GB2481279A - Hammock with lightweight, folding strut supports - Google Patents

Abstract

A hammock 1.1 comprises a fabric body supported by a pair of strut member 1.2. Each strut member comprises a pair of lightweight tubes (2.2, 3.1, fig.3), a slidable collar (2.4, fig.3) and an arrangement of inelastic cords (2.3, fig.3). In use, the collar is located midway along the connected tubes, and radially directed spars (2.6, fig.3) displace the cords (2.3, fig.3) to cause tension and stabilise the abutment of the tubes. The hammock 1.1 is supported by two of these struts, and a series of guy ropes 1.3 provide a balancing force to the top point of the strut member, giving lateral stability. The struts can be dismantled and folded for ease of transportation. A cover, storage net, and insulated bag may be provided for use with the hammock.

Description

DESCRIPTION:-

Portable Suspended Habitation for camping and survival situations, this invention relates to a portable, free-standing system providing safe isolation from ground and air borne nuisance.

Hammocks are well known devices for providing elevated sleeping or reclining accommodation.

Historically they are made from netting or other fabric and require to be anchored to and suspended from a pair of substantial fixed supports, such as trees, posts or wall. This feature alone severely limits the usefulness of the hammock as a serious piece of survival, camping or leisure equipment in locations where supports are not immediately available. Free-standing hammocks are also known in which the fabric is suspended from a movable free standing ground-supported frame, but such hammock frames are too large and heavy to be easily transported on foot, even though the frame is made to be disassembled.

The object of this invention is to provide a kit of equipment based on a hammock with demountable struts such that the entire apparatus can be readily packed and carried conveniently as, for example, part of a traveller's "back-pack" and can be quickly assembled at any location that will provide appropriate "ground" anchorage points to which the forces required to support the occupant can be transferred.

Accordingly, in a first aspect the invention provides a free-standing, portable hammock, comprising a fabric body support, strut members for supporting the fabric body support above the ground in use, and guy ropes for attachment to the strut members, the strut members being stabilized in use by tensile forces exerted between the guy ropes and the body support.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a strut member suitable for use with a hammock comprises an integrated, conveniently foldable unit comprising two axially interconnectable segments, a geometrically stabilising filamentary lattice connected between the respective segments and the outer extremities of three laterally-disposed spars. The inner extremities of these spars are pivotably mounted on a slidable collar, carried on one of the segments where as the collar would be slid towards the juncture of the segments the spars are caused to splay radialy outwards to tension the filamentary lattice and create totally triangulated rigidity in the strut.

Preferably, the filamentary elements are connected between the respective outer end regions of the leg portions and the spars are each engaged with a middle part of a respective filamentary element.

The inner ends of each strut segment may be mutually located via some suitable.

The centralised position of the collar is controlled by means of additional longitudinal cords anchored to the slider and to the extremities of the assembled strut.

The engagement means by which the filamentary elements are attached to the outer extremities of the bracing spars may comprise solid balls having apertures formed therein which enclose the ends of the bracing spars and entrap the filamentary elements therein, thereby also covering any sharp edges on the bracing spars which may otherwise cause injury.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the slider/spar assembly of the strut comprises the sliding collar component carrying recesses into which are seated matching balls being pivotally retained in working position by a circumnavigating tensile filamentary element. A particular arrangement of which comprises three slotted recessed balls and one tn-recessed collar, the filamentary ball retaining element being a single component passing around the circumference of the collar and securing each of the three balls Pressure spreading components for example in the form of discs may be provided at the ground-engaging end of the strut members to avoid penetration of the leg into soft ground.

