GB2259927A

GB2259927A - Umbrella-like tent

Info

Publication number: GB2259927A
Application number: GB9120611A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kevin Robert Nash
Original assignee: NASH KEVIN TACKLE Ltd
Current assignee: NASH KEVIN TACKLE Ltd
Priority date: 1991-09-28
Filing date: 1991-09-28
Publication date: 1993-03-31
Anticipated expiration: 2011-09-28
Also published as: GB2259927B; GB9120611D0

Abstract

A tent has ribs 14 pivotably secured to a central hub 12 which, when the tent is erected, extend generally radially from a central axis. A one-piece canopy 16 is secured to the ribs 14 and is maintained taut by the ribs when the tent is in use. The ribs 14 are pivotable relative to the hub 12 about axes which are generally parallel to the central axis and to allow the tent to collapse the hem of the canopy 16 is releasably secured (caps 30) to at least one of the ribs. The ribs may be pivotable back upon themselves (at 40) to allow a smaller size of the folded tent. <IMAGE>

Description

TENT Field of the invention The present invention relates to a tent.

Background of the invention Tents are known, intended for use by anglers, which are based on an umbrella which in use is anchored at an angle to the ground and is fitted with side panels extending from the periphery of the umbrella canopy to the ground to form the sides of the tent. The side panels are either formed integrally with the umbrella canopy or are secured to it while the tent is being erected.

A disadvantage of such a tent is that the centre pole of the umbrella obstructs the interior of the tent. The tents, which often have oval canopies, are intended to afford enough sheltered space to accommodate a folding camp bed, and if the centre pole remains attached to the hub of the frame of the umbrella, then it inevitably restricts the space in which a large item such as a camp bed can fit.

It has therefore already been suggested that the centre pole of the umbrella frame be removable or foldable after the umbrella has been opened but if one uses an umbrella with a conventional folding mechanism, one must leave a short length of the centre pole in position as the ribs of the frame could not otherwise be retained in tension. Therefore while allowing more floor space within the tent, such a construction continues to restrict headroom within the tent.

To avoid this problem, a construction has been proposed which gives the appearance of an umbrella tent when erected but which does not use an umbrella frame as such. Radial ribs over which the canopy is stretched are pivotably mounted on a central hub so that they can pivot about horizontal axes as with a conventional umbrella. However, instead of using a centre pole, and struts extending from a point along the length of the ribs to a ring slidable along the pole, the ribs are tensioned by means of a plate which is screwed directly to the hub. This construction minimises the intrusion of the frame into the space of the tent but at the same time loses the main advantage of an umbrella tent which is that it can be erected quickly and simply, even in windy conditions.

Obiect of the invention The present invention seeks to provide a tent which when in use resembles an umbrella tent and, like an umbrella tent, can be erected simply but in which the frame of the tent does not seriously obstruct the space within the tent.

Summarv of the invention According to the present invention, there is provided a tent having a plurality of ribs pivotably secured to a central hub and which, when the tent is erected, extend generally radially from a central axis, and one piece canopy secured to the ribs and maintained taut by the ribs when the tent is in use, characterised in that the ribs are pivotable relative to the hub about axes which are generally parallel to the central axis and in that the hem of the canopy is releasably secured to at least one of the ribs.

In the present invention, the ribs when collapsed do not lie in a circle centred on the axis of the hub, in other words what would be the centre pole of a conventional umbrella, but in at least one plane perpendicular to this axis. The umbrella is erected by spreading the ribs apart in an operation similar to opening a ladies' fan.

It will be appreciated a one piece canopy permanently secured to the ribs would prevent the tent from being collapse and erected. One could form the canopy in more than one piece but the tent would then be prone to leaks where the pieces join one another. Instead, therefore, the invention allows the canopy to be separated from the ribs to provide enough slack in the canopy to permit the tent to be erected and collapsed.

Advantageously, the hem of the canopy may have caps to fit over the ends of the ribs and the ribs may be slidably received in pockets formed in the canopy.

The ribs may lie either inside or outside the canopy but it is preferred to arrange the ribs outside the canopy as the stitching used to form pockets in the canopy to receive the ribs may then be covered from the inside of the tent with a tape to ensure that the canopy remain entirely waterproof.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from the rear of a tent of the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hub of the tent shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the tent in Figure 1 while it is being erected, and Figure 4 shows a detail of one of the ribs of the tent shown in Figure 1.

Description of the preferred embodiment A tent comprises a frame 10 formed of a central hub 12 and seven radial ribs 14a to 14g over which a canvas canopy 16 is stretched when in the tent is erected. The ribs are pivotably mounted at the inner ends on the hub 12 which is shown in greater detail in Figure 2. Some of the parts of the hub 12 have been omitted from Figure 2 in the interest of clarity.

