AU2011101598A4 - A pivoting panel assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A pivoting panel assembly comprising: a support structure; a panel pivotally mounted to the support structure to 5 pivot upwardly and downwardly; and a retractable safety mechanism connected to the support structure and panel that extends and retracts with downward and upward pivoting movement of the panel respectively, wherein the safety mechanism engages to stop downward pivoting of the 10 panel when a rate of movement of the panel during downward pivoting exceeds a predetermined limit. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 c.tl tI I t S f

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Innovation Patent Applicant: Windsor Caravans Pty Ltd Invention Title: A pivoting panel assembly The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to us: - 2 A pivoting panel assembly Field 5 The present invention relates to a pivoting panel assembly, such as an assembly that could be used on a structure or a vehicle. Background 10 Some trucks, caravans and other vehicles have a rear pivoting door, ramp or floor. In the case of caravans, some models have collapsible rooms the floor of which is stowed in or against the body of the caravan when not in is use, and is pivoted to a deployed position (in which the floor is substantially horizontal) for use as an extended room, for example, a bedroom where the floor supports a mattress. 20 With particular regard to caravans, to move the floor to the deployed position an operator releases the floor from the stowed position and manually controls the pivoting movement of the floor to the deployed position. Movement of the floor to the deployed position extends a pair of 25 scissor arms or pivoting frame members that, when the floor is fully deployed, support the floor so that it can carry the weight of one or more occupants of the caravan. If the floor descends in an uncontrolled manner (e.g. if 30 an operator's hold slips during deployment of the floor, or is not strong enough to control the weight thereof) the floor can drop causing injury to the operator. Such uncontrolled movement of the floor can also damage the vehicle when the floor reaches a fully deployed position 35 and is suddenly stopped by the scissor arms or frame members. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 3 For particularly heavy ramps, doors and floors, or when the operator is elderly and/or weak, the likelihood of uncontrolled movement maybe greater as would be the likelihood of injury or damage resulting from that 5 movement. It is therefore desirable to improve the safety of use of such ramps, doors and/or floors, in the event of uncontrolled movement. 10 Summary of the Invention In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a pivoting panel assembly comprising: 15 a support structure; a panel pivotally mounted to the support structure to pivot upwardly and downwardly; and a retractable safety mechanism connected to the support structure and panel that extends and retracts with 20 downward and upward pivoting movement of the panel respectively, wherein the safety mechanism engages to stop downward pivoting of the panel when a rate of movement of the panel during downward pivoting exceeds a predetermined limit. 25 The safety mechanism may be a locking retractor including a portion that is extendable and retractable with movement of the panel, and a centrifugal clutch that engages the portion to stop downward pivoting of the panel when the 30 predetermined limit is exceeded. The rate of movement may be a speed or acceleration of the panel that corresponds to an acceleration at the clutch, and the predetermined limit of the rate of movement may be 35 one that causes an acceleration of at least 10m/s 2 on the clutch. 30035061 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 -4 Advantageously, when movement of the base exceeds a predetermined rate, such as when an operator slips or loses hold thereof, the locking retractor engages to slow or stop that movement. This may largely avoid injury or 5 damage that might otherwise have occurred due to uncontrolled descent of the base. Advantageously, embodiments of the present invention provide for movement, particularly under gravity, of a io door, ramp or floor to a deployed position at a controlled rate. Brief Description of the Drawings is Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a partial front perspective view of a caravan 20 in which a floor section of a collapsible room of the caravan is in a stowed position; Figure 2 shows the caravan of Figure 1 with the floor section of the collapsible room in the deployed position; 25 and Figure 3 is a side perspective view of an exemplary retractable safety mechanism system or arrangement according to the present invention. 