DE9318619U1 - Tent for utilities in the shape of a truncated pyramid - Google Patents

Description

PATENT ATTORNEY* &Pgr;**.. · ,·*"*··:, *&idigr;

DIPL.-PHYS. DR. WALTHER JUN I US* VkANNOVER

WOLFSTRASSE H · TELEPHONE (05 ti) 83 45 30

23 November 1993 My file: 1283

+ G Machinery and Equipment GmbH

Construction and Sales KG
Bartweg 20, 30453 Hanover

Utility tent
of the shape of a truncated pyramid

The invention relates to a tent for utility companies, consisting of a tent skin and a tent pole supporting the tent skin, which consists of at least four poles set up at an angle upwards, which are connected to one another at their upper ends.

There are a number of construction types for utility company tents that have to meet high requirements in terms of stability and durability. In most cases, these tents are set up and taken down at least once a day, loaded onto construction vehicles and treated roughly in line with the rough conditions on the construction site. Because of these high requirements for stability and durability, they have a robust construction type that is associated with a correspondingly high weight. This weight plays a minor role as long as the tents are used by construction crews and at least two fitters are available to set them up and take them down. This high weight can also be an advantage because the wind from passing trucks does not knock a tent over so easily.

Telecopy(internat.49)(0)511-8^-2i"24- ^: -*-POs4>gi??> 2-5*24 11-304 Han (bank code 250 100 30)

- 2 ,3 November 1993

My file: 1283

In the case of tents that are set up over supply shafts located directly next to busy roads, the tent must be secured to the frame or lids that hold the cover using special brackets so that they are not blown over by the wind.

To carry out repair and connection work, more and more individual fitters are being sent out instead of construction teams in order to save on the high wages and additional wage costs of a second or additional fitter. Women are also increasingly pushing their way into these jobs, which were previously carried out solely by men. A single fitter can only set up the tents used up to now with difficulty and a great deal of physical effort. Since a fitter employed by a utility company and deployed for repair and connection work often has to work in several shafts in one day, there is an urgent need for a light tent that can be set up and taken down quickly.

The invention avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. The aim of the invention is to create a relatively light but nevertheless very stable tent with a large amount of space that a single installer can set up without any problems.

The invention consists in the fact that the poles are held together by a ridge plate, which carries a joint for each pole, to which the pole is attached with its upper

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My file: 1283

that the ridge plate is square or rectangular, that each pole consists of at least two parts put together, and that the lower part of the pole has a node into or onto which horizontally running poles can be put, whereby the tent has the shape of a truncated pyramid.

This tent is easy to make, it is lightweight and can be easily set up and folded up again by just one person in a very short time. It is also very stable. It is not expensive to make and is very robust in use.

It is advantageous if the node consists of three sleeves that are almost at right angles to each other, with the middle one preferably being slit on the side facing away from the tent interior.

The upper parts of the poles, which are set up at an angle upwards, are attached to this ridge plate with joints so that as many parts as possible remain assembled together when the tent poles are folded together during dismantling to make reassembly easier. To attach these joints, it is useful if the ridge plate has slots and/or holes that are located on (imaginary) lines running from one corner to the middle of the ridge plate and through which the fastening means for the joints are inserted.

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My file: 1283

The construction of the tent frame is very simple and very stable if each joint consists of an angular, U-shaped component in cross-section, one of whose angle legs rests on the ridge plate and is attached to it and the other angle leg forms a support for the pole that is set up at an angle upwards, and if the U-legs are penetrated by a joint bolt which also penetrates the pole.

The assembly and disassembly of the tent can be carried out very quickly and easily if the angle leg of the joint that is attached to the ridge plate is fastened using a screw or nut that is preferably operated by hand.

In order to avoid having to use tools during assembly and disassembly, it is advisable if the screw is a screw with a knurled head or a screw with wings on the head that can be screwed into a thread in the angle leg of the joint.

Another design that is just as easy to handle is characterized by the fact that the angle leg of the joint that rests on the ridge plate carries a threaded bolt that is fastened to the ridge plate using a wing nut or a knurled nut.

