Patent Application
20220356727
The present invention relates to a large tent frame assembly which improves the frame structure of an one-touch-type automatic tent so as to be easy to handle and use, and more particularly, to a combination-type large tent frame assembly which includes an upper frame configured to form a roof structure using the structure of automatically foldable tent poles and a lower frame formed to have the structure of manually assembled props (pillars), in which a plurality of prop members having short lengths is connected in a fitting manner in the longitudinal direction, and connects the upper frame and the lower frame using separate connectors.
One-touch-type automatic tents, which are easy to unfold or fold, are well known in the field of tents.
A one-touch-type automatic tent has a structure in which frames are folded to form the minimum volume or are unfolded like an automatic umbrella, and is used as an automatically-folded dome tent.
A one-touch-type dome tent is easily and conveniently folded and unfolded like a common automatic umbrella, and is thus widely used as a small dome tent for one person.
One-touch-type dome tents are disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-1991-0004568 and Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-1997-0002473, filed by the applicant of the present invention.
The above-described related art documents disclose a structure to which foldable poles radially connected to a central head are applied, and such a structure provides convenience so that tent frames are capable of being easily folded and unfolded, but is used only for small dome tents for one person or two persons because the tent frames are thin and weak.
In recent times, as many people have come to enjoy family camping, tents are becoming larger, and thus the standards of tents are also changed so as to satisfy the requirement of large tents, and car camping, also called “auto-camping” in Korean, in which a large tent connected to a vehicle is used, is currently preferred.
In car camping, a living room-type large tent, in which many family members eat, sleep, and engage in activities together, may be used. Tents for car camping tend to become larger so as to be equipped with a living-room-type large space in which users have room to move around rather than to be used merely for accommodation. Therefore, the development of a large tent, which is capable of being unfolded in a one-touch manner and in which a large space is secured so that users who are standing may move comfortably therein, is required.
In order to apply the frame structure of the well-known one-touch-type small dome tent to a large tent, many problems must be overcome.
That is to say, in order to apply the structure of the conventional small tent to a large tent configured to accommodate at least 5 persons, the lengths of the poles must be increased, and more particularly, the lengths of the poles must be increased so that, if the number of joints between the poles of the small tent is two, the number of joints between the poles of the large tent must be greater than or equal to five so as to satisfy the requirements of an automatically foldable large tent.
When the lengths of the poles are increased, the area inside the tent, which is pitched, is increased and thus enlargement of the tent is feasible, but the automatically foldable large tent having a large number of joints between poles is not capable of supporting the total load thereof for a long time, and thus the tent is not capable of withstanding strong wind.
In addition, lots of labor is required to unfold or fold the large tent, and particularly, when foldable frames having a large number of joints are folded, it is difficult to realize folding between the poles thereof in a tight contact state, and thus a space is formed therebetween, the volume and weight of the tent are increased due to the presence of the space, and it is difficult for one person to hold the tent, and thus the tent is difficult to pack, transport and carry.
Furthermore, when the frames, the volume of which is increased due to the increase in the number of the joints thereof (i.e., due to the poles which are folded into a W-type), and a sheet are folded and rolled together, and are then put into a storage bag, the storage bag may be scratched or damaged by the poles.
Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-1991-0004568
Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-1997-0002473
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a large tent frame assembly which improves the frame structure of a one-touch-type automatic tent so as to realize a large tent that is easy to handle and use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a combination-type large tent frame assembly which includes an upper frame formed to have the structure of automatically foldable poles like an automatic umbrella so as to form a roof structure, and a lower frame formed to have the structure of manually assembled props including a plurality of prop members having a short length connected in a fitting manner in the longitudinal direction so as to be easily assembled and disassembled, connects the automatically folded upper frame and the manually assembled lower frame to form a single body using connectors, and is thus small in volume when folded, even though the area inside the one-touch-type tent, which is pitched, is large, is easy to carry, store and handle, and allows users to stay comfortably in the tent.
In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a combination-type large tent frame assembly including an upper frame including a plurality of automatically foldable poles radially connected to a center head, connectors coupled to the lower ends of the respective poles, and a lower frame inserted into the lower ends of the connectors and including manually assembled props, each prop formed by connecting a plurality of prop members.
The prop members may be inserted into lower holes formed in the connectors connected to the lower end of the upper frame, and then the corresponding prop members may be connected to the lower end of each of the prop members inserted into the lower holes of the connectors so as to assemble the lower frame.
A tent fabric may be assembled with the combination-type large tent frame assembly formed by connecting the upper and lower frames, and sleeves or connection rings adhered to respective connection portions of the tent fabric may be hung on the corresponding frames so as to set up a tent.
Hinges may be installed between connection portions of the pole members of each of the poles so that the poles are unfolded or folded in a W-type.
