U.S. patent application number 12/073224 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-04 for inflatable tent for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck.
Invention is credited to Jean-Marc Daniel Turcot.
Application Number | 20080210282 12/073224 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39732251 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080210282 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Turcot; Jean-Marc Daniel |
September 4, 2008 |
Inflatable tent for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck
Abstract
An inflatable tent for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck.
The tent includes at least one inflatable beam having opposite ends
and extending, when mounted at its opposite ends to the bed, from a
front of the bed to the rear of the bed. A flexible tent canopy is
mounted to the inflatable beams. Each inflatable beam forms a
substantially ogive shape when viewed in side elevation when
inflated and mounted into the bed so as to dispose the opposite
ends in releasably mounted engagement secured to interior opposite
ends of the bed.
Inventors: |
Turcot; Jean-Marc Daniel;
(Kelowna, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Antony C. Edwards
P.O. Box 26020
Westbank
BC
V4T 2G3
CA
|
Family ID: |
39732251 |
Appl. No.: |
12/073224 |
Filed: |
March 3, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60904360 |
Mar 2, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
135/88.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H 15/06 20130101;
E04H 15/20 20130101; E04H 2015/201 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/88.14 |
International
Class: |
E04H 15/06 20060101
E04H015/06 |
Claims
1. An inflatable tent for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck,
the tent comprising: at least one inflatable beam having opposite
ends and extending, when mounted at its opposite ends to the bed,
from a front of the bed to the rear of the bed, a flexible tent
canopy mounted to said at least one inflatable beam, wherein said
at least one inflatable beam forms a substantially ogive shape when
viewed in side elevation when inflated and mounted into the bed so
as to dispose said opposite ends in releasably mounted engagement
secured to interior opposite ends of the bed.
2. The tent of claim 1 wherein said at least one inflatable beam
includes a pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams and wherein said
opposite ends of said pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams are
mounted in corresponding opposite corners of said bed.
3. The tent of claim 2 wherein said beams, when unconstrained by
said canopy, are substantially linear when inflated and wherein
said canopy is formed into a mushroom-like shape defining said
substantially ogive shape for each beam of said pair of
criss-crossed inflatable beams.
4. The tent of claim 3 wherein said each beam has at said opposite
ends a vertical leg portion when inflated and mounted in the
corners of the bed, wherein said vertical leg portion extends
vertically the height of a corresponding sidewall of the bed.
5. The tent of claim 4 wherein said substantially ogive shape
flares outwardly of the bed and over the sidewalls of the bed from
upper ends of said vertical leg portions.
6. The tent of claim 5 wherein said canopy constrains said each
beam vertically downwardly at an apex of said canopy when said each
beam is inflated so as to urge mid-portions of each end of said
each beam to bulge outwardly of the bed and over the sidewalls of
the bed from said upper ends of said vertical leg portions.
7. The tent of claim 6 wherein said canopy includes seams formed
along panels of flexible material and wherein said seams define
said substantially ogive-shape for said each beam, and wherein said
each beam is mounted along corresponding said seams.
8. The tent of claim 7 wherein said seams are mounted along and
underneath said each beam.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/904,360 filed Mar. 2, 2007 entitled
Inflatable Tent for Mounting into the Bed of a Pickup Truck.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to the fields of inflatable tents and
in particular to an inflatable tent which is adapted for mounting
into the bed of a pickup truck.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Inflatable tents for use in camping are known in the prior
art and are sold commercially for example by Airzone Recreation
Products of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. These tents are the
subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,617 which issued Jul. 24, 2001 to
Turcot. Such tents typically replicate camping tents available
commercially which rely on bent fibreglass poles for their support
structure and instead substitute inflatable poles which, when bent,
provide the supporting frame work for the exterior canopy of the
tent over which a so-called fly sheet may be mounted.
[0004] Applicant is also aware of an inflatable tent for sport
utility vehicle which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,367
which issued Jan. 30, 2001 to Bowen. Bowen discloses an inflatable
tent assembly for a vehicle having a rear hatch, wherein the
inflatable tent assembly includes an inflatable frame and cover
having the shape of the inflatable frame when inflated, the cover
having a vehicle side and being sized to fit on the exterior of the
inflatable frame. An opening on the vehicle side of the cover and a
fastener system disposed around the peripheral edge of the opening
connects the frame to the rear hatch of the vehicle. The frame is
preferably made of collapsible hollow tubes.
