US3499175A - Portable compartment - Google Patents

Description

March l0, 1970 R. E. oRBERG PORTABLE COMPABTMENT 5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5,V 1968 4o l .v\."\/ENTOR. ROBERT E; ORBERG FIC5.2

March l0, 1970 R. E. oRBERG PORTABLE COMPARTMENT Filed Jan. s, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROBERT E. ORBERG March l0, 1970 R. E. ORBERG 3,499,175

PORTABLE COMPARTMENT Filed Jan- 3. 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 `"Hf/9s FIG 8 INVENTOR. ROBERT E. ORBERG lay/mh n@ March 10, 1970 R. E. oRBERG 3,499,175

PORTABLE COMPARTMENT Filed Jan. 3. 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 q- INVENTOR. l; l ROBERT EORBERG BY M FIG 9 W am R. E. ORBERG PORTABLE COMPARTMENT S Sheets-Sheeft 5 INVENTOR.

ROBERT E. ORBERG FIG 13 March l0, 1970 Flled Jan. 5, 1968 United States Patent O 3,499,175 PORTABLE COMPARTMENT Robert E. Orberg, 275 SW. 33rd St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33315 Filed Jan. 3, 1968, Ser. No. 695,373 Int. Cl. A47c 29/00; A47g 9/08; B60p 3/ 32 U.S. Cl. -113 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable compartment useful as a car top sleeper and having hinged upper and lower shells, a mattress in the lower shell on which a person or persons may sleep, a curtain attached to frames extending about the sides of the shells, and a telescoping prop having a biasing spring therein and insertable in brackets on the shells to hold the shells open and keep the curtain taut despite any dimensional changes therein. The prop may be used to open the shells. The curtain and shells form a compartment when the shells are open, and the curtain has a doorap and also window aps. Among other features are a seal for making the sleeper water tight when closed, a beveled mattress for allowing the curtain to fold inwardly upon closing the shells, a tapered frame to match slanting shell walls, fabric type zippers for the window iiaps, and an awning for forming a shelter adjacent the sleeper. The portable compartment may also -be used as a portable stateroom for a boat, a beach Cabana and dressing room, a life raft for a boat, a luggage carrier or a salesmans sample carrier.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Car top sleepers which have been proposed previously have been bulky and complicated, and have been difcult to set up for sleeping use. For example, some'proposed sleepers have had a lower shell and an upper shell, and the upper shell has been raised to a position above and parallel to the lower shell to set up the slee-per for use. Raising of the upper shell is awkward, time consuming and considerable manipulation is involved in bracing the upper shell to hold it up. It has been proposed to use shells hinged at one end which may be propped open at the other end, but it has been necessary to open the shells manually and then insert props inside the shells, a procedure which is also difficult and slow because of the amount of manipulation required. Props have typically been xed in length and do not allow for dimensional variations of curtains forming sides of the sleeper when open, such dimensional variations sometimes occurring from sleeper to sleeper or in a given curtain due to expansion and contraction. Known sleepers have not been sealed when closed, have been made of materials too likely to wear, have not opened and closed easily and have been too expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A portable compartment is now proposed which includes upper and lower shells hinged together at one end thereof, brackets on the outside of the shells at the other end thereof, and a telescoping prop which may be inserted in the upper bracket, pushed to swing the upper shell open, and then inserted in the lower bracket to hold the shells open. Where the compartment is used as a sleeper, a curtain is attached to frames extending around the inside of the respective shells, and is held taut by the spring biased prop when the shells are propped open, the prop being variable in length due to the telescoping nature thereof to compensate for dimensional variations from curtain to curtain or dimensional varia- Patented Mar. 10, 1970 ACC tions caused by expansion and contraction of the curtain. The sleeper can be set up in fifteen seconds or less. One of the frames has a slot extending longitudinally all the way around the respective shell, and a sealing strip is anchored in this slot and has a bead which engages the other frame when the shells are closed to seal the shells for making the sleeper water tight. The curtain may be made of vinyl impregnated polyester -material which is water resistant and resists wear, and the shells may be made of fiber glass, aluminum or steel such that they are light, water resistant and durable. The sleeper weighs no more than pounds. The curtain has a door flap and also window flaps, and these flaps may be easily opened and closed by means of double handle zippers. The mattress, which fits in the lower shell, may be of foam rubber, and may have a beveled portion at the top edge thereof for facilitating folding of the curtain inwardly of the shells upon closing of the shells. The side `walls of the shells slant outwardly so that the molds for making the shells can have a draft to facilitate removal of the shell from the mold, and the frames are tapered to conform to the slanting walls so that the confronting surfaces of the frames are horizontal and parallel to each other to facilitate sealing. The prop may have a detent device for preventing the telescoping members thereof from coming apart, and the prop may have cross arms at opposite ends thereof to t into U-shaped brackets on the shells. An awning for forming a shelter adjacent the sleeper may be attached to the sleeper by means of a C-shaped rail ai'lixed to the lower shell, a loop at one side of the awning and `a rod extending through the loop which anchors the loop inside the C- shaped rail. Auxiliary props may be placed inside the awning, if desired to supplement the telescoping prop in case it is removed by vandals or the like. The portable compartment has several other uses as noted above.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved portable compartment which can be opened easily and quickly by the use of a prop.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable compartment with a telescoping prop including two members biased apart by a spring so that when the compartment is open the prop will hold a curtain of the compartment taut.

