US3359693A

US3359693A - Portable camping unit

Info

Publication number: US3359693A
Application number: US522107A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles A Mitas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-01-21
Filing date: 1966-01-21
Publication date: 1967-12-26
Anticipated expiration: 1984-12-26

Description

C. A. MITAS Dec. 26, 1967 PORTABLE CAMPING UN IT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 21, 1966 INVENTOR.

CHARLES A. M/TA 5 ATTORNEY 1967 c. A. MITAS 3,359,693

PORTABLE CAMPING UNIT Filed Jan. 21, 1966 3 Sheets She et 2 INVENTOR.

CHARLES A. M T s ATTOQMEY United States Patent 3,359,693 PORTABLE CAL [PING UNIT Charles A. Mitas, 414 N. 11th Ave., Beech Grove, Ind. 46107 Filed Jan. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 522,107 8 Claims. (Cl. 5264) This invention relates to a portable camper and in partioular to a rigid camping unit especially adapted for being used and transported on the top of a car.

While my invention may he generally referred to as a car-top camper, it is to be understood that it is not to be restricted to such use. Due to its unique rigidity features my camper may be used for a variety of outdoor uses, including use as an ice shed for ice fishing. This can be accomplished by securing ice runners to the bottom of the unit and then towing it 'by a snowmobile or other means. In a like manner it is conceivable that my unit can be used on overnight hikes where the terrain is relatively flat by attaching two or four small Wheels to the unit. In general, the car-top camper of this invention may be made of light-weight sheet metal, such as aluminum. It may also be formed of any other rigid material which is weather proof such as plastic-laminated material, thin sheets of fiberglass or the like.

While other car-top campers depend in part on using canvas material, my unit is formed entirely of rigid material which will shed water easily. Consequently, there is no delay in collapsing the unit when it has been subjected to moisture. Whereas canvas units should be substantially dried before being collapsed for transportation, my unit may be folded into collapsed form immediately after a rainstorm Without fear of causing damage such as mildew. Ventilation is maintained in the unit even when it is collapsed. The unique design of my invention which enables the use of only rigid material also results in a car-top camper with unusual strength, enabling it to withstand severe windstorms without fear of collapsing. Its strength is so great that should the need arise, the car on which the unit is mounted may be driven while the unit is still in its fully erected position.

In general, my camper is of a substantially trapezoidal configuration when erected. This geometric form provides an exceptionally strong structure and minimizes the use of support braces. When collapsed it resembles a fiat compact box with reduced dimensions in both length and height which can be locked. The camper may be secured to a pair of car-top carrier bars in a conventional manner, such as securing clamps to the bottom of the camper and the bars. The four walls of the unit are hinged to the four sides of the rectangular base. Two of the opposite walls have two roof sections hinged to them thereby enabling all of the walls as well as the roof sections to be collapsed into a compact stack on top of the base. There is still sufficient space remaining between this stack of wall and roof sections and the base to store such essential items as mattresses, blankets and even food staples.

The result is an exceptionally comfortable camper that provides adequate space for two normal-sized persons. There is no fear of unwanted intrusion by the wildlife from the surrounding area or of the elements, unlike that experienced by those using ground tents. While camping trailers also provide such protection, they often present problems in regard to towing and finding sufi'icient ground space to park them. My unit requires a minimum amount of set-up time and can be erected by one person in a matter of minutes. In the off season my unit, because of the small amount of space it consumes when collapsed, may be easily hung in the garage. If desired the unit may be rolled to a storage area by simply adding roller casters to one of its sides.

It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide a new and improved portable camping unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved car-top camper which is formed entirely of rigid material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a camper which when fully collapsed is substantially reduced in length and height as compared to its erected dimensions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a neat appearing car-top camper which is not affected by the elements and is highly resistant to winds.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description in connection with the draw ings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the car-top camping unit of this invention in its collapsed form and mounted on the roof of a conventional sedan;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the camper of this invention in erected form;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken in longitudinal cross-section of the unit shown in FIGURE 1 when the unit is collapsed;

FIGURE 4 is a view taken in longitudinal cross-section along lines 4-4 of the unit shown in FIGURE 2 when erected;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken in cross-section along lines 55 of the unit shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a partial plane view of the camper with its roof shown in cross-section taken along lines 66 of FIGURE 2, and with the units door partially raised;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a sealing flap used to seal the corner joint between the units roof and a wall;

FIGURE 8 is a partial perspective view of one means for joining the units r-oof sections;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the unit of this invention.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 it is to be noted that the unit 11 of this invention may be mounted on a pair of car t-op carrier bars 13. The manner in which the unit may be folded into a compact arrangement enables it to be mounted on the limited roof area of a hardtop sedan. If the unit is to be designed for a station wagon or other vehicle having a larger roof area the dimentions of the camper may be increased accordingly.

