The present invention relates to a flexible wall support, particularly, but not exclusively for grow tents.

When growing plants in a grow tent an exhaust fan is required to pull air out of the tent. Inclusion of a fan to generate an air flow results in a pressure drop within the tent. The pressure drop causes suction of the walls making the tent walls curve inwards. This is undesirable as it reduces the internal volume of the tent, limiting the productivity from each unit. Currently this is regarded as unavoidable, and more tents are required to achieve the same internal volume as growing space.

The object of the present invention is to provide means for increasing the internal volume of a tent.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a flexible tent wall support device comprising:

• a pole, and

• means at each end of the pole for detachably connecting the flexible wall support device to one or more support poles.

It is envisaged that the pole will be of a pre-determined length so that it may fit standard size tents. Lengths can be, but are not limited to lm, 1.25m, 1.5m, 1.75m, 2m, 2.5m, 3m and 4m. The length of the tent wall supports are not intended to be limited to the above measurements.

It is envisaged that the flexible supports may be of length slightly longer than the tent itself. The extra length would facilitate curvature of the tent wall support to further prop the walls outwards.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a flexible wall support device comprising:

• an extendable pole, o the extendable pole having one or more sections with different diameters, these being:

^■ one or more outer tubes, and

^■ one or more inner tubes,

o the inner tube or tubes having a sliding fit into the outer tube or tubes,

o one or more of the tubes is flexible, and

means at both ends of the extendable pole for detachably connecting the flexible wall support device to one or more wall supports, means in the mid-section of the flexible wall support for clamping the flexible wall support to a desired length.

As used herein, the term "extendable" is used broadly to encompass all length adjustable poles, particularly but not limited to extendible poles, telescopic poles, collapsible poles or any other type of pole with means for length adjustment.

As used herein, the term "support poles" is used to broadly encompass all possible places to which the invention may be attached, particularly, but not limited to tent support poles, grow tent poles, greenhouse poles or any other suitable support.

Normally the flexible wall support is extendable, but it is envisaged that the flexible wall support may also be collapsible. Normally the device is constructed of plastic, this plastic must be suitable in that it is flexible but also rigid enough to maintain strength and integrity of the device when curved. Alternatively, rubber may be used. It is envisaged that the device will comprise of one or more different plastics, with the mid-section being more flexible than the outer-ends of the device. Another material suitable for use may be rubber. It is envisaged that one or all sections of the device may be flexible and capable of maintaining a curved position. Normally the flexible wall support has means to detachably connect to a support pole at each end, it is envisaged that these could be clamps, adjustable straps, thumb screws, tying means or any other suitable means for attaching the flexible wall support to the support pole.

It is envisaged that the means for detachably connecting the clamp to the support pole could be immediately at the end of the device, or there could be a section with two or more branched arms with the clamping means. The branched arms increase the stability and strength of the clamp and therefore make the device more effective.

It is envisaged that one end protruding from the outer-tube of the present invention is of a pre-determined length, and the other end of the invention is adjustable in length. The length is adjustable by pulling the tubes apart then clamping them together at the desired length.

The device is flexible and variable in length so it may be used with grow tents of various sizes. It is envisaged that there will be one or more means for clamping the mid-section of the device to maintain the desired length. The curve is achieved by fitting the flexible wall support between two support poles and increasing the length of the flexible wall support. The increased length, if over the distance between the support poles, results in curvature of the flexible wall support.

The mid-section being the middle portion of the device. The clamping means could be at the outer edge of the outer tube or the outer section of inner tube. It is also envisaged that a single clamp could pinch the outer tube to prevent further movement of the one or more inner tubes.

To help with the understanding of the invention, a specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 Is a front view of a grow tent with an exhaust fan without the present invention. Figure 2 Is a front view of a grow tent with an exhaust fan with the present invention.

Figure 3 Is a plan view of the cut-through X-X in Figure 2.

Figure 4A Is a front view of the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4B is a front view of the second embodiment of the present invention when not extended.

Figure 5 Is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention when extended.

Figure 6A Shows a cross section of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6B Shows the cross section of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6C Shows the cross section of a third embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6D Shows the cross section of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to figure 1. A front view of a grow tent 1 can be seen with the tent walls 2 being sucked inwards due to the pressure drop resultant from an exhaust fan (not shown). The support poles 3 are shown.

Referring to figure 2. A front view of a grow tent 1 can be seen with the tent walls 2 being propped outwards due to the present invention 4 being clamped to the tent support 3. A cut-through line X-X has been included for further reference.