Another object of the invention is to provide a car top sleeper with iiber glass shells having slanting sides to facilitate removal of the shells from molds, and tapered frames conforming to the slanting walls, and having parallel surfaces confronting each other to facilitate sealing of the shells.

A further object is to provide one of the frames with a slot in which a sealing strip s received, the strip having a bead portion for engaging the other frame to provide a seal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable compartment lwith a mattress therein for sleeping purposes, lbut from which the mattress may be removed to convert the compartment to a luggage carrier, a sample carrier, or even a life raft for a boat as will be explained.

Among the other objects of the invention are to facilitate folding of the curtain of the sleeper inwardly of the shells upon closing 0f the shells, to provide window flaps and a door flap of the curtain with suitable zippers, to provide an awning for forming a shelter adjacent the sleeper and to make the sleeper as rugged and durable as possible and yet simple Vand economical.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

On the drawings FIGURE l is an elevational view showing hinged upper and lower shells of a sleeper, the upper shell being shown with full lines in a lowered position, and being shown with dashed lines in a raised position;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the sleeper partly broken away to reveal the inside of the sleeper;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the sleeper taken along line 3--3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the sleeper taken along line 4 4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view of the sleeper showing changed positions for the upper shell of the sleeper due to dimensional variations of the curtain; these changed positions being accommodated by a telescoping Prop;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational end view of the sleeper;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 shows a fabric type fastener for a window flap of the curtain of the sleeper;

FIGURE 9 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of the telescoping prop for the sleeper;

FIGURE l() is a perspective view showing the sleeper on top of a car and also showing an awning extending out from one side of the sleeper to form a shelter;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the sleeper showing how the awning is fastened to the lower shell of the sleeper;

FIGURE 12 shows the compartment converted for use as a luggage carrier or sample carrier; and

FIGURE 13 shows the compartment converted for use as a life raft for a boat.

The sleeper, designated generally as 20, includes a lower shell and an upper shell 2-4 being shown in FIG- URE 1 with solid lines in a closed position and with dashed lines in a raised position at an acute angle to the lower shell. The shells are joined together at one end thereof by a piano-type hinge 26 which extends the full width of the shells and is aliixed respectively to the upper and lower shells. Referring to FIGURES 3 and 4, the lower shell 22 has a bottom wall 28 and upwardly extending side walls 30 which are open at their top edge, and the upper shell 24 has a top wall 32 and downwardly extending side walls 34 which are open at their bottom edge. The top and bottom walls 24 and 22 may have raised ribs 36 for decorative and strengthening purposes. The shells 22 and 24 are of the same size so that with the upper shell 24 resting on the lower shell 22 as shown in FIGUR-ES 3 and 4, the shells form an internal chamber 38. The shells may be mounted on supports 40 provided on the roof 42 of a car, and the bottom shell 22 may be fastened to the supports 40l by bolts 44, nuts 46 and washers 48 as shown in FIGURE 3.

