US2596442A - Tepee - Google Patents

Description

May 13, 1952 M. J. SCHOLTING TEPEE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1949 Snventor MELw/v f. Sa /0477M; m Z

FIE E E (Ittomeg s May 13, 1952' M. J. SCHOLTING TEPEE Filed Oct. 14, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIE- a 4 3nventor MELv/N J SCHOLTl/VG Patented May 13, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEPEE Melvin J. Scholting, San Francisco, Calif. Application October 14, 1949, Serial No. 121,285

9 Claims. I

This invention relates to a tepee for children, and has for one of its objects the provision of a life-size childs tepee that is economical to make, durable, waterproof, easy to set up and to take down, and highly attractive in appearance.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a childs tepee that is made of corrugated cardboard incorporating therein a waterproof material, and which tepee is so designed as to produce an exceptionally strong structure when set up, yet may be rolled up into a compact roll when taken down.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a childs tepee that can easily and quickly be set up and taken down by a single person.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the drawings and in the description.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank of sheet material from which the tepee is formed.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the tepee after it is set up, the sides being surface decorated to enhance its appearance. The decorations are omitted from the other views.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tepee partly broken away to show one of the reinforcing front flaps, and dot-dash lines being shown to indicate the direction of the corrugations.

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of a piece of the sheet material of the tepee with the mesh of jute thread indicated in dot-dash lines, and the top layer folded back.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing one of the stakes in tepee holding position, the lower marginal portion of the tepee.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the clips used for holding the front flaps adjacent the body of the tepee.

In detail, the body of the. tepee is a substantially semi-circular blank I of corrugated cardboard preferably of the type known to the trade under the trade-name of Corroflex in which one side 2 is plain and of kraft board or paper while the other side 3 is of corrugated kraft board. Between the sides 2, 3 is a waterproofing material 4 which may have an asphalt or tar base,

. and which material greatly contributes to the strength, and durability of the tepee as well as holding the sides together. The sheet is further reinforced with strong jute mesh in which strands 5 are cross woven at right angles to the corrugations and parallel therewith.

The plain side 2 of the sheet I is preferably the outer side of the tepee and designs 6 (Fig. 2) of any suitable kind may be painted or stencilled on said outer side. Also said side 2 and the inner side 3 may be waterproofed, if desired, either before or after the designs are applied.

The corrugations of sheet I extend parallel with the central radius line J:a: of Fig. l. Aligned radially extending straight edges 1, B (Fig. 1) extend oppositely outwardly from the center 9 of the radius of the sheet I. In forming the tepee, the edges 1, 8 are brought together, thus forming a conical tepee.

Rows of openings II), II are formed at opposite sides of the central point 9 along edges '1, 8, the openings (0, H being equally spaced from said point. Between point 9 and the first openings in said rows, the marginal portion of the sheet is formed with a pair of slits i2 extending from edges 7, 8 at right angles thereto. These slits are of equal length and folding creases I 3 extend divergently from point 9 to the terminating closed ends of said slits.

When the tepee is set up to conical shape with edges 1, 8 together, the said edges are laced together by a lace I4 (Fig. 2) which may be of rope or of any other suitable material. Obviously, the marginal portions carrying the openings Ill, ll could overlap to bring the openings in registration, and clips or a lace could extend through the registering openings, but the struc ture illustrated is preferable.

The flaps l5 respectively defined along two sides by a folding crease l3 and slit I2 are folded back as seen in Fig. l, and a central vent hole It (Fig. 3) is provided at the apex of the tepee.

Along the circular marginal portion of the sheet I that is along the circular edge I"! of the tepee (Fig. 1) are formed a row of spaced circular openings I8. The end openings of said row terminate at points equally spaced from the ends of edges 1, 8.

The spacing of said end openings from the ends of edges 1, 8 is slightly greater than the total desired width of the door or opening into the tepee at the base of the latter.

Folding creases 20 extend from points adjacent the end openings I8 in the row that is along the circular edge of the sheet I to points equally spaced from the central point 9, which points are about midway between the ends of each of the edges 1, 8 and adjacent the end openings in the lacing openings l0, II.

The flaps 2| respectively defined along two edges by the folding crease 20 and the end portion of edge I (or 8) that adjoins the circular edge ll, may be folded into the tepee and against the inner sides of the walls of the latter adjacent said folding creases before or after the tepee is set up, and conventional paper clips 25 (Fig. 6) or other suitable means may secure the flaps against the body of the tepee.

