Abstract:
The invention relates to a retractable rod and a tent made from the rod. The retractable rod comprises a multitude of rigid skeleton joints having two axial end surfaces and side surfaces. The joints are connected through the convex-concave connection by two flexible ropes passing through the holes of the joints to form a rod. There is a storage compartment locating at one end of the rod which winds and stores the rod therein. The storage compartment comprises a shaft, a rod storage sleeve which is in an intermittent drive mode fixed to the shaft; one end of the two flexible ropes passes through the rod storage sleeve and is fixed to the shaft. The rod storage sleeve is supported and rotates between two rope-protecting boards. A tension part locates at the other end of the rod and the other end of the two flexible ropes is fixed to the tension part. The advantage of the invention is that the tent made from the retractable rod occupies a small storage space.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a Continuation-In-Part of international application PCT/CN2007/000238, filed Jan. 23, 2007, which claims priority from Chinese patent applications 200610033289.2 filed on Jan. 24, 2006 and 200610036648.X filed on Jul. 19, 2006. These two applications are incorporated herein by reference. 

   The invention relates to a retractable rod and a tent made thereof. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Some temporary structures such as advertising posters and tents can be taken apart and reassembled. Their frames are usually made of rods and joints. Advertising posters or tent tarpaulins are attached to the frame by gripping or other ways. Such structures occupy a reduced space after being disassembled. However, the rods require a certain length, and thus the space reduction in these structures after being disassembled is not significant. 
   Chinese patent No. CN1027657C discloses a backbone type tent frame which consists of several plastic or metal tubes. These tubes are connected with a wire, forming an arc, triangle, or other polygonal shape. When the wire is loosened the tubes can be folded up. Using such rods, the frame to support a tent can be formed. The frame or tent of such a design can further reduce the volume. However, its use is still complicated by multiple steps in operation. Particularly, when the rods are relatively long, they are easily disorganized after being folded up, causing inconvenience for reassembling. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The main object of the invention is to provide rods which are easily retractable and restored in an orderly fashion. 
   Another objective of the invention is to use such retractable rods to make a tent. 
   To recognize these objectives, the retractable rod of the invention comprises a multitude of rigid skeleton joints with two axial ends and sides. One end of the joint is a convex shape and the other end is a concave shape. The convex of one joint connects with the concave of an adjacent joint. Each joint has two axial through holes and all joints are connected in series along the through holes by two flexible ropes. In addition, there is a storage compartment which is located at an end of the retractable rod to wind the retractable rod and store wherein. The storage compartment has a shaft. A rod storage sleeve is linked by an intermittent driving mode to an end of the shaft. One end of the ropes passes through the rod storage sleeve and ties to the shaft. The rod storage sleeve rotationally supports two rope-protecting boards. A tension part is provided at another end of the rod; another end of the two ropes is fixed on the tension part. 
   One embodiment of the invention is to design the intermittent driving mode that links the shaft and the rod storage sleeve as a pair of gears. By this way, when the shaft rotates clockwise, it drives the rod storage sleeve; when the shaft rotates counterclockwise, it gives 360° intermittence. When the gears rotate in opposite directions, the shaft drives the rod storage sleeve to rotate counterclockwise, vice versa. 
   Another embodiment is to design the tension part to have a support foot and an elastic structure linked between the ends of the ropes and the support foot. When the rope is stretched, the elastic structure is tensed, and the rod becomes rigid. When the rope is relaxed, the rope under the resilience of the elastic structure relaxes the restriction on the joints so that they can be folded up and conveniently stored. 
   To use the rigid rod in a curved shape, the surfaces of the joints can be designed to have a certain angle and make the axes of the convex and concave vertical over the surface. This forms curvatures in some joints. The degree of the angle and the number of the curved joints can be determined by the desired radian of the rod. 
   Another retractable rod of the invention comprises rigid joints that have two axial end surfaces and sides. One axial end of each joint has a convex and the other axial end has a concave which matches with the convex. Each joint has two or more axial through holes. All joints are organized by convex-concave manner and connected by two or more ropes which pass the through holes to form a rod. In addition, there is a storage compartment located at one end of the retractable rod to wind and store the retractable rod therein. The storage compartment comprises a shaft, a rod storage sleeve which is set outside the shaft and can rotate relative to the shaft, and two or more ropes, one end of which passes through the rod storage sleeve and fixes to the shaft. The storage sleeve can rotate and support between two rope-protecting boards. 