- 5 - 23 November 1993

My file: 1283

A further embodiment of the tent according to the invention is characterized in that the joint is rotatably attached to the ridge plate and can be locked in position by a slider.

The tent skin and the upper part of the tent poles, and possibly even the entire tent poles, can be left together when dismantling if there are hollow seams on the inside of the tent skin that hold the lower parts of the poles. This makes dismantling and subsequent reassembly particularly easy.

The tent is particularly light if the poles are hollow, i.e. tubes.

To make the folded tent short and therefore easier to transport, the poles are split, preferably in the middle. It is then useful if the split poles are connected to one another by a bolt arranged in the pole.

A tent pole that is short when packed but still connected can be obtained by connecting the two parts of each divided tubular pole with a joint and by having a bolt in the upper part of the pole that can be moved and pushed out of the pole with one end, and which can be pushed into the other part of the pole with its free end.

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My file: 1283

To ensure that this movable bolt cannot be lost, it is advisable for the movable bolt to have a pin that extends through an elongated hole in the upper part of the rod that limits the bolt movement.

It is useful if the node with which the horizontal rods are attached to the vertical rod consists of three sleeves, the middle of which encloses the vertical rod and the ends of the horizontal rods are inserted into the two side sleeves.

To secure the parts that are plugged together, it is advisable that the plugged-together parts have holes that are aligned with one another at the place of the plug connections and that a cord is put through these for securing purposes.

In order to prevent the cord from being lost, it is advantageous if one end of the safety cord is inserted through another hole and secured in it.

The essence of the invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments shown schematically in the drawing. They show:

Fig. 1 a view of the tent frame,
Fig. 2 a view of a ridge plate for sliding joints,

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My file: 1283

Fig. 3 a view of another ridge plate for rotatable joints,

Fig. 4 a section through the joint attached to the ridge plate in the erected position of the tent,

Fig. 5 a section through the joint attached to the ridge plate in the transport state,

Fig. 6 a section through the U-shaped component of the joint,

Fig. 7 a cross-section through the U-shaped component of the joint,

Fig. 8 another hinged joint attached to the ridge plate in the erected position of the tent ,

Fig. 9 the joint of Fig. 8 in transport condition,

Fig. 10 a view of another collapsible tent pole in the assembled state,

Fig. 11 in folded state,

Fig. 12 the locking device for the collapsible vertical bars,

Fig. 13 in view a tent pole, the parts of which are all connected in an undetachable manner when erected,

Fig. 14 in transport condition.

Fig. 15 a perspective view of the node piece

The tent poles consist of vertical poles 1 pointing diagonally upwards, which are connected to the ridge plate 3 via joints 2. In the lower area there are

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My file: 1283

There are node pieces 4 on the vertical rods 1. These node pieces carry horizontal rods 5. Both the vertical rods 1 and the horizontal rods 5 are split approximately in the middle at point 6.

The horizontal rod 5 is inserted into a sleeve 7. This sleeve 7 has a hole just like the end of the horizontal rod 5. A cord 8 is pushed through these two holes with one end to fasten the horizontal rod 5 in the sleeve 7, while the other end is captively attached to the rod 5. The node piece 4 has another sleeve 9 which is pushed over the vertical tube 1 and attached to it.

Another sleeve 7 is also attached to the sleeve 9 to accommodate another horizontal bar 5 with its end.

The upper parts IA of the vertical rods 1 pointing diagonally upwards are supported with their upper end in the joint 2. This joint 2 consists of an angled, U-shaped component 10 through whose leg 12 the joint bolt 11 extends, which is inserted through a hole at the upper end of the vertical rod 1. When erected, the upper part of the vertical rod 1 rests against the downwardly angled back 13 of the U-shaped component 10. The back part 14 is attached to the ridge plate 3 by means of a screw 15 and a knurled nut 16. The

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My file: 1283

Screw 15 passes through a slot 17 in the ridge plate 1. The back 14 of the U-shaped component 10 carries a pin 18, which also engages in the slot 17 as a guide and to prevent rotation. The articulated bolt 11 is inserted through a hole 19 and through a hole at the upper end of the tube 1 and secured on both sides e.g. by riveting.

