WO2017201555A1

WO2017201555A1 - Inflatable tent

Info

Publication number: WO2017201555A1
Application number: PCT/AT2017/000039
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gernot RAMMER
Original assignee: Gentletent Gmbh
Priority date: 2016-05-24
Filing date: 2017-05-23
Publication date: 2017-11-30
Also published as: AT518717A1; EP3464755C0; EP3464755B1; EP3464755B8; EP4219868A1; AT518717B1; EP3464755A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a tent (4), comprising a supporting frame (7), a tent skin (10) supported on the supporting frame (7), and a tent bottom (3), wherein the tent bottom (3) is formed by an inflatable body, which is planar in the inflated state and the covering and bottom layers (5, 6) of which consist of a flexible material and are connected to each other by a plurality of connecting threads or fibers (13) and are held at a maximum normal distance from each other in the inflated state.

Description

INFLATABLE TENT

The invention relates to a tent comprising a support frame, a tent skin supported on the support frame and a tent floor.

Tents are mobile dwellings that can be assembled and disassembled with relatively little effort and used as temporary and transportable structures. You will find a variety of applications, such as camping tents, as medical tents for the mobile treatment of patients or as mobile storage ^¬ spaces for equipment.

Tents are subject to a variety of requirements, such as protection against weather conditions, especially wind, rain or snow, light protection, privacy, breathability with water repellent outer skin, low space requirements in the disassembled state, low weight, easy assembly, independence of the soil condition and stability in the tents established state. Usually, attempts are made to optimize several of these requirements at the same time.

Tents consist of a supporting structure and an outer skin, which may be separate from the supporting structure or may be firmly connected thereto. The tent skin and the supporting structure have in most cases the same basic shape. When building the tent, the tent skin - if it is not already connected to the supporting structure - spread over the supporting structure and then attached and tensioned, for example by means of tensioning cables and pegs on the ground.

In order to avoid the disadvantages associated with a support structure of a metal linkage, such as increased weight and complicated assembly of a plurality of individual parts, has already been proposed, the support structure form one or more inflatable chambers of an airtight polymer.

The bottom of a tent usually consists of a plastic tarpaulin, which may be formed integrally with the inner skin or the outer skin of the tent. The floor serves to delimit and isolate the tent interior from the ground on which the tent is built. With regard to the formation of the floor from a thin tarpaulin, special precautions have to be taken in order to create a suitable lying surface or underlay inside the tent. For this purpose, the transport of separate documents, e.g. Made of foamed plastic or air mattresses required to increase the weight and volume of the ballast to be carried.

The tent floor is usually also the attachment of the tent to the ground. The use of pegs and guy ropes brings with it problems. So the herring must be driven into the ground and find support there. For this purpose a floor with an appropriate strength is Benö ^¬ Untitled. If the ground is too firm, such as asphalt or a stone floor, the pegs can not be beaten underground. If the ground is too soft, like a sandy bottom, the pegs will hardly support, so that the tent can not be stretched.

Special constructions of tents allow the attachment to motor vehicles, such as caravans. This is mostly used to form a canopy or awning and thereby increase the usable space of the caravan. Furthermore, roof tents have become known, which are tents that can be built on a vehicle roof. In order to be able to provide a sufficient lying area, roof tents are usually mounted on the vehicle roof in such a way that they overlap with a portion of the floor area the roof projecting. The disadvantage here is the design effort for the support of the projecting over the roof Be ^¬ empire of the tent. In addition, the support structure increases the weight and pack size of the tent.

The present invention therefore aims to improve a tent in that the above-mentioned disadvantages can be overcome. In particular, the invention aims to create a tent which is characterized by a low weight and a small pack size and which can be placed on any surface with good insulation and waterproofing.

To solve this problem, the invention consists in a tent of the type mentioned essentially in that the tent bottom is formed by an inflatable, inflated state plate-like body whose top and bottom layer made of a flexible material and by a variety of connecting threads or fibers are interconnected and held in the inflated state at a maximum normal distance from each other. Such a floor is placed in bubble ^¬ NEN state from a dimensionally stable plate-rmiges element, so that the tent has a flat inner bottom surface even on uneven ground, which is usable directly and without additional lying underlay. In particular, the inflatable plate-shaped bottom body has such a dimensional stability or rigidity that an arrangement of the tent on a driving roof ^¬ zeugdach is readily possible by a portion of the bottom in the inflated state protrudes beyond the edge of the vehicle roof and - even without the Provision of a protruding area supporting construction - is resilient without a buckling or the like. Is to be feared of the projecting area. In the non-inflated state, on the other hand, the bottom is not dimensionally stable because the top and bottom layers of the inflatable body are made of a flexible material that can be folded together so that the bottom is in common can be stowed with the remaining tent elements within the outline of the vehicle roof.

