WO2007123314A1

WO2007123314A1 - Auto umbrella-type canopy tent

Info

Publication number: WO2007123314A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/001747
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jin Ho Bae
Original assignee: Jin Ho Bae
Priority date: 2006-04-21
Filing date: 2007-04-11
Publication date: 2007-11-01
Also published as: KR100761454B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an auto umbrella-type canopy tent in which a supporting pole automatically opens and folds by flexibility like an auto open umbrella. The auto umbrella-type canopy tent includes a connection member (110) a hollow guide shaft (120); a sliding member (130) inserted in the hollow guide shaft (120), wherein the sliding member (130) is sliding moveable from an upper end of the hollow guide shaft; a plurality of upper supporting poles (140) hingedly-connected to both of an upper end of the connection member and the sliding member at two spots in a radial direction; and a lower supporting pole (150) that has both opposite ends hingedly-connected to a lower end of the hollow guide shaft and an upper portion of the upper supporting pole (140) in a radial direction, respectively, to substantially stand erect, wherein the lower supporting pole (150) is longitudinally extended to give the upper supporting pole a upward rotational force when rotating downward.

Description

AUTO UMBRELLA-TYPE CANOPY TENT

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a canopy tent. More specifically, the present invention relates to an auto umbrella-type canopy tent in which a supporting pole automatically opens and folds by flexibility like an auto open umbrella. Background Art

[2] Canopy tents typically have supporting poles formed as ribs for tents that are folded and opened to allow users to easily stretch or close the tent. Recently, auto umbrella- type canopy tents in which supporting poles are folded like auto open umbrellas have been developed to allow users to stretch or close tents easily and simply.

[3] As shown in FlG. 1, a conventional auto umbrella-type canopy tent includes a connection member 10, a plurality of supporting poles 20 and a guide shaft 30. The connection member 10 is provided in an upper portion of the tent. The plural supporting poles 20 are hingedly-connected to the connection member 10 in a radial direction and they define an exterior of the tent. The guide shaft 30 is perpendicularly connected to the connection member 10 in a downward direction.

[4] The guide shaft 30 is inserted in a cylindrical motion guide 50 and a compression spring 40 is connected to the guide shaft 30. The motion guide 50 receives a downward motion power from the compression spring 40. A stopper 60 is fixed at a lower end of the guide shaft 30 by a screw to prevent the motion guide 50 from separating from the guide shaft 30.

[5] Moreover, a plurality of auxiliary supporting poles 70 may be hingedly-connected to the motion guide 50 in a radial direction. At the same time, the auxiliary supporting poles 70 are also hingedly-connected to the supporting poles 20, respectively.

[6] According to such conventional auto umbrella-type canopy tent, if external force is applied enough to pull down the motion guide 50 or to open the supporting poles 20 outward, the motion guide 50 is automatically moved downward along the guide shaft 30 by the restitution of the compression spring 40 and the supporting poles 20 are opened. Also, the opened supporting poles 20 are supported by the auxiliary supporting poles 70 and thus the tent installation is completed.

[7] At this time, since the downward motion power is applied to the motion guide 50 by the restitution of the compression spring. Once the portion of the auxiliary supporting pole 70 connected to the motion guide 50 is positioned lower than the portion of the auxiliary supporting pole 70 connected to the supporting pole 20 the motion guide 50, the motion guide 50 is locked and thus the supporting pole 20 can maintain the state of being opened.

[8] Hence, when external force that is stronger than the restitution of the compression spring 40 is applied to fold the supporting pole 20, the auxiliary pole 20 gives the upward motion power to the supporting pole 20 and the motion guide 50 presses the compression spring 40 to move upward along the motion guide 50. Accordingly, the tent is collapsed.

[9] However, such conventional auto umbrella-type canopy tent may have problems.

[10] A problem arises in that the rotation angle of the auxiliary supporting pole 70 is too big and the motion section (h) of the motion guide 50 is too long, because the auxiliary supporting pole 70 is horizontal to stretch the tent and it is perpendicular to collapse the tent. If the motion section (h) is too long, the height of the tent ceiling is relatively as low as the motion section (h) is long, which is inconvenient to a user and costs the user much work to stretchor collapse the tent.

