A vehicle includes a slide-out compartment and a sliding mechanism which is used to move the slide-out compartment between an extended position and a retracted position. The sliding mechanism uses a guide member, a sliding member, and a gear to move the slide-out compartment between the extended position and the retracted position.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/308,646, entitled "Sliding Mechanisms and Systems," pending, filed on Dec. 2, 2002, published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0066060, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/044,481, entitled "Sliding Mechanisms and Systems," abandoned, filed on Jan. 11, 2002, published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0056329, which is a divisional of U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/448,410 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,523, entitled "Sliding Mechanisms and Systems," filed on Nov. 23, 1999, all of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
A recreational vehicle has pivot out rooms across the hallway from one another, at least partially overlapping from side to side along the length of the vehicle and arranged so that when they are retracted they create a hallway that has generally parallel sides. A thrust bearing supports the weight of each pivot out room and the hinge axis is inside of the vehicle so as to move the seal flange of the pivot out room out away from the recreational vehicle wall so as not to destroy the seals upon opening and to create a seal upon opening. A cog drive can be used to drive the room in and out and bear some of the room weight.
A recreational vehicle comprising a vehicle frame having a plurality of wheels and a coach having a slide-out mounted on the vehicle frame is disclosed herein. In particular, the recreational vehicle comprises an improved slide-out mechanism for deploying and retracting slide-out structures from the coach of the recreational vehicle. In one aspect, the recreational vehicle may comprise an armature having a fixed member with a roller and a guiding channel mounted to the vehicle frame and a rail member slidably positioned within the fixed member so as to contact the roller, wherein the rail member is adapted to telescopically extend from the fixed member through the guiding channel so as to deploy and retract the slide-out. Also, the recreational vehicle may further comprise an actuator assembly having a first gearing mechanism displaced from the roller a first distance and housed within the guiding channel so as to contact the rail member at the first distance, wherein the first gearing mechanism can be displaced from the roller at a second distance that is greater than the first distance so as to improve the weight distribution of the slide-out.
