US2540529A - Tent - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1951 J. H. JOHNSON 2,540,529

TENT

Filed Oct. 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V EN TOR.

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in setting up the test the tent half is reversed from the position shown in the drawings. The

straps 35, 36, are designed to be passed through correspondingly positioned grommets 3'1, 38, secured in reinforced patches 39 at the ends of the floor element 20.

At each end of the upper edges 24 and 2! of roof elements 12 and I3, there are provided grommets 40, and similar aligned grommets 4| are provided in the files 25 and 26. When the meeting edges of the roof elements are assembled as shown in Fig. 6, there are thus four grommets 40, 4|, vertically aligned with each other, and through these grommets passes the reduced upper end 42 of a vertical tent pole 43. Straps 44 are also secured to the opposite ends of the edges 24 and 27 by means of the grommets 46, and are looped to receive guy ropes 45, 46, which extend from the loops to tent pegs (not shown) which forwardly and rearwardly of the tent. Loops 41,

. formed of rope or similar material, are secured in grommets 48 at the lower corners of roof elements l2 and i3, and are designed to receive tent pegs 49 which are driven into the ground to peg the edges of the tent down, in the usual manner.

The ends 50 of the loops 4'! are knotted, in the manner shown in Fig. 9, to prevent the loop from slipping through the grommets when in use, but the grommets are of such diameter relative to the size of the rope that the loop may be pulled upwardly (Fig. 9) to withdraw it from the grommet, and to permit it to be inserted in the reverse ,:.direction, when desired.

In the use of a tent of this type, it is desirable to enlarge as much as possible the sleeping space available to each occupant, particularly adjacent the mid-section ofthe tent, since it is at this section that the occupant is most likely to bring his body into contact with the roof section [2 or l3, and thus expose it to insect bites or to wetting if rain is falling on the tent. For this purpose, the panels l2a, I20, and the corresponding panels of roof element I3, are provided on both the inner and outer surfaces thereof with loops 52, 53, permanently secured to the panels by stitching as indicated in Fig. 8. The loops 52, 53 receive guy ropes 54, 55 which extend diagonally forward and rearward respectively to pegs 56, 51. The proper degree of tension being ap- "plied to these guy ropes, the roof elements [2, l3 and particularly the middle panels thereof will be drawn outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2, thus providing a nearly vertical portion 58 adjacent the mid-section of the lower portion of each of the roof elements, and correspondingly enlarging the space for the occupants. These diagonal guy ropes also supplement the action of pegs 49 in giving lateral stability to the tent.

In order to erect the tent, the two halves are brought together and the upper edges 24 and 21 with their flies 25 and are secured together by means of the buttons 29 and 30. The ends 42 of poles 43 are then inserted through the grom- I mets 40 and 4| in the manner indicated in Fig. 6. Poles 43 being manually supported in vertical are driven into the ground at a suitable distance 4 position, the guy ropes 46 are then staked in place with the requisite degree of tension, and the lower corners of the tent are secured by means of loops 4! and pegs 49, the floor elements 26 being folded inwardly so as to lie fiat on the ground inside of the tent. The meeting edges of the end wall elements [6, H, at one end of the tent are then buttoned together by means of buttons 29, 30, and the floor elements 20 are secured together in the same manner along their edges 33 on a center line extending longitudinally through the base of the tent. The diagonal guy ropes 54, 55, are then tightened and pegged to bring the roof elements into the position indicated in Fig. 2, whereupon the tent is ready for occupancy. If desired, the end wall elements l6, H, at one end of the tent may be folded back over the adjacent panels of the roof elements and secured in such position by tying thestraps 36 to the diagonal guy ropes 55, 56. If, however, it is desirable that the tent be made weatherproof and insect proof, the occupants may button the edges of the end Wall elements from the inside of the tent, and secure the lower edges of elements [6 and I! to the ends of the floor elements 26 by tying the straps 35, 36, through the grommets 31, 38. When so secured, the tent is proof against both insects and Weather. The occupants will of course place their bedding upon the respective floor sections 26, which will protect the bedding against moisture from the ground.

It will be noted that when the tent is set up in the manner indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the straps 35 and 36 which are secured to the outer surfaces of the end wall elements 16 and H, the loops 52, 53 which are secured to the inner surfaces of the roof elements i2, I3, and the loops 44 which are secured to the roof element l2, are not in use. The reason for this is explained hereinafter.

When the tent is struck and packed for carrying, one occupant will take the portion shown in Fig. 3, including the roof, end wall, and floor elements, the attached guy ropes 54 and 55, the guy rope 45, and the two loops 41. 'He will also take one tent pole 43 and five pegs. Now let it be assumed that when he next comes to pitch his tent he is paired with a co-occupant having precisely the same equipment, arranged in precisely the same manner, as his. The other occupant cannot reverse his shelter half end-to-end, since that would bring the two rows of buttons 29, in flies 25, into juxtaposition with each other instead of with their corresponding buttonholes 3|. It is therefore necessary to bring the two halves together in mirror-image relationship, with the edges of elements 12a, lZb, I20 and 16 of each half meeting respectively the corresponding edges of the elements of the other half. This brings the buttons and buttonholes into proper juxtaposition, but places the guy ropes 54, 55 and loops 4? of one half on the inner'surface of the tent. This matter is corrected by unty-ing the guy ropes from the inner pair of loops 52, 53, and tying them to the outer pair of loops; and by reversing the loops 4'! of that half in the manner above indicated. Since tie straps 35, 35 are provided in pairs, one on each surface of the end wall elements, the occupants use whicheverlstraps are on the inner surface when the tent is set up. Whichever roof element has its upperedge on the outer surface of the tent, with its fly beneath it, will be placed outermost .(see edge 2'! in Fig. 7) relative to the other roof element, at the meeting edges, and the strap 440i that roof element will be provided with two guy lines 45, 46, while none.

