US3574389A

US3574389A - Collapsible caravans

Info

Publication number: US3574389A
Application number: US775432A
Authority: US
Inventors: Johannes Martinus Smit; Donald Dallaway Deary
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-11-20
Filing date: 1968-11-13
Publication date: 1971-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 1988-04-13

Abstract

To facilitate erection, the collapsible caravans comprise rigidly paneled sidewalls, end walls and roof, in which walls are divided into two or more separable parts by divisions which in the erected state extend uprightly and in which the roof is correspondingly divided by divisions essentially forming continuations of the wall divisions. The divisions in the roof may be slightly offset in the longitudinal direction with relation to the corresponding divisions in the walls. Erection or collapsing proceeds sectionwise.

Description

Unite tates tet Johannes Martinus Smith 8 Rust-en-Vrede;

Donald Dallaway Deary, 31 Riverside, Pinelands, Cape, Republic of South Africa Nov. 13, 1968 Apr. 13, 1971 Nov. 20, 1967 Republic of South Africa Inventors App]. No. Filed Patented Priority COLLAPSIBLE CARAVANS 8 Claims, 17 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 296/27,

52/66 Int. Cl G60p 3/34 Field of Search 296/23, 26,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,075 8/1954 Stewer 296/236 2,837,778 6/1958 Kern 52/66 3,097,013 7/l 963 Mussler 296/27 Primary Examiner-Philip Goodman Attorney-Peter J. Gaylor ABSTRACT: To facilitate erection, the collapsible caravans comprise rigidly paneled sidewalls, end walls and roof, in which walls are divided into two or more separable parts by divisions which in the erected state extend uprightly and in which the roof is correspondingly divided by divisions essentially forming continuations of the wall divisions. The divisions in the roof may be slightly offset in the longitudinal direction with relation to the corresponding divisions in the walls. Erection or collapsing proceeds sectionwise.

PATENIED APR 1 3 IQYI SHEET 1 OF 3 INVENTOR.

PATENTEU m1 3 m1 SHEET 2 OF 3 l /G, l2

INVENTOR.

PATENTEDAPRHIQH v3.574.389 sum 3 or 3 I 57 18 2,6) FIG. 15 j/ INVENTOR.

COLLAPSIBLE CARAVANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention concerns improvements relating to collapsible caravans, that is caravans made of rigid panels which may be collapsed by folding and/or dismantling or other operations to a lower overall height, particularly for the purpose of towing the caravan.

The advantages of collapsible caravans have been well appreciated, and considerable patenting and manufacturing in this field have advanced the knowledge in the art to the extent that collapsible caravans are fast becoming a popular commodity and are competing with conventional caravans.

However, heretofore the collapsing and erecting procedure of such caravans has remained a cumbersome procedure in one respect or another with the result that collapsible caravans have generally been made comparatively smaller than the competitive conventional caravan. This has been due to the fact that increasing the size of collapsible caravans causes increases in the difficulty or cumbersomeness of collapsing or erection to such a degree that the advantages of the collapsible caravan begin to be cancelled or at least seriously detracted from.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A collapsible caravan in accordance with this invention comprises a wheeled caravan base adapted to be towed and a collapsible caravan superstructure comprising sidewalls, end walls and roof, adapted to be erected and collapsed, in which walls are divided into separable parts by divisions which in the erected state extend uprightly, and in which the roof is correspondingly divided into roof parts by divisions essentially coterminous with such wall divisions.

The term upright" herein used in relation to divisions includes any division extending from the lower edge to upper edge of a wall or wall part or portion.

A collapsible caravan in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention comprises a wheeled caravan base adapted to be towed and a collapsible caravan superstructure comprising sidewalls, end walls and roof, which may be erected and collapsed, in which the lengths of the sidewalls and the roof are each divided into two separable parts by divisions which in the erected state extend uprightly and across the caravan respectively.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention the caravan base comprises a floor with permanently and rigidly attached wall-base-portions which extend to a limited height of the caravan walls. Preferably the walls are erectable and collapsible by being hingedly attached to the wall-base-portions of the caravan base with the roof parts raisable from a position in which they fit over the caravan base to a position in which they fit over the tops of the erected walls.

