TENT WITH LOCATORS FOR POLES

The present invention relates to tents. In particular, it relates to tents capable of being pitched by a single person.

Although the specific embodiments disclosed herein relate to tents of conventional form used for camping and the like, the teaching herein can be used with other possible structures formed from fabric or other sheeting supported by one or more poles. The term tent used herein should therefore be understood to include all such structures.

There are available a number of different methods of supporting tent covers having the intention that the tent or fabric structure is able to be assembled and disassembled easily and quickly, that the total weight of the product is minimised and the size of the packed unit minimised for ease of transportation.

A number of fast-erecting tent designs including pop-up tents have been designed, which fulfil some of these requirements. Many when packed, however, form a flat circle, which although thin, has a large diameter. Pop-up tents are also generally limited in the size to which they can be produced due to the physical constraints of the system employed in supporting the fabric.

Frame tents with internal or external frames offer good rigidity but are heavy, very slow to assemble and are bulky due to the number of frame parts. Ridge tents offer good rigidity, are quick to assemble and relatively light but have limited head room. Wigwam tents are very quick to assemble, light and compact but have even less headroom, being restricted to the area immediately around the pole. Inflatable tents tend to become punctured and deflate as well as being rather poor at resisting high winds

US 5,853,016 discloses a ridge tent that can be pitched by a single person. The tent includes two upright poles, held in position by several guy ropes

anchoring a fly-sheet. In order for one of the upright poles to remain supported in the upright position whilst the camper deals with erecting the other upright pole, the guy ropes must be pegged into the ground at very precise positions. A complex method of determining those positions is disclosed.

Other tents using a series of struts to support the outer canvas also have the same problem in the locating of the best positions for the guy ropes. This slows down the assembly of the tent and in many cases makes the assembly difficult or impossible to be achieved by a single person.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved tent.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tent including: a plurality of substantially upright poles, at least two being located substantially at the perimeter of the tent; a ground-contacting member including pole-locators marking pre-determined positions for the bases of the perimeter poles; a roof portion operable to connect at least one upright pole to at least one other upright pole, the roof portion including pole-locators marking pre-determined positions of the tops of the perimeter poles; a ground-engagement locator for marking pre-determined positions of ground-engagement mechanisms for supporting the perimeter poles.

A tent having such an arrangement enables a user to pitch the tent in an intuitive manner because the peg positions for pole supports are pre-determined and marked. Furthermore, it can be pitched by a single person because the upright poles are self-supporting.

The ground-engagement locater may include a length of material extending from a perimeter pole. In an embodiment, the ground-engagement locater includes a substantially horizontal portion extending from the base of he perimeter poles towards the exterior of the tent. Preferably, the ground-

engagement locator is at least one-seventh the length of its associated perimeter pole.

The ground-engagement locator may include a substantially right-angled triangular piece of fabric, wherein the right-angle is located at the base of the perimeter pole.

In an embodiment, the horizontal portion includes a section of the ground- contacting member.

The tent may include at least one internal pole, the internal pole being connected to at least one perimeter pole by a flexible connector. In preferred embodiments, the at least one internal pole is longer than at least one perimeter pole to provide a sloped roof portion. Additionally/alternatively, perimeter poles may have different lengths to one another to provide a sloped roof portion.

The tent preferably includes at least one substantially vertical wall.

In some embodiments, the tent may include at least one external perimeter pole. This avoids the need for the perimeter pole to take up space within the interior of the tent.

The ground-contacting member is preferably a ground sheet, which may be integral.

The ground-contacting member may include flexible connectors operable to extend between the base of a perimeter pole to another perimeter pole. In embodiments, this may provide a more lightweight tent structure.

The roof portion of the tent preferably includes a flexible connector to connect the top of one perimeter pole to the top of another perimeter pole. This

can provide additional strength to the roof portion of the tent. The flexible connector may comprise webbing and/or the tent fabric itself.