The side walls 30 of the lower shell and the side walls 34 of the upper shell slant outwardly as shown, and this makes it possible to mold the shells with molds having a slight draft to facilitate removal of the shells from the molds. Around the inside top edge of side wall 30 is a wooden frame S0, and around the inside bottom edge of side wall 34 is another wooden frame 52, these frames extending all the way around the shells and being affixed respectively to walls 30 and 34. The frames 50 and 52 may be glued or adhesively attached to walls 30 and 34, and where the shells are made of iiberglass, this may be accomplished by gluing with a mixture of fiberglass resin, asbestos and catalyst. Frames S0 and 52 are tapered in thickness so that one side 54 slants at the same angle as walls 30 and 34 so that the frames match the side walls. In this manner the frames are provided with parallel confronting surfaces 56 which can be sealed conveniently.

As shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 7 (best seen in FIG. 7) the upper frame 52 is provided with a longitudinal slot 58 which extends longitudinally -all the way around the frame. A sealing strip 60 is received in this slot and anchored by screws 62, and strip 60A has a bead portion 64 projecting downward from the frame which engages the upper surface 56 of the lower frame 50 when the shells are closed as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The sealing strip 60 may be made of neoprene' or other suitable resilient material so that it will effectively seal the sleeper and make it water tight when the shells are closed.

Inside the lower shell 22 is a mattress 66 which may be made of foam rubber, and on which a person or persons can sleep. The sleeper is ordinarily designed to sleep two adults or three or four children depending on their size. A pillow 68 may be provided if desired.

A liexible curtain '70 is attached both to the lower frame 50 and to the upper frame 52 such that when the shells are open, the curtain 70 and the shells form a compartment. The curtain 70 is preferably made of vinyl impregnated polyester material (for instance, that sold under the trademark Dacron) and is light, water resilient, iieXible and very durable. The edges of curtain 70 may be fastened to frames 50 and S2 with metal strips 72 and 74 and screws 62 (see particularly FIG. 7). The lower edge of curtain 70 may be glued to frame 50 to assure a water tight joint, and the fiber glass mixture mentioned previously may be used as the glue. Another metal strip 76, serving as a trim strip, may be attached to the top edge of frame 50 and a like strip 78 may be attached to the bottom of frame 52 as shown in FIG. 7.

The curtain 70 may be cut at 80 (FIG. 5) to form a door iiap 82 which may be rolled up to provide an opening through which a person may enter the sleeper. A standard zipper 84 is sewn along cut `80 to allow the door iiap 82 to Ibe closed. The slide of the zipper may have handles on the inside and the outside of the curtain so that tlap 82 may be opened or closed from either the inside or the outside of the curtain. Windows 86 and 88 (FIGS. 5 and 6) may be provided in the sides of the curtain, and these windows are a flexible woven fabric which can be seen through and which will admit air into the sleeper. Referring to FIGURE 8, the window fabric at 88 may be covered by a flap 90, and a fabric type hooking zipper may be used to secure the iiap over the window. A tape 92 with fabric loops is secured around window I88 on the inside of the curtain, and a tape 94 of fabric hooks is sewn around the boundary of the liap 90, the hooked material and the looped material sticking together when the flap is closed. Such fasteners are available under the trademark Velcro At the ends of the shells opposite the hinge 26, a pair of brackets 96 and 98 are aiiixed to the lower and upper shells respectively as by means of bolts 100 and nuts 102 as shown in FIGURE 7. The brackets 96 and 98 are U-shaped with their open sides facing each other. A prop 104 is inserted at both of its ends into the brackets 96 and 98 and serves to hold the shells 22 and 24 open. Referring to FIGURE 9, prop 104 includes a first tube 106 having a stop 108 inside it at one end thereof and having an open end 110. A coil Spring 112 is provided inside tube 106 with one of its ends abutting against stop 108. A pole 114 is received within tube 106, and pole 114 may also be a tubular member. Pole 114 abuts against spring 112 so that it can be biased thereby, and is movable relative to tube 106. Pole 114 has a cross arm 116 at its upper end, and tube 106 has a cross arm 118 at its lower end. Thus, the prop 104 is a telescoping prop which will change its length depending upon the amount of force applied to its ends.

