Movable home with retractable structures

Abstract

A movable home with retractable structures includes expandable parts of the structure that can be split into frame and wall panels. Frames, including wall frames and a floor frame, can be folded into the main body. Wall panels can slide out of a box and form the walls of the house. Similarly, floor panels can slide out of a box and form the floor of the house. The boxes for the wall panels and the floor panels can be part of the overall footprint of the main retracted structure. One advantage of this method is that the wall panels and the floor panels will not interfere with the entire home, where a vehicle can transfer the retracted house to a desired location for expansion.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An expandable structure comprising:
 a main structure;   a front first side frame structure foldable against the main structure in a stowed state and openable to extend outward from the main structure in an expanded state;   a rear first side frame structure foldable against the main structure in the stowed state and openable to extend outward from the main structure in the expanded state;   a plurality of front wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of front wall panels movable along tracks to provide a front wall in the front first side frame structure;   a plurality of rear wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of rear wall panels movable along tracks to provide a rear wall in the rear first side frame structure; and   a plurality of floor panels, stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of floor panels movable along tracks to provide a floor spanning between the front first side frame structure and the rear first side frame structure when each are in the expanded state.   
     
     
         2 . The expandable structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the front first side frame structure and the rear first side frame structure extend co-planer with each other and with a front face and a rear face of the main structure when in the expanded state. 
     
     
         3 . The expandable structure of  claim 1 , wherein an open space inside the main structure is unchanged when changing between the expanded state and the stowed state. 
     
     
         4 . The expandable structure of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a front wall panel box storing the plurality of front wall panels in a stacked arrangement, the front wall panel box located adjacent a front face of the main structure; and   a rear wall panel box storing the plurality of rear wall panels in a stacked arrangement, the rear wall panel box located adjacent a rear face of the main structure.   
     
     
         5 . The expandable structure of  claim 1 , further comprising a retractable roof formed from a plurality of roof panels stored in the main structure when in the stowed state and deployable extend between the front first side frame structure and the rear first side frame structure to cover an expanded section formed in the expanded state. 
     
     
         6 . The expandable structure of  claim 5 , wherein an outermost one of the plurality of roof panels is connected to an outer wall, wherein extension of the outer wall causes deployment of the retractable roof. 
     
     
         7 . The expandable structure of  claim 1 , further comprising an outer wall disposed adjacent the main structure, inside each of the folded front and rear first side frame structures when in the stowed state. 
     
     
         8 . The expandable structure of  claim 7 , wherein the outer wall is movable along slots formed along each of the front and rear first side frame structures. 
     
     
         9 . The expandable structure of  claim 8 , further comprising a ball screw rod disposed within each of the slots in each of the front and rear first side frame structures. 
     
     
         10 . The expandable structure of  claim 9 , wherein the outer wall is attached to a nut movable along the ball screw rod during rotation thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The expandable structure of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the ball screw rod extends along the slot in each of the front and rear first side frame structures to terminate within the main structure;   the ball screw rod is generally linear when the expandable structure is in the expanded state; and   the ball screw rod is angled when the expandable structure is in the stowed state.   
     
     
         12 . The expandable structure of  claim 10 , further comprising a motor operable to turn the ball screw rod to move the outer wall between the expanded state and the stowed state. 
     
     
         13 . The expandable structure of  claim 1 , further comprising a lift structure operable to lift the plurality of floor panels out of a floor panel box to deploy the plurality of floor panels between the front and rear first side frame structures. 
     
     
         14 . The expandable structure of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a front second side frame structure foldable against a second side of the main structure in the stowed state and openable to extend outward from the second side of the main structure in the expanded state, the second side being opposite a first side having the front first side frame structure;   a rear second side frame structure foldable against the second side of the main structure in a stowed state and openable to extend outward from the second side of the main structure in the expanded state;   a plurality of second side front wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of second side front wall panels movable along tracks to provide a second side front wall in the front second side frame structure;   a plurality of second side rear wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of second side rear wall panels movable along tracks to provide a second side rear wall in the rear second side frame structure; and   a plurality of second side floor panels, stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of second side floor panels movable along tracks to provide a second side floor spanning between the front second side frame structure and the rear second side frame structure when each are in the expanded state.   
     
     
         15 . An expandable structure, comprising:
 a main structure;   a front first side frame structure foldable against the main structure in a stowed state and openable to extend outward from the main structure in an expanded state;   a rear first side frame structure foldable against the main structure in the stowed state and openable to extend outward from the main structure in the expanded state;   a plurality of front wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in a front wall panel box in the main structure, each of the plurality of front wall panels movable along tracks to provide a front wall in the front first side frame structure;   a plurality of rear wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in a rear wall panel box the main structure, each of the plurality of rear wall panels movable along tracks to provide a rear wall in the rear first side frame structure; and   a plurality of floor panels, stored in a stacked arrangement in a floor panel box in the main structure, each of the plurality of floor panels movable along tracks to provide a floor spanning between the front first side frame structure and the rear first side frame structure when each are in the expanded state, wherein:   the front wall panel box is located between a front face of the main structure and a front-most interior wall of the main structure;   the rear wall panel box is located between a rear face of the main structure and a rear-most interior wall of the main structure; and   the floor panel box is located below a floor of the main structure.   
     
     
         16 . The expandable structure of  claim 15 , further comprising an outer wall disposed adjacent the main structure, inside each of the folded front and rear first side frame structures when in the stowed state. 
     
     
         17 . The expandable structure of  claim 16 , further comprising a ball screw rod disposed within slots formed along each of the front and rear first side frame structures, wherein the outer wall moves with turning of the ball screw rod. 
     
     
         18 . The expandable structure of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the ball screw rod extends along the slot in each of the front and rear first side frame structures to terminate within the main structure;   the ball screw rod is generally linear when the expandable structure is in the expanded state; and   the ball screw rod is angled when the expandable structure is in the stowed state.   
     
     
         19 . An expandable structure comprising:
 a main structure;   a front first side frame structure foldable against the main structure in a stowed state and openable to extend outward from the main structure in an expanded state;   a rear first side frame structure foldable against the main structure in the stowed state and openable to extend outward from the main structure in the expanded state;   a plurality of front wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of front wall panels movable along tracks to provide a front wall in the front first side frame structure;   a plurality of rear wall panels stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of rear wall panels movable along tracks to provide a rear wall in the rear first side frame structure;   a retractable roof formed from a plurality of roof panels stored in the main structure when in the stowed state and deployable extend between the front first side frame structure and the rear first side frame structure to cover an expanded section formed in the expanded state;   a plurality of floor panels, stored in a stacked arrangement in the main structure, each of the plurality of floor panels movable along tracks to provide a floor spanning between the front first side frame structure and the rear first side frame structure when each are in the expanded state;   an outer wall disposed adjacent the main structure, inside each of the folded front and rear first side frame structures when in the stowed state;   slots formed along each of the front and rear first side frame structures; and   a ball screw rod disposed within each of the slots in each of the front and rear first side frame structures, wherein:   the ball screw rod extends along the slot in each of the front and rear first side frame structures to terminate within the main structure;   the ball screw rod is generally linear when the expandable structure is in the expanded state; and   the ball screw rod is angled when the expandable structure is in the stowed state.   
     
     
         20 . The expandable structure of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 a front wall panel box storing the plurality of front wall panels in a stacked arrangement, the front wall panel box located adjacent a front face of the main structure; and   a rear wall panel box storing the plurality of rear wall panels in a stacked arrangement, the rear wall panel box located adjacent a rear face of the main structure.