Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
TENT AWNING
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a tent awning, and in particular to an
awning integrally
formed on a tent, which is held in an extended configuration without
additional components or
assembly and collapsible for folding with the tent without additional
disassembly.
2. Description of Prior Art
[0002] Camping tents have evolved over the years to be more user-friendly and
new features
have been developed to provide the camper with additional conveniences. One of
those features
is an awning which covers the window or door, or any other opening of the tent
to provide the
tent with additional protection from rain and also to provide additional
shade.
[0003] As shown in Fig. 1, a tent 10 in the prior art includes an awning 12 in
the prior art
composed of awning fabric 13 having a channel or sleeve 14. After the tent 10
is erected, a rod
16 is inserted through the channel 14 and each end of the rod 16 is connected
to a body portion
11 of the tent 10 to hold the awning 12 in a configuration in which the awning
fabric 13 extends
away from the tent body portion 11. The ends of the rod 16 are connected
either to poles 15 of
the tent 10 or a tent fabric 17. When collapsing the tent 10, the user must
disassemble the
awning 12 by detaching the rod ends and removing the rod 16 from the channel
14.
[0004] Instant tents ¨ tents that are sold preassembled with the tent fabric
connected to a foldable
frame ¨ have gained popularity because of the ease of folding and unfolding
the tent. As
described above, the awning 12 of the prior art is particularly inconvenient
in instant tents
1
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
because additional assembly and disassembly is required. Thus, the concept of
an "instant" tent
is defeated.
[0005] The tent awnings of the prior art make the assembly and disassembly
process time
consuming. Furthermore, with the requirement of a separate rod 16, the
likelihood of misplacing
the rod 16 during storage and transport is increased. Also, the additional
parts required for the
awning 12, including the hardware (not shown) required to mount the rod 16,
increase the cost of
production and the possibility of repair.
[0006] Therefore, it is desirable to provide an awning that requires no loose
parts such as a rod
and mounting hardware. It is also desirable to have an awning that is easily
assembled and
disassembled on a traditional tent. It is further desirable to have an awning
that requires no
assembly or disassembly on an instant tent.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the
invention in
order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not
an extensive
overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical
elements of the invention or
to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some
embodiments of the
invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description
that is presented later.
[0008] The present invention provides an awning that requires no loose parts
such as a mounting
rod. The present invention also provides an awning that is easily assembled
and disassembled on
a traditional tent and an awning that requires no assembly or disassembly on
an instant tent.
2
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
[0009] In one embodiment, an awning for a tent having a pole comprises an
awning fabric
attached at a first end to the tent; and a member attaching a first portion of
the awning fabric to
the pole and causing a second portion of the awning fabric to extend away from
the tent. The
member includes a hook attachable to the pole. In addition to the hook, the
member includes a
an attachment strip connecting the first portion of the awning fabric to the
hook, or includes an
attachment strip connecting the first end of the awning fabric to the hook, or
includes a plurality
of hooks and a plurality of attachment strips connecting each of the first end
and the first portion
of the awning fabric to a respective hook.
[0010] In another embodiment, instead of the hook, the member includes an
attachment loop
with one end of the loop attached to the first portion of the awning fabric,
and with the loop
extending around the pole, and the loop is slidable along a length of the
pole.
[0011] In a further embodiment, the awning includes a seam within the awning;
and a rod
extending through a channel in the seam.
[0012] In alternative embodiments, the present invention comprises a tent
having a pole, a tent
fabric on the pole, and an awning with an awning fabric attached at a first
end to the tent; and a
member attaching a first portion of the awning fabric to the pole and causing
a second portion of
the awning fabric to extend away from the tent. The member includes a hook
attachable to the
pole. In addition to the hook, the member includes an attachment strip
connecting the first
portion of the awning fabric to the hook, or includes an attachment strip
connecting the first end
of the awning fabric to the hook, or includes a plurality of hooks and a
plurality of attachment
strips connecting each of the first end and the first portion of the awning
fabric to a respective
hook.
3
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
[0013] In another embodiment, instead of the hook, the member of the tent
includes an
attachment loop with one end of the loop attached to the first portion of the
awning fabric, and
with the loop of fabric extending around the pole, and the loop of fabric is
slidable along a length
of the pole.
[0014] In a further embodiment, the tent has the awning with a seam therewith;
and a rod
extending through a channel in the seam.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of
presently
preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in
conjunction with
the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there
are shown in the
drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood,
however, that the
invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities
shown.
[0016] In the drawings:
[0017] Fig. 1 is a top front perspective view of a tent in the prior art with
a prior art awning;
[0018] Fig. 2 is the top front perspective view of a tent having an awning of
the present
invention;
[0019] Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of insert A of the awning of Fig. 2;
[0020] Fig. 4 is an alternative embodiment of the awning of Fig. 2;
[0021] Fig. 5 is another alternative embodiment of the awning of Fig. 2 and
[0022] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the tent of Fig. 2 in a partially
folded state.
4
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
[0023] To facilitate an understanding of the invention, identical reference
numerals have been
used, when appropriate, to designate the same or similar elements that are
common to the
figures. Further, unless stated otherwise, the features shown in the figures
are not drawn to scale,
but are shown for illustrative purposes only.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] Certain terminology is used in the following description for
convenience only and is not
limiting. The article "a" is intended to include one or more items, and where
only one item is
intended the term "one" or similar language is used. Additionally, to assist
in the description of
the present invention, words such as top, bottom, upper, lower, front, rear,
inner, outer, right and
left are used to describe the accompanying figures. The terminology includes
the words above
specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.
