US1285791A - Folding tent. - Google Patents

Description

l. S. PURCELL.

FOLDING TENT.

APPLlcATloN mw JUNE 20,19l1.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

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vFOLDING TENT.

APPucATloN FILED JUNE 2o. 1911.

1,285,793" Patented Nov. 26, 1918. K

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEToE.

ISAAC S. PURCELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TENTOBED'COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A' CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FOLDING TENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1ers.

Application filed `fune 20,1917; n Serial N o. 175,756.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it knownl that I, ISAAC S. PU'RCELL, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain'newand useful Improvements in Foldingl Tents; and

I do hereby declarethe following lto be ai full, clear, and exact descriptionl ofthe invention, such as will enable others'skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same. l

My invention relates to folding tents, one

of its general objects being to provide'a tent carrying its own frame and requiring no poles, and one that can readily beY folded or rolled (with the bracing included) into an unusually compact space. Another object is to provide a foldable tent'frame theelem'entsof which will be straight when the frame is not erected, but in which certain'fra'me-elements will assume curves when thefra-me'is erected, thereby affording an unusually' handsome appearance to the tent and" un decidedly superior substitute fora so'lc'alled' pup tent. Moreover, my'ii'iven'tio'n'aimsI to provide simple means for securin'gthef frame members to the tent, for preventing the frame-curvingv strainsfrom damaging the sockets for the latter, for limitingthe insertion of the frame members into the sockets, for connecting certain frame members to' each other while permitting the" readyerecting and compactingof 'the same, and for tensioning theridge of' the tent.A

Still'further objects will appear' from' the' following specication and from the accompanying drawings', 1n which* I Y Y Figure 1 isa perspective view ofone ein-v bodiment of my invention, showing the' saine' as used in connection with a folding'cot;

Fig.y 2 is a transverse section through the tent or Fig. 1 along the line 2-*2 Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary inner View of an edge portion of the slde of the tent of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of'thejointed" ends of each pair 'of the frame membersas rod members, -as for example by boring they appear when'the tent is erected.I l

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary end view'of tent portions, showing' partsfoffside and end-r railsy of the bed, and of one'of the frame v members.

Fig. 6 is a view taken at-right angles to rig. 5. l

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section through Fig-.16.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section through Fig. 3l i Fig. 9 isa perspective view of one of the three" sets/of frame members as used with a pup tent embodying my'inventi'on.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view showing another method ofslidably connecting the ribs with'fthev tent sides.

In my copending application, filed Oct. 7, 1916, as Serial No. 124,216, I have disclosed a tent suitable for use with a fold- 'ing' cot, this tent being-slipped over a skeleton frame composed of straight steel bars.

With such a construction, the frame andthe tent mustbe erected separately, and in practice' 'the' combination has lproven to be objectionable in 'Y weight. Moreover, the acute angles between the frame members and the bed-bottom permit the tent to follow the same angles, thereby practically wasting a considerable portionvof the width of the bedbottom alongeach edge of the latter. Mypresent invention aims to provide a substitute for the construction just referred lto andone which will"simultaneously avoid the waste o'f-'sp'ac"e, -the'eXcessive weight, and the separate handling of the frame andof the tent. With this inv view, I construct the frame'ofmy'p'resent tent in'pairs ofY pivota'llyw connected and normally straight members, each of which members is'desii1- ably"m'ade'yofround spring steel. For ordinary sized tents, I? provide three such pairs ofmemb'ers (viz., yone for 'each' endof the tent and onev for; the middle) and'connect each vp'airfoperatively to the tent by slipping eachmember'th'ereof through' a tube 'formed by sewing''a piece of canvas@ vertically tov the'inner faceof the tent as shown in Figs. 3 and '1 8. Each. of these tubes terminates somewhatbelow the ridge' of the tent and somewhat" above the bed-bottom, thus permitting'fboth the jointed and the free ends of the rod members 1 to be exposed at the insideof'the tent. I then provide suitable socketsifor receiving the free ends of the holes through the'sidevl rails 2A of the cot. However,'theseholes are not bored in direcent and normally straight members pivotally joined at their upper ends and diverge` ing from said joint at an acute angle to each other when in use, and spreader means equipped at opposite ends with substantially parallel sockets for receiving the lower ends of said members, whereby the angular adjoining of the upper ends and the parallel socketing of the lower ends cooperate in bowing the said members.

4. A tent frame including a pair of normally straight members of resilient material pivotally joined at their upper ends to afford a peak' formation, and a pair of sockets housing the lower ends of the said members, the said sockets being. directed respectively past opposite sides of the pivotal junction of the said members and thereby compelling a bowing of the said members into substantially a Gothic arch formation.

5. A tent frame as per claim 3, in combination with symmetrically disposed means for limiting' the entrance of the lower ends of the said members into the sockets and thereby effecting a symmetrical disposition of the said members.

6. Tent frame elements as per claim l, in combination with a tent having oppositely sloping portions equipped with tubular formations through which the respective members extend and whereby the said members are continuously maintained within the folds of the tent when the latter is dismantled, thereby permitting the dismantled tent to be compacted with the said frame g elements in their normal straight formation.

7. In combination, a tent equipped on each of two oppositely sloping sides with a plurality of tubular formations, normally straight tent ribs of resilient material arranged in pairs pivotally joined at their upper ends near the ridge of the tent and disposed withthe membersv of each pair eX- tending respectively through said tubular formations on the opposite tent sides, a sup port for the tent,` and plural socketing means upon each side of the support for receiving the ends of the said ribs, the socketing means receiving the ends of each piv-v otally joined pair of ribs being directed away from the pivotal junction of the ribs so as to compel a bowing of the ribs and the tent sides into a Gothic arch formation.

8. A tent support comprising a substan- ISAAC S. PURCELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. I

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