30 Detailed Description While the disclosure herein largely relates to a floor pivotally mounted to an end of a caravan, it will be 35 appreciated that the present invention can also relate to pivoting doors, ramps and floors of vehicles generally. In particular, the invention can relate to pivoting panels, 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 -5 such as doors, floors, etc. that pivot open under gravity and wherein the invention stops or retards uncontrolled opening of the panel. 5 A caravan 10, as shown in Figure 1, includes a collapsible room 12, the collapsible room 12 having a floor 14 pivotally attached to a body 16 of the caravan 10. The collapsible room 12 further includes a roof 18 pivotally attached to the body 16 and supported over the floor 14 by 10 pneumatic pistons 20. The pivotal mounting of the floor 14 to the body 16 of the caravan 10 enables the floor 14 to pivot between a stowed position as shown in Figure 1 where the floor is 15 substantially vertical, and a deployed position as shown in Figure 2 where the floor is pivoted under gravity to a substantially horizontal position. The broken lines on Figure 1 depict various positions of the floor 14 as it progresses between the stowed and deployed positions. 20 The floor 14 is a substantially planar body, namely a panel, that may, for example, form the base of a bed of the caravan 10. As such, the length of the caravan 10 when in transit and when the floor 14 is stowed, is less 25 than the length of the caravan 10 when the floor 14 is deployed. A retractable safety mechanism, presently locking retractor 22, as shown in Figure 2, is attached between a 30 pivoting panel, which in the embodiment shown is floor 14 and a support body, presently being the body 16 of the caravan 10. While there are two such locking retractors 22 shown, one on either side of the floor 14, it will be appreciated that one or more locking retractors 22, or 35 other safety mechanism as appropriate, may be used. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 6 In this manner a pivoting panel assembly is formed, the assembly comprising a support structure, presently the panel frame or body 16 of the caravan, a panel, presently floor 14, pivotally mounted to the support structure 16, 5 and a retractable safety mechanism, presently locking retractor 22. The retractable safety mechanism 22 is connected to the support structure 16 and panel 14 and extends and retracts with pivoting movement of the panel 14. 10 The floor 14 is pivotally mounted to the support structure 16 to pivot upwardly, e.g. to a stowed position, and downwardly, e.g. to a deployed position. The locking retractor 22 extends and retracts with pivoting movement 15 of the panel 14, and engages to stop downward pivoting of the panel 14 when a rate of movement of the panel 14 during downward pivoting exceeds a predetermined limit. This may occur when, for example, the floor or panel 14 pivots, unsupported, under its own weight toward the open, 20 deployed position. Therefore, if the floor 14 descends too rapidly or in an otherwise uncontrolled manner, the locking retractor 22 will engage to slow or stop descent of the floor 14 and 25 thereby prevent or reduce damage to the vehicle 10 and/or operator (not shown). A locking retractor 22 is illustrated in more detail in Figure 3, and includes a centrifugal clutch 24 similar to 30 centrifugal clutches used in seatbelt retractors. The centrifugal clutch 24 operates to engage the locking retractor 22 to slow or stop movement of the floor 14 when a rate of movement of the floor 14 (e.g. rate of pivot, speed or acceleration) exceeds a predetermined limit 35 (discussed below). 30035061 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 7 The locking retractor 22 further includes a strip of webbing material 26, such as seatbelt webbing, and a spool 28 (behind ratchet wheel 48 discussed below) onto which the webbing 26 is wound. The webbing 26 unwinds/extends 5 from the spool 28 as the floor 14 pivots towards the deployed position and winds/retracts onto the spool 28 as the floor 14 moves towards the stowed position. In the present case, the rate of movement of the panel 14 io is the speed or acceleration of the panel 14 during downward pivoting. That speed or acceleration corresponds to an acceleration at the clutch 24, and the predetermined limit is one that causes an acceleration of at least 10m/s 2 (acceleration approximately corresponding to 1 g-force) or 15 about 20m/s 2 (acceleration approximately corresponding to 2 g-force) or greater to be experienced by the clutch 24 (i.e. by the lever 32 discussed below) . In this manner, the acceleration experienced