AU2009200983B2 - Tent structure for a camping trailer incorporating an additional room - Google Patents

Abstract

An additional room arrangement (40) for a camping trailer tent assembly (11). The additional room has an additional frame assembly (82, 84) and an additional roof (41) and walls (43), the additional 5 roof being supported and the additional wall being held out by the additional frame assembly. The additional room is arranged to fold onto the camping trailer for transport thereon along with the tent assembly. The additional frame assembly can have first (82) and second (84) U-shaped frames with the additional roof being supported by the first U-shaped frame and the additional wall being held out by the second U-shaped frame. The first U-shaped frame can be fixed to and pivotally mounted (52) to 0 one of the side walls of the main tent towards a lower end thereof, and the second U-shaped frame can be pivotally mounted to the first U-shaped frame. Alternatively both the first and second U-shaped frames can be permanently or removably fixed to and pivotally mounted to one of the side walls of the main tent towards a lower end thereof.

Description

Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: Bronte John Scholz Actual Inventor: Bronte John Scholz Address for Service: C/- MADDERNS, First Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: TENT STRUCTURE FOR A CAMPING TRAILER INCORPORATING AN ADDITIONAL ROOM Details of Associated Provisional Application No: 2008901342 dated 19 March 2008 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me.

FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to camping equipment and more particularly to camping trailers. 5 BACKGROUND In my earlier Australian Patent Application No. 2005205843 entitled "Tent structure for a camping vehicle" there is disclosed a tent structure which folds out from a camping trailer to form a good sized room adjacent to a bed on the trailer. The teachings of Australian Patent Application No. 2005205843 O are incorporated herein in their entirety. Although the invention will be discussed in relation to an additional room for a tent structure as described in Australian Patent Application No. 2005205843 the invention is not so restricted and may be applied to other forms of camping trailer, ute topper campers and similar arrangements. 5 It is desirable to be able to have an additional room in such a tent structure to accommodate children or additional adults. There have been proposed additional rooms which join onto the side of a tent by zipping or the like to form an additional room such as a shower room but such arrangements need to be removed before the tent structure can be re-folded onto the camping trailer. 0 It is also desirable that an additional room have good headroom but not require separate poles, ropes etc which need to be removed before stowing. It is the object of this invention to provide a tent structure for a camping trailer or at least to provide a useful alternative. 25 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form therefore the invention is said to reside in an additional room arrangement for a camping trailer tent assembly, the tent assembly comprising a roof, a plurality of side walls and a main frame 30 assembly supporting the roof, the roof, the side walls and the main frame assembly arranged to fold onto a camping trailer for transport thereon, the additional room comprising an additional frame assembly and an additional roof and walls, the additional frame assembly being affixed to one of the side walls of the tent assembly, the additional roof and the additional walls being supported by the additional frame assembly and the additional room being arranged to fold onto the camping trailer for 35 transport thereon along with the tent assembly. 2 Preferably the additional frame assembly comprises first and second U-shaped frames, the additional roof being supported by the first U-shaped frame and the additional wall being held out by the second U-shaped frame. 5 Preferably the first U-shaped frame is fixed to and pivotally mounted to one of the side walls of the tent assembly towards a lower end thereof, and the second U-shaped frame is pivotally mounted to the first U-shaped frame. The first U-shaped frame can comprise a pair of spaced apart arms and a cross bar therebetween and each of the pair of spaced apart arms includes a pivot arrangement whereby the first U-shaped frame can fold in substantially in half longitudinally. The second U-shaped frame can 3 comprise a pair of spaced apart arms and a cross bar therebetween and the arms comprises telescopic arms whereby the spaced apart arms of the second U-shaped frame can be reduced in length. Alternatively the first and second U-shaped frames are fixed to and pivotally mounted to one of the side walls of the tent assembly towards a lower end thereof. 