[0005] Also in the prior art, applicant is aware of the following
patents which disclose various tents adapted for use in cooperation
with a vehicle:
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,279 which issued Dec. 5, 2000 to
Humphrey; U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,468 which issued Aug. 15, 2000 to
Lowrey et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,026 which issued Feb. 29, 2000
to Vega et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,195 which issued Nov. 23, 1999
to Kaestner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,076 which issued Sep. 21,
1999 to McGinnis; U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,761 which issued Jul. 20,
1999 to Harrison; U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,795 which issued Dec. 2, 1997
to Mininger; U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,851 which issued Aug. 23, 1994 to
Miller et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,281 which issued Oct. 31, 1989
to Altmann; U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,299 which issued Apr. 14, 1987 to
Mahan; U.S. Design Pat. No. D461,759 which issued Aug. 20, 2002 to
Napieraj; U.S. Design Pat. No. D454,328 which issued Mar. 12, 2002
to Cornelius; U.S. Design Pat. No. D428,595 which issued Jul. 25,
2000 to Salinas; U.S. Design Pat. No. D397,669 which issued Sep. 1,
1998 to Komick; U.S. Design Pat. No. D382,248 which issued Aug. 12,
1997 to Long; U.S. Design Pat. No. D352,690 which issued Nov. 22,
1994 to Schorr; U.S. Design Pat. No. D340,689 which issued Oct. 26,
1993 to Wolcott et al.; U.S. Design Pat. No. D337,979 which issued
Aug. 3, 1993 to Napieraj; U.S. Design Pat. No. D318,446 which
issued Jul. 23, 1991 to Magyar et al.; U.S. Design Pat. No.
D299,817 which issued Feb. 14, 1989 to Wolcott et al.; U.S. Design
Pat. No. D297,424 which issued Aug. 30, 1988 to Norris, III.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In summary, the inflatable tent according to the present
invention for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck may be
characterized in one aspect as including at least one inflatable
beam having opposite ends and extending from a front of the bed to
the rear of the bed when mounted at its opposite ends to the bed,
and a flexible tent canopy mounted to the at least one inflatable
beam.
[0008] The tent according to the present invention may include a
pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams, and the opposite ends of
the pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams are mounted in
corresponding opposite corners of the bed.
[0009] In one embodiment each inflatable beam forms a substantially
ogive shape when the beam is viewed in its side elevation when
inflated and mounted into the bed so as to dispose the opposite
ends in releasably mounted engagement secured to interior opposite
ends of the bed. In an embodiment the beams, when unconstrained by
the canopy, are substantially linear when inflated, and the canopy
is formed into a mushroom-like shape defining the substantially
ogive shape for each beam of the pair of criss-crossed inflatable
beams. Each beam may have at its opposite ends a vertical leg
portion when inflated and mounted in the corners of the bed. The
vertical leg portion extends vertically the height of a
corresponding sidewall of the bed, and the ogive shape may flare
outwardly of the bed over the sidewalls of the bed from upper ends
of the vertical leg portions.
[0010] The canopy may constrain each beam vertically downwardly at
an apex of the canopy when beams are inflated so as to urge
mid-portions of each end of each beam to bulge outwardly of the bed
and over the sidewalls of the bed from the upper ends of the
vertical leg portions so as to form the ogive-shape of each beam.
Further, the canopy may include seams formed along panels of
flexible material which define the substantially ogive-shape for
each beam, and wherein each beam is mounted along corresponding
seams. In one embodiment the seams are mounted along and underneath
each beam.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is, in perspective view, an embodiment of the
inflatable truck-mountable tent according to the present invention
incorporating a single inflatable beam extending longitudinally
along the bed of the truck.
[0012] FIG. 2 is, in side elevation view, the tent of FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 3 is, in rear elevation view, the tent of FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 4 is, in perspective view, a further embodiment of the
truck-mountable tent according to the present invention
incorporating a pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams mounted to
the upper ends of the side rails of the truck bed.
[0015] FIG. 5 is, a further embodiment of the truck-mountable tent
according to the present invention wherein a pair of criss-crossed
inflatable beams are mounted into the bed of the truck.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a further embodiment of the truck-mountable
inflatable tent according to the present invention wherein a single
vertically inflatable pole supports a tent canopy within the truck
bed.
[0017] FIG. 7 is, in perspective view, the tent of FIG. 5 with a
fly sheet mounted over the tent and bed rails.
[0018] FIG. 8 is, in perspective view, a further embodiment of the
truck-mountable tent according to the present invention
incorporating a criss-crossed pair of inflatable beams wherein each
of the beams forms an ogive-like shape when inflated so as to
define a mushroom-like shaped canopy supported by the beams when
inflated and mounted into the bed of a truck.