If it is desirable to provide free ventilation for the tent while yet retaining protection against insects, tent ends such as that shown in Figs. and 11 may be used, end wall elements l6, l1, being tied back to the diagonal guy ropes as above explained. Each tent end 60 is an inseparable unit, it being contemplated that each occupant of the tent will carryone such end, so that a tent end 60 may when desired be used at each end of the tent. The end 60 comprises two triangular panels GI, 62, which are preferably formed of non-metallic screen material such as ethyl cellulose or other suitable plastic material of known type, having about the same degree of rigidity as metallic screen material, and being inelastic in about the same degree, but being capable of being folded without injury. A fabric border 63, 64, extends across the bottom of the panels, and is provided on its inner surface with tie straps 65 for securing the lower edge of the tent ends to the floor element 20. The meeting edges of the panels 6! and 62 are provided with vertical fabric strips one of which, 66, is provided with a fly 61, while the other, 68, is designed to be inserted between the strip 66 and its fly 61. These strips may be secured together by means of buttons 69 secured to the strip 66, through juxtaposed buttonholes in the strip 68, in the same manner as above described in connection with the other elements of the tent. The upper ends of strips 66, 63, are permanently secured together and are provided with a grommet 10' designed to receive the end 42 of pole 43, the ends of the roof elements being lifted off the pole in order to permit the grommet to be brought into position. The slant edges of the panels 6|, 62, are bound with taped edges l2, 13, these edges and the lower border 63, 64, being stitched to the panels with a puckering stitch, so as to leave an excess of material in the panels which will cause them to bulge outwardly rather than remain in the plane of the elements 63, 6d, l2, 13. When the tops and bottoms of the slant edges of the panels are secured in position by the engagement of the grommets 10 with the tent poles and by tent pegs respectively, the slant edges of ,the panels will be pulled into snug contacting eng'agement with the inner face of the adjacent end wall element [6 or I1; the provision of the excess of material throughout the center of the panels obviating any tendency of the side edges being pulled away out of contact with said end panels.

Loops M are inserted through grommets 15 at the ends of the border 63, 64 in the same manner as described in connection with loops 41, and are designed to receive pegs to secure the tent ends in position and put the elements 63, 64, l2, 13 under such tension as will cause the bulging action of panels BI, 62 above described.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to the illustrated embodiment thereof, it is not limited to the form shown and described, but may be embodied in other forms within the limitations of those skilled in this art. The invention is therefore not to be considered as limited except in accordance with the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A shelter tent comprising a pair of slant roof elements adapted to be separably fastened together at their upper edges to form a gable roof,

a guy secured to a forward portion of one of said elements and extending diagonally rearwardly therefrom, and a second guy secured to a rear portion of the same element and extending diagonally forwardly therefrom, said guys serving to prevent lateral sway of the tent and to increase the cross sectional area of said tent along said intermediate portions of said elements.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, comprising in addition securing means for said guys on both surfaces of said portions, to facilitate securing the guys to either surface of said elements.

3. A tent of the A type comprising two slant roof elements, triangular end wall elements permanently secured to the roof elements and capable of being folded and secured thereover when the tent is pitched, and a triangular tent end comprising a screen panel completing the closure of the tent when the end wall elements are in such folded position.

4. A shelter tent comprising two slant roof elements, triangular end wall elements secured to the ends of the roof elements and meeting at a median line to close the end of the tent, the end wall elements being foldable and securable over the roof elements when the tent is pitched, and a triangular screen element to close the end of the tent when the end wall elements are so folded.

5. A shelter tent comprising two slant roof elements forming a gable roof, triangular end wall elements permanently secured to the ends of the roof elements and having their edges meeting on a vertical median line to close the end of the tent, separable fastening means on said edges, and a triangular screen element to close said end of the tent and having separable fastening means at said median line so constructed and arranged that when said means are unfastened the screen element may be parted for ingress to and egress from the tent.

6. A shelter tent comprising weatherproof fabric members forming slant roof elements meeting at their upper edges to form a ridge, triangular end wall elements secured to the ends of the roof elements and having meeting edges in a vertical line passing through one end of the ridge to close the end of the tent, a triangular screen element to close said end of the tent, and means for securing the upper portion of the screen element to said ridge and the lower portion thereof to the ground.

7. The invention defined in claim 6, wherein the screen element comprises an inelastic border and an elastic screen panel secured within the border and having excess area to cause the panel to bulge relative to the border when the latter is put under tension.

JAMES H. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,253,123 Beard Jan. 8, 1918 1,260,612 Whall Mar. 26, 1918 1,481,019 Luebbert Jan. 15, 1924 1,522,644 Munson Jan. 13, 1925 1,538,064 Skog May 19, 1925 1,820,412 Warren Aug. 25, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 314,506 Great Britain Oct. 3, 1929 430,772 Germany Sept. 3, 19.25

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