WO1998007937A1

WO1998007937A1 - Shading apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1998007937A1
Application number: PCT/AU1997/000525
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ekkehard Koehn
Original assignee: Ekkehard Koehn
Priority date: 1996-08-16
Filing date: 1997-08-15
Publication date: 1998-02-26

Abstract

Shading apparatus (10) including: a frame assembly adapted for attachment to an upper part of a motor vehicle, said frame assembly including a plurality of arm members (12a to 12e) connected to central support means (11), at least two of said arm members (12a to 12e) being connected for pivotal movement from a stowed disposition in which said arm members are substantially parallel and adjacent and an operative disposition in which said arm members diverge from said central support means; a flexible cover (15) attached to said plurality of arm members and being movable therewith to said operative disposition for providing shade, and securing means (24, 26) for securing said arm members in the operative disposition, the apparatus being characterised in that said frame assembly and flexible cover are so made and arranged that in the operative disposition said flexible cover forms a part-cone for shading a corresponding part-circular area adjacent the motor vehicle.

Description

"SHADING APPARATUS"

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to shading apparatus.

The invention has particular but not exclusive application to shading apparatus adapted for attachment to motor vehicles and caravans and for illustrative purposes reference will be made to such application. However, it is understood that the invention could be used in other situations where shade is required and suitable means of support are available.

BACKGROUND ART

Many situations arise where holiday makers, travellers, workmen and the like wish to eat or rest in a shaded area. However, such shaded area is not always available, particularly on the beach and consequently it is often necessary to erect some sort of shading apparatus such as a beach umbrella or tent to provide the desired shaded area. Beach umbrellas are relatively small and the centre pole impinges on the usable shade area. Consequently beach umbrellas are generally unsatisfactory for picnicking or resting especially for more than two people and additionally are difficult to erect or are unstable in very hard or very soft soils such as beach sand. Tents on the other hand, whilst providing sufficient shade area for most desired purposes are time consuming and relatively difficult to erect and also are subject to stability problems if erected on soft soils.

Attempts have been made at constructing apparatus for providing shade adjacent a vehicle. For example, European patent specification No. 204670 by Fratelli Penna sdf describes an awning for a pedlars van. which is mounted to The Fratelli Penna device has a storage and mounting box which is fixed to a frame on the roof of the van and two opposed spaced apart frame assemblies are connected to the box and are movable to an erected operative disposition to hold an attached cover taut. The device appears to be difficult to erect and would seem to encounter problems in maintaining the cover taut. Furthermore, the box extends the full length of the roof of the van making installation and removal on the van a time consuming and difficult exercise and thus appears to be a semi permanent structure not ideally suited for holiday makers, picnicers and the like wishing to use the family motor vehicle.

Other shading apparatus adapted for attachment to motor vehicles typically rely on tent poles to support an awning or cover in the erected disposition as illustrated in United States Patents Nos . 2859756 and 5400813. Such apparatus suffer similar problems to beach umbrellas and as well the tent poles impinge on the view of a person sitting or standing under the cover.

It is an object of the present invention to provide shading apparatus adapted for attachment to a motor vehicle which is relatively easy to erect and relatively stable irrespective of the location of the vehicle. It is another object to provide shading apparatus which can be quickly fitted to a motor vehicle and also be quickly stowed. It is yet another object to provide shading apparatus which when fitted to a motor vehicle does not impinge on the shaded area or on the view of a person sitting or standing in the shaded area.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in shading apparatus including: a frame assembly adapted for attachment to an upper part of a motor vehicle, said frame assembly including a plurality of arm members connected to central support means, at least two of said arm members being connected for pivotal movement from a stowed disposition in which said arm members are substantially parallel and adjacent and an operative disposition in which said arm members diverge from said central support means; a flexible cover attached to said plurality of arm members and being movable therewith to said operative disposition for providing shade, and securing means for securing said arm members in the operative disposition, the apparatus being characterised in that said frame assembly and flexible cover are so made and arranged that in the operative disposition said flexible cover forms a part-cone for shading a corresponding part-circular area adjacent the motor vehicle. Preferably said frame assembly is configured so that said flexible cover forms substantially a half-cone so that the shaded area may be bounded by the motor vehicle along or adjacent the diametral side of the frame assembly and cover.

