CUBICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of portable structures. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a portable cubicle that can be folded to a small pallet size for convenience of transportation andstorage;and can be quickly deployed.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0003] Need for outdoor shelters has been felt for time immemorial. Earliest use of a man made shelter can be traced to use of tents, which met basic survival need of shelter. Earliest evidence of tent construction has been carbon dated to around 40,000 B.C, and they were made of animal hides. With time, hide was replaced by other materials, which man learned to make. Tents provide basic advantage of foldability and ease of carrying, but suffer from disadvantage of non-rigid construction that is prone to be affected by winds, and lacks sealing against water and dust ingress. While tents are still popular for certain applications such as recreational activities, owing to above stated disadvantages, they have been replaced by rigid constructions in many applications.

[0004] In present time, portable cubicles of rigid construction that are used for different applications such as toilets, urinals, shower units, hand wash units, kiosks, security post and other similar applications, are well known. A typical portable cubicle is made of lightweight materials for ease of carrying, and may also be foldable to reduce package size. However, in folded condition, its size would be at least as big as size of its walls requiring a large amount of room when being transported or stored. Breaking down the walls into smaller pieces would reduce rigidity and shall require more assembly - disassembly time.

[0005] Great Britain Patent number GB2432853 discloses a sanitary installation comprising a plurality of pivotally interconnected panel members and a sanitary ware article, the panel members being moveable from a folded position, in which they enclose and contain said sanitary ware article, to an unfolded position, in which they define a cubicle containing said sanitary ware article. In particular, the cubicle can be collapsed in horizontal direction by folding panel members, which form side walls of the cubicle, in direction of depth of the cubicle. Therefore, in folded condition the cubicle retains a dimension that is determined by height of the cubicle. The height of the portable cubicles of this nature being the largest dimension, the portable cubicle of the cited reference does not provide much of advantage in terms of reduction in package size.

[0006] There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide a portable and foldable cubicle that can be folded to a small size such as a pallet, and can be quickly assembled to deploy and disassembledto pack. It would be advantageous if such a cubicle incorporates walls of foldable construction to minimize the package size.

[0007] All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

[0008] In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term“about.” Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.

[0009] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of“a,”“an,” and“the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of“in” includes“in” and“on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0010] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g.“such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.

[0011] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A general object of the present disclosure is to provide a portable cubicle that can be folded to a small size for ease of transportation, storage; and can be quickly deployed.

[0013] An object of the present disclosure is to providea portable cubicle whose folded size is not limited by size of its walls.

[0014] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a portable cubicle whose walls can be collapsed vertically, thereby eliminating size of walls as a limitation to folded size of the cubicle.

[0015] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a portable cubicle whose walls can be collapsed vertically along with roof, thereby helping in quick folding and deployment of the cubicle.

[0016] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a portable cubicle that incorporates foldable walls that have flexibility to enable their folding, and yet are rigid in deployed condition to withstand vagaries of nature.

[0017] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide walls for portable cubicles that transit from folded to extended condition and vice versa, quickly with minimum human intervention. [0018] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a hinge joint between folding wall members of a walls that enables folding of the folding wall members in desired direction only.

[0019] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a guiding structure for portable cubicles that enables folding of the walls with least intervention, and retains the folded wall and roof in quick to deploy condition.

[0020] Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a guiding structure for the portable cubicles that is foldable for reduced package size.

SUMMARY

[0021] Aspects of the present disclosure relate toa portable cubicle that can be put to different applications. In particular, the present disclosure relates to foldability of theproposed portable cubicle that enables the cubicle to be folded to a pallet size, not constrained by size of its walls.

[0022] In an aspect, the disclosed cubicle incorporates walls that can be collapsed vertically, along with roof of the cubicle, within a guiding structure in ready and quick to deploy condition, thereby not only reducing size of packaging but also considerably reducing assembly and disassembly time for the cubicle. As can be appreciated, collapsing the walls and the roof vertically, reduces the largest dimension that such portable cubicles normally have, thereby the proposed concept of vertically collapsing the walls and the roof reduces the package size considerably.

[0023] In an aspect, upper end of the collapsible wall is fixed to roof assembly of the cubicle and lower end of the collapsible wall is fixed to floor assembly of the cubicle. Thus, when the roof assembly is lowered or raised, the foldable wall gets folded or extended, as the case may be.

