U.S. patent application number 11/380324 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-16 for collapsible portable shelter.
Invention is credited to Robert James Mahaffey, Benjamin H. Roberts, Earl Dennis Trautman.
Application Number | 20060254159 11/380324 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37417711 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060254159 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Trautman; Earl Dennis ; et
al. |
November 16, 2006 |
Collapsible Portable Shelter
Abstract
A portable collapsible shelter trailer comprising of a container
having four doors on each side that are hinged along the bottom,
and which may be folded to a horizontal position to yield a
portable shelter having rigid frame and flexible fabric sections.
The deployment of the fabric shelter after the doors are deployed
is accomplished by air actuated cylinders which are mounted to each
of the doors, and are controlled from a control panel by means of
air valves that regulate the flow of compressed air into the
cylinders to impart tension to the fabric shelter.
Inventors: |
Trautman; Earl Dennis;
(Delta, BC) ; Roberts; Benjamin H.; (White Rock,
BC) ; Mahaffey; Robert James; (Vancouver,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NEXUS LAW GROUP LLP
1500 - 701 WEST GEORGIA STREET
VANCOUVER
BC
V74-1C6
CA
|
Family ID: |
37417711 |
Appl. No.: |
11/380324 |
Filed: |
April 26, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60594641 |
Apr 26, 2005 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/64 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 1/3444 20130101;
E04H 15/008 20130101; B60P 3/34 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/064 |
International
Class: |
E04B 7/16 20060101
E04B007/16 |
Claims
1. A collapsible portable shelter comprising: a rigid, hollow
container having vertical sides, a horizontal top and bottom,
wherein at least one of the sides includes a wall portion that is
hingedly connected to said side at the lower edge of the wall
portion to enable the wall portion to be swung between a closed
vertical position and an open horizontal position, the wall portion
having an outer edge, and said side defining an opening
circumscribed by edges of said side when said wall portion is in
the open position; means associated with the container and with
said wall portion for releasably securing said wall portion in the
vertical position; at least one support mechanism cooperating with
the wall portion for providing stability to the wall portion when
the wall portion is in the horizontal position; a flexible cover
secured to the outer edge of the wall portion and to the container
around the opening in said side, and adapted to extend above the
wall portion when the wall portion is in the horizontal position to
define a covered space above the wall portion; a fluid actuated
tensioner extending outwardly from the vertical side and within the
covered space above the wall portion when the wall portion is in
the horizontal position for supporting the flexible cover above the
wall portion and providing tension to the flexible cover; a source
of pressurized fluid in fluid communication with the tensioner for
providing fluid to the tensioner; and a control valve associated
with the source of fluid for regulating the amount of fluid flowing
into the tensioner to cause a lengthening of the tensioner in
response to input from a user.
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fluid actuated
tensioner is pneumatically actuated and the pressurized fluid is a
pressurized gas.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the pressurized gas
is compressed air.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the fluid actuated
tensioner comprises: a pair of air cylinders, one on each side of
the wall portion, each air cylinder being hingedly connected at a
first end to an inside surface of the wall portion near the lower
edge thereof in a manner that enables a second end of the air
cylinder to swing in relation to the wall portion; and a horizontal
cross member that is connected at each end to one of the air
cylinders at the second end thereof, wherein the air cylinders and
the horizontal cross member define a frame that is hinged in
relation to the wall portion and which is able to abut the inside
of the flexible cover to apply tension to the cover; and wherein
the apparatus further includes a manifold located mid-way between
said air cylinders and in fluid communication with the source of
compressed air and with the air cylinders for distributing an equal
amount of air to each of the cylinders.
