GB2542428A

GB2542428A - Play house

Info

Publication number: GB2542428A
Application number: GB1516687.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Flannigan Kevin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-09-21
Filing date: 2015-09-21
Publication date: 2017-03-22
Also published as: GB201516687D0

Abstract

A play house comprising opposing first and second side panels 10 and a pair of opposing end panels 12. Each end panel 12 is hingedly connected to a respective side edge of the side panels 10 so as to form an enclosure. Each panel of at least one pair of opposing panels is formed of at least two panel sections hingedly connected together to form a longitudinal folding joint 18 such that the play house may be folded or concertinaed to form a substantially flat structure. The play house further comprising a roof member 22, a first edge of which is hingedly connected to an upper edge of the first side panel 10 and an opposing side edge of the roof panel being configured to be detachably fastened to an upper lateral edge of said second side panel 10 such that the roof may be folded downward to form a desk top.

Description

PLAY HOUSE

This invention relates generally to a playhouse or similar temporary structure and, more particularly but not necessarily exclusively, to a multi-purpose play house that can be selectively utilised as required.

Children’s play houses and similar temporary structures tend to come in flat-packed configuration for assembly into semi-permanent structures that, once erected, remain in situ in, for example, a user’s garden, thereby occupying a relatively large amount of space even though they are actually only used for short periods of time. Furthermore, such structures tend to be of interest to a child for a limited time and, as they get older, play houses and the like tend to fall into disuse. Thus, such play houses and the like represent an expensive purchase for sporadic or intermittent use during a limited period of a child’s life.

It is an object of aspects of the present invention to address at least some of these issues and, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a play house comprising opposing first and second side panels and a pair of opposing end panels, each end panel being hingedly connected at its opposing side edges to a respective side edge of said first and second panels so as to form an enclosure, in an extended configuration, having walls defined by said first, second and end panels, wherein each panel of at least one pair of opposing panels is formed of at least two panel sections hingedly connected together to form a longitudinal folding joint therebetween, the play house further comprising a roof member comprising at least one panel having first and second opposing side edges, a first side edge thereof being hingedly connected to an upper lateral edge of said first side panel and the opposing side edge of said roof panel being configured to be detachably fastened to an upper lateral edge of said second side panel.

The roof member may comprise first and second roof panel sections hingedly connected together along a respective first side edge thereof to form a folding apex, wherein an opposing side edge of a first of the roof panel sections is hingedly connected to the upper lateral edge of said first side panel and an opposing side edge of the second roof panel section is configured to be detachably fastened to the upper lateral edge of said second side wall.

The play house may further comprise at least one door panel hingedly mounted along one edge thereof within a recess in said first side panel, and configured to open outwardly from a first, closed configuration to a second, open configuration in which it extends from said first side panel.

In this case, the roof member may be configured to be pivoted about said hinged connection between said side edge of said and said upper lateral edge of said first side panel, between a first configuration, in which it substantially covers the upper end of said enclosure, and a second configuration, in which said first roof panel section extends substantially orthogonally from said first side panel and rests on said at least one door panel in said open configuration to form a desk top. Optionally, the upper surface of said first roof panel in said second configuration may be provided with a white board or blackboard panel. Indeed, the outer surface of said second roof panel in said second configuration may, additionally or alternatively, be provided with a white board or blackboard panel.

In an exemplary embodiment, a door member may be hingedly mounted along one side thereof within a recess provided in said second side panel and configured for pivotal movement about said hinged connection between a closed configuration and an open configuration.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a play house comprising opposing first and second side panels and a pair of opposing end panels, each panel being hingedly connected at its opposing side edges to a respective side edge of said first and second panels so as to form an enclosure, at least in an extended configuration, having walls defined by said first, second and end panels, the play house further comprising a roof member compriseing first and second roof panel sections connected together along a respective first side edge thereof to form an apex, wherein an opposing side edge of a first of the roof panel sections is hingedly connected to the upper lateral edge of said first side panel and an opposing side edge of the second roof panel section is configured to be detachably fastened to the upper lateral edge of said second side wall, wherein said roof member is configured to be pivoted about said hinged connection between said side edge of said and said upper lateral edge of said first side panel, between a first configuration, in which it substantially covers the upper end of said enclosure, and a second configuration, in which said first roof panel section extends substantially orthogonally from said first side panel to form a desk top.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following specific description, in which embodiments of the present invention are described, by way of examples only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1A is a schematic end perspective view of a play house according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

Figure IB is an alternative schematic end perspective view of the play house of Figure i;

Figures 2A to 2E are schematic perspective views of the play house of Figures 1A and IB, illustrating key stages of its transformation from a play house to a desk arrangement; and

Figures 3 A to 3D are schematic perspective views of the play house of Figures ! A and IB, illustrating key stages in its assembly from a flat, folded configuration to fully erected.