Preferably, the components of the hammock are lightweight and fold away into a very convenient package to facilitate ease of transport. For example, the body support may be made from a light polyester or "parachute silk" material, the strut members and spars may be made from aluminium or an aluminium containing alloy and the filamentary elements may be made from a lightweight inelastic cord such as Kevlar (trade mark) cord although inelastic metal wires or ropes may be used.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a guy rope ground anchor assembly comprises a plate and a plurality of stakes. In the plate are piercings, through which, in use, stakes are driven into the ground at a diverging angle so as to cause the stakes, at a point just above the plate, to mutually contact each other in a converging, preferably pyramidal, configuration. The end of the guy rope being passed upward through an additional centrally placed hole and attached to the stakes at this converging point by means of suitable, preferably easily detachable device such as the ball arrangement here described, whereby tension forces from the guy rope are transmitted to the stakes in a downwards direction, wedging the stakes so as to unify and stabilise arrangement to form an anchor structure giving grip to a large volume of ground.

Three stakes are preferably employed and the plate includes a fourth, central, hole to accommodate the upwardly passing guy rope, and in use the stakes are disposed in relation to the guy rope so that the guy exerts its force at a point as close to the ground level as possible independent of the actual penetration of the stakes into the ground, so as to reduce cantilevering forces experienced with conventional ground anchors where maximum penetration is not possible.

In addition to the hammock as hereinbefore described, the invention also provides support for:: An insulating bag or panel combination attachable to the fabric of the hereinbefore described body support to provide heat insulation to the occupant.

Such a panel arrangement is constructed of appropriately sized fabric insulating panels attachable to the body support by an arrangement of attachment fabric to fabric devices such as zip fasteners in such a configuration as to allow the panels to be utilised either in combination with the hereinbefore described hammock or as a stand-alone sleeping bag of conventional form.

* A reflective sheath enveloping the above described insulating bag to provide a barrier to radiated heat loss and/or penetration from air in windy conditions.

Such a sheath can be constructed from suitable material such as aluminised polyester or light weight reflective breathable fabric and is attachable to the body of the above described insulating panels.

* A canopy to afford protection from environmental nuisance such as rain, sun, wind, air borne debris.

Such a canopy is constructed from an essentially rhomboidal form in a fabric such as light weight water-proof polyester, reflective foil, or fine mesh, appropriate to the environmental conditions of use suspended and tensioned by the hereinbefore described hammock struts and held in form by an included sprung system of one or more battens such that adequate headroom is afforded to the occupant * A mosquito net to afford protection from intrusion of insects.

Such a mosquito net is tailored from fine mesh fabric and is supported jointly from hereinbefore described hammock struts and by essentially continuous attachment of its periphery to the body of the hereinbefore described canopy.

* A storage facility suspended below or adjacent to the hammock body support providing sufficient and convenient off-ground storage space for personal effects and belongings.

Such a storage device is constructed from a net or mesh of suitable grade and dimensions and supported from the hereinbefore described hammock struts by attached cords.

* A fabric form effecting total enclosure of the hammock, occupant and belongings.

Such a form is tailored from a fabric appropriate to the prevailing environment and is supported jointly from hereinbefore described hammock struts and by essentially continuous attachment of its periphery to the body of the hereinbefore described canopy so as to provide a totally enclosed tent' type environment suitable for camping in adverse climatic conditions.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 shows the general arrangement of a hammock in the assembled state; Figure 2 shows schematically a strut member for use in the hammock of Figure 1 in the partially erected state; Figure 3 shows the strut member of Figure 2 in the fully erected state; Figure 4 shows the strut member of Figure 2 in the full collapsed state ready for packing and transportation.

Figure 5 shows the attachment of the spars to the collar.

Figure 6 shows a guy rope anchor in the in-use position.

Figure 7 shows one possible arrangement of insulating body bag attachment to the body support.

Figure 8 shows one possible arrangement for storage device for personal effects.

Figure 9 shows one possible arrangement of canopy.

Figure 10 shows one possible arrangement of insect guard.

Figure 11 shows one possibility of enclosing tent.

Figure 12 shows one possibility of protection from radiated heat loss.

Referring to Figure 1, the hammock, generally indicated, includes a netting or fabric body support 1.1, strut members 1.2, guy ropes 1.3 and ground anchors 1.4 and load spreading plates 1.5. The guy ropes 1.3 provide a balancing force to the top point of the strut member 1.2 balancing the forces imparted by the body support and giving lateral stability to the general arrangement.

