top edge of the closure plate has an inwardly projecting groove  102  of C-shaped cross section which opens through opposite ends of the closure plate. Each open end of the groove  102  receives a depressible pin  104  mounted on a compression spring  106 . The pins are removably receivable in the groove  98  at the top of the end caps  94  and  96  so that the closure plate can pivot about the pins relative to the end caps. Depression of at best one of the pins facilitates removal of the closure plate from the end caps.  
         [0041]     The closure plate  100  as best seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7  has a pair of grooves  108  and  102  of C-shaped cross-section along its lower edge. One of the grooves  108  receives a rubber rod  112  that engages the front edge  78  of the base rail  72  when the closure plate is closed as shown in  FIG. 7  and the other groove  102  receives depressible pins  114  as along the upper edge of the closure plate. The depressible pins are removably positionable in aligned holes  116  in the end caps. The pins are depressed either to allow the closure plate to pivot about the pins or to permit removal of the closure plate from the remainder of the housing.  
         [0042]     The extruded base rail  72  is probably best seen in  FIG. 7  hung on the support brackets  40  by positioning the downturned lips  84  and  88  on the extruded base rail into the upper  70  and lower  68  channels of the support brackets and then positively securing the base rail in place by advancing friction screws  117  into a space between the upper downturned lip  84  and a side wall of the upper channel  70  in the support brackets. It will be appreciated that the support brackets can be short relative to the length of the housing for aesthetics and cost savings. Further, the support brackets can be placed at any desired location along the length of the housing and any number of brackets can be used.  
         [0043]     Before describing in detail the roll bar  38  which is rotationally mounted on the opposed end caps  94  and  96  of the housing, it should be noted that an intermediate roll bar support  118  ( FIG. 16B ) is also mounted on the extruded base rail  72  at any desired position. There may also be more than one such intermediate support mounted on the base rail depending upon the length of the roll bar and the amount of sag that might be expected due to the length and weight of the roll bar.  
         [0044]     An intermediate support  118  is shown in  FIG. 16B  to include an arcuate main body  120  having open C-shaped grooves  122  along the top and bottom edges of its concave side for receipt of pivot shafts  124  that have rollers  126  mounted thereon on opposite sides of the main body. The main body has a rearwardly directed, horizontal flange  128  with a downturned lip  130  that is secured to the base rail  72  by passing fasteners  132  through the horizontal flange  128  and into the upwardly opening grooves  76  along the top edge of the extruded base member. The downturned lip  130  from the horizontal flange rests on the upper horizontal shelf  82  of the extruded base member so that the intermediate support  118  member is positively and securely supported on the base rail and in a position to have the rollers  126  engage the roll bar or the canopy when at least partially wrapped around the roll bar to provide support and prevent sagging of the roll bar along its length. If the roll bar is not retained in a straight line, the canopy will sag and collect rain water or the like in an undesirable manner when the canopy is extended. The intermediate support member(s)  118  prevent such sagging of the roll bar and thus any uneven distribution of the canopy.  
         [0045]     Referring next to  FIGS. 12-15 ,  16 A, and  16 B, the construction of the roll bar  38  and its mounting in the housing  36  is illustrated. Referring first to  FIGS. 16A and 16B , the roll bar can be seen to include a generally cylindrically shaped tube  134  having a pair of slots  136  formed in its outer surface ( FIGS. 5, 6 , and  7 ) which open into inward longitudinally extending protrusions  138  along the length of the cylindrical tube. The outer edge of the canopy  42  is anchored in one of the inward protrusions  138  through an associated slot in the same manner. The inner edge of the canopy is anchored to the side wall  26  of the vehicle with a hem and a retaining rod inserted into the inward protrusion.  
