Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
s
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- A MODULAR TENT
The present invention relates to a tent constituted
by a frame and by a canvas stretched over said frame and
which is "modular" insofar as it is constituted by at
least one central core tent and by one or more add-on
tent elements connected to the opening or openings of
said central tent.
Such a modular tent is known from document
FR 2 649 744. In that document the central core tent
includes a central frame that is symmetrical about a
vertical axis, having a base that constitutes a regular
polygon with an even number of sides, and that is formed
by at least two identical diametrically-extending arcuate
tent-poles or "bows" having bottom ends that bear on the
ground at diametrically opposite vertices of the base
polygon and that cross in their middles at the top of
,said central frame on the vertical axis of symmetry. In
addition, the frame includes at least four vertical side
bows each having two bottom ends that bear on the ground
at two respective vertices of the base polygon. Thus,
each side bow is contained in a vertical plane containing
one of the sides of the base polygon. In addition to the
central core tent, that document describes at least two
side tents of the tunnel type which extend outwards from
side bows of the central frame.
Document FR 2 649 744 mentions the possibility of
designing numerous variant embodiments of the modular
tent, in particular with the side tents connected to
other side tents of the same type or to other tents of
the central core type. It is thus possible to obtain a
meshed network having nodes that are constituted by the
central tents and having connection elements that are
constituted by the side tents. It is also possible to
group together several central tents and to interconnect
them along their side bows so as to increase the extent
of the central zone of the tent. Finally, it is possible
to connect a canvas to one or more side bows of the
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central tent only, said canvas extending to the ground
and forming a canopy-type extension.
In the text of that document, no indication is given
as to the means which are used to make all the above-
mentioned connections. It is assumed that the means used
are those which are conventionally implemented in tents,
in particular slideway fasteners (zippers) and self-
gripping fasteners having hooks and loops (known under
the trademark "VELCRO").
In the case of a slideway fastener, when it is
desired to connect two tent portions together, a first
slideway, e.g. a slideway plus a slider, is provided on
one of the edges of the first tent portion, and a second
slideway without a slider, is provided on the edge of the
second tent portion. The user brings the edges that are
to be connected together into register so that the end of
,the second slideway can be inserted into the slider, and
said slider can then be moved by the user along the two
slideways so that the respective teeth of the two
slideways interfit and the two tent portions thus become
joined together.
Substantially the same construction is used for a
fastener comprising a self-gripping system having hooks
and loops: a first strip having hooks is provided on the
edge of the first tent portion, and a second strip having
loops is provided on the edge of the second tent portion.
It suffices for the user to bring said two strips into
register and to press them together so that the hooks
hook onto the loops, thereby joining the two tent
portions together along said edges.
Transposing such conventional means to a modular
tent of the kind disclosed in document FR 2 649 744
suffers from a major drawback. If, for example, the
opening of the central core tent is fitted with a
slideway plus a slider, then it is necessary for the
opening of the side tent or more generally of the other
element for connection thereto, itself to be fitted with
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a slideway without a slider. This is not impossible
technically, but it requires the fasteners of the central
' core tent and of any other add-on element that is to be
connected thereto to be made in specific different
manners.
The Applicant proposes a modular tent which
mitigates the above-mentioned drawback by means of a
particular disposition of the fastener means.
In a manner known from document FR 2 649 744, this
tent comprises a modular tent constituted by:
a) a central tent including a frame and a canvas
stretched over said frame, said tent having at least one
opening formed in a vertical plane; and
b) at least one add-on element connected by fastener
means to the central tent at said opening.
In a manner characteristic of the invention the
,opening and the add-on element have a vertical axis of
symmetry, and the fastener means consist of first and
second means suitable for co-operating with each another,
and disposed on the edge of the opening of the central
tent and on the corresponding edge of the add-on element,
the fastener means being arranged on opposite sides of
the axis of symmetry so that the first means are on the
same (right or left) side of the opening and of the add-
on element, while the second means are on the other (left
or right) side.
The axis of symmetry is referred to as "vertical"
both for the opening and for the add-on element due to
the fact that it is situated in a substantially vertical
plane when the tent is pitched on ground that is taken as
defining a horizontal plane.
Naturally the right- or left-hand side in question
is determined in the same way both for the central tent
and for the add-on element: the right-hand side is the
side which is situated to the right of the axis of
symmetry as seen before making the connection by an
outside user looking at either one of the portions of
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canvas that are to be connected together, whether
corresponding to the central tent or to the add-on
element.
When connecting the add-on element to the central
tent, said add-on element is positioned facing the
opening of the central tent, the two vertical axes of
symmetry being in the same plane. In this configuration,
the first fastener means of the central tent are situated
facing the second means of the add-on element on one side
of the vertical plane while the second means of the
central tent are situated facing the first means of the
add-on element on the other side of the vertical plane.