[0025] As shown in Figs. 2-5, the present invention is an awning 22 for a tent
20 having tent
fabric 21 on poles 25, in which the awning 22 is held in an extended
configuration away from the
tent fabric 21 without using internal rods or poles to maintain the awning in
the extended
configuration.
[0026] Referring to Figs. 2-3, in a first embodiment of the present invention,
the awning 22 has
awning fabric 23 which, when deployed in accordance with the present
invention, is held by at
least one hook 26 mounted on at least one of the poles 25 upon which the
awning fabric 23 is
maintained. In the present embodiment, the awning fabric 23 includes a top
portion 23a and
opposing side portions 23b but the awning fabric 23 could include more or less
portions.
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
[0027] Fig. 3 illustrates an enlarged view of insert A of Fig. 2, in which a
first attachment strip
24 is attached to a tent fabric 21 on one end and to a first hook 26a on an
opposing end. In the
present embodiment, the first attachment strip 24 is attached to a seam
joining the tent fabric 21
and the awning fabric 23 but could be attached elsewhere depending on the
particular design of
the tent. A second attachment strip 28 is attached at one end to the awning 22
and to a second
hook 26b at an opposing end. The respective hooks 26a, 26b are coupled to at
least one pole 25.
The attachment strips 24, 28 are, for example, strips of fabric, elongated
woven nylon material,
or a combination of both, attached at one end to the awning fabric 23 or a
tent fabric 21 by any
known attachment mechanism, such as seams, glue, fasteners, etc. For example,
the first
attachment strip 24 is a woven nylon strip which is attached to the tent
fabric 21, and the second
attachment strip 28 includes a fabric portion 29 and a nylon portion 31 and is
attached to the
awning fabric 23 using a seam 27.
[0028] Due to the position and orientation of the second hook 26b as well as
the length of the
attachment strips 28, the awning fabric 23 is pulled by the second hook 26b
and attachment strip
28 to be in the configuration extending away from the tent fabric 21 to
provide an awning 22 of
the tent 20, as shown in Fig. 2. In this manner, the awning fabric 23 is
substantially taut such
that any rain water will flow downward instead of accumulating on top of the
awning 22. The
extended configuration of the awning 22 is adjustable in size and shape by the
user who selects
the location of the second hook 26b along a selected pole 25 of the tent 20.
In addition, the
awning 22 may be easily collapsed during folding of the tent 20 by detaching
the second
attachment strip 28 from the second hook 26b and/or by detaching the second
hook 26b from the
pole 25.
6
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
[0029] In addition, the hooks 26a, 26b may be a known mechanism which may be
slidably
mounted and/or detached and reattached from one position to another on the
poles 25, allowing a
selected hook 26a, 26b to be securely mounted in a selected position along a
selected one of the
poles 25.
[0030] Accordingly, the awning 22 of the present invention does not use or
require additional
rods or poles for deploying the awning 22 in the extended configuration.
[0031] As shown in Fig. 3, the seam 27 may optionally include a channel 40 in
which a rod (not
shown) may be placed for forming the awning fabric 23 to be substantially
planar, while the
second hook 26b and second attachment strip 28 hold the awning fabric 23 of
the awning 22 in
the extended configuration away from the tent fabric 21. Optionally, the seam
27 and rod could
be shaped and sized to a desired configuration.
[0032] In an alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 4, a single hook 26 is
attached to the
attachment strips 24, 28, with the first attachment strip 24 connected to an
end or corner of the
tent fabric 21, and with the second attachment strip 28 connected to a portion
or side of the
awning 22. In this configuration, materials cost is reduced during manufacture
while still
providing the proper support for the awning 22.
[0033] In a further embodiment shown in Fig. 5, a single hook 26 is attached
to the tent fabric 21
and an attachment loop 30 is attached to a portion of the awning 22. The
attachment loop 30
loops around one of the poles 25, and the attachment loop 30 may slide along
the selected pole
25 when the tent is folded. In addition, the attachment loop 30 may be
repositioned by sliding
the attachment loop 30 along the pole 25, allowing a user to further adjust
the configuration of
the awning 22 relative to the tent fabric 21. The attachment loop 30 could be
constructed of
materials such as tent fabric, woven nylon or the like and could be elastic.
7
CA 02873300 2014-12-04
[0034] Accordingly, using combination of the hooks 26 and attachment strips
24, 28 as well as
the attachment loop 30 shown in Figs. 2-5, the awning 22 may be configured and
deployed in a
selected shape and configuration relative to the tent 21 and poles 25 of the
tent 20. In addition,
by using such hooks 26 and the slidable attachment loop 30 located on at least
one pole 25, the
awning 22 can be easily folded when the tent 20 is folded.
[0035] In operation, the awning 22 could be disassembled by removing the
second hook 26b
from the pole 25. Alternatively, if the awning 22 is used on an instant tent,
as shown in Fig. 2,
the second hook 26b is maintained on the pole 25 as the tent 20 is folded, as
shown in Fig. 6. As
the tent 20 is folded, the awning 22 is collapsed and the hooks 26a, 26b slide
on the pole 25 to
facilitate the folding process.
[00361 The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without
departing from
its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be
considered in all
respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention
is, therefore, indicated
by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes
which come within
the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within
their scope.
8