The roof portion preferably includes tent fabric. In some embodiments, the roof portion includes webbing attached to tent fabric.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a first embodiment of a tent; Figure 2 is a side view of the tent of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is an end view of the tent of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a tent;

Figure 5 is an enlargement of a part of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlargement of a part of Figure 4; Figure 7 shows detail from a part of the tent shown in Figure 4;

Figure 8 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a tent;

Figure 9 shows an end view of the tent of Figure 8; and

Figure 10 illustrates a modification.

Figures 1 to 3 illustrate a first embodiment of tent. As can be best seen in

Figure 1 , the tent includes ten upright poles 1 , 4. The tent is generally square in shape, and eight of the upright poles (hereinafter referred to as "perimeter poles 1") are located towards, and define, the perimeter of the tent. One perimeter pole 1 is located at each corner of the tent, and one perimeter pole 1 is located approximately half-way along each side of the tent. Two of the upright poles (hereinafter "internal poles 4") are located inside the tent. As can be best seen from Figures 2 and 3, the internal poles 4 are longer than the perimeter poles 1. This forms a sloped roof to the tent.

Each perimeter pole 1 or internal pole 4 is connected to another perimeter pole 1 or internal pole 4 by means of webbing 2 attached to the fabric of the tent. (The fabric is not shown in Figures 1 to 3 for clarity.) The webbing 2 provides a

flexible, but inelastic connection between the tops of the poles, and is provided with holes, or some other engagement means for insertion of the tops of the upright poles 1 , 4. The webbing therefore provides a network indicating the correct locations of the tops of the poles 1 , 4 relative to one another.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the webbing could be the covering (e.g. fabric) of the tent or an element of the covering. In the latter case, this could be a reinforcement including a seam.

The tent is also provided with a groundsheet 20, which is preferably integral with the fabric covering of the tent. The groundsheet 20 includes peg loops so that it can be pegged to the ground. In addition, the groundsheet 20 includes markings to show where the base of each pole 1, 4 should be positioned. These markings may be simple markings. In a preferred embodiment, these markings may include holes in the ground sheet through which the bases of the poles 1 , 4 may be inserted. Other locating mechanisms for the bases of the poles 1 , 4 may be envisaged, such as fittings, bases or the like.

In this embodiment, the groundsheet 20 extends beyond the perimeter poles 20 by a short distance (for example, by at least 30 cm). The reason for this is explained below.

The perimeter poles 1 are held in position by guy ropes 3, which may be adjustable in some embodiments. Preferably, however, the guy ropes 3 are of fixed length, being made from webbing or similar inextensible material, and are an extension of the network of webbing 2 described above. The guy ropes 3 include peg locators, such as a hook, loop, hole or similar, through which a peg (not shown) can be inserted in order to fix the guy rope 3 to the ground. The groundsheet 20 also includes peg locators, such as holes through which the guy rope pegs for securing the perimeter poles 1 may be engaged. The peg locators are thus advantageously positioned at the location at which the guy rope 3 should be pegged into the ground.

To pitch the tent, the user lays out the structure on the ground, and as a first step pegs down the groundsheet 20. The user then selects an upright pole 1, 4 to erect. The upright poles 1 , 4 are all placed with their bases at the appropriate place as indicated by the markings, holes or fittings on the ground sheet 20. The tops of the poles are placed within pole locators found at the appropriate places in the webbing 2. The upright poles 1, 4 are, however, at this stage laid on the ground lying sideways (i.e. parallel to the sides of the tent as appropriate).

The next stage is for the user to peg all of the guy ropes 3 at predetermined locations as indicated by the peg locators on the groundsheet 20. By way of example, the predetermined peg location may be approximately 30 cm away from each perimeter pole 1 in a direction towards the exterior of the tent.