It is thus possible for the first and second means on
each of the two sides to co-operate mutually on either
side of the vertical plane in order to obtain the desired
connection.
It is thus possible to make all the types of
connection envisaged in document FR 2 649 744 without it
being necessary to personalize the manufacture of the
central tent and of the add-on tent elements.
In a first variant embodiment, the fastener means
are of the slideway type, the first means being a
slideway without a slider and the second means being a
slideway plus a slider.
In a second variant embodiment the fastener means
are of the self-gripping type having loops and hooks, the
first means being a strip provided with hooks and the
second means being a strip provided with loops.
As in document FR 2 649 744, the frame of the tent
is preferably constituted by flexible bows which tension
the canvas. The opening of the central tent is
advantageously in the shape of an isosceles triangle, the
top vertex of said triangle being formed by the free end
of a bow. In this case, the disposition of the fastener
means in two distinct strips, independently actuatable by
the user, is further justified by the fact that the angle
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at the vertex creates a discontinuity at the center of
the opening.
In a first preferred embodiment, the central tent
has a triangular base, with three triangular openings and
5 three bows; and each bow tensions the tent between the
top vertex of one opening and the adjoining bottom
vertices of the other two openings.
In a second preferred embodiment, the central tent
has a square base, with four triangular openings and four
bows, two of larger dimension and two of smaller
dimension. The two bows of larger dimension tension the
canvas between the bottom vertices of the openings at the
four corners of the square. The bows of smaller
dimension tension the canvas between the top vertices of
opposite openings.
The tent preferably includes a covering piece fixed
,on the canvas, suitable for overlying the intermediate
zone on either side of the axis DD' between the first and
second fastener means.
, The present invention will be better understood on
reading the description given with reference to two
preferred embodiments and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a central tent
that is triangular and also has three triangular
openings;
Figure 2 is a plane view from above of Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows the central tent of Figure 1 being
connected to a panel forming an upright door.
Figures 4 and 5 show how a connection is made,
respectively with two slideway fastener strips (Figure 4)
and with two self-gripping fastener strips (Figure 5).
Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of a connection
comprising slideway fastener strips as shown in Figure 4;
and
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- Figure 7 is a perspective view of an assembled
triangular tent having two side openings, each fitted
with a sunshade.
The modular tent of the present invention has the
characteristic that the add-on tent elements, such as an
upright door or a sloping door, a sunshade, or a tunnel,
can be added or connected to a central tent without
having to handle the fastener means in distinct manners,
specifically because of the way said fastener means are
disposed.
In the example shown, the central tent 1 has a
triangular base 2. It includes a canvas 3 which is
stretched by three bows 4, 5, 6, which delimit three side
openings 7, 8, 9. The side openings are in respective
vertical planes which correspond to the three sides of
the triangular base 2. As can be seen clearly from
Figures 1 and 2, each bow 4 has one end 4a which rests on
the ground at a vertex of the triangular base, while its
other end 4b corresponds to the top vertex 10 of the
opening 9 which is opposite from said bottom vertex. The
length and positioning of each bow 4, 5, 6 are determined
so that each opening, delimited by the sloping edges 11,
12 of the tent canvas, is in a vertical plane containing
a side of the base 2 and includes an axis of symmetry DD'
passing through the top vertex 10.
Figure 3 shows an add-on element being connected
onto the central triangular tent 1, said add-on element
being of the simplest possible structure since it is an
upright door formed by a triangular panel having the same
configuration as the corresponding side opening.
In the invention, connection is obtained by means of
four independent strips of fastener means which are fixed
respectively along the two sloping edges 11, 12 of the
opening 8 of the central tent 1 and along the two sloping
edges of the panel 16 forming the door 17.
In the example shown in Figure 4, a slideway 13
without a slider is fixed along the first edge 11 of the
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central tent 1, on the left-hand side of the axis of
symmetry DD' when looking at the tent 1 from the outside,
while a slideway 14 with a slider 15 is fixed along the
other edge 12, on the right-hand side of the axis DD'.
Exactly the same fixing principle applies to the
triangular panel 16 forming the upright door 17, knowing
that the right- and left-hand sides mean as seen when
looking at the panel from outside the panel, i.e. by an
observer positioned between said panel and the central
tent. A slideway portion 19 without a slider is fixed
along the edge 18, situated on the left-hand side of the
axis DD', while a slideway portion 21 with a slider 22 is
fixed along the other side 20, situated on the right-hand
side.
To make a connection, the two sliders 15, 22 are
preferably in the immediate vicinity of the axis DD', as
shown in Figures 4 and 6. It suffices for the user to
insert the end 19a of the slideway 19 of the panel 16
into the facing slider 15 secured to the central tent 1.
It is thus possible to close half of the door 17 from top
to bottom by moving only the slider 15. The door 17 is
closed completely by moving the second slider 22 which is
secured to the panel 16.
