Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Portable shelter – Framework
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2001-12-04
Stephan, Beth A. (Department: 3635)
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Portable shelter
Framework
C135S117000, C135S130000, C135S137000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325086
ABSTRACT:
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This specification relates to collapsible fabric structures with coilable supports. Such structures may be formed from a number of fabric panels provided with coilable supports so that they can be collapsed and coiled up into a compact state for storage or transportation. They may for example be used as tents, play houses or other play structures, sun shelters, and so forth.
Many traditional tents and similar structures have been formed from fabric supported on frames comprising a number of elongate members which are joined together when the structure is erected and have to be separated when the structure is dismantled. The process of assembling a frame and attaching fabric panels to it can be time consuming, as can the reverse procedure.
For many years it has been known to provide a fabric panel with an integral coilable supporting frame in the form of a loop of spring steel strip. The loop can be coiled into three coils for storage of the panel and expands to a single coil tensioning the fabric when the panel is to be used. The advantage of such a panel is that it can be stored or transported in a collapsed state in a suitable restraint such as a bag, but will automatically expand into its functional form when released from the restraint. Such panels have been used for many purposes, such as sun shields as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,784, and beach blankets as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,333. However, the panels have been of particular use in the construction of tents, sun shelters and similar structures. U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,161, U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,667, U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,463 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,892 all show tents employing coilable support frames.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,463 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,892 disclose tents in which a single strip of steel is formed into a figure of eight, defining two loops and thus two panels. The two panels can be placed on top of each other and then coiled up, with each loop being coiled into three. However, tents of this type face stability problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,161 discloses arrangements in which a number of panels are used to construct a tent, each provided with its own loop which can be coiled into three. These panels may be arranged in a line or in a ring, and may abut each other or be separated by additional pieces of fabric. The panels are of an anticlastic form and, as is well known, anticlastic panels can be arranged in many ways to form structures such as tents and other shelters or more permanent structures. U.S. Pat. No. 2,961,802 shows how individual anticlastic panels can be used in several different ways, in that case the panels having e.g. inflatable frames rather than the coilable frames of U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,161.
EP-A-0 487 642 discloses a tent or similar structure in which a number of anticlastic panels are arranged in a ring, each panel having a frame in the form of a loop of spring steel strip which can be coiled into three. The panels are saddle shaped and the sides of adjacent panels diverge towards the base of the structure. A relatively small length of each panel rests on the ground. When the tent is collapsed the panels, typically three or four, are placed on top of each other and coiled up in the same manner as the two panels in U.S. Pat. No. 4 825 892. The shape of the panels in EP-A-0 487 642 is such that the structures formed are of limited practical use. The saddle shaped panels used in all of the embodiments rely upon a pronounced anticlastic effect for structural rigidity but this means that the lengths of the panels which can be joined together are limited as adjacent panels, when joined at the top, diverge lower down. In one embodiment a different panel shape is used, in which two of the four joins between panels in the structure can extend along a substantial length of the panel sides. However, the remaining two joins are along short lengths only. A pronounced anticlastic effect in the panel is necessary if the remaining unsupported panel portions are to provide sufficient structural rigidity, as in all of the embodiments described. The structures require additional means, such as interconnecting straps or a tensioned floor, between the divergent panel portions to hold them in the erect state.
GB-A-2 263 920 discloses an arrangement in which four flat, generally triangular panels are arranged in a ring, each panel having a frame in the form of a loop of spring steel strip. Each loop can be coiled into three, and to collapse the tent the panels are placed flat on each other and then coiled up. The panels do not exhibit the pronounced saddle shape of the panels in EP-A-0 487 642, and thus will be individually less rigid than panels relying upon a strong anticlastic effect. However, by using flat panels with relatively straight sides it is possible to hinge the panels together from top to bottom, so that adjacent panels support each other from top to bottom. The steel strip of adjacent frames can abut, and being at right angles will form a type of ‘T’ section. The preferred structure, in the form of a truncated pyramid, is more stable and more useful than the structures of EP-A-0 487 642, and has been in widespread use as a play tent. Cubic structures using rectangular panels with upright sides and having a flat top have also met with commercial success as play modules.
A problem with the tent of GB-A-2 263 920 is that the presence of four spring steel loops means that there can be difficulties when the tent is collapsed. In order to move from the erect condition to a state in which the four panels overlie each other prior to coiling, there has to be distortion of the sides of the frames of two adjacent panels. This can make it difficult to fold the panels together. Furthermore the distortion can lead to a steel strip moving to a wrong orientation in its retaining fabric channel. The forces can be such as to cause the join between the ends of the strip to be broken, thus rendering the loop ineffective. It is possible for a kink to remain in a strip prior to coiling up, the coiling operation then permanently deforming the strip in this region. Separating the join between two of the panels would enable them to be folded flat on each other, prior top coiling, without distortion. However, this introduces another step for erecting and collapsing the tent.
An object of an invention disclosed herein is to provide a collapsible fabric structure with coilable supports which in preferred embodiments avoids or alleviates at least some of these problems.
Viewed from one aspect of this invention there is provided a collapsible fabric structure, comprising first and second wall members each having a coilable frame which forms a loop defining a pair of opposed sides when the structure is expanded and which is capable of being coiled into three loops when the structure is collapsed, a side of the first wall member being connected to a side of the second wall member, characterised in that the connection between the sides of the wall members is made by an elongate arch forming member of resilient material having a pair of free ends, wherein the arch forming member is capable of being coiled when the structure is collapsed and, when the structure is expanded, forming an arch which extends from a first free end along at least part of the side of the first wall member, across to the side of the second wall member, and along at least part of the side of the second wall member to the second free end, the arch forming member exerting a separating force between the first and second wall members.
The use of an arch interconnecting the first and second wall members, as opposed to a further wall member having a frame in the form of a loop as in GB-A-2 263 920, has a number of advantages. It is easier to collapse the structure, because the arch is able to distort and move without causing any difficulties or damage whilst the structure is being collapsed and the wall members folded up on each other. It has been found that in preferred embodiments there is considerably reduced distortion of the wall members with lo
Shinner Neil T.
Smith Raymond
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Stephan Beth A.
Worlds Apart Limited
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