5 Preferably to additional room further comprises a floor in the additional room, the floor being joined to the additional walls. Preferably to additional room further comprises a closable door aperture in the side wall between the 0 tent assembly and the additional room. The additional walls can be attached to the additional roof by a zipper arrangement and the additional walls are attached to the tent assembly by another zipper arrangement. The additional walls can include windows therein. 25 When the U-shaped frames are folded against the wall of the tent, the roof of the additional room can acts as a cover and be zippered along the sides of the roof onto the side wall of the tent assembly. Hence there is provided according to this form of the invention an additional room structure which 30 mounts onto an existing tent and folds up with it onto the camping trailer. In an alternate form the invention comprises additional room arrangement for a tent assembly, the tent assembly comprising a roof, a plurality of side walls and a main frame assembly supporting the roof, the additional room comprising an additional frame assembly and an additional roof and walls, the 35 additional frame assembly being affixed to and extending from an selected one of the side walls, the additional roof and the additional wall being supported by the additional frame assembly and the additional room being arranged to fold onto the selected side wall. 3 The additional frame assembly can be either permanently mounted to the end wall or be removably mounted to the end wall. The construction and configuration of the additional frame assembly can be as discussed in relation to 5 the previous embodiment of the invention. If it is desired not to use the additional room the side and end walls and floor of the additional room can be removed and the first and second U shaped frames can be folded against the main tent or can be removed entirely. D This then generally describes the invention but to assist with understanding reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings to show preferred embodiments of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 5 In the drawings: Figure I shows a schematic view of a camping trailer incorporating an additional room according to one embodiment of the present invention; Figures 2 to 5 show schematically the process of folding up and additional room structure 0 against the wall of a tent structure according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 shows a schematic perspective view with the frame structure for the additional room in the open or unfolded position according to the embodiment shown in Figure 1; Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the additional room in the open or unfolded position; Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the additional room in the closed or folded position; 25 Figure 9 shows a schematic view of a camping trailer incorporating an additional room according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 shows a schematic perspective view with the frame structure for the additional room in the open or unfolded position according to the embodiment shown in Figure 9; and Figure 1 OA and I OB show alternative mounting and hinge arrangement for the first and 30 second U-shaped frames against the lower portion of a wall of a tent structure. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In Figure 1 a camping trailer and tent structure with additional room according to one embodiment of 35 the present invention is shown. 4 In this embodiment the trailer I I has a camper unit base 12 mounted onto it. On one side of the camper unit base 12 is a pivot assembly 13 for the various frames of the tent frame assembly. The first floor frame generally shown as 19 includes an inner tube 20 and an outer tube 21 with the inner tube 20 telescoping within the outer tube 21 and a locking arrangement 23 for the telescoping action. By 5 this arrangement the portion of tent wall 24 which extends from the base 12 to the ground immediately adjacent the tent can be sufficiently tensioned and different heights of ground can be catered for. Similarly each of the roof frame assemblies 15, 16 and 17 includes telescoping arrangements 15a, 16a and 17a, respectively, to enable correct tension to be placed onto the roof and to allow the hoop or D frame members to be reduced in length for storage within the base 12 in the stowed position for transport. It will be particularly noted, however, that the third roof frame 17 has its smaller end 25 as an inner end and a larger outer end 26. The second floor frame 18 is also telescopic so that correct tension can be placed onto the floor 34 and the tent wall 35. 5 A locking arrangement (not shown in this illustration) can be used to ensure that the first floor frame 19 is substantially vertical in its erected position. The locking mechanism may for instance be a hook extending from the base 12. The tent structure 60 has a roof 37, an end wall 35 and side walls 38. 