U.S. patent application number 10/897069 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-27 for portable collapsible tent.
Invention is credited to Wu, Weidan.
Application Number | 20050016573 10/897069 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34069998 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050016573 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wu, Weidan |
January 27, 2005 |
Portable collapsible tent
Abstract
A portable collapsible tent includes a cover, a roof frame with
a central pole, inclined roof ribs and spreaders, extensible legs,
and cross bars. The ribs and spreaders are pivotally and movably
jointed at the central pole. A locking unit secures the roof frame
when the tent is pitched. Each leg has at one end a fixed corner
member that provides a four-way connection and a multi-way support
member that movably engages and locks onto the leg to support two
cross bars and an inclined rib connected thereto with three
diagonal braces. A lateral projecting foot member enables each leg
to be anchored on the ground. Reinforcement ropes further secure
the tent to the ground via the four-way connectors. The portable
collapsible tent can be easily set up and collapsed without tools
and has a strong structural integrity, able to withstand
substantial stress and direct/indirect forces.
Inventors: |
Wu, Weidan; (Ningbo,
CN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LUMEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SERVICES, INC.
2345 YALE STREET, 2ND FLOOR
PALO ALTO
CA
94306
US
|
Family ID: |
34069998 |
Appl. No.: |
10/897069 |
Filed: |
July 21, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
135/98 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H 15/64 20130101;
E04H 15/48 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/098 |
International
Class: |
E04H 015/30; E04H
015/28 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 24, 2003 |
CN |
03255950.X |
Claims
1. A portable collapsible tent comprising: a roof frame system
having a cover over said roof frame; a central rib-holder pole; a
crown member securely attached to the top of said central
rib-holder pole; a plurality of inclined ribs movably attached to
and extending radially from said crown member; a spreader holder
coaxially and movably attached to said central rib-holder pole; a
plurality of spreaders extending radially from said spreader holder
and movably attached to said spreader holder and to said inclined
ribs; a plurality of cross bars, each of which having two members
movably joined via a hinge joint that enables said members fully
collapsible in a compact manner; and a plurality of side legs for
supporting said portable collapsible tent in an upright position;
wherein each leg has a corner member securely attached to the top
of said leg and movably joining one of said inclined ribs and two
of said cross bars; and a multi-way support system comprising a
multi-way support member coaxially positioned over said leg; and
three diagonally positioned braces movably jointing said multi-way
support member with one of said inclined ribs and two of said cross
bars.
2. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein said inclined
ribs form hinge connections in a downward direction with said crown
member, said spreaders, and said legs.
3. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1 or 2, wherein each of
said inclined ribs has two equal-lengths elements movably connected
via a hinge joint that enables said elements fully collapsible in a
compact position.
4. The portable collapsible tent of claim 3, wherein said hinge
joint movably connects said elements with one of said spreaders and
enables the same fully collapsible.
5. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein said spreaders
are movably attached to each of said inclined ribs at its mid
point.
6. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein said central
rib-holder pole has one or more retractable locking pin and said
spreader holder has one or more corresponding positioning lock hole
for receiving and securely engaging said locking pin; wherein said
central rib-holder pole has a hollow body with an inner wall and an
outer wall; and wherein said locking pin is spring-biased with one
end thereof securely attached to said inner wall and the other end
protruding outside said outer wall of said central rib-holder
pole.
7. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein said braces
form hinge connections between said multi-way support member and a
respective pivot point positioned on each of said cross bars.
8. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1 or 7, wherein said
multi-way support member has one or more retractable locking pin
and said leg has one or more corresponding positioning lock hole
for receiving and securely engaging said locking pin; wherein said
leg has a hollow body with an inner wall and an outer wall; and
wherein said locking pin is spring-biased with one end thereof
securely attached to said inner wall and the other end protruding
outside said outer wall of said leg.
9. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein each of said
legs is telescopically extensible and has one or more locking means
for securely adjusting the height of said tent.
10. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein said corner
member is a four-way connector.
11. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein each of said
legs has one or more receiving means at its lower end to
accommodate and secure a tail hook of said cover.
12. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein said members
have an equal length; and wherein said hinge joint is capable of
automatically locking said members in a fully extended
position.
13. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein each of said
legs has a foot member with at least one through-hole thereon to
receive one or more anchoring means for firmly securing said tent
to ground or a permanent fixture.
14. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1, wherein each of said
legs has a telescopic bar; wherein said leg has one or more
retractable locking pin and said telescopic bar has one or more
corresponding positioning lock hole for receiving and securely
engaging said locking pin; wherein said telescopic bar has a hollow
body with an inner wall and an outer wall; and wherein said locking
pin is spring-biased with one end thereof securely attached to said
inner wall and the other end protruding outside said outer wall of
said telescopic bar.
