A CARAVAN

Abstract: A caravan or accommodation trailer (1) which has a forwardly extending accommodation portion which tapers in both width and height along the length of a tapered portion (6) extending to a towing connection (4). Preferably a bed or beds are placed in the forward portion so that its or their feet ends are in the tapered end. A caravan (1) is produced which has improved wind resistance characteristics and an overall reduction in weight for the same accommodation space.

Description: A CARAVAN TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to caravans or trailers for accommodation purposes and more particularly to caravans which can be built to be of a lighter weight and to be of lesser wind resistance than existing caravans. With the general trend to smaller lower powered vehicles in the interests of fuel economy it is useful to be able to have a caravan which is lighter in weight than existing caravans and hence can be towed without being so much of a load behind the vehicle and with a lesser wind resistance. There is also some advantage in being able to reduce the length of a caravan to facilitate towing. It is desirable to maintain standards of accommodation in an accommodation module in such caravans while at the same time providing for improved wind resistance characteristics and reduction in towing weight. BACKGROUND ART The problem of providing a more aerodynamic body shape has been approached in several prior art caravans. German Patent No. DE3217970 provides a flexible cover with aerodynamic shaping to be placed at the front end of a caravan. This arrangement does not provide any extra useable space in the caravan nor does it provide any reduction in overall weight. United Kingdom Patent Specification No. GB 2 023 512 A provides aerodynamic shaping for trailers but does not give any indication of any reduction in weight of such a construction. German Patent Specification No. DE3321 306 provides an extension at the front of a caravan which can be used to store articles and provides reduced aerodynamic drag. This arrangement does not provide increased accommodation within the module nor is there any reduction in weight of the caravan as a whole. United States Patent No. US 4,629,241 suggests a wedge shaped arrangement that can be placed above the cabin of a truck mainly for reduced wind resistance but there is a suggestion that such a arrangement can be used for accommodation. A liftable top is provided but this is for the purpose a aligning the top with the top of any load towed by the truck. The teaching here is of reduction of wind resistance but certainly no reduction in weight of the vehicle. The principles are also nor directly related to towable vehicles. European Patent No. EP 025 320 provides an add-on section which can be placed on the front of an existing caravan to provide increased accommodation space or a storage region. There is no reduction in the overall length or weight of a caravan using such an arrangement suggested and there is no reduction in height of the forward portion or of the entire caravan to give aerodynamic efficiency. It is to solving these various problems that this present invention is directed so that a more efficient towable vehicle is produced or at least a vehicle which gives the public some reasonable choice is produced or one that can be towed with a smaller vehicle. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In one form therefore the invention is said to reside in a caravan comprising an accommodation module, ground engaging wheels on the accommodation module and a forwardly extending and tapering portion, the forwardly extending and tapering portion including at its apex a connection means to enable connection to a towing vehicle to enable towing of the caravan, characterised by the accommodation module including a forward portion extending along substantially the length of the forwardly extending and tapering portion and tapering in width and height towards the apex of the forwardly extending and tapering portion. It will be seen that by this invention there is provided a caravan in which the accommodation module extends along the length of the forwardly extending and tapering portion. Generally in caravans in the past the region of the forwardly extending and tapering portion has been outside the accommodation module and has been wasted space and by extending the accommodation module further forward and tapering so that is does not restrict the turning ability of a towing vehicle and caravan combination a caravan of overall less length may be produced. The caravan as a whole will also have less weight and hence be a lighter proposition to tow. Also the tapering of the forward portion will give a better wind efficiency which will enable improved towing characteristics. In one preferred form there may be a chassis underneath the accommodation module with the forwardly extending and tapering portion being provided by an A-frame connected rigidly to the chassis and the accommodation module mounted to both the A-frame and to the chassis. In a preferred form of the invention the accommodation module may have substantially the same taper in width as the forwardly extending and tapering portion or A-frame so that it narrows as it extends to the connection means such as a towing connection. The portion within the accommodation module which tapers from both side to side and from top to bottom may be a portion of the accommodation module in which there is at least one bed. There may be one bed which is effectively a double bed with a normal width top and tapering down to a narrower bottom or foot end. Alternatively there may be two beds one along each side of the tapering portion of the accommodation module which effectively meet at their foot ends at the narrowest part of the tapered accommodation module. In one preferred embodiment there may be two single beds but a filler piece may be provided between the two single beds so that they can be converted into a double bed if so required. In any of these cases it will be realised that the reduced height of the foot end of the bed is of little concern because full height in this region of a bed is not necessary. This arrangement can allow for considerable reduction of overall length of a caravan over previous caravans without any loss of useable accommodation space. The other fixed furniture within the accommodation module such as stove, refrigerator, cupboards, sink and table and associated seating may be provided in the main full height part of the accommodation module. In one preferred embodiment of the invention the roof portion of the main part of the accommodation module may be adapted to be lifted to provide more head room within that portion of the accommodation module. There may be provided at least one window in the accommodation module and in one preferred embodiment there may be a window in the tapered portion at the front of the caravan. Accessories for the caravan such as a spare tyre and gas bottle which may in some prior art caravans be stored on the forwardly extending and tapering portion or A-frame portion may be placed in other places. The spare tyre may be placed underneath the caravan for instance at the rear and the gas bottle may be placed in a hatch which is accessible from outside the caravan at the sides or rear. An objective test to determine the improvement in aerodynamic efficiency is difficult to perform. Fuel consumption tests have indicated that whereas a car towing a prior art caravan may expect to have an increase of between about 25 to 50% in fuel consumption over a non-towing consumption towing a caravan of equivalent accommodation size of the present invention has given an increase of only about 10% in fuel consumption. Generally a weight reduction of a caravan of the present invention over caravans of comparable accommodation size of about 10 to 15% may be obtained. For instance a double bed model to sleep two in prior art caravans would weigh approximately 700 kg whereas a caravan of the present invention of this size would weigh about 600 kg. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This then generally describes the invention but to assist with understanding the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show preferred embodiments of the invention. In the drawings: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a caravan of the invention, FIG.2 shows a plan view of a caravan according to one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 3 shows a side view of a caravan according to the embodiment shown in FIG.2, FIG. 4 shows the side view of a caravan according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 with the roof portion extended, FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the caravan according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the caravan according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the caravan according an alternative embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Now looking more closely at the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 it will be seen that the caravan generally comprises a body 1 mounted on a chassis 2 from which chassis 2 extends an A-frame 3 forwardly to a towing connection 4. The body 1 defines an accommodation module which has a main portion over the chassis 2 and a tapering portion 6 over the A-frame 3. The tapering portion 6 tapers from side to side as it extends towards the apex of the A-frame where the towing connection 4 is mounted and also tapers from the top down towards the A-frame 3. The caravan is supported by a pair of ground engaging wheels 7 affixed to the chassis 2. Within the accommodation module as can best be seen in FIG. 2 there is in the tapered portion two single beds 8 and 9 which extend at an angle forward towards the narrowest part of the tapered portion of the accommodation module. The foot end of each of the beds actually meet at the narrowest part of the tapered portion of the accommodation module. Alternatively a double bed may be built into the tapered portion as shown in other embodiments. It will be realised that suitable cupboads or storage areas may be placed under each of the beds as is usual in caravans where space is at a premium. Other furniture such as a refrigerator 11, a sink 12 and a stove 13 may be provided within the accommodation module. A table 14 and seats 15 may also be provided. Looking again at the outside of a caravan it will be seen that there is provided a door 20 and a curved window 21 which extends around the front of the tapered portion of the accommodation module. Further windows 22 may also be provided in the sides and back of the accommodation module. A roof portion 23 may be designed to be lifted up from the main portion of the accommodation module as particularly shown in FIG. 4 so that more roof height is provided in the accommodation module. Suitable flexible sides 25 including mesh windows 26 between the roof 23 and the top 27 of the sides of the caravan may be provided. It will be seen that by this invention there is provided a caravan which can have the advantages discussed in the early part of this specification. FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment two single beds 30 and 31 are provided in the forward tapering portion of the accommodation module of the caravan. The forward tapering portion 33 extends over the A-frame 34 of the caravan. To convert the two single beds 30 and 31 into a double bed a filler piece 32 may be added between the sides of the single bed to provide a full width and full length bed although the foot end of the bed is somewhat tapered. It will be realised that the height is somewhat reduced at the foot end of the bed owing to the tapering of the forward portion of the accommodation module from the top down but this is at the foot end of the bed where minimum height is required. FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of a caravan according to this invention. In this embodiment a very short and light caravan is provided. More than half the length of the accommodation portion of the caravan is taken up by the bed 40 which extends out over the A-frame 41 of the caravan. A doorway 42 is provided at the rear of the caravan. Along one side there is provided a dining table 43 and seats 44 and 45 and along the other side of the caravan is provided a sink 46 with a refrigerator underneath it, a stove 47 and a cupboard 48. It will be seen that by this embodiment there is provided a very small and compact caravan which still has all the necessities for travellers. FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment of a caravan according to this invention. In this embodiment the tapering portion 50 extending over the A-frame 51 includes a large double bed 52 which is tapered at its foot end 53. Storage cupboards 54 are provided beside each side of the bed. The rest of the accommodation module of the caravan includes a dining table 55 and seats 56 and 57 either side of the dining table. A sink 58 is provided as well as a stove 59. A storage cupboard 60 and refrigerator 61 are provided opposite the stove and sink. It will be seen that in this embodiment of the invention a roomy caravan is provided with lesser length than prior art caravans which have the same accommodation space and because of the tapering forward portion 50 improved wind resistance characteristics are provided.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A caravan comprising an accommodation module, ground engaging wheels on the accommodation module and a forwardly extending and tapering portion, the forwardly extending and tapering portion including at its apex a connection means to enable towing of the caravan, characterised by the accommodation module including a portion extending along substantially the length of the forwardly extending and tapering portion and tapering in width and height towards the apex of the forwardly extending and tapering portion. 2. A caravan as in claim 1 further including a chassis underneath the accommodation module with the forwardly extending and tapering portion being provided by an A-frame connected rigidly to the chassis and the accommodation module being mounted to both the A-frame and to the chassis. 3. A caravan as in claim 1 wherein the accommodation module has substantially the same taper in width as the forwardly extending and tapering portion. 4. A caravan as in claim 1 wherein the portion within the accommodation module which tapers from both side to side and from top to bottom includes at least one bed. 5. A caravan as in claim 1 wherein the accommodation module includes a roof portion and the roof portion is adapted to be lifted to provide more head room within that portion of the accommodation module. 6. A caravan as in claim 1 further including at least one window in the accommodation module. 7. A caravan substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: MCCLOUD DAVID HAMPTON, MCCLOUD, DAVID, HAMPTON
Applicants: MCCLOUD DAVID HAMPTON, MCCLOUD, DAVID, HAMPTON
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B60P3
IPC codes: B60P3, B62D35