0 Joined to the end wall 35 is an additional room according to one embodiment of the present invention. The additional room generally shown as 40 has a roof 41, and end wall 43, a side wall 44 and a floor 49. The side wall 44 can have a window 46 shown dotted and there can be additionally or alternatively a window in the end wall 43. The side wall 44 can be fixed in place or can be zipped into place with 25 peripheral zips (not shown). The additional wall is supported by a first U-shaped frame member 82 which engages the roof 41 where it meets the wall 43 and a second-U shaped frame member 84 which engages the wall 43 where it meets the floor 49. The first U-shaped frame member 82 comprises and inner side portion 82a and an outer side portion 82b and has a transverse hinge 86 between the inner and outer portions so that it can fold substantially in halves longitudinally. The second-U shaped frame 30 member 84 is telescopic along its side arms so that it can shorten to substantially half its length. A clamp arrangement 88 enables fixing of the desired length of the side arms of the second U-shaped frame. Alternative methods of setting the desired length of the sides of the second U-shaped frame member 84 such as pin and detent arrangement can also be used. 35 The first U-shaped frame member 82 is pivotally mounted to a bracket 52 which is affixed to the main tent structure adjacent to the base of the side wall 35. In that region there is a junction between a floor structure of the main tent and the side wall with multiple thicknesses of cloth so that the bracket 52 5 can be sewn or riveted to the tent structure. The second-U shaped frame member 47 is mounted onto the first U-shaped frame 82 by a sliding clamp 90 at a position above the transverse hinge 86. A sleeve 92 on the first U-shaped frame member 82 can be slid up the frame member to prevent the frame from folding or slid back to allow folding. The sleeve stays in its selected position by a frictional engagement, for instance. Conveniently, the cross member portion 82c (see Figure 6) of the first U-shaped frame member 82 is retained in a loop of cloth 94 extending from the junction between the roof 41 and the wall 43. Similarly, the cross member portion 84b (see Figure 6) of the second U-shaped frame member 84 is 3 retained in a loop of cloth 96 extending from the junction between the wall 43 and the floor 49. A spreader bar 98 extends from the junction between the roof 41 and the wall of the tent 35 inside the roof 41 to the cross member portion 82c (see Figure 6) of the first U-shaped frame member 82 to maintain the roof tensioned. At the junction between the roof 41 and the wall of the tent 35 the spreader bar 98 is retained in a tube of cloth 97 joined to the wall 35. At the end engaged with the 5 cross member portion 82c of the first U-shaped frame member 82 the spreader bar has a hook 101 which engages around the cross member portion 82c of the first U-shaped frame member 82. The process for folding the additional room before the entire tents structure is folded on to the camping trailer is shown in Figure 2 to 5. 0 Figure 2 shows the additional room in the extended position with the first U-shaped frame member 45 supporting the roof and the and the second-U shaped frame member 47 holding out the floor 49 and the end wall 43. The spreader bar 98 (see Figure 1) has already been removed. At this stage the side walls (not shown) can be unzipped or can be left in place. 25 Figure 3 shows the second U-shaped frame member 84 reduced in length to about half its length and locked in the shorter length by the use of the locking mechanism 88. At this stage the floor 49 has become loose and the end wall 43 is not tight. 30 Figure 4 shows the next stage with the sleeve 92 retracted and first U-shaped frame member 82 starting to be folded about the hinge 86 which loosens off the roof 41. Finally as shown in Figure 5 both the folded first U-shaped frame member 82 and the telescoped second U-shaped frame member 84 and the floor 49 and end wall 43 are folded against the end wall 35 35 of the main tent with the roof 41 covering them. There can be provided a zipper arrangement (not shown) to hold the sides of the additional roof 41 along its sides onto the sides of the main end wall 6 35. The side walls 44 of the additional room can also be folded under the additional roof 41 or be removed as discussed above. There may be times when the additional room is not required and hence it can be left folded as shown 5 in Figure 5 and then it can be folded into the camping trailer along with the frames and tent structure of the main tent structure when the camping trailer is stowed for transport. Figures 6 to 8 show a perspective view of the additional room arrangement of