Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04H—BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
  • E04H15/00—Tents or canopies, in general
  • E04H15/32—Parts, components, construction details, accessories, interior equipment, specially adapted for tents, e.g. guy-line equipment, skirts, thresholds
  • E04H15/34—Supporting means, e.g. frames
  • E04H15/44—Supporting means, e.g. frames collapsible, e.g. breakdown type
  • E04H15/48—Supporting means, e.g. frames collapsible, e.g. breakdown type foldable, i.e. having pivoted or hinged means

Definitions

• This invention relates to a foldable tent and particularly but not exclusively to a foldable work tent of the kind used for example as a temporary structure for the purpose of protecting electrical equipment exposed to the environment during repair and maintenance work on roads.
• a foldable tent comprising a flexible enclosure secured to a frame which is adapted to be outwardly tensioned under the restraint of the enclosure when the tent is erect characterised in that the frame has a plurality of folding supporting legs with joints of which at least some are provided wit-., locking means including an actuating handle for opening the joint with mechanical advantage.
• the locking means is adapted to lock the respective joint in a partially open position in the course of erection of the tent.
• Fig. 1 shows a folding work tent in accordance with the invention in a nearly fully erected position
• Figs. 3A to 3D are side views of one embodiment of frame joint in successive stages of opening;
• Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged perspective views of the joint of Fig. 4 in an intermediate position
• Figs. 7 and 8 show an alternative joint in partially open and fully open positions respectively.
• the folding tent shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a flexible fabric enclosure 1 of upright box-shape with full vertical side walls and a top wall.
• a frame 2 has four legs 3-6 extending outwardly from a common joint 7 positioned centrally of the top wall of the enclosure 1.
• Each leg 3-6 is constructed in three sections accommodated in respective sleeves of the enclosure 1 so that the legs extend diagonally of the top wall and vertically down a respective edge of the enclosure 1 in the erected condition thereof.
• the upper sections of the legs 3-6 are foldable upwardly with respect to the joint 7 as seen in Fig. 1.
• the joint 7 is so designed that downward movement of the legs 3-6 beyond the illustrated position involves overcoming the joint resistance thereby placing the legs under an upwardly acting tension which is restrained by the enclosure 1 thereby serving to keep the tent in a stable erect condition.
• the three leg sections are of unequal length with the lower section, which is provided with a terminal foot, being of greater length than the intermediate section such that in the folded condition, in which the leg sections lie parallel to each other, the lower leg section extends beyond a joint 8 interconnecting the upper and intermediate sections.
• the intermediate and lower sections of each leg are interconnected by a joint 9.
• the joints 8 and 9 act in opposite directions with the joints 8 moving inwardly during opening while the joints 9 move outwardly.
• Figs. 3A to 3D show one embodiment of the joint 8 in the fully closed position (Fig. 3A), first and second stages of the opening movement (Figs. 3B and 3C) and the fully open and locked position (Fig. 3D).
• the joint 8 comprises an over-centre toggle action lever including a handle 10 pivotally mounted on one component of the joint and connected to a lever link 11 for engagement in a notch 12 of the other joint component.
• the lever link 11 engages with the other joint component and eventually (Fig. 3C) drops into the notch 12 whereupon the handle 10 can be toggled back into its starting position so as to force the joint 8 into its fully open position with the joint components tightly engaged.
• Figs. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a second embodiment of the joint 8 in which there is a similar over-centre toggle action with attendant mechanical advantage involving in this case a handle 13, lever link 14 and notch 15.
• the handle 13 With the lever link 14 engaged in the notch 15 (Fig. 4A) in the closed condition of the joint 8 the handle 13 is moved clockwise to open the joint into an intermediate position (Fig. 4B) and then over-centre into the fully open position with the joint components interlocked (Fig. 4C).
• the handle 13 is provided with an integral cross bar 16 which has a double taper at its ends to facilitate passage through the lever link 14 which is constructed as a rectangular wire frame pivoted in the handle 13. As the handle 13 is moved from the position of Fig.
• the illustrated tent has an external frame but there is no reason in principle why the frame should not be inside the enclosure.
• the fabric enclosure may be equipped with a removable or opening pane' as a doorway in one or more of the sides.
• a linking element is preferably added between adjacent legs and close to ground level is order to maintain the required tension in the erected structure.
• These links may be in the form of flexible cords or tapes.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Tents Or Canopies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=10744220

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (8)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1993
  • 1993-10-28 GB GB939322182A patent/GB9322182D0/en active Pending
• 1994
  • 1994-10-27 AU AU79993/94A patent/AU7999394A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1994-10-27 EP EP94931110A patent/EP0725876A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1994-10-27 WO PCT/GB1994/002366 patent/WO1995012045A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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