AU2010202473A1 - Improved demountable gazebo - Google Patents

Description

-1 IMPROVED DEMOUNTABLE GAZEBO Technical Area This invention relates to an improved demountable gazebo. Background to the Invention Demountable gazebos are well-known and they have generally a space-frame which is developed from what are effectively lazy tong units running between the corner posts and which also normally have other cross-members to provide some stability. Outline of the Invention In conventional gazebos the corner posts are extendable from a demounted or travelling condition to a use condition and the size constraint for such gazebos tends to be the available length of the lazy tong members and the height is dependent upon the cover posts, which are normally extendable, but which will tend to be less than or the order of the height of the lazy tong members.

-2 Generally, there are three such pairs of lazy tong members on each side and corresponding cross-members. The gazebo normally has extending upwardly from the centre thereof a support member over which a canvas or plastics material cover can pass so that the completed gazebo may have a more-or-less pyramidal upper portion, from the top of the upwardly-directed support to the location of the lazy tong members when extended and then a downwardly-directed, effectively square, portion which overlies the frame and is positioned between adjacent legs. A major difficulty with gazebos of this type is that their size is basically restricted to a width of the order of three of the lazy tong components, although it is slightly less than this as these components, even when extended, are at angles to each other and the appropriate leg sizes. In most cases, gazebos of this conventional type are too large, when demounted, to be received in a normal car boot and may even be too long to fit into a station~ wagon or the like. There have been proposals to make gazebos having additional lazy tong components but, to date, it has not been possible to make such unit stable as they have had to have lazy tong movements between each adjacent pair of legs and some form of truss, often associated with the upwardly-extending member, -3 to provide rigidity. These units have also had the same difficulty as the other units described, in that when demounted, they are too large to be readily transported. The object of the present invention is to provide a demountable gazebo which overcomes the difficulties which have previously not been met. The invention includes a portable gazebo having at least four legs and a roof structure which comprises a frame having side members connecting each leg to each adjacent leg each of which comprise at least four pairs of components connected in a lazy tong configuration and intermediate members parallel to and spaced from each side member which intermediate members have an equal number of pairs of components as the members parallel thereto extending between each directly opposite pair of side members so that when the gazebo is in its extended condition there is a number of members in each direction to give stability thereto. It is preferred that the gazebo side members have one component of the lazy tong pair pivotally attached to a connector fixedly attached to the upper end of the leg and the other component of the pair pivotally attached to a connector which can slide along the leg from a first position where it is closely adjacent the fixed attachment to a second position where it is spaced therefrom and when the -4 gazebo is extended the connectors are in the first position and when demounted, the second.. In a preferred form of the invention the legs are comprised of three components which can be telescoped so that when the gazebo is in its demounted position the physical size of the gazebo is basically a cube or a solid rectangle, depending on the number of intermediate members in each direction possibly with some extension of the telescoped legs. Such an arrangement enables the gazebo, when demounted, to occupy a volume which can readily be received in the boot of a standard sized car and yet which, when extended, is of the dimensions of previously-known gazebos having similar component sizes. If required, the invention can provide a gazebo which is substantially largerthan a conventional gazebo, as the size depends on the length of the lazy tong components, which gazebo is still extremely stable but, as will be appreciated, is somewhat larger to transport. Description of an Embodiment of the Invention in order that the invention may be more readily understood, there shall be described, in relation to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the -5 invention. In these drawings: Fig 1 is a perspective view of the gazebo in its extended condition and having a top member thereon; Fig 2 is a perspective view of the gazebo of Fig 1 showing the location of the members; Fig 3 is a perspective view of the gazebo of Figs 1 and 2 in its folded condition; Fig 4 is a plan view of the gazebo in the condition of Fig 3; Fig S is a side elevation of the gazebo in the condition of Figs 3 and 4; Fig 6 is a further perspective view of the gazebo in the extended condition of Figs 1 and 2; and Fig 7 is a side elevation of one of the rows of lazy tong members shown in Fig 6 In this description the word gazebo 10 shall be used to describe a volume defined by a frame which may be square or rectangular in form and has legs 11 of a height to enable persons to enter therein without bending and which may have at least one upwardly-extending member 12 to