   One embodiment is that between the convex and concave of two adjacent joints are set an elastic part which can separate the convex and concave. 
   More particularly, the elastic part is a spring. 
   To use the rigid rod in a curved shape, the surfaces of the joints can be designed to have a certain angle and make the axes of the convex and concave vertical over the surface. This forms curvatures in some joints. The degree of the angle and the number of the curved joints can be determined by the desired radian of the rod. 
   The tent made from the retractable rods of the invention comprises a tarpaulin which can form the space of the tent and three and more retractable rods which form the support of the tent. The tarpaulin is attached to the rods and can be retracted together with the rods. Thus, when the rods are in a rigid state, the tarpaulin opens to form a tent; when the rods are in a relaxed state, the tarpaulin retracts with the rods. 
   An embodiment is to design a power input shaft to receive force; the power input shaft, through a transmission mechanism, drives the shafts of all retractable rods to rotate simultaneously. Thus, rotating the power input shaft can conveniently open or retract the tent. 
   More particularly, the power input shaft is controlled by an electrical motor which opens or retracts the tent. Also, the transmission mechanism is a gear system. One of the gears has a locking mechanism which can stop all other gears. Thus, when the rods retract to a position or open to a position to make the rods rigid, the entire system is locked to avoid any undesired retraction or opening of the tent. 
   The above locking mechanism comprises a magnetic locking bar and locking teeth surrounding a gear shaft. The locking bar and locking teeth are controlled by magnet. When the bar and the teeth are meshed, the entire system is locked. When the bar and the teeth are separated, the transmission system, driven by the motor, opens or retracts the tent. 
   Furthermore, the tent can have a control panel which is equipped with flare and remote control receiver. This make more convenient to operate the tent and use it in night. 
   The tent made from another type of retractable rods of the invention comprises a tarpaulin which can form a space of the tent and three or more retractable rods which form the support of the tent. The tarpaulin is attached to the rods and can be retracted together with the rods. Thus, when the rods are in the rigid state, the tarpaulin opens to form a tent; when the rods are in the relaxed state, the tarpaulin retracts with the rods. 
   An embodiment is to design a power input shaft driven by motor; the power input shaft is linked through a transmission mechanism to the rod storage sleeves; each shaft is driven by a separate motor. 
   More particularly, each shaft is set up with a gear and a locking mechanism that can lock the gear. 
   The locking mechanism comprises a magnetic locking bar; the locking bar and the locking teeth of the gear are controlled by magnet. 
   Also, the tent is set up with a control panel which is equipped with a flare and a remote control receiver. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the retractable rod of embodiment 1 of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an A-A sectional view of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the retractable rod of embodiment 2 of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is an H-H sectional view of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the joints of the retractable rod of embodiment 1. 
       FIG. 6  is a B-B sectional view of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a C-C sectional view of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the joints of another embodiment. 
       FIG. 9  is a D-D sectional view of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 10  is an E-E sectional view of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of still another joint. 
       FIG. 12  is an F-F sectional view of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of still another joint. 
       FIG. 14  is a G-G sectional view of  FIG. 13 . 
       FIG. 15  is a perspective view of still another joint. 
       FIG. 16  is a bottom view of  FIG. 15 . 
       FIG. 17  is a top view of  FIG. 15 . 
       FIG. 18  is a perspective view showing the retraction of the rod of embodiment 1. 
       FIG. 19  is a perspective view showing that the rod of embodiment 1 is stretched and becomes rigid. 
       FIG. 20  is a perspective view showing the retraction of the rod of embodiment 2. 
       FIG. 21  is a perspective view showing that the rod of embodiment 2 is stretched and becomes rigid. 
       FIG. 22  is a three-dimensional view of the tent embodiment which is open and becomes rigid. 
       FIG. 23  is a three-dimensional view of the tent embodiment which is retracted and stored. 
       FIG. 24  is a three-dimensional view of the tent embodiment omitting the rods and tent. 
       FIG. 25  is a three-dimensional view of  FIG. 24  omitting the outer covering. 
       FIG. 26  is a three-dimensional view of  FIG. 25  omitting the top cover. 
       FIG. 27  is a three-dimensional view of  FIG. 26  omitting the bottom support and the bottom plate of the transmission system. 
       FIG. 28  is an enlarged portion view of  FIG. 27  showing the working mechanism of the transmission and locking systems. 