at the clutch 24 is a result of rotation of the clutch 24 with the spool 28, where 20 rotation of the spool 28 is caused by extension of the webbing 26. It will be appreciated that the clutch 24 may engage at any predetermined limit, such as 30m/s2 to 40m/s 2 depending 25 on the size or weight of the floor 14 or the needs of the operator (e.g. if the operator is elderly it may be preferable to reduce the predetermined limit). The present webbing 26 is selected to have a weight limit 30 of 500kg, though the webbing 26 may be designed to have any desired tensile strength to accommodate any desired weight. The present spool 28 includes a spiral spring (not shown) 35 one end of which is fixed to the body of the spool 28 and the other end of which is fixed to a bracket 38 (discussed below). As the spool 28 rotates the spring is unwound and 3003506_1 (GHManers) P88994.AU 6/12/11 -8 becomes biased back to its original state. As the spring attempts to return to its original state any slack in the webbing 26 is wound back onto the spool 28. Thus, the webbing 26 winds back onto the spool 28 when the floor 14 5 returns from the deployed position back to the stowed position. The centrifugal clutch 24 and spool 28 share a common axle 30 so that as the webbing 26 rotates the spool 28 during 10 unwinding, the spool 28 rotates the axle and thereby rotates the centrifugal clutch 24. It will be appreciated that the centrifugal clutch 24 may instead be mounted directly to the spool 28. 15 The centrifugal clutch 24 engages, in order to operate the locking retractor 22, when something jerks (i.e. suddenly accelerates) the webbing 26 or when the rate at which the webbing 26 is removed from spool 28 exceeds a predetermined limit as discussed above. To effect 20 engagement, the centrifugal clutch 24 includes a weighted pendulum or pivoting lever 32 mounted to the spool 28 and retained in a plumb position by a spring 34. When the webbing 26 jerks or unwinds from the spool 28 too quickly, the weighted end of the lever 32 is driven outwardly 25 relative to the axle 30 of the clutch 24 and away from its plumb position. The weighted end of the lever 32 then contacts a cam piece 36 mounted to a bracket 38. The cam piece 36 includes a pin 40 received in a slot 42 30 of a pivoting pawl 44 so that when the cam piece 36 shifts relative to the axle 30, upon contact by the weighted end of the lever 32, the pin 40 slides along the slot 42 in the pawl 44. This sliding movement results in rotation of the pawl 44, bringing the pawl 44 against the teeth 46 of 35 a ratchet gear 48 thereby engaging the locking retractor 22 to stop extension of the belt 26 from the spool 28. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 9 It will be noted that the teeth 46 are shaped so that the pawl 44 will only engage them when the ratchet gear 48 rotates anti-clockwise. Therefore, the base 14 may be moved to the stowed position at any speed and the clutch 5 24 will not engage. The present weighted lever 32 of the centrifugal clutch 24 and the spring under which the lever 32 is biased, are selected so that the clutch 24 engages under around 2g or 10 3g of force as generated by rotation of the axle 30 resulting from extension of the belt 26. It will be appreciated that the clutch 24 may be designed to engage at any desired g-force resulting from a particular speed or acceleration of the belt 26 which corresponds to a rate 15 of movement of the panel 14. Such a clutch mechanism 24 may be substituted for any other appropriate braking mechanism as desired. For example the teeth 46 and ratchet gear 48 may not be 20 provided and the pawl 44 may instead include a rubber surface for abutting the cylinder of the spool 28 to slow, rather than stop, extension of the belt 26 from the spool 28 (e.g. operate in a similar manner to a drum brake). In this case, the braking force applied by the pawl 44 to the 25 spool 28 may be proportional to the force of the cam piece 36 on the pawl 44, consequently also being proportional to the force of the lever 32 on the cam piece 36 which itself is proportional to the rate of rotation of the spool 28. Thus, as the belt 26 extends or accelerates more rapidly 30 from the spool 28 the braking force increases. The locking retractor 22 includes a bracket 38 that is mounted to a mounting plate 50, the mounting plate 50 being secured to the body 16 to fix the bracket 38 35 relative to the body 16 (see Figure 2) . The bracket 38 may be fastened to the plate 50 by any known means but in the present case is mounted thereto by a pin 52. The 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 10 bracket 38 can rotate about the pin 52, thereby rotating relative to the plate 50, so that the webbing 26 is always drawn from the spool 28 perpendicular to the axis of the axle 30 (i.e. not at an angle to the axle 30 as this may 5 cause the webbing 26 to become stuck between the spool 28 and the bracket 38). It will however be understood that, while being desirable for the reasons provided above, pivotal mounting of the locking retractor 22 to the mounting plate 50 will not be essential for all uses of io the present invention. Also, the mounting plate 50 may form part of the locking retractor 22 but will typically form part of the body 16. 