Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02229471 1998-02-12
The invention concerns a tent of the kind which automatically
is put up by releasing the elastic force from a pre-tightened
spring unit which is belonging to the tent, by which the tent
canvas of the tent has the shape o~ a longitudinal tube in
5 pitched condition, and that the spring unit consists o~ at
least one continuous screw spring along this tube.
Such a tent is known from the patent publication WO 94/11600.
In this case the spring unit consists o~ one single continuous
10 steel spring which forms two straps when the tent is pitched.
One of these straps works as a sort of a bottom ~rame, which
keeps the ~oot of the tent canvas distended while the other
one lifts the tent canvas above the underlying layer. When the
tent is to be transported or stored, it can be folded up,
15 twisted and bound together to a flat, circular package. This
package will, however, be rather large, since the straps, when
the tent is pitched, will have to span a lying person and
therefore necessarily must have a rather large extension in at
least two ~im~nsions. To this can be added that the
20 construction in itself is rather complicated and expensive.
From US patent No. 2.828.755 is known a tent having a conical
screw spring for putting up the tent. This construction has,
however the drawback that it cannot be folded to a smaller
25 diameter.
From US patent No. 1.990.804 is known another tent
construction having the same drawback that it cannot be ~olded
to a smaller diameter.
The object of this invention is to provide a tent of the type
mentioned in the opening paragraph with a simple construction
and a low production price, being easy to travel with and fold
up again, and which in folded up condition takes up less space
35 than known until now.
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CA 02229471 1998-02-12
This is obtained according to the invention by the screw
spring at each end having one, mainly plane, winding with a
~ree end. The windings o~ the spring will work as a row o~
coherent straps holding the tent canvas distended. The
S construction is suitable ~or a one-man tent with a tranverse
measurement suitable ~or one lyin~ person. While the straps o~
the above-mentioned known construction necessarily had to have
tranverse measurements or diametres, which at least were as
large as the height o~ the person, whom the tent should
10 accommodate, the straps or the spring windings according to
the invention can have a much smaller diametre in relation to
the tranverse measurement o~ the person, whereby the tent
acc~rding to the invention e~ually obtains a much smaller
diametre in ~olded up condition than the tent ~nown. Mainly,
15 the tent consists o~ only two components which both are simple
and cheap to produce. The tent canvas can thus be produced
~rom one single piece o~ rectangular cloth, which only have to
be joined together along the ~ree longit~ n~l edges. The
screw spring can in a simple way be wounded up by a length o~
20 spring thread cutted o~~ and being of suitable material with a
pre-tightening, which automatically extends the tubular tent
canvas when being released. The tent is there~ore
self-pitching and can with e~ortless ease be ~olded up again
by manually squeezing the spring ends against each other.
The tent can consist only of a tent canvas tube with open
ends, whereby the tent have the character o~ a shelter. A
proper tent can be created by closing the ends with walls. At
least one o~ these walls can advantageously be constructed as
30 an axial prolongation o~ the tent canvas which ~orms the tent
canvas tube, and be closed by constriction with a string or by
means o~ e.g. a zipper.
The spring thread can in principle have any cross section,
35 whatsoever. The cross sections preferred are round,
semicircular or rectangular. It will be pleasant for the
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person, who lies in the tent, i~ the plane side o~ the
semlcircular cross section or the long side o~ the rectangular
cross section turn against the inner o~ the tent.
S The spring must have so many windings that the tent canvas can
be distended and the spring be squeezed together, without it
thereby will cause permanent de~ormations. In the interest o~
the production costs and in order to be able to ~old up the
tent to the smallest possible volume, there have, on the other
10 side, to be no more windings than necessary. These conditions
are best ~ul~illed, when the screw spring has a pitch of
between 1/8 and 1, and especially between 1/4 and 3/4 times
the diametre o~ the spring.
