Abstract:
An RV roof frame and cover system protects an RV during storage. The system comprises a roof frame and a cover. The frame has a ridge pole member having two sets of rafter members extending downwardly therefrom. The rafter members are attached at their lower ends to one of two horizontal members which can be moved towards and apart from one another to adjust the width of the frame. The rafter members are rotatably attached to both the ridge pole member and the lower horizontal member. The horizontal members are tied to one another by tie beam members which have an adjustable length to accommodate the movement of the horizontal members towards and away from one another. The tie beam members may be provided on legs which extend downwardly from the horizontal members.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This present invention relates to protective covers for vehicles such as recreational vehicles and more particularly to an adjustable frame for mounting atop a recreational vehicle and a cover for covering the frame and vehicle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Protective covers for vehicles are well known and in particular, many cover systems for recreational vehicles (“RV&#39;s”) such as camper trailers, 5 th -wheel trailers and motor homes have been proposed. These covers are intended to protect the RV, particularly during storage and particularly during storage in the off-season (during the winter, for example). In many instances, RV&#39;s must be stored out-of-doors and are exposed to rain and snow. In areas where snowfall is heavy, it is not unusual for an RV owner to have to clear the roof of the RV of snow periodically to prevent damage to the roof from heavy snow, since the RV&#39;s generally have flat roofs on which the snow accumulates. In some cases, an RV roof can cave-in from heavy snow. 
         [0003]    Some examples of previously-proposed covers are to be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,923,498 and 6,659,530. Canadian patent application No. 2,104,572, filed 20 Aug., 1993 and published 21 Feb., 1995 also shows a “secondary roof system” for an RV. 
         [0004]    All of the previously-proposed systems have disadvantages. Many are cumbersome to install. Many are heavy. Many are not easily adjusted to fit RV&#39;s of different dimensions. There remains a need for an effective roof frame and cover system for RV&#39;s which provides a peaked roof to avoid snow and water accumulation. 
         [0005]    The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements. 
         [0007]    In its most basic form, the roof frame of the present invention has a ridge pole member, and two pluralities of rafter members rotatably mounted on the ridge pole member at a first end and extending downwardly and outwardly from the ridge pole member. Each set of rafter members is attached at a second end to a horizontal pole member. The first and second horizontal pole members are attached together with one or more tie beam pole members having an adjustable length. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, leg members extend downwardly from the horizontal pole members and the tie beam pole members extend from one leg on one horizontal pole member to another leg on the opposite horizontal pole member. The legs may have flanges to more securely mount the apparatus onto the roof of an RV. 
         [0009]    One way in which the various pole-like members may be rotatably attached to one another is by means of a lateral cylindrical sleeve attached by way of a collar at each end of the member, the sleeve adapted to be mountable onto the relevant member. 
         [0010]    The cover system of the invention includes the roof frame described herein and a cover adapted to be placed over the roof frame and the RV once the roof frame has been placed into position on the RV. The cover may be provided with zippers and straps to assist in installation of the cover, and other zippers may also be provided to allow access into the RV without having to remove the cover. 
         [0011]    In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following detailed descriptions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portion of a roof frame made in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a close-up view of one portion of the roof frame shown in  FIG. 1 , showing in particular the nature of attachment of a rafter pole member and a leg member to a horizontal member. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a view of a roof frame mounted onto an RV, with a portion of a cover also shown covering a portion of the roof frame and RV. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  shows a modular portion of a sectional roof frame which can be removably attached to other such modular portions to make a roof frame having a preferred length. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  shows the cover portion of the invention as placed onto the frame shown in  FIG. 1  and an RV. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0018]    Throughout the following description specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding to persons skilled in the art. However, well known elements may not have been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense. 
         [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a roof frame for mounting on the top of an RV is denoted generally by the numeral  10 . Frame  10  has a ridge pole member  12 . Extending downwardly from ridge pole member  12  is a first plurality of rafter members  14 . In a laterally-opposite direction, a second plurality of rafter members  16  also extends downwardly from ridge pole member  12 . The ridge pole member  12  and the rafter members  14 ,  16  thus form the general familiar shape of a roof. Ridge pole member  12  and rafter members  14 ,  16  may be of any suitable configuration but most conveniently are round poles. The rafter members  14 ,  16  are each rotatably attached to the ridge pole member  12  as discussed further below, allowing them to rotate generally about the axis of ridge pole member  12 . 
         [0020]    At their bottom ends, the first plurality of rafter members  14  are each rotatably attached to a first horizontal pole member  18 . Similarly, at their bottom ends the second plurality of rafter members  16  are each rotatably attached to a second horizontal pole member  20 . Preferably for most applications, horizontal pole members  18 ,  20  and ridge pole member  12  will all be parallel with one another. 
         [0021]    The first and second horizontal pole members  18 ,  20  are attached together at least one point along their respective lengths, preferably with one or more tie beam pole members  22  having an adjustable length. In a preferred version of the invention, legs  24  are attached to the horizontal pole members  18 ,  20  and the tie beam pole members  22  extend laterally from a leg on horizontal pole member  18  to a leg on horizontal pole member  20 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , although legs  24  are not necessarily essential to the invention and tie beam pole members  22  can be attached directly to each of the two horizontal pole members. 
         [0022]    To achieve adjustability in their length, tie beam pole members  22  are conveniently formed of two or more telescoping poles as shown in  FIG. 1 . The length of pole members  22  may be fixed at a desired length in any suitable fashion, for example by means of a familiar push-button and hole fastening configuration (shown as  22 A in  FIG. 1 ) wherein the length of tie beam pole members  22  can be fixed at various pre-determined increments. 
