GB2482745A

GB2482745A - Foldable tent structure

Info

Publication number: GB2482745A
Application number: GB1021488.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nanqing Zhou
Original assignee: Q Yield Outdoor Gear Ltd
Current assignee: Q Yield Outdoor Gear Ltd
Priority date: 2009-06-04
Filing date: 2009-12-07
Publication date: 2012-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 2029-12-07
Also published as: WO2010139162A1; GB2482745B; GB201021488D0; CN101970779B; CN101970779A; CN201474365U

Abstract

A foldable tent structure comprises a frame pole (1) for a foldable tent, a quick open and close device (2) on the top of the frame pole (1), and at least one group of supporting structure (3) on the frame pole (1), wherein the supporting structure (3) is composed of an upper pole (31), two lower poles (32) and a three-way connector (33) for connecting the upper and lower poles (31,32). A foldable tent structure with a function of canopy can be provided by applying the supporting structure (3) to a conventional foldable tent.

Description

FOLDABLE TENT STRUCTURE

BACKQROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a tent, and more particularly, to a foldable tent structure.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A collapsible tent is widely used for outdoor activities, such as camping, fishing, outdoor cooking and the like. The collapsible tent is popular because it can be folded quickly and conveniently and is easy to carry. in general, a camp comprises a tent frame and a tarpaulin.

The tarpaulin has a door or a window. There is no shelter out of the camp. The rain may enter the camp through the door or the window, or the sunshine penetrates the tent to influence the comfort. Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention has devoted himself based on his many years of practical experiences to provide a foldable tent structure which can keep off the rain and provide a sunshade effect to the door or window of the tent so as to enhance the function of the tent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a foldable tent structure which can keep off the rain and provide a sunshade effect to the door or window of the tent so as to enhance the function of the tent.

In order to achieve the aforesaid object, there is provided a foldable tent structure which comprises a collapsible tent rod assembly. The collapsible tent rod assembly comprises a top joint, a lower joint and a plurality of collapsible rods connected to the top joint and the lower joint. The foldable tent structure further comprises at least one support unit disposed on the collapsible tent rod assembly. The support unit comprises an upper pole, two lower poles and a three-way connection member to connect the upper pole and the two lower poles.

Preferably, the three-way connection member comprises a connection sleeve, two opposing joint heads and a joint sleeve. One side wall of the connection sleeve is perpendicularly provided with a connection seat. One end of the joint sleeve is movably connected to the connection seat, and another end of the joint sleeve has an accommodation hole to connect the upper pole. Outer ends of the two joint heads of the three-way connection member have accommodation holes to connect the Iwo lower poles respectively.

Preferably, the connection sleeve has a U-shaped trough and two stop plates in a central portion of the U-shaped trough. The connection sleeve has side walls formed with through holes. The two joint heads have outer walls correspond to an inner wall of the U-shaped trough and are located in the U-shaped trough. One end of each joint head has a bottom surface, a limit portion and joint holes corresponding to the through holes of the connection sleeve. Two rivets are respectively inserted through the through holes of the connection sleeve and the joint holes of the two joint heads.

Preferably, the connection seat of the three-way connection sleeve has a pin hole. One end of the joint sleeve has an open slot corresponding to the connection seat of the connection sleeve and a hole thereon. A rivet is inserted through the hole and the pin hole of the connection seat.

Preferably, the two joint heads and the joint sleeve have lock holes corresponding to an outer wall the accommodation hole.

The present invention comprises a traditional collapsible tent incorporated with the support unit. The support unit comprises the upper pole, the two lower poles and the three-way connection sleeve. The support unit can be folded and unfolded along with the tent rods to constitute a foldable tent structure, which can keep off the rain and provide a sunshade effect to the door or window of the tent so as to enhance the safety and comfort of the tent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention in a full expanded state; Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the three-way connection member of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the present invention in a folding state; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention in a folded state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Fig. 1 through Fig. 5, a foldable tent structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a collapsible tent rod assembly 1, a quick-release unit 2 disposed on top of the collapsible tent rod assembly 1, and a support unit 3 disposed on the collapsible tent rod assembly 1.