Stakes 30 (Figs. 2, 6) are provided for securing the tepee 'to'the groundeach of said stakes being formed "with an opening 31 adjacent its upper end. The stakes are preferably first driven into the ground through openings 18. A cord 32 extends around the lower portion of the tepee through openings 3| in the stakes. This cord engages the outer side of the tepee between theadjacent pairs of stakes and thus not only contributes toward holding the tepee down, but it also reinforces the lower marginal portion of the tepee against outward force applied against the inside of the tepee. Thecord-fiz may be secured at its ends to the stakes adjacent the opening 31 (Fig. 2) into the tepee "and -the'cpenings 3| in the stakes are about even with theouter surface of the tepee. If not found to be so, the stakes can be driven further 'until the cord at each stake touches the tepee.

As best indicated .in Fig. 3, the corrugations 3i: (indicated by dot-dash lines) extend straight down from the apex of the tepee to the base, at the rear side thatis opposite the opening, or opposite the adjoiningedges "l, 8. This provides strength at said rear side of the tepee against buckling.

This centralcorrugation coincidental with the line ac-s: which is at the rear side of the tepee, extends at anangle-of 90 to the circular edge I? of the tepee (lower edge of tepee). At opposite sides of said central corrugation, the corrugations gradually commence to extend at decreasing angular degrees relative to'said circular edge until about a minimum angle of 20 is reached at the folding crease 20. This still provides substantial rigidity. However, the point of weakness would normally be along the marginal portions of the door opening 3-1, in the absence of any reinforcement. Such reinforcement is provided by the flaps 2]. When these are folded back, the corrugations extend transversely across the corrugations in the body of the tepee, thereby providing the greatest strength in the tepee walls'where most is required. Mere reinforcement in the absence of the crossing of the corrugations would give some strength, but 'by the structure described. the preferred and most desired strength is obtained.

In actual practice, the walls of the tepee, which have "a rated strength of at least 200 lbs. will resist breakage under extremely rough usage, and even where the walls may be bent inwardly under blows from the outside, the walls are readily straightened out and retain sufficient rigidity to maintain the desired appearance of the tepee.

In setting up the tepee, it is only necessary to bring the edges 1, 8 together and to insert the lacing for holding said edges together, the corrugations being preferably on the inside. With the tepee thus formed the stakes 30 are driven through openings l8 into the ground and the cord 32 is threaded through openings 3] in the stakes and is drawn taut, after which the ends of the cords are secured. The flaps I at the top may be bent back to form the opening [6 in the apex of the tepee, and the flaps 2| may be pinned back as described to form the front opening 35 and to reinforce the front side of the tepee along said opening. The tepee is then completely set up and will stay securely in place in a strong wind, or if it is struck by children in playing.

In order to give an idea of the size of a tepee that has been found to be satisfactory, the height of one as shown in Fig. 2is between five and six feet, and the diameter of the base is also between five and six feet; The height of the door opening is about'three feet.

Theouter covering 2 is of the same general t pe, known as -110-30 waterproof kraft and the jute threads 5 are cross woven to form about one inch by one inch mesh. The material remains sufficiently flexible for rolling and unrolling at from 40 F. to 160 F. In the above typev of material the j-ute reinforced outer covering of waterproof kia'ftpreferably consists of 1 ply pound kraft that may be creped for extra resistance against scuffing (all weights are on basis of 2% 'x 867-4390 sheets), to' lbs. of asphalt, l0 to -1'5 lbstreinforcing jute, 30 lbs. kraft inner ply.

It is to be understood that the above detailed specificationsare not to be considered as being restrictive of the invention. They are merely given as being illustrative of the preferred structure.

When the tepee as described is rolled up, it will readily fit ina box 4- /2 inches by 4 /2 inches by '70 inches, including the stakes and cord, hence is easily stored away. The material of the tepee being waterproof, insect and rodent proof, it will be seen that the tepee may be stored practically anywhere for-an'indifinite period of time without likelihood of injury.

I claim:

1. A tepee comprising a sheet of corrugated cardboard in substantially the shape of a cone and provided withan opening in one side adjacent its base, a plurality of stakes extending through said sheet around and adjacent to said base, and a cord carried by said stakes closely adjacent the outer sideo'f said tepee encircling said tepee along its base from opposite lateral sides of said opening.

2. A tepee comprising a sheet of corrugated cardboard'in substantially "the shape of a cone and provided with an opening 'in one side adjacent its base, a plurality of stakes around said base, and a cord carried by said stakes encircling said tepee along its 'base from opposite lateral sides of said opening, openings formed in the walls of said tepee along its base through which said stakes extendinto the ground inside said tepee with their upper ends projecting from the outer side of said tepee, said cord being carried by the said upper ends of 'said stakes inwardly of the base edge of said tepee.