In order to take down the tent, the props of the lower frame may be separated from the connectors, the prop members of each of the props may be separated from one another, and then, when the hinges of the respective one-touch-type foldable are pressed, the upper frame may be elastically folded. The props of the lower frame separated from the connectors may be separated into the respective prop members, and thus, the combination-type large tent frame assembly may be small in volume when folded. The upper and lower frames, which are separated from each other, may be put together into one bag or may be individually put into different bags so as to be easy to carry and store.
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
As shown in
The upper frame 10 is used as the roof structure of the large tent according to the present invention.
A center head 1 having a circular body is installed at the top center of the roof structure, and a plurality of poles 2 is connected into a plurality of connection recesses, formed in the circumference of the center head 1 in four directions, so as to be easily foldable and unfoldable. Hinges 3 are installed at joints of the poles 2 so that the poles 2 may be easily folded in a zigzag-type (W-type).
Each of the poles 2 connected to the center head 1 in the four directions is formed by connecting a plurality of pole members 2a and 2b having the same length, and a free end 4 of each pole 2 is inserted into an upper hole of the connector 30 which will be described below.
As shown in
Therefore, the lower frame 20 is connected to the upper frame 10 so as to serve as the props for firmly supporting the roof structure from below.
The lower frame 20 is an assembly of prop members 21, which are configured to have a short length, into which the total length of each of a plurality of props A is equally divided, and are connected to form each of the props A, a plug 22 is formed on the upper end of each prop member 21 and a hole 23, into which the plug 22 is inserted, is formed in the lower end of each prop member 21 so that the prop members 21 are connected in a male-and-female coupling manner.
The prop A formed by connecting the prop members 22 in the male-and-female coupling manner must be rigid, and must not be warped. Therefore, the props A of the lower frame 20 are formed as tubular bodies, which are thicker than the poles 2 of the upper frame 10, so as to serve as pillars configured to support the total load of the large tent.
As needed, an elastic pin serving as a stopper may be installed at each of connection parts of the respective prop members 21 so as to fix the connection state of both tubular bodies, i.e., both prop members 21, and to prevent arbitrary separation therebetween.
As such, the upper frame 10 serving as the roof of the large tent and the lower frame 20 serving as the props (pillars) of the large tent are connected to form a single body by the connectors 30, and when the tent is disassembled, these upper, middle and lower structures are respectively separated from one another.
The connector 30 has upper and lower connection holes 31 and 32 formed in the upper and lower portions thereof like a socket pipe, the free end of the pole 2 is inserted into the upper connection hole 31, and the plug 22 formed at the upper end of the prop A is inserted into the lower connection hole 32.
The poles 2 of the upper frame 10 need only bear the weight of a tent fabric on the roof of the tent, and are thus formed to have a small diameter. In contrast, the props A of the lower frame 20 must not only bear the total weight of the roof structure and the tent fabric but must also withstand strong wind, which blows from all directions, and must be thus formed of a tubular body having a large diameter, which is more rigid than the poles 2.
The connector 30 according to the present invention serves to connect the free end 4 of the pole 2 to the upper end of the corresponding prop A, and is configured such that a pole connection part and a prop connection part of the connector 30 are integrally connected at an obtuse angle.
The reason why the pole connection part and the prop (pillar) connection part of the connector 30 meet each other at an obtuse angle is to arch the poles 2 upwards like a bow so as to prevent the poles 2 from sagging downwards even due to the weight of the tent fabric when the combination-type tent is pitched.
The connector 30 may have a movable unit provided at a middle portion of the body thereof so as to be movable depending on the installation angles or the slope angles of the upper and lower frames 10 and 20.
The poles 2 and the props A may be formed of one selected from the group consisting of aluminum, a general metal, duralumin and a synthetic resin.
In order to take down the combination-type large tent, the props A are first separated from the frame assembly and disassembled, and then the one-touch-type poles 2 are folded, whereby, the area inside the combination-type large tent is minimized. Because the props A are separated from the main body of the combination-type large tent, the weight of the one-touch-type poles 2 is decreased by the weight of the props A, and the volume of the folded poles 2 is decreased. The one-touch-type poles 2 and the props A, which are separated from each other, are put together into one bag or are individually put into different bags so as to be easy to carry and store.
As is apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a combination-type large tent frame assembly, which includes a one-touch-type upper frame configured to form a roof structure so that the roof structure from which a lower structure is separated may be rapidly and simply assembled or folded and a lower frame configured to have a multi-stage assembled structure, which is manually assembled in a fitting manner, so as to be easily assembled and disassembled, and is capable of realizing a large tent without difficulty through a combination of the automatic roof structure and the manual prop structure.
Further, the lower frame, in which a number of prop members having a short length are connected in the fitting manner, may perform a firm support function and may easily adjust the length of props, thereby being capable of being effectively used in enlargement of one-touch-type tents requiring rigid lower bodies.
The one-touch-type foldable upper frame and the lower frame, which are separated from each other, may be stored separately or may be stored together, and thus a combination-type tent using the combination-type large tent frame assembly may be easy to handle due to the distribution of the weight of the folded tent, and may be easy to pitch and break down even though the area inside of the combination-type tent, which is pitched, is large.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