The prop 104 can be used very conveniently to push the upper shell 24 open and then hold it open. To accomplish this, cross arm 116 is inserted in upper bracket 98 (the shells being closed) and the cross arm 118 is held by the person opening the shells. The prop 104 is pushed upwardly to raise shell 24 until the curtain 70 becomes taut and stops the upper shell. Further pressure is applied to cross arm 118 to move pole 114 into tube 106 against the pressure of coil spring 112. When the prop 104 has reached the right length, the cross arm 118 is inserted into bracket 96, and the prop will then hold the shells open in the manner illustrated for example in FIGURE 7. The size of curtain 70 may vary slightly from sleeper to sleeper due to dimensional tolerances, but the telescoping prop easily adjusts to such variations. Similarly, the curtain 70 may expand or contract slightly with usage, and the prop 104 also adjusts to these variations. As shown in FIGURE 5, the upper shell 24 may start out in position shown with solid lines, but due to shrinkage of curtain 70, shell 24 may change its position to that shown with dashed lines. The prop 104 simply shortens itself by telescoping movement to accommodate such changes.

Since it is possible to remove prop 104 from the outside of the sleeper, and since it is conceivable that vandals or others might remove the prop when someone is in the sleeper, auxiliary props 120 and 122 may be provided inside the curtain 70 to assure that the upper shell 24 will not fall down. Props 120 and 122 may be telescoping and are put in place only after prop 104 is in place. Thus, there is no difficult manipulation involved in putting any of the props in place.

FIGURES and 1l illustrate another feature of the sleeper. Sleeper 20 is mounted on top of car 124 in FIG- URE 10. An awning 126 is attached to the side of the lower shell 22, extends upwardly over tent poles 128 and outwardly over additional tent poles 130. Poles 128 and 130 are tied to stakes 132. Thus, awning 126 forms a shelter adjacent sleeper 20. FIGURE l1 shows how awning 126 is attached to shell 122 of the sleeper. A C- shaped rail 134 is affixed to shell 22 and frame 50 by means of screws 136 extending through a base 138 of the rail. Awning 126 is provided with a roof 140 at one edge thereof, and a rod 142 extends through roof 140. Rod 142 and roof 140 extend through C-shaped rail 134, and thus anchor awning 126 to shell 22.

In closing shell 24, it is desirable to have the curtam 70 fold inwardly into the sleeper. To encourage this, the top edge of mattress 66 is beveled at 144 as seen most clearly in FIG. 1l. Thus, the curtain tends to fold 1nwardly upon closing the shells. When the shells are closed, compression fasteners 146 of the type used on luggage may be clamped to urge the shells together, thus compressing seal bead 64 and assuring that a tight seal 1s provided all around the shells.

Although the compartment has been illustrated 1n FIGS. 1-11 as being mounted on the top of a car to provide a car top sleeper, it will be understood that the compartment could be mounted on the bed of a truck, such as a pickup truck, or even on a boat to provide a portable stateroom.

FIGURE 12 shows the compartment converted for use as a luggage carrier or sample carrier. In this embodiment, the mattress is removed from the lower shell 22 and luggage or sample cases 150 is stored in the lower shell. A curtain is optional for this use. If a curtain is provided, the compartment can easily'be changed into a sleeper by merely putting a mattress 1n 1t.

FIGURE 13 shows a compartment converted into a life raft for a boat. The compartment is made the same way as illustrated in FIGURES l to ll, but the mattress is removed and blocks 154 of Styrofoam are placed 1nside the shells 22 and 24 to assure that the compartment will iloat. Also, hand rails or suitable handles 156 are attached to the sides of the compartment, and people in the water alongside of the oating compartment can hang on to the handles.