15 At the end of the belt 26 opposite the spool 28 is a further flange 54. The belt 26 extends through a slot in the flange 54 and is sewn back onto itself to fix the flange 54 to the belt 26. A bracket 56 is mounted to the flange 54 by a bolt 58, the bracket 56 being secured to 20 the base 14 (as shown in Figure 2) thereby fixing the locking retractor 22 to the floor 14. The bracket 56 may form part of the locking retractor 22 but will typically be mounted to the floor 14 and form 25 part of the floor 14. The bolt 58 allows the bracket 56 and flange 54 to pivot relative to each other. Therefore, the pivoting connection of the flange 54 at one end of the locking 30 retractor 22 and that of the bracket 38 at the opposite end of the locking retractor 22 ensure that the belt 26 does not twist anywhere along its length regardless of the position of the base 14 (i.e. whether the base 14 is stowed, deployed or anywhere in between as shown by the 35 positions of the base 14 in broken lines in Figure 2). 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 11 While the pivoting panel assembly 12 may include one or more locking retractors 22, the present assembly includes two such retractors 22a, 22b. The retractors 22a, 22b are positioned on opposite sides of the base 14 and serve to s support the floor 14 when in the deployed position. As such, the retractors 22a, 22b also form support members for the floor 14, thereby removing the need for scissor arms or pivoting frame members that would otherwise have been used to support the floor 14 of e.g. a collapsible 10 room of a caravan. The locking retractor 22 thus serves the dual purposes of (i) ensuring the floor 14 does not descend in an uncontrolled manner and (ii) providing support to the is floor 14 once deployed so that, for example, people may sit on the floor 14 and the weight of the floor 14 and people is transferred to the body 16 through the locking retractors 22a, 22b and hinge between the base 14 and body 16. 20 Since the entire mechanism for the. locking retractors 22a, 22b retracts as the floor 14 moves to the stowed position, the size of the locking retractors 221, 22b when retracted is small when compared with elbow joined links and other 25 forms of support for the floor 14. Moreover, webbing 26 will typically be a cheaper material from which to fabricate supports for the floor 14 than steel linkages, and removes pinch points that otherwise exist at pivoting connections between support frame members of other 30 caravans. A further advantage of the locking retractors 22a, 22b of the present embodiment is that collapsible rooms 12 of caravans 10 will typically have a flexible external wall 35 made from canvas or another material. Where steel support linkages wear against that canvas, the webbing 26 of the locking retractors 22a, 22b will usually be considerably 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 12 less abrasive than the steel linkages and also retracts so that, in transit there is little or no contact between the locking retractor 22 and canvas. Therefore, longevity of the flexible wall of a collapsible room 12 is increased s using a locking retractor 22 as described herein, when compared with flexible linkages. As discussed above, as the floor 14 pivots from the deployed position to the stowed position, the belts 26 10 automatically retract and stow themselves in respective rolls or spools 28. Conversely, the locking retractor or support members 22a, 22b extend as the floor 14 pivots to the deployed position. 15 Once the floor 14 is in the deployed position the belts 26 are fully extended and taut. Some slight elasticity in the locking retractors 22a, 22b, or webbing or belt 26, is desirable to act as a shock absorber to impulse loads applied to the floor 14, but otherwise the locking 20 retractor 60, 62 and belt 26 should be sufficiently rigid so that the floor 14 is maintained in position relative to the body 16. The belt 26 has a predetermined length so that it is fully 25 extended when the floor 14 is in the deployed position. Thus the length of the belt 26 dictates the angle of the base 14 to the horizontal when in a deployed position. It will be appreciated that, when the locking retractor 22 30 is used to control the descent of a rear ramp of e.g. a truck, it need not provide support thereto once deployed as the rear ramp will typically be angled downwardly so that it contacts and is supported by the ground. 