15. The portable collapsible tent of claim 14, wherein said
telescopic bar has one or more receiving means at its lower end to
accommodate and secure a tail hook of said cover.
16. The portable collapsible tent of claim 1 or 15, wherein said
cover has a plurality of fastener means disposed along said cross
bars for releasable bonding between said cover and said cross bars.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to portable shelters and
more particularly to a novel frame construction enabling tool-less
easy set up and fast collapsing of a portable shelter, tent,
canopy, screen room, porch, shade, or the like.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Two well known types of temporary shelters exist in the
art--an assembling-type and a collapsible-type. Anyone who has
assembled or has tried to assemble a temporary shelter knows the
frustration and manual labor involved. The assembling-type requires
certain tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, mallets, and so on,
to put together various assembling members or parts that could
easily be miss-placed, lost, or broken. A clear drawback is that,
even if only a small part is missing, the structural integrity of
the entire shelter may be adversely affected.
[0005] Moreover, since the fasteners such as screws and nuts must
be individually tightened during the initial assembly, and then
retightened to insure stability, setting up an assembly-type
temporary shelter can be very time-consuming. Consequently, a large
number of labor hours are generally needed. As one can expect, the
complication, frustration, and consumption of time and energy are
somewhat proportional to the size of the structure. Thus, the
larger the frame construction, the harder and longer the set up
would be.
[0006] The collapsible-type has merit over the assembly-type
because, among others, it eliminates the tedious and time-consuming
manual assembly procedure. In general, a collapsible tent is faster
to set up/break down, easier to maintain, and more suitable for
portable use. However, some drawbacks still exist in currently
available collapsible tents. For example, sometimes it can be
difficult to open a collapsible tent on site. Also, existing
collapsible shelters often have weak wind-resist capability.
Moreover, current collapsible shelters are generally bulky and/or
heavy and therefore are not very convenient or suitable for outdoor
use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a novel portable collapsible tent frame assembly, which
needs neither special tools nor additional hardware, and which does
not use any screw engaging member.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
portable collapsible shelter, tent, canopy, screen room, porch,
shade, or the like, that is capable of withstanding substantial
stress and direct/indirect forces such as what would be imposed by
severe wind, rain and other weather and environmental
conditions.
[0009] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
portable collapsible shelter, tent, canopy, screen room, porch,
shade, or the like, that is capable of being easily manipulated
between a collapsed position and an expanded, locked position
without compromising the structural integrity thereof.
[0010] These and other objects of the present invention are
achieved in a portable collapsible tent comprising a roof frame
system with a cover thereon. The roof frame system has a central
rib-holder pole with a crown member securely attached on top
thereof and a plurality of inclined ribs, each having a
corresponding adjustable side leg joined with a corresponding
corner member thereof. The ribs are arranged radially from the
crown member and extend downwardly to the side legs, connecting the
crown member and the side legs.
[0011] The roof frame system further includes a central hinge unit
coaxially movably attached to the lower portion of the central
rib-holder pole. The central hinge unit has a spreader holder and a
locking unit. The spreader holder is hinged with a plurality of
spreaders for opening and collapsing the tent. The locking unit
locks the spreader holder and hence the spreaders when the tent is
pitched.
[0012] All the connections between the crown member and the
inclined ribs, and between the spreader holder and the spreaders
are pivotal connections. Each spreader connects the spreader holder
with an inclined rib at a hinge joint positioned at the center of
the rib.
[0013] The spreader holder has a positioning lock-hole thereon for
accommodating a retractable locking pin laterally projecting from
the tube wall of the central rib-holder pole. The locking pin is
spring-biased with one end of the spring attached or fixed onto the
inner wall of the hollow tubular body of the central rib-holder
pole. The locking pin and the positioning lock-hole constitute the
locking unit.
[0014] The portable collapsible tent further comprises a plurality
of cross bar members, each of which consists of two bars jointed
with a hinge that allows the two bars to be fully folded in a
compact position. Each cross bar member preferably has the hinge
joint positioned at the central point thereof. Each cross bar
member is movably attached, at its opposite ends, to two corner
members, each of which is securely attached or fixed at the upper
end of a corresponding side leg. Preferably, a corner member is a
four-way connector movably connecting two cross bar members and an
inclined rib to its side leg.
[0015] The side legs support the overall collapsible tent in an
upright position and are preferably telescopically extensible for
adjusting the height of the tent. In some embodiments, each side
leg has a telescopic bar member and each side leg has at least one
through-hole at the lower portion for receiving and engaging one or
more retractable locking pin or stub protruding from the telescopic
bar member. The retractable locking pin or stub is spring-biased
with one end of the spring fixed or otherwise securely attached to
the inner tube wall of the telescopic bar member.