In another aspect the invention resides broadly in shading apparatus including: a frame assembly adapted for attachment to an upper part of a motor vehicle, said frame assembly including a plurality of arm members connected to central support means, at least two of said arm members being connected for pivotal movement from a stowed disposition in which said arm members are substantially parallel and adjacent and an operative disposition in which said arm members diverge from said central support means, a flexible cover attached to said plurality of arm members and being movable therewith to said operative disposition for providing shade, and securing means for securing said arm members in the operative disposition, the apparatus being characterised in that said central support means includes a central hub assembly and a medial one of said plurality of arm members is rigidly connected to said central hub assembly whilst the others of said arm members are pivotally connected to said central hub assembly for movement from a stowed disposition adjacent and parallel to said medial arm member to an operative disposition diverging from said medial arm member.

Preferably, the outer ends of said arm members when disposed in the operative disposition lie substantially in the same first plane and the inner ends lie in another plane spaced from and substantially parallel to said first plane whereby the frame assembly forms a part-cone as previously mentioned. In the operative disposition the first plane will be below the other plane so that rain will drain to the outer edge of the flexible cover.

Preferably, the apparatus includes mounting means for mounting the frame assembly to the motor vehicle in such manner that it does not infringe on the shaded area therebeneath . With this in mind it is preferred that said mounting means be adapted for attachment to the roof rack of the motor vehicle and preferably be the only means of mounting provided .

For ease of erection it is preferred that said securing means include a line member attached at each end to the two outermost arm members remote from the central support means and attachment means for attaching said line member to said mounting means at a position spaced from said frame assembly so as to retain the outermost arm members in their respective diverging positions, thus holding the flexible cover taut. Of course two line members may be utilised if desired, one end of each being connected to the respective outermost arm members and the other ends being adapted for connection to the mounting means, such as by a hook and loop connection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of shading apparatus according to the invention adapted for attachment to the roofrack of a motor vehicle;

Fig. 2 is An elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1 in the direction of arrow "A";

Fig. 3 is a pictorial representation of the apparatus of Fig. 1 attached to a motor vehicle;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the frame assembly of the apparatus of Fig. 1 in the stowed disposition, and

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the frame assembly of alternative shading apparatus according to the invention corresponding to Fig. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The shading apparatus 10 illustrated in the drawings includes a central hub assembly 11 which supports five arm members 12a to 12e pivotally connected thereto and extending outwardly in diverging relation to each other with adjacent members being separated by an angle of approximately 45 degrees to form substantially a semi-circle in plan view.

The central hub assembly 11 includes two spaced apart support plates 13 and 14 maintained in their spaced apart relation by a spacer block 16 welded thereto whereby the inner end portions of the members 12a to 12e can be located between the plates 13 and 14. The medial frame member 12c is rigidly fixed between the upper and lower support members 13 and 14 by a pair of bolts 17a and 17b extending therethrough. The other frame members 12a and 12b on one side and 12e and 12d on the other side are secured between the upper and lower support plates 13 and 14 by only one bolt 18 per member whereby these frame members may pivot about their respective bolts 18 for movement from the operative disposition in which they diverge from the hub assembly to a folded or collapsed position in which they lie substantially parallel to and adjacent the medial frame member 12c .

The hub assembly 11 is pivotally attached to a mounting post 21 by a pivot pin 22 which extends through the upper and lower plates 13 and 14 and the spacer block 16 whereby the hub assembly and the attached frame members can be pivoted. The post 21 in turn extends upwardly from a mounting member 23 which is adapted for fixing to the roof rack of a four-wheel drive motor vehicle. Suitably the member 23 is a square hollow section(SHS) steel tube which can be slidably received in a complementary steel tube which is bolted or welded to the roof rack in a horizontal disposition, for example, a short piece of 50mm by 50mm SHS steel tube may be welded inconspicuously to the roof rack and the mounting member may be a a piece of 40mm by 40mm SHS which is slidable in the larger SHS tube.

A vinyl cover 15 is attached to the frame members 12a to 12e by clips, loops or the like in such manner that the arm members can be moved from the folded or collapsed disposition to the operative disposition as mentioned earlier.

