Patent Application
20110314747
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inflatable structures. In particular this invention relates to an inflatable tents and inflatable mattresses. This invention embodies both. The mattress itself acts as the sleeping or resting portion and acts as the walls to support the roof and walls.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many attempts to make inflatable tents of various sizes, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,987,822 and 6,929,016 are two. Only a few have a mattress connected such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,822 and more as an after thought than as the actual structure of the tent. All tents comprised of basically pole like round inflatable poles joined together to create a pole like construction in which a usually waterproof material covers and a tent is created.
Most of these inflatable tents have appeared in the last decade because polyvinyl cloth (PVC) has become more popular and less expensive to manufacture. In addition to the advantage over solid pole tents is that inflatables blow up quickly and therefore set up time is minimal. In addition, storage and transport is much easier since most inflatables can be rolled up and put in a bag.
The down side to inflatable tents is that in order for the tent to be stable many inflatable poles have to be interconnected, in order to hold up the weight of a cloth material and to keep the tent from collapsing in high winds. Examples of these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,987,822; 5,761,852; and 6,929,016. In all cases, larger the tents the bigger the poles in order to create stability which in many cases still does not assure absolute stability. Smaller tents with smaller poles are even more susceptible to the elements of weather because the smaller the pole the easier it is for the weather to knock it down. In all cases sited the answer to stability in sited patented inventions is to add more inflatable poles. See Patent numbers above as reference.
In addition the larger tents on the market that are meant for group gatherings or mass sleeping centers suffer from legalese problems because if they are punctured or fall in the wind many people inside the tents can be hurt. Even though there are patents on these concepts marketability and use are still limited. In patents that mention a mattress as a sleeping devise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,929,016 and 5,987,822 both refer to the mattress as an article that can be added but do not claim or use it as a structural necessity in which the tent needs to use to stay erect. The use of solid walls in this patent application and the use of an inflatable mattress for wall supports is a completely novel and a completely new approach to the problem of stability. In addition the main emphasis of this structure is the combination of both a structure and sleeping platform that are integral to invention itself.
The intention of the present invention is to provide a unique small individual structurally sound containment unit for both shelter, rest, sleep and storage that will work in casual as well as adverse environments that is portable and easily set up. In addition, due to the fact it is inflatable it is easily stored in a small bag or box and easily transportable.
An inflatable bed/tent unit in accordance with the present invention includes an inflatable bed structure that would be of approximate sizes of a standard bed and a height that will support inflatable walls at opposing ends with the size and strength enough to support a roof and walls. A canopy will cover this unit and can include screened windows and doors as needed or desired. In addition a cover will contain a zipper at a point where the walls start to curve and turn into the roof. This zipper will completely surround unit horizontally. Roof can be unzipped and removed and unit can be used as privacy area or as play pen for children or even pets. Unit could also have a netting cover that replaces roof for hotter climates and at night.
The value of this invention over prior art is that all other structures are concentrating on creating tube like inflatable poles that are then blown up and then expected to bear the weight of a canopy cover and the vagaries of the weather.
This new design uses the strength of the volume of the air mattress that is permanently connected to the walls to create a strong and cohesive structure that will both support a canopy and if properly attached to the ground will survive high winds.
In addition because it's predetermined size will be limited to the size of a large mattress plus small floor and less than six feet high the problems associated with wind will not effect it as dramatically like other tents small and large. A larger version can be made if the problems with wind and safety are addressed and tested for.
In addition to being used as a sleeping compartment its use as a play pen and mosquito netting has significant value especially in emergency situations and very hot climates.
Of greater value is convenience of a sleeping compartment that can be rolled up and packaged in a small bag or box and stored and transported anywhere. These units can be blown up with a manual hand pump or with an electrical blower. Thousands of these can be loaded on pallets and air dropped anywhere and anybody can blow these up to create emergency housing with both a bed, roof and storage area all in one. These units can also be used without the cover and be just used as a bed an all kinds of situations
Walls 14 width will be flush with the bed 12 in the back and can extend a foot or more if desired in front to create an area for standing, dressing or storing things among other uses. Bed 12 is the main support for the walls 14 and can range width and length in size from a single mattress to a king size but are not limited to that size only. The bed height 12 to be determined by size will normally be of approximate height of 18 to 20 inches but must be at least high enough to support the connected walls 14.
Ground flaps 20 are located at the 4 corners of the inflatable walls and are flaps that extend from the bottom of the walls and contain a hole the size of a ground stake in which all sides can be firmly attached to the ground. Additional flaps 20 at the peaks of the roof of the outer bed can be used with a cord that extends outward and to the ground and can be secured with a large nail or spike as additional way to secure unit to the ground. Shelf 16 can or can not be included and will extend from the wall 14 as a small inflatable box 16 at the same height as the bed 12 itself and will be of approximate size you would see as a side table next to any bed in a home.
Air valve 22 will be located on the back of the inflatable wall 14 approximately 24″ up for easy access and will be designed to accept the various types of blower sizes that are available on the market. This
Ground flaps and roof flaps 20 so that flaps 20 will come out of flap holes 32 before ground flaps 20 are attached to ground thus insuring that cover cloth 24 canopy will not be blown off of one piece unit inflatable structure 10. Valve flap 34 corresponds to Valve 22 in