         [0023]    The length of tie beam pole members  22  is adjustable to allow the width of frame  10  to be adjusted for mounting on top of RV&#39;s of different widths. 
         [0024]    Legs  24  are preferably provided with downward facing L-shaped flanges  26 . When installing frame  10  onto an RV (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) is it preferable for each flange to grip the top corner edge  28  of the RV. Flanges  26  may be supplied with a layer of high-density rubber to protect the surfaces of the RV. 
         [0025]    It will be appreciated that in operation, frame  10  is placed onto an RV and adjusted to a width consistent with the width of the RV so that the flanges on the legs on each opposite side of the frame grip opposing top corner edges of the RV. The width of frame  10  is adjusted by moving the horizontal members  18 ,  20  together and apart. 
         [0026]    The adjustability of the width of frame  10  is a function of the adjustability of the length of pole members  22  and the rotatability of rafter members  14 ,  16  about ridge pole member  12  and horizontal members  18 ,  20 . It will be appreciated that as horizontal members  18 ,  20  are moved towards one another (to accommodate a narrower RV), ridge pole member  12  moves upwardly and a steeper roof structure is achieved. As horizontal members  18 ,  20  are moved apart from one another (to accommodate a wider RV), the roof structure becomes more shallow and ridge pole member  12  moves downwardly. However steep the roof, though, a peaked roof structure is maintained. 
         [0027]    It will also be appreciated that once the roof frame is extended to a width suitable for a particular RV (i.e. when the leg flanges grip the edges of the top of the RV), the length of pole members  22  should be fixed to fix the width of the frame. Again, any suitable fixing means may be employed, but if enough distinct narrow increments are provided in a typical push-button and hole configuration as shown in the Figures, that system should provide enough adjustability for the frame. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , some RV&#39;s do not have completely flat roofs. In  FIG. 3 , for example, an RV is shown having a roof with a large flat generally horizontal portion but also having a downwardly sloping front portion. To accommodate this, one or more of legs  24  may be provided with adjustability, conveniently also with a push-button and hole configuration, as notated  24 A in  FIG. 3 . Accordingly, legs of different lengths can be employed as necessary. 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  shows most clearly the preferred means of rotatably attaching the various members to one another. In this figure, rafter member  14  is attached to horizontal pole member  18 . This figure shows a generally T-shaped coupler  30  attached to the bottom end of rafter member  14 . Coupler  30  has 2 portions, a collar portion  32  which is placed onto the end of member  14 , and a sleeve portion  34  which is sized to accommodate pole  18  (it has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of pole  18 ). The cavities of collar portion  32  and sleeve portion  34  of coupler  30  are generally perpendicular.  FIG. 2  also shows leg  24  attached to horizontal pole member  18  in much the same fashion, although it is not necessary for leg  24  to be rotatably attached to horizontal pole member  18 . However, it is believed that it is preferable for leg  24  to be attached rotatably. 
         [0030]    In a preferred embodiment, the roof frame is provided in modular sections  40  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , two or more of which may be attached to one another to form a complete frame. This aids in installing the frame onto the roof of the RV, since the sections can be lifted and installed one at a time. Also, RV&#39;s are of different lengths and providing modular sections of the frame  10  allows different numbers of sections to be provided in a kit, for example, which is tailored to an RV of a particular length. Extra sections can be purchased if one obtains a longer RV. Also, a section can be easily replaced if it is damaged, avoiding the need to replace the entire frame. 
         [0031]    In the roof section  40  illustrated in  FIG. 4 , there are two rafter members  14  and two rafter members  16 , and the section is expected to have a length of approximately 4 feet. Sections  40  can be attached to one another end-to-end with any suitable means, but it is contemplated that one such attachment system might consist of a pipe  42  contained within one or more of ridge pole member  12  and horizontal members  18 ,  20  which acts as a pin to join adjacent sections together by aligning together adjacent ridge pole members and horizontal members. One such pipe  42  is shown in detail  FIG. 2 , and this particular pipe is shown with a push-button  44  which can be employed together with a hole in member  12 ,  18  or  20  to fix pipe  42  within member  12 ,  18  or  20 . 
         [0032]    The cover system of the invention includes both frame  10  and a cover  50  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) which can be draped overtop the frame  10  once frame  10  is installed onto an RV. Cover  50  may extend over the entire length of frame  10  and extends at least partially down the height of the RV. In a preferred embodiment the cover  10  extends nearly to the ground, covering all of the RV. Cover  50  may be provided with straps  52  to allow the cover to be pulled tight underneath the RV and secured. Cover  50  may also be provided with one or more zippers  54  to aid in installation of the cover onto the frame and the RV. 
         [0033]    Moreover, certain sections of cover  50  can be provided with zippers which allow interior access to the RV (for example, in the area of a door of the RV) without requiring the removal of the cover  50  in its entirety. In  FIG. 5 , such a “door zipper” is notated  56 . As is the case with frame section  40  described earlier, the cover or a portion thereof might be provided in separate sections  50 A which can be zippered together along their seams. This can extend the length of cover  50  to match the length of frame  10 . Also, in this manner a damaged section  50 A of cover  50  can be replaced without needing to replace the entirety of cover  50 . 
         [0034]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the frame should be made of lightweight materials such as aluminum or a plastic such as PVC (just as examples). The cover should be made from a strong, but preferably light, water resistant or water-impermeable, but breathable, material. 
         [0035]    While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims and claims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as are within their true spirit and scope.