Patent ID: 7374218

Claim:
A slide-out member for controllably moving a slide-out section that is associated with a vehicle, the slide-out member comprising: an inner driven member having a top wall and a bottom wall and a pair of side walls extending therebetween, the bottom wall extending between and being coupled at its ends to the side walls, and a gear component disposed between the top and bottom walls, the gear component including teeth, the bottom wall having a slot through which the teeth are accessible, the slot being defined by sections of the bottom wall that extend inward from the side walls, the teeth being provided along the bottom wall such that the teeth lie in a same plane or in a plane above a plane that contains portions of the bottom wall that surround the slot; a gear mechanism that drivingly engages the teeth of the inner driven member by being disposed adjacent bottom wall so that the gear mechanism meshes with the teeth through the slot formed in the bottom wall; and an outer housing defines a channel for receiving at least a gear portion of the gear mechanism and the inner driven member such that the gear mechanism engages the teeth in the inner member to controllably drive the inner member relative to the outer housing resulting in the slide-out section being moved between an extended position and a retracted position, the outer housing including a top wall for attachment to a fixed wall of the vehicle and a floor on which the inner driven member is driven.