Explorer's folding tent

Feb. 27, 1951

R. L. BLANCHARD

EXPLORER’S FOLDING TENT

2,543,684

Filed Feb. 20, 1948

Sheets-Sheet 1

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INVENTOR.

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Feb. 27, 1951

R. L. BLANCHARD

EXPLORER’S FOLDING TENT

2,543,684

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INVENTOR.

Jiob er ΐ L. ΒΙατίοΤίατ* cl

BY

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Patented Feb. 27, 1951

2,543,684

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,543,684

EXPLORER’S FOLDING TENT

Robert L. Blanchard, New York, N. Y.

Application February 20,1948, Serial No. 9,695

Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in folding tents.

An object of the invention is to provide a tent which is suitable for a wide variety of purposes, but is particularly adapted to exploration work where the character of the camp site cannot be predetermined.

A further object is to provide a tent which is lightweight, foldable into small compass, and quickly assembled and disassembled.

Still another object is to provide a tent which requires no guy ropes and tent pins and therefore is readily adaptable for location on rocky ledges, mountain tops, sandy beaches, on ice or in deep snow. It may also be set up in barns or abandoned buildings which, without the added protection of a tent would not be habitable, and can be installed on the floor of the same without any fastenings of any character. It also affords a tent without ropes etc. over which animals and persons cannot trip in the dark.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a streamlined tent frame and tent which can be set up on flat, bare ground and, when occupied, will efficiently resist high winds from any direction to a degree far in excess of an ordinary tent.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the detailed specification hereinafter set forth, especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate present preferred forms which the invention may assume and which form part of the specification.

In brief and general terms, the invention comprises a tent having an upturned bottom or floor to be disposed on any surface with sockets along its periphery. Into these sockets extend the lower ends of frame members which are resilient and preferably sectional and which extend upwardly in a curved or bowed manner to a common point or area where they are connected to a junction element preferably in the form of an apertured cap into which the ends of the frame members are inserted. A body or wall portion is connected to the bottom or floor preferably along the periphery thereof and is formed of several wall sections which abut at a common medial area where a flexible connector such as a rope is connected thereto. This connector is passed up through the cap and lifts the body portion toward the cap and the connector is adjusted with respect to the cap so that the pull on the body portion upward jnay be regulated. Thus (Cl. 135—4) it is seen that the weight of the body portion hangs from the cap and the stress of this weight is passed downward through the frame members and holds the lower periphery of the walls and 5 the bottom spread out in proper position.

Preferably the frame members are made in sections readily assembled together so that the whole device may be folded into a small compass for storage and easy transportation. The ad10 justment of the position of the body portion with respect to the apex of the frame is achieved by a simple construction which latches the parts in adjusted position but permits them to be readily and quickly disconnected at will. Preferably 15 the wall sections are held out in proper relation by being provided with loops at spaced points through which pass the frame members so that the body, within the frame, adapts itself to somewhat the same shape as the frame assumes and 2ojbhus gives the utmost space within the frame.

However, it is to be noted that the body portion does not rest upon or materially contact the frame members to any great extent and therefore tendency to leak is reduced to a minimum. 25 The frame members, whatever the approximate form of the tent in use, generally extend from the central junction joint or cap in pairs in opposite directions to create a balance of the stresses set up when the tent elements are in operative ³⁰ position. Preferably the curvature of the frame elements upward from the ground takes place in a smooth streamlined manner so that the resistance offered by the construction to the wind is at a minimum. This streamline effect combined 35 with the downward pressure through the frame members makes this structure one which is least likely to be tipped over in a high wind even when not staked out to the ground.

Of course, it can be staked out if desired but 40 it is rarely necessary. However, the edges of the base portion are provided with loops for stake pins and a guy rope may be attached to the windward side of the body in the manner to be later described.

⁴⁸ The present preferred forms which the invention may assume are shown in the drawings of which—

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through one form of the tent, taken on the line I—I of 50 Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of this form of tent;

Fig. 3 is a partial elevation, broken away, of a frame member showing the connection of adjacent sections thereof;

¢3 Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of the socket

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Connection to a frame member and the cross brace element;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of this form of tent with the outer flaps opened;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the junction cap member;

Fig. 7 is a detail thereof; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another form of tent; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the tent folded up and in its small compact carrying case.

Referring now merely to the specific forms of the invention which have been chosen to illustrate the application of the invention, it will be seen that in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, there is set up a tent having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. This has a bottom 10 of canvas or any other desired material, the periphery of which at spaced points is provided with socket elements 11 formed by sewing from the same material and extending upwardly toward a common area at a desired angle. The periphery of the bottom 10 is also provided at spaced points with loops 12 to receive staking pins if desired.