Thus, the invention provides a simple, durable and economical portable compartment Awhich may be set up for use with only a minimum of manipulation. The compartment can be set up in seconds or less. All that is required is to insert the prop in the upper bracket, push the top shell open with the prop, and insert the prop in the lower bracket. The self-biased telescoping prop urges the shells apart so that the curtain is kept taut, but will change length to accommodate any dimensional changes of the curtain. Even with the compartment open, the vehicle on which it is mounted can be driven at speeds up to 30 miles per hour. No license or extra insurance is required for the compartment. A number of features are provided in the compartment which make it practical and easy to use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A portable compartment including in combination a one-piece lower shell having a bottom wall and upwardly extending side walls open at the top thereof, a one-piece upper shell having a top wall and downwardly extending side walls open at the bottom thereof, said shells being approximately of the same size so that with said upper shell resting on said lower shell said shells form a closed chamber, hinge means pivotally joining said shells together at one end thereof allowing said upper shell to be swung upwardly to an open position wherein said upper shell is at an acute angle to said lower shell, a mattress in said lower shell on which a person or persons can sleep, a first frame extending about the side Walls of said lower shell at the top inside edge thereof, a second frame extending about the side walls of said upper shell at the bottom inside edge thereof, said frames being aixed to said shells and having parallel confronting surfaces, one of said frames having a slot therein extending the full length thereof, a resilient sealing strip received and anchored in said slot of said one frame and having a bead portion engageable with the other frame for sealing said chamber when said shells are closed, a curtain of exible material affixed to said first and second frames to form a compartment when said upper shell is in said open position, bracket means affixed to each of said shells at the ends thereof opposite said hinged ends, and a prop insertable in said bracket means for holding said shells open, said prop comprising a tubular member having a coil spring therein abutting against a stop in said tubular member, and a` pole received telescopically in said tubular member and abutting against one end of said spring so that said prop telescopes when inserted into said brackets and urges said shells apart keeping said curtain taut.

2. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 1 in which said hinge means comprises a piano type hinge extending the full width of said shells at said one end thereof.

3. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 1 in which said curtain has a first ap portion cut from the remainder thereof and openable to provide an opening for entering said compartment, said flap being closable by zipper means.

4. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 3 in which said curtain has further ap portions cut therefrom for forming window openings and fabric screening in said Window openings, said curtain and said further aps having fabric hooking type fasteners at boundaries thereof for retaining said further flaps in a closed position.

5. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 1 in which said mattress has an inwardly beveled portion at the top edge thereof for facilitating folding of said curtain inwardly of said shells upon closing of said shells.

6. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 1 in which said side walls of said upper and lower shells have an outward slant to facilitate removal thereof from molds, and said frames being tapered to conform to said slant so that the confronting surfaces thereof are horizontal and parallel to each other.

7. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 1 in which said tubular member of said prop has an opening therein at a portion thereof receiving said pole, and said pole is also tubular and has a movable detent extending through the wall thereof to engage with said opening to prevent said tubular member and said pole from coming 7 apart, and a spring in said tubular pole urging said detent outwardly.

8. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 7 in which said pole and said tubular member each have a cross-arm at the free end thereof to t in said bracket means.

9. The portable compartment as claimed in claim 8 in which said bracket means are U-shaped with the open sides thereof facing each other.

10. The portable compartment as claimed in claim 1 including a Cshaped rail extending along one side of said lower shell and ailxed thereto, an awning stretchable from said rail over stakes to provide a shelter adjacent said sleeper, said awning having a loop at one side thereof, and a rod extending through said loop with said rod and loop both extending through said @shaped rail to anchor said awning to said sleeper.

11. A portable compartment including in combination, a one-piece lower shell and a one-piece upper shell hinged together by hinge means at one end thereof, means vfor providing a seal between said shells, a ilexible curtain axed to said shells to form a compartment when said shells are open, said curtain being of a size to allow said upper shell to be raised until it is at an acute angle with respect to said lower shell whereupon said curtain becomes taut, support means affixed to each of said shells at the ends thereof opposite said hinge means and available on the outside of said shells, and a telescoping prop insertable in said support means to raise said upper shell and to hold said upper shell open, said prop comprising a tubular member having a coil spring therein and a pole received telescopically in said tubular member and projecting therefrom with said pole being urged outwardly by said spring when forced into said tubular member, said shells being operable by inserting one end of said prop into the support means on the upper shell and pushing upwardly with said prop, said prop telescoing when said curtain becomes taut to allow the other end of said prop to be inserted in the support means on the lower shell, and said prop maintaining said curtain taut as a result of the biasing action of said spring when said prop has been inserted into both of said support means.

12. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 11 and further including a mattress in said lower shell on which a person or persons can sleep.

13. A portable compartment as claimed in claim 11 and further including blocks of Styrofoam in said lower shell aiding the buoyancy of said compartment, and handles axed to the outside of one of said shells to be grasped by persons in the event said compartment is utilized as a life raft.

6/1966 Weizer 5-119 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 5--119; 13S-5.3

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