35 While the present embodiment shows the locking retractor 22 attached to the caravan 10, the locking retractor 22 may instead be supplied separately and be connectable or 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 13 attachable to the body 16 and floor 14 of the caravan 10. In other circumstances, the floor 14 may be a loading ramp or door at the rear of a truck or materials handling vehicle, and the support body 16 would then be the body to 5 which the ramp or door is pivotally attached. As discussed above, the floor 14 is pivotally mounted to the support body 16 to pivot from a stowed position to a deployed position. The locking retractor 22 allows the 10 floor 14 to pivot away from the support body 16 under a controlled descent but is actuated to slow or stop pivoting of the floor 14 when a rate of movement of the floor 14 exceeds a predetermined limit, being around 20m/s 2 as experienced at the clutch. As such, when the floor 14 is pivots too quickly, the locking retractor 22 is engaged to either slow or stop movement of the floor 14. Embodiments herein show two locking retractors 22a, 22b, which can each also be referred to as a a support member, 20 the locking retractors 22a, 22b thereby both slowing or stopping uncontrolled movement of the floor 14, whilst also supporting the floor 14 when deployed. However, the locking retractors 22a, 22b may be provided separately to the means for supporting the floor 14. For example, the 25 locking retractors 22a, 22b may be replaced by another safety mechanism housed in the hinge by which the floor 14 is mounted to the body 16. In this case, the safety mechanism may include an arm (not shown) fixed to each of the floor 14 and body 16, whereby relative pivotal 30 movement of the arms above a certain rate (i.e. relative rate of rotation or acceleration) causes engagement of the safety mechanism. A standard linkage system or other support mechanism may then be used to support the floor 14 on the body 16. 35 It will be understood that many other safety mechanisms may be used to slow or stop pivotal movement of a floor 14 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 14 of a collapsible room 12 of a caravan 10 and are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, though the locking retractors 22a, 22b serve 5 both to arrest movement of, and support, the floor 14, the locking retractors 22a, 22b may only be designed to arrest movement of the floor 14. In this circumstances, support of the floor 14 may be provided by one or more further means, such as linkages 60, 62 in Figure 1. The present 10 linkages 60, 62 are simple wire linkages fixed at either end to the floor 14 and body 16, and bend as the floor 14 is stowed. It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the is invention that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context 20 requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further 25 features in various embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the 30 common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11

Claims (5)

1. A pivoting panel assembly comprising: 5 a support structure; a panel pivotally mounted to the support structure to pivot upwardly and downwardly; and a retractable safety mechanism connected to the support structure and panel that extends and retracts with 10 downward and upward pivoting movement of the panel respectively, wherein the safety mechanism engages to stop downward pivoting of the panel when a rate of movement of the panel during downward pivoting exceeds a predetermined limit. 1s

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the safety mechanism is a locking retractor including a portion that is extendable and retractable with movement of the panel, and a centrifugal clutch that engages the portion to stop 20 downward pivoting of the panel when the predetermined limit is exceeded.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the rate of movement is a speed or acceleration of the panel that 25 corresponds to an acceleration at the clutch, and the predetermined limit of the rate of movement is one that causes an acceleration of at least 10m/s 2 on the clutch.

4. An assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein 30 the safety mechanism is connected to one or both of the door and support structure by pivoting connections. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11 - 16

5. A caravan including a door assembly according to any preceding claim. 3003506_1 (GHMatters) P88994.AU 6/12/11