A method of erecting a collapsible caravan in accordance with this invention comprises erecting one wall part of the caravan while erecting one corresponding roof part of the caravan so as to temporarily rest the corresponding roof part on the erected wall part, erecting the opposite wall part while erecting that side of the same corresponding roof part and then resting the erected roof part on the two opposite erected wall parts, and then erecting further corresponding wall parts and roof parts of the caravan in a similar manner until the entire caravan has been erected, and finally erecting remaining walls to complete erection of the caravan.

The caravan as claimed herein may however, be erected by any other method which is suitable and with the aid of any suitable means as are known in the art.

It is one particular object of this invention to provide a collapsible caravan which may be made in unusually large sizes without the disadvantage of collapsing and erecting which were attendant on collapsible caravans proposed up to now.

It will be clear that the invention may be applied to collapsible caravans of many different types, but in order to describe the invention more fully, preferred embodiments thereof will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate in perspective view by simplified schematic drawing a method of folding a collapsible caravan in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

In FIG. 1 showing the first step of erection;

In FIG. 2 showing the second step of erection;

In FIG. 3 showing the third step of erection;

In FIG. 4 showing the final stage of the completely erected caravan;

FIGS. 5 to 10 illustrate schematically cross-sectional views of joints between adjacent panels of a caravan as illustrated in the preceding FIGS. of various types and in accordance with various preferred embodiments;

FIGS. 11 to 1'7 illustrate various features and arrangements of construction of a caravan in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; I

In FIG. ll. schematically in side view of joints between roof panels and sidewall panels, (of view XI of FIG. 4);

.In FIG. 12 in schematic side view similar to that of FIG. 11 but in this case with the roof panels lowered and the wall panels folded down both onto the base of the caravan;

In FIG. I3 on partial side section (on XIII-XIII of FIG. 4) the arrangement of the end walls, roof and caravan base connections and ceilings in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

In FIG. I4 in sectional part plan view (on section XIV-XIV of FIG. l3) the construction illustrated in FIG. 13;

In FIG. 15 in part sectional end view (on section XV-XV of FIG. 14) the construction illustrated in the preceding two FIGS. but this time with the sidewall panels folded down and the roof member lowered onto the base of the caravan;

In FIG. 16 in part end view a caravan as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 but with the roof and walls lowered and folded onto the caravan base, illustrating constructional features in accordance with a further preferred embodiment of the invention; and

In FIG. 17 in schematic part end view a caravan roof in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to FIGS. 1 to 4 the method of erecting a caravan in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention may be described with reference thereto;

As shown in FIG. 1 the caravan comprises a caravan base 1 which is in the form of a floor and chassis and wall part members extending rigidly and permanently from the caravan floor for part of the wall height of the caravan when erected; two

roof part members

2 and 3 are divided into two longitudinally separable parts by a transverse division and upright divisions, as are the sidewalls by upright divisions providing four

sidewall parts

4, 5, 6 and 7 (see also later FIGS).

End walls

8 and 9 are in one piece each, and all walls are foldable down into or onto the caravan base I or erectable on hinges pivoting on the lines 10 between the caravan base 1 and the

walls

4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 or 9 as the case may be. The first step of erecting the caravan comprises in raising one roof member 3 and one side of the caravan and erecting one sidewall part 4 underneath the raised roof side, using if desired the handle 11 provided. The sidewall part 4 is raised until its upper edge engages with the underside edge of the roof part 3 so that the roof part 3 may rest on the sidewall part 4. (see FIG. I).

Lifting handles 11a are provided on the sides 3a of the roof part 3 and on the sides 2a of the roof part 2 to assist in lifting the roof parts.