As shown in Figure 7, a covering piece is preferably
provided on top of the canvas 2, in particular by sewing,
said piece being intended to overlie the intermediate
zone 23 on either side of the axis of symmetry DD'
between the four slideway strips, which zone could
constitute a source for leaks in the event of rain.
Figure 5 shows a variant embodiment in which the
slideway fastener strips are replaced by self-gripping
strips of a mechanical fastener system of the type having
hooks and loops. The slideways without a slider are
replaced by strips 24 provided with hooks 25, while the
slideways plus a slider are replaced by strips 26
provided with loops 27. Connection is obtained simply by
pressing the loops onto the hooks in such a manner that
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the hooks hook onto the loops, as is well known in
"VELCRO" fasteners.
In the example in Figure 3, the add-on element is an
upright door. In the invention, it is possible to
connect on any tent element, e.g. a sloping door
projecting as a canopy from the triangular base 2 of the
central tent. As shown in Figure 7, this can apply to
two adjacent central tents 27, 28, connected together
along two facing triangular side openings. In Figure 7,
two sunshades 30 are also shown connected onto two
adjacent side openings of the two main tents 27, 28.
The present invention is not limited to the
embodiment described above by way of non-limiting
example. In particular, any tent configuration having a
triangular base or a polygonal base, and in particular a
square base, can be envisaged. In addition, the openings
can have different configurations. When the opening is
tensioned by a free end of one or more bows, the opening
can have a triangular configuration as in the above-
mentioned example, but it could also be trapezoidal if
there are two bows, or indeed marquee shaped if there are
three bows. When the opening is tensioned by one or more
entire bows, the configuration of said opening can be
semi-circular when it has a single bow having two ends
that bear on the ground, as in document FR 2 649 744; the
opening can be in the form of a Gothic arch if it has two
independent bows joined together on the axis of symmetry
of the opening. It can also have a semi-circular top
portion and two sloping side uprights if it has a small
bow that does not rest on the ground.
Taking the add-on elements described above, it may,
for example, be desirable to connect both an upright door
and a sunshade to the same opening of the central tent.
To do this it suffices to consider that there are a
plurality of add-on elements which are to be connected to
the central tent at the same opening, by applying the
same principle. When putting both an upright door and a
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sunshade in place at the same opening of the central
tent, it is necessary to have two add-on elements, the
first which is connected to the central tent at said
opening, and the second which is connected to the first
add-on element. The first and second fastener means are
strictly in accordance with the principle of the present
invention. The way in which the two add-on elements can
be connected together is not rigidly determined,
different variants can be envisaged. For example, in one
variant, the element acting as a sunshade has a
transverse fold on which first and second fastener means
are mounted so that when the sunshade is put in place and
connected to the opening of the central tent, it is
possible to connect the panel forming the upright door to
the transverse fold.
In any case, it is also possible to implement a link
,element for connecting to the central tent (like all add-
on elements?, the link element having the characteristic
of including a plurality of folds, each being equipped
with first and second fastener means so that it can
enable other add-on elements to be assembled to the same
opening of the central tent.
Thus, in a first variant, in order to assemble
elements together, it is possible to implement a given
add-on element which includes two antagonistic sets of
first and second fastener means, the first of said sets
being intended to connect the add-on element to the
opening of the central tent, and the second set being
intended to connect the element to another add-on
element. In a second variant, the connection element
serves merely as the interface between various add-on
elements. It includes a plurality of at least three
antagonistic sets of first and second fastener means, the
first of said sets being intended to connect the
connection element to the opening of the central tent,
and the other sets of first and second fastener means
being intended to be connected to other add-on elements.
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The term "antagonistic" has been chosen due to the
fact that the disposition (right, left) relative to the
axis of symmetry of the element must comply with the
above-stated configuration in order to enable the facing
5 first and second fastener means to co-operate during
assembly. Taking the example shown in Figure 4 in which
the opening of the tent if fitted on the left-hand side
of the axis DD' with a fastener without a slider and on
the right-hand side with a fastener plus a slider, the
10 add-on element, possibly a link element, which includes a
plurality of antagonistic sets of first and second
fastener means must thus be fitted with:
a) a first set suitable for connection to the
opening of the tent, and which includes on the left-hand
side of its axis of symmetry a slideway plus a slider and
on the right-hand side a slideway without a slider.
b) at least a second set in which the disposition of
the slideway having a slider and the slideway without a
slider are reversed.
, Thus on a same side of the axis of symmetry there is
the first set for connection to the central tent which
has a given configuration, and the second set for
connecting to one or more other add-on elements which
have an antagonistic disposition, i.e. reversed. In
fact, the principle does not change since it has always
been considered in the present text that the right and
left sides were to be taken into consideration by a user
looking at a part from outside that part.