[0019] FIG. 9, in perspective view, the truck-mountable tent of
FIG. 8 with a fly sheet mounted over the tent and bed rails.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0020] According to one embodiment of the inflatable tent according
to the present invention for mounting into the bed of a pickup
truck, inflatable tent 10 mounts into the bed of a pickup truck 12
so as to be disposed between the bed sidewalls 14a and 14b on
opposite lateral sides of tent 10, and so as to extend
longitudinally from the front wall 14c of the bed and tailgate 16.
At least one inflatable beam 18, when inflated, provides an arcuate
support arching over the pickup truck bed so as to support
therefrom a flexible tent canopy 20.
[0021] Canopy 20 includes opposite lateral sides 20a and 20b which
extend from a vertex 22 of the tent to the upper edges of bed
sidewalls 14a and 14b respectively. A front portion 20c of canopy
20 extends downwardly from vertex 22 to bed front wall 14c. Door
panels 20d extend downwardly from sides 20a and 20b to tailgate
16.
[0022] In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, only a single,
longitudinally extending inflatable beam 18 is employed. The front
end 18a is mounted to the bed front wall 14c, as illustrated, to
the upper edge of bed front wall 14c although this is not intended
to be limiting as the front end 18a of beam 18 may extend
downwardly to the lower edge of bed front wall 14c. Beam 18 in that
embodiment bisects the bed of pickup truck 12 and forms a
downwardly concave arc between front end 18a and the opposite rear
end 18b of the beam. The rear end 18b of beam 18 may terminate at
the outwardly cantilevered edge 16b of tailgate 16, that is, the
rear-most edge of tailgate 16 when the tailgate is folded down, or
may also terminate at the opposite edge 16a of tailgate 16 in a
shorter embodiment of inflatable tent 10. In both embodiments, a
flexible floor 24 of tent 10 extends between the front and rear of
the tent and between the opposite of the tent. Floor 24 may be
fastened down onto, for example, tailgate 16 or otherwise the floor
26 of the pickup truck bed. Rear end 18b of beam 18 may be mounted
to floor 24, and, because floor 24 is mounted to the truck, assists
in maintaining the arcuate shape of beam 18. Otherwise, in the
embodiment wherein the front end 18a of beam 18 extends to the
bottom edge of bed front wall 14c, floor 24 which extends between
ends 18a and 18b may provide the tension to assist in maintaining
the arcuate shape of beam 18.
[0023] The sides 20a and 20b of tent 10 may be secured to the upper
edges of bed sidewalls 14a and 14b, for example by the use of
flexible straps 28 or other releasable fasteners. Sides 20a and 20b
are equally tensioned to thereby support beam 18 in a vertical
plane bisecting pickup truck 12. With the ends of beam 18 supported
so as to maintain the arcuate shape of the beam, and with sides 20a
and 20b tensioned between corresponding bed sidewalls 14a and 14b,
door panels 20d are sufficiently de-tensioned so that releasable
fasteners such as zippered fasteners may be employed to allow ease
of entry into tent 10 and for ease of re-closing of the door
panels.
[0024] In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, a pair of beams 18,
namely beams 18' and 18'' are mounted so as to extend in a domed
criss-cross fashion between oppositely disposed corners of the bed
of pickup truck 12. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the distal ends of
the inflatable beams 18' and 18'' are mounted to the ends of the
upper edges of bed sidewalls 14a and 14b so as to cover the maximum
floor space inside the truck bed and so as to thereby cover the
entire bed floor 26. In the embodiment of FIG. 5 the distal ends of
the inflatable beams 18' and 18'' are mounted to the four corners
of bed floor 26.
[0025] In both embodiments, tent canopies 20 are supported under
beams 18' and 18'', for example by the use of downwardly depending
clips 28, or straps or releasable fasteners or the like mounted so
as to depend from the lower inner circumferential edge of the
inflatable beams.
[0026] In the embodiment of FIG. 5, tent 10 is sized so that the
edges 24a which extend longitudinally along bed floor 26 are
laterally in-board of the wheel wells 14d which protrude from
opposite sides into the truck bed. The resilient nature of
inflatable beams 18' and 18'' accommodate the flexing of edges 24a
as they bend around wheel wells 14c with the distal ends of the
inflatable beams snugged into the four corners of the truck
bed.
