DE9415608U1 - Vehicle with awning - Google Patents

Description

PATENT ATTORNEYS .1.. I *..' .References:&idigr;

DiPL-iNG. CONRAD KÖCHLING

DiPL-INa CONRAD-JOACHIM KÖCHLING _{Note: üte} Grunert née Pankratz

FleyerStrasse 135, D-5800 Hagen 1 Volker Grunert

Call (0233i) en 64+ 85033 Malmkestr. 17

Fax(02331) 84840

Telegrams: Patent Cook Hagen

Accounts: Commerzbank AG, Hagen 3515095 (bank code 45040042) D"58099 Hagen

Sparkasse Hagen 100012043 (bank code 45050001)
Postgiro: Dortmund 5989-460 (bank code 44010046)

58 51 - ~

VNR:

11554/94
Serial No.

26 September 1994
from &Ggr;

CJK/Hi.

Vehicle with awning

The invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a camping vehicle, sales vehicle, camping trailer or the like with an awning or an awning that can be attached to a vehicle, consisting of vertical and horizontal struts or supports, wherein struts protrude transversely from a wall of the vehicle, in particular from a side wall of the vehicle provided with an access door, and parallel to one another, at the free ends of which vertical supports are arranged, which are supported on a support surface, and on which cross struts directed parallel to the wall of the vehicle are held, which extend horizontally essentially in alignment with one another, and wherein a tent sheet can be placed on the struts and cross struts, which forms the roof of the awning and the side wall parts as well as a

Grunert11554/94

-2-

Front wall part optionally includes a lockable access opening or such wall parts can be fastened to the edge of the roof sheet.

Such vehicles are widely known in the state of the art. Such vehicles have a structure that can be used as a living room, bedroom, kitchen or the like, whereby access to this space is often possible through a door arranged in the side wall. In order to expand the usable space of such vehicles, it is known to arrange support rods and support struts on the side walls of the vehicle, onto which the roof panel of an awning can then be placed and the side and front walls of an awning can be attached. The arrangement of such awnings on such vehicles is very complex, since the individual supports or struts, which have to be transported and stored separately, first have to be attached to corresponding suspension elements of the vehicle in order to form the support frame for the awning. The panels can then be

• * · i

Grunert11554/94

-3-

of the awning can be placed individually or as a whole on these poles or supports and connected to them in a suitable manner so that the awning is completed. Dismantling such an awning is carried out in the same way. The awning itself must also be transported and stored separately.

Based on this state of the art, the invention is based on the object of creating a vehicle with an awning which enables easy handling when setting up and dismantling the awning and, if possible, also makes separate arrangement and storage of the necessary parts of the awning unnecessary.

To solve this problem, it is proposed that each strut is connected to the strut-side ends of a support and one or two cross struts via hinged joints or other joint designs, so that the support and the cross struts can be in a rest position parallel to the strut and an approximately right-angled

Grunert11554/94

-4-

can be pivoted in the position of use pivoted towards the strut, and that the strut, with the support and cross strut(s) pivoted in the rest position, can be pushed completely into a cavity or free space in the vehicle which extends close to the vehicle roof above or below it, in the direction of insertion of the strut (corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the strut).

This arrangement ensures that the supports and cross braces attached to each strut can be swivelled into a resting position parallel to the strut length and this unit can then be pushed completely into a corresponding cavity or free space in the vehicle, provided that the vehicle is to be moved and the awning is not in use. If the awning is in use, the struts, including the supports and cross braces attached to them, can be pulled out of the corresponding cavity or free space, whereby the struts have a

Grunert11554/94

have a pull-out limit so that they cannot be completely detached from the corresponding vehicle part, but remain firmly anchored to the vehicle with their end at the back in the pull-out direction. After the struts have been pulled out, the supports can be swung out so that they protrude vertically downwards from the struts and stand on a support surface (floor). The cross struts can be swung out from the struts in the same way, with the cross struts spanning a horizontal plane. In the corner area, only one cross strut is pivotably mounted on each strut, while in the middle area of strut arrangements, two cross struts can be attached to a strut, which can be swung out transversely from the strut in opposite directions. For example, three such strut/support/cross strut combinations can be arranged on a corresponding vehicle to hold and set up an awning. A multiple arrangement is also possible depending on the size of the vehicle and the awning connected to it.

Grunert11554/94

-6-

The roof panel of an awning can then be placed on the extended struts and swiveled cross struts, while the side panels and the front wall of the awning are either permanently fixed to the edges of the roof panel or are detachably attached to it. The side wall parts can be attached to the ground in the usual way, just like the front wall parts, using suitable anchors.