The second stage of erection as shown in FIG. 2 comprises lifting the opposite side of the roof wall part 3 and erecting the opposite sidewall part 5, similarly resting the raised roof part 3 on the upper edge of the erected sidewall part 5. In order to retain these

erected sidewalls

4 and 5 and roof 3 in position without collapsing in either direction to one side or the other anchor ropes or cables 12 are attached by means of removable clips near to the upper edge of the

sidewalls

5 and 4 and to the floor of the caravan and which brace the raised and erected parts in their position.

Any other sort of supporting members or arms or limited movement hinges of sufficient robustness or other means as may be devised couldbe used for this purpose of temporarily supporting the sidewall parts in their erected positions until erection is completed.

The third stage of erection as illustrated in FIG. 3 comprises raising one side of the second roof part 2 and erecting the third sidewall part 6 of the same side of the caravan so as to be able to rest the raised side of the roof part 2 of the upper edge of the sidewall part 6 as before.

The fourth stage of erection as illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises raising the other side of the second roof part 2 and erecting the fourth sidewall part '7 as before and then raising the

end walls

8 and 9 to complete the erection of the caravan. As shown in FIG. 4 the sidewalls and roof of the caravan are divided longitudinally into two separate parts by upright and transverse divisions 13. The

end walls

8 and 9 fold up between the erected sidewall parts and when in the erected position and secured they support the sidewalls in their erected positions and in fact the whole erected caravan becomes a rigid box structure locked together by suitable fastening means. (Ropes 12 may be then removed.)

The means of providing a waterproof seal at the joints 13 in particular and also at the various horizontal joints in the caravan when erected and when folded down will now be described with relation to the following FIGS. in which joints in accordance with various preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated as well as features of construction and arrangement in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention.

In FIG. 5 a joint is illustrated which may be suitable for the transverse joint between two

roof parts

2 and 3. The joint comprises a downwardly directed channel member M which is rigidly and permanently attached to the roof part 3 and would preferably overlap from the edge thereof to some extent as illustrated. The roof part 2 is provided with an upwardly directed flange or web 16 permanently and rigidly attached to it in a position corresponding with the channel of the channel-shaped member 14 when both

roof parts

3 and 2 are in their erected positions. A rubber seal or seals could be provided at positions 15 or elsewhere as desired or required in order to prevent or minimize water leakage due to windblown raindrops'or water and to prevent draughts. In use the roof part 3 must necessarily be raised first and the roof part 2 raised afterwards so that the upwardly directed web 16 may rise into engagement with downward directed channel 14.

The

sections

14 and 16 should preferably extend over or beyond the sides of the cover strips 34 so that water running thereoff tends to run or drip past the side strips 34.

In FIG. 6 a means for providing a joint along the transverse position between

roof parts

2 and 3 which is functionally similar to that shown in the previous FIG. comprises an upwardly directed channel member 18 permanently and rigidly attached to the roof member 2 and downwardly directed coacting channel 17 permanently and rigidly connected to the roof part 3. These provide a flush joint which will act in the same way as shown in the previous FIG, it being necessary here again to first raise the roof part 3 and thereafter to raise the roof part 2. Sealing rubbers may again be applied as desired or required for the aforementioned purposes, especially sealing draughts.

These means for joints may be provided only along the transverse horizontal divisions between

roof parts

2 and 3 or alternatively both along the horizontal division and along the upright divisions coextensively as a web between the

roof parts

2 and 3, in the case where the

roof parts

2 and 3 have

upright portions

2a and 3a respectively on each side forming parts of the sidewallss full height.

In FIG. 7 a further variation of a waterproof joint suitable for the transverse division between the

roof parts

2 and 3 is illustrated being substantially similar to that shown in the previous FIG., with in this case the addition of external flat strips (which may be integral with the channel members) 19 and 20 respectively rigidly and permanently attached to the

roof parts

2 and 3. These flat strips may improve the joint and may be useful for providing substantial rubber sealing areas. Such a joint could be adapted in cases where the joints shown previously were not entirely satisfactory.

