US20180058090A1

US20180058090A1 - Outdoor enclosure with natural visual characteristics

Info

Publication number: US20180058090A1
Application number: US15/686,253
Authority: US
Inventors: Ryan KUBICA
Original assignee: Plano Molding Co LLC
Current assignee: Plano Molding Co LLC
Priority date: 2016-08-31
Filing date: 2017-08-25
Publication date: 2018-03-01
Also published as: CA2977728A1

Abstract

An outdoor enclosure is disclosed, which includes a wall structure comprising an opening and a frame that supports the wall structure. The opening is irregularly shaped to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines from an appearance thereof. The outdoor enclosure may have a wall structure that includes an outer layer made of a natural fiber. The natural fiber may comprise a natural fabric, pattern, and/or texture.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit thereof from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/381,868 filed on Aug. 31, 2016, titled RAPIDLY-DEPLOYABLE ENCLOSURE WITH NATURAL FIBER OUTER MATERIAL AND/OR IRREGULAR OPENINGS, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to an outdoor enclosure, and more specifically it relates to an outdoor enclosure with irregular shaped openings and/or a wall structure having an outer layer that comprises a natural fiber.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In hunting or other outdoor/wildlife activities, it is difficult to blend in with the natural surroundings. One main reason is that virtually every man-made outdoor enclosure, such as, a hunting tent or blind, tends to have shapes, colors and/or textures that do not naturally occur. These unnatural visual characteristics of outdoor enclosures are easily detected by wild animals, which typically results in the animals becoming alarmed and discourages from approaching the outdoor enclosure.
Accordingly, an unfulfilled need exists for an outdoor enclosure that blends into the natural surroundings and is not easily detected by animals.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Accordingly, one aspect of the present disclosure provides an outdoor enclosure, comprising: a wall structure having an opening; and a frame that supports the wall structure, wherein the opening is irregularly shaped to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines from an appearance thereof. The outdoor enclosure may further comprise a cover that covers the opening, wherein the cover is at least partially removable from the wall structure.
The wall structure may be irregularly shaped to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines from an appearance thereof.
The wall structure may have a shape that is substantially a cuboid.
The wall structure may comprise an outer layer that has a natural fiber. The natural fiber may comprise at least one of: cornstalk; grass; pine; burlap; and jute.
The outer layer may have a natural texture.
The outer layer may have a natural color pattern.
The wall structure may further comprise an inner layer. The inner layer may be water resistant, weather proof, fire retardant, or light impermeable.
The cover may be attached to a cover hold. The cover hold may comprise an opening.
The cover may comprise a fastener and an elastic member that attaches to the cover hold.
The fastener may comprise a hook.
The irregularly shaped opening may comprise a plurality of rounded and semi-rounded portions.
The frame comprises a frame structure that may include at least one hub and at least one pole. The frame structure may include five hubs and a plurality of poles, wherein each hub may be connected to at least two of the plurality of poles.
The wall structure may comprise a sheathing that receives and surrounds at least one of the plurality of poles. The sheathing may be attached to or integrally formed with the wall structure.
The wall structure may include an inner layer, and the sheathing may be attached to or integrally formed with the inner layer of the wall structure.
The sheathing may comprise: a plurality of fabric layers overlapping each other; and a rope placed between the plurality of fabric layers to create one or more cover holds.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, an outdoor enclosure is provided that comprises: a wall structure having a sidewall; an irregularly shaped opening formed in the sidewall; and a frame that supports the outdoor enclosure, wherein the wall structure includes an outer layer having a natural fiber. The frame comprises a frame structure that may include a hub and a plurality of poles.
According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, an outdoor enclosure is provided that comprises: a frame; and a wall structure supported by the frame, wherein the wall structure comprises an outer layer that has a natural fiber.
Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the disclosure may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the disclosure and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. No attempt is made to show structural details of the disclosure in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the disclosure and the various ways in which it may be practiced.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an example of an outdoor enclosure, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A shows an example of a cover material, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 2B shows an example of an exterior texture of the cover material in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A shows a side view of another example of the outdoor enclosure, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 3B shows a top view of the outdoor enclosure of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a cover for an opening of the outdoor enclosure in FIGS. 3A and 3B, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a portion of a wall structure, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a hub and an example of a plurality of poles that may be included in the outdoor enclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an outdoor enclosure 10, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The outdoor enclosure 10 may be permanently or temporarily deployed for outdoor/wildlife activities, such as, for example, hunting, camping, reconnaissance, researches, rescue and care, and the like. The outdoor enclosure 10 may be constructed so as not to have any sharp edges, and to blend in with the environment so as not to be noticeable to animals in the surrounding areas. The outdoor enclosure 10 includes a frame and a wall structure 100.