[11] Furthermore, since the supporting pole 20 is connected to the connection member 10 by the single hinge shaft, the supporting pole 20 might shake and its rotation is not smooth when the conventional auto umbrella-type canopytent is stretched. Thus, stress may be concentrated on the single hinge of the supporting pole 20. Still worse, the supporting pole 20 might be broken. Any damage to the supporting pole 20 makes the tent not usable, which is quite a serious problem.

[12] Still further, since the compression spring of the conventional auto umbrella-type canopy tent 40 is exposed outside, there might be danger of injury in stretching or collapsing the tent. Also, the stretchor collapse of the tent may not be smooth if the compression spring gets rust.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[13] To solve the problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an auto umbrella-type canopy tent, which can be safely stretched and collapsed by user's simple operation to enhance endurance of supporting poles. Technical Solution

[14] To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, an auto umbrella-type canopy tent includes: a connection member provided in an upper portion of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent; a hollow guide shaft perpendicularly connected to a lower center of the connection member; a sliding member inserted in the hollow guide shaft, wherein the sliding member is sliding movable from an upper end of the hollow guide shaft; a plurality of upper supporting poles hingedly-connected to both of an upper end of the connection member and the sliding member at two spots in a radial direction, wherein the upper supporting poles define an exterior of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent and rotate about a hinge shaft of the connection member to move upward and downward the sliding member; and a lower supporting pole that has both opposite ends hingedly-connected to a lower end of the hollow guide shaft and an upper portion of the upper supporting pole in a radial direction to substantially stand erect, respectively. The lower supporting pole rotates about the lower portion of the hollow guide shaft along the upper supporting pole that rotates upward to support the upper supporting pole in a state of being upward oblique. Also, the lower supporting pole is longitudinally extended to give the upper supporting pole an upward rotational force when rotating downward.

[15] The lower supporting pole is formed of an inner part and an outer part. A compression spring is provided in the inner part or the outer part to give an extensional force to the lower supporting pole.

[16] A ring to which an upper end of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent is engaged is formed at a lower end of the hollow guide shaft, and the lower supporting pole is hingedly-connected to a lower end of the hollow guide shaft through a hinge shaft projected outward from the ring.

[17] The auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the present invention may further include an upper cover provided at an upper end of the connection member, interfering with the upper end of the connection member, to prevent the upper supporting pole from rotating upward substantially beyond a predetermined range. Advantageous Effects

[18] The present invention has following advantageous effects.

[19] First, in the auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the present invention, lower supporting pole for supporting the upper supporting poles are extended and supports the upper supporting pole in a state of being oblique. Accordingly, since the motion section of the sliding member is minimized and the ceiling height of the tent may be secured, user's convenience may be enhanced.

[20] Furthermore, since the upper supportingpole is two-spot-hingeldy-connected to both of the connection member and the sliding member, bending or breakage of the upper supporting pole may be prevented. Also, the sliding member inserted in the hollow guide shaft is moved upward and downward to rotate the upper supporting pole. Thus, the upper supporting pole may rotate securely without load and the tent may be stretched or collapsed smoothly.

[21] A still further, the compression spring is provided within the lower supporting pole, not to be exposed and thus the accident which might occur in the stretch or collapse of the tent may be prevented. Also, damage of rust to the compression spring is prevented and the uniform restitutive elastic force may be maintained and thus the tent may be stretched or collapsed smoothly.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[22] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the disclosure.

[23] In the drawings:

[24] FlG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional auto umbrella-type canopy tent;

[25] FlG. 2 is a front view illustrating an auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the present invention;

[26] FlG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating that the auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the presentinvention is collapsed; and

[27] FlG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating that the auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the present invention is stretched. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[28] Reference will now be made in detail to the specific embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

[29] In reference to the drawings, a preferred embodiment will be explained.

[30] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the preferred embodiment includes a connection member 110, a hollow guide shaft 120, a sliding member 130, a plurality of upper supporting poles 140, and a plurality of lower supporting poles 150. The connection member 110 is installed in an upper portion of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent and the hollow guide shaft 120 is perpendicularly connected to a lower center of the connection member 110. The upper supporting pole 140 is hingedly-connected to both of the connection member 110 and an upper end of the sliding member 130 at two spots in a radial direction, and the upper supporting poles 140 define an exterior of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent. Also, the upper supporting poles 140 rotate about a hinge shaft 111 of the connection member 110 to move sliding member 130 upward and downward. The lower supporting pole 150 has both opposite ends hingedly-connected to a lower end of the hollow guide shaft 120 and an upper portion of the upper supporting pole 140, respectively, such that the lower supporting pole 150 may substantially stand erect. At this time, the lower supporting pole 150 rotates downward about the lower portion of the hollow guide shaft 120 along the upper supporting pole 140 that rotates upward. Hence, the lower supporting pole 150 supports the upper supporting pole 140, being oblique upward. Also, the lower supporting pole 150 is extended longitudinally to give the upper supporting pole 140 an upward rotational power.