The sockets ί! are adapted to receive ends of frame sections such as 13 (Fig. 3). These sections are connected together to form a complete frame element extending from the socket to the top of the frame. As shown, one section has fixed thereon a sleeve 14 which projects beyond the end of the section. This sleeve has in the extended portion an inward projection 15 which is adapted to lie in a notch 16 in the periphery of an adjacent section when that adjacent section is thrust into the extended portion of the sleeve thus latching the two adjacent sections together. Thus it will be seen that a plurality of frame elements may be formed of any desired length in this simple manner. Of course, it is understood that these sections may be related telescopically if desired, or may be folded on or into each other.

The upper ends of each frame member thus formed of sections 13 are received in bores in a junction element or cap 17, having a central vertical aperture 18 therein. The slope of the bores i9 in the cap &lt;7 determine to what extent the frame elements are curved or bowed. With the cap 17 disposed at the top of the tent frame but well toward the one end thereof instead of exactly in the middle, it will be seen that the curvature of the frame members to the left of the cap in Fig, 1 are sloped in a streamlined manner so that if this end of the tent is facing the wind, the effect of the wind thereon is much less than if the slope were more abrupt. The cap 17 is also provided with a lateral slot 28 having a recess 21 in its bottom adapted to receive a knot 23 formed in a flexible connector 22 which is a rope connected at one end to the top of the fabric of the body of the tent at the point where the walls thereof meet as at 24.

In the form of tent shown in Fig. 1 the body is formed with connected side walls 25 which meet at the point 24 and at their bottom edges are connected to the periphery of the bottom 10. Along the seams of the walls are disposed a series of loops 26 through which the frame members pass to hold the body in opened extended position as desired. The main body of the tent, however, does not contact the frame members and therefore any tendency for the structure to leak at these points is eliminated. The front of the tent is provided with flaps 27 and 28 which can be folded back and held by tie members 29.

Within the plane of the flaps thus mentioned is disposed a wall of netting 30 which can be opened and closed by the usual slide fasteners 31 if desired and when opened may be folded back and held by tie members 32.

In the form of tent shown in Fig. 8, the body portion is made of loose weave netting and can be used as a play tent for children or for a sunbathing tent if desired. This form is square in plan section and the frame members are disposed at right angles to each other in regard to the direction in which they extend from the opposite corners of the base. Otherwise, this form is of the same basic structure as the form shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1 at the end of the tent opposite the normal opening with flaps 27 and 28 there are shown cross brace elements 33 and 34 extending from sleeves 35 at the tops of the sockets 11 and connected at their adjacent ends by a sleeve 36. A guy rope 37 passes from a loop 38 in the adjacent wall of the tent and is tied to this sleeve 36. The brace elements 33 and 34 combine in their action with the guy rope 37 to maintain this wall of the tent and the frame elements in proper spaced relation even under pressure of high winds so that the frame members under such pressure will not tend to be drawn together and collapse the tent.

To ventilate the tent, the top may be open as at 39 and this is covered by a hood 40 held up in open position by ties 41 the end of the hood being closed by a perforate screen material 42. This hood may be made of the same material as the body of the tent. If it is not desired to use the ventilator hood 40, the ties 41 may be drawn together and tied, thus closing the opening.

In the use of the tent, it may be carried packed in a small compass not larger than a small travelling case. When removed from the case, the bottom or floor is laid out on the ground, the frame sections are placed in the sockets and a sufficient number latched together to form members of the desired length with the members passing through the loops of the body portion. Then the frame members are bowed sufficiently to be received into their respective bores in the cap member. When this is done the frame is assembled and nothing remains but to pull up on the rope 22 through the aperture 18 in the cap which lifts the body portion and thereby the walls of the tent to their extended open position. When the body is sufficiently elevated, the free end of the rope is passed around into the slot 20 in the cap until a knot in the rope is received in the recess 21 in the bottom of the slot where it will remain latched. This will maintain the proper pull on the body and the weight thereof and the tension created in it will tend to press downward on the frame members and this downward stress will be transmitted to the bottom i 8 which will thereby not only be held firmly to the ground but will also be held out taut in full open position at all times.

The streamlined walls of this tent will then deflect a high percent of wind pressure and enable the body to remain on the ground especially when occupied without being staked to the ground. The entire weight of the body is pulling down through the flexible curved frame members to keep them constantly under tension and to firmly anchor them and the bottom portion to the ground at all times. The resiliency in the frame members by reason of their curvature will also tend to keep the body portion up in proper

2,543,684 position at all times due to the tendency of these members to straighten out at their ends. Thus there is always a strain on the frame members to raise the cap at all times and to keep the corners or edges of the base portion stretched out.

It is obvious that this tent may be put up in a relatively short time; can be folded into a small compass; taken apart quickly and easily; placed in position on practically any site without guy ropes; and will stand, when occupied, against the great strain of high winds.

Fig. 9 shows a compact carrying case of suitable material such as canvas which can receive a tent when taken apart and folded. The case is of a length only slightly longer than the length of the individual frame sections and can be easily carried by one person even for a large tent. When folding up the tent the lower frame sections are left in the base sockets to facilitate folding to accurate lengths to fit into the case.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respect to the accompanying drawing, it is not to be limited to such details, since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language and scope of any one or more of the appended claims.