The required dimensional stability and rigidity of the inflatable bottom body is achieved in that the cover and the bottom layer are connected to each other by a plurality of connecting threads or fibers and held in the inflated state at a maximum normal distance from each other. The cover and the bottom layer are in this case held by the threads or fibers preferably parallel to each other, so that in fact a plate-shaped bottom construction is formed. The threads or fibers run through the air-filled cavity of the body and extend between Deck- and bottom layer preferably in the direction perpendicular to the layers. The fibers or threads are in this case provided in such a density that the cover and the bottom layer in the inflated state each form a substantially flat surface, so that the pressure prevailing in the interior of the body overpressure causes no buckling. The fibers or threads are preferably uniformly distributed over the surface of the cover or bottom layer.

It is preferably provided that the flexible material for receiving an overpressure in the interior of the inflatable tent floor of 0.3 - 1 bar, in particular 0.3 - 0.5 bar is formed. Such an overpressure causes the bottom body to obtain a particularly high dimensional stability or rigidity.

An increase in stability is achieved according to a preferred further development of the invention in that the connecting threads or fibers are interwoven with each other. Inflatable hollow bodies whose top and bottom surfaces are interconnected by interwoven threads or fibers are also referred to as drop-stitch constructions, which are mainly used for water sports equipment, namely stand up padding (SUP) boards reach. The principle of drop Stitch construction is based on linking the top and bottom layers of the body with vertical connecting fibers and keeping them in the desired shape even under high internal pressure. The interwoven fibers form a fabric inside the inflatable body which, due to the large number of knots, is very tear-resistant and dimensionally stable and can withstand particularly high loads, but nevertheless can be compactly compacted in the uninflated state. The inventively designed, inflatable floor has a number of advantageous properties. In roof tents the floor makes the otherwise required separate supports for over the vehicle roof protruding floor areas obsolete, resulting in a significant weight savings and a reduction in the pack size. The weight saving plays special ^¬ DERS in the offroad segment a major role.

Furthermore, the floor ensures a cold insulation against the ground. The inflatable floor allows the use of the tent not only on vehicle roofs, but also on the cargo areas and trailers of vehicles or on beliebi ^¬ gene ground surfaces, such as the earth, forest or rock floor, where uneven ground bumps can be compensated. The soil is a barrier to water ingress and can be used on very wet surfaces as well as heavy rain. Due to the height of the inflated soil, water ingress is effectively prevented from below. The ground is also floatable, so that a use on a body of water is conceivable.

The inflatable floor may preferably be equipped with a heater which ^heats the air inside the inflated bottom. In this way, the tent can be provided with a floor heating. In the gas-filled cavity of the floor, for example filaments (eg made of carbon) can be arranged. It is preferably provided that the flexible material of the cover and bottom layer is a KunstStoffmaterial, such as PVC. Such a material is characterized by a high tensile strength. The top and / or bottom layer may be provided on its respective outer surface with a layer of foam or a wide ^¬ ren inflatable body to improve the sleep comfort to ver ^¬.

The threads or fibers, which connect the cover and the bottom layer of the inflatable body with each other, are preferably made of plastic.

The inflatable floor may be formed as a separate element, with which the support frame and / or the outer skin of the tent is or is connected by releasable connection means. The connecting means can Velcro fasteners, zippers, carabiners, a hook-and-eye connection, or the like. include. Alternatively, the support frame and / or the tent skin may be permanently and permanently connected to the inflatable floor. A preferred embodiment provides in this context that the inflatable floor is connected at its edges to the support frame, in particular glued, welded, sewn or detachably connected. A particularly advantageous embodiment results, even if the support frame is formed at least partially, but preferably completely, of at least one inflatable body. In particular, the support frame in this case at least one inflatable, in particular multi-angled or bent pipe.

The fact that the support frame of the tent is designed inflatable, a simple and quick assembly and disassembly is guaranteed. The inflatable tube preferably has a two- or multi-layered construction. An inner body forms at least one inflatable chamber and is preferably made made of a good stretchable material, in particular a material with a stretchability of min. 150%. The inner body is preferably made of a polyurethane tube. Around the inflatable inner body, a durable, abrasion-resistant outer tube is arranged, against which the inner body engages tightly inside when inflated. The material of the Au ßenschlauchs is preferable tensile strength and formed entspre ^¬ accordingly preformed to the desired shape of the framework. The outer tube is preferably made of a fabric, in particular a fabric made of polyamide or polyester, such as Cordura®.

