American Ecosystems, Inc.

Other

Paul J Watts

Lynn D Crawford

Philip T Nichols

A collapsible shelter of the umbrella-tent type including a foldable frame and a cover of sheet material affixed to the frame. The frame comprises a plurality of support members having mutually respective ends pivotally connected to a central hub. The central hub is mounted on elongate erecting guide means located at the apex of the frame. A second hub is mounted on the guide means below the central hub, and a plurality of rib members are pivotally connected at mutually respective ends to the second hub, with the other ends of the rib members being pivotally connected to corresponding, respective support members, so that when the shelter is in its erected form, the support members extend outwardly and downwardly from the central hub, the second hub is positioned adjacent or proximate to the central hub, the rib members extend substantially radially outwardly from the erecting guide, and the cover is held tautly affixed to the frame. Means are provided for releasably connecting and holding the second hub and the central hub together as a rigid unit to avoid untimely collapse of the shelter by inadvertent, undesired, downward movement of the second hub away from the central hub. The shelter can be collapsed, when desired, by disengaging the second hub from the central hub and moving the second hub downwardly away from the first hub. When the shelter is collapsed, the support members extend downwardly as a bundle from the central hub, the ribs are folded to positions substantially within the bundle of collapsed support members, and the cover is loosely affixed to the frame. In a preferred embodiment, the support members are segmented and can be folded upon themselves to greatly shorten the length of the collapsed bundle thereof.

Umbrella type collapsible shelter

A collapsible shelter of the umbrella-tent type including a foldable frame and a cover of sheet material affixed to the frame. The tent frame comprises a plurality of support members and novel means of pivotally connecting the mutually respective ends of the support members to a central hub. The central hub is mounted on erecting guide means, which preferably has the form of an erecting rod or cord. A second hub is mounted on the guide means below the central hub, and a plurality of rib members are pivotally connected at mutually respective ends to the second hub, using novel connecting means similar to that used with the support members. The other ends of the rib members are pivotally connected to corresponding, respective support members, so that when the shelter is in its erected form, the support members extend outwardly and downwardly from the central hub, the second hub is positioned adjacent or proximate to the central hub, the rib members extend substantially radially outwardly from the erecting guide, and the cover is held tautly affixed to the frame. The novel connecting means comprise neck portions in the first and second hubs, respectively, with ring members encircling the respective neck portions. Circular, ring-shaped hooks are provided on the respective ends of the support members and rib members, and the hooks are adapted for attachment to respective ring members with the outside circumference of the hooks nesting within the concave shaped neck portions of the hubs for pivotal movement about the respective ring members. When the shelter is collapsed, the support members extend downwardly as a bundle from the central hub, the rib members are folded to positions substantially within the bundle of collapsed support members, and the cover is loosely affixed to the frame. In a preferred embodiment, the support members are segmented and can be folded upon themselves to greatly shorten the length of the collapsed bundle thereof.

Pivotal frame structure for collapsible umbrella type tent

A collapsible shelter of the umbrella-tent type including a foldable frame and a cover of sheet material affixed to the frame, wherein the frame is provided with ground-engaging foot members which firmly secure the bottom and/or floor of the tent to the base of the frame. The tent frame comprises a plurality of support members which, when the shelter is erected, extend outwardly and downwardly from the hub to the ground. The novel foot members comprise a central body attached to the downwardly extending end of the respective support members. An elongate base is connected integrally with the central body portion of the foot member, and an elongate opening is provided in the base for attachment of one end of a strip of webbing or fabric which is attached at its other end to the bottom and/or floor of the tent cover. Means are also provided for attaching and anchoring a tie-rope or cord to the foot member.

Ground engaging foot member

Means for slidably attaching a piece of fabric material to a tubular support member is disclosed, comprising a ring member which circumscribes the support member and is adapted for sliding movement therealong. The ring member has a key-type extension thereon which is adapted to releasably engage a corresponding locking connector which is attached to the fabric material. The attaching means are advantageously used in connecting the fabric portion of a collapsible shelter of the umbrella-tent type to the collapsible frame of the shelter.

Growing community of inventors

Sandy, UT, United States of America

Paul J Watts