[31] The connection member 110 is positioned at the top of the tent. The hinge shafts 111 are uniformly provided on an outer circumferential surface of the connection member 110 at a predetermined distance in a radial direction. In this embodiment, it is embodied that four hinge shafts 111 are formed at 90°with respect to the connection member 110.

[32] The hollow guide shaft 120 is perpendicularly connected to the lower center of the connection member 110. The hollow guide shaft 120 has a hollow pipe shape with both opened ends and the sliding member 130 is inserted through the opened upper end of the sliding member 130.

[33] The sliding member 130 is inserted in the hollow guide shaft 120 smooth, such that the sliding member 130 may be sliding movable. A plurality of hinge shafts 131 may be formed at an upper end of the sliding member 130 in a radial direction so that the upper supporting poles 140 may be hingedly-connected to the hinge shafts 131 to rotates upward and downward.

[34] Furthermore, a guide groove 121 is formed on an inner surface of the hollow guide shaft 120 in a longitudinal direction to prevent the sliding member 130 from rotating in the hollow guide shaft 120. A protrusion 132 may be formed on an outer surface of the sliding member 130, which is inserted in the guide groove 121. Alternatively, the guide groove 121 may be formed at the sliding member 130 and the protrusion 132 corresponding to the guide groove 121 may be formed at the hollow guide shaft 120.

[35] The hollow guide shaft 120 and the sliding member 130 may be formed in a polygonal shape, not a circular shape, to prevent the sliding member from rotating in the hollow guide shaft 120.

[36] When the sliding member 130 is inserted in the hollow guide shaft 120 of the connection member 110, it is preferred that the hinge shaft 131 of the sliding member 130 and the hinge shaft 111 of the connection member 110 are arranged at the same perpendicular line.

[37] The upper supporting pole 140 that define the exterior of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent is hingedly-connected to the connection member 110, together with the connection to the sliding member 130, such that the upper supporting pole 140 may be connected to both of the connection member 110 and the sliding member 130 at two spots. The upper supporting pole 140 rotates about the hinge shaft 111 of the connection member 110 to move upward and downward the sliding member 130. For that, a first hinge hole 141 is formed at an upper end of the upper supporting pole 140 and the hinge shaft 131 of the sliding member 130 is fastened to the first hinge hole 141. A second hinge hole 142 is formed in rear of the first hinge hole 141 and the hinge shaft 111 of the connection member 110 is fastened to the second hinge hole

142. Thus, the upper supporting pole 140 is two-spot-hingedly-connected to both of the connection member 110 and the sliding member 130 through the first and second hinge holes 141 and 142. As a result, the upper supporting pole 140 rotates securely.

[38] The rotational center of the upper supporting pole 140 is the hinge shaft 111 of the connection member 110. The second hinge hole 142 has an oval shape along the rotation of the upper supporting pole 140 to allow the upper supporting pole 140 to rotates substantially smoothly.

[39] The lower supporting pole 150 gives an upward rotational powerto the upper supporting pole 140 and it has both opposite ends hingeldy-connected to the lower end of the hollow guide shaft 120 and the upper portion of the upper supporting pole 140, respectively, to substantially stand erect when the tend is collapsed.

[40] The lower supporting pole 150 is formed of an inner part 151 and an outer part 152.

A compression spring 160 is installed in the inner part 151 or the outer part 152 to give the lower supporting pole 150 an extensional force.

[41] Thus, when the tent is collapsed, the lower supporting pole 150 stands erect. When the tent is stretched, the lower supporting pole 150 downward rotates about the lower portion of the hollow guide shaft 120 along the upward rotating upper supporting pole 140 and then it supports the upper supporting pole 140, an upper end of the lower supporting pole 150 being oblique upward. In this process,the lower supporting pole 150 is extended by the restitution of the compression spring 160 to give the upward rotational force to the upper supporting pole 140.

