Abstract:
An awning for a tent has an awning fabric attached at a first end to a tent, and a member attaching a first portion of the awning fabric to a tent pole and causing a second portion of the awning fabric to extend away from the tent. The member is a hook attachable to the pole, an attachment connecting the first portion of the awning fabric to the hook, an attachment strip connecting the first end of the awning fabric to the hook, or an attachment loop which loops around the pole without using the hook.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims foreign priority to China Application No. 201320835971.9, filed on Dec. 17, 2013, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a tent awning, and in particular to an awning integrally formed on a tent, which is held in an extended configuration without additional components or assembly and collapsible for folding with the tent without additional disassembly. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Prior Art 
         [0005]    Camping tents have evolved over the years to be more user-friendly and new features have been developed to provide the camper with additional conveniences. One of those features is an awning which covers the window or door, or any other opening of the tent to provide the tent with additional protection from rain and also to provide additional shade. 
         [0006]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a tent  10  in the prior art includes an awning  12  in the prior art composed of awning fabric  13  having a channel or sleeve  14 . After the tent  10  is erected, a rod  16  is inserted through the channel  14  and each end of the rod  16  is connected to a body portion  11  of the tent  10  to hold the awning  12  in a configuration in which the awning fabric  13  extends away from the tent body portion  11 . The ends of the rod  16  are connected either to poles  15  of the tent  10  or a tent fabric  17 . When collapsing the tent  10 , the user must disassemble the awning  12  by detaching the rod ends and removing the rod  16  from the channel  14 . 
         [0007]    Instant tents—tents that are sold preassembled with the tent fabric connected to a foldable frame—have gained popularity because of the ease of folding and unfolding the tent. As described above, the awning  12  of the prior art is particularly inconvenient in instant tents because additional assembly and disassembly is required. Thus, the concept of an “instant” tent is defeated. 
         [0008]    The tent awnings of the prior art make the assembly and disassembly process time consuming. Furthermore, with the requirement of a separate rod  16 , the likelihood of misplacing the rod  16  during storage and transport is increased. Also, the additional parts required for the awning  12 , including the hardware (not shown) required to mount the rod  16 , increase the cost of production and the possibility of repair. 
         [0009]    Therefore, it is desirable to provide an awning that requires no loose parts such as a rod and mounting hardware. It is also desirable to have an awning that is easily assembled and disassembled on a traditional tent. It is further desirable to have an awning that requires no assembly or disassembly on an instant tent. 
       OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
         [0011]    The present invention provides an awning that requires no loose parts such as a mounting rod. The present invention also provides an awning that is easily assembled and disassembled on a traditional tent and an awning that requires no assembly or disassembly on an instant tent. 
         [0012]    In one embodiment, an awning for a tent having a pole comprises an awning fabric attached at a first end to the tent; and a member attaching a first portion of the awning fabric to the pole and causing a second portion of the awning fabric to extend away from the tent. The member includes a hook attachable to the pole. In addition to the hook, the member includes a an attachment strip connecting the first portion of the awning fabric to the hook, or includes an attachment strip connecting the first end of the awning fabric to the hook, or includes a plurality of hooks and a plurality of attachment strips connecting each of the first end and the first portion of the awning fabric to a respective hook. 
         [0013]    In another embodiment, instead of the hook, the member includes an attachment loop with one end of the loop attached to the first portion of the awning fabric, and with the loop extending around the pole, and the loop is slidable along a length of the pole. 
         [0014]    In a further embodiment, the awning includes a seam within the awning; and a rod extending through a channel in the seam. 
         [0015]    In alternative embodiments, the present invention comprises a tent having a pole, a tent fabric on the pole, and an awning with an awning fabric attached at a first end to the tent; and a member attaching a first portion of the awning fabric to the pole and causing a second portion of the awning fabric to extend away from the tent. The member includes a hook attachable to the pole. In addition to the hook, the member includes an attachment strip connecting the first portion of the awning fabric to the hook, or includes an attachment strip connecting the first end of the awning fabric to the hook, or includes a plurality of hooks and a plurality of attachment strips connecting each of the first end and the first portion of the awning fabric to a respective hook. 
         [0016]    In another embodiment, instead of the hook, the member of the tent includes an attachment loop with one end of the loop attached to the first portion of the awning fabric, and with the loop of fabric extending around the pole, and the loop of fabric is slidable along a length of the pole. 
         [0017]    In a further embodiment, the tent has the awning with a seam therewith; and a rod extending through a channel in the seam. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. 
           [0019]    In the drawings: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a top front perspective view of a tent in the prior art with a prior art awning; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is the top front perspective view of a tent having an awning of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged view of insert A of the awning of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is an alternative embodiment of the awning of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is another alternative embodiment of the awning of  FIG. 2  and 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the tent of  FIG. 2  in a partially folded state. 
