US1927387A - Tent - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 19, 1933. B|XENsTE|N 1,927,387

TENT

Filed June 15, 1932 ATTORNE).

Patented Sept. 19, 1933 J UNI'TED STATES PATENTOFFICE l TENT 7 Marvin Bixenstein, Los Angeles, Calif. Application June 15, 1932. Serial No. 617,372

2 Claims. (01. 135-14) .My invention particularly relates to a combinationv closure and dirt expelling means for tents.

An object of the invention is to provide a means whereby the door openings of tents may be closed in suchmanner that animals, insects or reptiles will bev prevented from entering, and at the same time the occupant may have-ready entrance to and egress from the tents.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a means whereby the door closures may be operated to completely or partially cover the door openings, and which when not in use are adapted for disposition out of the way.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door closure which is adapted for attachment to tents of all character.

Tents of the umbrella type, to which my improvement is more particularly adapted, are provided with canvas flooring stitched to the lower ends of a plurality of sidewalls, a peaked top in turn being stitched to the upper ends of the side walls. Door openings extend from the flooring to the upper part of the tent, being bounded at opposite sides by a pair of front wall sections.

Threshold strips span the lower part of the door openings, being secured by stitching to the flooring and to' the lower ends of thefront Wall sections. In practice it has been found that by reason of the attachment of the threshold strips to the front wall sections of this particular type of tent, it is impossible to effectively remove dust and dirt accumulations from the floors thereof.

For this purpose it is necessary to apply foot pressure to the threshold strips in an attempt to dispose the same flush with the floor, so that the dust and dirt accumulations may be swept thereover, Such pressures applied to the threshold strips put undesirable strains upon the front wall sections of the tent and likewise cause the threshold strips to collapse and break away from thewall sections.

As it is impossible to completely flatten the threshold strips during sweeping operations, a large part of the dust and dirt will accumulate in the corner formed rearwardly of the front wall sections at its point of connection with the floor and contiguous to the depressed part of the threshold strips, and it is only after successive pressures have been applied to the strips that any material part of the accumulations can be swept from the tent, it being then necessary .to resort to the use of dust pans to remove the remainder.

It is another object of my invention to provide a closure for tent door openings-which when not in use may be extended over the flooring in a manner to receive dust and, dirt which is swept thereon, the closure being adapted for subsequent elevation to swing the sweepings over the threshold strip for deposit exteriorly of the tent.

It is likewise an object of my invention to provide a closure of this character which may be moved from its closed position and folded up and disposed out of the way, or extended over the floor of the tent for gathering and expelling sweepings therefrom.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be-made evident in the following description which may be better understood with reference to theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tent having my improvement applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view illustrating my improved closure in door closing position.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the tent with the closure flap closing the door opening.

'Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3 and illustrates the closure flap in position to gather sweepings, the dotted lines indicating the position of' the flap after the sweepings have been expelled from the tent.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the tent of my door closure thereto.

For, the purpose of illustration, this invention is shown as being applied to an umbrella tent. This particular type of tent comprises a collapsible frame structure, not illustrated, which supports the sidewalls 10, and a top 11, secured by suitable stitching ,to the upper ends of the sections 14 and 15 and at its lower edge by stitching to the floor covering 12. The purpose of the threshold strip 17 is to hold the lower ends of the front wall sections 14 and 15 in position and to prevent insects, reptiles, etc. from entering the tent.

My improved closure for sealing and unsealing illustrating the attachment of a modified form the door opening 16 and sweepings ejecting means comprises a flap or ejecting member 18 of material corresponding to that used in the manufacture of the tent proper. The closure flap 18 is secured by rows of stitching along its lower end to the threshold strip 17, the stitching at this point forming a hinge 19. Bands 20 and 21 of fabric material are secured by stitching along the longitudinal edges of the front wall sections 14 and 15 and correspondingly similar bands 22 and 23 are secured by stitching along the longitudinal edges of the closure flap 18.