[42] The compression spring 160 is provided in the inner part 151 and the outer part 152 and thus the compression spring 160 is not exposed outside. As a result, when the tent is stretched or collapsed, an accident that user's fingers may be stuck to the compression spring 160 may be prevented. Also, since there is no damage to the compression spring 160 caused by rust in the present invention, regular restitution of the compression spring is maintained and thus the stretch or the collapse of the tent may be relatively smooth.

[43] On the other hand, it is preferred that a hinge part 143 is projected at the upper supporting pole 140 toward the lower supporting pole 150 to allow the lower supporting pole 150 to rotate smoothly without interference with the upper supporting pole 140.

[44] In this structure, the initial oblique angle of the lower supporting pole 150 for performing the optimal rotation of the lower supporting pole 150 may be controlled by the projection of the hinge part 143.

[45] Furthermore, a ring 170 is fixed at a lower end of the hollow guide shaft 120 and a top of the tent is hooked and engaged to thering 170. The ring 170 may be inserted in the opened lower end of the hollow guide shaft 120 and fixed by a bolt. In this case, the lower end of the lower supporting pole 150 may be fastened througha hinge shaft 171 auxiliary formed at an outer surface of the ring 170.

[46] Furthermore, an upper cover 180 is fixed to an upper end of the connection member

110. The upper cover 180 is formed in a bowl shape and the center of the upper cover 180 is recessed upward to position the sliding member 130 therein. The upper cover 180 may be insertedly fastened to the upper end of the connection member 110 or may be fixed to the connection member 110 by a bolt.

[47] Also, an engaging part 181 interfering with the upper end of the upper cover 180 is formed at an outer upper end of the connection member 110 to prevent the upper supporting pole 140 from rotating upward beyond a predetermined range. The engaging part 181 is interferingwith the upper end of the upper supporting pole 140 to prevent the upper supporting pole 140 from rotating upward too much, when the upper supporting pole 140 is completed stretched.

[48] Next, the process for the stretch and collapse of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the present invention will not be explained.

[49] First, once the user holds the upper supporting pole 140 by his/her hand and rotates it upward in the state of the tent being collapsed as shown in FIG. 3, the lower supporting pole 150 rotates downward about its lower end hingedly-connected to the hollow guide shaft 120. If the lower supporting pole 150 rotates downward more than the predetermined angle, the lower supporting pole 150 is extended by the restitution of the compression spring 160 that is compressed in the lower supporting pole 150. Hence, although the user does not have to hold and rotate upward the upper supporting pole 140, the extensional force of the lower supporting pole 150 is transmitted to the upper supporting pole 140 and thus the tent is automatically stretched, as shown in FIG. 4. As a result, the user may easily stretch the tent with a little work.

[50] At this time, the upper supporting pole 140 rotates upward about the hinge shaft 111 of the connection member 110 to move the sliding member 130 downward. Since the upper supporting poles 140 are uniformly hingedly-connected to the sliding member 130 at a predetermined distance in a radial direction, load is not concentrated on the upper supporting poles 140 provided in one portion and thus the upper supporting pole 140 may securely rotate. Especially, the upper supporting pole 140 can rotate securely, because the upper supporting pole 140 is securely assembled by the two- spot-hingeldy-connection with both of the sliding member 130 and the connection member 110. As a result, in case that the supporting poles are one- spot-hingedly-connected in the conventional auto umbrella-type canopy tent, the supporting poles are rotates and the twist stress is concentrated on the hinge part, only to brake or damage the supporting poles. However, according to the auto umbrella-type canopy tent of the present invention, the upper supporting poles may be securely connected to both of the connection member 110 and the sliding member 130 and the damage or breakage may be prevented.

[51] When the sliding member 130 is formed in a square shape or the guide groove 121 and the projection 132 are formed at the sliding member 130 and the hollow guide shaft 120, respectively, the sliding member 130 is prevented from rotating or moving in the hollow guide shaft 120 and thus the upper supporting poles 140 may rotate more securely.

[52] According to the present invention, the lower supporting pole 150 is extendable to rotate the upper supporting pole 140 upward, such that the upper supporting pole 150 may be completely unfolded by the small rotational angle and work. As a result, it is easy to secure the predetermined ceiling of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent.