The hub 12 consists of spaced upper and lower arcuate plates 20a and 20b and an arcuate spacer which cannot be seen in the drawing. Together the plates 20a, 20b and the spacer define an arcuate channel in which there are pivoted six mounting blocks 22, retained between the plates 20a and 20b by means of pivot pins 24 passing through the plates 20a and 20b. Each of the mounting blocks 22 has a projecting spigot 22a over which six of the seven ribs are fitted.

The central rib 14a of the umbrella is connected to the hub 12 by means of a socket 26 which cannot be pivoted relative to the hub 12. The three ribs 14b to 14d and 14e to 14g on each side of the central rib 14a, on the other hand, can pivot relative to the hub 12 by virtue of the mounting blocks 22. In this way, the ribs may either be fanned out into the extended position shown in Figure 1 or they may be collapsed by pivoting about the pivot pins 24 to lie side by side one another parallel to the central fixed rib 14a.

The canopy 16 is formed in one piece and is shaped so as to be taut when the ribs are extended and the tent is in the position illustrated in Figure 1. The canopy has pockets on its outer surface formed by seams in the fabric of the canopy, the individual ribs being received in the pockets to maintain the canopy taut when the tent is in use.

If the canopy were permanently secured to the frame in Figure 1, it would not be possible to collapse and erect the tent. This is because any attempt to pivot the end ribs 14d and 14g which overlie the entrance to the tent to lie parallel to the central rib would be prevented by the fabric of the canopy stretched between these ribs.

To permit the tent to be collapsed and erected, the pockets which receive the end ribs 14d and 14g have end caps 30 which can be clipped on and off the ends of the ribs such that when the caps 30 are unclipped from the ribs, the fabric of the canopy stretched between these two ribs can slide towards the hub 12 and remove the obstruction to the movement of the ribs. Once these two end ribs 14d and 14g which are furthest from the central rib 14a are pivoted at the 12 towards the central rib 14a all the remaining ribs can likewise be pivoted to collapse the tent.

The ribs 14 are fairly long and their pivoting to lie parallel to the central rib 14a still leaves an object which is awkward to transport. To make the collapsed tent more compact, therefore, each rib 14 is formed of two parts hinged to one another by a hinge 40 which can be locked in its extended position. Each hinge, as shown in Figure 4, is formed as a knuckle joint 42a, 42b pivotable about an exis 44 and having a sleeve 46 with a sleeve which can slid( over the knuckle to lock it in position. Once the locking sleeve has been raised away from the pivot axis 44, the two parts will readily pivot relative to one another to allow the folded length of each rib to be reduced.

To erect the tent, the central ribs 14a is first folded out to its full length. A spiked end of the central rib 14a is driven into the ground. As this rib 14a is rigidly secured to the hub 12, the entire tent is already anchored to the ground and the user can move round to the front of the tent from where it is possible to separate the ribs from the central rib until the fabric of the canopy is stretched as far as possible.

The end ribs are at this point not attached to the fabric of the canopy and can move without resistance. After the ribs 14d and 14g have reached their end position on the hub 12, the canopy is stretched over the end ribs 14d, 14g and the caps 30 on the hem of the canopy at the ends of the pockets in which the ribs are fitted are clipped over the ends of these ribs. This action tensions the entire canopy. The tent can now be further anchored to the ground by means of bank sticks and guy ropes as in the case of a conventional umbrella tent and a door is fitted to the entrance of the tent, for example by means of a zip fastener.

Folding away of the tent is performed in the reverse order.

That is to say, the caps 30 are first unclipped from the end ribs 14d and 14g and thereafter the ribs are moved towards the central rib and each rib in turn is folded at its hinge to shorten the overall length of the collapsed tent.

It will be appreciated that various modification may be brought to the tent without departing from the scope of the invention. In one such modification, the central rib is formed of two parts which can be totally separated from one another rather than being connected by a hinge as described above. With a such a construction, the ground peg part of the central rib can be hammered into the ground to ensure secure anchoring and then connected to the part on which the hub is mounted by means of a screw or bayonet connection.

Claims

1. A tent having a plurality of ribs pivotably secured to a central hub and which, when the tent is erected, extend generally radially from a central axis, and one piece canopy secured to the ribs and maintained taut by the ribs when the tent is in use, characterised in that the ribs are pivotable relative to the hub about axes which are generally parallel to the central axis and in that the hem of the canopy is releasably secured to at least one of the ribs.

2. A tent as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hem of the canopy has caps to fit over the ends of the ribs and the ribs are slidably received in pockets formed in the canopy.

3. A tent as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the ribs are retained in pockets formed on the outside of the tent.

4. A tent as claimed in claim 3, wherein the stitching used to form the pockets in the canopy to receive the ribs is covered from the inside of the tent with a tape.

5. A tent constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.