[0024] In an aspect, the proposed foldable walls are made of plurality of horizontally oriented folding wall members with each folding member joined to next folding member on each side through a hinge joint. The hinge joints between the adjacent folding wall members allow thefolding wall members to fold over each other in zigzag manner. Thus, the wall can collapse to a compact size, which in turn reduces package size of the folded cubicle.

[0025] In an aspect, the hinge joint between the folding wall members of the wall is provided by modular hinges with back wall, wherein the back wall of the hinge controls the folding action between two adjacent folding wall members, such that they fold in only a desired direction, thereby causing the wall to fold in zigzag manner without any intervention. In another aspect, the back wall of the hinges provides an overlap between the adjacent folding wall members to cover any gap between them, thereby preventing ingress of foreign elements, and preventing any possibility of visibility across the wall through the gaps. Further, the hinge joint is configured to allow stacking of the adjacent folding wall members over each other when the wall is folded/collapsed.

[0026] In another aspect, the hinges between the plates can be spring loaded, such as by torsional springs, to nudge the plates to move in the preferred direction so that they fold over each other.

[0027] In an aspect, the roofassembly of the cubicle, during its movement between the folded and deployed condition of the cubiclecan be guided in vertically arranged columns. The vertical columns can have C section for a roller assembly to be guided therein. The roller assemblies can be fixed to each of four corners of the roof. Thus, when the cubicle is to be folded, the roofassembly can be lowered down on which the folding members of the wall fold about the respective hinges and get stacked over each other to provide a compact collapsed/folded wall. Likewise, when the cubicle is to be deployed, the roofassembly can be pulled in upward direction for the folding members of the wall to get unfold about the respective hinges to provide a wall.

[0028] In an aspect each of the column can be in two pieces, comprising a lower piece that is fixed to a floor assembly (and therefore referred to as fixed column hereinafter), and a detachable column that can be fixed to upper end of the fixed column to provide a continuous C section for the roller assembly to move in during the process of folding or deploying the cubicle. In an aspect, height of the fixed column can be adequate to accommodate the stacked folding members.

[0029] In an aspect, a male and female type joint cum lock is provided between the fixed column and the detachable column to hold them together in a rigid manner. The detachable column can be separated from the fixed column after the foldable walls, along with the roof assembly, have been collapsed within the fixed column. On the other hand, when the cubicle is to be deployed, the four detachable columns can be fixed with the four fixed columns, and thereafter, the roof assembly can be pulled up.

[0030] In an aspect, a locking mechanism is provided between the roof assembly and the detachable columns to lock the roof assembly in position after it has been raised to full height. Likewise there can be a locking mechanism to lock the roof assembly with the fixed column after the roof assembly has been lowered to fold the cubicle. [0031] As can be appreciated, with the proposed structure of the foldable cubical, there is no constrain on size, i.e. length and height, of any of the walls of the fordable cubical. The height can be increased or decreased in accordance with requirement, by increasing or decreasing the number of plates along with increase in length of the columns. And length can be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing length of the plates or by increasing or decreasing number of wall modules arranged side by side.

[0032] In an aspect, one or more doors are also provided on one side of the cubicle hinged to a correspondingdoor mounting column, which can be detachably attached between the floor assembly and the roof assembly. When there are more than one door, which may be the case when a single structure is used to provide two compartments, a detachable door mounting center column can be provided. There can be an additional foldable wall dividing the structure into two compartments.

[0033] In an aspect, the disclosed cubicle can also includeleveling bolts fixed at four comers of the floor assembly to be able to install the cubicles on un-leveled ground.

[0034] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a vertically foldable wall comprising a plurality of horizontally oriented folding wall members arranged adjacent to each other and a plurality of hinge members adapted to provide a hinge joint between the adjacent folding wall members such that when the upper end of the folding wall is lowered, the plurality of wall members are stacked over each other in zig-zag manner.

[0035] In an aspect, each of the hinge member comprises a back wall and a tongue. The back wall of the hingeis adapted to overlap with the adjacent wall members to cover any gap there between as the hinge member is coupled to the adjacent wall members through the tongue.

[0036] In an aspect, the tongue has two holes, one hole for fixing each of the two adjacent wall members using a hinge pin through a corresponding hole in the corresponding wall member to define a hinge axis for the respective wall members.

[0037] In an aspect, the two hinge axes on the hinge member are spaced apart such that, when the wall is folded, the adjacent wall members stack over each other.

