US3008477A

US3008477A - Collapsible portable shelter

Info

Publication number: US3008477A
Application number: US16250A
Authority: US
Inventors: Anthony V Bester
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-03-21
Filing date: 1960-03-21
Publication date: 1961-11-14
Anticipated expiration: 1978-11-14

Description

Nov. 14, 1961 A. v. BESTER COLLAPSIBLE PORTABLE SHELTER Filed March 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG I a t 50 j i E g FIG-5.2 lOb 1g lOc IO INVENTOR.

BYANTHONY v. BESTER |6b J M mromvsr 1961 A. v. BESTER 3,008,477

COLLAPSIBLE PORTABLE SHELTER Filed March 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ANTHONY V. BESTER WWQ/W HTTORNEY 3,008,477 COLLAPSIBLE PORTABLE SHELTER Anthony V. Roster, 1706 Clinton, Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Mar. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 16,250 3 Claims. (Cl. 135-4) This invention relates generally to shelters of the type having a flexible outer covering supported by a collapsible frame structure and more specifically to such a shelter particularly adapted for use by ice fishermen.

it is an object of this invention to provide such a shelter of relatively simple and inexpensive construction and which can be easily and quickly erected and collapsed and carried by a single person between temporary ice fishing sites.

It is also an object to provide such a shelter which can be collapsed into a bundle of compact size which may be stored in the trunk of an automobile between fishing trips.

It is a further object to provide such a shelter having a conical roof supported upon leg members which may be telescoped to a relatively short length and which may be quickly and easily collapsed by moving the legs toward the center of the shelter in an umbrella-like fashion.

It is an additional object to provide such a shelter in which the interior is unobstructed by a central vertical support or cross-braces.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, 'wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shelter embodying the pres- States Patent ICE 12 when the roof supporting members are respectively pivoted outwardly and inwardly, to constantly maintain the members 10 mutualy disposed in a generally uniform angular relation to the common vertical axis of the

members

12 and 16.

Inthe particular form of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the tying member 16 forms a flattened and inverted cone having the peripheral edge portion thereof turned upwardly to form an elevated rim 16b and having the outer edge thereof surrounded by a strengthening bead 16c. The slots 16a are respectively formed through spaced apart portions of the rim 16b, and the upper end portion of the roof supporting members 10 engage a radial portion of the upper conical surface of the member 16 on the underside thereof and the bottom edge of the bead 16c on the upper surface thereof when the members 10 are pivotally spread apart in roof supporting operative position. In the form shown, the rim 16b is slanted upwardly away from the center of the circular member 16 to disposed the bead 16c spaced laterally beyond the conical portion of the member 16, to add sta- I bility to the operatively opened roof supporting structure.

out invention showing the protective'outer covering partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View of the central portion of the roof supporting structure of the shelter shown in FIG. 1 showing the outer edge broken away;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a central vertical section partly broken away through one of the leg members shown partially telescoped into collapsed position taken along the line 44 in FIG. 1 and exaggerated in width to show details thereof; and, 7

FIG. 5 is a side view of the'ro-of supporting structure in collapsed position with the leg members removed and showing Several of the roof supporting members partly broken away. v

The roof supporting structure shown in the accompany: ing drawing comprises a plurality of rigid elongated roof supporting members such as the tubular aluminum members 119 having the upper endportions thereof respectively mounted for vertical pivotal movement upon spaced apart portions of an annular connecting member 12 at the top of the shelter, and having the lower ends 10a thereof turned downwardly to form respectively the upper ends of the supporting legs of the shelter. in the form shown, the upper end 10b of the members 10 are flattened and. curved to pivotally encircle a segment of the annular connecting member 12. The member 12, as best shown in FIG. 2 is of a circumference to be substantially encircled by the curved flattened portions of the members 10 disposed in side by side slidably abutting position thereon.

Each of the roof supporting members It) is slidably extended through a closed slot 16a formed through the periphery of a circular tying member 16 underlying the member 12 and being of a substantially larger diameter. Each slot 16a is elongated upon a diameter of the member 16 to permit sliding movement of a member 10 diagonally therethrough. The tying member 16 is raised and lowered in underlying relation to the connecting member The roof supporting members 10 are prevented from spreading apart beyond the roof supporting operative position, with the lower ends 10a thereofrespectively disposed in depending vertical position therefrom, as by the abutment elements 10c respectively extending laterally from eachmernber 19 at generally equal distances from the pivotal axes thereof. The elements abut the upper surface of the rim 16b of the tying member 16 adjacent to each of the slots 16a when the respective members 10 engage the upper conical surface of the member 16, as best shown in FIG. 3. As best shown in FIG. 3, the tying member 16 is elevated into closely spaced association below the connecting member 12 when the shelter is erected in operative. position, to leave the interior of the shelter completely unobstructed and permit the entire space enclosed by the shelter to be used without interference from the shelter supporting structure.

