TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an expandable shelter. The present invention has particular, although not exclusive application to beach shelters and other like outdoor shelters. The present invention also has application to umbrellas including hand-held umbrellas and cafe umbrellas.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

[0003] Skin cancer and other skin damage from the sun is increasing at alarming rate. In order to order to minimize skin damage, beach goers can bring beach umbrellas to the beach. The umbrellas may be jammed into the sand and expanded to provide shelter to a beach goer.

[0004] Hoverer, in practice, beach umbrellas are prone to blow away in the wind. Accordingly, the canopy of a beach umbrella is often rested on the sand to stabilize the umbrella. Resting the umbrella in this manner undesirably results in the beach goer needing to crouch awkwardly beneath the umbrella and generally provides only partial sun protection as part of the beach goer is exposed.

[0005] Other types of shelter are also known. A semi-enclosed expandable shelter has flexible ribs that extend to ground level to tension the shelter. These shelters undesirably lack air flow and adequate height to provide suitable ventilation and cooling for their occupants and can be difficult to foldaway.

[0006] Large "scissor" action shelters have extendable legs requiring two or more people to erect. These shelters are difficult to easily transport to and from the beach.

[0007] A known shelter is reliant upon the wind to be kept open to provide adequate room for it's occupants. Often, there is not enough wind to keep these shelters open enough with the outcome that beach goers do not stay long, do not enjoy their time at the beach or simply do not use any shelter thereby increasing their susceptibility to skin cancers.

[0008] The preferred embodiment provides an improved shelter for beach goers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an expandable shelter, the shelter including:

an upright support;

ribs for supporting a canopy;

stretchers for stretching the ribs from the upright support; and

a runner for moving downwards along the upright support so that the stretchers stretch the ribs from the upright support to expand the shelter, the runner being further configured to move upwards along the upright support so that the stretchers move above the ribs to collapse the shelter.

[00010] Advantageously, a shelter assembly whereby the runner moves downward to stretch the ribs may provide a compact collapsed shelter with more expansive sheltering when compared with other shelters where the runner instead moves upwards for expansion.

[00011] The shelter may further include extenders for extending from the ribs. The extenders may be pivotally mounted relative to the ribs. The extenders may open up and outwards. The stretchers may be located adjacent or in register with the ribs when the shelter is contracted. The extenders may collapse flat with the ribs. The ribs may be located between extenders and stretchers when the shelter is collapsed. Each corresponding rib, extender and stretcher may move in a common plane.

[00012] The shelter may further include a hub terminating the upright support. The ribs may be pivotally mounted to the hub. The free end of the ribs may terminate in connectors. The shelter may include a restraint for restraining pivoting of the extenders. The extenders may be pivotally mounted to the connectors. The stretchers may be pivotally mounted relative to the runner and respective ribs. The stretchers may be pivotally mounted to the connectors. [00013] The shelter may include a lock for locking the runner relative to the upright support when the shelter is expanded. The runner may include a hand grip with finger grooves terminating in an end shelf.

[00014] The present specification also discloses a portable shelter assembly including:

a support;

an expandable shelter for being supported by the support and expanding to shelter at least one person; and

one or more anchors for anchoring the shelter.

[00015] Advantageously, the anchors anchor the shelter to impede the assembly from being blown away in the wind. Typically, the shelter assembly is erected by a single person and provides excellent ventilation.

[00016] Preferably, the anchors include receptacles for receiving material. The receptacles may include sheet material. The anchors may include respective strips extending from a periphery of the shelter. The strips may include sheet material. The strips may include corner strips. One or more of the strips may include respective interior pockets.

[00017] The support may include a spike for spiking into the ground (e.g. sand or grass). The support may include a pole for releasably fastening to the spike which may also act as a hammer to hammer the said spike(s) into sand or grass.

[00018] The shelter may be expanded in two steps, namely: a first step for opening the shelter and a second step for tightening the shelter. The expandable shelter may include a canopy. The canopy may include a sheet of material. The shelter may include ribs supporting the canopy. In one embodiment the ribs are axially expandable to tighten the canopy. Each rib may include a lock for locking the rib in an expanded configuration. In another embodiment, the ribs are pivotally expandable to extend and possibly tighten the canopy. Each rib may include a restraint for restraining pivoting.

[00019] The shelter may include stretchers for expanding the ribs from the support. The shelter may include a runner for running along the support to actuate the stretchers. The shelter may include a lock for locking the runner in place when the shelter is expanded. The expandable shelter may expand when the runner is moved downwards. The stretchers may be positioned adjacent the ribs when the shelter is contracted.

[00020] The shelter assembly may be collapsed to be stowed in a carry-bag. The shelter may be square and expanded to be at least 1.7m long x 1 .7m wide. The assembled shelter may be of sufficient height to accommodate a standing person. The ribs or support may include lightweight, resilient tubes (e.g. aluminium or fibre reinforced material).