The execution of the support frame as an inflatable body has the further advantage that the tent has a lower overall weight and the construction by a single person is possible.

In this connection, a preferred embodiment provides for the support frame to be formed by a single tube, which is bent or bent several times in the inflated state, preferably in a closed manner. The single tube is preferably shaped so that it forms a self-contained body, which has neither an end nor a beginning. The formation of the support frame from a self-contained, inflatable tube leads in the inflated state to a very stable and rigid construction, the tube, in the case of a multi-layer construction, in particular its outer tube, is preformed so that automatically in the inflated state, the desired shape of the shoring sets.

A particularly advantageous and stable form of the framework from a self-contained body succeeds according to a preferred embodiment of the invention in that the tubular support frame at least two U-shaped pipe sections with the same orientation of the U-shape and we- at least two preferably straight formed connecting pipe sections, which connect the ends of the free legs of the U-shape with each other. Such a support frame allows a very flexible use of the framework, wherein the support frame can either be placed so that the Verbindungsrohrab ^¬ sections form the bottom tubes of the support frame, or so that the connecting leg of the U-shape of the U-shaped ausgebil- Deten pipe sections form the bottom tubes of the framework.

A preferred development provides that the U-shaped from the pipe sections are each arranged spanned planes inclined to each other and in particular starting from the inflatable floor upwardly diverging ver ^¬ run. The support frame thus requires a relatively small footprint and supports upwards a sweeping area of the tent skin, so that a total of a relatively large area can be covered by the tent skin relative to the required footprint. This is for example in the formation of the tent as a roof tent, which is arranged on a vehicle roof, of particular advantage, since a large span of the tent is achieved. The at least one inflatable tube of the support frame may, as already mentioned, consist of a plastic material, in particular a polymer material. This allows a particularly simple and firm connection with the plastic material of the inflatable floor. For this purpose, the inflatable tube of the support frame can have a connecting lug extending in the longitudinal direction of the tube, which is connected, in particular adhesively bonded or welded, to the inflatable bottom.

The air-fillable cavity of the floor and the air-fillable cavity of the tube of the support frame are preferably not connected to each other. This allows that Pressure level according to the respective needs anzupas ^¬ sen, the pressure in the inflatable soil is preferably selected higher than in the supporting frame. The support frame can be directly connected on the one hand with the inflatable floor and on the other hand with the tent skin. In this context, it is preferably provided that the tent skin is connected, in particular adhesively bonded, welded or sewn, to the support frame, in particular at least one inflatable tube of the support frame.

In order to enable a stable attachment of the tent on a substrate, it is preferably provided that the bottom layer of the inflatable floor fastening means for fixing the floor to a substrate, such as a vehicle ^roof on ^¬ has. In particular, the fastening means each have at least one connecting element, in particular a connecting plate, at a plurality of attachment points. According to a second aspect, the invention relates to the use of an at least partially inflatable elements tent, in particular a tent according to the first aspect of the invention, on a vehicle roof. Preferably, the inflatable floor of the tent is mounted on the driving ^¬ zeugdach, a roof rack or a roof rail.

Preferably, it is provided that the air for transport and storage purposes from the inflatable floor and possibly the inflatable support frame is lowered and the tent is folded, the tent in the folded state, the edges of the driving convincing roof preferably not surmounted.

In particular, the floor in the inflated state projects beyond the vehicle roof on at least one side of the vehicle. The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments shown schematically in the drawing. 1 shows schematically a vehicle with a roof tent, wherein the tent skin is not shown, FIG. 2 is a representation according to FIG. 1 with tent skin and FIG. 3 is a detailed representation of the inflatable floor and the connection of the support frame to the ground.

In Fig. 1, a vehicle 1 is shown schematically, which has a vehicle roof 2. On the vehicle roof 2 a plate-shaped, dimensionally stable bottom 3 of a tent 4 is attached. The bottom 3 is formed by an inflatable, inflated state plate-like body whose top and bottom layer 5, 6 made of a flexible material and are interconnected by a plurality of connecting threads or fibers. Due to the stiffness of the bottom 3, this can project on the rear ^¬ side of the vehicle 1 over the edge of the Fah zeugdaches 2 before ^¬ , as shown in Fig. 1. On the two longitudinal sides of the bottom 3, the support frame 7 is fixed, wherein the support frame 7 is formed by an inflatable tube. The tubular support frame 7 has two U-shaped pipe sections 8 and two straight connecting pipe sections 9, which connect the ends of the free legs of the U-Forra with each other. The connecting pipe sections 9 form the bottom pipes of the support frame 7, wherein the floor pipes are connected to the bottom 3.