act as a support for a cover 21 which as shown in Fig 1, extends therefrom in the form of a pyramidal member 22 and extends to surround the upper portion of the legs 11. This cover may itself, or by the use of an extension (not shown) pass down over the sides, -6 between adjacent pairs of legs. It is preferred that at least one side of the cover is connected to its two adjacent sides by means of zip fasteners or the like so that the side can either be rolled up to expose the interior of the gazebo or could be removed completely. The gazebo illustrated has four legs 11, one at each corner, and these legs may either be of an aluminium alloy or of steel and they may be made of three components 13,14,15 which are telescopically fitted one inside the other and can adopt an extended orientation, as shown in Fig 1 when the gazebo is to be used. These legs are adapted to be lockable in the extended condition or can be moved, one relative to the other, to a folded condition as will be described in relation to Figs 3 to 5. To clarify this arrangement and considering one plane, there is connected between each pair of legs, and these connections are basically identical, there are a set of four lazy tong arms pairs (demonstrated as 30a,30b), each pair being pivoted at its centre 30' with one of the members 30a of each outer pair being fixed to the top of an adjacent leg 11 and the other member 30b of the pair being slidable along the leg 30d. The intermediate pairs are connected to the adjacent pairs (such as at 35,36 and 37,38). The arrangement is such that when the lazy tong members are in a "closed" configuration as illustrated in Figs 3 to -7 5, the movable members 30d connected to arm 30b and their equivalents at each leg are in a downward position and each adjacent pair is folded in effectively the same way so that the upper ends (35,37 ...) of each pair connection lie effectively in a line between the tops of the two legs and the other ends (36,38 ...) lie largely parallel and adjacent the member 3Od which has been moved down the leg. Thus, in this position, there are four pairs of arms which are at only a slight angle one to the other and which, at each end, are connected to a pivot member. The spacing of each side in this condition is effectively when the pivot members are in abutment. In the illustrated embodiment, there are five sets of lazy tongs, as shown in Fig 4 as 50-59. The intermediate sets 51,52,53 and 56,57,58 are associated with each other as will be described. As mentioned above, for clarity and arrangement in one plane was described. This arrangement is duplicated in a plane transverse to the plane described. In order to do this the pivot members 30c,30d and their equivalents are each arranged to have the ends of two lazy tong members to be pivotally connected thereto at right angles. Thus at each leg 11 there are lazy tong sets extending outwardly to the two adjacent legs. Similarly at the ends of each lazy tong pair which is pivotally connected to an adjacent pair, the connector members -8 35,36,37,38 are adapted to be pivotally connected to the ends of lazy tong pairs which are at right angle to each other. The arrangement of these connectors in the demounted condition of the gazebo can be seen from Fig 4 and the extended condition from Fig 6. In the extended position illustrated in Fig 1, the pairs of lazy tong arms lie at slight angles one to the other to give general rigidity and, of course, in this position, the legs 11 are substantially separated. The current gazebo differs in concept from previous gazebos in that at each pivot connection between adjacent pairs of lazy tong members there is a pair of lazy tong members extending parallel to the adjacent side of the gazebo. Thus, when the gazebo is in its extended position, that is, when all four legs are at their most distant, there is a frame of lazy tong members both around the periphery and in both directions at the points of connection of the pairs of lazy tong arms. Because the pivot connector members are largely symmetrical, the location of the internal lazy tong pivot members have effectively the same constraints as the edge members, except that these are four-sided, whereas the outer members are only three-sided. This can best be seen from Fig 4.

-9 Before the gazebo is opened, it is preferred that upwardly-directed member 12 to support the roof is connected to the central cruciform pivot member and the roof can be located there-over so that it can be connected without any tools, ladder, or the like, The legs 11 can then be extended to the position shown in Fig 1 and others by moving the telescoping members 14 and 15 away from member 13. These can be arranged to automatically lock when they reach their required position. This enables a person or persons opening the gazebo to be close thereto, either beneath the cover or with the cover left slightly above the pivotal members of the lazy tong members. As the legs are drawn apart, so the lower lazy tong connections on each leg rise up the leg, the tongs opened and the legs become spaced until, in the fully opened position, all of the lazy tongs, both those of the periphery and those in the body, have reached a required open position. At this time the cover member can be drawn down over the frame, one side at least can be open to permit ready access and, if required, the lower ends of the legs can be pegged to the ground to assist in even further rigidity. The gazebo made in accordance with the invention is inherently very stable as it is fully supported in both directions.