Referring to Figures 1A and IB of the drawings, a play house according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a rectangular enclosure formed of a pair of opposing side walls 10 and a pair of opposing end walls 12. At least one of the side walls 10 may be provided with a window 16 and/or a door 14, in a manner similar to conventional play houses and with a view to providing a facia recognisable as a house to a small child. The door(s) and window(s) provided may be of any desired shape and/or configuration and the present invention is in no way intended to be limited in this regard. In the specific example shown, however, the window 16 is simply a round aperture provided in the side wall 10, and the door 14 is a moulded plastic panel, hingedly mounted along one side edge thereof within an arched opening in the side wall 10. A further opening is provided at the lower end of one of the side walls, within which is provided a pair of hingedly mounted saloon type doors 24, between which is provided a small recess 24a such that a user can insert their hand between the two doors 24 and open first one and then the other outwardly relative to the side wall in which they are mounted.

Each opposing end wall 12 is formed of two halves, hingedly joined together along a generally central, longitudinal “fold line” 18, across which is defined a window-like opening 20. Once again, however, the opening 20, which is intended to add to the overall impression of the structure as a ‘house’ may be of any desired configuration and may, indeed, be omitted in some exemplary embodiments. However, an opening between the two halves of each end wall 12 may aid in the assembly, transformation and disassembly of the structure.

The outer longitudinal edges of the end walls 12 are hingedly connected to the outer side edges of respective side walls 10 to form a general rectangular enclosure, but the shape of the enclosure formed by the side and end walls is not intended to be in any way limited and other suitable geometric shapes may be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example, if the side and end walls were of equal length, a square enclosure would be formed. In another exemplary embodiment, if each side wall 10 were also to be formed of two halves, hingedly connected together along a generally central longitudinal fold line, then the resultant enclosure could, at least in theory, be hexagonal or even octagonal.

The illustrated play house further comprises a gable type roof member 22 formed of two, substantially equi-angularly configured panels defining an upper apex, along which the roof panels are hingedly connected together.. The lower edge of one of the roof panels is hingedly connected along an upper edge of one of the side walls, and the lower edge of the other roof panel is configured to be detachably connected to the upper edge of the other side wall.

Referring to Figure 3 A of the drawings, before assembly, the play house structure is a substantially flat, folded configuration, with one of the side walls and the end walls folded in behind the other of the side walls, and the roof member folded in half and lying over the front of the same side wall. When it is required to erect the play house for use, the user may simply apply a force to push the opposing side walls away from each other (as shown in Figure 3B of the drawings). As a result, the end walls 12 start to unfold along the fold line 18 and extend to their full width so as to form the general rectangular enclosure illustrated schematically in Figure 3C of the drawings. Additionally, the roof member 22 can be unfolded downwardly (relative to the upright rectangular enclosure) along its apex, so as to create the gable type roof member, and then pivoted upwardly, along the hinged connection between the edge of one of tis panels and the respective side wall 10, until the lower edge of the other panel reaches the upper edge of the opposing side wall. That free edge can then be attached to the upper edge of the adjacent side wall to secure the structure. The attachment means may comprise any suitable form of clip or other releasably engageable connection member(s) and the present invention is not necessarily intended to be limited in this regard.

In this configuration (as illustrated in Figures 1A and IB of the drawings), the structure can be used as a play house, allowing a child to enter the enclosure through the door. Inside the enclosure, various educational and/or recreational aids may be provided, mounted around the inner walls of the enclosure, whether removably or otherwise. For example, it is envisaged that a clock or similar panel-shaped educational/recreational aid may be provided within the enclosure, removably mounted/mountable on the inner surface of one of the side walls.

If/when the structure is no longer required to be used in the form of a play house, it could simply be folded flat once more (as shown in Figure 3 A of the drawings, by simply detaching one side of the roof from the respective side wall, pivoting it outwardly and downwardly so that the inner panel rests against the outer surface of the opposing side wall, folding the roof member in half along the apex so that the second roof panel lies flat against the first roof panel, and then folding the end walls inwardly along their respective fold lines, such that the rear side wall moves toward the front side wall as far as possible.