The collapsible tent rod assembly I is a conventional one and comprises a top joint 11, a lower joint 12 and a plurality of collapsible rods 13 connected to the top joint 11 and the lower joint 12. This is a prior technique and won't be described hereinafter.

The quick-release unit 2 disposed on top of the collapsible tent rod assembly I comprises a fixed sleeve 21, a movable sleeve 22, a movable dual rod 23 and a fixed handle 24. (The related and detailed stricture can refer to Chinese Utility Model Patent No. 200420116950.2) The fixed sleeve 21 is rotatable and coupled to the top joint 11. The movable sleeve 22 is fitted on an upper pole 31 of the support unit 3. The movable dual rod 23 is inserted through the fixed sleeve 21 and can be moved. One end of the movable dual rod 23 is connected to the movable sleeve 22, and the other end of the movable dual rod 23 is conned to a hooked handle 25. The fixed handle 24 is connected to the top joint 11 and the lower joint 12. By pulling the hooked handle 25 and the fixed handle 24, the movable dual rod 23 is moved with respect to the fixed sleeve 21 to bring the movable sleeve 22 to slide along the upper pole 31 of the support unit 3. When the movable sleeve 22 is slid upward, the tent can be expanded quickly. On the contrary when the movable sleeve 22 is slid downward, the tent can be collapsed quickly. In order to keep the expanded tent stably, the hooked handle 25 on the movable dual rod 23 can hook the fixed handle 24.

The support unit 3 disposed on the collapsible tent rod assembly 1 comprises an upper pole 31, two lower poles 32 and a three-way connection member 33 to connect the upper pole 31 and the two lower poles 32.

As shown in Fig. 3, the three-way connection member 33 comprises a connection sleeve 331, two opposing joint heads 332 and a joint sleeve 333. The connection sleeve 331 has a U-shaped trough and two stop plates 3311 in the center of the U-shaped trough to provide reinforcement and limit effects and to form two accommodation spaces 3312. The connection sleeve 331 has side walls formed with through holes 3313. One side wall of the connection sleeve 331 is perpendicularly provided with a connection seat 334 having a pin hole 3341.

The two joint heads 332 have outer walls corresponding to an inner wall of the U-shaped trough of the connection sleeve 331 and are symmetrically and pivotally connected in the two acconimodation spaces 3312 of the connection sleeve 331. One end of each joint head 332 has a bottom surface 3324, a limit portion 3325, and a joint hole 3321. Two rivets 4 are respectively inserted through the through holes 3313 of the connection sleeve 331 and the joint holes 3321 of the two joint heads 332, such that the two joint heads 332 are movably connected to the connection sleeve 331 and can be turned a certain angle relative to the connection sleeve 331. The other end of each joint head 332 has an accommodation hole 3322 and a lock hole 3323 on the outer wall thereof to lock the pole inserted in the accommodation hole 3322. When the two joint heads 332 are expanded along the U-shaped trough with the rivets 4 as turning axles, the bottom surfaces 3324 of the two joint heads 332 are against the two stop plates 3311 respectively and the sides of the two joint heads 332 are confmed by the U-shaped trough so as to position the two joint heads 332 in place. When the two joint heads 332 are collapsed along the U-shaped trough with the rivets 4 as turning axles, the limit portions 3325 of the two joint heads 332 are against the stop plates 3311 to position the two joint heads 332 in place.

One end of the joint sleeve 333 has an open slot 3331 corresponding to the connection seat 334 of the connection sleeve 331 and a hole 3332 thereon. A rivet 5 is inserted through the hole 3332 and the pin hole 3341 of the connection seat 334, such that the joint sleeve 333 is movably and pivotally connected to the connection seat 334. The joint sleeve 333 and the two joint heads 332 are in a T-shaped configuration. The joint sleeve 333 can be turned a certain angle with respect to the connection seat 334. The other end of the joint sleeve 333 has an accommodation hole 3333 and a lock hole 3334 on the outer wall thereof to lock the pole inserted in the accommodation hole 3333.