[53] As mentioned above, when the upper supporting pole 140 is rotating upward and the upper portion of the upper supporting pole 140 is engaged to the engaging part 181 of the upper cover 180 to limit the upward rotation of the upper supporting pole 140, the tent is completely stretched as shown in FlG. 4. In this state, the upper supporting pole 140 is securely supported by the extensional force of the lower supporting pole 150 and the upper end of the lower supporting pole 150 is oblique upward. As a result, the tent may not be collapsed by itself without an external force that is relatively larger than the predetermined force.

[54] By the way, to collapse the tent, the user holds the both upper supporting poles 140 supported by the lower supporting pole 150 that face each other and he/she pushes them with the power strong enough to compress the compression spring 160. Thus, the tent is collapsed as shown in FlG. 3.

[55] More specifically, once the upper supporting poles 140 are pushed, the upper supporting poles 140 rotates downward and the lower supporting pole 150 is folded to rotate upward. As the lower supporting pole 150 is rotating upward, the extensional force of the lower supporting pole 150 is getting farther from the force for rotating the upper supporting pole 140 downward and thus even small power can transmit the big power to the lower supporting pole 150.

[56] Once the downward rotational force that is relatively bigger than the predetermined force is applied to the upper supporting pole 140 to stand erectthe lower supporting pole 150, even small work may easily fold the upper supporting pole 140. At this time, the sliding member 130 rotates upward to return to its original position and helps the upper supporting pole 140 to rotate upward securely.

[57] Once the upper supporting poles 140 are completely folded, the tent is completely collapsed and the user can tie the upper supporting poles 140 with an additional belt to keep the tent in a garage or car. Industrial Applicability

[58] The present invention has an industrial applicability.

[59] First, in the auto umbrella-type canopy tent according to the present invention, lower supporting pole for supporting the upper supporting poles are extended and supports the upper supporting pole in a state of being oblique. Accordingly, since the motion section of the sliding member is minimized and the ceiling height of the tent may be secured, user's convenience may be enhanced.

[60] Furthermore, since the upper supporting pole is two-spot-hingeldy-connected to both of the connection member and the sliding member, bending or breakage of the upper supporting pole may be prevented. Also, the sliding member inserted in the hollow guide shaft is moved upward and downward to rotate the upper supporting pole. Thus, the upper supporting pole may rotate securely without load and the tent may be stretched or collapsed smoothly.

[61] A still further, the compression spring is provided within the lower supporting pole, not to be exposed and thus the accident which might occur in the stretch or collapse of the tent may be prevented. Also, damage of rust to the compression spring is prevented and the uniform restitutive elastic force may be maintained and thus the tent may be stretched or collapsed smoothly.

Claims

[1] An auto umbrella-type canopy tent comprising: a connection member provided in an upper portion of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent; a hollow guide shaft perpendicularly connected to a lower center of the connection member; a sliding member inserted in the hollow guide shaft, wherein the sliding member is sliding movable from an upper end of the hollow guide shaft; a plurality of upper supporting poles hingedly-connected to both of an upper end of the connection member and the sliding member at two spots in a radial direction, wherein the upper supporting poles define an exterior of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent and rotate about a hinge shaft of the connection member to move the sliding member upward and downward; and a lower supporting pole that has both opposite ends hingedly-connected to a lower end of the hollow guide shaft and an upper portion of the upper supporting pole in a radial direction, respectively, to substantially stand erect, wherein the lower supporting pole rotates about the lower portion of the hollow guide shaft along the upper supporting pole that rotates upward to support the upper supporting pole in a state of being upward oblique, further wherein the lower supporting pole is longitudinally extended to give the upper supporting pole a upward rotational force when rotating downward.

[2] The auto umbrella-type canopy tent as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower supporting pole comprises an inner part and an outer part and a compression spring is provided in the inner part or the outer part to give an extensional force to the lower supporting pole.

[3] The auto umbrella-type canopy tent as claimed in claim 1, wherein a ring to which an upper end of the auto umbrella-type canopy tent is engaged is formed at a lower end of the hollow guide shaft, and the lower supporting pole is hingedly-connected to a lower end of the hollow guide shaft through a hinge shaft projected outward from the ring.

[4] The auto umbrella-type canopy tent as claimed in claim 3, further comprising an upper cover provided at an upper end of the connection member, interfering with the upper end of the connection member ,to prevent the upper supporting pole from rotating upward substantially beyond a predetermined range.