the present invention and the same reference numerals are used for corresponding items as those shown in Figure 1. D In Figure 6 the frame structure of the main tent and the additional room according to the present invention with the tent walls and roof shown dotted. The main tent structure 37 is supported by roof frame assembly 17 and the second floor frame 18 and 5 has an end wall 35. The additional room 40 has a roof 41 joined to the end wall 53 near the top thereof, end wall 43, side walls 44 and a floor 49. The additional wall 43 is supported by a first U shaped frame member 82 which engages the roof 41 where it meets the wall 43 and a second-U shaped frame member 84 which engages the wall 43 where it meets the floor 49. This holds the floor out and means that in normal circumstances tent pegs are not required. The first U-shaped frame member 82 is 0 constructed with a transverse hinge 86 so that it can fold substantially in halves. The second-U shaped frame member 84 is telescopic along its side arms so that it can shorten to substantially half its length. A clamp arrangement 88 enables fixing of the desired length of the side arms of the second U-shaped frame. 25 The first U-shaped frame member 82 is pivotally mounted to a bracket 52 which is affixed to the main tent structure adjacent to the base of the side wall 35. In that region there is ajunction between a floor structure of the main tent and the side wall with multiple thicknesses of cloth so that the bracket 52 can be sewn or riveted to the tent structure. The bracket 52 can alternatively be affixed to the main tent structure at any convenient position on the end wall 31. The second-U shaped frame member 47 is 30 mounted onto the first U-shaped frame 82 by a sliding clamp 90 at a variable position above the transverse hinge 86. A sleeve 92 on the first U-shaped frame member 82 can be slid up the frame member to prevent the frame from hinging about the transverse hinge 86 or the sleeve can be slid back to allow folding of the first U-shaped frame member. The sleeve stays in its selected position by a frictional engagement, for instance. On one side of the first U-shaped frame member the sleeve 92 is 35 shown over the hinge 85 and on the other side the sleeve 92 is shown slid back. 7 The spreader bar 98 extends from the junction between the roof 41 and the wall of the tent 35 inside the roof 41 to the cross member portion 82c of the first U-shaped frame member 82 to maintain the roof tensioned. At the junction between the roof 41 and the wall of the tent 35 the spreader bar 98 is retained in a tube of cloth 97 joined to the wall 35. At the end engaged with the cross member portion 5 82c of the first U-shaped frame member 82 the spreader bar has a hook 101 which engages around the cross member portion 82c of the first U-shaped frame member 82. The additional room joined to a tent structure and viewed from the outside is shown in Figures 7 and 8. In Figure 7 the additional room is in an extended configuration and in Figure 8 the additional room J is in a folded configuration. Figures 7 and 8 show part of a main tent 60 to which an additional room 40 has been added. The additional room 40 can be permanently joined to the main tent or can be joined to it by zippers or the like as required. The main tent has an end wall 35 in which is a doorway 62 (shown dotted) which 5 allows access to the additional room. The doorway 62 can have a zippered or similar device closure and can for instance have a screen closure or both a screen closure and an opaque closure. The additional room has a roof 41 which is permanently joined to the main tent. Along the sides 64 of the roof 41 is a zipper 65 and a matching zipper 66 is down the sides of the end wall 35. When the additional room is not needed the zipper 65 is engaged with the zipper 66 as shown in Figure 8. 0 The side wall 44 of the additional room 40 can be joined to the end wall 35 of the main tent by a zipper 68 or can be permanently stitched on. The side wall is either permanently fastened to the sides 64 of the roof 41 or are again joined by a zipper thereto. The side wall 44 can have a screen window 69 therein. 25 The end wall 43 can be an extension of the side wall 44 and can be either permanently fixed to the end 71 of the roof 41 or be permanently stitched thereto. The end wall can also have a screened window 70. 