Abstract:
A motor and brake assembly having a disengaging mechanism for use with RV&#39;s are disclosed. The assembly includes a motor and a disengaging mechanism that is mounted thereon. The disengaging mechanism includes a motor mount comprised of a cylindrical piece with a plurality of holes disposed on the periphery of an outer flange of the cylindrical piece. The cylindrical piece extends over the barrel of the motor and is secured to the barrel with a plurality of screws. Through manipulation of the cylindrical piece, the user can selectively engage or disengage the brake from the motor.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/430,425 filed on Dec. 2, 2002 entitled Removable Motor Brake For Use With Vehicle Slide Out, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A large number of recreational vehicles and recreational trailers (collectively “RV&#39;s”) currently include compartments that are moved outwardly from the walls of the RV so as to expand the internal living space of the RV. These compartments are typically referred to as slide-outs. It is not uncommon for such slide-outs to substantially enlarge a bedroom or a kitchen area of the RV.  
           [0003]    Many of the slide-outs are operated on the RV with an electric motor that is connected to the structural framework of the slide-out. When energized, the motor causes the framework to move along a guide or pathway until the framework extends to its fullest extension, at which point the motor is then deenergized.  
           [0004]    Such motors typically include a brake mechanism as an integral part of the motor such that when the motor ceases its operation, the brake automatically engages the slide-out so as to ensure no further movement of the framework of the slide-out. The engagement of this brake, however, can pose problems to the user in those instances when the motor inadvertently fails or in the event electrical power to the motor is unexpectedly interrupted. In those circumstances, the user may desire to move the slide-out manually but will be unable to do so unless the brake is first disengaged. As a result, there is a need for a manual mechanism that enables the user to quickly and easily disengage the brake from the motor so that the user may then manually move the slide-out.  
         SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    In accordance with this need, the present invention contemplates a motor and brake assembly described in preferred embodiments below. The assembly includes a motor and a disengaging mechanism that is mounted thereon.  
           [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a slide-out motor brake which may be manually disengaged.  
           [0007]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive motor brake which may be easily and reliably disengaged.  
           [0008]    These and other objects not specifically enumerated here that are achieved by the present invention will become evident as more fully described below. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a disassembled motor brake according to the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the brake assembly according to the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the disengaged motor brake of the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the motor brake of the present invention mounted within a typical slide-out assembly;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the motor brake slide-out gearing of the present invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the motor brake slide-out gearing coupled to the motor of the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective bottom view of a preferred embodiment of the of the slide-out assembly and motor brake of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective bottom view of a preferred embodiment of the movable ram gearing of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted. A braking motor assembly  100  is made up of a slide-out motor  102  and a removable braking assembly  130 . The motor power cables  126  extend out the backside of the slide-out motor  102 , to a control switch and power supply (not shown). A motor key  104  is located on the backside of motor  102 , near the motor power cables  126 . The motor key  104  is coupled to the drive shaft within the motor. As the motor is energized, the drive shaft rotates. And as the drive shaft rotates, so does the motor key  104 .  
         [0018]    A variety of motors may be used, so long as the motor is capable of driving the slide-out mechanism on the vehicle and so long as it has a drive shaft coupled to a motor key. The key serves as an engagement surface for said external brake.  
         [0019]    The brake assembly  130  is best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. A preferred embodiment includes a motor mount  108 , a brake housing  110 , and a motor brake  107 . An exemplary motor brake  107  for use in a preferred embodiment is a brake manufactured by Stearns a division of Rexnord Industries of Wisconsin, model number #b130 OBJY2.  
         [0020]    The motor mount  108  is a cylindrical member having a plurality of screw holes disposed on the periphery of the cylindrical member. The cylindrical member extends over the barrel of the motor  102 , as best seen in FIG. 3. Mounting screws  114  screw into the plurality of screw holes and further into the barrel of the motor  102 , securing the motor mount  108  to the motor.  
         [0021]    The brake housing  110  has a cylindrical shape, fitting over both the motor  102  barrel and the motor mount  108 . The brake housing  110  locks to the motor mount  108  by multiple locking pins  116  which extend through pin holes  128  in the flange of motor mount  108 . The motor mount  108  and brake housing  110  are further secured together by the force of springs  112  which, when attached to the flanges of each member are held in tension, thus compressing the motor mount  108  and the brake housing  110  together.  
         [0022]    The motor brake  107  can best be seen in FIG. 1 with a key hole  106  and brake power wires  124  extending out the back. The motor brake  107  is mounted to the interior of brake housing  110  by mounting bolts  120  and mounting nuts  122 .  
         [0023]    When assembled, motor key  104  is received into key hole  106  of the motor brake  107 . When the motor  102  is unenergized, the brake  107  defaults to the locked position, preventing the key hole  106  from rotational movement and thus preventing movement of the motor drive shaft. As a result, the slide-out mechanism is prevented from movement. When the motor  102  is energized, the motor brake  107  is caused to unlock, thus allowing the keyhole  106  to freely rotate with the rotation of the key  104 . This then allows free rotation of the motor drive shaft so as to move the slide-out mechanism inwardly or outwardly from the vehicle. In summary, so long as the key  104  is engaged in the key hole  106  of the motor  102 , the state of the brake  107  will then dictate whether the slide-out mechanism can be moved by the drive shaft of the motor  102 .  