-10 When the gazebo is to be demounted, these steps are reversed and as the members 30d reach their lowest position on the legs 11, the components of the gazebo reach the position shown in Figs 3 to 5, possibly with the legs still extended, and then the legs are unlocked and telescoped inwardly. The roof is removed and the upwardly directed member 12 is detached. It will be seen that the gazebo, in this configuration is extremely compact and can be carried in a normal car boot and is easily handled. Whilst herein we have described one particular form of gazebo which, when demounted, occupies less volume than previous-known gazebos and has less height than the normal gazebo and yet, when extended, is of effectivelythe same size and very much more rigid than previous gazebos. Where in this specification there has been discussed comparative sizes of gazebo, it must be understood that these are comparisons between extended opened gazebos of the same size. The gazebo of the invention can also be made larger than previously known gazebos and could have even more than four pairs of lazy tong arms on each side, but it will be understood that to an extent, this is at the expense of the size benefit. However, such larger gazebos are extremely stable and where one of these is required the demounted size is not of substantial importance, -11 In this specification there has been described a particular form of gazebo, but it is to be understood that variations can be made in this without departing from the concept of the invention, as set out hereinbefore,

Claims (11)

1. A portable gazebo having at least four legs and a roof structure which comprises a frame having side members connecting each leg to each adjacent leg each of which comprise at least four pairs of components connected in a lazy tong configuration and intermediate members parallel to and spaced from each side memberwhich intermediate members have an equal number of pairs of components as the members parallel thereto extending between each directly opposite pair of side members so that when the gazebo is in its extended condition there is a number of members in each direction to give stability thereto,

2. A gazebo as claimed in claim 1 wherein the side members have one component of the lazy tong pair pivotally attached to a connector fixedly attached to the upper end of the leg and the other component of the pair pivotally attached to a connector which can slide along the leg from a first position where it is closely adjacent the fixed attachment to a second position where it is spaced therefrom,

3. A gazebo as claimed in claim 2 wherein the fixed attachment is by a connector which can have two lazy tong pair components pivotally attached thereto at right angles and wherein the slidable attachment is by way of a connector which can also have two lazy tong components -13 pivotally attached thereto.

4. A gazebo as claimed in claim 3 wherein each intermediate member is attached at one end to a side member by way of connectors which can have three lazy tong pair components pivotally attached thereto, two of these being in the same plane and being part of the side member and the third being at right angles thereto and being part of the intermediate member.

5. A gazebo as claimed in claim 4 wherein all other connections are by way of pivotal connections to four lazy tong pair components which connections are in pairs at right angles and are connections of intermediate members.

6. A gazebo as claimed in one of claims 2 to 5 wherein when the slidable connectors on the legs are in their upper position, all of the lazy tong pairs adopt a similar configuration and the gazebo is in its extended condition and defines a useable volume.

7. A gazebo as claimed in claim 6 wherein when the slidable connectors on the legs are in their spaced position, the demounted condition, then the legs are spaced only by the width of the components of the lazy tong pairs. -14

8. A gazebo as claimed in claim 7 wherein where there are the same number of intermediate members in each direction, the gazebo will, in plan, comprise a square and where there are unequal numbers of intermediate members in each direction, the gazebo will, in plan, comprise a rectangle.

9. A gazebo as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one connection has means whereby a member extending upwardly therefrom to support a cover can be connected thereto.

10. A gazebo as claimed in any preceding claim the legs comprised at least two components which are able to be telescoped to minimise the height of the gazebo when it is in its demounted condition.

11. A gazebo as claimed in claim 10 wherein releasable means are provided to lock the legs in their extended position,