Abstract:
A steel frame supports a trailer body which encloses a refrigerator freezer, a gas stove or grill, and storage space for a generator, LP gas tanks, and canopy components. During transport the trailer is covered by two hinged covers, and two side benches are retracted and retained elevated alongside the trailer body. In use, the covers are rotated 180 degrees about hinges to form counters for service of up to eight diners. Each bench has two legs which are slidably received within fittings on the ends of two horizontal extension members which telescope within tubular cross members mounted beneath the trailer body. The legs are elevated and held in place by spring catches. In service, the benches are extracted and lowered, and the covers deployed to define counters. A canopy has side poles which engage the ground, and bracing poles which extend from the trailer body, all being trailer stowable.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to food preparation and dining structure in general, and to transportable food service equipment in particular. 
     Within a residence or restaurant, food preparation and storage is facilitated by electric or gas appliances, such as stoves, refrigerators, and electric equipment. There are many occasions, however, where meals must be served in locations remote from installed kitchen facilities: for example, at fairs, carnivals, sporting events, outdoor parties, picnics, parades, expositions and celebrations, construction sites, harvest and planting sites, camping and sight-seeing excursions, etc. Those charged with providing meals at these outdoor locations must either bring previously prepared foods-usually cold, or arrange for food preparation equipment to be temporarily installed. For heavy demand applications full sized kitchens on wheels are available. These may be specialized trucks with kitchen facilities, or towable trailers which include enclosed cookspace. Large dedicated vehicles or trailers, however, can be costly and cumbersome to transport. A full sized trailer may require a heavy truck and specialized driving skills to transport. 
     What is needed is a food service trailer which is compact enough to be readily towed by a mid-sized automobile, yet which offers basic food preparation and serving facilities. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The food service trailer of this invention has a steel frame which supports a body which encloses a refrigerator freezer, a gas stove or grill, and storage space for a generator, LP gas tanks, and canopy components. The cook top surface and refrigerator are covered during transport and storage by two hinged covers. In use, the covers are rotated 180 degrees about the hinges to form counters for service of up to eight diners. Seating for the diners is provided by retractable benches. Each bench has two legs which are slidably received within fittings on the ends of two horizontal extension members which telescope within tubular cross members mounted beneath the trailer body. In transport, the extension members are retracted, and the legs are elevated and held in place by spring catches. When in position for service, the benches are extracted and positioned, the covers are deployed, and, if desired, the trailer is separated from its towing vehicle and supported on a jack. A canopy has side poles which engage the ground, and bracing poles which extend from the trailer body. In transport, the canopy poles can be stored within a hollow central tube forming a part of the trailer frame. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact food service trailer which is expandable to provide food preparation facilities and seating for multiple diners. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a food service trailer which is of sufficiently low weight to allow it to be towed behind conventional mid-sized automobiles. 
     It is also an object of the present invention to provide a food service trailer which can be converted from a transportable configuration to a service configuration rapidly, and with a minimum of skill and specialized tools. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the food service trailer of this invention, partially broken away to show the trailer frame. 
     FIG. 2 is fragmentary isometric view of the trailer of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the trailer of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the trailer of FIG. 1, with one of the two covers opened. 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the trailer of FIG. 1 in a closed configuration. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-5, wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a food service trailer  20  of this invention is shown in FIG.  1 . The trailer  20  has a welded steel frame  22  which includes a square tubular central member  24  which extends from the trailer rear end  26  to its front end  28 . The front portions of the central member  24  serve as a tow bar or tongue  30 . The tow bar  30  extends from the body of the trailer about 5½ feet. A hitch fitting  32  is connected to the front of the tow bar  30  for attachment of the trailer to a towing vehicle, which may be any truck or mid-size automobile. A conventional support jack  34  is connected to the tow bar  30 , permitting the trailer to be supported when unconnected to a towing vehicle. Wedge shaped chocks may be inserted beneath the wheels  108  when the trailer is disconnected from the towing vehicle. 
     The trailer  20  provides readily transportable food preparation facilities as well as seating and dining surfaces for a number of diners. As shown in FIG. 1, the trailer  20  has a body  38  formed on the frame  22  which houses food storage and preparation equipment. The body  38  is about four feet wide, and about eight feet long. The frame defines a generally box-like structure, to which side panels  40 , and a front panel  42  are attached. As shown in FIG. 4, a cook top  36 , preferably a gas stove, is mounted near the rear end  26  of the trailer. The cook top  36  is at a height of about 38 inches above the ground. An oven, not shown, is located beneath the cook top  36 . A tank compartment  48  positioned frontwardly of the cook top  36  provides storage volume for one or more tanks  50  of LP gas, which supply the cook top. A counter top  52 , about 22 inches by 22 inches, is positioned to the side of the cook top  36 . Storage volume is available beneath the counter top. The storage areas and oven may be covered by hinged cabinet doors  46  which open sidewardly. 
     A storage compartment  54  for components of a canopy  56  is defined to the side of the tank compartment  48  and frontward of the counter top  52 . A larger utility compartment  58  extends the full width of the body and is positioned frontward of the tank compartment  48  and the storage compartment  54 . The utility compartment  58  houses an on-board generator, as well as a compressor, not shown, for the insulated refrigerator and freezer  60  which is mounted at the front of the body. For clarity in showing the frame if FIG. 1, lower portions of the refrigerator and freezer  60  have been broken away. The refrigerator and freezer  60  may be electric, or may be powered by LP gas. Thus, if desired, the trailer may be configured to operate without electricity. As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator and freezer  60  has a top lid  62  with side gas struts  64  which allow the lid to be held in an opened position. The refrigerator and freezer  60  has an interior volume of about 15 cubic feet. The utility compartment  58  is provided with ventilated side panels  66 , which allow communication between the refrigerant compressor and the environmental air for cooling, as well as exhaust of fumes from the generator when in operation. It should be noted that alternatively, a propane refrigerator cooling system may be employed. Such a system consists of four main parts: a boiler, condenser, the evaporator, and absorber. Free air circulation is important to the function of the evaporator and the condenser. 
