Balcony box

Abstract

A foldable balcony has the appearance of a box in the folded state and during transportation. The foldable balcony can be delivered to a construction site and easily expanded and installed. The design of the balcony provides the following features: (1) factory manufacture of the main parts, shortening the construction time; (2) on-site construction that requires only a simple modification of the wall, providing a short on-site construction time and low labor cost; (3) easy installation; and (4) mechanical structural connections that provide a design that is easy to replace. Such balconies can be used for housing, and can be installed in villas, buildings and recreational vehicles (RVs), for example.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A balcony structure comprising:
 a base member;   a roof member movable between a folded position, adjacent the base member, and an expanded position, separated from the base member; and   fence members movable between the folded position, sandwiched between the base member and the roof member, and the expanded position, vertically extending from the base member toward the roof member.   
     
     
         2 . The balcony structure of  claim 1 , further comprising support posts pivotably attached to a top surface of the base member, the support posts movable between the folded position, sandwiched between the base member and the roof member, and the expanded position, vertically extending from the base member toward the roof member. 
     
     
         3 . The balcony structure of  claim 2 , wherein the support posts are pivotably attached to corners of the top surface of the base member. 
     
     
         4 . The balcony structure of  claim 2 , wherein the support posts include an upper end contour and a lower end contour, the upper end contour rounding an outside upper corner of the support posts, the lower end contour rounding an inside lower corner of the support posts, wherein the upper and lower end contours limit a rotation of the support posts when in the extended state. 
     
     
         5 . The balcony structure of  claim 2 , further comprising a slider pivotably attached at distal ends, relative to a pivoting attachment end of the support posts with the base member, of the support posts, the slider attached to and slidable along an underside of the roof member, wherein sliding of the slider permits the balcony structure to move between the folded state and the expanded state. 
     
     
         6 . The balcony structure of  claim 1 , further comprising support bars extending diagonally between the base member and at least front ones of the support posts. 
     
     
         7 . The balcony structure of  claim 6 , further comprising slots formed in the base, the slots housing the support bars in the folded state, wherein the support bars pivotably extend from the slots to connect to the at least front ones of the support posts I the expanded state. 
     
     
         8 . The balcony structure of  claim 1 , wherein the fence members include:
 side fence members extending from the base member at opposing sides of the base member in the expanded state, the side fence members foldable to be positioned adjacent the base member in the folded state; and   a long front fence member extending from the base member at a front side of the base member in the expanded state, the long front fence member foldable to be positioned on top of the side fence members in the folded state.   
     
     
         9 . The balcony structure of  claim 8 , wherein the long front fence member includes short side fence connectors disposed at an upper end of the long front fence member, the short side fence connectors operable to connect to the side fence members when in the expanded state. 
     
     
         10 . The balcony structure of  claim 9 , further comprising angled connectors connecting an upper end of the side fence members to rear support posts when in the expanded state. 
     
     
         11 . The balcony structure of  claim 1 , further comprising a safety lock operable to lock the balcony structure in the folded state to prevent inadvertent movement of the balcony structure toward the expanded state. 
     
     
         12 . The balcony structure of  claim 1 , further comprising a wall auxiliary system including first and second parallel auxiliary slides and first and second bottom supports, wherein:
 the first and second auxiliary slides are attached to the roof member; and   the first and second bottom supports are attached to an under surface of the base member and to a wall to transfer loads from the base member to the wall.   
     
     
         13 . A balcony structure comprising:
 a base member;   a roof member movable between a folded position, adjacent the base member, and an expanded position, separated from the base member;   fence members movable between the folded position, sandwiched between the base member and the roof member, and the expanded position, vertically extending from the base member toward the roof member;   support posts pivotably attached adjacent corners of a top surface of the base member, the support posts movable between the folded position, sandwiched between the base member and the roof member, and the expanded position, vertically extending from the base member toward the roof member; and   a slider pivotably attached at distal ends, relative to a pivoting attachment end of the support posts with the base member, of the support posts, the slider attached to and slidable along an underside of the roof member, wherein sliding of the slider permits the balcony structure to move between the folded state and the expanded state.   
     
     
         14 . The balcony structure of  claim 13 , wherein the support posts include an upper end contour and a lower end contour, the upper end contour rounding an outside upper corner of the support posts, the lower end contour rounding an inside lower corner of the support posts, wherein the upper and lower end contours limit a rotation of the support posts when in the extended state. 
     
     
         15 . The balcony structure of  claim 13 , further comprising support bars extending diagonally between the base member and at least front ones of the support posts. 
     
     
         16 . The balcony structure of  claim 15 , further comprising slots formed in the base, the slots housing the support bars in the folded state, wherein the support bars pivotably extend from the slots to connect to the at least front ones of the support posts I the expanded state. 
     
     
         17 . The balcony structure of  claim 13 , wherein the fence members include:
 side fence members extending from the base member at opposing sides of the base member in the expanded state, the side fence members foldable to be positioned adjacent the base member in the folded state; and   a long front fence member extending from the base member at a front side of the base member in the expanded state, the long front fence member foldable to be positioned on top of the side fence members in the folded state.   
     
     
         18 . The balcony structure of  claim 17 , wherein the long front fence member includes short side fence connectors disposed at an upper end of the long front fence member, the short side fence connectors operable to connect to the side fence members when in the expanded state. 
     
     
         19 . A balcony structure comprising:
 a base member;   a roof member movable between a folded position, adjacent the base member, and an expanded position, separated from the base member;   fence members movable between the folded position, sandwiched between the base member and the roof member, and the expanded position, vertically extending from the base member toward the roof member;   support posts pivotably attached adjacent corners of a top surface of the base member, the support posts movable between the folded position, sandwiched between the base member and the roof member, and the expanded position, vertically extending from the base member toward the roof member;   an upper end contour and a lower end contour, the upper end contour rounding an outside upper corner of the support posts, the lower end contour rounding an inside lower corner of the support posts, wherein the upper and lower end contours limit a rotation of the support posts when in the extended state; and   support bars extending diagonally between the base member and at least front ones of the support posts.   
     
     
         20 . The balcony structure of  claim 19 , wherein the fence members include:
 side fence members extending from the base member at opposing sides of the base member in the expanded state, the side fence members foldable to be positioned adjacent the base member in the folded state;   a long front fence member extending from the base member at a front side of the base member in the expanded state, the long front fence member foldable to be positioned on top of the side fence members in the folded state; and   the long front fence member includes short side fence connectors disposed at an upper end of the long front fence member, the short side fence connectors operable to connect to the side fence members when in the expanded state.