WO2005121477A1

WO2005121477A1 - Tent and method of putting up the same

Info

Publication number: WO2005121477A1
Application number: PCT/SE2005/000876
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sven Persson
Original assignee: Trelleborg Ab
Priority date: 2004-06-11
Filing date: 2005-06-10
Publication date: 2005-12-22
Also published as: SE0401505L; SE0401505D0; SE527284C2

Abstract

A tent has at least one tent part (20, 30) and at least one opening (60, 70, 80), the tent part comprising at least one arch (40). The tent further has at least one flexible connecting device (50, 50a, 50b) which is adapted to be placed on the outside of the tent and which at least partly is connectable to the arch of the tent part (20) at the tent opening and extends at least partly along the circumference of the tent opening.

Description

TENT AND METHOD OF PUTTING UP THE SAME

Field of the Invention The invention relates to a tent and a method of putting up or pitching the tent. Background Art It has been known for a long time to use, for instance in medical and emergency tents, a tent structure where the tent canvas is supported by inflatable arches. When large tents are required, a number of tent sections or parts can be connected serially end to end or be interconnected by parallel, longitudinal or perpendicularly projecting tent parts in the form of, for instance, air or light locks, doors, vehicles, or be interconnected by different combinations of the above tent parts or connections. Connecting such tent parts to a larger tent occurs . according to prior-art technique in many cases by means of overlapping sealing flaps and fastening elements connecting them to each other. These can be canvas flaps with holes, which flaps are made to overlap each other and through the holes of which strings or ropes are passed and then tied together and connect the tent parts or canvas flaps by eyelets which are passed through holes in other canvas flaps, after which a rope is passed through the eyelets and then tied together. For the provision of sterile conditions in medical tents or the use of tents for collective protection against, for instance, chemical weapons, it is also common to provide the tents with devices to maintain an inner excessive pressure in the tent compared with the ambient air. A drawback of these prior-art tents is, however, that the excessive pressure often implies that indoor air from the tent leaks out through the joints between the interconnected tent, parts. EP-A-349,508 discloses a separate inflatable, elongate and tubular sealing element with slots for extra sealing of overlapping sealing flaps when connecting tent parts of ordinary canvas. The sealing element with its slots is passed over fastening elements in the form of eyelets on one sealing flap either between this sealing flap and another sealing flap slipped onto the same, or over both sealing flaps, after which a rope is passed through the eyelets and the sealing element is inflated. Other examples of known tents are shown, inter alia, in a brochure published in 1986 by "MFC Survival Limited" (Tonypandy, Mid Glamorgan, CF40 US) manufacturing safety and survival equipment. The brochure presents a tent which comprises tent sections with external inflatable angular arches and inflatable crossbars along the tent to connect the arches. The tent is used for cleaning and showering of, for instance, polluted objects and/or individuals in emergency areas and has a simple canvas. As a further example of prior-art technique, men- tion can be made of FR-A-2, 562, 934 which discloses a tent structure with arches and overlapping connecting means between the same. These prior-art tents and devices for connecting and sealing of adjoining spaces suffer from several draw- backs. The tents are complicated since a plurality of individual, loose components are required to dock the tent parts, and difficult to handle in the place of pitching. Moreover, the tents take an unnecessarily long time to pitch and strike and are expensive to manufacture since they are often made up of several loose parts, such as eyelets and separate sealing and fastening elements, thus making the manufacturing process complicated and stock-keeping expensive. The connecting devices for internal sealing of gaps between openings provide too poor a seal in pressurised spaces since the parts in contact with the connecting devices are expanded with increasing pressures and the force by which the connect- ing devices abut against the inside of the openings decreases, and their sealing capacity decreases proportional to this decreasing abutment force. The actual connecting devices are complicated and expensive to manufacture as they consist of several parts and different materials. A drawback of the simple canvas of different colours of the prior-art tents, in particular dark colours, is also that the internal temperature of the tents will be unnecessarily high when lit by the sun. A further serious problem in prior-art connected tent sections with overlapping canvas is leakage in the joints of the canvas in case of rain and snowfall. Summary of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a solution to the above-mentioned problems. