GB2054002A - Tent - Google Patents

Abstract

A tent has a frame formed by a plurality of frame members 1 and stays 7, the frame members are joined at their upper ends to an upper collar 2 at the apex of the tent and attached to a central supporting pole 3. The stays are connected between the respective frame members and a lower collar 5 which is slidable on the pole, towards the upper collar for erecting the tent. An outer cover 8 is provided with pockets 9, at the base of the tent, for ballast or storage purposes. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tent The invention relates to a tent of a self contained construction such that it can be moved when erected.

The invention seeks to solve the problem of providing an easily and quickly erected structure, which can be used as a temporary shelter, and which can be moved whilst erected.

The tent of the invention generally comprises: (a) a frame formed by a plurality of frame members and stays; (b) a supporting pole; and (c) a cover for the frame; the frame members being attached at their upper ends to an upper collar at the apex of the tent and extending downwardly therefrom to the base of the tent; the stays extending radially outwardly from a lower collar which is slidable on the pole and the stays being attached to the respective frame members such that slidable movement of the lower collar towards the upper collar erects the tent, the lower collar having means by which it is secured to the central pole when the tent is erected; the pole terminating at a foot level with the base of the tent when erected and the cover being provided with pockets, adjacent the base of the tent, to receive ballast or objects for storage.

The frame members are preferably flexible so that they are straight when the tent is collapsed by sliding the lower collar away from the upper collar, and so that they curve inwardly, over at least part of their length, towards the supporting pole to form a bell-shaped frame when the tent is erected.

Such a bell-shaped frame is provided when the base of the tent forms a regular polygon, such as an octagon.

Preferably the upper ends of the frame members are pivotally connected to the upper collar and the stays are pivotally connected, at respective ends, to the frame members and to the lower collar. For example, an outer end of each stay is formed into a hook which is pivotally received in apertures in a U-shaped clip attached, e.g. by welding to the respective frame member.

The upper and lower collars may each have upper and lower castellated portions which are secured together pivotally to retain an outturned portion of each respective stay, the castellations being formed by grooves which enable pivotal movement of the respective stays towards and away from the supporting pole. The outturned portions of the stays can be retained in respective grooves in one of the castellated portions, the other castellated portion forming a retaining cover.

The lower and upper collars are preferably of similar construction and are partly split, a screw being provided in each collar to secure it to the supporting pole. The screw in the lower collar is suitably attached to a lever or knob so that it can be easily released or clamped to the supporting pole.

The cover may be provided with an entrance port located in a section between adjacent frame members, the port being covered by a door made of similar material to the cover and which can be rolled up and secured by a suitable tie.

The tent is mobile in as much as it can be easily moved when fully opened, i.e. by grasping and raising the supporting pole so that the base of the tent is clear of the ground and by walking to a desired position at which the tent is required.

When greater stability is desirable the pockets can be filled with ballast such as, sand, rocks water or objects to be stored. A loop may also be provided at the foot of each frame member, the loop being turned at right-angles to the frame member and provided for receiving a peg.

The tent is easily erected grasping the supporting pole inside the cover, moving the lower collar upwardiy towards the upper collar and securing the lower collar when the cover is taut.

Preferably, the cover fixed to the frame members so that the tent is aiways ready for use. For example, the cover is suitably formed by joining a series of panels (which are identical for a tent having a base in the shape of regular polygon) along parallel seams which run adjacent the frame members (with the tent erected), each set of parallel seams forming tubular elements in which the frame members are received.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly in section of the erected tent, Fig. 2 illustrates the supporting pole, the collars and stays in more detail, Fig. 3 shows the construction of a clip securing a stay to a frame member, Fig. 4 shows the supporting pole and the frame members and stays in a collapsed state (with the outer cover removed); Figs. 5a, 5b and Sc are front, back and side views, of a panel of the outer cover, and Fig. 6 is a schematic section of the tent, in plan view, to show how the cover is attached to the frame members.

Referring to the drawings, the tent comprises a frame formed by a plurality of frame members 1, each of which is pivotally attached to an upper collar 2 which is secured, at the apex of the tent to a supporting pole 3 having a base plate 4. A lower collar 5 similar in construction to the upper collar 2, is slidably mounted on the pole 3 and is provided with a lever 6 which can be rotated so as to secure the lower collar 5 on the pole 3. The construction of the pole, collars and stays are more clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

An outer cover 8 (which is only partly shown in Fig. 1) is made of water-proofed material. It surrounds the frame members 1 and extends frorn the apex of the tent to its octagonal base. Whilst 8 frame members are used to provide such a base, other regular structures may be employed, for example, wherein the base is defined by 3 or more sides.

Each section of the cover 8, between adjacent frame members 1, terminates in a flap which is folded upwardly and secured, for example, by welding three or more lines, to form pockets 9.

These pockets are preferably open on the inside of the tent so that they may be used either for ballast, or storage purposes. A door flap 10, made of the same material as the cover 8, is shown rolled up and secured by a tie 11. The door 10 may be lowered to close an entrance opening or port 8a is one of the sections of the cover 7 as shown in Fig. 1. Window opening (not shown) may also be provided if required.

A loop 12 is formed at the foot of each frame member 1 and is shaped so as to be parallel with the ground. Each of the loops 12 can receive a peg (not shown) if greater stability is required for the tent in windy conditions.