         [0024]    Brake assembly  130  may be positioned in an engaged and disengaged position. FIG. 2 illustrates the brake assembly  130  in an engaged position and shows that the engaged position is achieved when the locking pins  116  are positioned within the pin holes  128  in the motor mount  108 , preventing rotation of the brake housing  110 . In this engaged position, the key  104  of the motor  102  will be engaged within the key hole  106  of the brake  107 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 illustrates the unengaged position of this embodiment. The brake assembly  130  is disengaged by manually pulling the brake housing  110  directly away from the motor mount  108  until the locking pins  116  are completely removed from the pin holes  128 . The brake housing  110  is then rotated in either direction. Such rotation prevents the brake assembly from moving back to the engaged position, since the pins  116  and the pin holes  128  are no longer aligned. This movement of the brake assembly  130  also disengages the key hole  106  of the motor brake  107  from the motor key  104  of the motor  102 , thus resulting in free rotation of the drive shaft of the motor  102 .  
         [0026]    Many slide-out mechanisms operate in a fashion similar to the mechanism described herein. Generally these mechanisms have sliding members that slide back and forth on nonmoving members or vehicle structural supports. A slide-out room secures to these moving members, allowing for extension and retraction from the main body of the vehicle.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIGS. 4 through 7 illustrate a preferred embodiment of such a slide-out mechanism  200  mentioned above. Outer structural members  208  support most of the load of a slide-out room (not shown), while inner structural member  206  provides a mounting area for the braking motor assembly  100 . This mounting area can best be seen in FIG. 5 where the motor  102  has been removed to show a drive gear  212  and a shaft gear  210 , as well as in FIG. 6 where a motor gear housing  207  encloses this gearing while securing the braking motor assembly  100 .  
         [0028]    The slide-out room (not shown) sits on a top surface of sliding rams  204 , being further fastened to each ram  204  with bolts. The rams  204 , in turn, are slidably coupled to the top side of the outer structural members  204 , extending a substantial length of each. Thus, the rams  204  allow a slide-out room to easily extend out from the main body of a vehicle.  
         [0029]    A present preferred embodiment of the slide-out mechanism is driven by the braking motor assembly  100 , mounted to the inner structural member  206 . The braking motor assembly  100  drives the entire slide-out mechanism  200  from the inner structural member  206  by a series of distribution gears and shafts.  
         [0030]    Beginning with the braking motor assembly  100 , the drive shaft of motor  102  is coupled to drive gear  212 . Drive gear  212  meshes with shaft gear  210 , located on the cross shaft  202 . The cross shaft  202  is responsible for transferring the rotational energy of the motor  102  to each of the sliding rams  204 . Rotational movement is further transferred to the cross shaft  202  since the shaft gear  210  is mounted around the cross shaft  202 .  
         [0031]    The cross shaft  202  is rotatably mounted within both the outer structural members  208  and inner structural member  206 . As the cross shaft  202  rotates, it drives ram gear  216 , as best seen in FIG. 8. Positioned underneath the sliding ram  204  is ram gear  216 , allowing the gear to mesh with ram gear track  214 . The ram gear track  214  extends the length of the underside of each sliding ram and in this manner allows the ram gear  216  to move the sliding ram  204  and thus the slide-out room to an extended or retracted position.  
         [0032]    Another popular slide-out mechanism design can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,073, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. It is understood that the present invention may utilize a variety of different slide-out mechanisms as long as they are motorized or are capable of becoming motorized.  
         [0033]    A disengaging mechanism of the preferred embodiment operates as follows: In the event the user determines that the motor  102  is not usable (e.g. loss of power, motor failure, etc.) and the brake  107  must be disengaged, the user simply pulls on the brake housing  110  (against the force of the springs  112 ) in a direction away from the motor  102  until the motor key  104  on the drive shaft of the motor disengages the brake keyhole  106  of the brake  107 . After pulling a certain distance, the pins  116  will be withdrawn from their corresponding pin hole  128  in the flange of the motor mount  108 . Next, the user will rotate the brake housing  110  a sufficient distance (either clockwise or counter clockwise) so that neither the brake key hole  106  nor the elongated pins  116  are in alignment with the motor key  104  and pin holes  128  respectively.  
         [0034]    The user then releases the grip on the brake housing  110  causing the tip of the pin  116  to engage the flange on the motor mount and thereby preventing the brake assembly  130  from reengaging with the motor  102 . With the motor  102  now being free from the brake  107 , the user then is able to manually move the slide-out framework without further resistance from the motor brake.  
         [0035]    The user reengages the brake assembly  130  by again pulling the brake housing  110  (against the force of the springs  112 ) in a direction away from the motor  102  until the locking pins  116  no longer apply pressure to the flange of motor mount  108 . The user then rotates the brake housing  110  until the locking pins  116  are once again aligned with their corresponding pin holes  128 . Next, the user releases the brake assembly  130 , allowing locking pins  116  to enter the corresponding pin holes  116  and brake housing  110  to move closer to motor mount  108 . As the brake housing  110  moves closer to the motor  102 , the motor brake  107  also moves closer to the motor  102  until key hole  106  reengages with key  104 . Once the key hole  106  has reengaged with key  106 , braking motor assembly  100  once again operates as mentioned above, allowing the brake  107  to lock the motor  102  when the motor  102  is powered down, thus locking the slide-out room in place when not being extended or withdrawn.  
         [0036]    Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.