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US 11,306,474 B1Granted
Lifting mechanism for expandable shelter
AssigneeBerg Companies, Inc.
InventorsBrent Condie, Paul Gorka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An enclosure including an upper frame, a lower frame, and a lift mechanism operably coupling the upper frame and the lower frame together. The lift mechanism includes first drive shafts and a second drive shaft operably coupling the first drive shafts for operation in unison, and an input operably coupled to at least one of the first drive shafts or the second drive shaft. The lift mechanism transitions the enclosure between a stowed state and a deployed state during a movement of the actuator.
Claims17
A system comprising:
- a frame assembly including:
- an upper frame having a plurality of first vertical members;
- and
- a lower frame having a plurality of second vertical members;
- and
- a lift mechanism operably coupled to the frame assembly, the lift mechanism configured to transition the upper frame between a stowed state and a deployed state, the lift mechanism including:
- a plurality of vertical shafts, wherein individual vertical shafts are operably coupled between individual first vertical members of the upper frame and individual second vertical members of the lower frame;
- a plurality of screw jacks operably coupled to the individual vertical shafts;
- and
- a plurality of gear drives, wherein individual gear drives of the plurality of gear drives are operably coupled to individual screw jacks;
- a plurality of independent inputs, wherein each of the plurality of independent inputs is operably coupled to a respective one of the plurality of gear drives;
- and
- one or more horizontal shafts that operably couple the plurality of gear drives together such that the plurality of gear drives operate in unison to transition the upper frame between the stowed state and the deployed state upon actuation of any one of the plurality of independent inputs.
10 more elements
An enclosure comprising:
- an upper frame;
- a lower frame;
- and
- a lift mechanism operably coupling the upper frame and the lower frame, the lift mechanism transitioning the enclosure between a stowed state and a deployed state, the lift mechanism including:
- a plurality of first drive shafts;
- a plurality of screw jacks, wherein individual screw jacks each include a nut and a spring for resiliently biasing the nut wherein a respective nut threadedly engages with individual ones of the plurality of first drive shafts, and a stop nut secured to each individual first drive shaft of the plurality of first drive shafts;
- a second drive shaft operably coupling the plurality of first drive shafts for operation in unison;
- and
- an input operably coupled to at least one of the plurality of first drive shafts or the second drive shaft,
- wherein a movement of the input transitions the upper frame away from the lower frame to at least partially transition the enclosure between the stowed state and the deployed state.
7 more elements
An expandable shelter configured to transition between a stowed state and a deployed state, the expandable shelter comprising:
- a trailer;
- and
- a frame assembly coupled to the trailer, the frame assembly including:
- an upper frame having
- a plurality of first vertical posts;
- and
- a plurality of ceiling panels configured to unfold from the upper frame;
- a lower frame having:
- a plurality of second vertical posts, wherein individual second vertical posts of the plurality of second vertical posts are configured to telescopically engage with individual first vertical posts of the plurality of first vertical posts;
- a plurality of floor panels configured to unfold from the lower frame when the upper frame is in the deployed state;
- wherein the plurality of ceiling panels of the upper frame overlay the plurality of floor panels of the lower frame when the expandable shelter is in the stowed state;
- a lifting mechanism comprising multiple linear actuators coupled to one another to operate in unison to transition the expandable shelter between the stowed state and the deployed state;
- a plurality of inputs coupled to the lifting mechanism, wherein each of the plurality of inputs is coupled to a respective one of the multiple linear actuators;
- wherein individual linear actuators of the lifting mechanism include:
- a vertical shaft;
- a screw jack operably coupled to the vertical shaft;
- and
- a gear drive coupled between the vertical shaft and the input, wherein a rotation of the vertical shaft causes the screw jack to be driven along a length of the vertical shaft to transition the expandable shelter between the stowed state and the deployed state;
- and
- a stop nut secured to the vertical shaft to retard the vertical shaft from disengaging with the screw lack;
- wherein the screw jack includes a nut threadedly engaging the vertical shaft a first spring located adjacent a first side of the nut for resiliently biasing the nut;
- a second spring located adjacent a second side of the nut for resiliently biasing the nut;
- and a third spring located adjacent the stop nut.
20 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.