Fig.1 1 shows the tent, with the cover in part section, fully erected with the lower collar 5 pushed up the pole 3 to a stop in the form of a pin 13 passing through a respective aperture in the pole 3. The lever 6 is integral with a screw (not seen in the drawings) which passes through aligned apertures in outwardly projecting lugs 1 4a and 1 4b which are integral with a lower portion 15 of the collar 5. This lower portion is partly split by means of a groove 1 6 which also separates the lugs 1 4a and 14b.A nut 1 7 is received on the end of the screw so that the lugs 14 a and 1 4b are pulled together when the lever 6 is rotated to tighten the screw on the nut 1 7. This enables the collar 5 to be clamped on the pole 3 when the tent is erected.

The upper collar 2 is of similar construction to the lower collar 13 but is relatively fixed to the pole 3 by means of a nut and bolt 18 passing through apertures in similar lugs 1 9a and 19b.

Each of the frame members 1 is a spring steel rod having sufficient flexibility to take up the curve shown in Fig. 1 when the tent is erected and collar 5 is pushed up and secured against the pin 13.

When the tent is taken down, the spring steel rods 1 return to a straight condition as shown in Fig. 4.

As shown in Figs.1,2 and 3, the ends of each stay 7 are pivotally attached to the respective frame members 1 and to the lower collar 5. Fig. 3 shows the pivotal attachment to the frame member 1 in greater detail, wherein the outer end of each stay 7 is formed into a hook 20 which is received in aligned apertures 21 a and 21 b in a Ushaped clip 22. The clip 22 is secured to the respective frame member 1 for example, by welding, and the hook 20 pivots freely in the apertures 21a and 21b.

The other end of each stay is bent to form a foot 23 (Fig. 2) which is located ion a corresponding groove 24 in a lower castellated portion 25 of collar 5. These grooves receive the respective feet 23 of each stay 7 so that an upper castellated portion 26 can be attached to portion 25 (by means of screws, not shown) to retain the feet for pivotal movement as the collar is slid on the pole 3. Grooves 27, which form a castellation in portions 25 and 26 and which are at rightangles to grooves 23, permit the respective stays 7 to pivot towards and away from the pole 3.

The upper end 28 of each of the frame members 1 are similarly and pivotally attached to the collar 2. The top of the pole 3 is fitted with a cap 29 and the outer cover 8 of the tent has an aperture through which the cap 29 can pass. The topmost part of the cover 8, having this aperture, is secured to the upper collar 2 by removing the upper castellated cover portion (e.g.

corresponding with portion 26 of the lower collar 5), positioning the uppermost position of the cover on the lower castellated portion (e.g.

corresponding with portion 25 of the collar 5), and then replacing and securing the upper castellated portion to the lower castellated portion to clamp the cover therebetween.

As shown in Fig. 4, the tent collapses easily and compactly by simply releasing lever 6 and sliding the collar 5 downwardly to the base plate 4. The outer cover 8 automatically folds for storage but may subsequently rolled up around the collapsed frame.

Referring to Figs. 5a, 5b and 5c, these show a side panel 30, having a church-window shape, which is one of 8 panels forming the sides of the cover 8 for an octagonal base tent. Each of these side panels 30 extends between adjacent frame members is sewn or welded to its neighbouring panels. Fig. 5b shows the inner side of the panel 30 and illustrates weld lines or lines or stitches which form the pockets 9 which are accessible from the interior of the tent. As shown in Fig. 5c, the lower portion of each panel 40 is turned up to form these pockets and secured by welding or stitching in accordance with the material used.

Referring to Fig. 6, which is a schematic section in plane view of the erected tent, the cover 8, is secured to the frame members 1 by means of tubular elements formed by parallel welds or seams 32 and 33. During manufacture, the panels 30 are welded or sewn together with approximately a 1" overlap. The two portions of the overlap are dressed around the respective frame member 1 and then secured by welding or sewing.

Claims (10)

1. A tent comprising: (a) a frame formed by a plurality of frame members and stays; (b) a supporting pole; and (c) a cover for the frame; the frame members being attached at their upper ends to an upper collar at the apex of the tent and extending downwardly therefrom to the base of the tent; the stays extending radially outwardly from a lower collar which is slidable on the pole and the stays being attached to the respective frame members such that slidable movement of the lower collar towards the upper collar erects the tent, the lower collar having means by which it is secured to the central pole when the tent is erected; the pole terminating at the foot level with the base of the tent when erected and the cover being provided with pockets, adjacent the base of the tent, to receive ballast or objects for storage.

2. A tent according to claim 1 wherein the frame members are flexible so that they are straight when the tent is collapsed by sliding the lower collar away from the upper collar, and so that they curve inwardly, over at least part of their length, towards the supporting pole to form a bellshaped frame when the tent is erected.

3. A tent according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the base of the tent forms a regular polygon when erected.

4. A tent according to claim 3 wherein the base of the tent forms an octagon.

5. A tent according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper ends of the frame members are pivotally connected to the upper collar and the stays are pivotally connected at respective ends, to the frame members and to the lower collar.

6. A tent according to claim 5 wherein an outer end of each stay is formed into a hook which is pivotally received in apertures in a U-shaped clip mounted on the respective frame member.

7. A tent according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lower and upper collars are of similar construction and are partly split, a screw being provided in each collar to secure it to the supporting pole.

8. A tent according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a loop is provided at the foot of each frame member, the loop being turned at right-angles to the frame member and provided for receiving a peg.

9. A tent according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper and lower collars each have upper and lower castellated portions which are secured together pivotally to retain an outturned portion of each respective stay, the castellations being formed by grooves which enable pivotal movement of the respective stays towards and away from the supporting pole.

10. A tent substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.