Bed Tent

Abstract

A bed tent includes an enclosure defined by a top spanning two side walls. The side walls are characterized by a deformable, collapsible material, each bearing a wire ring defining its periphery. The wire rings have spring-like characteristics, and may be hyper-extended, or folded in order to create tightly coiled rings of smaller circumference. In this manner, the tightly coiled rings may be unfolded to form the side walls, which are kept separated by cross members at the top of the enclosure. The enclosure is sized to fit a standard bed frame, and a mattress and bed linens may be installed in the enclosure when assembled.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of provisional application No. 61/598,292, filed on Feb. 13, 2012.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Personal enclosures for covering a mattress or bed are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 7,174,584 to Danaher, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,434 to Arnold, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,598 to Griesenbeck, among others, disclose apparatus for covering a bed or mattress with a tent structure for privacy or security. These apparatus and others known in the art have several drawbacks. First, they typically use numerous parts, which may be difficult to put together, and may become lost. They are also difficult to assemble and disassemble, which serves as a disincentive to using them.

[0003] There is therefore a need for a bed tent having a single, easily collapsible enclosure and a minimum number of individual parts, and which may be easily assembled and disassembled by a user with minimal effort. These and other objects addressed by the present invention will be more fully discussed in the following Summary, Description and Claims.

SUMMARY

[0004] A portable and collapsible bed tent includes an enclosure having two opposing side walls and a top between them designed to install on a conventionally-sized bed and contain a mattress. The side walls have peripheral edges, and each peripheral edge is equipped with a flexible and deformable ring, which may be made of wire. The rings therefore define the periphery of a side wall. Because the rings are resiliently deformable, after removing a mattress the enclosure may be collapsed by moving the rings together and in tandem folding opposite peripheral edges together. In this manner the periphery of the rings is substantially reduced into a collapsed configuration.

[0005] The bed tent may also be characterized as covering the space above a mattress by providing a pair of spaced-apart side walls, each having a periphery, and a top between the side walls. Spring-like curved rings are integrated into the periphery of each side wall, and the enclosure, in an expanded configuration is sized to house the mattress. By removing the mattress the enclosure is collapsible, the rings characterized in that by hyper-extending the curvature of a ring, smaller multiple helices of lesser circumference are formed for storing the bed tent when not in use. Since the rings are coupled to the peripheral edges of the enclosure, as the rings form a smaller, tightly coiled ring, the enclosure is collapsed into a flat disk with a circumference substantially smaller than the periphery of the side walls.

[0006] When not folded, the rings support the side walls, which are connected at the top of the enclosure. To preserve an unfolded enclosure in an open position over a mattress, one or more cross members spanning the top separate the rings. The cross members may also be deformable, but preferably are resilient enough to retain a substantially straight shape for spanning the top. The cross members may also comprise connectors at their extreme ends for engaging the rings or other material at the junction of the side walls and the top.

[0007] At a minimum, the enclosure may have only a top, and two sides. Such a configuration results in a canopy-like enclosure with open sides. Alternatively, the enclosure may include opposing end walls between the side walls, and may include a bottom on which a mattress rests, thereby forming a complete enclosure. The complete enclosure is more akin to a tent with walls on all sides. Since the side walls are adapted for placement on the sides of a bed, rather than at the head or foot, ingress and egress to and from the enclosure are accomplished through the side walls. To facilitate such ingress and egress, at least one of the sides preferably has a closable opening. Besides the closable openings, the side walls may also comprise one or more windows for viewing outside the enclosure.

[0008] To promote ease of use and an aesthetic appearance, the rings may be encased in the enclosure by hems. Also, it is anticipated that a user, when employing the bed tent, will fold a conventional mattress and insert it into the bed tent through one of the closeable openings. In this manner, the mattress preferably covers the entire bottom of the bed tent. Due to the commonality of conventionally sized mattresses, the enclosure, including the bottom, should be sized to accommodate twin, double, full, queen, and king size mattresses.

[0009] In order to use the bed tent, a user obtains a collapsed tent, which includes the enclosure collapsed around two tightly coiled metal rings. With gentle unfolding pressure, the wire rings will unfold and expand to create the sidewalls of the enclosure. Once the side walls are configured, a user may separate them and preserve them in a separated state by installing cross members spanning the top of the enclosure. In order to access the inside of the enclosure, it may be necessary to open an opening in one of the side walls.

[0010] The bed tent, may be placed in a desired location, including atop a bed frame, and a mattress, including pillows, bed linens, etc. installed in the bed tent. The assembled bed tent can be used as long as desired. In order to disassemble the bed tent, a user simply removes the mattress and any pillows or bed clothes, removes the cross members, and folds up the side walls by folding or hyper-extending the wire rings over themselves. At a certain point, the wire rings may be biased to a tightly coiled state, and the smaller, collapsed bed tent may then be stored as desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bed tent assembled and installed on a bed.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bed tent illustrating the proper placement of the tent on a mattress.

[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bed tent, illustrating folding and unfolding the tent.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross section view of the bed tent along line 4-4 in FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 5 is a top view of the bed tent pole.