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a tent and a method of pitching the same according to the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. The tent according to the invention provides improved sealing between a first tent part and a tent opening, in particular of a pressurised tent, and provides improved securing of the first tent part to the tent opening. The band- or loop-shaped connecting device of the tent contributes especially to good sealing between the tent parts and reliable securing of the tent parts and their arches . In one embodiment of the tent, the tent connecting device extends at least partly over the outer circumfe- rential surface of a tent arch in order to further promote the sealing between connecting surfaces of the tent and the connecting device and also the securing of the connecting device to the arch of the tent. In another embodiment of the tent, its connecting device is connectable to the arch of a second tent part at the tent opening of said second tent part and extends at least partly along the circumference of the tent open- ings to ensure the sealing between the tent arches and the securing of the connecting tent parts. In a further embodiment of the tent, the connecting device extends at least partly over the outer circum- ferential surfaces of the two tent arches to ensure the sealing between the connecting surfaces of the tent and the connecting device and also the securing of the parts of the tent. In yet another embodiment of the tent, the connect- ing device is shaped as an end wall which at least partly covers at least one of the openings of the tent and provides good sealing between the connecting device and the tent opening and also adequate securing of the connecting device to this tent opening. In a further embodiment of the tent, the connecting device is adapted to be attached to the base on which the tent is placed in order to improve the sealing between adjoining tent parts and the securing of the tent parts. Preferably, the loop- or band-shaped connecting device comprises a first part which is fitted to an adjoining arch, and a second part which is arranged to be applied to the base. This provides excellent sealing and holding-together. The method according to the invention for pitching the tent improves the sealing between the tent part and the opening and also the securing of the tent part and facilitates the connection of a connecting device to the tent part . An embodiment of the method for pitching the tent implies that the air in the arch is released to some extent after the arch has been correctly positioned and before the connecting device has been connected to the arch, after which the arch is inflated to the desired shape again after connecting the connecting device to the arch. This results in improved sealing between the tent and the connecting device and also better securing to the tent arch and easier connection of the connecting device to the tent. A further embodiment of the method for pitching the tent is achieved by the arch being slightly further inflated after connecting the connecting device to the same. This results in further improved sealing between the tent and the connecting device and also excellent securing to the arch of the tent and simplified connection of the connecting device to the tent. Yet another embodiment of the method for pitching the tent is provided by the at least partly external, inflatable, tubular arch of at least a second tent part being inflated to the desired shape. This second tent part is then placed adjacent to the arch of the first tent part, and its tent opening and arch are aligned with the arch of the first tent part, the vertical planes of the arches being substantially parallel to each other. The connecting device is then connected to the arches at the tent openings at least partly along the circumference of the tent openings on the outside of the tent. This results in easier connection of the connecting device to the tent and improved sealing between the connecting device and the tent and also better securing of the connecting device to the tent. Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention will in the following be described in more detail with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tent according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of two tents according to Fig. 1 connected to each other, Fig. 3 is a side view of the tent in Fig. 2, Figs 4-10 are different views of embodiments of a connecting device for the tent according to Figs 1-3, Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a tent according to another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 12 is a view of the tent in Fig. 11 from an end wall, Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a tent according another embodiment of the invention, and Figs 14-15 are a side view and a top plan view, respectively, of a tent according to yet another embodiment of the invention. Description of Embodiments of the Invention Figs 1-15 illustrate a substantially semi-cylindri- cal tent 10 placed on a base G. The tent 10 is made up of at least one tent part or section 20, 30 with a tent bottom 21, 31 and a canvas 22, 32. The tent part 20, 30 comprises at least one inflatable, tubular arch 40 which is external and/or arranged partly on the outside of the tent 10, in this case four arches, and at least one removable flexible device 50 of a thin material which is connectable to the tent 10 and seals the tent 10 on the outside, i.e. seals the joint between the connecting device 50 and the associated