Once all of the guy ropes 3 have been pegged, the tops of the poles 1 are fitted into an appropriate hole or similar at the top of each guy rope 3. Once the tops of the upright poles 1, 4 have been located correctly with respect to the groundsheet 20 and the webbing 2 as appropriate, the user can start to raise the upright poles. The user selects an upright pole 1, 4 and proceeds to raise the pole into its upright position. Once upright, the base of the pole 1 , 4 is placed at its correct pre-determined position on the groundsheet 20 as indicated by the markings. The pole will stay in place due to the tension provided by its associated pre-pegged guy rope 3 and is prevented from toppling in any other direction due to the weight and distribution of the tent fabric. The webbing 2 between the tops of the upright poles 1 , 4 also prevents these from falling down during pitching.

More specifically, each pole is arranged with respect to the webbing and/or tent covering such that when it is raised to an upright position it will pull up a sufficient amount of webbing and/or tent covering from directions providing an opposing and balancing movement to the pull of the guide rope to remain upright.

This process is then repeated with each of the other upright poles 1 , 4 until the entire tent structure has been completely pitched. Finally, additional external guy ropes (not shown) may be secured to provide extra security against high winds for example.

As the other poles 1 , 4 are raised to their upright positions, they will assist in supporting the pole or poles which is/are already upright through the connecting webbing and/or a tent covering, thus ensuring that the poles can be raised with ease. In most embodiments, particularly those disclosed herein, there is no particular order in which the poles need to be raised.

As can be seen from Figures 1 to 3 the poles 1 , 4 that give the structure its height are held in place preferably but not necessarily exclusively at their tops or in any case above the ground level by the webbing 2 and/or tent covering. The only heavy, rigid components of the tent are the poles 1 , 4, which resist the high compressive loads with the cross support all being in tension being afforded by the lighter webbing being held also in tension and to the ground by the guy ropes 3. In this way a light, rigid, compact structure that is quick and easy to put up and take down is provided. The tent fabric or other sheeting may preferably be secured to the webbing by stitching or other suitable means but the fabric need no longer take any high tensile loading which can be borne by the webbing. For smaller structures, the covering could be separate from the webbing.

The above-described embodiment thus provides a frame comprising a series of preferably upright poles 1, 4, the tops of which are linked by webbing 2, cord, fabric or similar and held down to the ground via guy ropes 3. There are no cross-bars. All of the poles 1 , 4 are secured in position by the webbing, fabric or ties which take no compressive loading. All the poles 1 , 4 are struts and take no significant tensile loads. As all the interconnecting members 2, fabric or webbing between the pole tops are preferably in tension, the section of the webbing 2 or fabric is minimised, the weight reduced and the pack size reduced.

The webbing 2 can be attached directly to the fabric or other tent covering or the covering used on its own and the poles 1 , 4 inserted into prepared locations into the covering of the tent as in ridge tents but without ridge poles being required. The internal poles 4 towards the centre of the tent are the tallest and those further away from the centre are shorter. This allows for rain water to naturally drain away. When being packed away, all the cross-members being webbing 2 or fabric can be left in place and folded away. This is not possible with frame and ridge tents. In this way, a quick to erect tent, light in weight, with good head room across its living area, sturdy in weather resistance and compact in size is produced.

The skilled person will appreciate that many modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment. Although the connections between the tops of the upright poles 1 , 4 may be webbing 2, other flexible and inelastic connection means such as cord could also be suitable. The guy ropes 3 may be replaced by webbing or cord also. Instead of a groundsheet 20, lengths of webbing/cord or other similar fabric could be used to mark out the positions for location of the bases of the upright poles 1 , 4. With this modification, for example, a 30 cm length of webbing may be used to show the user where the guy rope 3 needs to be pegged. The camper may need to judge the correct position by eye in order peg at the correct angle (say, extending substantially perpendicularly away from the wall of the tent), but this would be relatively easy for most people and in most embodiments its exact position will not be critical.

Where loading is less, the webbing 2 cross-members can be eliminated and the tent fabric can take the loads directly.