Referring to figure 3. A plan view of the line X-X from figure 2 is shown. A grow tent 1 can be seen with the tent walls 2 being propped outwards due to the presence of the device 4 being clamped to the tent supports 3. The dotted lines 5 show what would be the normal footprint of the tent.

Figure 4A depicts the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The pole 71 can be seen with branched sections 72 and 73. Attached to these respective branched sections are clamping means 46a and 46b. This embodiment is different because the pole 71 is non-extendable. The pole 71 can be either hollow or solid, but is preferably flexible to enable the tent walls to be propped outwards. The length of the support means 70 may be relative to existing grow tents so that extensibility is not necessary. For example the wall support could be lm, 1.25m or 1.5 m long, but it is not limited to these lengths. The length of the support means 70 could also be slightly longer than the distance between the grow tent poles to enable curvature without the utilisation of clamping means 45 as utilised in other embodiments.

Referring to figure 4B. A front view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention 40 when non-extended may be seen. The outer tube 41 can be seen. At one end of the outer tube 41 the branched section 42 and clamping means 46a are at a pre-determined length. The overall length of the device can be adjusted by pulling out the inner tube 44 on the other side 43. The user can then use the clamping means 45 to maintain this length. The clamping means 45, when tightened, forces the outer tube 41 into a gripping contact with the inner tube 44, achievable due to the properties of the material of construction of the flexible wall support.

In use, when the extended length is greater than the distance between the supports to which the clamps 46a and 46b on either side are attached, a curve is achieved. This curve is what prevents the tent walls from being sucked in. the branched sections 42 and 43 help improve the strength and stability of the device when the clamping mean 46a and/or 46b are attached to a support pole. The branched sections can comprise of one or more branches.

Figure 5 shows the preferred embodiment of the device as seen in figure 4 when extended, the curve is not shown as it is not clamped to supports. The distance between clamp 46b and clamp 45 can be seen to be far greater in figure 5 than in figure 4.

Figures 6A- 6D do not show the outer ends 46a and 46b of the device with the means to clamp the device to the support poles 3. Instead the cross section of different embodiments of the present invention are shown. Repetition of showing the clamping means was deemed unnecessary. Figure 6A shows a cross section of an embodiment of the device. An inner tube 61 can be seen to fit into an outer tube 62. At the opposite end of the outer tube is a protrusion of a pre-determined length leading to the support pole clamping means 46a or an equivalent (not shown here). The section where the inner tube 61 and outer tube 62 overlap has a clamp 64, this is the same as clamp 45 in figures 4 and 5. The clamp 64 can be loosened to adjust the length of the device and then tightened to maintain the desired length.

Figure 6B is a second embodiment of the device. An outer tube 71 can be seen as well as an inner tube 72. The length may be adjusted by pulling the inner tube72 from the outer tube 71, and the length secured by the clamping means 74. The distal end of 71 would have the support pole clamping means. The distal end 73 of the inner tube 72 has the other support pole clamping means. Figure 6C shows a cross-section of a variant of the device, an outer tube 81 has inner tubes 82a and 82b that can be pulled out from the outer tube 81 for an adjustable length. The clamping means 83a and 83b present at the outer ends of the outer tube 81 may be clamped, causing a gripping contact between the outer tube 81 and the inner tubes 82a or 82b. Once the clamping means 83a and 83b are secure, the length of the device will remain the same until adjusted.

Figure 6D is another variant of the present invention, wherein the middle section is the inner tube 91 and has a sliding fit into the outer tubes 93a and 93b. The length can be adjusted by loosening clamp 93a and sliding tube 92a either inwards or outwards. Clamping 93a then sets the length on that side, this can be repeated on the other side with tube 92b and clamp 93b.

The invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above described embodiments. For instance, there are multiple ways in which the device can be secured at the desired length by clamping means, pinning means or screwing means.

In order to be flexible and fit for purpose at least one or more section must be flexible. This is usually achieved by constructing the device from plastic, but any material with the required properties may be used, such as rubber. The pole may be solid, or hollow, excluding the outer tubes for the extensible variant which must be capable of accommodating the inner tube. The device may be detachably connected to the support poles by any suitable means, such as but not limited to thumb screws, vice clamps, tying means such as zip ties etc. The clamp in the mid-section of the device must be adequate to maintain the desired length and the resultant curvature of the device.