A plurality of supporting leg members 18 are respectively connected to each of the depending lower end portions 10a of the roof supporting members 10, and in the form shown, each leg member 18 consists of a plurality of leg member sections 18b constructed and arranged to be telescoped upwardly upon the lower end portion 10a of each roof supporting member 10. Although the collapsible portable shelter provides satisfactory service when used with other types of leg supporting members, I haveobtained the most trouble-free service and the easiest and quickest functional operation of the collapsible shelter by providingthereupon the telescoping leg member disclosed in an application for United States Letters Patent filed of even date herewith and entitled Telescoping Support As disclosed in the said co-pending patent application, and as best shown herein in FIG. 4, each leg member 18 comprises a plurality of hollow tubular members, of substantially the same length, which are successively larger in diameter from the top to the bottom of the fully extended leg 18. In the form shown, the lower end portion 10a of each member 10 provides the top telescoping leg member section. Each section 18b, as shown, is compressed to narrow the top opening therethrough and is spread apart at the bottom thereof to an outside diameter larger than the upper opening in the lower adjacent section 18b to prevent the adjacent leg member sections from being separated. A lubricating element, such as the valve stem packing 3G, impregnated with graphite, is retained in a groove 18c encircling the lower portion of each leg member section 18b, except the bottom section, to lubricate the sliding surfaces of the telescoping sections. The packing 30 is wedged between adjacent fully extended sections 18b to maintain said sections extended to support the weight of the shelter roof. The bottom opening in the lowest leg member section 18b of each leg member 18 is closed to prevent the adjacent section and the sections thereabove from sliding downwardly therethrou-gh as by the rubber shoe 22 having a closed bottom and cylindrical upper portion fitted in tightly surrounding relation to the lower portion of said bottom leg member section. The shoes 22, in the form shown, have a rounded bottom surface providing friction to prevent the legs from skidding laterally on ice, and also to prevent the legs 18 from melting into the ice and being frozen in position.

A protective cover, such as the flexible canvas 40, is provided of a shape to conform to the outer surfaces of the operatively opened shelter supporting structure, as best shown in FIG. 1, and is attached to each member as by the canvas loops 4-2 which slidably encircle the respective members it below the tying member 16 adjacent the lower portion Ilia thereof. A wire loop handle 59 extends through a pair of openings through the top portion of the conical roof of the canvas cover 40 and is attached to opposed portions of the annular connecting member 12.

A plurality of pairs of conventional snap fasteners are provided respectively upon the lower skirt portion of the canvas cover 49 and upon the roof portion thereof, as shown in FIG. 1, to permit the sides of the shelter to be pulled up and snapped into position exposing the telescoping leg members 18. To collapse the erected shelter, the canvas sides are lifted and snapped upon the roof, and the legs 18 are telescoped by manual pressure into their shortest length. The entire shelter structure is then collapsed 'by grasping and lifting upwardly upon the wire handle 50. The roof supporting members 10 are thereby permitted to swing downwardly and the tying member to slides downwardly on the members 10 to the lower curved portion thereof, as best shown in FIG. 5. Opposed telescoping leg members 13 are permitted to cross by limited twisting movement of the corresponding roof supporting members ltl upon their longitudinal axes, to provide a stable base for resting the collapsed shelter in upright position on a flat surface.

To erect the shelter from collapsed position, a pair of opposed members 10 are grasped, through the canvas 40, at an intermediate portion thereof and pulled apart. The tying member 16 slides upwardly on the roof supporting members being spread apart and the other members 10- are pushed apart by the upward moving member 16. The leg members 18 are extended by pulling opposite ends thereof away from each other, and the canvas cover sides are unsnapp-ed from the roof and pulled down to operative position. 7

it will be seen that I have provided a collapsible portable shelter particularly adapted for use by ice fishermen, and which can be easily and quickly collapsed, moved, and re-erected at diiferent temporary ice fishing sites upon a lake, and which is unobstructed on the inside by cross bars or other braces to provide the maximum usable shelter space within a shelter of relatively small size and height.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangements and proportion of parts without departing from the scope of my invention, which generally stated consists in the matter set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A collapsible shelter comprising a roof supporting structure having a flexible covering member supported thereon, said roof supporting structure comprising a plurality of elongated roof supporting members pivotally interconnected at their inner ends and extending generally radially outwardly when said members are in open operative position, a tying member having an upwardly turned outer edge portion and having a plurality of spaced apart closed slots therethrough, said roof supporting members respectively extending slideably through each of said slots said tying member being disposed in closely spaced underlying relation to the pivotal axis of said roof supporting members when the roof supporting structure is opened into said operative position, means upon said supporting members engaging said tying member to prevent said supporting members from pivoting beyond said operative position, said tying member sliding downwardly upon said supporting members when said members are pivoted downwardly into collapsed position to move the outer ends thereof into closely spaced association, and a plurality of supporting legs attached respectively to the outer end of each roof supporting member and adjustable to be telescoped upon said lower ends of said roof supporting members.

2. A collapsible portable shelter comprising a plurality of supporting members pivotally interconnected at their inner ends and having portions thereof extending generally radially outwardly therefrom, a tying member slidably mounted on said radially extended portions in outwardly spaced relation to the pivotally mounted inner ends thereof and having guiding means slidably engaging said radially extending portions thereon to positively maintain the radial position of said supporting members at all times and permitting collapsing thereof by slidable movement outwardly on said members, means supporting the outer ends of said supporting members and a flexible covering member supported by said structure.

3. A collapsible portable shelter comprising an annular connecting member, a plurality of elongated roof supporting members respectively mounted for pivotal movement at their inner ends on circumferentially spaced apart portions of said annular connecting member and extending radially outwardly therefrom when in operative open position, means supporting the outer ends of said roof supporting members in spaced relation above References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,546,222 Finlay July 14, 1925 1,599,213 Coupal Sept. 7, 1926 1,853,367 Mace Apr. 12, 1932