The upper pole 31 and the two lower poles 32 of the support unit 3 are connected through the three-way connection member 33. The support unit 3 can be unfolded or folded along with the tent rods. One end of the upper pole 31 of the support unit 3 is inserted through the movable sleeve 21 of the quick-release unit 2 and connected to the top joint 11 and the lower joint 12 of the collapsible tent rod assembly 1 to be moved simultaneously. The other end of the upper pole 31 is connected in the accommodation hole 3333 of the joint sleeve 333 of the three-way connection member 33. One end of each of the two lower poles 32 of the support unit 3 is connected to the accommodation hole 3322 of the relative joint head 332 of the three-way connection member 33, so that the two lower poles 32 can be expanded and collapsed along with the two joint heads 332 which are turned in the U-shaped trough of the three-way connection sleeve 331 with the rivets 4 as the turning axles.

To expand the foldable tent structure of the present invention, the hooked handle 25 of the quick-release unit 2 is pulled to slide the movable dual rod 23 with respect to the fixed sleeve 21 and to move the movable sleeve 22 upward along the upper pole 31 of the support unit 3, and then the fixed handle 24 is pulled to open the tent rods and upper pole 31 of the support unit 3. Through the three-way connection member 33, the two lower poles 32 are also expanded. The two lower poles 32 bring the two joint heads 332 of the three-way connection member 33 to unfold toward the two sides of the U-shaped trough with the rivets 4 as the turning axles until the bottom surfaces 3324 of the two joint heads 332 are respectively against the stop plates 3311 and the sides of the two joint heads 332 are positioned by the U-shaped trough to be expanded completely. The other end of each of the two lower poles 32 is connected to a feet seat 14 of the collapsible rod 13 of the collapsible tent rod assembly 1. When collapsing the tent, the upper pole 31 and the two lower poles 32 of the support unit 3 are collapsed in reverse actions. In order to have an ordered appearance, the upper pole 31 and the two lower poles 32 of the support unit 3 correspond in length to the tent rods for convenient storage.

Accordingly, the present invention comprises a traditional collapsible, tent incorporated with the foldable support unit to constitute a foldable tent structure, which can keep off the rain and provide a sunshade effect to the door or window of the tent so as to enhance the S safety and comfort of the tent.

The foldable tent structure of the present invention can be provided with a plurality of support units 3.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A foldable tent structure, comprising a collapsible tent rod assembly, the collapsible tent rod assembly comprising a top joint, a lower joint and a plurality of collapsible rods connected to the top joint and the lower joint; characterized by: the foldable tent structure further comprising at least one support unit disposed on the collapsible tent rod assembly, the support unit comprising an upper pole, two lower poles and a three-way connection member to connect the upper pole and the two lower poles.
2. The foldable tent structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the three-way connection member comprises a connection sleeve, two opposing joint heads and a joint sleeve, one side wall of the connection sleeve being perpendicularly provided with a connection seat, one end of the joint sleeve being movably connected to the connection seat, another end of the joint sleeve having an accommodation hole to connect the upper pole, outer ends of the two joint heads of the three-way connection member having accommodation holes to connect the two lower poles respectively.
3. The foldable tent structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connection sleeve has a U-shaped trough and two stop plates in a central portion of the U-shaped trough, the connection sleeve having side walls formed with through holes, the two joint heads having outer walls corresponding to an inner wall of the U-shaped trough and being located in the U-shaped trough, one end of each joint head having a bottom surface, a limit portion and joint holes corresponding to the through holes of the connection sleeve, two rivets being respectively inserted through the through holes of the connection sleeve and the joint holes of the two joint heads.
4. The foldable tent structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the connection seat of the three-way connection sleeve has a pin hole, one end of the joint sleeve having an open slot corresponding to the connection seat of the connection sleeve and a hole thereon, a rivet being inserted through the hole and the pin hole of the connection seat.
5. The foldable tent structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the two joint heads and the joint sleeve have lock holes corresponding to an outer wall the accommodation hole.