As shown in FIGURES 3 and 5, the car-top camper of this invention, when collapsed, has only two of its walls, 15 and 16, visible. These two endwalls approach each other in configuration and dimensions with the exception that wall 15 is slightly Wider in order to overlap a portion of wall 16.

Referring to FIGURES 1 through 5, the camper comprises a rectangular base 18 formed from a rigid material such as sheet aluminum. But for a few apparent exceptions, such as the windows, all of the other elements of the camper may be made of a similar material. Base 18 has two integral upright and opposed flanges 20 which extend along the full length of the base. Extending in hinged fashion from the top edges of these two flanges 20 are a pair of vertical and opposed sidewalls 21. These two sidewalls 21 are hinged to the flanges in order for them to be folded downwardly when the unit is collapsed. Piano hinges 23 will be adequate for supporting the sidewalls. As shown in FIGURE 4, each of the sidewalls comprises a pair of spaced right angle triangular sections 25 with their vertical side edges facing each other. This provides space between each of the two pairs of triangular sections for mounting a rectangular section 26 having a window 27, a small hand-size door 28 and a ventilator 29, if so desired. The window may be formed from a transparent plastic material or may ;be a screen, in which 3 case a metal storm barrier may be provided for it. It is, of course, to be understood that each of the sidewalls 21 may also be formed from a single sheet of material with appropriate cutouts for the windows. However, in order to provide for an access door, one of the sidewalls should include a door section 32 which is hinged along its upper horizontal edge (see FIGURE 6). A hinged drop-down step 24 may also be provided to facilitate entering the unit. A short, portable ladder 22 may be placed against one of the car bars 1 3 to allow easy entry into the unit.

Extending along the top of each sidewall 21 and mounted on sections 25 is an arcuate roof support 30. Each of these supports may be formed into a member with an upper curved surface 3-1 to support the roof to be yet described. A hole 38 may be placed in one or both of the supports to provide more ventilation. While these roof supports 30 may also be formed from sheet metal they may also be formed from a solid material such as wood. The main requisite is that the roof supports have upper arcuate surfaces 31 which are sufiiciently wide and long enough to provide support for the roof. Referring to FIGURE 7, arcuate surface 31 when formed from sheet metal has rolled edges 33 which eliminate an otherwise sharp surface as well as serving another purpose to be explained hereinafter. Since the two sidewalls 21 and roof supports 3t must be able to fold inwardly for storage into the rectangular base 18, it is essential that their overall height is slightly less than the width of the base.

The pair of

endwalls

15 and 16 are hinged by means such as piano hinges 34 to opposite ends of the base and on its. bottom panel. Each of the end walls may be described as an open-ended trough-like member inasmuch as each has a main panel 35, two fiat and opposed flange panels 36 and an end panel 37. The two fiange panels, at their open ends terminate with a slightly arcuate edge to conform with the surface 31 of the roof supports 30. Although the illustrated embodiment in FIGURES 15 shows one end panel 35 to be of a dilferent curvature when compared to the arcu-a-te panel 35 of the other endwall it is to be understood that they may be of like configuration. It is also tobe understood that they need not be arouate and may instead be flat. However, the arcuate surfaces add to the overall streamlined appearance of the camping unit in its collapsed form as well as providing additional space for placing personal items when the unit is in its erected form.

Each of the endwalls 15 and 16- is mounted in 'a straddling position over the base 18 in that their flange panels are adjacent to the exterior surfaces of the base flanges 20 thereby assuring a watertight unit. In addition, each of these endwalls may be of equal length and should be slightly less than the length of the base in order to fold into the base.

Roof 40 comprises two separate and like sections 41 hinged to the upper end of a

respective endwall

15 and 16. Each section 41 is bowed when erected to provide additional strength and to enable proper runoff of rain. The width of each roof section is such that it may be folded substantially flush against the inner surface of its associated endwall and the interior of the base. Referring to FIG. 4 it is to be observed that the transverse free edge of each roof, section 41 has a hook-like lip 43 extending along its width. These two lips may be locked with lips 45 of a locking strip 46 which also extends across the width of the roof 40. If desired, locking strip 46 may be an integral part of one of. the roof sections. Otherwise, a pair of wedge members 48 fixed to one of the roof sections 41. near each of its free ends may serve to maintain the locking strip 46 in its proper position.

