GB2336137A

GB2336137A - Frame member

Info

Publication number: GB2336137A
Application number: GB9904339A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Jenkins; Nigel Paul Townley; Nigel Paul Jenkins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-03-21
Filing date: 1999-02-26
Publication date: 1999-10-13
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-26
Also published as: GB9904339D0; GB2336137B

Abstract

A frame member (12) has a tubular body 20 with two perpendicular flanges (22) extending outwardly from the body (20). Each frame member (12) is fitted with an insulating member (14) which slides on to the flanges (22) and is retained by hooks (42). A framework for a caravan may be constructed from the frame members (12).

Description

1 2336137 A FRAME MEMBER AND A FRAME ASSEMBLY The invention relates to a

frame member and a frame assembly.

At present it is known to make caravans, mobile homes, motor caravans refrie,erated vans and the like by screwing or riveting, body panels one to another.

Z:> C> Each body panel is typically a layered arrangement with a layer of plywood, a layer of polystyrene and an outer layer of aluminurn.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a frame member W for a caravan or the like, the frame member comprising a tubular body including walls acrainst which body panels can be abutted.

The use of a tubular body makes the frame member strong and at the same time provides insulation.

Preferably at least one flange extends from the tubular body.

According, to another aspect of the invention there is provided a frame C member for a caravan or the like to mount a body panel of a caravan or the like, the frame member comprising two sides, each side comphising a flange to overlap a c c 2 body panel and a substantially perpendicular surface to abut an edge of a body panel, the abutment surfaces of the two sides facing away from one another.

The angled flanges and surfaces again provide strength in the frame member Z and the flanges provide suitable points for mounting body panels.

The frame member may be symmetrical. The sides are preferably connected by a connecting part which may extend from the outer edge of each abutment surface. Preferably, the frame member defines a tube. Preferably further the abutment surfaces form parts of the tube.

In each aspect of the invention, the frame member may be formed in any suitable manner but preferably is formed by extrusion. The frame member may be made of any suitable material and may be made of plastics material, -lass fibre reinforced material or composite material for example but preferably is made of metal such as aluminium. Preferably the frame member can be assembled with other such members into a self-supporting framework.

Where the frame member is tubular, it may be injected with foam to increase strenath or improve insulation properties.

3 As mentioned above, it is known to attach body panels of a caravan or the like to one another by screwing or riveting the panels one to another. Piercing of the body panels by screws or rivets provides a pathway for moisture through the aluminum layer into the plywood which deteriorates over time as a result.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a frame assembly for a caravan or the like, the frame assembly comprising a frame member Z-- and a clamp to clamp a body panel of the caravan or the like on to the frame member.

By means of the invention the body panels can be clamped to a frame to form a caravan or the like and none of the body panels need to be pierced so that a stronaer and more durable construction results.

tn The frame member may include a flange onto which the body panel can be clamped by a clamp. Preferably the frame member is a frame member according to any of the previous aspects of the invention. The clamp may act in any suitable way and may be arranaed to clamp a body panel by a screw acting between a clamp member and the frame member. A screw threaded aperture may thus be provided in the frame member and the screw threaded aperture is preferably blind. In this way, the frame member will still provide a barrier to moisture, dirt, cold etc, and, where the frame member is tubular, there is no pathway to the interior of the tube by means 4 of the threaded aperture for the screw. Where the frame member is extruded. the screw threaded aperture will be a ridged channel.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a frame assembly comprising a frame member according to any previous aspect of the invention and insulating material over the inner surface of the frame assembly.

In this way, in particular if the frame member is made of metal, the frame assembly still acts as a thermal barrier.

The frame assembly may also be a frame assembly according to the previous aspect of the invention.

The insulating material may be applied as a coating but preferably comprises an insulatin. member attached to the frame member. Where the frame member includes a flanae, the insulating member preferably hooks onto the flange and thereby preferably will also act as a spacer for a body panel overlapping the flange. The insulating member may be arranged to receive a further member to form a tubular structure. The further member may improve the appearance of the frame which may be important inside a caravan for example or may add strength or additional insulation properties.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a caravan or the like constructed from frame members and body panels or frame assemblies and body panels according to any previous aspect of the invention.