This design has the significant advantage that the elements required to hold the awning are permanent components of the vehicle body, so that they neither have to be handled separately nor require a separate storage space. The arrangement of the cavity or free space for inserting the elements in the resting position can be designed directly below the roof of the vehicle, so that the vehicle's fittings are not restricted by the corresponding cavity designs. However, it is also possible to install additional

Grunert11554/94

-7-

Insertion spaces or free spaces must be created so that the usable height of the vehicle is not affected by the additional elements and the formation of hollow spaces or free spaces.

It is also particularly preferred that the tent sheet that can be placed on struts and cross struts is connected to the struts and preferably the front wall part and the side wall parts can be folded into a rest position when the struts are in the position of use, in which they extend parallel to the sheet that forms the roof and can preferably be detachably connected to it, or into a position of use in which they are directed vertically from the edges of the sheet (roof) to the support plane, whereby preferably the sheet package (roof, front wall, side walls) in the rest position can be pushed together with the struts into a cavity or free space in the vehicle that is formed directly above or below the vehicle roof.

Grunert11554/94

-8th-

In a particularly preferred design of this type, the tent panel is made up of several foldable elements. When the struts are extended, the roof panel can be placed on the struts and fixed to them, whereby the side wall parts can also be swiveled up so that they extend parallel to the roof panel. These swiveled up side wall panels can be detachably attached to the roof panel in a suitable manner, for example by means of a snap fastener, zip fastener or Velcro fastener. In the same way, it is also possible to swivel the front wall part of the awning towards the roof panel and place it against it, whereby this connection can in turn be detachably fixed by means of a snap fastener, zip fastener, Velcro fastener or the like.

This complete unit, which only needs to be assembled once in this way, can then be pushed together with the struts including the pivoted supports and cross struts into a corresponding cavity in the vehicle where this cavity in turn is directly

Grunert11554/94

-9-

can be designed below the roof of the vehicle or can also be designed as an additional space directly above the roof. To use it, it is then only necessary to pull the struts together with the awning out of the corresponding cavity, whereupon the cross struts and supports can be swung out and moved into the desired position and then the side wall parts and the front wall of the awning can be detached from the roof sheet and moved into the desired position.

Instead of inserting the entire panel package, it is also possible to make the storage space for the panel package not so deep that it corresponds to the total length of the tarpaulin package (seen in the insertion direction), but the tarpaulin is then compressed when the struts are inserted so that it is also completely arranged within the hollow space or the like. In this way, the assembly and disassembly of an awning on a corresponding vehicle is extremely simple.

* &PSgr;. · 1&iacgr;*■■*■♦ · *: J^ • · * ♦ · * &iacgr;

Grunert11554/94

-10-

possible, with practically no loose parts having to be handled or stored separately.

A preferred further development is seen in the fact that the struts, supports and/or cross braces are designed as telescopic tube or rod elements.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawing and described in more detail below. It shows:

Fig. 1 A vehicle equipped with an awning, viewed lengthwise from the front of the vehicle;

Fig. 2 also in side view;

Fig. 3 the vehicle seen from above;

Fig. 4 shows a variant in the view according to Figure 2;

* ft &idiag;- * · * i*

·· ·f &bgr; ·

Grunert11554/94

-11-

Fig. 5 the variant in the view according to Figure 3;

Fig. 6 the variant seen in the view according to Figure 1;

Fig. 7 and 8 a detail in rest position and position of use.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings using a single-axle camping trailer or the like. The scope of application of the invention is not limited to such vehicles, however.

The vehicle 1 is equipped with an awning 2, which has a frame with vertical supports 3, horizontal struts 4 and cross struts 5, wherein the struts 4 protrude transversely from a side wall of the vehicle, preferably from the side wall 7 of the vehicle provided with an access door 6. The struts 4 run parallel

Grunert11554/94

-12-

to each other. At their free ends are arranged the vertical supports 3, which are located on the support plane

8. Cross struts 5 are held on these supports or on the struts 4, which are parallel to the wall 7 of the vehicle 1 and extend horizontally, essentially in alignment with one another. A tent sheet is placed on the struts 4 and the cross struts 5.

9, which forms the roof of the awning and encompasses or holds the side wall parts 10 and a front wall part 11. The tent panel is preferably made in one piece, but it can also consist of several components.