30 If it is desired not to use the additional room the side and end walls 43 and 44 and floor 49 of the additional room can be removed and the first and second U shaped frames 45 and 47 can be folded against the main tent or can be removed entirely by removal from the bracket 52. Alternatively the side and end walls 43 and 44 and floor 49 of the additional room can be folded up inside the roof 41 35 The additional room 40 has a built-in floor 49 which is permanently joined to the side walls 44 and end walls 43. Where the additional room is removably joined to the main tent there can a fixing method such as a Velcro hook and loop fastener or a zipper to join the additional floor 49 to the main 8 tent. Otherwise the additional floor may be permanently stitched to the main tent. The floor 49 preferably extends slightly up the sides of the side wall and end wall for good waterproofing. An alternative embodiment of tent structure and additional room arrangement is shown in Figure 9 and 10. In Figure 9 a camping trailer and tent structure with additional room according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 10 shows the frame structure of the main tent and the additional room according to the present invention with the tent walls and roof shown dotted. D In this embodiment the same reference numeral are used for parts corresponding to those shown in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 8. In this embodiment the trailer 11 has a camper unit base 12 mounted onto it. On one side of the camper unit base 12 is a pivot assembly 13 for the various frames of the tent frame assembly. The first 5 floor frame generally shown as 19 includes an inner tube 20 and an outer tube 21 with the inner tube 20 telescoping within the outer tube 21 and a locking arrangement 23 for the telescoping action. By this arrangement the portion of tent wall 24 which extends from the base 12 to the ground immediately adjacent the tent can be sufficiently tensioned and different heights of ground can be catered for. 0 Similarly each of the roof frame assemblies 15, 16 and 17 includes telescoping arrangements 15a, 16a and 17a, respectively, to enable correct tension to be placed onto the roof and to allow the hoop or frame members to be reduced in length for storage within the base 12 in the stowed position for transport. It will be particularly noted, however, that the third roof frame 17 has its smaller end 25 as an inner end and a larger outer end 26. The second floor frame 18 is also telescopic so that correct 25 tension can be placed onto the floor 34 and the tent wall 35. The tent structure has a roof 37, an end wall 35 and side walls 38. A locking arrangement (not shown in this illustration) can be used to ensure that the first floor frame 19 is substantially vertical in its erected position. The locking mechanism may for instance be a hook 30 extending from the base 12. Joined to the end wall 35 is an additional room according to the present invention. The additional room generally shown as 40 has a roof 41, and end wall 43, a side wall 44 and a floor 49. The side wall 44 can have a window 46 shown dotted and there can be additionally or alternatively a window 35 in the end wall 43. The side wall 44 can be fixed in place or can be zipped into place with peripheral zips (not shown). The additional wall is supported by a first U-shaped frame member 45 which engages the roof 41 where it meets the wall 43 and a second-U shaped frame member 47 which 9 engages the wall 43 where it meets the floor 49. The first U-shaped frame member 45 is constructed with a transverse hinge 50 so that it can fold substantially in halves. The second-U shaped frame member 47 is telescopic along its side arms so that it can shorten to substantially half its length. A clamp arrangement 51 enables fixing of the desired length of the side arms of the second U-shaped 5 frame. The first U-shaped frame member 45 and the second-U shaped frame member 47 are pivotally mounted to a bracket 52 which is affixed to the main tent structure adjacent to the base of the side wall 35. In that region there is ajunction between a floor structure of the main tent and the side wall with multiple thicknesses of cloth so that the bracket 52 can be sewn or riveted to the tent structure and the first U-shaped frame member and the second-U shaped frame member 47 are pivotally mounted to the 0 bracket 52. Figure 11 A shows one embodiment of the hinge bracket used to connect the additional room frame assembly to a wall of the main tent and Figure 11B shows an alternative embodiment of the hinge bracket used to connect the additional room frame assembly to a wall of the main tent. 5 In Figure 11 A the bracket 52 has a base 105 and flanges 107 between which extends a pin 109. The pin 109 provides the mounting and pivot point for the inner portion 82a of the first U-shaped frame. The bracket 52 is retained onto the wall 35 of the main tent structure by rivets 111. .0 In Figure 11B the bracket 52 has a base 105 and flanges 107 between which extends a pin 109. The pin 109 provides the mounting and pivot point for the inner portion 82a of the first U-shaped frame and the second U-shaped frame 84. The bracket 52 is retained onto the wall 35 of the main tent structure by stitches 113. 25 The bracket 52 shown in Figures I 1A and 1 B can be either removably mounted to the wall of the tent of affixed to it. 10

