This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to the United Kingdom Application No. 1113916.9 entitled “A Collapsible, Portable Structure” by the same inventors as the instant application filed on 12 Aug. 2011.
This invention concerns a lightweight portable structure of the kind which may be readily erected to form a temporary enclosure to serve, for example, as a play environment for children, yet may be readily collapsed for storage in compact form.
Many erectable/collapsible structures are known and/or are commercially available, referred to as “pop-up” tents or other “pop-up” structures, where support for fabric material of the structure is provided by a flexible coilable rod or more than one such rod. This rod or rods is/are readily foldable and twistable into a plurality of superimposed rings which assume a generally flat configuration so as to be packable into a bag for storage. Upon release, the rod(s) which is/are typically of steel or perhaps of plastics material, will resume its/their original shape so the structure pops up into being again.
Examples of such structures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,349 (Zheng) and all the prior art documents cited therein, and in the applicant's own earlier GB 2398233 and GB 2451651.
There is still a desire to increase the variety and applicability of pop-up structures making use of fabric supported by one or more coilable rods.
The present invention provides a collapsible portable structure having side walling comprising at least one continuous loop of a flexible coilable rod supporting a flexible fabric panel and an integrated canopy formed of flexible fabric material which is attached to the side walling and which is supported by at least one separate pole.
The side walling may be of curved or angular configuration or may comprise two or more adjoining walls or wall sections, the only requirement being that the side walling defines an upright corner region and has a free side edge.
The canopy preferably straddles the corner region.
The canopy is preferably attached to the side walling at a location spaced inwards from an upper edge of the side walling and/or at a location spaced inwards from the free side edge.
The canopy preferably provides a partial enclosure or a complete enclosure having an opening for access. However, it may just provide an awning-like cover or roof.
In some embodiments the canopy may be permanently attached to the side walling by stitching. In other embodiments the canopy may be attached in a releasable manner by means of sliding clasp fasteners (trade name Zip), hook and loop fasteners (trade name Velcro), clips, buttons or any other suitable attachment means.
In some embodiments the pole or poles which support the canopy is/are also positioned so as to provide support to decide walling.
Thus, in accordance with the present invention pop-up side walling is integrated with a canopy, which may provide an enclosure, which is partially supported by or formed by the side walling, and which is partially supported in more conventional manner by one or more poles, which may be separable/removable upon collapse of the structure.
The structure of the invention may, in a further development, also include an integrated mat or ground sheet, which may be attached to the side walling, to the canopy or to both.
In this way, a cost effective free standing structure, readily erected or collapsed, and compact for storage may be provided. It is envisaged in preferred embodiments to deliver an imaginative play environment for children, in which the side walling is decorated to provide a background set, the canopy provides a play house and a play mat/ground sheet applicable to the scene is optionally provided. However, in further embodiments, the structure may provide a combined windbreak and sunshade or tent particularly useful for the beach.
The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
a is an enlarged detail of a first angled pole connector;
b is an enlarged detail of a second, three-way pole connector;
Referring to
Attached to the fabric panels 12, 14, spaced apart from the upper and free (outer) side edges, is a fabric canopy 20. In this example, the canopy 20 has wall and roof sections and these are stitched to the fabric panels 12, 14 and to the groundsheet 13 as depicted diagrammatically at 19 in
The structure described so far can be collapsed by manual twisting of the frames 16,18 of the fabric panels so that these are folded down into superimposed rings, as indicated in
As depicted diagrammatically in
As indicated, particularly in
The illustrated version has the fabric panels 12, 14 and the groundsheet 13 printed to simulate a farmyard scene and the canopy 20 configured and printed as a barn. Obviously, in other embodiments different scenes and environment may be depicted on the printed panels and as regards the canopy. Different arrangements of entrance and other apertures may be provided in the canopy and the fabric panels. Also, any or all of these could be formed totally or partially of mesh form. The form of the canopy and the configuration of poles for supporting same may also vary in other embodiments.
Many other variations in overall configuration, style of canopy, number and arrangement of supporting posts and decoration of panels and canopy are possible in other embodiments within the scope of the invention. Further, it is possible that instead of two side walls, a single curving or angular sidewall structure may be provided, supported by one or more flexible, coilable rod or rods. In other embodiments, more than two side walls of this type may be provided. Also, where two or more sidewalls are provided, it is not necessary to have a separate flexible, coilable rod to support each separately, or to support each respective fabric panel. A single flexible, coilable rod may be configured to have more than one loop, each loop then supporting a respective fabric panel or panel section, but the fabric itself may also be continuous or connected between the respective panels.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1113916.9 | Aug 2011 | GB | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130037069 A1 | Feb 2013 | US |