[0038] In an aspect, the overlapping back wall ensures that adjacent wall members are able to fold only in a preferred direction, and wherein the hinge members are fitted such that back wall of alternate hinge members overlaps with the wall members on opposite sides of the wall members to enable folding of the wall members in zig-zag manner. [0039] In an aspect, the foldable wall can comprise a plurality of torsional springs fitted between the adjacent wall members to bias the adjacent wall members so that the adjacent wall members are nudged to move in the preferred direction.

[0040] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIGs. 1A to lEillustratesdifferent exemplary views of the proposed foldable cubicle, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary orthographic views of a folding wall member, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary orthographic views of a hinge member with back wall, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary top view showing assembly of folding wall members with hinges, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary side view showing transition of folding wall members assembled with hinges between an extended condition and a folded condition, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary orthographic views of a roller assembly, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary view of the floor assembly, the foldable walls and the roof assembly in collapsed condition, along with detachable columns, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0049] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary view of door assembly used with the proposed cubicle, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

[0051] Each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the "invention" may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases it will be recognized that references to the "invention" will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.

[0052] Various terms are used herein. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.

[0053] Embodiments explained herein relate toa portable cubicle that can be collapsed vertically down, which enables the cubicle to be folded to a pallet size, not constrained by size of its walls. Specifically, width and length of the folded cubicle shall be same as width and length of the erected and installed cubicle, with considerable reduction in height.

[0054] In an embodiment, vertical collapsing of the cubicle is enabled by vertically collapsible/foldable walls. In another embodiment, the walls fold downward over the floor assembly along with the roof assembly of the cubicle. Thus, the process of folding and unfolding/deploying the cubicle is easy and does not require much time.

[0055] In an embodiment, a guiding structure is provided to guidelowering or raising of the roof assembly and walls, the guiding structure comprising C section columns configured at four comers of the cubicle. Four roller assemblies are fixed at four corners of the roof assembly that are guided in the respective C section columns.

[0056] In an embodiment, each of the columns comprises a fixed column that is part of the floor assembly being fixed to the floor, and a detachable column that is detachably attached to the fixed column through a male - female joint. After the roof assembly and the walls have been folded over the floor assembly, the detachable columns can be detached and stored /carried separately. Conversely, when the folded cubicle is to be deployed the detachable columns can be attached to fixed columns and locked to provide a guiding path for the roller assembly to move up. After the roof assembly has been fully raised, the roof assembly can also be locked with the columns to provide a secure structure working as a closed cubicle. [0057] In an embodiment, foldable walls are made of plurality of horizontally oriented folding wall members with each folding wall member joined to other folding wall members on each side through a hinge joint. The hinge joints between the adjacent folding wall members allow the folding wall members to fold over each other in zigzag manner. Thus, the wall can collapse to a compact size, which in turn reduces package size of the folded cubicle.

[0058] In an embodiment, the hinge joint between the folding wall members of the wall is provided by a hinge members with back wall, wherein the back wall of the hinge controls the folding action between two adjacent folding wall members such that they fold in only a desired direction, thereby causing the wall to fold in zigzag manner without any intervention. In another aspect, the back wall of the hinges provides an overlap between the adjacent folding wall members to cover any gap between them, thereby preventing ingress of foreign elements and preventing any possibility of visibility across the wall through the gaps. Further, the hinge joint is configured to stack the adjacent folding wall members over each other when the wall is folded/collapsed.

[0059] Referring to FIGs. 1A to 1E, wherein various views of the proposed foldable cubicle are disclosed, the proposed foldable cubicle 100 can include a floor assembly 102 that includes vertically oriented fixed columns 104 fixed rigidly by suitable means at four comers of floor of the cubicle 100. Detachable columns 110 can be attached to the respective fixed columns through a male and female type joint 106. The joint 106 can also include means to lock the coupling between the fixed column and the detachable column. The locking means can be a locking pin 108 that can be inserted in a hole and rotated to lock the joint.

[0060] It is to be appreciated that though various embodiments have been described with reference to a cubicle 100 having rectangular floor area requiring four fixed columns 104 and four detachable columns 110, the inventive concept of the present disclosure, as would be apparent to those skilled in the art, can be applied to cubicles of any other shape such as triangular shape or polygonal shape, and all such variations are well within the scope of the present disclosure without any limitations whatsoever.