Refer-ring to FIGURES 3 and where the camping unit is shown in its collapsed position, it can be seen that all of the

wall members

15, 16 and 21 and roof sections 41 fold into the base 18 with one of the endwalls 15 overlapping the other endwall 15 to. cooperate therewith and form a, cover for the collapsed unit. The various sections within

walls

15 and 16 are shown in a substantially horizontal position to illustrate how items such as a mattress can be stored between them and base 18. To maintain the unit in this collapsed form eyebolts 50 may be placed through the two roof sections and into the sidewall sections in the base at the four corners of the base. Attention is directed to the fact that none of the exterior surfaces of the unit come into contact with interior surfaces, thus eliminating soiling of clean surfaces.

To erect the unit the above mentioned eyebolts 50 are first unscrewed. The overlapping endwall 15 is raised upwardly about its pivot, carrying with it one of the hinged roof sections 41. The other endwall 16 is raised in a similar manner. With the two endwalls no longer laying on top of the two sidewalls 21 these walls 21 may be raised to a vertical position adjacent the inner surfaces of flanges 26 on the endwalls. With the four wall members in their raised positions the two roof sections 41 are raised away from their associated endwalls. Once the roof sections are raised, their lips 43 are engaged with the lips 45 of the locking strip 46. Pressure is exerted against the roof sections from inside the unit by the raising of the sidewalls 21 and their roof supports 30 to how the roof sections and assure positive engagement with the locking strip. The two arcuate roof supports 30 are now in contact with the outer portions of the bowed roof sections 4-1 to provide vertical support.

The locking strip 46 in addition to connecting the two roof sections also serves to maintain the two sidewalls in their upright positions. This is accomplished by the predetermined. dimensions of the roof sections which cause their lips 43 to exert a pulling force on the two lips 45 of the locking strip. This in turn effects a downward force on the roof support elements. To further increase the rigidity of the unit, eyebolts 50 may be placed through the upper four corners of the bases sidewalls and into the flanges 36 of the endwalls (FIG. 4). Likewise, eyebolts 5041 may be placed through the upper portions of sections 25 and into flanges 36. Consequently, it is impossible for the two endwalls 15 and 16 to be displaced from their slightly inclined erected positions. Additional locking means may be provided by the use of a latch 53 (FIG. 6) on one end of the roof locking strip 46 and which connects to a roof support 39. A latch may also be placed on the other end of the locking strip.

To assure a rainproof unit thin sealing strips of foam rubber or foamed plastic material may be cemented along the edges of the triangular sections 25 of the sidewalls 21 where they are overlapped by the sidewall flange panels 36. In addition, in order to prevent any rain leakage through the four corners of the unit where the roof sections, endwalls and sidewalls meet, adjustable sealing flaps 55 formed from aluminum or the like may be mounted within the rolled edges 31 on arcu ate surface 31 of the roof supports 30 as shown in FIGURE 7. After the unit is erected a person may adjust these sealing strips from inside to completely close all four corners. This adjustment is performed more easily by providing the levers 56 on the sealing flaps which may be grasped in order to slide the flaps the proper distance. Mounting screws (no-t visible) extend from the roof supports curved surfaces 31 into the groove 57 of each flap 55' to limit the travel of the flap. The flaps also serve to lock the flange panels 36 in their erected positions.

The unit is now ready to be used. As shown in FIG- URES 3 and 5, a sufiicient amount of space is preserved in the unit, even when collapsed, to easily store a flexible mattress. The mattress will extend to its full length as soon as the two endwalls 15 and 16 are erected. Thus, two persons may sleep parallel to the sidewalls. The larger arcuate end 37 on one of the endwalls may be used to keep some of the campers personal gear. Although the length of the unit, when collapsed may be approximately 56 inches, it grows to 73 inches when erected. This is achieved by positioning the endwall end panels 37 so that they serve as extensions of the base. Likewise, flange panels 36 are extensions of sidewalls 21. In such a manner the unit may be placed on the roof of a car having a relatively small area since portions of the unit, when erected, will overhang the car roof. The height of the unit when erected is 42 inches in the particular embodiment. When collapsed, it is 12 inches.

When the unit is erected it is structurally secure due to its interlocking features and eyebolts. These various support features complement each other-the unit is not wholly dependent on any one element. Thus, a roof section 41 may be naised and swung backwards against its

connected wall

15 or 16 if a sky light roof is desired. A netting may be draped over the area that is normally covered by roof section 41.

The second embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 9 shows how the previously mentioned storage space may be increased. The height of the base flanges 20 may be increased. A jointed hinge coupling 63 is pivotally attached at one end to the endwall flange panel 36* and at the other end to the base flange 20. When the unit is collapsed the endwalls 15 and 16 still fully cover base 18 and base flanges 20. The increased height of flanges 20 enables a number of pull-out drawers 65 to added for storing luggage, ladder 22 and other supplies. Access may be had to the drawers without erecting the unit. The four jointed hinge couplings 63 enable the endwalls 15 and 16 to be vertically raised several inches in their horizontal position, thereby providing clearance for pulling out the drawers. The

walls

15 and 16 may be kept in this position by placing eyebolts 50 through flange panels 36 and holes 67 in base flanges 20. In such an arrangement a second base panel not visible may be laid above the drawers to support the mattress.

