Patent Application
20220125210
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This invention relates to the design of a portable, lightweight device that can be used as both a sleeping cot and a chair.
Backpacking is an activity in which individuals walk through wilderness or other remote outdoor areas, carrying all of the possessions required for survival (e.g. water, food, shelter, clothing) in a backpack. Because all backpacking equipment must be carried in a backpack, size and weight are key features of backpacking equipment. All other things being equal, lighter weight, smaller-sized equipment is superior to larger, heavier equipment.
Traditionally, backpackers have slept on a “mattress pad,” which is either an inflatable or closed-cell foam pad that makes sleeping on the ground more comfortable. Camping cots, which are more comfortable but also larger and heavier than mattress pads, are typically not used in backpacking trips because their size and weight are excessive. Recently, however, design innovations have substantially reduced the size and weight of cots [US20140115780A1] that allow them to be used on backpacking trips. For instance, the Helinox Cot Lite weighs less than three pounds.
Similarly, while camping chairs are typically not taken on backpacking trips, recent design innovations have also substantially reduced the size and weight of camping chairs [U.S. Pat. No. 8,454,084B2] that allow them to be used on backpacking trips. For instance, the Helinox Chair Zero weighs one pound.
Other manufacturers have built related cots and chairs, each with unique features. A universal feature of camping cots is the use of struts or cross-pieces to keep two poles, approximately 6 feet long and held together by the cot material, apart. The design of camping chairs is less standardized.
Despite the fact that both cots and chairs have been somewhat miniaturized, the tendency of backpackers to carry less and less weight (known as the “ultralight” approach) precludes most backpackers from bringing both a cot and a chair on their trip. There is a need for a single, lightweight, small piece of backpacking furniture that can serve as both a cot and a chair.
A previous inventor attempted to combine cot and chair features into a single piece of furniture [WO 2012/007651 A1]. Several features of this published design preclude its practical use for backpacking, in which a relatively high strength-to-weight ratio is key. First, the device utilizes telescoping cross pieces, which add to the weight of the furniture. Second, the cross pieces are not modular, meaning that only two of them have to be able to support the weight of the occupant—this further increases the weight of the furniture. Third, the angulation of the longitudinal pieces requires the use of “click-clack” hinges which adds weight and increases the risk of mechanical failure.
The present invention is designed to provide a piece of collapsible, portable furniture that can be configured to serve as both a cot and a chair, thus reducing the amount of weight and volume required to carry these two important pieces of camping furniture.
Both cots and chairs share similar structural elements. Cots require long pieces of high strength tubing which are used to generate tension on a rectangular piece of cloth that suspends the occupant above the ground. Cots also require structural pieces to lift the tubing (and thus cloth and occupant) off the ground. Similarly, chairs require pieces of tubing and cloth that suspend the user above the ground (in a sitting position) and structural pieces to keep the chair elevated. The proposed design allows these components to be configured for both a chair (or stool) or a cot depending on the user's needs.
A key feature of this design is the ability to move the cross-pieces. A typical ultralight cot utilizes 4 cross-pieces capable of supporting approximately 60 lbs of weight each. In order to support the majority of the body weight of an adult sitting in the chair configuration, at least three cross-pieces must be used to support the chair.
Two longitudinally-oriented poles (103) are connected to a rectangularly-shaped cloth material (100) using sleeves (101) or other attachment devices (e.g. hooks). In order to suspend the cloth and poles above the ground, as well as provide tension to keep the cloth firm, the longitudinal poles are attached to cross-pieces using attachment points (102).
The cloth material (100) comprises several contiguous segments, with a variety of potential attachment points that allow the full body weight of the applicant to be distributed over the contact area between the occupant and the cloth. The segments include a cephalad aspect of cloth material when used as a cot (104), a back component of cloth when used as a chair (106), and seat component of cloth when used as a chair (107). The back and seat components are attached at an intersection line (105) between seat and back components of cloth when used as a chair.
Importantly, the cloth (100) allows for the cross pieces to attach to the longitudinally-oriented poles (103) at different locations, to accommodate the different loading forces that are applied when lying down (cot configuration) or sitting (chair configuration).
The cross pieces (203, 302) elevate the longitudinally-oriented poles (300) off of the ground, and also project and outwardly-direct force on the longitudinally-oriented poles (300) so that tension is applied to the cloth (301).
When utilized as a chair, the cross-pieces can be reconfigured to distribute the load of the occupant over the smaller area of the seat (107) while the occupant sitting, as opposed to the entire piece of cloth (100+106+107) when they occupant is lying down on the cot.
To control the angle between the seat and back of the chair, a piece of cord (400) can be utilized to provide constant tension between the two. Alternatively, a rigid angled structure that attaches to two sections of the longitudinally-oriented poles (one section in the seat, one section in the back) can also control the angle between the seat and back of the chair.
Accordingly the reader will see that, according to one embodiment of the invention, I have provided the description of a lightweight, durable piece of furniture that is suitable for use in a backpacking environment as both a sleeping cot and a camping chair.
While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment, but as exemplifications of the presently preferred embodiments thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings of the various embodiments. For example, it is possible that the modular cross pieces and tubular structures could also be utilized in the construction of a foot rest or a stool.
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.