FIG. 2 now additionally shows the tent skin 10, which spans the intermediate space between the two U-shaped tube sections 8 and is stretched downwards on the front and rear sides of the tent 4 by the U-shaped sections 8. On the front side of the clamped-down portion of the tent cloth at the edge of the bottom 3 is buildin ^¬ Untitled. At the rear of the vehicle 1 _. is the downwardly extending section of the tent skin 4 with the help of 11 stretched down. A ladder 12 is used to enter the interior of the tent. 4

In Fig. 3 is now a detail of the bottom 3 in the inflated state and its attachment to the vehicle roof 2 is shown. The bottom is shown in cross-section and comprises a cover layer 5 and a bottom layer 6, which are connected by a plurality of threads or fibers 13 and held parallel to each other at a predetermined maximum distance. The cavity 14 is additionally bounded laterally by a side layer 15, which is connected to the cover and bottom layer 5,6, in particular glued or welded.

For mechanical attachment of the bottom 3 on the vehicle roof 2, a connection plate 16 is integrated into the ground, which consists of a rigid material, such as wood. The connection plate 16 is arranged between the bottom layer 6 and a further layer 17 and held immovably there. The connection ^¬ plate 16 is fixed in the present case via a terminal 18 to a roof rail 19th

The tube of the framework is also shown in cross-section and designated 20. It is fastened to the base 3 via a connecting lug 21, in particular glued or welded. On the tube 20, the tent skin is further attached, as indicated schematically at 22.

Claims

Claims:

1. tent comprising a support frame (7), a support frame (7) supported tent skin (10) and a tent floor (3), characterized in that the tent bottom (3) is formed by an inflatable, inflated state plate-like body whose Cover and bottom layer (5.6) made of a flexible material and connected by a plurality of connecting threads or fibers (13) and held in the inflated state to ^¬ in a maximum normal distance from each other.

2. Tent according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting threads or fibers (13) are interwoven with each other.

3. Tent according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible material for receiving an overpressure in the interior of the inflatable tent floor (3) of 0.3 to 1.5 bar, preferably 0.3 to 1 bar, in particular 0 , 3 - 0.5 bar is formed.

Tent according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the flexible material is a plastic material, e.g. PVC, polycotton or nylon.

5. Tent according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the inflatable floor (3) at its edges with the support frame (7) connected, in particular glued, welded sewn or detachably connected, is.

6. Tent according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the support frame (7) has at least one inflatable, in particular multi-angled or bent tube.

7. A tent according to claim 6, characterized in that the support frame (7) of a single, in the inflated state is repeatedly bent or bent, preferably self-contained, tube is formed.

8. Tent according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the tubular support frame (7) has at least two U-shaped out ^¬ pipe sections (8) with the same orientation of the U-shape and at least two preferably straight formed connecting pipe sections (9), which connect the ends of the free legs of the U-shape with each other.

9. Tent according to claim 8, characterized in that the connecting pipe sections (9) form the bottom tubes of the support frame (7).

10. Tent according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the connecting legs of the U-shape of the U-shaped pipe sections (8) the bottom tubes of the support frame (7) form the training.

11. Tent according to claim 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that the U-shaped tubular sections (8) each spanned planes are arranged inclined to each other and in particular from the inflatable floor (3), starting diverging upwards.

12. Tent according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the tent skin (10) with the support frame (7), in particular at least one inflatable tube of the support frame (7), connected, in particular glued, welded or sewn, is ,

13. Tent according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the bottom layer (6) of the inflatable floor (3) Fastening means for securing the floor (3) to a substrate, such as a vehicle roof (2) has.

14. The tent according to claim 13, characterized in that the fastening means at a plurality of attachment points in each case at least one connecting element, in particular having a Verbin ^¬ manure plate.

15. Tent according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the inflatable floor (3) with at least one

Heating element for heating in the cavity (14) of the inflated ^¬ NEN bottom (3) arranged gas, in particular air, is provided, preferably with Widerstandsheizdrähten or threads, eg made of carbon.

16. Use of an at least partially inflatable elements existing tent (4), in particular a tent (4) according to one of claims 1 to 15, on a vehicle roof (2), on a trailer or a cargo bed of a vehicle or floating on a body of water.

17. Use according to claim 16, characterized in that the inflatable floor (3) of the tent (4) on the vehicle roof (2), a roof rack or a roof rail is attached.

18. Use according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the air for transport and storage purposes from the inflatable floor (3) and possibly the inflatable support frame (7) is drained and the tent (4) is folded, the Tent (4) in the folded state, the edges of the vehicle roof (2) preferably not surmounted.

19. Use according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the bottom (3) in the inflated state, the vehicle roof (2), the trailer or the cargo area projects beyond at least one side.