DESCRIPTION

[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, a bed tent enclosure 10 comprises side walls 18 placed atop a bed frame 12. The bed frame 12 may be of any standard bed size, including a single, twin, full, queen or king. The side walls 18 comprises a covered metal wire 24, preferably covered by the side walls 18, which may be made of a durable material suitable for this purpose. The side walls 18 is mechanically coupled to a door flap 22 by a fastener, such as a zipper, hook and loop fastener, snaps or the like. The enclosure 10 has two positions, open and closed, as shown in FIG. 3 and discussed below. When open, the sidewalls 18 are held upright by a plurality of supports 26 placed across the top of the enclosure 10. In one preferred embodiment, the supports 26 are plastic.

[0017] Still referring to FIG. 1, the metal wire 24 may be made of steel, and machined into a spring wire, rectangular in cross-section. In one embodiment, the rectangle may be 2 mm by 7 mm. In the metal wire 24, there is preferably once piece of steel spring wire, connected with a commercially available metal connector. The enclosure 10 comprises two such metal wires 24. A first wire encircles the side of the tent having the door flap 22. A second wire encircles a second door flap 22 on the opposite side of the enclosure 10. Importantly, the metal wire 24 does not traverse the top of the tent, which is stabilized by supports 26 spanning the top of the enclosure 10.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 2, a side view of the enclosure 10 is shown with the door flaps 22 raised. When the enclosure 10 is opened, the side walls 18 comprise metal wires 24 covered by the side walls 18, and held in place on the bed frame 12 by the supports 26 (not shown). With the door flaps 22 raised, the bed mattress 16 is shown inside the enclosure 10 on top of the bed frame 12, but not coupled together in any way. Ideally, the door flaps 22 are sufficiently high to remain in place over the mattress, while also able to allow users to enter and exit the enclosure 10 with ease.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 3, the enclosure 10 is shown folded into a small cylinder in the closed position. Once of the novel features of the enclosure 10 is that it can be easily disassembled, folded, and transported. To accomplish disassembly a user removes the plastic supports 26 (not shown) and the bed mattress, if necessary. The side walls 18 are then folded by bringing the corners together, such that the metal wire 24 rolls into a small coil, completely collapsing the enclosure 10. Assembling the bed tent 10 is just as easy, since the compressed metal wire 24, when coiled, can be lightly shaken and thereby caused to expand. Once expanded, the door flap 22 may be opened to install the supports 26.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view of the enclosure 10 is shown. As discussed earlier, the metal wire 24 encircles the left and right sides of the side walls 18, but does not encircle the top or bottom. Rather, the top and bottom are held in position by a plurality of supports 26 spanning the enclosure 10, to ensure it maintains its shape.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 5, the support 26, which is preferably a plastic or fiber glass support 26, has a length equal to the width of the bed frame 12 (not shown). Each support 26 comprises a long thin shaft of dimensions sufficient to support the weight of the enclosure 10. The shaft is capped at each end by a thick-portioned end, which is machined into a tip having a smooth flat surface.

[0022] One of ordinary skill in this art will readily recognize that the preceding description has been set forth in terms of description rather than limitation. While the bed tent disclosed has been shown having a generally rectangular shape, with ovoid openings, the bed tent may be formed in any desired shape. Additionally, the bed tent may have an open base for access to existing sheets, blankets or other linens on a bed supporting the tent. Still other modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit and broad scope of this invention. It is the claims which follow that define the invention, rather than the examples of various embodiments described above.

Claims

1. A bed tent to enclose a conventional mattress for privacy comprising: an enclosure having two opposing side walls each with a peripheral edge; the opposing side walls each having a deformable ring at the peripheral edge; the enclosure having a bottom to encapsulate the mattress; and wherein the rings are resiliently deformable, such that upon removing the mattress the enclosure is collapsible by moving the rings together and in tandem folding the peripheral edges together.

2. The bed tent of claim 1 further comprising a cross member spanning and separating the rings.

3. The bed tent of claim 2 wherein the cross member has extreme ends adapted to engage the rings.

4. The bed tent of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of cross members.

5. The bed tent of claim 1 wherein the bed tent includes opposing end walls between the side walls to form a complete enclosure above the mattress.

6. (canceled)

7. The bed tent of claim 1 further comprising a closable opening in one of the side walls.

8. The bed tent of claim 1 wherein the rings are encased in the side walls by hems.

9. The bed tent of claim 1 wherein the enclosure is sized for conventional mattresses including twin, double, full, queen and king sizes.

10. The bed tent of claim 1 further comprising a window for viewing outside the enclosure.

11. A bed tent for covering the space above a mattress comprising: a pair of spaced-apart side walls, a bottom and a top between the side walls; springy curved rings integrated into each side wall; the bed tent in an expanded configuration sized to house the mattress; whereupon removing the mattress the bed tent is collapsible; and the springy rings characterized such that by hyper-extending the curvature of a ring, smaller multiple helices of lesser circumference are formed, for storing the bed tent when not in use.

12. The bed tent of claim 11 further comprising a cross member spanning between the side walls.

13. The bed tent of claim 12 wherein the cross member has extreme ends adapted to engage the rings.

14. The bed tent of claim 12 further comprising a plurality of cross members.

15. The bed tent of claim 11 wherein the bed tent includes opposing end walls between the side walls to form a complete enclosure above the mattress.

16. (canceled)

17. The bed tent of claim 11 further comprising a closable opening in a side wall.

18. The bed tent of claim 11 wherein the rings are encased in the side walls by hems.

19. The bed tent of claim 11 wherein the bed tent is sized for conventional mattresses, including twin, double, full, queen and king sizes.

20. The bed tent of claim 11 further comprising a window for viewing outside the bed tent.