       FIG. 29  is a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of another tent omitting the retractable rods, tent and outside cover. 
       FIG. 30  is a three-dimensional view of  FIG. 29  omitting the top cover of the transmission system. 
       FIG. 31  is a three-dimensional view of  FIG. 30  omitting the bottom support and the bottom plate of the transmission system. 
   

   The following embodiments further illustrate the invention. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Embodiment 1 of Retractable Rod 
   See  FIG. 1 , retractable rod  100  is made of a multitude of rigid skeleton joints  110 . The concave and convex surfaces of the joints are connected along the through holes by two flexible ropes  130 . The two ropes can form a circle and become one rope  130 . The storage compartment comprises a shaft  101  which is in an intermittent driving mode and fixed onto a rod storage sleeve  103  and a pair of rope-protecting boards  104 . Two rope-protecting boards form a storage space  105 . In this embodiment, rod storage sleeve  103  is linked to the rope-protecting boards  104  through bearing  102 . Ropes  130  pass through rod storage sleeve  103  and are then fixed to shaft  101 . The other end of ropes  130  is fixed to a tension part. The tension part comprises a support leg and a spring  145 . Alternatively, the spring  145  can be replaced by a rubber bend. The support leg comprises rigid tube  141 , caulking  146 , foot  143  and pin  142 ; pin  142  is used to link foot  143 , tube  141  and caulking  146 ; spring  145  is linked to rope  130  through pin  144 . Soft tube  120  is able to slide along the outside of rigid joints  110 , an end of which is fixing to pin  142  and the other end is left free. 
   See  FIG. 2 , rod storage sleeve  103  and shaft  101  are linked by gears  1012  and  1032 . The rod showed in  FIG. 2  is in its released state; at the same time, the spring is in relaxing state. 
   Embodiment 2 of Retractable Rod 
   See  FIG. 3 , retractable rod  100  comprises a multitude of rigid skeleton joints which are concave-convex connected in series through rope  130 ; rope  130  forms a circle. Storage compartment comprise shaft  101  which can revolve around rope-protecting boards  104 , rod storage sleeve  103  which can rotate around shaft  101 , and storage space  105  formed by rope-protecting boards  104 . In this embodiment, rod storage sleeve  103  is linked to rope-protecting boards  104  in a revolving mode. One end of ropes  130  passes through rod storage sleeve  103  and fixes to shaft  101 . The other end of ropes  130  is fixed to the other end of the retractable rod. Between the canvas and convex of two adjacent skeleton joints, there is a spring  106 . The retractable rod shown in  FIG. 3  is in a rigid state, i.e., rope  130  is in a tension state and spring  106  is in a pressured state. In addition, this embodiment differs from embodiment 1 in that in this embodiment, rod storage sleeve  103  and shaft  101  are driven independently, i.e., one force drives rod storage sleeve  103  to rotate and control the rod in and out, and another force drives the shaft  101  to rotate to pull or release the rope. 
   See  FIG. 4 , rod storage sleeve  103  and shaft  101  rotate against rope-protecting boards  104  driven by independent forces. The rod shown in  FIG. 4  is in a relaxing state where spring  106  and the rope both are in a relaxing state; adjacent skeleton joints under the resilience of spring  106  release the convex-concave connection and thus the joints can be folded up. 
   See  FIG. 5 , this figure shows rigid joint  110 , an enlarged sectional view of end surface  111 . Through this end surface, one can see a pair of holes  116 , a concave  114 , and a connecting trough  117 . 
   See  FIG. 6 , the rigid joint is formed by end surfaces  111  and  112  and side surfaces  113 . One end surface has a concave  114  and the other end surface has a convex  115 ; convex  115  and concave  114  match with each other; adjacent joints are thus connected each other through the convex and concave shapes. To set up the rod straight, the end surfaces  111  and  112  of each joint are set parallel to each other; to set up the rod curvedly, in the place of curvature, end surfaces  111  and  112  can be design to have an angel; this makes convex  115  vertical to end surface  112 , and makes concave  114  vertical to end surface  111 . In order to prevent the curved joints from being connected in an opposite way, the adjacent joints are not only connected in the convex-concave connection but also set up to have the same direction as connecting trough  117  (see  FIG. 2 ). 
   See  FIG. 7 , two holes  116  of the joints are set parallel to the flank of convex  115  and concave  114 . 