[00021] The present specification also discloses a method for assembling a portable shelter assembly, the method including:

erecting a support;

supporting an expandable shelter with the support;

anchoring the shelter; and

expanding the shelter to shelter at least one person.

[00022] Any of the features described herein can be combined in any combination with any one or more of the other features described herein within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00023] Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:

[00024] Figure 1 is a lower perspective view of an assembled portable beach shelter assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[00025] Figure 2 is an exploded side view of the unassembled portable beach shelter assembly of Figure 1 ;

[00026] Figure 3 is a close-up perspective view of a rib of the beach shelter assembly of Figure 1 ; [00027] Figure 4 is a close-up perspective view of an alternative rib of the beach shelter assembly of Figure 1 ;

[00028] Figure 5 is an upper perspective view of a beach shelter frame including the ribs of Figure 4;

[00029] Figure 6 is an upper perspective view of beach shelter frame including the ribs of Figure 3;

[00030] Figure 7 is a side view of a contracted beach shelter frame in accordance with another embodiment;

[00031] Figure Sa is a plan view of the beach shelter frame of Figure 7 with stretchers in a partially expanded position;

[00032] Figure 8b is a side view of the beach shelter frame of Figure Sa;

[00033] Figure 9a is a plan view of the beach shelter frame of Figure 7 with stretchers in a fully expanded position, a runner locked and extenders partially extended;

[00034] Figure 9b is a side view of the beach shelter frame of Figure 9a;

[00035] Figure 1 Oa is a plan view of the expanded beach shelter frame of Figure 7 with extenders fully extended; and

[00036] Figure 1 Ob is a side view of the expanded beach shelter frame of Figure 1 0a. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[00037] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a portable beach shelter assembly 100 as shown in Figure 1. The shelter assembly 100 includes a vertical and central support 1 02. An expandable shelter 1 04 is supported by the support 102 and expands to shelter a person from the sun. Four corner anchors 1 06 are provided for anchoring the shelter 104 to the ground. Advantageously, shelter assembly 1 00 is wind resistant whereby the anchors anchor the shelter 1 04 to impede the assembly 100 from being blown away. The assembly 100 is erected by a single person and provides excellent ventilation.

[00038] The anchors 106 include base pocket receptacles 108 for receiving sand, water bottles, rocks or other like anchoring materials. The receptacles 1 08 are formed from stitched sheet or other material. The anchors 1 06 also include respective corner strips 1 10 extending from a corner periphery of the shelter 104 to the ground. One or more of the strips 1 10 may include interior storage pockets 1 12.

[00039] Turning to Figure 2, the support 1 02 includes a spike 200 for spiking into the sand (e.g. ground). The support 102 also includes a tubular hammer pole 202 for releasably receiving the spike 200. In turn, the pole 202 couples to a tubular vertical pole 204 of the shelter 104.

[00040] The expandable shelter 1 04 includes attached canopy 206 formed from a sheet of material. The shelter 104 includes four ribs 208 supporting the canopy 206 and pivotally anchored at a crown 209. The shelter 104 also includes stretchers 212 for expanding the ribs 208 from the support 1 02. A runner 21 0 is provided for running upwards along the support 102 to actuate the stretchers 212. The shelter 1 04 may include a lock for locking the runner 21 0 in place at an upper position when the shelter 104 is expanded.

[00041] The shelter assembly 100 can be collapsed to be conveniently stowed in a carry-bag carried by one person. The shelter 100 is generally square (Fig. 1 ) and expanded to be at least 1 .8 metres long x 1 .8 metres wide, or other larger or smaller dimension as required. The assembled shelter 100 may be of sufficient height to accommodate a standing person. The ribs 208 and support 102 include lightweight, resilient tubes (e.g. aluminium) to facilitate easy handling by the single user that can conveniently erect and collapse the assembly 1 00.

[00042] The shelter 104 is initially expanded using the runner 210, and then further expanded to tighten the canopy 206 using the ribs 208. Figure 3 shows a telescopic rib 208 which can be axially expanded to tighten the canopy 208. Each rib 208 includes a lock 300 or a ratchet type lock for locking the rib 208 in an expanded configuration. The lock 300 includes a spring-biased pushbutton 302 that protrudes through adjustment holes 303 in both sliding stems 304, 306 to lock the stems 304, 306 together. Figure 6 shows the beach shelter frame including the ribs 208 of Figure 3.

[00043] Alternatively, as shown in Figure 4, the ribs 208 can be pivotally expandable to tighten the canopy 206. In this manner a top stem 400 of the rib 208 pivots downwardly to align with the level stem 402 during tightening of the canopy 206. Each rib 208 may include a mechanical restraint for restraining pivoting downwardly beyond 180° so that the erected rib 208 is substantially straight. Figure 5 shows the beach shelter frame including the ribs 208 of Figure 4.

[00044] A method for assembling the portable shelter assembly 1 00 is now briefly described.