All of the joints shown in the preceding FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 could also be employed for upright joints or for any other joints as desired or required and if suitable from the point of view of possibility of erection, but the joints shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 following while adaptable to providing joints for transverse divisions and other horizontal divisions are primarily contemplated for use in joining upright divisions between the sidewalls for example. As shown in FIG. 8 a simple joint comprises two

flat plates

21 and 22 respectively permanently and rigidly attached to the

sidewall members

4 and 5 with the inside of the caravan being taken as below the section in these illustrations. This would then allow the sidewall parts 4 to be erected first followed by the sidewall parts 5, and suitable sealing rubbers could be again provided respectively between the plates 21 and sidewall edge 5 and plate 22 and sidewall 4 near its edge. If desired or required a bolt and wingnut or other clipping or securing means could be provided in addition.

As shown in FIG. 9 an alternative method of joining a division between panels (particularly sidewall panels) could be simply a flat strip 23 adapted to be bolted by means of bolts and wingnuts 24 which are provided on each of the

sidewall panels

4 and 5 for example. The strip 23 when secured down covers the division between the two panels and again suitable sealing rubbers should preferably be provided.

As shown in FIG. 11 an alternative construction of functionally the same joint as shown in FIG. 8 comprises an external flat strip 25 permanently and rigidly attached to the sidewall panel 5 and a section 26 permanently and rigidly attached to sidewall panel 4 which again interengage preferably with suitable sealing rubbers to provide a good oint.

Very many other alternatives in the precise form of sections and arrangement of the joint and joining members will be obvious to those skilled in the art. All these are included in the scope of the present invention. The invention is in particular not limited to any one form of weatherproof joints herein illustrated, the art of jointing being well-known.

In FIG. 11 a side view is schematically shown of part of an erected caravan sidewall and roof in the region generally illustrated in the circle XI in FIG. 4 of side view. The view of FIG. 11 shows parts of the

sidewalls portions

2a and 3a and parts of the

adjacent sidewall parts

4 and 7. As shown in FIG. 11 the division joint between the

sidewall parts

7 and 4 is covered by means of an external strip 27 (which could for example correspond to strip 25 of FIG. 10 the strip 23 of FIG. 9 or the strip 21 of FIG. 8 or even the strip 20 of FIG. 7). The

sidewall parts

7 and 4 are each provided with pins 28 projecting in a sideways direction from positions near the top edges of these panels. The

side parts

2a and 3a of the

roof part

2 and 3 respectively are provided with downwardly depending flanges or webs 29 attached to or near their lower edges and which are each provided with a slot 30 which engages the pins 28 of the

sidewall parts

7 and 4 respectively. The heads of the pins 28 prevent the flanges or webs 29 from coming off the pin 28 thereby retaining the

side parts

2a and 3a of the

roof parts

2 and 3 in position on the top edges of the

sidewall parts

7 and 4. The transverse horizontal joint between the two

roof parts

2 and 3 is provided by means, in this example, of a downwardly directed channel 14, and upwardly directed web or flange 16 substantially as previously illustrated in FIG. 5. The upright divisions between the

sidewall portions

2a and 3a of the

roof parts

2 and 3 are sealed and joined by means of affixing an external plate indicated by broken lines 31 (such as the plate 23 shown in FIG. 9) over the joint, securing its position by means of wingnuts screwed onto the bolts 32; other means of covering this joint may be provided, and in particular if desired or required the channel member 14 may be continued around and down the sides 31: of the roof part 3 and the web or flange 16 may be similarly continued around and down the side portions 2a of the roof part 2. In this case sufficient clearance must be provided to ensure the possibility of erection in accordance with the method illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. This means that the difference between the lengths of the diagonal distance between the points A and B (as shown in FIG. 2) and the width of the roof part 3 (distance C-B shown In FIG. 2) must be exceeded by the clearance between the