Preferably, an elastomeric material is provided between the body panels and the frame members or frame assemblies.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; FIG. 1 is an exploded end view of the frame assembly of the first embodiment of the invention; FIGS.2 A to C are an end views of three alternative clamp members for use in the embodiment of FIG. 1; FIG.3 is an end view of the frame assembly of FIG. 1 assembled and mounting body panels in a caravan or the like; FIG.4 is an end view of the frame member of the second embodiment of the invention; and FIG.5 is an end view of the frame member of the third embodiment of the invention.

The frame assembly 10 of the first embodiment comprises a frame member 12, an insulating member 14, an internal cover 16 and two clamp members 18.

6 The frame member 12 comprises a tubular body 20 and two perpendicular flanaes 22 extending outwardly from the tubular body 20. The frame member 12 is symmetrical. On each side, the flange 22 is coplanar with an inwardly facing portion of the tube 24, the inwardly facing portions 24 from each side intersecting at a richt angle. At the junction between each inwardly facing portion 24 and the coplanar flange 22 the body of the tube 20 is continued by a planar abutment surface 26 extending perpendicular to the flange 22 and inwardly facing portion 24. The abutment surface 26 is similar or greater in length to the flange 22 which in turn is si ilar or greater in length to the inwardly facing portion 24. The tube 20 continues imi c t from the abutment surface 26 in a Z-shaped portion 28. The foot 30 of the Z-shape portion 28 extends parallel to the inwardly facing portion 24 and the body portion 32 of the Z extends at an acute angle connecting to the head portion 34 which is parallel to the foot portion 30. The foot portion 30 is interrupted by an intrusion into the tubular body 20. The intrusion 36 comprises a rectanaular inwards channel, the walls of the channel being parallel to the abutment surface 26 and being ridged on their inner surface to complement the threads on a threaded screw. The tubular body 20 is completed by a connecting portion 38 which extends at substantially 45 degrees to the head portion 34 of the Z-shaped portion 28.

The frame member 12 maybe extruded from a suitable mateni al such as aluminum.

7 The insulating member 14 has a main body 40 which is arranged to lie ac, ainst the inwardly facing portions 24 and the inwardly facing sides of the flanges 22. The L-shaped main body 40 includes a hook 42 at the end of each arm of the L-shape which is arranged to hook around the end of the flange 22 and over part of the outwardly facing face of the flange 22. To the inner side of the L-shaped main body 40, that is to the opposite side from the hooks 42, two rounded protrusions 44 extend towards one another to define an undercut 46 between each protrusion 44 and the respective leg of the L-shaped main body 40. The insulating member 14 may be made from plastics material and preferably is made by extrusion.

The cover part 16 is part circular in cross-section and is arranged to snap into the undercuts 46 behind the protrusions 44 by flexing.

The frame assembly 10 includes two clamp members 18. Each clamp member 18 is a strip being relatively short and wide. Each clamp member 18 has a ridaed lower surface 48. The clamp member is generally trapezium shaped with the base being wider than the top. The upper surface 50 of the clamp member 18 C1 defines an undercut channel 52 offset to one side of the clamp member 18.

In use, a framework for a caravan, mobile home, motor caravan, refrigerated van or the like is constructed from the frame members 12. Each frame member 12 8 is fitted with an insulating member 14 which slides on to the flanges 22 to be retained by the hooks 42. Elastomeric material in the form of an adhesive or sealant is then deposited against the abutment surfaces 26 and on the outwardly facing surface of the flange 22. Conventional body panels 54 are then offered up to the frame work to abut the abutment surfaces 26 and overlap the flanges 22. The ends of the hooks 42 will act as spacers to create a mastic gap between the ends of the hooks 42 and the abutment surfaces 26 outwardly of the flanges 22. Each body panel 54 is then held in place by a clamp member 18. (The clamp member 18 shown in fig 3 is a variant having a flat lower surface 48) The lower surface 48 and side 56 of the clamp member are of complementary shape to the foot portion 30 and body portion 32 of the Z-shaped portion 28. With the clamp member 18 in position as a dove tail on the Z-shaped portion 28, the undercut channel 52 is aligned with the intrusion 36 in the frame member and a bore can be drilled through the floor of the undercut channel 52 at spaced positions to allow a screw 58 to pass through the drilled bore and screw in to the intrusion 36 by engagement with the complementary ri -es on the inner surface of the side walls of the intrusion 36. The screw 58 acts to clamp the body panel 54 between the clamp member 18 and the flange 22 and hook 42. The head of the screw 58 can be covered by a slim cover 60 which is slid alona the undercut channel 52 being held in place by the shape of the channel 52. The assembly 10 is completed by snapping the cover part 16 into place behind the protrusions 44 to improve the appearance of the interior of the caravan or the like and provide additional insulation.