Claims (19)

1. An additional room arrangement for a camping trailer tent assembly, the tent assembly 5 comprising a roof, a plurality of side walls and a main frame assembly supporting the roof, the roof, the side walls and the main frame assembly arranged to fold onto a camping trailer for transport thereon, the additional room comprising an additional frame assembly and an additional roof and walls, the additional frame assembly being affixed to one of the side walls of the tent assembly, the additional roof and the additional walls being supported by the additional frame assembly and the .0 additional room being arranged to fold onto the camping trailer for transport thereon along with the tent assembly.

2. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 1 wherein the additional frame assembly comprises first and second U-shaped frames, the additional roof being supported by the first U-shaped 5 frame and the additional wall being held out by the second U-shaped frame.

3. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 2 wherein the first U-shaped frame is fixed to and pivotally mounted to one of the side walls of the tent assembly, and the second U-shaped frame is pivotally mounted to the first U-shaped frame. .0

4. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein the first U-shaped frame comprises a pair of spaced apart arms and a cross bar therebetween and each of the pair of spaced apart arms includes a pivot arrangement whereby the first U-shaped frame can fold substantially in half longitudinally. 25

5. An additional room arrangement as in any one of Claims 2 to 4 wherein the second U-shaped frame comprises a pair of spaced apart arms and a cross bar therebetween and the arms comprise telescopic arms whereby the spaced apart arms of the second U-shaped frame can be reduced in length. 30

6. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 2 wherein the first and second U-shaped fl-ames are fixed to and pivotally mounted to one of the side walls of the tent assembly.

7. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 6 wherein the first U-shaped frame comprises a 35 pair of spaced apart arms and a cross bar therebetween and each of the spaced apart arms includes a pivot arrangement whereby the first U-shaped frame can fold substantially in half longitudinally. 10

8. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 6 or 7 wherein the second U-shaped frame comprises a pair of spaced apart arms and a cross bar therebetween and the arms comprise telescopic arms whereby the spaced apart arms of the second U-shaped frame can be reduced in length. 5

9. An additional room arrangement as in any one previous claim further comprising a floor in the additional room the floor being joined to the additional walls.

10. An additional room arrangement as in any one previous claim comprising a closable door aperture in the side wall between the tent assembly and the additional room. [0

11. An additional room arrangement as in any one previous claim wherein the additional walls are attached to the additional roof by a zipper arrangement and the additional walls are attached to the tent assembly by another zipper arrangement. [5

12. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 1 wherein the additional walls include windows therein.

13. An additional room arrangement as in any one of claims Claim 2 to 12 wherein when the U shaped frames are folded against the wall of the tent, the roof of the additional room acts as a cover 0 and is zipped along the sides of the roof onto the side wall of the tent assembly.

14. An additional room arrangement as in any one previous claim wherein the additional frame assembly is affixed to one of the side walls of the tent assembly at a lower end thereof. 25

15. An additional room arrangement for a tent assembly, the tent assembly comprising a roof, a plurality of side walls and a main frame assembly supporting the roof, the additional room comprising an additional frame assembly and an additional roof and walls, the additional frame assembly being mounted to and extending from a selected one of the side walls, the additional roof and the additional wall being supported by the additional frame assembly and the additional room being arranged to fold 30 onto the selected side wall.

16. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 15 wherein the additional frame assembly comprises first and second U-shaped frames, the additional roof being supported by the first U-shaped frame and the additional wall being held out by the second U-shaped frame. 11

17. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 16 wherein the first U-shaped frame is fixed to and pivotally mounted to the selected side walls and the second U-shaped frame is pivotally and slidably mounted to the first U-shaped frame. 5

18. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 16 wherein the first and second U-shaped frames are fixed to and pivotally mounted to the selected side wall at a lower end thereof or at an upper end thereof.

19. An additional room arrangement as in Claim 16 wherein the additional frame assembly is 0 either permanently mounted to the end wall or is removably mounted to the end wall. 12