The outdoor enclosure 10 may be rapidly deployable by configuring the wall structure 100 and frame to expand and erect with a single action. In this regard, the frame may include a frame structure (not shown) that includes a hub and a plurality of extending poles (e.g., an umbrella-like frame) located on the top wall (or ceiling) of the outdoor enclosure 10. The hub and plurality of poles may be constructed such that when a grip portion 11 is grasped by hand and pulled upward and away from the ground, the poles extend, thereby expanding the top wall of the enclosure 10 to a deployed configuration (as seen, for example, in FIG. 1).
Alternatively, the outdoor enclosure 10 may be constructed to rapidly deploy in a plurality of actions by the user. In this regard, the frame may include a plurality of hubs (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) and a plurality of poles (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, etc.), depending on the style of the enclosure 10, which may include a wall structure 100 comprising three walls, four walls, five walls, or the like. Each hub may be located proximate a wall of the wall structure 100 and operationally attached to the wall by means of at least one pole, and preferably by two or four poles that form an x-shape with the hub at the center, as seen, for example, in FIG. 6. Each wall 12 may be expanded with a single action of the hub by pushing (or pulling) the hub to fully extend the pole(s) that are attached to the hub. The entire wall structure 100 may be deployed by pushing (or pulling) all hubs of the frame (not shown), thereby deploying the enclosure 10 into a fully erect configuration (as seen, e.g., in FIG. 1).
FIG. 6 shows an example of a hub 150 and an example of a plurality of poles 155 that may be included in the frame (not shown) in the enclosure 10.
The wall structure 100 may include a fastening structure 200 (partially shown in FIG. 5), which may be attached to, or integrally formed with the wall structure 100. The fastening structure 200 may attached to, or integrally formed with an inner layer of the wall structure 100.
The wall structure 100 may be formed of a foldable material. The wall structure 100 may have one or more layers. The wall structure 100 may include an outer layer made of a natural fiber. The natural fiber may include, for example, cornstalk, grass, pine, burlap, jute, or the like. The wall structure 100 may include, for example, one or more natural and/or non-natural fabric layers, an example of which is described below with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
As noted above, the frame structure (not shown) may have at least one umbrella-like folding structure (not shown) that may include, for example, a hub (not shown) and a plurality of poles pivotally connected to the hub (not shown), as is known by those skilled in the art. The frame structure may include one or more telescopic retraction/expansion frames (not shown), one or more pivot joints (not shown), and the like, which may allow the frame structure to be folded, without disassembling or disconnecting any poles (or the frame) from the wall structure 100, to reduce the size thereof for easier and more convenient storage or transportation, or expanded and erected with little effort.
The wall structure 100 may be attached to the frame structure (not shown) with pockets (not shown) on each end of the frame poles (not shown), eyebolt (not shown) that goes through grommet(s) (not shown) in the wall structure 100 and attached to a corresponding hub (not shown), as well as additional hook-and-loop tabs (not shown) that may attach to the frame poles (not shown), as understood by those skilled in the art.
The enclosure 10 may be instantly set up by unfolding the frame structure, which may be deployably attached to the wall structure 100. Where the frame structure is not deployably attached to the wall structure 100, the unfolded frame structure may be covered with the wall structure 100 after the frame structure is deployed.
The wall structure 100 may be pre-attached to the frame structure by, for example, gluing, sewing, fasteners (e.g., hook-and-loop, buckle, clamp, Velcro®, rivet, button, or the like), or the like, such that the wall structure 100 and the frame structure may be folded and unfolded together for rapid deployment and withdrawal.
The outdoor enclosure 10 may have natural visual characteristics to make the enclosure 10 blend in with the natural surroundings. For example, the wall structure 100 may have one or more irregular-shaped openings 110. Each opening 110 may be used as a door, a window, or a pass-through for the enclosure 10. As seen in FIG. 1, the openings 110 may be shaped to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines, and/or sharp corners from appearances thereof, which helps the enclosure 10 blend in better to the natural surroundings, such as, for example, fields, forests, mountains, deserts, etc. The openings 110, wall structure 100, and/or the overall enclosure 10 may be constructed to reflect low frequency visual signal components and avoid high frequency components, thereby taking advantage of animal (e.g., mammalian or fowl) vision systems that have low sensitivity to low frequency signal components—that is, animal vision systems are typically very sensitive to high frequency signal components of sharp edges, but much less sensitive to low frequency signal components such as, for example, low contrast or blurred edges or transitions.
The openings 110 may be formed on one or more walls 12 of the enclosure 10. Some of the walls 12 may have more than one opening 110 or none at all.
The outdoor enclosure 10 may have an irregular three-dimensional (3D) shape. The outdoor enclosure 10 may have an irregular two-dimension (2D) shape, such as, for example, a single deployable (or retractable) wall. The enclosure 10 may be shaped to roughly resemble a cubic (shown in FIG. 1), cuboid, cylindrical, pyramid (shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B), or spherical shape. The irregular shape of the enclosure 10 may reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines or edges from its appearance, thereby making the enclosure 10 less detectable by animals.
The enclosure 10 may include one or more covers 120 that cover the openings 110. Each cover 120 may be shaped to sufficiently cover one or more openings 110. The wall structure 100 and the cover 120 may be configured such that a user can fully or partially attach or detach the cover 120 to the wall structure 100 without stepping outside the enclosure 10 and without making a substantial noise, to avoid disturbing or alarming the animals nearby.