In use, a short piece of SHS tube (hereinafter called "the fixed tube") is welded or otherwise permanently fixed to the roof rack of the family vehicle, typically a four wheel drive vehicle, and the mounting member 23 is removably fitted thereto by simply sliding the complementary mounting member therein and securing with a through bolt or the like. In most cases the fixed tube will be positioned mid-length of the roof rack for erection of the shading apparatus adjacent the side of the vehicle. Once the mounting member is secured to the fixed tube, the frame members 12a, 12b, 12d and 12e can be pivoted from the stowed disposition in which they are parallel and extending sideways from the vehicle to the erected disposition in which they diverge from the central hub assembly as shown in Fig. 3, the arm members pulling the cover taut as they move to the operative disposition. A light stainless steel cable 24 (or alternatively a rope is attached at its respective ends to arm members 12a and 12e near to their outer ends and can be pulled over a hook 26 located on the mounting member 23 and spaced from the hub assembly 11 to secure the arm members in the operative disposition and to hold the cover taut. The apparatus is then in an attitude which provides a shaded area beneath the cover 15 and adjacent the vehicle. Suitably the apparatus can be removed by releasing the cable 24 from the hook and sliding the mounting member 23 from the fixed tube for stowage in the vehicle. Alternatively, after releasing the cable, the arm members can be pivoted to the folded disposition and the hub assembly can then be pivoted about the pivot pin 22 so that the arm members lie longitudinally of the vehicle adjacent its side. A baglike cover can be slid over the arm members and cover for protection while travelling, if desired. The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5 is similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 and accordingly corresponding components are accorded the same numbers as in the former Figs, but prefixed by a "1". In this embodiment, the frame members 112a to 112e are individually supported by auxiliary frame members 112aa to 112ee which are attached to the respective frame members 112a to 112e at approximately their mid points and lie in the same vertical planes as their respective frame members but diverge therefrom in the direction of the support plates 113 and 114 which in this embodiment are spaced apart by a greater distance than in the embodiment of Figs. 1, 2 and 3. It will be seen that the frame members are secured only to the upper support plate 113 by bolts whilst the auxiliary frame members are secured only to the lower support plate 114 by bolts, each frame member and its auxiliary frame member being movable as a whole in a manner similar to each frame member in the apparatus of Fig. 1 (except for the medial frame member 112c which is rigidly secured to the upper support plate) . It will be seen that the spacer block 116 is pivotally mounted directly to the mounting member 123 by pivot pin 122 so that a support post 21 is not required. The operation of the cover assembly is similar to that of the other embodiments as will be clear from the drawings . It will of course be realised that while the foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such other modifications and variations as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is defined in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAI S

1. Shading apparatus including: a frame assembly adapted for attachment to an upper part of a motor vehicle, said frame assembly including a plurality of arm members connected to central support means, at least two of said arm members being connected for pivotal movement from a stowed disposition in which said arm members are substantially parallel and adjacent and an operative disposition in which said arm members diverge from said central support means; a flexible cover attached to said plurality of arm members and being movable therewith to said operative disposition for providing shade, and securing means for securing said arm members in the operative disposition, the apparatus being characterised in that said frame assembly and flexible cover are so made and arranged that in the operative disposition said flexible cover forms a part-cone for shading a corresponding part-circular area adjacent the motor vehicle.

2. Shading apparatus including: a frame assembly adapted for attachment to an upper part of a motor vehicle, said frame assembly including a plurality of arm members connected to central support means, at least two of said arm members being connected for pivotal movement from a stowed disposition in which said arm members are substantially parallel and adjacent and an operative disposition in which said arm members diverge from said central support means, a flexible cover attached to said plurality of arm members and being movable therewith to said operative disposition for providing shade, and securing means for securing said arm members in the operative disposition, the apparatus being characterised in that said central support means includes a central hub assembly and a medial one of said plurality of arm members is rigidly connected to said central hub assembly whilst the others of said arm members are pivotally connected to said central hub assembly for movement from a stowed disposition adjacent and parallel to said medial arm member to an operative disposition diverging from said medial arm member.

3. Shading apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the outer ends of said arm members when disposed in the operative disposition lie substantially in the same first plane and the inner ends lie in another plane spaced from and substantially parallel to said first plane.

4. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and further including mounting means for mounting said frame assembly to a motor vehicle in such manner that it does not infringe on the shaded area therebeneath.

5. Shading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said mounting means is adapted for operative attachment to the roof rack of the motor vehicle.

6. Shading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said central hub assembly is pivotally attached to said mounting means for pivotal movement of said frame assembly about a substantially vertical axis when in the operative shading disposition.

7. Shading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said securing means includes a line member attached at each end to the two outermost arm members remote from the central support means and attachment means for attaching said line member to said mounting means at a position spaced from said frame assembly.

8. Shading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said securing means includes two line members, one end of each being connected to the respective outermost arm members and the other ends being adapted for connection to the mounting means .