     The trailer  20  is provided with side benches  68  and combination covers/tabletops  70 , which, in the trailer&#39;s storage or transport configuration, are retracted and stored on the trailer body. As shown in FIG. 1, each cover  70  has a back panel  72  which is connected along its top edge to the frame  22  by a series of strap hinges  74 . A counter panel  76  extends outwardly from the back panel  72 , and is approximately perpendicular to the back panel. The counter panel  76  is maintained in its right angle relation to the back panel  72  by two rectangular side walls  78  which are fixed between the back panel and the counter panel at the front and rear of the body. Each counter panel  76  is one half the width of the trailer  20 , so that when the covers  70  are rotated about the hinges  74  into a storage configuration, the two counter panels meet in the center of the trailer such that the covers  70  overlie the entire top surface of the trailer. As shown in FIG. 3, the covers  70  may be pivoted from their storage configuration, covering the top of the trailer, to a dining configuration, in which the back panels  72  abut against the side panels  40  of the trailer body. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, each side bench  68  has two vertical legs  80  which are slidably received within fittings  82  positioned at the outer ends of two side extension members  84 . The side extension members  84  are slidably received within cross members  86  which are fixed to the trailer frame  22  beneath the body. The side extension members  84  are about four feet long. The cross members  86  are preferably square tubes which extend the full width of the trailer. However, it should be noted that the cross members could extend less than the full width of the trailer, and could be less than full square tubes, for example partial brackets. Two adjacent cross members  86  are positioned near the front and near the rear of the trailer body, to receive the two side extension members  84  from each bench  68 . A spring catch  90  is positioned to extend into each cross member  86  to engage within a catch opening  92  in the side extension member  84 . One catch opening  91 , is positioned about one foot from the inner end of each extension member  84 , to restrain the extension members from being removed from the trailer. When the spring catch  90  is engaged with the catch opening  92  when the side extension member  84  is fully retracted within the cross member  86 , the bench  68  is fixed in its retracted position. When the spring catch  90  is engaged with the catch opening  91  when the side extension members  84  are fully extended, the benches are properly positioned with respect to the eating surfaces of the deployed covers  70 . The benches are at a height of about 20 inches above the ground. 
     Spring catches  94  are also mounted to the legs  80  to serve as adjustable fasteners which engage with catch openings  96  formed in the lower portions of the legs, to retain the benches in an elevated, transportable configuration. When deployed, the legs are free floating within the fittings  82 , thereby allowing the legs to abut the ground, despite uneven terrain. Each leg has a lower foot plate  99 . Each bench  68  has a seat platform  98 , preferably a wooden plank, which is attached by fasteners  100  to the legs  80 . The plank is approximately the length of the trailer body, capable of seating comfortably four diners. 
     A right angle bracket  102  is preferably fixed to the seat platform  98 , extending parallel to the side panel of the trailer body. The bracket presents a downwardly projecting flange  104  which, in a storage configuration, engages within an upwardly opening C-channel member  106  which is fixed to the side of the trailer, as shown in FIG.  3 . The engagement between the right angle bracket  102  and the C-channel member  106  restricts flexing of the bench in transit, and minimizes movement of the bench with respect to the trailer, reducing wear on both structures. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the trailer  20  is provided with a conventional undercarriage having two wheels  108  mounted on bearings to a cross axle  110  which is fixed to two angled carriage arms  112 , shown in FIG. 1, which are rotatably pinned at front ears  114 . Fenders  118  extend above each wheel  108 . A spare tire  120  is mounted to the tow bar  30 . A spring  116  extends between the cross axle  110  and the frame  22  adjacent each carriage arm  112 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the canopy  56  is about 12 by 12 feet, and is supported on four corner poles  130 , which are about seven feet long. The canopy has a fabric covering  139  which is supported on three transverse rods  140 , shown in FIG. 3, which define a shallow pointed roof. The transverse rods  140  are about 12 feet long, and may be continuous full height tubes, which may be stored within the hollow interior of the central member  24 . The central member  24  may be accessed at the rear of the trailer for removal and storage of the transverse rods  140 . Collapsible interior braces  132  extend between pins  134  at the front end and the rear end of the trailer frame  22 . Two interior braces  132 , and two corner poles  130  may be stored within each of the covers  70 , as shown in FIG.  1 . Any appropriate attachment mechanism may be used for retaining the poles  130  and braces within the closed covers  70 . For example, as shown in FIG. 1, threaded rods  142  may extend upwardly from the covers, and a bracket  144  may extend over the threaded rod, and be retained in place by a wingnut  146 . Other mechanisms such as a spring clamp, cable ties, snap fittings, or the like may be employed. The canopy  56  may also be erected off the trailer, to provide additional shade for diners. For low light dining, lamps  136  may be mounted on lamp posts  138 . The lamps  136  may be electric lights, powered by a generator, or may be gas lamps, supplied from the LP gas tanks. 
     It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.