With reference to Figures 2 and 3, each strut member consists of a pair of aluminium tubes 2.2, 3.1 located end-to-end in this example by a short sleeve fixed internally to one of the tubes and sliding fit to the other tube.

A longitudinal arrangement of inelastic cords 2.3 are anchored to the free or outer ends of the tubes via end plugs 2.land 3.3 having an outwardly-directed conical form. Tube 2.2 carries a slidable collar 2.4 (detailed in Fig.5) which also provides hinged location for the radial spars 2.6.

When the strut is in use, the collar 2.4 is maintained midway along the tube pair, the spars 2.6 assuming a radial outwardly directed positions normal to the tube pair displacing the centre portion of the cords 2.3 to such a degree as to cause tension in the cords and thus to stabilise the tube abutment aligned.

In one aspect of this invention the position of the collar 2.4 along the tube pair is maintained by the co-linear cords 2.9 and 3.2. tethered at one of their ends to the sliding collar 2.4 and at their other ends respectively to the plugs 2.1 and 3.3. The tethering of cord 2.9 to plug 2.1 is permanent so as to form a stop' to the travel of collar 2.4 along the tube whilst the tethering of cord 3.2 to plug 3.3 is demountable so as to release the collar for purpose of disassembling the strut.

In the erect configuration filamentary elements 2.8 mutually connecting outer extremities of the radial spars become in tension so as to form a stable triangulated matrix comprising compression components tubes 2.2 and 3.1 and radial spars 2.6 and tension components filamentary elements 2.3 and 2.8.

In use, the assembled strut members 1.2 are placed with lower plug cone 3.3 onto the ground via a pressure distributing ground plate 1.5. The upper plug cone 2.1 supports the fabric body support and is stabilised by the guy ropes 1.3.

Detail 1.6 shows an example of attachment of guys 1.3 to body support 1.1 utilising a metal ring 1.7 which simultaneously provides for convenient location of this junction to the upper plug cone 2.1 Figure 5 shows an example of one method of achieving the hinged attachment of the spars 2.6 to the sliding collar 2.4 by similar means to balls 5.1 and cord 5.2. In this example the collar 2.4 carries on its circumference three hemispherical recesses 5.3 into which balls 5.1 are retained by the circumnavigating cord 5.2. Spars 2.6 are pressed into the blind hole in the ball entrapping and tightening the cord thus retaining balls in their sockets whilst allowing rotation around the axis of the cord.

Figure 5 also shows the attachment of the outer extremity of the spars 2.4 to the cords 2.8 by the use of balls 2'7.

Referring to Figure 6 a ground anchor, generally indicated, includes a pierced plate 6.1 and stakes 6,2. The plurality of stakes are inserted into the ground via the piercings in the plate and at such diverging angles as to create a pyramidal relationship between them its apex 6.5 being a short distance above the plate the plate being lain at ground level, A guy 6.3 is terminated by an attached ball 6.4. The baIl 6.4 is passed upwouldly through the central piecing in the plate, the running end being passed around the intersection point 6.5 and looping under itself at its point of entry. Thus the guy terminating ball is trapped by the guy. Tension on the guy 6.6 causes the ioop 6.3 to tighten in a downward direction thus stabilising the pyramidal configuration and creating a consolidated anchor.

Referring again to Figure 1, detail 1.6 the standing end of the guyl.3 being attached to the hammock body by means of a metal ring 1.7 which, itself is supported by resting over the upward pointing plug cone 2.1 For packing and transportation the ring 1.7 is lifted from the plug cone 2.1 releasing tension of the guy allowing free individual extraction of the stakes for convenient stowage and detaching the body support/guy assembly.

For packing and transportation the struts are folded by demounting the demountable cord 3.3 allowing the collar to slide in direction A' away from the midway position of the tube pair thus releasing the tension in the cords 2.3. Sufficient slack is introduced into the lattice to allow separation of the tube end locating device. The two tubes can now be easily separated and folded to lie side-by-side their relative proximity being retained by a common central elastic cord.