Fig. 4 shows the assembled state, Fig. 5 the transport state, in which the U-shaped component 10 is displaced radially towards the center of the ridge plate 3 so that the angled part with the back 13 does not protrude beyond the circumference of the ridge plate.

In Fig. 8 and 9, another form of the joint 2 is shown: Here too, the angled, U-shaped component 10 is used to support the pipe 1, but this cannot be moved radially, but can be rotated around the joint 20 in the form of a rivet. The joint bolt 20 is inserted through the hole 21 (Fig. 3) of the ridge plate 1. A screw 23 is inserted into the slot 22, onto which a knurled nut 24 is screwed, which clamps a slider 25 to the ridge plate 1. In the operating state (Fig. 8), this slider 25 is pushed between the legs 12 of the U-shaped component 10, whereby this slider 25 serves as an anti-twist device. In the transport state (Fig. 9), the slider 25 is pulled out of the angled U-shaped component 10 after the knurled nut 24 has been loosened and the screw 23 in the slot 22

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My file: 1283

has been moved towards the middle of the ridge plate 1. Now the angled, U-shaped component 10 can be rotated so that the downward-facing back 13 points towards the middle of the ridge plate 1. The tubes 1 of all joints 2 are therefore closer together and the bend of the angled, U-shaped component 10 no longer protrudes over the ridge plate.

Another embodiment of the tent poles is shown in Fig. 10 in the erected state and in Fig. 11 in the folded transport state. The angled, U-shaped components 10 are here firmly arranged under the ridge plate 3, they are neither movable nor twistable. The ridge plate protrudes with its outer circumference beyond the downwardly angled backs 13 of the angled, U-shaped components 10, so that the U-shaped components 10 do not protrude beyond the outer circumference of the ridge plate 3. The vertical rods 1 pointing diagonally upwards are split in the middle and connected to one another by joints 26. The tube parts IA, IB are stabilized by a bolt 27 shown in Fig. 12, which can be moved in the tube part IA and extends into the tube part IB. A pin 28 is screwed radially into this bolt 27 and can be moved in the slot 29, which is arranged in the pipe part IA so as to extend in the axial direction. If this bolt 27 is pulled up, the lower part IB can be folded around the joint 20 parallel to the upper part IA of the vertical pipe 1, whereby

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My file: 1283

the transport position shown in Fig. 11 is achieved.

While in the design of the tent frame in Fig. 10 the joints 26 are attached on the outside, in the embodiment in Figs. 13 and 14 they are attached on the inside. This gives the tent greater stability. In this embodiment the horizontal rod 5 is also divided. When set up it can be stabilized by a bolt as shown in Fig. 12. In addition, a pivoting clamp 30 is provided, which clamps the two parts 5A and 5B together. The ends of the pipe sections 5A and 5B are pivotably attached to the node piece 4 via joints 31. This means that all parts of the tent rods are permanently connected to one another and, when folded up, take the position shown in Fig. 14.

The tent skin 32 (Fig. 1) is placed over the tent poles, whereby the upper parts IA of the vertical tubes 1 can be inserted into hollow seams 33, whereby the upper part of the tent poles is permanently joined to the tent skin.

For the embodiments of Fig. 10 - 14, however, it is expedient to firmly connect the tent skin to the ridge plate 3 if the parts are to be connected in a captive manner. Since the tent skin is provided with an opening on one side of the tent, which can be closed with a zipper 34, the assembly

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My file: 1283

the tent poles when the tent skin is attached to the ridge plate. The zipper 34 does not extend to the ridge plate, but ends about 10-30 cm below the ridge plate.

Fig. 15 shows a perspective view of a node piece 4. This consists of the sleeve 9, which is preferably provided with an axially parallel slot 37, which is to be pushed over the pipe 1 and is fastened to it, for example, with rivets 36, and the two welded or soldered sleeves 7, which are provided with a hole 35 through which the cord 8 is to be pulled to fasten the horizontal pipes 5 inserted into the sleeves 7.