Cooperating locking members 24 and 25 are secured to the bands 20, 21, 22 and 23 connected as above stated to the edges of the front wall sections and the closure flap, respectively. Slide fasteners 26 and 27 comprising connecting means are movable upwardly to cause the interengagement of the locking members 24 and 25, so that the closure flap 18 will seal the door opening 16 and may be pulled downwardly to disengage the sealing flap 18 from the door opening. When the sealing flap 18 is not in use, it-may be rolled up and disposed immediately to the rear of the threshold strip 1'7, in which position it is out of the way of the occupants of the tent.

Eeretofor'e, considerable diiflculty'has been encountered in satisfactorily cleaning tents of this particular type, by reason of the fact that the dust and dirt accumulations could not be entirely swept over the threshold strip 17, which latter forms a part of standard umbrella construction. In order to remove the dust and dirt from this type of tent, it is necessary to apply foot pressure upon the threshold strips in an endeavor to force at least a part of the strip into a position relatively flush. with the floor. This pressure is generally exerted at substantially the central ,part of the threshold strip and consequently great strains are put upon the frontwall sections 14 and 15, which has a tendency to cause the top 11 of the tent to be pulled downwardly above this point. Also, after successive pressures have been put upon the threshold strip 17, it follows that the strip will collapse by reason of the stitching connecting it to the front wall sections 14 and 15 pulling out.

To obviate this objection, my improved closure flap 18 may be passedthrough the door opening 16 and by reason of its hinge connection 19 can be laid over the tent iloor covering 12. Previous to this operation, the floor of the tent will have been swept and the sweeping collected in a pile. The sweepings are then swept upon the closure flap l8, whereupon the free end of the closure may be grasped by the hands of the operator and moved upwardly, so that the sweepings will gravitate down the inclined surface of the closure flap and over the threshold strip to the ground outside of the tent. Also, the sweepings may be quickly ejected from the tent by throwing the free end of the closure flap through the door opening 16.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modified form of my invention which comprises a closure flap 28 hinged at'29 to the thresholdstrip 30, snap fasteners or buttons 31 being provided for securing the closure flap to the front wall sections 32 and 33. In the form here illustrated, it is noted that flap 28 only partly closes the door opening 16, leaving the upper end of the door opening uncovered for the purpose of ventilation.

It is obivous that the closure flaps and threshold strips may be in the form of a single piece of material, in which case the material is transversely stitched to form the hinge at the required point, this stitching defining the threshold strip therebelow. Likewise, the closure flap, threshold strip and floor covering of the tent may be in the form of a single piece of material and attached to the tent in the usual manner.

In this manner I have provided a novel closure for tent door openings which not only can be sealed against inclement weather, dirt, insects, reptiles, etc., but which also serves as a means for expelling dirt accumulations from the tent.

While I have described the illustrated embodiments of my invention as attached to the umbrella type of tents, it should be obvious that the device may be attached to other types of tents.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that there are many changes in the details of construction and relative arrangement of parts which will readily occur to them, and I do not, therefore, desire to be particularly limited to the exact disclosure which I have presented in the specification and drawing for the purpose of illustrating the principles of my invention. I desire only to be limited to the scope of my invention as I have defined it in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a tent of the class described, the combination of wall members forming a tent enclosure, there being an opening in one of said wall members; a threshold strip below said opening the upper edge of said strip forming the lower wall of said opening, said lower wall of said opening being in a plane higher than the ground level; and a member adapted to be extended from the upper edge of said threshold strip onto the floor of said tent and being adapted to receive sweepings and the like while in such a position, said sweepings and the like being ejected from said tent by swinging said member outwardly from said tent.

2. In a tent of the class described, the combination of wall members providing a tent enclosure, one of said wall members having a threshold strip extending upwardly from the floor level of said tent, and having an opening above said threshold strip, the upper edge of said threshold strip forming the lower wall of said opening; and an ejecting member secured to the upper edge of said threshold strip adapted to extend downwardly in said tent, from the upper edge of said threshold strip to the floor of said tent and having a portion lying flatly on said floor to receive sweepings and the like, said sweepings being ejected by swinging said ejecting member outwardly through said opening.

MARVIN BIXENSTEIN.

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