[0061] In an aspect, the fixed column 104 and the detachable columns 110 can be of C section, wherein interior of the C section guides a roller assembly 600 (refer to FIG. 6) that is fixed to the roof assembly 112. Thus the roof assembly 112 can have four roller assemblies 600 (refer to FIG.6) fixed at four comers, each of the four roller assemblies 600 guided in a corresponding column made up of the fixed column 104 and the corresponding detachable column 110. The roof assembly 112 can be assembled with the columns by inserting the roller assemblies 600 in respective columns from top, and then top open end of the columns can be closed with a dead plates 124. This makes the roof assembly 112 an integral part of assembly of columns and the floor assembly 102 allowing ceiling to slide up and down, as required, to erect the cubicle and fold the cubicle respectively.

[0062] In an aspect, when the roof assembly 112 is lifted up to upper most position on the detachable columns 110, the roof assembly 112 can be retained there by a "C" channel type roof holding and locking band 126 to prevent the roof assembly 112 from sliding down.

[0063] As is evident, the male and female type joint 106 provided to detachably attach the detachable column 110 with the fixed column 104, has to be such that inner passage of the C section columns remains free and smooth for the roller assembly 600 to travel from one side to the other side.

[0064] In an aspect, the foldable walls such as walls 118 can be fixed between the roof assembly 112 and the floor assembly 102, such that upper ends of the collapsible/foldable walls 118 are fixed to roof assembly 112 of the cubicle 100, and lower end of the collapsible /foldable walls 118 are fixed to the floor assembly 102 of the cubicle 100. Thus, when the roof assembly 112 is lowered or raised, the foldable walls 118 get folded or extended, as the case may be.

[0065] In an embodiment of application, the disclosed cubicle 100 may incorporate a fixture fixed to the floor assembly, such as a sanitary fitting, making it unviable to make the walls foldable right up to the lower end fixed to the floor. In such a scenario, part of walls at lower side can be afixed wall l22as shown in FIGs, 1B to 1E. While it increases height of the folded cubicle, it avoids need to remove the fitting when the cubicle 100 is folded.

[0066] In an embodiment, the cubicle 100 can incorporate one or more doors 116 mounted through hinges on one or more detachable door mounting columns 114.

[0067] In an aspect, the disclosed cubicle 100 can also include leveling bolts 120 fixed at four corners of the floor assembly to be able to install the cubicles on un-leveled ground.

[0068] FIGs. 2 to 5 illustrate construction and working of the proposed foldable walls that are used in the cubicle 100 to facilitate vertical folding of the walls as the roof assembly 112 is lowered down over the floor assembly 102. The proposed foldable walls can comprise a plurality of horizontally oriented folding wall members 200 (refer to FIG. 2) with each folding wall member 200 (also referred to as wall member and the two terms used interchangeably hereinafter) joined to adjacent folding wall members on each side through a hinge joint. The hinge joints between the adjacent folding wall members allow the folding wall members 200 to fold over each other in zigzag manner (refer to FIG. 5). Thus, the walls can collapse to a compact size, which in turn reduces package size of the folded cubicle. [0069] In an embodiment, the hinge joint between the folding wall members 200 of the wall is provided by modular hinge members with back wall 300 (refer to FIG. 3), wherein the back wall 302 of the hinge 300 controls the folding action between two adjacent folding wall members 200 such that they fold in only a desired direction, thereby causing the wall to fold in zigzag manner without any intervention. To facilitate folding action between folding wall members 200 in zigzag manner, alternate modular hinge members with back wall 300 (also referred to simply as hinge or hinge member, and the terms used interchangeably hereinafter) are fixed in opposed directions. Thus, if the folding action between a first and a second folding wall members 200 takes place in clockwise direction, by virtue of the alternate hinges 300 being in opposite positions, the folding action between thesecond anda third folding wall members 200 shall takes place in counter-clockwise direction enabling folding of the wall members over each other in a zig-zag manner. As can be seen, the back wall 302 on the hinge 300 shall prevent folding action in any other direction.

[0070] In an aspect, to nudge the adjacent wall members 200 to move in the direction away from the back wall of the hinge member 300, when the roof assembly is lowered, springs (not shown), such as torsional springs can be provided between adjacent wall members 200 to bias them to move in the desired direction.

[0071] In another aspect, the back wall 302 of the hinges 300 also provides an overlap between the adjacent folding wall members 200 to cover any gap between the adjacent folding wall members 200. Thisprevents ingress of foreign elements and as well as any possibility of visibility across the wall through the gaps.