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the support
mechanism comprises a plurality of adjustable legs hingedly
connected to the outside of the wall portion in a manner that as
the wall portion in swung toward the horizontal position, the
adjustable legs swing away from the wall portion into a vertical
orientation and into contact with the surface on which the
apparatus is rests so that each leg provides support to the wall
portion.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the support
mechanism further comprises at least one stop cable connected to an
upper portion of the side of the container and to an upper portion
of the wall portion, the cable being of a length sufficient to
permit the wall portion to be lowered into the horizontal position,
but which prevents the wall portion from being lowered beyond the
horizontal position.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a trailer
chassis and wherein the container is mounted to the chassis such
that the apparatus may be towed behind a vehicle.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the fluid actuated
tensioner is pneumatically actuated and the pressurized fluid is a
pressurized gas.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the pressurized gas
is compressed air.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the fluid actuated
tensioner comprises: a pair of air cylinders, one on each side of
the wall portion, each air cylinder being hingedly connected at a
first end to an inside surface of the wall portion near the lower
edge thereof in a manner that enables a second end of the air
cylinder to swing in relation to the wall portion; and a horizontal
cross member that is connected at each end to one of the air
cylinders at the second end thereof, wherein the air cylinders and
the horizontal cross member define a frame that is hinged in
relation to the wall portion and which is able to abut the inside
of the flexible cover to apply tension to the cover; and wherein
the apparatus further includes a manifold located mid-way between
said air cylinders and in fluid communication with the source of
compressed air and with the cylinders for distributing an equal
amount of air to each of the cylinders.
11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the support
mechanism comprises a plurality of adjustable legs hingedly
connected to the outside of the wall portion in a manner that as
the wall portion in swung toward the horizontal position, the
adjustable legs swing away from the wall portion into a vertical
orientation and into contact with the surface on which the
apparatus is rests so that each leg provides support to the wall
portion.
12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein the support
mechanism further comprises at least one stop cable connected to an
upper portion of the side of the container and to an upper portion
of the wall portion, the cable being of a length sufficient to
permit the wall portion to be lowered into the horizontal position,
but which prevents the wall portion from being lowered beyond the
horizontal position.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority from U.S.
provisional patent application No. 60/594,641, filed Apr. 26, 2005.
This and all other references referenced herein are incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety and for all their teachings
and disclosures, regardless of where the references may appear in
this application.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The invention relates to the field of portable shelters and
more particularly to collapsible portable shelters having both
rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse to a rigid
container or trailer.
[0003] Transportable shelters having both rigid frame and flexible
fabric sections which collapse to a rigid container or trailer are
known and used in a variety of industries and applications that
require economical and rapidly deployable temporary shelter
facilities, such as for example, military, disaster response,
forestry and construction applications. Desirable traits of such
portable shelters include the ease of transportability and the ease
and speed of deployment. Accordingly there is a need for shelters
that are simple to deploy using as few personnel as possible, and
which may be easily deployed by such personnel in the shortest
amount of time possible.
SUMMARY
[0004] The present invention provides collapsible portable shelters
having both rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse
to a rigid container or trailer in which the deployment of the
fabric shelter after the doors are deployed is accomplished by air
actuated cylinders which are mounted to each of the doors, and are
controlled from a control panel by means of air valves that
regulate the flow of compressed air into the air cylinders to
impart tension to the fabric shelter.
[0005] Thus, in one aspect, the collapsible portable shelter herein
comprises a rigid, hollow container having vertical sides, a
horizontal top and bottom, wherein at least one of the sides
includes a wall portion that is hingedly connected to said side at
the lower edge of the wall portion to enable the wall portion to be
swung between a closed vertical position and an open horizontal
position, the wall portion having an outer edge, and said side
defining an opening circumscribed by edges of said side when said
wall portion is in the open position, means associated with the
container and with said wall portion for releasably securing said
wall portion in the vertical position, at least one support
mechanism cooperating with the wall portion for providing stability
to the wall portion when the wall portion is in the horizontal
position, a flexible cover secured to the outer edge of the wall
portion and to the container around the opening in said side, and
adapted to extend above the wall portion when the wall portion is
in the horizontal position to define a covered space above the wall
portion, a fluid actuated tensioner extending outwardly from the
vertical side and within the covered space above the wall portion
when the wall portion is in the horizontal position for supporting
the flexible cover above the wall portion and providing tension to
the flexible cover, a source of pressurized fluid in fluid
communication with the tensioner for providing fluid to the
tensioner, and a control valve associated with the source of fluid
for regulating the amount of fluid flowing into the tensioner to
cause a lengthening of the tensioner in response to input from a
user.