3. A tepee comp-'ising a sheet of corrugated cardboard in substantially "the shape of a cone and provided with an opening in one side adjacent its base, a plurality of stakes ,around said base, "and a cord carried by said stakes encircling said tepee along its base from opposite lateral sides of said opening, openings formed in the walls of said 't'epe'e along its base through which said stakes extend into the ground inside said tepee with their upper 'ends projecting from the outer side of said tepee, said cord being carried by the said upper ends of said stakes inwardly of the base edge of said tepeaan opening formed in the upper end of each stake through which said cord extends.

4. A tepee comprising a sheet of corrugated cardboard in substantially the shape of a cone and provided with an opening in one side adjacent its base, a plurality of stakes extending through said sheet around and adjacent to said base, and a cord carried by said stakes closely adjacent the outer side of said tepee encircling said tepee along its base from opposite lateral sides of said opening, the corrugations in said sheet being equally spaced apart with the cor rugation in the side opposite said opening being wholly Within a substantially vertical plane substantially bisecting said tepee.

5. A blank for forming a tepee comprising a substantially semi-circular sheet of corrugated cardboard, means for Waterproofing and for reinforcing said sheet, the corrugations of said sheet being parallel with a radial line substantially bisecting said sheet, marginal portions of said sheet along the radially extending edges thereof being formed with a plurality of openings for receiving a lace to hold said sheet to conical form with said edges substantially parallel.

6. A blank for forming a tepee comprising a substantially semi-circular sheet of corrugated cardboard, means for Waterproofing and for reinforcing said sheet, the corrugations of said sheet being parallel with a radial line substantially bisecting said sheet, marginal portions of said sheet along the radially extending edges thereof being formed with a plurality of openings for receiving a lace to hold said sheet to conical form with said edges substantially parallel, fold lines formed in said blank extending divergently across said sheet from points along said radially extending edges for folding of the sections of said sheet between such lines and the ends of said sheet against the body of the latter to provide an opening in one side of said tepee when said sheet is bent to conical form.

7. A blank for forming a tepee comprising a substantially semi-circular sheet of corrugated cardboard, means for waterproofing and for reinforcing said sheet, the corrugations of said sheet being parallel with a radial line substantially bisecting said sheet, marginal portions of said sheet along the radially extending edges thereof being formed with a plurality of openings for receiving a lace to hold said sheet to conical form with said edgessubstantially parallel, fold lines formed in said blank extending divergently across said sheet from points along said radially extending edges for folding of the sections of said sheet between such lines and the ends of said sheet against the body of the latter to provide an opening in one side of said tepee when said sheet is bent to conical form, said sections also providing means for reinforcing said sheet along the side edges of said opening.

8. A tepee formed from a sheet of corrugated cardboard of the type having a corrugated layer of board secured against a relatively fiat layer or" paper, said tepee having its base edge substantially coincident with a circle coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the tepee, the corrugated layer of said sheet having its corrugations of uniform size from end to end extending generally upwardly from said base edge of said tepee, an opening formed in one side of said tepee and along said base edge, the corrugation in said layer along the side of the tepee opposite said opening being substantially in a vertical plane bisecting said tepee and the remaining corrugations at opposite sides of the last mentioned corrugation extending from said base edge toward a line along which the side of said tepee opposite said corrugation is intersected by said plane.

9. A tepee formed from a sheet of corrugated cardboard of the type having a corrugated layer or board secured against a relatively fiat layer of paper, said tepee having its base edge substantially coincident with a circle coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the tepee, the corrugated layer of said sheet having its corrugations of uniform size from end to end extending generally upwardly from said base edge of said tepee, an opening formed in one side of said tepee and along said base edge, the corrugation in said layer along the side of the tepee opposite said opening being substantially in a vertical plane bisecting said tepee where the said axis of the latter is vertical, said opening terminating at its upper end at a point intermediate the upper and lower ends of said tepee and sections of said sheet being folded against the main body portion forming said tepee along the edges of said opening, the corrugations in said sections extending transversely across the corrugations in said main body portion across which said sections extend for reinforcing said tepee along the edges of said opening.

MELVIN J. SCHOLTING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 288,251 McComb et al. Nov. 13, 1883 1,301,605 Ringel Apr. .22, 1919 1,605,953 Howard Nov.. 9, 1926 1,953,514 Skagerberg Apr. 3, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 71,414 Norway Dec. 23, 1946

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