arch 40. The tent 10 com- prises at least one door opening or door 60, at least one end wall opening 70 and at least one window opening 80 which in this embodiment is covered with a window-glasslike transparent PVC which is glued or welded to the canvas 22, 32, and at least one crossbar 90 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the tent 10 in order to stiffen, hold up the tent 10, keep it together and seal it and also hold the arches 40 correctly spaced from each other. The tent 10 may comprise more than one tent part 20, 30; for instance Fig. 2 shows an embodiment with two tent parts serially connected end wall to end wall 70 where a first tent part 20 to the left is connected by a loop- or band-shaped connecting device 20 to a second tent part 30 to the right. In this embodiment of the tent 10, there are six crossbars 90 for each tent part 20, 30. The number of crossbars 90 depends on the size and shape of the tent 10, as a person skilled in the art realises. The crossbar 90 is a metal tube but can be an inflated crossbar similar to prior art, but must then have a smaller diameter than the respective arches 40 so as not to be in the way of the connecting device 50 (see Figs 2 and 3) . The tent 10 is shown with at least one bottom 21, 31 for each tent part 20, 30, which, however, can also be without a bottom, if requested. Moreover the tent 10 can be equipped with a protective canvas 11 (shown in Figs 1 and 3 merely as a double dot dashed line at the upper edge of the tent) , which may serve as a sun net, ABC protection, cold cloth or the like, and is placed over the tent 10 as a flysheet, i.e. over the tent arches 40, whose projections from the canvas 22, 32 afford a possi- bility of, inter alia, controlling the internal temperature of the tent in a better way than when using prior art where an isolating space or layer is provided between the protective canvas 11 and the canvas 22, 32. The insulating layer can use air as the insulating medium, for instance as a freely ventilated or aired space under a perforated or rain and/or air-proof protective cloth or as air in closed or open cavities, such as in mineral wool, expanded polystyrene or like materials or some other convenient insulating medium, for instance water in channels for removing heat or a similar medium. The connecting device 50 has four band- or loop- shaped versions or embodiments, viz. the device 50a as shown in Figs 2-6 and 8, a second device 50b as shown in Figs 1-2, 10, 14-15, a third device 50c as shown in Fig. 9, and a fourth device 50d as shown in Figs 7 and 13. Preferably the connecting device 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d has a closed shape which ensures extra good sealing to an adjoining arch or adjoining arches and also excellent holding-together of tent parts. In the shown embodiments of the tent 10, each tent part 20, 30 has four arches 40 but may comprise a greater or smaller number of arches since the number depends on the length, size and shape of the tent. The number of arches 40 should be sufficiently great to achieve a suitable bearing capacity, strength and size of the tent. The connecting device 50, 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d is preferably a detachable component which is passed over the outside of the tent 10 partly on the outside of at least one tent arch 40 at the tent opening 60, 70, 80 at least partly along the circumference of the tent opening, by way of suggestion in the longitudinal direction of the arch. The first embodiment 50a can be resembled to a garter which is slipped over the arches 40 of the tent with a width that extends a suitable distance over the cross-sectional circumference of two arches 40, while the other embodiments 50b, 50c and 50d can be resembled to a short stocking which is slipped, with a sufficient length, over the cross-sectional circumference of an arch 40. The third embodiment of the connecting device 50c is especially suitable for supplementing insulation in the tent end wall 70, particularly in cold climates, and provides a "closed" tent end wall. In this case, the circumferential portion of the device 50c forms a loop. In another embodiment as shown in Figs 11 and 12, a tent 10 is shown without a connecting device 50 but with two perpendicularly projecting door openings 60 on the sides and two end wall openings 70 without a threshold facing in the longitudinal direction of the tent 10 with an arch 40 each. The openings 60, 70 with an arch 40 each can be connected to another arch 40 (not shown) by one of the embodiments of the connecting device 50. The door and end wall openings 60, 70 can also be arranged each with an arch 40 surrounding the entire opening and then constituting both an inflatable frame and a threshold. Fig. 12 is a top plan view of the end wall 70 of the tent 10 seen in the direction of the arrows B-B in Fig. 11. As stated above, the connecting device 50 is preferably a separate component of the tent 10, such as the first embodiment 50a as shown in Figs 4-10, but can also, as shown in Fig. 13, be releasably or permanently secured with one end to an arch 40 on a door 60 to the right and with the other end loose to be connected to another arch 40 on the tent part 20, 30 or another door 60 or end wall 70 (not shown) to the left, even if this is not preferred. In Fig. 13, the fourth embodiment 50d of the connecting device constitutes a light