   See  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  10 , these figures show the structure of another embodiment of the rigid joints. The markings of these figures are the same as those in the above embodiments. The difference is that in this embodiment, two holes  116  are set parallel and placed inside convex  115  and concave  114 . 
   See  FIGS. 11 and 12 , these figures show an additional embodiment of the structure of the rigid joints. The markings of these figures are the same as those in the above embodiments. The unique feature of this embodiment is that each of end surfaces  111  and  112  of the joints has a convex  115  and a concave  114  and two holes  116  pass parallel through convex  115  and concave  114 , respectively. 
   See  FIGS. 13 and 14 , these figures show a still additional embodiment of the structure of the rigid joints. The markings of these figures are the same as those in the above embodiments. The unique feature of this embodiment is that each of end surfaces  111  and  112  of the joints has two convexes  115  or two concaves  114  and two holes  116  pass parallel through one convex  115  and one concave  114 , respectively. 
   See  FIGS. 15 ,  16  and  17 , these figures show still another embodiment of the structure of the rigid joints. The markings of these figures are the same as those in the above embodiments. The unique feature of this embodiment is that each of end surfaces  111  and  112  of the joints has three convexes  115  or concaves  114  and three holes  116  that pass through parallel one convex  115  and one concave  114 , respectively. 
   There are still more possible embodiments of the retractable rod of the invention. For instance, there can be four holes  116 , five holes  116 , or even more holes  116 , and there can be provided with the same number of flexible ropes. 
   The following description explains the working mechanism of embodiment 1. See  FIG. 18 , when shaft  101  rotates clockwise by following the arrow direction in  FIG. 18 , gear  1012  drives gear  1032  to rotate, and gear  1032  then drives rod storage sleeve  103  to rotate. This allows soft tube  120  and inside rigid joints  110  through the convex-concave connection enter into between two rope-protecting boards  104  until the end surface of rigid tube  141  is about to enter; the spring is tensed; and the retraction process is finished. The releasing process of the rod is as follows. In the above retracted state, when shaft  101  rotates counterclockwise by following the arrow direction of  FIG. 19 , an intermittent transmission occurs. First, gear  1012  departs from gear  1032 , and the gear idles. That is, rod storage sleeve  103  does not rotate. The flexible rope, under the resilience of spring  145 , slides along the joints through the holes. When shaft  101  rotates about 360°, gear  1012  drives gear  1032  and gear  1032  drives rod storage sleeve  103  to rotate counterclockwise. At this time, soft tube  120  is released from the rope-protecting boards until it reaches the state illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The shaft continues rotating counterclockwise, which pulls the flexible rope until the top end  1451  of spring  145  reaches the joint and pushes the convex and concave of the joints tightly against each other. This forms a rigid rod. 
   The following description explains the working mechanism of embodiment 2. See  FIG. 20 , when shaft  101  and rod storage sleeve  103  are driven by each individual force, they rotate starting from the state of  FIG. 4  clockwise by following the arrow indicated in  FIG. 20 ; soft tube  120  and inside rigid joints  110  enter into between two rope-protecting boards  104 , and thus the retraction process is complete. The releasing process of the rod is as follows. In the above retracted state, when shaft  101  and rod storage sleeve  103  are driven by each individual force, first, they rotate to the state of  FIG. 4  counterclockwise, then, rod storage sleeve  103  stop rotating, shaft  101  continues rotating counterclockwise, which pulls the flexible rope, this forms a rigid rod shown in  FIG. 21 . 
   Embodiment 1 of Tents 
   See  FIG. 22 , the tent of the invention is made by a rigid frame comprising three or more of the retractable rods. This embodiment uses four retractable rods  100 ; storage compartment is in storage box  200 ; tarpaulin  300  is linked by rings  310  to the rods  100 . Tarpaulin is equipped with a zipper  302  to open or close door  301  to let people in or out. 
   See  FIG. 23 , after the tent is retracted as shown in  FIG. 22 , tarpaulin  300  is folded up inside rigid tube  141 ; as the tent is retracted, it takes a smaller space to store than the tents known in the art. 
   The following describes the structure of storage box  200 . See  FIG. 24 , storage box  200  comprises chassis  203 , covering  201 , and control panel  204 . The control panel is provided with a flare, a remote control receiver, and a control push-button, etc. In addition, storage box  200  has holes  202  for the four rods. 