Also shown in this second embodiment is a strengthening strip 69 which extends across the width of panel 35. This strip reinforces panel 35. In addition, the strip acts as a seal between

walls

15 and 16 when they I316 collapsed over each other. This seal is desirable since it prevents rain from entering the unit during transit on the top of a car. The strip may also be included in the first embodiment of its invention.

Although only two embodiments of this invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A collapsible car-top camper having six basic surfaces comprising: a base, a roof, two opposed endwalls and two opposed sidewalls, all of said surfaces being formed from a substantially rigid material; each of said endwalls comprising a main rectangular panel with an open end and a closed end hinged on said base and flanked on two opposed edges by a pair of flanges; each of said sidewalls being hinged to said base and having an arcuate roof support with end portions extending to substantially the length of said base; a pair of roofed sections hinged at one edge on the open end of each of said endwalls with means on their opposite edges for securing them together; said sidewalls and said endwalls being in partial overlapping relationship with each other and in abutment with said roof when erected, said endwalls when collapsed having their open ends overlapping each other to fully cover said base, said roof sections and said sidewalls lying within the confines of said collapsed endwalls.

2. A collapsible car-top camper according to claim 1 in which each of said endwalls is hinged to said base at its closed end on a line farthest spaced from said main rectangular panel whereby said closed ends form an extension of said base upon erection of said endwalls.

3. A collapsible car-top camper according to claim 2 in which each of said endwalls slightly exceeds the Width of said base and one of said endwalls exceeds the width on the other endwall whereby the endwalls are in overlapping and nestled positions when collapsed parallel with said base.

4. A collapsible car-top camper according to claim 3 in which each of said sidewalls is hinged to said base on a flange extending the length of said base whereby said sidewalls may be collapsed parallel with said base to provide storage space therebetween.

5. A collapsible car-top camper according to claim 4 in which said endwalls converge and straddle portions of said base flanges and said arcuate roof supports.

6. A collapsible car-top camper according to claim 5 in which said pair of roof sections are outwardly bowed and butted flush with said arcuate roof supports when fully secured together.

7. A collapsible oar-top camper according to claim 6 in which said means for securing the edges of said roof sections together comprises a rigid channel strip having two lips facing each other engageable with respective lips on said roof sections.

8. A collapsible car-top camper according to claim 1 in which said endwalls are hinged to said base by a jointed hinge coupling providing upward movement of said end walls.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,567,516 9/1951 Jones 52-66 3,062,579 11/ 1962 Smith 296-Z3 3,168,343 2/ 1965 Marcel 296-27 FOREIGN PATENTS 530,648 1954 Belgium. 1,080,320 1954 France. 1,006,279 1957 Germany.

818,630 1959 Great Britain.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. STENZEL, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A COLLAPSIBLE CAR-TOP CAMPER HAVING SIX BASIC SURFACES COMPRISING: A BASE, A ROOF, TWO OPPOSED ENDWALLS AND TWO OPPOSED SIDEWALLS, ALL OF SAID SURFACES BEING FORMED FROM A SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MATERIAL; EACH OF SAID ENDWALLS COMPRISING A MAIN RECTANGULAR PANEL WITH AN OPEN END AND A CLOSED END HINGED ON SAID BASE AND FLANKED ON TWO OPPOSED EDGES BY A PAIR OF FLANGES; EACH OF SAID SIDEWALLS BEING HINGED TO SAID BASE AND HAVING AN ARCUATE ROOF SUPPORT WITH END PORTION EXTENDING TO SUBSTANTIALLY THE LENGTH OF SAID BASE; A PAIR OF ROOFED SECTIONS HINGED AT ONE EDGE ON THE OPEN END OF EACH OF SAID ENDWALLS WITH MEANS ON THEIR OPPOSITE EDGES FOR SECURING THEM TOGETHER; SAID SIDEWALLS AND SAID ENDWALLS BEING IN PARTIAL OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER AND IN ABUTMENT WITH SAID ROOF WHEN ERECTED, SAID ENDWALLS WHEN COLLAPSED HAVING THEIR OPEN ENDS OVERLAPPING EACH OTHER TO FULLY COVER SAID BASE, SAID ROOF SECTIONS AND SAID SIDEWALLS LYING WITHIN THE CONFINES OF SAID COLLAPSED ENDWALLS.