trap with a door 60 provided with an arch (a short version is shown in Fig. 7) . The light trap is detachably connected to the end wall 70 of the tent part 20, 30. The window openings 80 are shown without arches 40 but can be arranged each with an arch 40 extending along the circumference of the entire window opening. Figs 14 and 15 illustrate a further embodiment of the tent 10 with the first tent part 20 to the left connected with its end wall opening 70 perpendicular or, if desired, obliquely (not shown) to a tent opening 60, 70, 80 on the side of the second tent part 30 by means of a docking device 50, i.e. the fourth connecting device 50d, so that the tent 10 basically resembles a T seen from above in Fig. 15. The tent parts 20, 30 and the tent openings 60, 70, 80 extending in different directions can be combined in various tent shapes; for instance the tent or tent structure can, from above, resemble an I, a T, an H, a cross, an L or an angle or be combinations of the above after pitching. Fig. 2 shows two embodiments of connecting devices 50, the first loop-shaped device 50a being indicated by solid and dashed lines placed over and under the right arch 40 of the first tent part 20 and the left arch 40 of the second tent part 30 on the outside of the tent in the centre of the tent. The cover-like second device 50b is shown passed over the right end of the tent 10, i.e. the right arch 40 of the second tent part 30 which is indicated by a dashed line. The first connecting device 50a is more distinctly to be seen in Fig. 3 where the tent 10 is shown in a shortened version and each tent arch 40 is indicated by a dashed line in Fig. 3 and in a lower section A-A in Fig. 6. The purpose of the first connecting device 50a is to secure the tent parts 20, 30 by its width being adjusted to extend at least partly over the circumferential surfaces of the arches 40 and bridge the distance between connecting tent parts and also seal the connection between them. The purpose of the second connecting device 50b is to cover, at least partly, prefer- ably completely, the end wall or opening 60, 70, 80 of the tent 10 and can be arranged with the door 60 that can be opened and closed by a zip or Velcro tape, as shown in Figs 1, 2 and 10, be fully tight like the third connecting device 50c in Fig. 9, or have the door/end wall open- ing 60, 70 with an arch 40 as a frame, like the fourth connecting device 50d in Fig. 7. The connecting device 50 preferably comprises a part 51 which is substantially fitted to the shape of the respective arches 40, and a substantially flat lower part 50 which is adapted to be attached to the base G on which the tent 10 is placed to ensure reliable and safe securing and sealing of the joint between the tent 10 and its parts 20, 30. The parts 51 and 52 form a closed loop which ensures good sealing and a joining effect. The actual tent 10 also comprises a lower part 12 to be attached to the base G, which part 12 is particularly important for tents with an inner excessive pressure. The upper part 51 of the device 50a, which resembles a band, is distinctly fitted to the shape of the curved or semi- circular circumferential surface of the tent 10 and/or the arches 40. Preferably the connecting device 50 is made of a polymer-based material, preferably PVC (polyvinyl chloride) , and can be reinforced as well as non-reinforced. The reinforcement can, of course, comprise different types of fibres, fabric and the like to increase its strength and UV resistance. For instance, the fibres can be of textile, cotton or flexible non-organic fibres. It should be ensured that the connecting device 50 is sufficiently strong, especially in pressurised tents 10, and impermeable to water, water vapour and air and/or oxygen and that it has sufficient resistance to the UV radiation of the sun. The two parts 51, 52 of the connecting device 50 are preferably glued and/or welded to each other to provide sufficient sealing between the inside and outside of the tent 10 if the tent 10 is pressurised, but, where appropriate, it can also be sewn together. The two parts 51, 52 of the connecting device 50 can also be adjustably connected to each other, similar to a waistbelt or tightening strap/band, or alternatively be elastic so that the length of the connecting device 50 can be changed in relation to the size of the tent 10 and the radius/circumference of the arches 40. This simplifies the connecting/mounting or dismounting of the connecting device 50 since the radius and inner pressure of the arches can be kept constant. The tent 10 with the first tent part 20 and the second tent part 30 and also the connecting device 50a is pitched or mounted by inflating the tent arches 40 intended for connection (see Figs 2, 3, and 6) to the desired shape and arranging the tent arches 40 intended for connection, adjoining each other. The arches 40 are arranged sufficiently close to each other so that the width of the connecting device 50a bridges the distance between the tent parts 20, 30 and extends partly, or at least over a sufficiently large part of the outer/exposed circumferential surface of each arch 40 in the longitudinal direction of the tent 10, the vertical planes of the arches 40 being substantially parallel to each other. After that the connecting device 50 is placed/passed over and under the arches 40 on the outside of the tent 10 along the entire circumference of