[0006] Some embodiments of the collapsible portable shelter may
also include a trailer chassis and the container is mounted to the
chassis such that the apparatus may be towed behind a vehicle. In
either case, the fluid actuated tensioner may be pneumatically
actuated and the pressurized fluid may a pressurized gas. In
particular, the pressurized gas is compressed air.
[0007] In some embodiments, the fluid actuated tensioner comprises
a pair of air cylinders, one on each side of the wall portion, each
air cylinder being hingedly connected at a first end to an inside
surface of the wall portion near the lower edge thereof in a manner
that enables a second end of the air cylinder to swing in relation
to the wall portion, and a horizontal cross member that is
connected at each end to one of the air cylinders at the second end
thereof, wherein the air cylinders and the horizontal cross member
define a frame that is hinged in relation to the wall portion and
which is able to abut the inside of the flexible cover to apply
tension to the cover, and wherein the apparatus further includes a
manifold located mid-way between said air cylinders and in fluid
communication with the source of compressed air and with the air
cylinders for distributing an equal amount of air to each of the
cylinders.
[0008] In some embodiments, the support mechanism may comprise a
plurality of adjustable legs hingedly connected to the outside of
the wall portion in a manner that as the wall portion in swung
toward the horizontal position, the adjustable legs swing away from
the wall portion into a vertical orientation and into contact with
the surface on which the apparatus is rests so that each leg
provides support to the wall portion. As well, the support
mechanism may further comprise at least one stop cable connected to
an upper portion of the side of the container and to an upper
portion of the wall portion, the cable being of a length sufficient
to permit the wall portion to be lowered into the horizontal
position, but which prevents the wall portion from being lowered
beyond the horizontal position.
[0009] These and other aspects, features and embodiments are set
forth within this application, including the following detailed
description and attached drawings. In addition, various references
are set forth herein, including in the Cross-Reference To Related
Applications, that discuss certain systems, apparatus, methods and
other information; all such references are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety and for all their teachings and
disclosures, regardless of where the references may appear in this
application.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the
invention in collapsed state of a trailer;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in
a deployed state in which all four walls or doors are folded down
in a horizontal position, and the fabric shelter in place;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 2
without the fabric shelter covering to expose the internal
structures of the collapsible portable shelter;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a corner of the trailer
showing two mounted air actuated cylinders when the trailer is in
the collapsed state;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of one air cylinder in the
configuration it would be in when the wall or door on which it is
mounted is in the deployed state;
[0015] FIG. 5a is a close-up view of the rod end of the air
cylinder in FIG. 5;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the air cylinder of FIG. 5
showing its attachment to the corresponding shelter support tube;
and
[0017] FIG. 6a is a close-up view of the rod end of the air
cylinder in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the
principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the
exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific
language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be
understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is
thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the
inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional
applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated
herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and
having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within
the scope of the invention. Therefore, specific details disclosed
herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis
for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one
skilled in the art to employ the present invention.
[0019] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 6a, an embodiment of a
collapsible portable shelter of the present invention in its
collapsed state (FIG. 1) forms a trailer 10 comprising a rigid
hollow container or box structure 14 having rectangular vertical
sides and a horizontal top and bottom. The container 14 is mounted
on a trailer chassis 16 having wheels 18 mounted on two low profile
axles 17 which eliminating the need for wheel wells. Stabilizing
jacks 19 are provided at each corner of the trailer frame for
leveling and stabilizing the trailer. The container has a sub frame
20 with a solid floor of wood or aluminum 22 on which are provided
two F tracks 24 used to tie down on-board cargo.