parts

14 and 16 in the erected position. I

Rope sections i .e. extruded sections which may take the roped edge of a tent, can be attached to the sides of both

roof parts

2 and 3. t

It will be noted that the sidewall part 7 is a little bit lower than the sidewall part 4 at its upper edges and this is provided so that the roof part 2 may be raised so that its flange 29 can engage or disengage the pin 28 without dislodging the roof part 3 from its position of engagement with pin 28 on the sidewall part 4 while resting thereon. If this were not provided for, the engaging of the roof part 2 with the sidewall part 7 by sliding the slot 30 onto the pin 28 would dislodge the other roof part 3 from the other sidewall 4 causing difficulty in the erection.

As described with relation to FIGS. 1 to 4 the order of erecting is to first raise the roof part 3 and erect the sidewall 4 then lower the roof part 3 so that the lower edge of the side 30 rests on the upper edge of the sidewall part 4, with the slot 30 in the flange 29 engaging with the pin 28. The roof part 2 is then raised and the sidewall part 7 erected so that the flange 16 of the former comes into correspondence with channel 14 of the other roof part and the side of the sidewall parts near its edge comes into engagement with the flat strip 27; the roof part 2 is then raised a little to enable the slot 30 and flange 29 engaged on the pins 28 of the sidewall part 7. The difference in levels of the upper edges of the

sidewall parts

4 and 7 is not essential and could be avoided if desired or required; for example, the pins 28 could be provided with removable wingnuts or the clearance between the channel 14 and web 16 could be made sufficient to accommodate the necessary lifting of the roof pan 2 in order to engage the pins 28 with fixed head, or any other suitable arrangement obvious to those skilled in the art, could be adopted.

It will be observed that the division 33 between the

sidewall parts

4 and 7 is offset or staggered from the position of the division 34 between the

roof parts

2 and 3 and its

side edges

2a and 3a. The reason why this is necessary is illustrated in FIG. 12 which is a similar side view to that of FIG. 11 but in this case with the roof part 2 and its sides 2a still resting on the base of the caravan and the sidewall 4 in the process of being erected shown here only partially erected. The flat strip 27 on the sidewall part 4 projects out from its edge and therefore the division of the two roof parts and the

side parts

2a and 3a must be offset sufficiently to give clearance for the strip 27 to be erected, this feature being illustrated in FIG. 12 being also apparent in FIG. 11. The roof part 3 with sides 3a which is raised in FIG. 12 is not illustrated. The stage of erection following that illustrated in FIG. 12 would be to raise the second roof part 2a and erect the sidewall part 7 (of which only a small portion is here visible.)

As shown in FIG. 13 the constructional arrangement and jointing in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises hinging the end wall 8 by means of a hinge 35 of which the pivot point is located at 36 which is some distance below the lower edge of the end wall 8 and the upper edge of the end wall la of the caravan base 1. The result of this hinge position is that when the end wall 8 is folded down it takes up the position indicated by the dotted lines 8' which is flush with or below the upper edge of the side 1a of the caravan base 1. The end wall 8 is also provided with flat strips 37 attached rigidly and permanently to its lower edge on the inner surface and which comes into engagement with the inner surface of the sides la of the caravan base 1 when the wall 8 is erected to provide a seal together if desired or required with suitable rubber sealing strips. The outer edge of the panel 8 is also provided with a clip strip 38 also for waterproofing purposes. The upper inside edge of the end wall 8 is provided with a further flat strip 39 rigidly and permanently affixed to it, and which comes into engagement with the frame member 40 of the roof part 2 when the end wall 8 is erected, holes in the strip 39 engaging bolts 41 affixed to the frame member 40 and wingnuts 42 being used to secure the strip 39 and thereby the end wall 8 in its erected position. The end edge of the roof part 2 is also provided with a flat strip 43 which covers the outside of the joint between the end wall 8 and the roof part 2 and both

strips

39 and 43 could as before be provided with suitable rubber sealing strips. The sidewall parts 6 are hinged by means of a hinge 44 to the upright sides 1b of the caravan base 1 and the flat strips 29 and pins 28 engaging slots 30 as shown in FIG. 11 are illustrated in dotted lines behind the joints 45 between the sides 2a of the roof part 2 and sidewall parts 6.