       
    
    
       [0026]    To facilitate an understanding of the invention, identical reference numerals have been used, when appropriate, to designate the same or similar elements that are common to the figures. Further, unless stated otherwise, the features shown in the figures are not drawn to scale, but are shown for illustrative purposes only. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. The article “a” is intended to include one or more items, and where only one item is intended the term “one” or similar language is used. Additionally, to assist in the description of the present invention, words such as top, bottom, upper, lower, front, rear, inner, outer, right and left are used to describe the accompanying figures. The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIGS. 2-5 , the present invention is an awning  22  for a tent  20  having tent fabric  21  on poles  25 , in which the awning  22  is held in an extended configuration away from the tent fabric  21  without using internal rods or poles to maintain the awning in the extended configuration. 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIGS. 2-3 , in a first embodiment of the present invention, the awning  22  has awning fabric  23  which, when deployed in accordance with the present invention, is held by at least one hook  26  mounted on at least one of the poles  25  upon which the awning fabric  23  is maintained. In the present embodiment, the awning fabric  23  includes a top portion  23   a  and opposing side portions  23   b  but the awning fabric  23  could include more or less portions. 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  illustrates an enlarged view of insert A of  FIG. 2 , in which a first attachment strip  24  is attached to a tent fabric  21  on one end and to a first hook  26   a  on an opposing end. In the present embodiment, the first attachment strip  24  is attached to a seam joining the tent fabric  21  and the awning fabric  23  but could be attached elsewhere depending on the particular design of the tent. A second attachment strip  28  is attached at one end to the awning  22  and to a second hook  26   b  at an opposing end. The respective hooks  26   a ,  26   b  are coupled to at least one pole  25 . The attachment strips  24 ,  28  are, for example, strips of fabric, elongated woven nylon material, or a combination of both, attached at one end to the awning fabric  23  or a tent fabric  21  by any known attachment mechanism, such as seams, glue, fasteners, etc. For example, the first attachment strip  24  is a woven nylon strip which is attached to the tent fabric  21 , and the second attachment strip  28  includes a fabric portion  29  and a nylon portion  31  and is attached to the awning fabric  23  using a seam  27 . 
         [0031]    Due to the position and orientation of the second hook  26   b  as well as the length of the attachment strips  28 , the awning fabric  23  is pulled by the second hook  26   b  and attachment strip  28  to be in the configuration extending away from the tent fabric  21  to provide an awning  22  of the tent  20 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . In this manner, the awning fabric  23  is substantially taut such that any rain water will flow downward instead of accumulating on top of the awning  22 . The extended configuration of the awning  22  is adjustable in size and shape by the user who selects the location of the second hook  26   b  along a selected pole  25  of the tent  20 . In addition, the awning  22  may be easily collapsed during folding of the tent  20  by detaching the second attachment strip  28  from the second hook  26   b  and/or by detaching the second hook  26   b  from the pole  25 . 
         [0032]    In addition, the hooks  26   a ,  26   b  may be a known mechanism which may be slidably mounted and/or detached and reattached from one position to another on the poles  25 , allowing a selected hook  26   a ,  26   b  to be securely mounted in a selected position along a selected one of the poles  25 . 
         [0033]    Accordingly, the awning  22  of the present invention does not use or require additional rods or poles for deploying the awning  22  in the extended configuration. 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the seam  27  may optionally include a channel  40  in which a rod (not shown) may be placed for forming the awning fabric  23  to be substantially planar, while the second hook  26   b  and second attachment strip  28  hold the awning fabric  23  of the awning  22  in the extended configuration away from the tent fabric  21 . Optionally, the seam  27  and rod could be shaped and sized to a desired configuration. 
         [0035]    In an alternative embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , a single hook  26  is attached to the attachment strips  24 ,  28 , with the first attachment strip  24  connected to an end or corner of the tent fabric  21 , and with the second attachment strip  28  connected to a portion or side of the awning  22 . In this configuration, materials cost is reduced during manufacture while still providing the proper support for the awning  22 . 
         [0036]    In a further embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 , a single hook  26  is attached to the tent fabric  21  and an attachment loop  30  is attached to a portion of the awning  22 . The attachment loop  30  loops around one of the poles  25 , and the attachment loop  30  may slide along the selected pole  25  when the tent is folded. In addition, the attachment loop  30  may be repositioned by sliding the attachment loop  30  along the pole  25 , allowing a user to further adjust the configuration of the awning  22  relative to the tent fabric  21 . The attachment loop  30  could be constructed of materials such as tent fabric, woven nylon or the like and could be elastic. 
         [0037]    Accordingly, using combination of the hooks  26  and attachment strips  24 ,  28  as well as the attachment loop  30  shown in  FIGS. 2-5 , the awning  22  may be configured and deployed in a selected shape and configuration relative to the tent  21  and poles  25  of the tent  20 . In addition, by using such hooks  26  and the slidable attachment loop  30  located on at least one pole  25 , the awning  22  can be easily folded when the tent  20  is folded. 
         [0038]    In operation, the awning  22  could be disassembled by removing the second hook  26   b  from the pole  25 . Alternatively, if the awning  22  is used on an instant tent, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the second hook  26   b  is maintained on the pole  25  as the tent  20  is folded, as shown in  FIG. 6 . As the tent  20  is folded, the awning  22  is collapsed and the hooks  26   a ,  26   b  slide on the pole  25  to facilitate the folding process. 
         [0039]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.