It is thus an objective of the present invention to overcome the perceived deficiencies in the prior art.
For example, it is an advantage and objective of the present invention to provide an expandable canopy that facilitates raising and expanding the canopy when not physically standing under the canopy.
Another advantage and objective of the present invention to provide an expandable canopy that provides a wider and larger viewing area when looking out of the canopy when positioned under the canopy in its expanded position.
Still another advantage and objective of the present invention is to provide a method of expanding and retracting an expandable canopy that provides the advantages and objectives set forth herein.
Other advantages and objectives will he made apparent from the disclosure herein.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the images and figures and ensuing disclosure.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, methods of operation and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction, illustration and description hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
Therefore, to overcome the perceived deficiencies in the prior art and to achieve the objects and advantages set forth above and below, preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to, generally speaking, an expandable canopy frame, comprising one or more features disclosed herein, either individually or in combination with one or more of any other features disclosed herein.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to an expandable canopy frame comprising a plurality of legs coupled to each other through a plurality of rib members scissor-type coupled together, with upper ends of certain of the rib members being respectively coupled to top ends of the legs, and lower ends of certain of the rib members being respectively coupled to a slider mechanism slidably mounted to each of the respective legs; a roof assembly for supporting a canopy; and a releasable locking assembly, coupled to the roof assembly, for facilitating the expansion of the expandable canopy into an expanded position and for maintaining the canopy in the expanded position; wherein the expandable canopy in its expanded position has a plurality of sides, and wherein the releasable locking assembly is closer to one of the sides than to the remaining sides of the expandable canopy in its expanded position.
In another preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to an expandable canopy frame comprising a first leg coupled to a second leg by two (2) scissor couplings comprising four (4) rib members, the second leg coupled to a third leg by two (2) scissor couplings comprising four (4) rib members, the third leg coupled to a fourth leg by four (4) scissor couplings comprising eight (8) rib members, and the fourth leg coupled to the first leg by two (2) scissor couplings comprising four (4) rib members; upper ends of certain of the rib members being respectively coupled to top ends of the legs, and lower ends of certain of the rib members being respectively coupled to a slider mechanism slidably mounted to each of the respective legs; a roof assembly for supporting a canopy; and a releasable locking assembly, coupled to the roof assembly, for facilitating the expansion of the expandable canopy into an expanded position and for maintaining the canopy in the expanded position; wherein when. the expandable canopy is in its expanded position the distance between the first leg and the second leg is shorter than the distance between the fourth leg and the third leg; and the rib members coupled between the third leg and the fourth leg provide a clearance to enter the canopy that is higher than the clearance provided by the rib members coupled between any of the other two legs.
The above set forth and other features of the invention are made more apparent in the ensuing Description of the Preferred Embodiments when read in conjunction with the attached Drawings, wherein:
Reference will now be made to the images and figures herein in connection with the disclosure of preferred embodiments of the expandable canopy and methods for expansion thereof.
For example, reference is first made to
As illustrated therein, a preferred embodiment of the expandable canopy frame 10 of the present invention comprises a plurality of legs 20 coupled to each other through a plurality of rib members 30 scissor-type coupled together, with upper ends 30A of certain of the rib members 30 being respectively coupled to top ends of the legs 20, and lower ends 30B of certain of the rib members 30 being respectively coupled to a slider mechanism 40 slidably mounted to each of the respective legs 20; a roof assembly generally indicated at 50, for supporting a canopy 60; and a releasable locking assembly generally indicated at 70, coupled to the roof assembly 50, for facilitating the expansion of the expandable canopy 50 into an expanded position and fir maintaining the canopy in the expanded position (
The advantageous positioning of the releasable locking assembly 70 can be seen a bit more clearly in the side profile of the expanded canopy frame shown in
As can be clearly seen in
In a preferred embodiment, the expandable canopy frame in its expanded position creates an at least essentially (if not close to exactly) trapezoidal footprint haying two sides of at least essentially the same length, a back side of a first length and a front side of a length longer than the first length; and wherein the releasable locking assembly 70 is positioned substantially closer to the front side of the expandable canopy frame 10 in its expanded position than to the back side of the expandable canopy frame 10 in its expanded position,
For example, a canopy frame structure of a preferred embodiment comprises four adjustable height vertical legs in a trapezoidal layout. Each leg is connected to an cave that comprises the roof structure.