However, in many circumstances, it may be desired to transform the play house for a different purpose, in this case a desk assembly. Thus, referring to Figure 2A of the drawings, starting from the fully erected play house, a user first opens the saloon doors 24 outwardly, such that they extend substantially orthogonally to the respective side wall 10. Next, as shown in Figure 2B of the drawings, the user can release the edge of the roof member 22 from the rear side wall 10 and pivot the roof member along the hinged connection with the front side wall until the proximal roof panel lies flat against the front side wall 10 and the distal roof panel extends substantially orthogonally therefrom to form the desk top. In this configuration, the distal roof panel or desk top rests on, and is supported by, the open saloon doors 24, as shown in Figure 2C of the drawings. The desk configuration may, of course be used in this configuration, with the enclosure portion still fully erect. However, if required, tn, the enclosure can be collapsed behind the front side wall 10, by causing the end walls to fold inwardly along their respective fold lines 18 so that the rear side wall moves toward the front side wall, as illustrated in Figure 2D of the drawings. Finally, a stool 26 or the like may be erected using a panel 42 and leg arrangement 40. The leg portions of the leg arrangement 40 may be held within corresponding recesses 40a in the front wall of the housing when not in use. And the panel 42 may, for example, be the abovementioned clock removed from a corresponding opening 42a in the rear wall of the assembly. In the configuration illustrated in Figure 2E of the drawings, the desk assembly may be leaned or otherwise supported against a wall or other substantially vertical surface. Alternatively, a support member (not shown) may be provided on the rear side wall such that the assembly can be supported in a free-standing manner for use. In yet another exemplary embodiment, a one or more brackets may be provided on the rear wall of the assembly, and another one or more brackets affixed to another structure, such as a fence or a wall, thereby enabling the assembly to be firmly affixed to an supported by the structure, when in use, but also relatively easily removed from the structure and moved as required.

The inner surfaces of the roof member 22 may be provided with, for example, a white board panel 28 and a blackboard panel 30.

Thus, it can be seen that the structure described above provides not only a multipurpose structure that can be assembled as a play house and easily transformed into a desk assembly, as required, but also provides a structure that requires no disassembly or separation of component parts at all in order to fold it flat for storage and/or transportation. By means of a simply unfastening operation along one edge (between the distal roof panel and the rear side wall), the entire structure can be collapsed and folded into a substantially flat, relatively compact configuration.

The various panels and components of the above-described play house may be formed of moulded plastics, although the present invention is not necessarily limited in this regard. The hinged connections variously referred to above may, for example, comprise any suitable form of plastic hinge members. ft will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, from the foregoing description, that modifications and variations can be made to the described embodiments, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A play house comprising opposing first and second side panels and a pair of opposing end panels, each end panel being hingedly connected at its opposing side edges to a respective side edge of said first and second panels so as to form an enclosure, in an extended configuration, having walls defined by said first, second and end panels, wherein each panel of at least one pair of opposing panels is formed of at least two panel sections hingedly connected together to form a longitudinal folding joint therebetween, the play house further comprising a roof member comprising at least one panel having first and second opposing side edges, a first side edge thereof being hingedly connected to an upper lateral edge of said first side panel and the opposing side edge of said roof panel being configured to be detachably fastened to an upper lateral edge of said second side panel.

2. A play house according to claim 1, wherein said roof member comprises first and second roof panel sections hingedly connected together along a respective first side edge thereof to form a folding apex, wherein an opposing side edge of a first of the roof panel sections is hingedly connected to the upper lateral edge of said first side panel and an opposing side edge of the second roof panel section is configured to be detachably fastened to the upper lateral edge of said second side wall.

3. A play house according to claim 2, further comprising at least one door panel hingedly mounted along one edge thereof within a recess in said first side panel, and configured to open outwardly from a first, closed configuration to a second, open configuration in which it extends from said first side panel.

4. A play house according to claim 3, wherein said roof member is configured to be pivoted about said hinged connection between said side edge of said and said upper lateral edge of said first side panel, between a first configuration, in which it substantially covers the upper end of said enclosure, and a second configuration, in which said first roof panel section extends substantially orthogonally from said first side panel and rests on said at least one door panel in said open configuration to form a desk top.

5. A play house according to claim 4, wherein the upper surface of said first roof panel in said second configuration is provided with a white board or blackboard panel.

6. A play house according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the outer surface of said second roof panel in said second configuration is provided with a white board or blackboard panel.

7. A play house according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a door member is hingedly mounted along one side thereof within a recess provided in said second side panel and configured for pivotal movement about said hinged connection between a closed configuration and an open configuration.

8. A play house comprising opposing first and second side panels and a pair of opposing end panels, each panel being hingedly connected at its opposing side edges to a respective side edge of said first and second panels so as to form an enclosure, at least in an extended configuration, having walls defined by said first, second and end panels, the play house further comprising a roof member compriseing first and second roof panel sections connected together along a respective first side edge thereof to form an apex, wherein an opposing side edge of a first of the roof panel sections is hingedly connected to the upper lateral edge of said first side panel and an opposing side edge of the second roof panel section is configured to be detachably fastened to the upper lateral edge of said second side wall, wherein said roof member is configured to be pivoted about said hinged connection between said side edge of said and said upper lateral edge of said first side panel, between a first configuration, in which it substantially covers the upper end of said enclosure, and a second configuration, in which said first roof panel section extends substantially orthogonally from said first side panel to form a desk top.

9. A play house substantially as herein described and/or with reference to the accompanying drawings.