[0072] In another aspect, the folding wall members 200 can be pivotally fixed to the hinge 200 through tongue and groove arrangement, wherein the tongue and groove arrangement is provided along the entire length of the folding wall members 200. As shown in FIG. 3 there can be two holes in the tongues, one for fixing each of the two adjacent folding wall members 200, and each hole defining hinge axis for the respective folding wall members 200. The two hinge axes on the hinges 300 can be spaced apart such that, when the wall is folded/collapsed, the adjacent folding wall members 200 stack over each other as shown in FIG. 5.

[0073] In another embodiment, each folding wall members 200 can be coupled to the hinge 300 by a hinge pin or bar that runs from one end of the folding wall members 200 to the other end.

[0074] FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary orthographic views of a roller assembly, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The roller assembly 600 can be built around a T type mounting frame 602, wherein the side of the frame 602 identified by top side of T, can remain outside C section column 104/110, and the side of the frame 602 identified by vertical side of T, can be inside the C section column 104/110 entering through opening of the C section column 104/110. There can be plurality of rollers 603-1 and 603-2 (collectively referred to as 603) fixed on the vertical T side. The rollers 603 can be arranges such that there are at least two rollers in contact with each inner side of the C section column 104/ 110. The rollers 603 being in contact with each side, i.e. on all four sides, ensures that the roller assembly 600 is well guided within the C section column 104/110 without any freedom of movement in directions other than longitudinal direction, i.e. direction in which roller assembly 600 is to travel when the roof assembly 112 is folded or deployed.

[0075] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary view of the floor assembly, the foldable walls and the roof assembly in collapsed condition, along with detachable columns, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As is clear from above description, after the roof assembly 112 has been lowered over the floor assembly 102, the detachable columns 110 can be detached from the fixed columns. The roof assembly 112 and the walls folded over the floor assembly 102 make a compact package. Besides, starting from the folded condition, the roof assembly 112 and the walls can be quickly raised up after the detachable columns 110 have been fixed with the fixed columns 104. As can be seen, the detachable columns 110, the one or more doors 116 fixed to the corresponding one or more detachable door mounting columns 114, shall be separate items from the folded cubicle 100.

[0076] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary view of door assembly used with the proposed cubicle, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The door 116 can be fixed to the corresponding detachable door mounting column 114 through hinges to make one assembly to be stored and transported separately.

[0077] In an aspect, using the inventive concept, it is possible to provide a cubicle of height between 96 to 108 inches, which can be folded to height of 12 to 48 inches depending on design requirement. Using the concept, it is possible to make cubicles of any size and shape that look like cabins when erected and installed. It is very easy to erect and is structurally very strong when compared with tented units or units built with corrugated sheets. Because of folding design, it is easy to transport to any location, wherein three times more quantity per vehicle can be carried, as compared to conventional cubicles / kiosks. Therefore, the proposed cubicle is also environmentally friendly and cost effective, as it saves on fuel and the transportation cost. This feature is very important during emergency deployment of resources such as camping huts, sanitation units like toilets, urinals, hand wash units, showers, etc. at a disaster site.

[0078] In an aspect, on account of convenience of folding and unfolding, each cubical can be installed and erected within few minutes by two persons only. When the proposed cubicles are used for portable sanitation units like toilets, urinals, hand wash units, showers, etc., they promote hygiene, cleanliness, and fully complement“swatch bharatabhiyan”.

[0079] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

[0080] The present disclosure provides a portable cubicle that can be folded to a small size for ease of transportation and storage; and can be quickly deployed.

[0081] The present disclosure provides a portable cubicle whose folded size is not limited by size of its walls.

[0082] The present disclosure provides a portable cubicle whose walls can be collapsed vertically, thereby eliminating size of walls as a limitation to folded size of the cubicle.

[0083] The present disclosure provides a portable cubicle whose walls can be collapsed vertically along with roof, thereby helping in quick folding and deployment of the cubicle.

[0084] The present disclosure provides a portable cubicle that incorporates foldable walls that have flexibility to enable their folding, and yet are rigid in deployed condition to withstand vagaries of nature.

[0085] The present disclosure provides walls for portable cubicles that transit from folded to extended condition and vice versa, with minimum human intervention.

[0086] The present disclosure provides a hinge joint between folding wall members of a walls that enables folding of the folding wall members in desired direction only.

[0087] The present disclosure provides a guiding structure for portable cubicles that enables folding of the walls with least intervention, and retains the folded wall and roof in quick to deploy condition.

[0088] The present disclosure provides a guiding structure for the portable cubicles that is foldable for reduced package size.