As shown in FIG. 14 the

sidewall parts

6 and 7 are provided with upright strips 46 permanently and rigidly attached to their end edges which overlap the outside of the divisions between the

sidewalls

6 and 7 and the end walls 8 and again suitable rubber sealing strips may be provided. The strips 46 are also seen in the view of FIG. 13.

As shown in FIG. 15 the provision of a special hinge 35 having its hinge point at 36 allows that when the end wall 8 is folded down it comes to a position flush with or below the upper edges of the sides 1b and la of the base of the caravan 1. This allows that when the

sidewalls

6 and 7 are folded down on the hinges 44, which holds their pivot positions on the inside of the upper edges of the sides 1b of the base of the caravan l the

sidewall

6 and 7 take up a position above the end wall 8. It is desirable that the

sidewalls

6 and 7 do not touch the end walls 8 in the folded-down position because if they did during transport of the caravan they would probably tend to wear or rub against each other, and cause markings. As shown also in FIG. 15 when the

roof parts

2 and 3 are lowered onto the base of the caravan, the side strips 29 overlap the sides 1b and corresponding end strips 43, overlap the ends la of the base of the caravan 1 and once again suitable rubber sealing strips may be provided to seal the joint when the caravan is thus folded down.

FIG. 15 also shows that when the

sidewalls

6 and 7 are folded down from the sides 1b of the caravan base 1, they provide rebates or steps into which the side portions 2a (and 3a) of the roof portions 2 (and 3) neatly fit when the roof is lowered onto the caravan base, thereby retaining the roof in its lowered position on the caravan base 1. The side strips 29 and 43 provide a sealing strip on the outside of the horizontal joint all round the caravan.

As shown further in FIG. 15 (shown too in FIG. 13) the frame member 40 of the roof part 2 (and 3) is somewhat raised above the lower edge of the sides 2a (and 3a) of the roof parts in order to pass over the folded down

sidewall parts

6 and 7.

As shown in FIG. 16 when the roof parts 2 (and 3) are lowered onto the caravan base 1 each roof part is held in position by means of a detachable hinge one side which comprises an arm 45 which carries a pin 46 and a projecting arm 47 attached permanently and rigidly to the caravan sides 1b, the pin 46 engaging a slot in the arm 47 serves to provide a hinge action and the other sides of the

roof parts

2 and 3 being secured by means of a hasp and staple 48 which may be locked by means of a padlock in order to lock the caravan against thieves.

As shown in FIG. 17, if it is desired to incorporate sealing means such as illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 or 7, a preferred form of the roof in end sectional elevation comprises providing a convex curvature to the sides (and 3a) (or to the sealing means only, leaving the sides square), which is defined by conforming to the circle described by radius arms 49 located at the opposite lower edge of the sides 20 (or 3a) of the roof parts 2 (or 3).

This means that when the erection reaches the stage illustrated in FIG. 3 the roof part 2 may be raised and when the wall part 6 is fully erected, the roof part continues to be raised by pivoting substantially on its lower edge indicated by 50 FIG. 18 so that with the convex curvature as defined above the flanges l6, 18 as illustrated in FIGS. 5,6 and 7 will slide up in engagement with the

channels

14 and 17 as shown in these FIGS. without provision being necessary for excessive clearance, as would be the case if the

roof parts

2 and 3 were purely rectangular in the sections shown in FIG. 18.

It may be observed that the features of construction and arrangement illustrated herein provide a caravan which when erected looks verysimilar to a conventional caravan, frequently deceiving people as to the fact that it is erectable at all. This is one of the preferred objects of this invention as it overcomes one of the prime prejudices against collapsible caravans to purchasers, namely that heretofore collapsible caravans were unmistakable by their poor external appearance and finish and the clumsiness of joints and the like. The features of construction illustrated herein may be employed to provide a caravan which avoids these disadvantages.

Reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, will however, show the primary object of this invention which is to provide a large collapsable caravan which may nevertheless be easily erected, even by one person in a comparatively short time.

If desired or required, the caravan could easily be split into more than two parts by transverse and upright divisions, for example into three parts in the case of a really large caravan; in this case the principles illustrated and described above may easily be employed by those skilled in the art to provide suitable methods of erection and means of weatherproof jointing of the caravan both when erected and when folded down.

The staggering of the divisions between the sidewall parts and the roof parts is necessitated if the joint is desired in which any overlap exists; an overlap is practically essential in a construction of this nature to provide a weatherproof joint, and accordingly the staggering of these joints comprises an important subsidiary feature of this invention.

We claim:

l. A collapsible caravan which comprises a wheeled caravan base adapted to be towed having end wall and sidewall lower portions rigidly and permanently fixed to the edges of the base, and a collapsible superstructure comprising end wall and sidewall upper portions connected to their respective lower portions by hinges adapted to permit folding the upper portions inwardly and a separable roof, in which the sidewalls and roof are divided by divisions which lie in imaginary planes orthogonal to the sidewall hinges.

2. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the peripheral edges of the roof parts are provided with downwardly depending weather strips which are adapted to cover the outer peripheries of the caravan base and also of the erected caravan walls.

3. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the end walls are foldable up between the erected sidewalls and when in the erected position and secured they support the sidewalls in their erected positions.

4. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 3, in which the end edges of the sidewalls have permanently attached strips overhanging the inner surfaces of the sidewalls so as to overhang the end peripheries of the caravan base when collapse and abut against the end walls when these are erected.

5. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the divisions in the roof are offset in the roof are effect in the longitudinal direction with relation to the corresponding divisions in he walls, by a distance corresponding to a weatherproofrng overlap strip.

6. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the roof parts when raised are located on the erected walls by means of pins engaging matching slots.

7. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the roof parts comprise generally approximately horizontal roof regions and peripheral upright side portions and in which the sidewalls are hinged by hinges which have their pivot axes located on the top edges of the wall base parts of the caravan base near the inner edge thereof so that when the sidewalls are folded down there is left a rebate or step into which the peripheral upright side portions of the roof parts are located when lowered into the folded down walls.

8. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which'the roof parts when collapsed and resting on the caravan base are hingedly connected thereto at one side and securable by suitable means, the hinges being disconnectable only when the roof parts are erected during erection of the caravan.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 ,3 9 Dated Apr l3 1971 Inventor) Johannes Martinus Smit et a1 It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet [72] "Johannes Martinus Smith" should read "H Johannes Martinus Smit Signed and sealed this 11th day of April 1972 (SEAL) Attest EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patent FORM PO-105O (10-69)

Claims

1. A collapsible caravan which comprises a wheeled caravan base adapted to be towed having end wall and sidewall lower portions rigidly and permanently fixed to the edges of the base, and a collapsible superstructure comprising end wall and sidewall upper portions connected to their respective lower portions by hinges adapted to permit folding the upper portions inwardly and a separable roof, in which the sidewalls and roof are divided by divisions which lie in imaginary planes orthogonal to the sidewall hinges.

4. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 3, in which the end edges of the sidewalls have permanently attached strips overhanging the inner surfaces of the sidewalls so as to overhang the end peripheries of the caravan base when collapsed and abut against the end walls when these are erected.

5. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the divisions in the roof are offset in the roof are effect in the longitudinal direction with relation to the corresponding divisions in he walls, by a distance corresponding to a weatherproofing overlap strip.

8. A collapsible caravan as claimed in claim 1, in which the roof parts when collapsed and resting on the caravan base are hingedly connected thereto at one side and securable by suitable means, the hinges being disconnectable only when the roof parts are erected during erection of the caravan.