Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Portable shelter – Framework
Patent
1998-04-16
2000-08-29
Friedman, Carl D.
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Portable shelter
Framework
135 97, 135117, 135137, 135143, E04H 1540
Patent
active
061092819
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with sunshades which are typically used to protect holidaymakers at sunny resorts or to protect picnickers and fishermen from excessive exposure to the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight and also from elements such as wind and rain. Conventional sunshades are parasols in the form of a canopy which is stretched over a collapsible framework of pole and spokes in the manner of an umbrella. The bottom of the pole may be stuck into the ground or located in a socket in a heavy base to hold the parasol erect.
While the foregoing conventional parasols are effective when the sun is overhead, they provide poor protection in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky but still intense. This problem cannot be alleviated by inclining the pole as the weight of the canopy would tend to cause damage. In some cases the upper part of the pole and the canopy can tilt relatively to the lower part of the pole and although this may inhibit collapse of the parasol, inadequate protection is generally provided when the sun is low in the sky. In any case, parasol canopies are usually circular and when the sun is overhead the shade afforded thereby is also circular, which is not ideal to shield one or more reclining elongate persons unless the canopy is very large.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,705 discloses, in FIG. 9, a sunshade device comprising a series of first, second and third wall panels, which are connected together edge to edge in series with the remote edges of the first and third wall panels being connected by a fourth wall panel, the first and third wall panels being arranged, when the device is erected, to extend upwards as side wall panels and at least the first, second and third wall panels providing a plurality of twist-fold panels (as herein defined) which are of sufficiently similar size and shape that when folded down over one another they can be twist-folded together; and, in accordance with the present invention, such a device is characterised in that the side wall panels extend upwards from opposite edges of a base wall panel formed by the second wall panel and are arranged to be held substantially upright by at least one guy line attached to each of the side wall panels; the fourth wall panel forms a top wall panel which limits the separation of the upper edges of the side wall panels; and at least a front of the device bounded by edges of the four wall panels is open.
A person may sit or lie within the device while protected from excessive radiation or to some extent from the wind. If the device is made from waterproof material it may also be used to provide protection against rain, eg for use as a fishing shelter, although in that case it may need to have larger dimensions at the open front than when acting only as a sunshade, to allow for line casting.
The angle of the side wall panels to the vertical when the device is erected will be small, preferably within 15.degree., the actual angle being determined by the widths of the top and base wall panels and the height of the side wall panels. The substantially vertical side walls and the generally flat top wall panel gives the device a feeling of much greater internal roominess and airiness than do other differently constructed tent-like devices on the market.
In the present context a twist-fold panel is defined as being formed by a flexible sheet which is normally held taut in a spread position by a loop of spring wire which extends around the periphery of the sheet, the panel being collapsible by grasping the peripheral wire at spaced positions and twisting the wire in the same direction out of the plane of the loop, whereupon the wire folds into three smaller overlapping, almost coplanar loops. Subsequently, slight twisting of the smaller overlapping loops out of the overlapping configuration causes the panel to spring open to its spread position.
Although it could be round, the cross-section of the spring wire usually has a major dimensi
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patent: 4465087 (1984-08-01), Ferguson
patent: 5249592 (1993-10-01), Springer et al.
patent: 5301705 (1994-04-01), Zheng
patent: 5778915 (1998-07-01), Zheng
Friedman Carl D.
Jacpaq Limited
Yip Winnie
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