Patent ID: 7717485

Claim:
A system for horizontally moving an expandable room structure between a retracted position within a vehicle and an extended position protruding outwardly from a wall of the vehicle, the system comprising: a vehicle wall combined with vertically extending structural members; an expandable room structure positioned for movement from a retracted position to an extended position; a power device combined with one of the vertically extending structural members of the vehicle wall; a first drive chain and a second drive chain each combined with the said one of the vertical structural members of the vehicle wall and each having a plurality of pivotally connected links extending between end links, the links being capable of pivoting in one direction only thereby providing for the chains to be pulled by tensile forces applied to the chains or pushed by compressive forces applied to the chains; one of the end links of the first drive chain being operatively connected to the power device and the other end link being operatively connected to the expandable room; a rack and pinion mechanism having a first rack operatively combined with the first chain and a second rack operatively combined with the second chain, wherein the first and second rack are operatively combined by a pinion so that movement of the first rack in a first direction causes the second rack to move in a second direction; wherein one of the end links of the second drive chain is operatively connected to the expandable room; and a first and second guide member combined with the vertically extending structural member containing the power device to guide the first and second drive chains between vertical and horizontal positions, whereby actuation of the main power device causes the chains to move the expandable room between retracted and extended positions.