Another embodiment of tent is described with reference to Figures 4 to 7. The tent includes four external upright perimeter poles 1 , of which only two can be seen in Figure 4. The tent is substantially square-shaped and a perimeter pole 1 is located approximately halfway along each side. There are no corner perimeter poles or internal poles 4 in this embodiment. Two opposing perimeter poles 1 are

shorter than the remaining two opposing perimeter poles 1. This results in a sloped roof as shown in Figure 4.

In this embodiment, instead of guy ropes 3 being used to support the upright pole 1 during pitching of the tent, a triangular piece of material 6 is provided. The triangular piece of material 6 has a right angle, a short base, a long upright side and a hypotenuse. The triangular piece of material 6 is fitted to the upright pole 1 such that the right angle is located at the base of the upright pole 1 and its long upright side runs alongside the upright pole 1.

Figure 5 shows the top of the upright pole in more detail, where it can be seen that the top of the pole 1 extends through a fabric attachment piece 5 provided at the top of the triangular piece of material 6, at the angle between the long upright side and the hypotenuse. This serves also to position the top of the upright pole correctly in the tent fabric. At the right angle of the triangular piece of material 6, there is provided a lug 40 (see Figure 6) for engagement with the base of the upright pole 1. The triangular piece of fabric 6 also contains holes for pegs 7 along its short base, as can be best seen in Figure 7. These ensure that the camper places the pegs in the correct locations in order to support the upright pole 1 during pitching of the tent.

Of course the angle of the material 6 adjacent the lower end of the pole 1 need not be an exact right angle.

In order to pitch the tent of this embodiment, as above, firstly the groundsheet 20 is pegged into position and the upright poles 1 are laid down with their bases ready for engagement with the lugs 40, and lying "sideways" along the perimeter of the tent (parallel to the walls). As a second step, the short base of the triangular piece of material 60 is pegged to the ground such that it extends substantially perpendicularly out from the sides of the tent. The next stage is to insert the top of an upright pole 1 into a fabric attachment piece 5 found at the top

of the triangular piece of material 6. The pole 1 , 4 is then raised into position by being lifted sideways, and the base of the upright pole 1 inserted into the lug 40.

Once the pole 1 is inserted into position the weight of the tent fabric pulls the pole inwards at the top of the pole 1 but the pre-pegged triangular piece of material 6 prevents it from being pulled over so the pole 1 remains upright. Once all the poles 1 are correctly positioned and the tent is upright, guy ropes are attached to the structure in the conventional way to give resistance to harsh weather.

The external poles 1 are easier and quicker to fit than the internal poles as one does not need to enter the tent in order to raise the structure. The second embodiment with external poles, as with the first embodiment, does away with the need for cross-members, saving assembly time, weight and cost.

In this embodiment, only external poles 1 are provided: two long poles 1 and two short poles 1. In a modification having a different number of perimeter poles 1 , two long poles 1 and a single short pole 1 could be provided, or two short poles 1 and a single long polei , for example. Of course, the skilled person will appreciate that in an embodiment having only external perimeter poles 1 , internal poles 4 (such as those described with respect to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 or as described below) could also be provided.

Another embodiment of tent is now described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. This tent is also substantially square in shape. Like the embodiment of Figure 1 to 3, it has eight perimeter upright poles 1 (one at each corner, and one approximately half way along each side). However, in this embodiment, only a single internal pole 4 is provided, approximately in the centre of the tent. As with the embodiment of Figures 4 to 7, the perimeter poles 1 are external. The internal pole 4 is taller than two opposed perimeter poles 1 found along the sides of the tent, but is the same height as the two opposed perimeter poles 1 found along the other two sides of the tent. This provides a sloping roof.