[0020] Each corner of the container has a tubular vertical corner
post 26 of the sub frame 20 that support the roof 30. The roof 30
has its own sub frame mounted to the corner posts, that supports
the roof joists and roof panels. The two sub frames and corner
posts form the main frame for the fold down doors 34 that are
mounted on each side of the trailer. This upper structure is
designed to give maximum opening size. The size of the material
used in the structure is determined by the overall length of the
trailer. In the illustrated embodiment, the length of the corner
posts are set by the size of the sub frames and have 88'' of clear
opening.
[0021] Each of the vertical sides of the container include wall
portions, which are referred to herein as doors 34, that are each
hinged at their lower edge to the bottom sub frame 20 to enable the
doors to be swung between a closed vertical position and an open
horizontal position. The vertical side defines a door frame or
opening circumscribed by edges of the vertical side when the door
is in the horizontal position. In order to allow one-person
deployment of the doors, there are provided torsion bars associated
with the container and the doors that reduce the weight of each
door to approximately 10 percent of the total door weight. While in
the illustrated embodiment, the wall portions or doors are shown to
virtually take up the entire vertical sides to maximize the amount
of available space in the deployed apparatus, it is conceivable
that the doors could be made smaller than the vertical sides in
some embodiments.
[0022] The doors are releasably secured or held in the closed
position by door locks of the kind used in standard trailers. Each
door has an angle 36 of 2 to 3 inches attached to the top and sides
of the door and approximately 1'' from the inside edge, except for
the rear door 40 where there is a 42'' gap on the outside angle to
accommodate loading of equipment via a ramp 42, which is retained
in loading ramp case 43 during transport of the trailer. The doors
have a rubber weather strip installed around the perimeter to
eliminate air and water leaks. There is also provided an awning
rail 38 adjacent the angle 36 for securing a flexible cover or
fabric shelter 80 to the door. The rear fold down door 40 has a
42'' man-door installed which allows users to load or unload
ancillary equipment and supplies without lowering the main door and
deploying the fabric structure.
[0023] On the outside of each door are provided adjustable legs 45
that are preferably mounted no more than five feet apart. These
legs are locked in the closed position with a spring catch. The
adjustable legs are released from the spring clips before the doors
are lowered and the adjustable legs swing into position and are set
to hold the doors in a horizontal position, thereby acting as a
support mechanism for the doors.
[0024] Wire door stop cables 50 are provided on each side of the
doors to stop the doors in the horizontal position, thereby also
acting as a support mechanism for the doors. These cables are
mounted at the top corner of the door frame and a distance of 3''
from the top edge of the door and 1'' from the side of the door.
3/8'' bolts with sleeves are used to mount the cables to the door
and door frame. These cables prevent over-tensioning of the fabric,
which would occur if the doors are not stopped at the horizontal
position. All cables are mounted on the inside of the fabric
shelter portions.
[0025] Each fold down door 34 has two air actuated cylinders 60,
each being mounted with a mounting bracket 62 that is bolted to the
door a distance of 2'' from bottom inside edge of door to center of
the blind end pin, and 3 7/16'' from side edge to the center of the
cylinder. The air actuated cylinders are mounted to the mounting
bracket with a blind end pin and two cotter pins. Accordingly, the
air cylinders are able to swing or pivot in relation to the
door.
[0026] The flexible cover or fabric shelter 80 is provided and made
of a waterproof PVC coated polyester material or something similar,
which can also be insulated. The roof of the fabric shelter and two
sides are attached to the door frame. A horizontal cross member
such as shelter support tube or awning tube 100 is provided having
a slot at each end for attachment to an air cylinder. The fabric
shelter is attached to the support tube 100 by sliding a beaded
edge on the inside of the fabric shelter, located where the roof
meets the outside wall, into a corresponding groove on the support
tube. Accordingly, the air cylinders and the support tube define a
frame that is hinged in relation to the door, and together they act
as a fluid or pneumatically actuated tensioner that supports the
fabric shelter above its respective door when in the deployed
position and provides tension to the fabric shelter.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 5 & 6, the rod end mechanism of each
air actuated cylinder 60 is shown (FIGS. 5a and 6a) and is attached
to the shelter support tube 100 along with two cables 110 and 112.
