AU762741B2

AU762741B2 - A demountable structure

Info

Publication number: AU762741B2
Application number: AU14731/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Maxwell William DAY
Original assignee: WILLIAM DAY Pty Ltd
Current assignee: WILLIAM DAY Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1998-02-03
Filing date: 1999-02-03
Publication date: 2003-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-03
Also published as: AU1473199A

Description

V.

I'/UU/U1 1 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: A DEMOUNTABLE STRUCTURE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing It known to us:- 1 A DEMOUNTABLE STRUCTURE FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to demountable structures, particularly temporary structures, and most particularly tents. In one form, the present invention relates to tents which are relatively quick and easy to erect and disassemble, and which are relatively light weight. In another form, the invention relates to an angled ferrel used in the construction of a tent.

BACKGROUND

A number of tent structures exist, such as a dome style tent, which is hemispherical in shape, and a more traditional style of tent which is cube like in oo shape.

A dome tent is relatively quick and easy to assemble. It is also relatively oooo light, partly due to the fact that the materials normally used for these type of tents is a relatively light polyester material, and the poles which form the basic shape of the tent are fibreglass poles. One problem which exists with this style of tent results from the way in which the fibreglass poles are used to form the basic shape of the tent. That is the poles are relatively long and straight, and are bent to form an arc, over which the polyester material forming the outer skin of the *tent is placed.

Useable 'head room' of the tent, is the space within the tent which *provides the highest roof area, the space with sufficient room between floor and :roof for a person to stand substantially erect in, and or the space in which an average person can stand without touching the walls or roof and without extending their arms.

The problem stems from the arc or hemispherical shape of the assembled dome tent 1 as shown in Figure 1. That is dome style tents currently on the market have a shape dictated by the natural curve of the fibreglass poles 3 used as a frame. Because the shape of the tent is arc like, the head room 2 which is shown in figure 1 is a relatively small percentage of the overall space inside the tent. It has been found that even with approximately 2 metres middle height in the tent, there is much less than 50% of the inner tent space in which an average person can stand without touching the walls and or roof.

5-03:14:55 :WATERMARK PATENT ;61 3 98195010 5/ 2 On the other hand, a more traditional style of tent 4, as shown in figure 2, has a relatively large percentage of head room 5, but has the disadvantage of requiring more rigid steel or wooden poles 8 to form the tent frame and thus the poles are generally heavier. They also require a larger area in which the tent can be assembled because ropes 7 are commonly used to hold the poles upright.

These ropes usually extend into an area 6 which is well beyond the perimeter of the outer skin of the tent. The ropes 7 can form an obstacle thus can endanger the safety of people near and around the tent. The area 6 around the tent can not be used for recreational activities because it is interspersed with the ropes,7 which can form a safety hazard as noted above. The construction also typically include a large number of components, some of which are small and easily lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to alleviate at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

15 To this end, the present invention provides a dome style tent having a :i frame and an outer skin, the frame including at least one fibreglass roof pole and at least two side poles, each side pole including an angled ferrel having a first segment integral with the side pole and a second segment having a pole connecting portion for connecting with the roof pole, wherein the first segment is provided at an obtuse angle relative to the second segment.

In one embodiment, the frame and outer skin together form a structure having a substantially trapezoidal outer shape when assembled. The fibreglass .0 roof pole may give the trapezoidal structure a rounded roof shape.

The present invention is based on the realisation that an angled ferrel can be used in conjunction with a fibreglass pole to form a tent having a substantially greater head room than a conventional done style tent.

S0 Further, by having the angled ferrel integral with a pole, there are fewer components of the tent frame, making the tent easier to erect and also reducing the number of small, easily lost components.

The present invention will now be described with reference to accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a dome style tent, Figure 2 illustrates a traditional style tent, COMS ID No: SMBI-00256302 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:08 Date 2003-05-20 5-03:14:55 :WATERMARK PATENT ;61 3 98196010 6/ 3 Figure 3 illustrates a tent in accordance with the present invention, and Figure 4 illustrates an angled ferrel integral with a pole.

In figure 3 a tent 9 is shown having an approximately trapezoidal shape.