As shown in the “top” view of
Continuing to look down, as in
The “front” view of
The construction shown in
As illustrated in the Figures, the front scissor structure has four x-shaped elements that combine to form the full front area. The other three sides have only two x-shaped elements.
The center to center and overall lengths of each part is identical. Together, this is what may be referred to as “4-2-2 configuration.”
As can thus be seen, a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises four (4) legs 20 coupled to each other through the plurality of the scissor coupled rib members 30, wherein the first leg 20A is coupled to the second leg 20B by four (4) rib members 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D forming two (2) scissor couplings, the second leg 20B is coupled to the third leg 20C by four (4) rib members 30E, 30F, 30G, 30H forming two (2) scissor couplings (see
Again, the figures show the advantageous feature of the releasable locking assembly 70 being accessible by a person standing outside of the footprint created by the expandable canopy frame 10 in the expanded position. In particular, the releasable locking assembly 70 is substantially closer to the line farmed between the third leg 20C and the fourth leg 20D than the line formed between the first leg 20A and second leg 20B. As discussed herein, the releasable locking assembly 70 can be as close as five (5) inches from the line formed between the third leg 20C and the fourth leg 20D; i.e. where viewing the canopy structure from the top as illustrated in
As also illustrated in the figures, an expandable canopy frame 10 of a preferred embodiment comprises a first leg 20A coupled to a second leg 20B by two (2) scissor couplings comprising four (4) rib members 30A, 30B, 30C, 30D, the second leg 20B coupled to a third leg 20C by two (2) scissor couplings comprising four (4) rib members 30E, 30F, 30G, 30H, the third leg 20C coupled to a fourth leg 20D by four (4) scissor couplings comprising eight (8) rib members 30I, 30J, 30K, 30L, 30M, 30N, 30O; 30P, and the fourth leg 20D coupled to the first leg 20A by two (2) scissor couplings comprising four (4) rib members 30Q, 30R, 30S, 30T, upper ends of certain of the rib members 30A being respectively coupled to top ends of the legs, and lower ends of certain of the rib members 30B being respectively coupled to a slider mechanism 40 slidably mounted to each of the respective legs 20; a roof assembly 50 for supporting a canopy 60; and a releasable locking assembly 70, coupled to the roof assembly 50, for facilitating the expansion of the expandable canopy frame 10 into an expanded position and for maintaining the canopy 60 in the expanded position; wherein when the expandable canopy frame 10 is in its expanded position (i) the distance between the first leg 20A and the second leg 20B is shorter than the distance between the fourth leg 20D and the third leg 20C; and (ii) the rib members 30 coupled between the third leg 20C and the fourth leg 20D provide a clearance to enter the canopy frame 10 that is higher than the clearance provided by the rib: members 30 coupled between any of the other two legs.
Providing this advantageous feature is the preferred construction design wherein the expandable canopy frame 10 in its expanded position has (i) a distance between the first leg 20A and the second leg 20B that is shorter than the distance between the fourth leg 20D and the third leg 20C when the expandable canopy frame 10 is in its expanded position; and (ii) two (2) of the rib members of the rib members forming the four (4) scissor couplings between the third leg 20C and the fourth leg 20D being colinearly aligned. In this way, the rib members forming the four (4) scissor couplings between the third leg 20C and the fourth leg 20D are (and appear to be) arched relative to the rib members between the first leg 20A and second leg 20B, the second leg 20B and third leg 20C, and the first leg 20A and fourth leg 20D. Turning now to features of the roof assembly, the roof assembly is preferably comprised of elements that are attached to each of the vertical legs, as exemplified in
As shown in
The structure is held in the open position to the “hub” located at the center of the roof structure. Each of the cave elements contain smaller elements on pivots that connect to a lower hub 70A while the roof elements connect directly to the upper hub 70B. The two parts of the hub assembly, as illustrated in
The location of this tube pin places the short elements in a position that allows the structure to be held in the open position without the assistance from locking on the legs.