the tent parts/arch openings 60, 70, 80, preferably in the longitudinal direction of the arches, so that sufficient abutment and an air-proof and/or water-proof connection around the arches 40 are provided. If the connecting device 50 is to be used as a cover (end wall) or a stocking 50b, 50c, 50d over at least one of the ends or end walls 70 of the tent 10 by being slipped over one of the arches 40 of the tent, the pitching of these parts 20, 30, 40 is performed in the same way as for two arches 40. The arch 40 and thus the tent 10 are inflated to the desired shape and placed in the intended location, after which the connecting device 50 is placed over and under the arch 40 on the outside of the tent 10. Depending on how much the tent arches 40 have been inflated, the tent 10 can be pitched in various ways. The tent 10 is pitched in one way by the air in the arches 40 being slightly released if they are fully inflated. This occurs after the arches 40 have been correctly placed and before the connecting device 50 has been placed on the outside of the tent 10, so that the radius of the arches 40 is slightly decreased and thus facilitates the slip- ping over of the connecting device 50. Subsequently the arches are again inflated to the desired shape, i.e. the desired size and radius, and "expand" and stretch the connecting device 50. If the arches 40 have not been fully inflated, they can, in a different way of pitch- ing the tent, be inflated further to their full size and radius after placing the connecting device 50 on the outside of and around the arches 40 of the tent 10. The sealing of the connection between the tent 10 and the connecting device 50 can be improved by making the connecting device 50 as wide as possible, in which case a large abutment surface is provided while the abutment force between the connecting surfaces will be slightly reduced. Alternatively, the size of the sealing surface can be optimised by arranging an edge or eleva- tion on the same that extends along the outside of the arch 40 and/or along the inside of the connecting device 50 in the longitudinal direction of the same so that the area of the sealing surface will be smaller while the abutment force is increased and the sealing is improved. The sealing can also be improved with a labyrinth seal between the sealing surfaces. A further solution (not shown) to improve the sealing between the tent 10 and the connecting device 50 is to insert one or more loose strip seals (not shown) of an elastic and/or compressible material between the sealing surfaces for the connecting device 50 and the respective arches 40 or inject a sealing material therebetween, such as silicone or seal foam (not shown) . The strip seal could also be an integral part of either the exposed circumferential surface of the arch 40 or the inside of the connecting device 50. When pitching the tent 10 according to the invention by inflation of each arch 40 and placing/connection of the connecting device 50 over the intended tent parts 20, 30, 40, 60, 70, the sealing between the tent 10 and the connecting device 50 will be very good for pressurised tents. If desired, the sealing between the respective arches 40 and the connecting device 50 and the securing of the respective arches 40 can be improved by arranging some kind of form-fit or frictional engagement between the connecting parts. This can be achieved, for example, by Velcro tape, adhesive or welded joints, or fastening elements, for instance in the form of eyelets/loops which are attached to each arch 40 and project therefrom and over which the connecting device 50 is passed by means of holes for instance, after which a rope is passed through the eyelets, tied and locks the parts in a manner resembling prior-art technique. Each arch 40 of the tent 10 "projects" from the canvas 22, 32 of the tent, so that at least 50% of the circumferential surface of each arch 40 is exposed. A person skilled in the art realises that the tent 10 can be constructed with arches 40 whose entire circumferential surface is exposed on the outside of the tent 10 by fasten- ing the canvas only tangentially to the circumference of each arch at the lower edge. The tent 10 can also be arranged with arches 40 whose circumferential surface is not exposed by fastening the canvas 22, 32 over each arch, such as the flysheet 11, which thus can be eliminated, or fastening the canvas at an optional distance between the upper and lower edge of each arch 40. The inflatable arches 40 of the tent 10 can also be arranged with or inflated to other shapes instead of a semicircular shape. They can be angular, for instance triangular, quadrangular, pentagonal or have still more angles, even if a rounded shape is preferred in which the sealing is optimal. Moreover the arches 40 can have a cross-section which is, for instance, pentagonal or hexa- gonal or have some other suitable shape, such as oval. The connecting device 50 can also be connected to and seal the entrance to an igloo-like tent 10 (not shown), i.e. a substantially semi-spherical tent with only one door opening 60 which has only one inflatable arch 40 as a door frame and, optionally, a threshold. Furthermore the connecting device 50 can be designed as an at least partly transparent cover or window 60, 70 made of, for instance, transparent PVC, thereby making it possible to see through the tent 10 from its ends/end walls/sides.