The cover 120 may be removably attachable to the wall structure 100. A non-limiting example of the cover 120 is shown in FIG. 4, which is constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The cover 120 may include one or more fasteners 122, such as, for example, a hook, a zipper, a hook-and-loop fastener, a hook-and-eye closure, a button, a buckle, a clip, a ring and/or the like. Each fastener 122 may be positioned and constructed to engage one or more cover holds 232 (shown in FIG. 5) or corresponding fasteners (not shown), such as, for example, rings, slots, hooks, or the like, formed on the wall structure 100. Alternatively, the cover 120 may be partially attached to the wall structure 100 by, for example, gluing, sewing, riveting, and/or the like so as to be partially removable.
By cautiously and slowly operating the fasteners 122, the cover 120 may be attached to or detached from the wall structure 100 virtually without making any noise. The cover holds 232 and/or fasteners (not shown) of the wall structure 100 may be formed around the one or more corresponding openings 110 on an interior surface of the wall structure 100 such that the user may engage or disengage the fasteners 122 without stepping outside the enclosure 10. By arranging the cover 120 to be attached on the interior surface of the wall structure 100, the exterior surface of the wall structure 100 may not show any unnatural shapes or lines of the cover 120 and fastener 122, and the natural visual characteristics of the enclosure 10 may be maintained.
Still referring to FIG. 4, the fasteners 122 may be connected at one end to the corners and/or sides of the cover 120 via an elastic member 124, which may include, e.g., an elastic wire, a rubber band, a bungee cord, etc. The other end of the fasteners 122 may be designed to engage the cover hold 232 (shown in FIG. 5) and/or one or more fasteners (not shown) on the wall structure 100. Once the fasteners 122 are engaged to the corresponding cover hold 232 and/or fasteners (not shown) on the wall structure 100, the cover 120 may be pulled by the fasteners 122 and the elastic members 124 to shield the opening 110, which may block wind, rain, snow or the like from entering though the opening 110 into the enclosure 10.
FIG. 2A shows a non-limiting example of a cover material 32, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. FIG. 2B shows a non-limiting example of an exterior (or outer) layer of the cover material 32 in FIG. 2A, constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. The cover material may have a single or multiple layers, including an inner layer and an outer layer. The cover material 32 may be used for the wall structure 100 and the cover 120.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the cover material 32 may be constructed with one or more natural or non-natural fabric layers. For example, the cover material 32 may include an exterior (or outer) layer 34 and an interior (or inner) layer 36. The exterior layer 34 may include a natural fiber, such as, for example, cornstalk, grass, pine, burlap, jute, or the like. The exterior layer 34 may have a natural color pattern and/or texture. The color pattern and/or texture may vary depending on the surroundings. For example, for use in a densely wooded area or forest, a mixture of various shades and shapes of brown, black and/or green may be used as the color pattern of the exterior layer 34.
The exterior layer 34 may have low reflectivity over a broad band of visually perceptible frequencies (e.g., of the animals to be observed, studied, or hunted using the enclosure 10), so as to minimize reflected light signals. The exterior layer 34 may have one or more patterns that reflect only low frequency visual signal components and avoid high frequency components, and that may match the surrounding environment in which the enclosure 10 is to be used. The interior layer 36 may be made of a thermo-insulating material that may have a low thermal conductivity (e.g., high R-value). The thermo-insulating material may include any flexible, durable, insulating material, including, for example, but not limited to, glass wool, canvas, polyester film, or the like. The interior layer 36 may be constructed to reduce thermal conductivity from the exterior layer 34, which could become heated under certain conditions such as exposure to prolonged direct sunlight due to the low reflectivity of the exterior layer 34 to light signals, or cooled such as by low temperatures outside of the wall structure 100.
As seen in FIG. 2B, the exterior layer 34 may include a natural or natural-looking synthetic fiber layer, such as, for example, a plant fiber (e.g., a seed fiber (e.g., cotton, kapok, etc.), a leaf fiber (e.g., abaca, date palm, etc.), a bast fiber (e.g., flax, jute, etc.), a fruit fiber (e.g., coir, etc.), or a stalk fiber (e.g., straws of wheat, rice, bamboo, etc.), an animal fiber (e.g., animal hair (e.g., wool, etc.), a synthetic fiber (e.g., nylon, modacrylic, olefin, acrylic, polyester, etc.), and/or the like, which may provide a natural visual and/or tactile texture. The combination of the natural or natural-looking color pattern and texture may further enhance the natural visual characteristics of the enclosure 10, and the enclosure 10 may seamlessly blend in with the natural surroundings.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the interior layer 36 may be waterproof, weatherproof, water resistant, fire-retardant, light impermeable, and/or the like. For example, the interior layer 36 may include a natural or synthetic fabric that is laminated or coated with a waterproofing material, such as, for example, rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), silicone elastomer, fluoropolymers, or wax.
The interior layer 36 may include a fire retardant material, such as, for example, polybenzimeidazole (PBI) fiber, mineral wool, silicate, calcium silicate, sodium silicate, potassium silicate, treated vegetable fiber (e.g., cotton, jute, kenaf, hemp, flax, etc.), magnesium oxide, aramids (para and meta), fire-retardant cotton, coated nylon, carbon foam, melamine, modacrylic, wool, leather, or the like.
The exterior layer 34 and the interior layer 36 may be attached to each other by, for example, sewing, gluing or using one or more fasteners (e.g., a zipper, a hook-and-loop fastener, buttons, clips, rivets, etc.). The exterior layer 34 and interior layer 36 may be formed contemporaneously as a single structure. Alternatively, the exterior layer 34 and the interior layer 36 may be separable from each other for replacement, maintenance, storage or transportation, or for use of the enclosure 10 in different environments.
FIG. 3A shows a side view of an outdoor enclosure 10′, which is another non-limiting example constructed according to the principles of the disclosure. FIG. 3B shows a top view of the outdoor enclosure 10′ shown in FIG. 3A.
Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the enclosure 10's may be constructed similar to the enclosure 10 shown in FIG. 1, except for the exterior shape thereof. For example, the outdoor enclosure 10's may be constructed to have an irregular shape that roughly resembles a pyramid shape. The enclosure 10′ may include the wall structure 100 and the frame structure (not shown). The wall structure 100 may include one or more openings 110, which may be formed on one or more walls 12 of the enclosure 10. The opening 110 may not be formed on some of the walls 12, as seen in FIG. 3B. The enclosure 10′ may include one or more covers 120. Each cover 120 may be shaped to cover one or more openings 110. An example of the cover 120 is shown in FIG. 4.
The enclosure 10′ may be constructed to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines or edges from its appearance thereof, which may create smoother transition to the natural surroundings. For example, as seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B, edge lines 14 between two adjoining sidewalls 12 may be irregularly shaped to reduce or eliminate any unnaturally pronounced straight lines. The edge lines 14 may be constructed to reflect only low frequency visual signal components and avoid reflecting high frequency components. The edge lines 14 may have any shape that minimizes or entirely avoids reflecting high frequency visual signal components.
According to a non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, the irregularly shaped or blurred edges 14 may be created by the wall structure 100 and/or by the frame structure (not shown) that may support the wall structure 100. An example of a portion of the wall structure 100 is shown in FIG. 5. The wall structure 100 may include frame attachment portions 210. The frame attachment portions 210 may be positioned on the inner surface of the wall 12 to correspond to the position(s) of the pole(s) 155 (shown in FIG. 6) of the frame structure. For instance, the frame attachment portions 210 may be positioned on the inner surface of the wall 12 in, for example, a partial x-shape (not shown) so as to receive and hold corresponding poles 155 of the frame structure. The frame attachment portions 210 may be provided along the irregular shaped or blurred edges 14.
Each frame attachment portion 210 may include a channel 236 to receive and hold a frame pole (e.g., a fiberglass reinforced pole (RFP)). The wall structure 100 may be configured to receive and hold frame poles for the entire frame structure. The wall structure 100 may be configured to receive and hold a frame hub (not shown), should the frame structure include a frame hub. The frame structure may include a hub (not shown) and a plurality of poles (not shown), each of which may diagonally extend from a corner (e.g., corner 30) of a wall 12, and may be conjoined at the hub (not shown). The frame structure may support the wall structure 100 to form an irregular shape.
In the example shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the wall structure 100 may be formed and supported by the frame structure (not shown) so as form a pyramid-like shape having four walls 12 and a peak 40.
Referring to FIG. 5, the fastening structure 200 includes a frame attachment portion 210, which may include the channel 236 to receive and hold a frame pole 220 (e.g., a fiberglass reinforced pole (RFP)). The channel 236 may be formed by a sheathing 230 that surrounds the pole 220. The pole 220 may be formed of, for example, a metal, an alloy, fiberglass, carbon fiber, plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic, or the like. The sheathing 230 may include a single layer of a material, or multiple layers of one or more materials. The material may include, for example, fabric. The sheathing 230 may be dual sided. The frame attachment portion 210 may be attached to, or integrally formed with the wall structure 100, such as, for example, attached to, or integrally formed with the inner layer 36 (shown in FIG. 2A) of the wall structure 100.
The frame attachment portion 210 may have one or more cover holds 232. The cover hold 232 may be provided as a ring, a loop, an opening, or the like, that may be integrally formed with or attached to the sheathing 230. The cover hold 232 may be formed by sandwiching portions of a rope (e.g., a paracord type rope), folded fabric, or the like, between a cover hold fastener 234 (such as, for example, a fabric) and the sheathing 230, thereby creating one or more hoops (shown in FIG. 5) that can receive and support a fastener 122 (shown in FIG. 4). The cover hold fastener 234 may be attached to the sheathing 230 by, for example, an adhesive, a stitching, a rivet, or any suitable attachment mechanism. The cover hold(s) 232 may be configured to have any size or shape, and each cover hold 232 may have the same or different shape and/or size as the next cover hold 232.
The sheathing 230 may be formed of two or more fabric layers (not shown), which may be sewn or tied together to form the cover hold 232. As noted above, the cover holds 232 may be formed by sandwiching a rope (e.g., paracord type rope, etc.), folded fabric, or the like, between the fabric layers and sewing the fabric layers together.
The cover holds 232 may run along a portion or the entire length of the fastening structure 200.
Referring to the example of the enclosure 10′ in FIGS. 3A and 3B, although shown as straight lines for convenience, the edges 14 may have any shape consistent with the scope and spirit of the instant disclosure, including an irregular shape that will minimize or prevent reflection of high frequency components in the environment in which the enclosure 10′ is to be used, thereby creating smooth transitions between the edges of the enclosure 10′ and the natural surroundings.
According to the principles of the disclosure, an outdoor/wildlife enclosure 10 may be constructed with enhanced natural visual characteristics to blend in with the natural surroundings. The enclosure 10 may be constructed for rapid deployment. The enclosure 10 may be irregularly shaped and may have irregularly shaped openings and edge lines. The enclosure may have a natural or natural-looking fiber, color pattern, and/or texture. Accordingly, the enclosure may be constructed to be substantially undetectable by animals.
The term “irregular shape,” including derivations thereof, means an irregular (two-dimensional or three-dimensional) shape in at least one plane that is formed by a pair of orthogonal axes in the real-world coordinate system (x, y, z), wherein the shape may have a shape similar to or substantially the same as that of naturally occurring geological structures, such as rocks, stones, boulders, or the like, or plant structures such as, for example, leaves, tree-trunks, tree branches, tree limbs, bushes, or the like. The irregular shape, however, does not consist of non-naturally occurring shapes such as, for example, a square, a circle, a triangle, or the like. The irregular shape may be determined using one or more of the following:

- Wentworth's sphericity: Ψ=(a+b)/2c, where Ψ is the sphericity, a is the longest axis diameter of the shape, b is the medium axis diameter of the shape, and c is the shortest axes diameter of the shape.
- Lee's angularity: Ai=(180−a) x/r, where the degree of angularity A_iof the irregular shape may be determined based on the angle a bounding an edge, the distance x from a center of the maximum inscribed circle to the edges, and the radius r of the maximum inscribed circle.
- Any or more of the methodologies for determining shape, as described in “Particle Shape Quantities and Influence on Geotechnical Properties—A Review,” by Juan Manuel Rodriquez Zavala, Division of Mining and Geotechnical Engineering Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources, Lulea University of Technology (2012), or “Particle Shape Statistics Revisited,” by Dr. Peter Smart, Glasgow University (first revision Mar. 11, 2013), both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The terms “including,” “comprising” and variations thereof, as used in this disclosure, mean “including, but not limited to,” unless expressly specified otherwise.
The terms “a,” “an,” and “the,” as used in this disclosure, mean “one or more,” unless expressly specified otherwise.
When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device or article may be used in place of a single device or article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that a single device or article may be used in place of the more than one device or article. The functionality or the features of a device or article may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices or articles which are not explicitly described as having such functionality or features.
While the disclosure has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claim, drawings and attachment. The examples provided herein are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the disclosure.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An outdoor enclosure, comprising:

a wall structure having an opening; and

a frame that supports the wall structure,

wherein the opening is irregularly shaped to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines from an appearance thereof.

2. The outdoor enclosure of claim 1, wherein the wall structure is irregularly shaped to reduce or eliminate unnaturally pronounced straight lines from an appearance thereof.

3. The outdoor enclosure of claim 2, wherein the wall structure has a shape that is substantially a cuboid.

4. The outdoor enclosure of claim 1, wherein the wall structure comprises an exterior layer that has a natural fiber.

5. The outdoor enclosure of claim 4, wherein the exterior layer has a natural texture.

6. The outdoor enclosure of claim 4, wherein the wall structure further comprises an inner layer that is weather proof, fire retardant, or light impermeable.

7. The outdoor enclosure of claim 1, further comprising a cover that covers the opening, wherein the cover is at least partially removable from the wall structure.

8. The outdoor enclosure of claim 7, wherein the cover is attached to a cover hold.

9. The outdoor enclosure of claim 8, wherein the cover hold comprises an opening and the cover comprises a fastener and an elastic member that attaches to the cover hold.

10. The outdoor enclosure of claim 9, wherein the fastener comprises a hook.

11. The outdoor enclosure of claim 1, wherein the irregularly shaped opening comprises a plurality of rounded and semi-rounded portions.

12. The outdoor enclosure of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a frame structure having at least one hub and a plurality of poles.

13. The outdoor enclosure of claim 12, wherein the wall structure comprises a sheathing that receives and surrounds at least one of the plurality of poles.

14. The outdoor enclosure of claim 13, wherein the sheathing comprises:

a plurality of fabric layers overlapping each other; and

a rope placed between the plurality of fabric layers to create one or more cover holds.

15. An outdoor enclosure, comprising:

a wall structure having a sidewall;

an irregularly shaped opening formed in the sidewall; and

a frame that supports the outdoor enclosure,

wherein the wall structure includes an outer layer having a natural fiber.

16. The outdoor enclosure of claim 15, wherein the frame comprises a frame structure that includes a hub and a plurality of poles.

17. The outdoor enclosure of claim 15, wherein the outer layer has a natural color pattern and texture.

18. An outdoor enclosure, comprising:

a frame; and

a wall structure supported by the frame,

wherein the wall structure comprises an outer layer that has a natural fiber.

19. The outdoor enclosure of claim 18, wherein the frame comprises a hub and a pole, and wherein the wall structure further comprises an inner layer having a sheathing that surrounds the pole and has a cover hold.

20. The outdoor enclosure of claim 19, wherein the natural fiber comprises at least one of:

cornstalk;

grass;

pine;

burlap; and

jute.