[0016] At the bottom of the telescopic bar member, a laterally
projecting foot member with one or more through-hole enables the
tent to be anchored on the ground with stakes, metal posts, or
other anchoring means. Preferably, each side leg or its telescopic
bar member also has one or more holes and/or hooks at the lower
portion where the cover or the tail hooks thereof can be
secured.
[0017] The portable collapsible tent advantageously includes a
plurality of multi-way support members, each of which is movably
attached to a side leg. Each multi-way support member has three
hinge connected diagonal braces supporting an inclined rib and two
mutually intersected cross bar members. The three diagonal braces
have their downward ends pivotally joined at one point on the
multi-way support member. Each multi-way support member has a
locking through-hole for accommodating and engaging a retractable
locking pin or knob, which is spring-biased with one end thereof
fixed to the side leg at one or more predetermined positions.
[0018] In some embodiments, the portable collapsible tent has a
generally rectangular shape with four sets of side legs, cross bar
members, spreaders, and inclined roof ribs. One skilled in the art
will appreciate that, as the number of the component sets changes,
other shapes of the tent are possible and are therefore within the
scope of the invention.
[0019] To reinforce the strength of the tent against wind and other
undesired weather and environmental conditions, in some
embodiments, reinforcement ropes are used to tie or otherwise
secure the four-way connectors to the ground via anchoring
means.
[0020] According to an aspect of the invention, the cover has one
or more viscous ribbons, tapes, or the likes along each cross bar
member to provide releasable bonding between the cover and the
portable collapsible tent. Still further objects and advantages of
the present invention will become clear to one of ordinary skill in
the art upon reading and understanding the detailed teachings of
exemplary embodiments described below with reference to the
following drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the
present invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is perspective view of the first embodiment with the
cover removed, illustrating the overall frame in opened (pitched)
condition.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a partially broken away perspective view of the
first embodiment in a collapsing condition.
[0024] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section view, fragmentally
illustrating the spreader holder movably joining and engaging the
central rib-holder pole.
[0025] FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a multi-way
connector with three diagonal braces movably attached to a side
leg.
[0026] FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the
engagement between the cover hook and the through-holes disposed at
the bottom part of the telescopic bar member of a side leg.
[0027] FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the
engagement between the cover, lower portion of the leg and the
telescopic bar.
[0028] FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the
cover with its viscous ribbon tied up with the crossbar member.
DETAILED DESCRIOPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a preferred embodiment of the present
invention is constructed of a collapsible tent frame assembly
capable of being manipulated between a collapsed position and an
expanded, locked position. The portable collapsible tent comprises
a roof frame system 9, a cover 1, side legs 2, and cross bar
members 3.
[0030] The cover 1 is made of a flexible material such as cloth and
covers the roof frame system 9, which has at its center a central
rib-holder pole 91. A crown member 8 is fixed at the top position
of the pole 91. A plurality of inclined ribs 4 are arranged
radially from the crown member 8 and extend downwardly to their
corresponding side legs 2.
[0031] In this example, each inclined rib 4 consists of two
preferably equal-length bars or members 41 and 42 connected via a
hinge joint 6 positioned at the central point of the inclined rib
4. The hinge joint 6 enables the two members 41 and 42 to be fully
collapsible in a compact manner. The hinge joint 6 also forms a
hinge connection with a spreader 93, allowing the spreader 93 to be
collapsible with the two members 41 and 42 in a compact manner.
[0032] Each of the four inclined ribs 4 further forms hinge
connections at its two opposite ends respectively with a corner
member 7, positioned at the upper end of the corresponding leg 2,
and with the crown member 8, positioned at the top of the central
rib-holder pole 91. The inclined ribs 4 support the cover 1 when
the tent is pitched.
[0033] The roof frame system 9 includes a spreader holder 92 hinged
with a plurality of spreaders 93 for opening, maintaining, and
collapsing the tent. As a central hinge unit, the spreader holder
92 has a lock means thereon and is coaxially movably attached to
the central rib-holder pole 91 at its lower end. The lock means
securely locks the spreader holder 92 onto the pole 91 when the
tent is pitched.
[0034] All the connections between the crown member 8 and inclined
ribs 4, and between the plurality of spreaders 93 and the spreader
holder 92 are pivotal connections. The connections between the
inclined ribs 4 and the corner members 7 of the side legs 2, and
between the inclined ribs 4 and the spreaders 93 are also pivotal
hinged ones.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the spreader holder 92 has a
positioning lock-hole 94 thereon for accommodating a retractable
locking pin or stub 95 protruding laterally from the central
rib-holder pole 91. The retractable stub 95 is spring-biased with
one end of the spring fixed or otherwise attached to the inner wall
of the hollow tubular body of the central rib-holder pole 91. The
locking pin 95 and the positioning lock-hole 94 constitute a
locking unit of the spreader holder 92. Preferably, the spreader
holder has an inclined portion 96 under the positioning lock-hole
94 for facilitating the locking pin 95 to enter and engage the
positioning lock hole 94.