List of reference symbols

1 Vertical bar 2 joint 3 Headstock 4 Knot piece 5 Horizontal bar 6 Division point 7 Sleeve 8th line 9 Sleeve 10 U-shaped component 11 Articulated bolt 12 leg 13 Back 14 Back 15 screw 16 Knurled nut 17 Long hole 18 Pen 19 Hole 20 Articulated bolt 21 Hole 22 Long hole 23 screw 24 Knurled nut 25 Slider 26 joint 27 bolt 28 Pen 29 Long hole 30 bracket 31 joint 32 Tent skin 33 hemstitch 34 Zipper 35 Hole 36 rivet 37 slot

Claims (16)

• · · 1 CLAIMS 1. Tent for utility companies, consisting of a tent skin and a tent pole supporting the tent skin, which consists of at least four poles placed at an angle and connected to each other at their upper ends,
characterized, that the rods (1) are held together by a ridge plate (3) which carries a joint (2) for each rod (1) to which the rod (1) is attached at its upper end, that the ridge plate (3) is square or rectangular, that each rod (1) consists of at least two parts (1A,1B) put together,
and that the lower rod part (1B) carries a node piece (4) into which or onto which horizontally extending rods (5) can be inserted,
The tent has the shape of a truncated pyramid. 2. Tent according to claim 1, characterized in that the node piece (4) consists of three sleeves (7, 9) which are almost at right angles to each other, the middle one preferably being slotted on the side facing away from the tent interior. 3. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the ridge plate (3) has slots (17,2-2) and/or holes (21) which extend to (imaginary), - 2 - 23 November 1993 My file: 1283 lines running from one corner to the centre of the ridge plate (3) and are inserted through the fastening means (15,16,18;20,23,24) for the joints (2). 4. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that each joint (2) consists of an angular component (10) with a U-shaped cross-section, one angle leg (14) of which rests on the ridge plate (3) and is fastened thereto and the other angle leg (13) of which forms an abutment for the rod (1), and that the U-legs (12) are penetrated by a hinge pin (11) which also penetrates the rod (1). 5. Tent according to claim 1 and 4,
characterized, that the angle leg (14) of the joint (2) resting on the ridge plate (3) is to be fastened by means of a screw (15) or a nut (16,24) which is preferably operated by hand. 6. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the screw is a screw with a knurled head or a screw with wings on the head that can be screwed into a thread in the angle leg of the joint. - 3 - 23 November 1993 My file: 1283 7. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the angle leg (14) of the joint (2) resting on the ridge plate (3) carries a threaded bolt which is to be fastened to the ridge plate (3) by means of a wing nut or a knurled nut. 8. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the joint (2) is rotatably attached to the ridge plate (3) and can be locked in its position by a slide (25). 9. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that hollow seams (33) are attached to the inside of the tent skin, which accommodate the lower parts (1A) of the poles (1). 10. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the rods (1,5) are hollow, i.e. tubes. 11. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the divided rods (1,5) are connected to one another by a bolt (27) arranged in the rod (1,5). - 4 - 23 November 1993 My file: 1283 12. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the two parts (1A, 1B) of each divided tubular rod (1) are connected to one another by a joint (26) and that in the upper rod part (1A) a bolt (27) is displaceable and can be pushed out of the rod part (1A) with one end, which can be pushed into the other rod part (1B) with its free end. 13. Tent according to claim 12,
characterized, that the displaceable bolt (27) carries a pin (28) which extends through an elongated hole (29) in the upper rod part (1A) which limits the bolt movement. 14. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that the node piece (4) consists of three sleeves (8,9), of which the middle one encloses the vertical rod (1B) and into the two lateral sleeves (8) ends of horizontal rods (5) are inserted. 15. Tent according to claim 1,
characterized, that at the location of plug connections (5,7) the' connected parts have aligned holes - 5 - 23 November 1993 My file: 1283 and that a cord (8) is passed through them for security purposes. 16. Tent according to claim 13,
characterized, that the safety cord (8) is inserted with one end through another hole and is secured in it. • • * · ·· •
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