[0027] In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a tent 10' is used in place of
tent 10 wherein tent 10', instead of using criss-crossed inflatable
beams 18' and 18'' is a tepee-style tent held erect by the use of a
single inflatable vertical pole 30. Inflatable pole 30, once
inflated, extends from tent floor 24 vertically upwardly into the
vertex 22'. In a preferred embodiment, the upper-most end of pole
30 is mounted to the inside of canopy 20' at vertex 22', and the
opposite lower-most end of pole 30 is mounted to the centre of tent
floor 24. In this embodiment, the four opposite corners of tent
floor 24 and the corresponding four opposite corners of canopy 20'
are releasably mounted to the corresponding four opposite corners
of bed floor 26 by the use of conventional releasable fasteners.
With the four corners of the tent thus secured to the four corners
of the truck bed, pole 30 is inflated so as to tension canopy 20'.
As before, edges 24a of tent floor 24 flex around wheel wells 14c
which protrude into the truck bed. The tent 10' may also be used
removed from the truck bed and instead placed on the ground.
[0028] Returning to the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, as seen in
FIG. 7, an elongate fly sheet 32 is mounted over the top of poles
18' and 18''. The longitudinally extending side edges 32a on
opposite sides of fly sheet 32, are releasably secured along the
top edges of side walls 14a and 14b by conventional releasable
fasteners, straps or other releasable mounting means. The forward
edge 32b is likewise releasably mounted to the upper-most edge of
front wall 14c. The rear portion 32c of fly sheet 32 is elongate
and extends from vertex 22, that is, where the vertex of fly sheet
32 rests on top of vertex 22 of tent 10, and extends rearwardly to
the rear-most edge 16b of tailgate 16 where it is releasably
secured so as to tension portion 32c allowing use of a conventional
tent doorway 32d, itself releasably closed by zippers,
hook-and-loop fasteners or the like.
[0029] It has been found that a five foot wide by eight foot long
tent 10 fits snugly into the bed of a conventional long-box pickup
truck with the tailgate up and fits into a short-bed pickup truck
with the tailgate down. The five by eight foot dimensions were
chosen so that the side walls of the tent may clear the wheel wells
protruding into the truck bed.
[0030] In a further alternative embodiment of the tent according to
the present invention, a pair of inflatable beams 34 and in
particular beams 34a and 34b are mounted again in criss-crossed
fashion with the opposite ends of each of beams 34 releasably
mounted to the corresponding four corners of bed floor 26 of pickup
truck bed 12a. The ends of beams 34 are mounted to the four corners
of tent floor 24 and extended vertically upwardly from the four
corners of bed floor 26 along the ends of bed sidewalls 14a and
14b. Beams 34a and 34b may either be pre-formed or forced by the
pre-formed fit of the tent canopy mounted to the beams so that the
beams 34 flare outwardly of bed 12a as they extend upwardly from
the upper edges of sidewalls 14a and 14b, thereafter curving
upwardly and inwardly so as to criss-cross at vertex 22, each of
beams 34 thereby forming the shape of an ogive. The resulting
three-dimensional shape of tent 10'' may be described as
approximating a mushroom-shape. This inflatable structure once
erected within bed 12a, provides the height advantage of the
mounting of tent 10 to the upper edges of sidewalls 14a and 14b as
seen in FIG. 4 with the added advantage of further lateral and
fore-and-aft room within tent 10'' provided by the bulging of the
ogives above the bed sidewalls.
[0031] As seen in FIG. 9, a fly sheet 36 may be mounted over beams
34 and may extend to the end 16b of tailgate 16 in the fashion of
the embodiment of FIG. 7 so as to provide an elongated vestibule
entranceway over the tailgate and into tent 10''. Fly sheet 36 is
otherwise mounted to bed 12a in the same fashion as described above
with respect to fly sheet 32 and the embodiment of FIG. 7.
[0032] In the embodiment of FIG. 8, when inflatable beams 34 are
normally linear when inflated as for example in the embodiment of
FIG. 4 so that the ogive shape for each of beams 34 is formed by
the cut of the tent canopy 20, whether the tent canopy is mounted
or suspended underneath beams 34, with tent canopy 20 affixed to
the four corners of bed 12a and in particular bed floor 26, the
ogive may be formed into the criss-cross seams of canopy 20
advantageously where mounted to corresponding beams 34 and in this
fashion drawing down vertex 22 so as to compress the ends of the
beams outwardly into the ogive shape conforming to the cut of the
canopy and its seams. In FIG. 8 canopy 20 is shown as extending
between beams 34 it being understood that canopy 20 would extend in
a mushroom-shaped cover entirely around the three-dimensional
structure defined by the ogives of beams 34 and their corresponding
vertical legs mounted into the truck bed corners.
[0033] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light
of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are
possible in the practice of this invention without departing from
the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the
invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance
defined by the following claims.
* * * * *