The rod end mechanism utilizes adjusting screw 114 received within
a hex nut 115 for final tensioning of fabric. The cables 110 and
112 ensure that the air actuated cylinder, hence the support tube
100 extends into the correct position. These cables are mounted on
the same 3/8'' bolts as the door stop cable 50 and are installed
before the fabric shelter. The rod end is inserted into the support
tube and the fabric shelter is then attached to the angles on the
outside edges of the doors using awning rails 38 and fasteners.
[0028] Each end or long wall of the fabric shelter has a 42''
zippered door 120 in the center of the fabric wall. When
positioning two trailers, side-by-side, a fabric tube may be used
to join the two trailers together. Multiple trailers can be joined
in this way using either front, rear or side doors. All doors can
have two-step staircases 130 or a 36'' wide ramp 42 attached to
allow ingress or egress to the trailer.
[0029] Control panel hinges are mounted to the front driver's side
corner tube with the rear of the panel in its stowed position 2''
from the front wall. Two hood catches are attached to hold the
control panel 70 in its transport position. The control panel
utilizes a source of compressed air from an air bottle mounted in
the control panel or a static high-pressure storage tank mounted to
the trailer frame or from a 120-volt air compressor. This air
source is connected to the main control panel, equipped with one
master control valve and four control valves, one for each door.
The control panel also has a shore power plug for remote power
hookup and light switches to turn the lights off and on.
[0030] From the control panel, a large air line is deployed to a
central location for each door, where a manifold then allows a
smaller air line to be routed to each of the cylinders located at
each door side. The manifold must be located at the center of the
door on the main frame of the trailer, and the small lines must be
of equal length. This is the only way that the cylinders will
extend or contract at the same speed. It is important for this to
happen otherwise jamming will occur.
[0031] In deploying the portable shelter trailer, the adjustable
legs on a door are released from their spring clips, and then the
door locks are released to permit the door to be pulled open and
lowered until it stops. This is repeated for the other doors. To
erect the individual fabric shelter portions, the desired air valve
on the control panel is turned on to allow the flow of compressed
air to actuate the corresponding air cylinders on that door to
tension the corresponding fabric shelter portion. With this air
actuation system, each shelter portion may be erected in a very
short period of time, often in a matter of seconds. This is
repeated for the three other shelter portions to complete the
deployment of the entire unit. From within the trailer, locking
pins are inserted into a hole 134 provided on each of the
cylinders, and then all of the air valves are turned off to stop
the flow of air to the cylinders. From within the enclosed area,
three bungee cords (described below) are removed each shelter
portion and a retention-webbing strap.
[0032] To stow the trailer, attach the three bungee cords to the
sides of the shelter for each unit. These cords are used to pull
the fabric inside the trailer as the doors are raised and prevent
the fabric from jamming between the door and the door frame. Next,
attach the retention straps to the webbing handle, located on the
inside corner of each corner post 60'' from the floor. These straps
hold the shelters and cylinders in an upright position to allow
stowage of equipment and supplies during transport. If the surface
on which the trailer is parked is irregular, return the adjustable
legs to the stowing position. Then remove the locking pins from the
cylinders by pushing on the awning tube and lowering the cylinders
at the same rate. Now lift the doors from outside and lock in-place
with door locks. Stow the adjustable legs in spring clips. Return
the ancillary equipment and supplies to the trailer using the
stairs or the ramp through the man-door. Secure the equipment with
tie-downs. Trailer is now ready for transport.
[0033] From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, although
specific embodiments have been discussed herein for purposes of
illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating
from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended
claims.
* * * * *