[00045] Initially, a storage bag axially slips of off the compacted shelter assembly 100.

[00046] Next, the method involves erecting the support 102. The spike 200 slides into the pole 202. The spike 200 is then hammered into the sand by forcing the pole 202 up and down.

[00047] Next, the expandable shelter 1 04 is supported by the support 1 02. The vertical pole 204 of the shelter 1 04 slides onto the lower pole 202.

[00048] Next, the anchor receptacles 108 are filled with sand to anchor the shelter 104.

[00049] Next, the shelter 104 is expanded in two easy steps to shelter up to two people comfortably, namely: a first step for opening the shelter 104 and a second step for tightening the shelter 104. Firstly, the runner 210 is run up the vertical pole 204 to expand the ribs 208 supporting the canopy 206. Secondly, the ribs 208 are expanded to tighten the canopy 206. Both the runner 21 0 and the ribs 208 may be locked in place.

[00050] Once the day is done, the portable assembly 1 00 may be conveniently unassembled and returned to its storage bag. [00051 ] A person skilled in the art will appreciate that many embodiments and variations can be made without departing from the ambit of the present invention.

[00052] In one embodiment, the anchors 106 may include pegs for pegging to hard ground (e,g. grass).

[00053] The expandable shelter 1 02 can be replaced by the alternative shelter 700 shown in Figure 7. The shelter 700 includes an upright support 702 and intermediate ribs 704 for supporting the canopy 206. Inner stretchers 706 stretch the ribs 704 from the upright support 702. A can best be seen when viewing Figures 8 and 9, a central runner 708 is provided for moving downwards along the upright support 702, away from the ribs 704, so that the stretchers 706 stretch out the ribs 704 from the upright support

702 to expand the shelter 700.

[00054] Advantageously, the overall shelter assembly whereby the runner 708 moves downward to stretch the ribs 704 provides a compact collapsed shelter 700 with more expansive sheltering when compared with the shelter 1 04 where the runner 21 0 instead moves upwards to expand the canopy 206.

[00055] As can best be seen in Figures 9 and 10, the shelter 700 further includes outer extenders 710 for extending from the ribs 704. The extenders 71 0 are pivotally mounted relative to the ribs 704, and open up and outwards to create a much larger shelter 700 than shelter 104 whilst remaining readily portable and compact when collapsed.

[00056] Returning to Figure 7, the inner stretchers 706 lie adjacent and in register with the intermediate ribs 704 when the shelter 700 is contracted. The outer extenders 710 collapse flat with the intermediate ribs 704. Each corresponding rib 704, stretcher 706 and extender 71 0 moves in a common plane.

[00057] The shelter 700 further includes a hub 712 terminating the upright support 702. The ribs 704 are pivotally mounted to the hub 712. The lower free ends of the ribs 704 terminate in connectors 714 which form a restraint for restraining pivoting of the fully open extenders 710 shown in figure 10. The extenders 710 are pivotally mounted to the connectors 714. The stretchers 706 are pivotally mounted relative to the runner 708 and respective ribs 704 via the connectors 714.

[00058] The shelter 700 includes a spring-loaded pushbutton lock 716 for locking the runner 708 relative to the upright support 702 when the shelter 700 is expanded as shown in figures 9 and 10. The runner 708 includes a lower hand grip with finger grooves terminating in an end shelf.

[00059] In use, the shelter 700 is in a collapsed state as shown in figure 7. The collapsed shelter 700 is positioned on the support 1 02, before the runner 708 is slid down the upright support 702 to expand the stretchers 706 and ribs 704. The lock 716 automatically engages when the shelter 700 is expanded to the position shown in figures 9 and 1 0. The extenders 71 0 are then extended up and outwardly to tighten the attached canopy 206. The shelter 700 is then secured in the same way as the assembly

100 described above.

[00060] Once finished for the day, the extenders 71 0 can be retracted once more. The lock 716 can be the disengaged by pushing a button, thereby disengaging a spring- loaded pin in the support 702, and the runner 708 can be slid upwards along the support 702 to collapse the ribs 704 and stretchers 706. The collapsed shelter 700 can be removed from the support 1 02 and readily carried away by a single person and stored in the trunk of a car, as before.

[00061] The present invention also has application to umbrellas including hand-held umbrellas and cafe umbrellas. Known umbrellas use an upward motion for the runner on the middle pole when opening the umbrella. The length of stroke required to open the umbrella is basically dictated by the size of the umbrella (i.e. that's why golf umbrellas are longer than normal personal rain umbrellas when folded.) By reversing this and pulling the runner 708 down instead of pushing it up, the length of stroke is reduced significantly (by about 80%) so it then provides for a much more compact fold and less parts (or steps) in the opening /closing process than a traditional handbag compact umbrella with it's multiple scissor actions in each arm.

[00062] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

[00063] Reference throughout this specification to One embodiment' or 'an embodiment' means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases 'in one embodiment' or 'in an embodiment' in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.