US2670986A - Expansible house trailer and building - Google Patents

Description

March 2, 1954 H. E. PRESNELL EXPANSIBLE HOUSE TRAILER AND BUILDING Filed Jan. 12, 1951 INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 2, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT o FTFICE EXPANSIBLE. HOUSE TRA ILER BUILDING *Harry E. "Presnell, .Mesa, Application;danuarylZ, 1951, Serial FTo.'=Z05633 3Claims. (Cl. 29623) IMy "invention relates to expandable .house trailers and buildings and to -a packaged =toy buildmg.

The object .of my invention is to produce "a portable traile'rlbu'ilding whichin expanded condition is .a structureofsuhicient siz .tofurnish com'fortable-quartersjbut which may Joe-easily contracted to have .a width of .-not.over..eight.eet. This makes it conform .to'the tramcregulations limiting the extreme width .oliloads which can use'the highways.

Another .object or ithe'invention is to produce such a structure which whenmadeonaireduced scale andof appropriate (material forms an attractive'toy.

These and other objects are accomplished by the'means'shownin'ithe accompanying drawingsj fully setfforth in thefol'low'ing description and moremarticularly pointed outiin the claims.

Inthe drawings: Fig. 1 is a. view of"my"building with the different parts assembltni hut lying in 'one plane prior to erection.

Fig. "2 shows .in perspective an intermediate stage in the erectionofth'e building.

Fig. -3 is a perspective view of "the building when erected. I

Fig. 4 shows the buildin'g"when (folded for transportation.

building whensetupforuse.

Fig. 6 is a perspective fof a top corner tif'th e building, showing 'on -a "larger "scale the hinged connection of the wall "sectionsand also the means for "fastening "the meeting edges "or the roofand'wallsections.

-F'ig. "7" is 'a perspective view"of"the"building on a small'scale as a-'toy,"showing"it in-coursei'oferection.

Fig. 1 shows clearly the *assembla g'e 'oi-the p'arts, there'- bein-g two 'siznilarfiobr'menibers "I and hinge'dly "connected as 'shown by fhing'es "3, six -'being shown, but this numbermayhe varied as required. "Theleng-th 'of th'es'e floor-sections may be as desired, but the width of each must be kept-alittleunder"eigh-t feet so that the folded structure may not take up more of the highway in transit than traffic regulations-permit.

The section has attached at reach end by means well known in the art similar wheel and axle arrangements 4 as shown in dottedflines. these being for "transportation purposes. T'lh'e usual hitch "arrangen'ient is -alsoprovided vl for attachment "to a towing "vehicle, this being-so "6b? vious andwell .knownwha't it has "not been illustrated. To one longitudinal edge of the "floor is connected by'hinges It! a similar roof unemher 9.

:(ionsidering zagainfthe :floor :section *2, it be-zseenthatat each end, hinges t2 connect to itnne half :11 ofzan end wall, each-of: these halves being :hinge connected :byiin'nge's 11:4 to another half [-3 having iconnected to it hy:h'inges zlBrPa portion "I 5 :of a longitudinal wall. To 16370111301- tion IS'iS'fittfiiChBd'iflD-Oth'fil' portion lr'lrbyfmeans of hinges i8. ltwillzbezseen from @Fig. 1 that all the :hinges are :on what isthe upper surface of the sections in :this :figure, 1 but which will :zbe the interior of ithe building when ierected, the hinges 3 '8 and :12 abeingnf "the ordinary form permitting eswinging :only one direction, .but the hinges M :and :1 .6 being "a well known .formao'f double or triple acting hinge permittingra swing in ei-ther direction:iorraipurpose.to be explained later. .It willzalso be seen that the roof :member 9 ,carries a number :of ordinary hasps :19 along both :i-ts Sends and longitudinal edge, while the othenroofimember :1 and the wall memberfihave such hasps along their ends, .--.and x'the :hinged member :1 .has them along its longitudinal-wide. As seen in Fig. 6 each hasp I Bengag'esaistaple 2.0 ton n :-mating member and is .locked :by a spin adjacent structure. Similarly located windows 23 are gprovided i-n predetermined positions wall-sections 5-4.1, 3-,and .15 while--.doors2-4-:are

locatedin predetermined positions in wall sections .5. -.and .11. ns-seen' in Figs..--3 and 5 the floor section A is carried by supports 25 similar'to the ordinary carpenters horse 'or trestle.

Supposing-now that the structure isin the flat condition shown .bytFig. .1 with thefioor sections l .vandsZ supported by .the .trestles -25 and the wheehmemhers 4 respectively, erection is done .as follows: line end wall,-sections H .and 13 are brought to vertical position, taking-with them attached'sections -l-5.-and 11. The latter arethen turnedinwardlyfalongthe outerfedge of thefloor section 4,, and their abutting -:ends connected by means of :thehasps l9, staples 12-0 and pins-2l forming .one longitudinal wall. Then the wall section .5 is raised -.to vertical .position 'to form the other longitudinal wall. .283; meansof thel'atch and staple/arrangement this-wall is secured *to end: members I. FIhen-the; roof sections 1 and 9 are folded up over the gable ends ofwthe-end wa11 sections .11 and 2 l3 and zsecured .theretodoy means.of..th.e hasptand staple connections. In like manner the roof section'S is secured along 3 its longitudinal edge to wall sections l and IT. A step 26 is then placed at each door opening 24.