15 The tent can, as said be~ore, be ~olded up merely by squeezing
the spring ends manually against each other, so that a
disc-shaped package is ~ormed approximately with the same
diametre as the screw spring. This diametre can, however,
advantageously be reduced additionally by ~irst m~n~ ly
20 twisting the windings in the disc-shaped package so that they
~orm a ~igure o~ eight, and then twist the two halves o~ said
~igure o~ eight around the intersection point o~ the windings
in the ~igure o~ eight, so that the two halves will be abutted
on each other. There~y a second disc-shaped package is ~ormed
25 with approximately hal~ the diametre o~ the ~irst package.
By the said operation the spring thread is twisted around its
centre line, and it is necessary that a person manually is
able to twist the ~olded windings in this way, and without
30 permanent deformations thereby will arise. The cross section
of the spring thread must there~ore have a small polar
resistance element, and since the spring ~urthermore shall be
able to keep the tent canvas sa~ely distended, the material,
which is used ~or the spring thread, must have a rather large
35 strength. In order to avoid permanent de~ormations the
material must ~urthermore be very elastic.
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i CA 02229471 1998-02-12
These demands can be met in praxis when the spring thread is
produced ~rom a material with an elasticity coe~icient o~
less than 100,000 kp/cm2 and a yield point o~ more than 1,000
kg/cm2. A suitable material would be plast, especially
~ibre-amoured plast.
The diametre o~ the disc-shaped package can, however, also be
reduced by twisting the ends o~ the spring in di~erent
directions around the spring axis to the opposite direction o~
the one in which the windings are turning. By this solution it
would be expedient to use a spring thread with a ~lat cross
section. When the thread radially is thin, the spring will
then easily could be twisted around its axis, and i~ at the
same time the spring is ~;m~nsioned with adequate axial
width, the spring can be brought to produce a pressure, which
nevertheless is large enough to pitch the tent and keep the
tent canvas distended.
When the tent is ~olded up in one o~ the said ways, it can be
~ixed in ~olded position by means o~ at least one releasable
lock, e.g. a belt or similar means.
The invention will be explained more ~ully by the ~ollowing
description o~ embodiments, which just serve as examples, with
re~erence to the drawing, where
Fig. 1 shows, seen in perspective, a pitched tent according to
the invention,
Fig. 2 shows the same tent ~olded up to a ~irst disc-shaped
package with the same diametre as the tent in pitched
condition,
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Fig. 3 shows the package shown in ~ig. 2 when it is twisted to
the ~igure o~ eight in the direction o~ the arrows,
Fig. 4 shows how the two halves o~ the ~igure o~ elght, shown
5 in fig. 3, are twisted against each other in the direction o~
the arrows around the intersection point o~ the spring
windings in the ~igure o~ eight.
Fig. 5 shows the two halves o~ the ~igure o~ eight, shown in
10 ~ig. 3 and 4, twisted to be abutted on each other, so that a
second disc-shaped package is ~ormed which has hal~ the
diametre o~ the ~irst disc-shaped package shown in fig. 2 and
releasably is ~ixed by means o~ a belt,
15 Fig. 6 shows the spring o~ the tent shown in ~ig. 1, seen ~rom
the end, and
Fig 7. shows the same spring helically twisted in order to
reduce the diametre.
In ~ig. 1 is seen a tent according to the invention designated
as a whole with the re~erence number 1. In the ~igure the tent
is in position ~or use pitched on an underlying layer 2, e.g.
soil, with a person 3 lying in the tent.
The two main parts o~ the tent are the tent canvas 4 and a
screw spring 5 to keep the tent distended. In the shown
pitched condition the tent has the shape o~ a longitudinal
tube 6, which at the ends is closed by a ~irst wall 7 and a
30 second wall 8, respectively.
The ~irst wall 7 consists o~ circular piece o~ tent canvas,
while the second wall 8 consists of an extension o~ that tent
canvas which ~orms the tent canvas tube 6. At the edge 9 o~
35 this extension there is ~ormed a round-going casing 10 with a
string 11. By loosening the string the user can make an
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CA 02229471 1998-02-12
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opening ~or the passage in and out of the tent, and by
tightening the string, the user can close the tent to the
wanted extend. In the figure the second wall 8 is only partly
closed, since a ventilation opening 12 is left. It goes
5 without saying that the ~irst end wall 7, i~ so wanted, can be
adapted in the same way as the second end wall 8.