That is, and as discussed above, a preferred embodiment of the releasable locking assembly 70 comprises a hub assembly comprising an upper hub 70B and a lower hub 70A, wherein the lower hub 70A is insertable into and maintained in the upper hub 70B when the expandable canopy frame 10 is in its expanded position. Preferably, the lower hub 70A comprises the tube spring pin that engages into a hole on upper hub 70B for releasable coupling therein.
As also illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, the roof assembly 50 comprises four (4) roof rib assemblies 50A, 50B, 50C, 50D (see
In addition, the roof assembly 50 preferably comprises four (4) lower hub support ribs 54, each lower hub support rib 54 having (i) a first end pivotably coupled to one of the ribs 52 of each roof rib assembly 50A, 50B, 50C, 50D and (ii) a second end of which is coupled to the lower hub 70A, wherein the pivoting of the lower hub support ribs 54 about the respective roof assembly ribs permits the bringing together of the lower hub 70A towards the upper hub 70B for insertion and releasable locking therein.
For completeness,
And, as disclosed herein, a preferred footprint created when the canopy frame 10 is expanded is a trapezoid. It should be understood that the present invention contemplates, includes and hereby explicitly discloses and includes a cover for covering the roof assembly, which should be understood and well known in the art.
It should be understood that the dimensions provided herein are preferred dimensions, but manufacturing and/or other tolerances are anticipated, so small variations in the foregoing are expected. Therefore, the present invention discloses the preferred “footprint” as a trapezoid, but small differences in manufacturing tolerances may not provide for an exact trapezoid, but one that is within 95% of a trapezoid.
Also, it should be understood that reference to the releasable locking assembly being closer to one of the sides than to the remaining sides of the expandable canopy in its expanded position is intended to mean that the releasable locking assembly is not centered as it is on all e.g. “square” footprint popups. Here, it has been disclosed that the releasable locking assembly 70 is preferably about five (5) inches from the line created by the front legs 20C, 20D as shown in
While the present invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It should also be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein and all statements of the scope of the invention that as a matter of language might fill therebetween.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 62/912,207 filed on Oct. 8. 2019. The subject matter of said provisional application is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. The present invention relates to pop-up canopies, and more particularly, to a pop-up canopy that is advantageously shaped and constructed to provide advantages over the prior art, including but not limited to, being shaped and constructed so as to facilitate (i) expanding the canopy while not physically positioned (e.g. standing) under the canopy and (ii) viewing when positioned under the expanded canopy by providing an arched rib assembly on one side of the canopy. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the pop-up canopy has a trapezoidal “footprint” as discussed and illustrated herein. Pop-up canopies are widely known, and include constructions described in CN 202338138; GB 1,091,842; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,810,482; 9,995,056; 5,944,044; 8,919,364; and 5,638,853. Some of these prior art examples, e.g. CN 202338138 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,638,853 and 5,944,044 share similar basic features found in many pop-up canopies, including but not limited to a square “footprint,” equally dimensioned sides, an equal number of ribs that comprise the scissor-type rib assemblies, and ail having the same entry height from each of the four sides of the pop-up canopy. Other tents and/or canopies, such as those illustrated in QB 1,091,842 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,919,364 have a non-square footprint while still others, such as U.S. Pat. No. 9,995,056, describe different releasable locking mechanisms that facilitates the raising and maintaining of the canopy in its open position. Another very advantageous and utilizable releasable locking mechanism in the present invention is provided in canopies sold by ShelterLogic Corp. under its OnePush trademark, which even provides quick release push pins offering multiple height adjustments for the canopy. However; the state of the art is deficient in the recognition and the ability to achieve among other things, for example, an easier ability to raise and expand the canopy when not physically standing under the canopy and the providing of a wider and large viewing area when looking out of the canopy when positioned under the canopy in its expanded position. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an expandable canopy that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art and achieves the added advantages contemplated herein, all of which are provided by the embodiments disclosed herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62912207 | Oct 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17064939 | Oct 2020 | US |
Child | 17568781 | US |