9 It will be seen that the clamp member 18 being tightly clamped against the body panel 54 prevents the ingress of moisture. If moisture should pass between the body panel 54 and the clamp member 18, it reaches the adhesive/sealant which is impervious to moisture and protects the plywood of the body panel 54 behind the top layer of aluminium. Similarly from the interior of the caravan or the like, moisture should not pass the hook 42 on the insulating member 14, but if it should do so it again reaches the impervious adhesivelsealant.

Instead of the body panels 54 being fixed to one another, as in the prior known construction, they are fixed to the frame members 12 so that the ends of the body panels 54 are separated by the air gap within the tubular body 20. This air gap ides thermal insulation. The tubular shape also provides strength and rigidity to provi 1 C the framework. The body panels 54 are easier to assemble because they are assembled onto a ready made framework, and, because the framework is free- standing, if a body panel 54 is damaged it can be removed and re laced without c p the caravan or the like having to be rebuilt. The construction is considerably stronger than the known construction in which the panels themselves are screwed or C:1 riveted toaether.

c The use of the ends of the hooks 42 as spacers gives a guaranteed predetermined thickness of sealant/adhesive seal over the remainder of each flange 22.

While it is possible for heat or cold to be transmitted through the aluminium frame member 12, the inner parts of the frame member 12 are covered in use by the insulating member 14. The internal cover 16 improves the appearance inside the caravan of the like by hiding the sharp corner and also increases the volume of the air gap to the outside to provide improved insulation. The interior of the tubular body 20 may be filled with foam to increase insulation and strength. Similarly the air gap between the interior cover 16 and the insulating member 14 may be filled with foam.

The void between cover part 16 and insulating member 14 can be used to contain services (eg power cables) in an isolated but accessible manner.

1 CI The fact that the intrusion 36 is blind means that any moisture which might c find its way underneath the clamp member 18 cannot get into the space inside the tubular body 20.

The use of adhesive/sealant between the ends of the body panels 54 and the abutment surfaces 26 not only seals the ends of the panels 54 against moisture, but also allows for thermal expansion or contraction of the body panels 54 which will be taken up by the flexible adhesive/sealant.

11 While the frame member 12 can be made of metal such as aluminium for its lightness and strength, it could also be made of suitable plastics material, glass fibre reinforced material for carbon fibre material for example or other like strong modem composite material.

FIGS.2 A to C show three alternative finishes for the underside of the clamp member 18. In the first, shown in fig 2A, the underside 48 is flat, In the second, shown in fig 2B, the underside 48 is in a rounded M shape comprising two shallow concave, intersecting channels 62. In the third shown in fig 2C, the underside 48 is stepped at 64 so that the part defining the undercut channel 52 is deeper than to the other side of the step 64. Where the underside 48 is ridged as shown in fic, 1 or includes channels 62 as shown in fig 2B the adhesive/sealant will also be present in the ridaes or channels 62 to improve the barrier to moisture. The stepped variant shown in fig 2C will cater for a different size of body panel to make the assembly 10 universal.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment which is simpler in construction. In this arrangement, the inwardly facing portions 24 of the frame member 12 are omitted toeether with the intrusions 36. In this form, the frame member 12 can be ty fabricated by bending, from sheet metal or can be made by extrusion as before. As the intrusion 36 is not provided, the clamp member 18 may be attached by drilling 12 spaced holes in the foot portion 30 of the Z-shaped portion 28. Because the interior of the frame member 12 is accessible, a nut can be provided inside the frame member 12 to receive the screw 58. The insulating member 14 and internal cover 16 may be provided as before.

While the shape of the frame member 12 specifically described is preferred, in alternative embodiments the frame member could be of different shapes as required. In particular, the frame member may be of a different shape to allow body panels to be connected at angles other than 90 degrees so that the external shape of the caravan or the like can be varied as desired.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a vehicle having a stora.e or living area, preferably, of generally flat modular panel construction, said panels being releaseably mounted relative to one another on a framework of the -vehicle in such manner that they may be replaced individually in the event of damage without replacement of immediately adjacent panels.