   See  FIG. 25 , removing cover  201 , one can see the top cover  205  and bottom cover  206  which are used to support the gear system; one can also see the battery  207 . 
   See  FIG. 26 , removing top cover  205 , one can see the gear system; the gear system comprises drive gear  211  which is linked to the power input shaft, idle gears  212  and  215 , and gears  213 ,  214 ,  216 , and  217 . 
   See  FIG. 27 , each retractable rod has two rope-protecting boards  104 , which is fixed on storage box  200 . To reduce cost, the bearing between the rod storage sleeve and rope-protecting boards can be designed as friction-based hole-cover type rather than ball gears. The width of storage space  105  depends on the length of the rod. The storage space  105  can be designed to store a number of rope circles per level. The power input shaft for drive gear  211  is linked with the power output shaft of motor  230 ; idle gear  215  is provided with a locking device. 
   See  FIG. 28 , idle gear  215  meshes with gear  216 ; gear  216  meshes with gear  217 . Gear  217  and bevel gear  218  form twin gear. Gear  218  meshes with another bevel gear  219  which is fixed on shaft  101 . Thus, the power transmission of the retractable rod is complete. Other three retractable rods can be designed in the same way so that all four retractable rods will function simultaneously. Magnet  221  has a sheet-shaped locking bar  222 . The axis core of idle gear  215  has a vertical socket  2151  for locking bar  222  to insert. Magnet  221  and motor  230  receive or loss power simultaneously. When power is supplied, magnet attracts down locking bar  222 , the locker is withdrawn; when power is lost, the resilience of the spring  2211  pushes locking bar  222  to insert in socket  2151 ; the system is thus locked. 
   Embodiment 2 of Tents 
   This embodiment differs from the above embodiment in the inner structure of storage box  200  which is described as follows. 
   See  FIG. 29 , removing the covers, one can see top cover  205  and bottom cover  206  which are used to support the gear system. One can also see battery  207 . 
   See  FIG. 30 , removing top cover  205 , one can see the gear system which include drive gear  311  which linked to the power input axis, gears  312  and  313 , and worm bearing adjuster (not shown in the figure). 
   See  FIG. 31 , there are four retractable rods; each retractable rod has two rope-protecting boards  104 . The structure of the rods is the same as the rod in embodiment 2. The rods are fixed inside storage box  200 . Rod storage sleeve  103  extends to the end of rope-protecting boards  104  (see  FIG. 3 ) which is equipped with gear  314 ; two gears  314  mesh with worm bearing adjuster  315 . Thus, motor  320  drives the four retractable rods and rod storage sleeves  103  to rotate simultaneously. Shafts  101  of the four retractable rods extend outside the end of rope-protecting boards  104  which is equipped with gears  316 . Each gear  316  is fixed to the power output axis of motor  330 . Thus, each shaft  101  is provided with power. The locking device comprises magnet  341  and locking bar  342 . Driven by magnet  341 , locking bar  342  insert into or pull out of the space between the teeth of gear  316  to lock or unlock the shafts. The width of storage space  105  depends on the length of the rod. The storage space  105  can be designed to store a number of rope circles per level. 
   INDUSTRIAL UTILITIES 
   The invention uses a flexible rope to connect rigid skeleton joints to form a rod. When the rope is stretched, the convex of each skeleton joint tightly pushes against the concave of the adjacent skeleton joint to form a rigid rod. When the rope is relaxed, the convex-concave connection loosens; adjacent joints can move relative to each other to form angles; the rod thus becomes flexible and can be folded up or coiled. The objective of the invention is that the operation for exchange between the flexible state and the rigid state of the rod is simple and rod in flexible state can be orderly organized and stored. Thus, a storage compartment is set at one end of the rod. The storage compartment comprises a rod storage sleeve driven by a shaft and two flexible ropes, one end of which passes through the rod storage sleeve and is then fixed to the shaft. The rod storage sleeve is supported and rotates between the rope-protecting boards. When the shaft drives the rod storage sleeve to rotate, the rod can coil around the rod storage sleeve and be stored between the rope-protecting boards. At the other end of the shaft, there is a tension part. On one side, this allows the relaxed rod to be coiled and stored inside the rod storage sleeve. On the other side, this makes the operation simple. Because the tension part and the tension quantity equals to the arc length the shaft idled, this ingeniously resolves the flexible-rigid exchange issue. At the same time, this makes the flexible-rigid exchange simple.