In this embodiment, some of the perimeter poles 1 are supported by a triangular piece of fabric 6, as described above with the embodiment with reference to Figures 4 to 7. In this embodiment the two opposed longer perimeter poles 1 are supported in this way. The shorter perimeter poles 1 are found inside the perimeter wall of the tent, and are held in place by means of the tent fabric 80 itself extending from the top of the upright pole 1 to the ground. This provides the same function as the guy ropes 3 of the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, and also as the hypotenuse of the right angled triangular support 6 of the embodiment of Figures 5 to 7. In other words, the tension between the tent fabric 80 and the top of the upright pole 1 supports the upright pole 1 in position during pitching of the tent (see below).

In this embodiment, the tent is pitched by first pegging out the groundsheet 20, and then pegging down the fabric of the tent forming the side wall 80 at pre-determined locations indicated by the presence of holes, loops or similar on the groundsheet. The short bases of the triangular pieces of fabric 6 are also pegged down so that they extend substantially perpendicularly out from the sides of the tent. As before, the top of each upright pole 1 is placed in the relevant locator in the roof of the tent, and then the upright pole 1 , 4 is lifted into position. The base in then placed in the correct position in accordance with the markings on the groundsheet.

Figure 10 illustrates a modification to the above-described embodiments. Instead of the groundsheet 20 providing the peg locators for the guy ropes 3 or similar, a guy rope 3 is provided with a horizontally extending piece of webbing, cord or similar 100. The upright pole 1 , the guy rope 3 and the horizontally extending cord 100 thus together form an empty triangle, which serves the same purpose as the triangular piece of fabric 6 described in connection with the embodiments of Figures 5 to 9 or the guy rope 3 and groundsheet 20 arrangement of Figures 1 to 3. The horizontally extending piece of cord 100 enables the camper to ensure that the guy rope 3 is pegged at the correct position to support the

upright pole 1 prior to raising the upright pole into its upright position 1. In an example, the upright pole is two metres in height, the horizontally extending cord 100 is 30cm in length, and the guy rope 3 is 2.02 metres in length.

It has been found that for a 2 metre high pole for example, the distance from the base of the pole for locating the securing point of should ideally be 0.3 metres or greater. Shorter distances from the base of the pole can be used but due to stretch in the guy ropes or fabric and any give due to soft ground may allow the top of the tent pole to topple over. The skilled person will appreciate that other lengths could be equally appropriate.

The above-described embodiments provide tents that are simple, sturdy and cost-effective. Preferred embodiments have particular application in connection with supporting fabrics for tents and aiding the user with fast pitching. The inclusion of markers showing the user where to place pegs to secure the upright pole support mechanism at predetermined locations enables a user to pitch the tent single-handedly. The user does not have to make any calculations regarding where the pegging is required. In some embodiments the user may have to judge by eye an angle of approximately 90° to determine the correct pegging location.

In preferred embodiments the structure ensures that water is not trapped on the roof but is allowed to drain away freely, due to the sloping nature of the roof.

An advantage of preferred embodiments of this invention is the provision of pre-determined location points at ground level for the pegs used to secure the poles in a vertical manner. The pegs are located at points in the ground some distance away from the base of the pole (for example, at a distance of 30 cm for a 2 m pole) and secure a line, length of webbing or piece of tent fabric between the ground and the top of the pole that can be looked upon as the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle. This support system assists a user in pitching the tent alone because each upright pole is self-supported in a substantially vertical position.

The top of the poles are connected together such that they are prevented in falling outwards, by the webbing 2 or the tent fabric or such like that is connected to the tops of other poles or similarly to the ground again in a similar manner.

This method of identifying the correct location for pegging out the key location points for the pole supports it-has been proved by experimentation to enable a single person to assemble small and large tent structures alike single handed and very quickly.

The modifications and various features of the different described embodiments are not mutually exclusive and may be combined or interchanged as appropriate.

The disclosures in United Kingdom patent application No. GB0720106.4, from which this application claims priority, and in the abstract accompanying this application are incorporated herein by reference.