[0036] In this example, each of the four cross bar members 3
consists of two preferably equal-length bars connected by a hinge
joint 5. The hinge joint 5 enables the bars to be fully collapsible
in a compact manner and automatically locked in a fully extended
position when the tent is pitched. Each cross bar member 3 at its
two opposite ends has a respective hinge joint connecting a corner
member 7 securely positioned at the upper end of a side leg 2.
[0037] The four side legs 2 support the portable collapsible tent
in an upright position and are preferably telescopically
extensible. In some embodiments, each leg 2 has a telescopic bar
member 25 for adjusting the height of the tent and a laterally
projecting foot member 28 for anchoring the tent. Each leg 2 also
has at its upper end a four-way connector or corner member 7
affixed or securely attached thereto. In this embodiment, the
corner member 7 provide hinge connections for four components, i.e.
a leg 2, an inclined rib 4 and two cross bar members 3, in one
corner, hence the namesake.
[0038] Each leg 2 has a multi-way support system 10, which includes
a multi-way support member 22 and three braces 31, 31', and 43. As
illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the multi-way support member 22 is
movably attached to the leg 2 and has a positioning lock-hole 23
for receiving and engaging one or more locking pin 24 positioned on
the leg 2. The locking pin 24 and the positioning lock-hole 23 are
similar to the locking pin 95 and the positioning lock-hole 94,
respectively.
[0039] The braces 31 and 31' movably connect the multi-way support
member 22 and the pivot points positioned on two cross bars 3 and
support the two cross bars 3 when the tent is pitched. The brace 43
movably joins the multi-way support member 22 and an inclined rib 4
and supports the inclined rib 4 when the tent is pitched.
[0040] FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show different implementations of the
lower portion of a leg 2. For example, the leg 2 can have a
telescopic bar member 25 with one or more retractable spring-biased
locking pins 27 positioned thereon to provide a positioning and
locking engagement with the leg 2. One or more through-holes 30
positioned at the lower end of the telescopic bar member 25
receives and securely engages a hook 11 of a tail 12 of the cover
1. The leg 2 may or may not have corresponding through-holes
aligned with the holes 30. Laterally projecting from the bottom 21
of the telescopic bar member 25 is a foot member 28, on which a
through hole 29 is positioned for anchoring via one or more
anchoring means 29 such as stakes, hooks, nails, or the likes.
[0041] At the lower end of the leg 2, one or more lock-holes 26 are
arranged to receive and securely engage the one or more retractable
locking pins 27 of the telescopic bar member 25. The locking pins
27 and/or the lock-holes 26 may be positioned at a fixed
interval.
[0042] To secure the cover 1 to the portable collapsible tent, the
cover may include a plurality of fasteners, such as viscous
ribbons, strings, ties, tapes, hooks, loops, and the likes,
disposed along the cross bars and/or other appropriate components
to provide a releasable bonding between the cover and the tent.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view 80 of FIG. 1, illustrating
the cover 1 being securely attachable to a cross bar member 3 via a
fastener 13.
[0043] As illustrated in FIG. 1, to reinforce the strength of the
tent against stress and forces such as those caused by severe wind
and weather conditions, reinforcement ropes 12 are used to tie or
otherwise secure the four-way connectors 7, disposed on top of the
legs 2, with ground anchoring means 13 such as nails, stakes,
posts, or the likes. As such, when the tent is pitched, the
inclined ribs 4, the spreaders 93, the cross bar members 3, the
multi-way support members 22, and the legs 2 are all locked into
positions. The tent is firmly secured to the ground via the foot
members 28 and stakes 29 and reinforced with ropes 12 and nails
13.
[0044] As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the present
invention offers many advantages over existing products. A main
advantage is its compact construction, which allows the tent to
rapidly and conveniently pitched and collapsed without using any
tools and screw-type engagements. The novel frame construction
provides a strong structural integrity against undesired weather
conditions such as severe wind. In addition, a collapsible tent
constructed according to the present invention is easy to transport
and takes up less storage space.
[0045] Although the present invention and its advantages have been
described in detail, it should be understood that the present
invention is not limited to or defined by what is shown or
described herein. As one of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate, various changes, substitutions, and alterations could
be made or otherwise implemented without departing from the
principles of the present invention. For example, the present
invention is not limited to any particular materials. The
components described above can be fabricated using commonly
available materials and machines. The dimension and weight of a
portable collapsible tent of the present invention can therefore
vary depending on the materials used and/or application desired. In
addition, although the drawings disclosed herein show a somewhat
rectangular shaped tent with four sets of side legs, cross bar
members, spreaders, and inclined roof ribs, other shapes are
possible as the number of sets increases to five or more or
decreases to three. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention
should be determined by the following claims and their legal
equivalents.
* * * * *