C_ It is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not to be unduly limited by the particular choice of terminology and that a specific term may be replaced by any equivalent or generic term. For example, the term "tubular" could be replaced by 'hollow"; "screw" could be replaced by "fastener" or the like. The terms and "horizontal" as used throughout the specification should not be interpreted as limited and are used merely to indicate the generally intended orientation in use. Further it is to be understood that individual features, method or functions related to the support means or stand might be individually patentably c 13 inventive. In particular, any disclosure in this specification of a range for a variable or parameter shall be taken to include a disclosure of any selectable or derivable sub-range within that range and shall be taken to include a disclosure of any value for the variable or parameter lying within or at an end of the range. The singular may include the plural and vice versa.

14

Claims

CLAIMS:-

1. A frame member for a caravan or the like, the frame member comprising a tubular body including walls against which body panels can be abutted.

C.) 2. A frame member as claimed in claim 1 in which at least one flange extends from the tubular body.

3. A frame member for a caravan or the like to mount a body panel of a caravan or the like, the frame member comprising two sides, each side comprising a flange to overlap a body panel and a substantially perpendicular surface to abut an edge of a C body panel, the abutment surfaces of the two sides facing away from one another.

c 4. A frame member as claimed in claim 3 which is symmetrical.

5. A frame member as claimed in claim 3 or 4 in which the sides are connected by a connecting part which extends from the outer edge of each abutment surface.

c 6. A frame member as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5 in which frame member defines a tube.

7. A frame member as claimed in claim 6 in which the abutment surfaces form parts of the tube.

8. A frame member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which is formed by extrusion.

9. A frame member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the frame member is of plastics material, glass fibre reinforced material or composite material or of metal such as aluminium.

10. A frame member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which can be assembled with other such members into a self-supporting framework.

11. A frame member as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 6 or any claim dependent from in which the frame member is injected with foam.

12. A frame assembly for a caravan or the like, the frame assembly comprising a frame member and a clamp to clamp a body panel of the caravan or the like onto the frame member.

16 13. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 12 in which the frame member includes a flanae onto which the body panel can be clamped by a clamp.

14. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 13 in which the frame member is a frame member according to any of claims 1 to 11.

c 15. A frame assembly as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 14 in which the clamp is arranged to clamp a body panel by a screw acting between a clamp member and the c frame member.

16. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 15 in which a screw threaded aperture is provided in the frame member.

17. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 16 in which the screw threaded aperture blind.

18. A frame assembly comprising a frame member according to any one of claims 1 to 11 and insulating material over the inner surface of the frame assembly or a frame assembly as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 17 including a frame member according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

c 17 19. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 18 in which the insulating material is applied as a coating C' 20. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 18 in which the insulating material comprises an insulating member attached said frame member.

21. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 20 which has the insulating member locked onto a, or the, flange of the frame member.

22. A frame assembly as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 21 with which the insulating member acts as a spacer for a body panel overlapping said flange.

23. A frame assembly as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 22 in which the insulating member is arranged to receive a further member to form a tubular structure.

24. A frame assembly as claimed in claim 27 in which the further member improves the appearance of the frame or adds strength or additional insulation properties.

18 25. A caravan or the like constructed from frame members and body panels or frame assemblies and body panels according to any one of the preceding claims.

26. A caravan or the like as claimed in claim 25 in which mastic is provided between the body panels and the frame members or frame assemblies.

217. A frame member for a caravan or the like substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURE 1 of the accompanying drawings or when modified in accordance with FIGURE 2 of the accompanying drawings.

c 28. A frame member for a caravan or the like substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURE 4 of the accompany drawings.

229. A frame assembly substantially as herein described with reference to FIGURE 3 of the accompanying drawings.

c c 30. A,,,ehicle having a storage or living area, preferably, of generally flat modular panel construction, said panels being releaseably mounted relative to one another on C a framework of the vehicle in such manner that they may be replaced individually in the event of damage without replacement of immediately adjacent panels.

C) 19 3 1. A vehicle as claimed in claim 30 in which the panels are clamped onto the framework.

32. A vehicle as claimed in claim 30 or 31 in which each of the panels is a layered arrangement including an outer metal or finishing layer.

t 33. A vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 30 to 32 provided with a moisture barrier for the panels.

34. A vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 30 to 33 in which the framework comprises an outer member, a layer of insulating material and a further, inner member.

35. A vehicle including a framework made up of frame members and body panels in accordance with FIGURES 1 to 33 of the accompanying drawings or when modified in accordance with FIGURE 4 of the accompanying drawings.