The screw spring is wound with a pre-tightening, which keeps
the tent canvas tube 6 braced up. By manually squeezing the
10 ends o~ the tent into the direction of the arrows, the ~irst
disc-~ormed package 13 ~rom ~ig. 2 is created, having the
same diametre as the screw spring 5.
In ~ig. 3 this ~irst package 13 is twisted manually into the
15 direction o~ the arrows, ~orming the ~igure o~ eight.
In ~ig. 4 the two halves, 14 and 15 respectively, of the
~igure o~ eight are twisted a~ditionally against each other
into the direction of the arrows around the intersection point
20 16 ~ormed between the windings o~ the spring.
In ~ig. 5 the two halves 14, 15 are brought to rest against
each other, whereby the tent has reached its ~inal folding
position in the shape o~ a second disc-shaped package 17 with
25 a diametre only hal~ the size o~ that o~ the ~irst package 13
or, said in other words, as the tent 1 in pitched position.
The tent will there~ore take up very little space in folded up
condition and is consequently easy to transport and store.
30 In the case shown, the tent is ~ixed in ~olded up condition
releasably by means of a belt 1~, which has a hole 19 which
fits to a pivot 20 on the hal~ 15 ~rom the figure of eight.
When the belt is loosened, the tent will automatically jump up
to the position shown in fig. 1. The tent is therefore
35 self-pitching.
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CA 02229471 1998-02-12
In the case shown the sprlng is fixed in relation to the tent
canvas by means o~ straps 21 on the inner side of the tent
canvas. Instead a continuous casing can be used.
Alternatively, the spring can be glued to the tent canvas
5 This solution is especially expedient, when a ~lat spring
thread is used.
At the ends, the spring can be fixed to a closed ring (not
shown) which marks the axial limitations of the tent canvas
10 tube. In fig. 1 there is, however, at each o~ the ends o~ the
tent canvas tube instead an open ring, 22 and 23,
respectively, which quite simple are formed as plane windings
in continuation of the helical windings o~ the spring.
15 In fig. 6 the spring is seen ~rom the end in that position,
where the tent is pitched, that is with the same diametre as
the tent. The tent canvas is, in regard of the clearness, not
shown in this case. In fig. 7 the ends o~ the spring are
twisted in opposite directions around the spring axis in the
20 direction as shown with the arrows. Thereby the diametre is
reduced so that the tent in its final folding up position will
take up as little space as possible.
This final folding up position can be fixed by turning the
25 second end wall 8 bac~wards and around the disc-shaped package
with reduced diametre and then lace up the opening of the end
wall with the string 11.
When the tent is folded up in this way, there can expediently
30 be used a flat spring thread with a comparatively small radial
extension and a rather large axial extension. Thereby it will
be easy to twist the spring, and thereby the tent, together to
a small diametre, and at the same time the spring is provided
with the ~orce necessary to pitch the tent and keep the tent
35 canvas properly distented.
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CA 02229471 1998-02-12
A one-man tent according to the invention can, in pitched
conditlon, have a dlamtre o~ e.g. 120 cm and a length o~
approximately 200 cm. In ~olded up condltlon the tent wlll
typically have a diametre o~ 60 cm or less and a thlckness o~
5 approxlmately ~-3 cm.
The invention is shown on the drawing and described above ~rom
the presumptlon that the cross section is circular. This is,
however, only to be understood as an example, and withln the
10 ~rames o~ the invention the tent can have any suitable cross
section.
Thus the cross section can be mainly quadrangular, trapezoldal
or triangular.
By a particular expedient embodiment the cross section can
have a plane side, which wlth rather large bendings ends up in
a cycloid. In the uslng posltion the plane slde wlll then
repose on the underlying layer, while the cyclold arches above
20 the underlylng layer. Thereby the plane slde will ~orm a
convenient couch ~or the person who lies ln the tent, and the
cycloid has a shape, whlch makes the sprlng sultable to take
up loadings on the tent ~rom e.g. the sel~-weight o~ the tent
canvas.