Claims

1. A tent with at least one tent part (20, 30) and at least one opening (60, 70, 80), the tent part comprising at least one at least partly external, inflatable, tubular arch (40) , and the tent (10) having at least one flexible connecting device (50, 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d) which is adapted to be placed on the outside of the tent and which at least partly is connectable to the arch (40) of the tent part (20) at the tent opening and which extends at least partly along the circumference of the tent opening, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the connecting device is in the shape of a loop or band.

2. A tent as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting device extends at least partly over the outer circumferential surface of the arch (40) .

3. A tent as claimed in claim 1, wherein the connecting device (50, 50a) is connectable to the arch (40) of a second tent part (30) at the tent opening (60, 70, 80) of said second tent part and extends at least partly along the circumference of the tent openings .

4. A tent as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting device (50, 50a) extends at least partly over the outer circumferential surfaces of the two arches (40) .

5. A tent as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting device (50, 50b, 50c, 50d) is shaped as an end wall which at least partly covers at least one of the openings (60, 70, 80) of the tent (10) .

6. A tent as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting device is adapted to be attached to the base (G) on which the tent (10) is placed.

7. A tent as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the loop- or band-shaped connecting device comprises a first part (51) which is fitted to the adjoining arch (40), and a second part (52) which is arranged to be applied to the base (G) on which the tent (10) is placed.

8. A method of pitching a tent (10) with at least one tent part (20, 30) and at least one opening (60, 70, 80) , the tent part comprising at least one at least partly external, inflatable, tubular arch (40) , the method comprising inflating the arch to the desired shape, placing the arch in the intended location, and connecting at least one flexible connecting device (50, 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d) to the arch (40) at the tent opening at least partly along the circumference of the tent opening on the outside of the tent (10) , c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the air in the arch (40) is released to some extent after the arch has been correctly positioned and before the connecting device has been connected to the arch, after which the arch is inflated to the desired shape again after connecting the connecting device to the arch.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the arch (40) is slightly further inflated after connecting the connecting device to the same.

10. A method as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the at least partly external, inflatable, tubular arch (40) of at least a second tent part (30) is inflated to the desired shape and placed adjacent to the arch (40) of the first tent part (20), and its tent opening (60, 70, 80) and arch are aligned with the arch (40) of the first tent part (20) , the vertical planes of the arches being substantially parallel to each other, after which the connecting device (50) is connected to the arches (40) at the tent openings (60, 70, 80) at least partly along the circumference of the tent openings on the outside of the tent (10) .