The whole kit can then be conveniently placed in a tubular form bag together with the body fabric support guy rope assembly and ground anchor components.

Referring to Figure 7 as example one possibility of attachment of insulating bag to body support.

Fig 7.1 shows the insulating bag fabric rectangle.

Fig 7.2 shows a hammock body support The insulating bag and the hammock body support carry a multiplicity of complimentary separating zip groups Zi, Z2, Z3. Within these groups:-Z*a is complimentary to Z*b and to Z*c (fit together).

Z*b is complimentary to Z*a and to Z*d (fit together).

Z3 is carries two operating sliders and can be opened from either end.

Z*c and Z*d are co-attached to opposite faces of the hammock body support.

Zlc/d and Z2c/d are attached to the hammock body support separated by a distance d equal to the separation of Zla/b and Z2aIb Closing Z3a/b closes the insulating panel to form a tube.

Closing ZlaIb or Z2a/b closes one end of the thus formed tube to create a conventional sleeping bag.

Attaching the sleeping bag to the hammock body support is achieved by folding the insulating panel around the hammock body support before closing Z3a/b Closing Zla/c and Zlb/d closes the bag end by attaching itto the hammock body support.

Closing Z2b/d attaches the lower edge of the insulating panel to the hammock body support completing the arrangement.

Z2a and Z2c may or may not be included for optional closing of both ends of the insulating bag for additional flexibility of use.

Fig 7.4 shows an alternative arrangement providing insulation underbody insulation only is achieved by closing Z3a/b as without the hammock body support enclosed attach and close Zi b/d and Z2b/d.

In this particular arrangement the insulating bag can be conveniently attached or detached from the body support enabling it or the body support to be used conventionally independently.

Fig 7.4 shows a further attachment possibility of the insulating bag beneath the body support where under body insulation only is desirable.

Referring to Figure 8 one possibility for the attachment of a storage net is illustrated. A fabric or net of suitable material and gauge 8.1 is suspended from the plug cones 2.1. The net thus provided is of sufficient capacity to enable safe storage for personal effects above the ground.

Referring to Figure 9 one possibility for attachment of a canopy is illustrated. A simple woven fabric membrane 9.1 essentially rhomboidal form is fitted by means of an offset tailored tube 9.2 diagonally with a stiff flexible batten' 9.3 the longitudinal position of which is controlled by pockets 9.4 into which the batten ends locate. To the alternate corners of the membrane are fitted rings or loops 9.5 suitable for location over the plug cones 2.1. The dimension x' between the loops being somewhat less than the distance d' between the plug cones of the erected hammock. In use the rings or loops 9.5 are located onto the plug cones 2.1 causing the fabric to distort by elongating dimension x' to fit distance d'. This distortion in turn causes dimension y' to reduce and as a result of the induced offset longitudinal force applied to the batten by the membrane results in a curvature along the line of the batten. By appropriate choice of dimensions, the thus formed canopy is supported entirely by the plug cones 2.1 and additionally stabilised by contact of the intermediate corners with the ground. Additional stabilising guys can be attached for adverse wind conditions.

Referring to Figure 10 one possibility to augmented the effectiveness of canopy 9 is by the fitment of insect proof membrane 10.1 suspended from the plug cones 2,1 and whose periphery is conveniently attached to the inner face of the canopy with quick release type fasteners 10.2 thus providing a totally enclosed insect proof environment for occupant and personal effects.

Referring to Figure 11, one possibility to provide a totally enclosed environment such as that provided by a tent is shown. A fabric compliment to the canopy 9 is formed from four co-joined wall panels 112 attached at their lower edge to a rhomboidal floor panel 11.1 of suitable fabric. In use, the floor panel is positioned between the struts and the upper edge of each side panel is attached by quick release fasteners 11/3 to the near periphery of the canopy 9 thus forming a totally enclosed protective environment.

Referring to Figure 12 one possibility of an insulating sleeve to provide protection from radiated heat loss. A sleeve 12.1 of suitable reflective material such as alluminzed polyester envelopes the sleeping bag.