It will be seen from Figs. 4 and 5 that the floor section I has at each end on its outer edge a cable 2! leading over an idler pulley 28 at the upper right hand corner of end wall section II and then down to a winding drum 29 at the lower right hand corner of the same section, this drum being provided with a crank handle 30, the arrangements at each end of the structure being the same.

When it is desired to arrange the structure for transportation, the latch connections securing together roof section 9 to the end wall members l3 and to longitudinal wall members 15 and I! are released, permitting this roof member to be raised and supported temporarily by any appropriate prop means. The latch connection between the abutting wall members H is then also released and end wall members 13 are folded back over corresponding end wall members H, the double hinges l4 permitting this. Then the members [5 and H at each end are folded around the corners formed by the meeting of longitudinal wall section 5 and end wall sections H. the sections 15 and l! overlying the wall section 5, the double hinges l6 permitting this movement. The sections I! again abut and may be secured by the latching arrangement formed by parts I9, 20 and 2|. Then the temporarily supported roof section 9 is allowed to drop over the floor section I which has been swung up to vertical position by means of the drums 29 and cables 21, the parts finally taking the position shown in Fig. 4 when the structure is in condition for travel on its wheels 4. It is important to note that the windows 23 and the doors 24 are so positioned in the members 5, II, [3, l5 and H that when the unit is in folded up condition, Figure 4, the windows and doors will register with each other. Thus the doors 24 will permit access to the trailer when in traveling position and the windows will allow light to enter so that the trailer is usable even in folded condition.

The above portable building may be constructed of wood, metal or plastic. Also .details of the structure may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The toy structure shown in Fig. 7 is composed of similarly arranged members which are designated by corresponding primed numerals. In this case the material is cardboard which may be attractively ornamented to represent a house."

I-Iere folded lines 31 replace the hinge connections. Also in place of the latching arrangement, tongues 32 which enter corresponding slits 33 are used to secure the parts together. To do this it is necessary to provide for an extension 34 from one wall member ll so that a slit 33 can be formed. Also no wheels 4 or supports 25 are necessary. The steps of erection are the same, except that a tongue 32 is inserted into a slot 33 instead of a securing latch. To form a compact package for shipment, floor section I may be turned under floor section 2, sections I5 and I1 together with extension 34 may be folded together upon each half end section l5 and the assemblage folded upon each end half section l3. The assemblage at each end is then turned inwardly to lie upon the upper surface of floor section 2'. The wall section 5' and roof sections 1' and 9' are then turned down upon the underlying sections.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An expandable house trailer comprising a first rectangular floor member, supported on running gear, a first side wall member hinged at its bottom edge to one of the longitudinal edges of said floor member, a second fioor member hinged to the other longitudinal edge of said floor member, a first one half end wall hinged to each end of said first floor member, a second one half end wall member hinged to the sides of said first one half end walls adjacent the hinged connection of said second floor member with said first floor member, a pair of second one half side wall members hinged to the outer side edges of said second one half end wall members, a first half roof member hinged to the outer longitudinal edge of said first side wall member, and a second half roof member hinged to the outer longitudinal edge of said first half roof member.

2. An expandable house trailer comprising a first rectangular floor member, supported on running gear, a first side wall member hinged at its bottom edge to one of the longitudinal edges of said floor member, a second floor member hinged to the other longitudinal edge of said fioor member, a first one half end wall hinged to each end edge of said first floor member, a second one half end wall member hinged'to the sides of said first one half end walls adjacent the hinged connection of said second floor member with said first floor member, a pair of second one half side wall members hinged to the outer side edges of said second one half end wall members, a first half roof member hinged to the outer longitudinal edge of said first side wall member, a second half roof member hinged to the outer longitudinal edge of said first half roof member, windows and doors in said side wall members and said wall members arranged in a predetermined position for registery thereof when said house trailer is in folded condition.

3. An expandable house trailer comprising a first rectangular floor member, supported on running gear, a first side wall member hinged at its bottom edge to one of the longitudinal edges of said fioor member, a second floor member hinged to the other longitudinal edge of said floor member, a first one half end wall hinged to each end edge of said first floor member, a second one half end wall member hinged to the sides of said first one half end walls adjacent the hinged connection of said second floor member with said first floor member, a pair of second one half side wall members hinged to the outer side edges of said second one half end wall members, a first half roof member hinged to the other longitudinal edge of said first side wall member, a second half roof member hinged to the outer longitudinal edge of said first half roof member, windows in the side wall and end wall members, a door in one of said pair of second one half side wall members, and a door in said first side wall member arranged to register with the door in said one of said pair of second one half side wall members.

HARRY E. PRESNELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,130,818 Herman Mar. 9, 1915 1,258,788 Koch Mar. 12, 1918 1,417,736 Heygate May 30, 1922 2,259,783 Sparling Oct. 21, 1941 2, 95,69 Smith Feb. 26, 1946

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