Although the shape of the tent of the present invention is referred to as trapezoidal, it does not necessarily need to be exactly trapezoidal. In this regard, the shape does not require two parallel sides, nor does the shape need to have a roof area smaller than the floor area, it may be larger. However, the most preferred shape, is substantially that as illustrated, wherein the sides are only slightly inclined from the vertical.

The tent 9 has at least one pole 10, 10A interconnected by ferrel 12.

Figure 4 illustrates an angled ferrel according to the present invention (not to scale). Another pole 16 integral with the ferrel. With reference to figure 3, the integral pole 16 may be either pole 10 or 10A. Most preferably, however, the integral pole would be pole 10. It is also to be noted that if pole 1OA was the pole i- 15 integral with a ferrel, it would be most preferable for that pole to have an integral :i ferrel at each of its ends so that the interconnected poles would be poles I Additionally, the integral pole may be made of fibreglass (and therefore be at least partially flexible) and/or metal partly or wholly.

From Figure 3, it can be seen that the head room 11 of the tent of the present invention is substantially larger than that of the dome tent of Figure 1.

This is essentially due to the pole or poles with at least one integral ferrel S0 provided a more precise merging of the roof of the tent into the sides of the tent, so that there is less curvature of the walls and roof as compared to that of the 0.dome tent of figure 1. In other words, the poles with at least one integral angled eoo 25 ferrel allow the sides of the tent to be straighter, thus enhancing the headroom in the tent.

1 In an embodiment of Figure 3 where the poles 10 integral with a ferrel are wholly or partially composed of fibreglass, the resulting tent frame is formed with walls angled to the vertical, due to the integration of an angled ferrel with the poles. Thus the frame and walls serve to hold each other upright, for example the left and right hand poles tend to angle toward each other and thus serve to lean against each other, or at least via an interconnecting pole 10 A forming at least a part of the roof frame. Such a construction still embodies the improvement over COMS ID No: SMBI-00256302 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:08 Date 2003-05-20 5-03:14:55 ;WATERMARK PATENT :61 3 98196010 7/ 1 4 the dome tents of Figure 1, in that further headroom is still able to be realised. A further advantage of this construction is that little, if any ropes are required to hold the poles in the assembled position.

Figure 4 illustrates a ferrel 12 according to the present invention. Pole connection portion 13 serve to couple the ferrel to a pole, whilst portion 16 illustrates the pole which is integral with the ferrel. The ferrel may also include web 14, which serves to provide extra rigidity of the ferrel. Web 14 is considered non essential, as the connecting portion 13 and the integral pole 16 may be made of a sufficiently rigid material. The angle 0 between the connecting portion 13 and the integral pole 16 is an obtuse angle and denotes the angle of the ferrel. The angle may be varied, or be variable, in order to determine the head room appropriate .for the tent when it is to be assembled. However, it is most preferable that the angle is between 90° and 1300.

*ooo **o °o* COMS ID No: SMBI-00256302 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:08 Date 2003-05-20

Claims

5-03:14:55 :WATERMARK PATENT :61 3 98196010 8/ THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. A dome style tent having a frame and an outer skin, the frame including at least one fibreglass roof pole and at least two side poles, each side pole including an angled ferrel having a first segment integral with the side pole and a second segment having a pole connecting portion for connecting with the roof pole, wherein the first segment is provided at an obtuse angle relative to the second segment. 2. The tent of claim 1 wherein the frame and outer skin together form a structure having a substantially trapezoidal outer shape when assembled. 3. The tent of claim 2 wherein the fibreglass roof pole gives the trapezoidal structure a rounded roof shape. 4. The tent of any one of the preceding claims wherein the side poles are made of fibreglass. The tent of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the side poles are made of metal.
6. The tent of any one of the preceding claims wherein the obtuse angle is an angle between 90° and 1300.
7. The tent of claim 6 wherein the obtuse angle is an angle between 90° and
1200. 8. The tent of any one of the preceding claims wherein a reinforcing web is provided between the first and second segments of the angled ferrel. COMS ID No: SMBI-00256302 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:08 Date 2003-05-20 5-03; 14:55 :WATERMARK PATENT :139161 /1 :51 3 98195010 S/ 6 9. A dome style tend substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 20th day of May 2003 WILLIAM DAY PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VIC 3122 AUSTRALIA P1 915AUOO RLT/MLB/$H 00%. COMS ID No: SMBI-00256302 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:08 Date 2003-05-20