According to the invention, each strut 4 is connected to the strut-side ends of a support 3 and one or two cross struts 5 via hinged joints or other joint designs. In this way, the support 3 and each cross strut 5 can be pivoted into a rest position parallel to the strut 4 and a use position pivoted approximately at a right angle to the strut 4. The

Grunert11554/94

-13-

Strut 4 can be pushed in and completely retracted into a cavity 12 or free space in the vehicle 1 with the support 3 pivoted in the rest position and the cross struts 5 pivoted in. The cavity 12 can be located near the vehicle roof, directly below it or directly above it. It extends in the direction of insertion of the strut 4 and is dimensioned to accommodate all parts in the rest position. The cavity can also be closed with a flap or the like when the element is pushed in.

Preferably, the design is as shown in Figures 4 to 6.

With this arrangement and design, the tent sheet 9 to 11 that can be placed on the struts 4 and cross struts 5 is connected to the struts 4, whereby the front wall part 11 and the side wall parts 10 can be folded into a rest position when the struts 4 are in the position of use.

Grunert11554/94

-14-

which is shown in Figure 4. In this position, the side wall parts 10 and the front wall part 11 extend parallel to the tent sheet 9 forming the roof and are connected to it by suitable means, for example by Velcro, zipper or snap fastener. The elements can be transferred to a position of use in which the side wall parts 10 and the front wall 11 run perpendicularly from the edges of the roof sheet 9 to the support plane 8.

In this embodiment, the panel package in the resting position, as shown in Figure 4, can be pushed together with the struts 4 and the pivoted-in components into a cavity 12 or free space in the vehicle 1, which is shown in a top view in Figure 5. The free space can be located above or directly below the roof of the vehicle. In this way, it is possible to push all elements into or out of the corresponding cavity, provided that the awning is to be set up.

Grunert11554/94

-15-

Figures 7 and 8 show another possible and preferred design of the struts, supports and cross struts. The strut 4 is designed as a profile bar which has pockets on both sides in the longitudinal extension for receiving the pivoted cross struts 5, which can be swiveled/slided about joint axes 13. On the underside, the strut 4 has another pocket for receiving the support 3. The corresponding joint axis is designated 14. Under certain circumstances, the struts 4 or the supports 3 or the cross struts 5 can also be designed as telescopic tube or rod elements. With such a design, it is of course necessary to lock the elements in the extended position so that they can fulfill their function.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments, but is variable in many ways within the scope of the disclosure.

All new individual and combination features disclosed in the description and/or drawing are considered essential to the invention.

Claims (3)

Grunert 11554/94 -16- Protection claims: 1. Vehicle, in particular a camping vehicle, sales vehicle, camping trailer or the like with an awning or an awning that can be attached to a vehicle, consisting of vertical and horizontal struts or supports, with struts extending transversely from a wall of the vehicle, in particular from a side wall of the vehicle provided with an access door, and parallel to one another, at the free ends of which vertical supports are arranged, which are supported on a support surface, and on which cross struts directed parallel to the wall of the vehicle are held, which extend horizontally essentially in alignment with one another, and with a tent sheet that forms the roof of the awning and comprises the side wall parts and a front wall part, optionally with a closable access opening, or such wall parts can be fastened to the edge of the roof sheet, thereby Grunert11554/94 -17- characterized in that each strut (4) is connected to the strut-side ends of a support (3) and one or two cross struts (5) via folding joints or other joint formations, so that the support (3) and the cross strut (5) can be pivoted into a rest position parallel to the strut (4) and a use position pivoted approximately at right angles to the strut (4), and that the strut (4) with the pivoted support (3) and cross strut(s) (5) in the rest position can be pivoted or pushed completely into a cavity (12) or free space of the vehicle (1) which extends close to the vehicle roof above or below it, namely in the insertion direction of the strut (4) (corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the strut). 2. Vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the tent sheet which can be placed on struts (4) and cross struts (5) is connected to the struts (4) and preferably the front wall part (11) and the Grunert11554/94 -18- Side wall parts (10) can be folded into a rest position when the struts (4) are in the position of use, in which they extend parallel to the panel (9) forming the roof and can preferably be detachably connected to it, or into a position of use in which they are directed perpendicularly from the edges of the panel (9) (roof) to the support plane, whereby the panel package (roof, front wall, side walls) in the rest position can preferably be pushed together with the struts (4) into a cavity (12) or free space in the vehicle (1) which is formed directly above or below the vehicle roof. 3. Vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the struts (4), supports (3) and/or cross struts (5) are designed as telescopic tube or rod elements,