         [0046]     The left end of the cylindrical tube as viewed in  FIG. 16A  has a cylindrical insert  140  frictionally fit therein and held in place with screws  142  passing radially inwardly through the wall of the cylindrical tube and into one of a plurality of notches  144  formed in the insert. The insert has a cylindrical passage therethrough which rotatably receives a bearing member  146  that protrudes completely through the insert and is retained in that position by a washer  148  and C-clamp  150  as possibly best seen in  FIG. 12 . The bearing frictionally receives an axial press nut  152  in an opening in its outermost end into which a threaded fastener  154  can be received. The threaded fastener  154  passes through a boss in the inner surface of the associated end cap  94  so that the cylindrical tube is allowed to rotate freely about the bearing.  
         [0047]     Referencing  FIGS. 12-15  and  16 B, the right end of the roll bar can be seen to include an insert  140  identical to the insert at the left end which is again held in place with screws  142  extending radially inwardly through the wall of the cylindrical tube  134  and into a notch  144  in the insert. A spring tensioner  156  is inserted through the circular passage through the insert  140  and is retained in position with a washer  158  and C-clamp  160  as best seen in  FIG. 12 . The spring tensioner has a generally cylindrical extension  162  extending inwardly from the insert with the generally cylindrical extension having a longitudinally extending notch  164  ( FIG. 14 ) in one surface. A coil spring  166  shown in  FIGS. 12 and 16 A has its right end seated on the cylindrical extension  162  and a tang at the associated end of the spring  166  is received in the notch  164  to prevent rotation of the spring relative to the spring tensioner.  
         [0048]     The opposite end of the coil spring is seated on an anti-rotation device  168  ( FIGS. 15 and 16 A) having a generally cylindrical shaft  170  with a notch  172  formed therein so that the tang at the associated end of the spring  166  can be received in the notch to prevent the spring from rotating relative to the anti-rotation device. The anti-rotation device also has diametrically projecting tabs  174  defining an overall diameter of the device slightly smaller than the interior diameter of the cylindrical tube  134 , but large enough so that the tabs engage the inward protrusions  138  in the tube which thereby prevent the anti-rotation device from rotating relative to the tube. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the innermost end of the spring, having the anti-rotation device thereon, is fixed relative to the tube for rotation therewith whereas the opposite or outer end of the spring, which is anchored to the tensioner  156 , is allowed to rotate relative to the tube. The tensioner as best seen in  FIG. 13  has four arcuately tapered teeth  176  around its outer periphery which are adapted to engage a pawl  178  pivotally mounted on a stub shaft  180  ( FIG. 13 ) projecting inwardly from the associated end cap  96  at the right end of the roll bar. The roll bar can be rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in  FIG. 13  which allows the spring  166  to be tensioned and the pawl holds the tensioner in any one of four selected positions as the cylindrical tube is rotated with the tensioner. This system is used to pre-tension the roll bar depending upon the size of the canopy  42  and its extension from the side of the recreational vehicle. In other words, the tension in the roll bar which biases the roll bar toward the retracted position of the cover can be selected so that the ideal amount of bias is placed on the roll bar to allow the canopy to desirably wrap about the cylindrical roll bar as the cover is moved from the extended to the retracted position.  
         [0049]     The coil spring  166  is supported along its length by a support rod  182  ( FIGS. 12 and 16 ), which is seated within the tensioner  156  at one end and the anti-rotation device  168  at the other end. A ball bearing  184  is positioned at each end of the support rod so as not to inhibit free rotation of the spring.  
         [0050]     It will be appreciated from the above that a cover  24  for a slide-out unit  22  in a recreational vehicle,  20  travel trailer or the like has been described which includes a housing  36  around the roll bar  38  for the canopy wherein the housing has a removable closure panel  100  so that easy access to the interior of the housing and its connection to the roll bar and support system  30  are obtained. Further, opening of the housing permits debris to be removed from the housing which may have accumulated during a retraction of the cover. The cover is also easily mountable on the recreational vehicle on relatively short mounting brackets  46  for improved aesthetics and cost savings and the roll bar itself can be made of a length which is considerably longer than the width of the slide-out unit inasmuch as the support brackets  60  for the roll bar housing can be positioned at any location along the length of the housing.  
         [0051]     Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood the disclosure has been made by way of example, and changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.