Abstract:
The present invention relates to a connection device installed on a top of a canopy tent, comprising: a main body having a hollow interior, a sliding member having an interior with a downwardly protruding cylinder, support poles each having one end hinged to the main body, and the other end connected to a tent pole for standing the tent fabric upright, a joint bar having one end hinged to the sliding member, and the other end having one side hinged to a first connection bar hinged to the support pole and the other side hinged to a second connection bar hinged to the main body; The hollow interior of the main body is equipped with a compression spring and a spring holder. The cylinder of the sliding member is fitted into the hollow interior of the main body from the top of the hollow interior to be movable in the upward and downward directions to set up or taken of the tent canopy.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2009/006810, filed on Nov. 18, 2009, which claims the priority date of Korean Application 10-2008-0120589, filed on Dec. 1, 2008, and Korean Application 10-2009-0029521, filed on Apr. 6, 2009, the contents of which is being hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a canopy tent, and more particularly, to a canopy tent, which is easy to be installed and dismantled by an elastic force of a compression spring arranged in a connection device mounted on the top of the tent and by an elastic force of tent poles connected to support poles. 
     2. Background Art 
     In general, canopy tents are called “collapsible tents” or “folding tents”, and means tents, which can be installed and dismantled while support poles and tent poles constituting a tent frame are expanded or collapsed. 
     Recently, automatic umbrella style canopy tents configured to be rapidly and easily pitched or closed in a manner similar to the motion of a conventional automatic umbrella have been developed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , one of the conventional automatic umbrella style canopy tents includes: a connection member  1  mounted on the top of the tent; a plurality of support poles  2  radially hinge-coupled to the connection member  1  to form the outward appearance of the tent; and a guide shaft  3  vertically connected to a lower portion of the connection member  1 . 
     A compression spring  4  and a cylindrical elevation guide  5  are fit onto the outer face of the guide shaft  3  in order. The elevation guide  5  receives a downward-direction movement force by the compression spring  4 , and a stopper  6  is screw-fastened to a lower end of the guide shaft  3  in order to prevent a separation of the elevation guide  5  from the guide shaft  3 . Here, a plurality of auxiliary support poles are radially hinge-coupled to the elevation guide  5 , and then, are hinge-coupled to the support poles  5  one-to-one. 
     As described above, in the case that the elevation guide  5  is pulled downwardly or the support poles  2  are expanded outwardly, the conventional automatic umbrella style canopy tent is installed when the support poles  2  are expanded and the expanded support poles  2  are supported by the auxiliary poles  7  while the elevation guide  5  automatically moves downwardly along the guide shaft  3  by a restoring force of the compression spring  4 . 
     In this instance, because a strong descending force is applied to the elevation guide  5  by the restoring force of the compression spring  4  and a connection end portion of the auxiliary support pole  7  connected with the elevation guide  5  is located lower than a connection end portion connected with the support pole  2 , the expanded support poles  2  are not folded again and can keep the expanded state in a lock condition. 
     In the above state, when the compression spring  4  folds the support poles  2  with a power greater than the restoring force, the auxiliary support pole  7  applies an ascending force to the support poles  2 , and hence, the elevation guide  5  moves upwardly along the guide shaft  3  while contracting the compression spring  4 , so that the tent can be dismantled. 
     However, the conventional automatic umbrella style canopy tent is configured in such a way as to be installed while the auxiliary support pole  7  is expanded horizontally and to be dismantled while the auxiliary support pole  7  is folded vertically, and hence, an elevation height (h) of the elevation guide  5  becomes longer because a rotational angle of the auxiliary support pole  7  is increased. 
     Therefore, as the elevation height of the elevation guide  5  becomes longer, a height of the tent is reduced and the interior space of the tent becomes narrower, and hence, it requires a user&#39;s excessive operation force when the tent is installed or dismantled. 
     Moreover, because the compression spring  4  is exposed to the outside, the user may be injured while installing or dismantling the tent, and the tent may not be installed or dismantled smoothly when the compression spring  4  is corroded. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a canopy tent, which can be rapidly and easily installed and dismantled by an elastic force of a compression spring disposed in a connection device mounted on the top of the tent and by an elastic force of tent poles connected to support poles. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a canopy tent, which includes a plurality of poles constituting a frame of the tent, first and second joint members for connecting the poles with each other, and a flexure preventing pipe mounted between the first joint member and the second joint member to prevent the installed tent from being collapsed by the external force or stumbled by a draft of air. 
     To accomplish the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a canopy tent including: a main body having a plurality of joint rings formed on the outer surface thereof and a hollow interior; a sliding member having a plurality of joint rings formed on the outer surface thereof and a downwardly protruding cylinder formed therein; support poles, each having one end, which is hinge-coupled to the joint ring of the main body, and the other end, which is connected to a tent pole for standing the tent fabric upright, and which has a joint ring formed on the outer face of a pole connection portion; and a joint bar having one end, which is hinge-coupled to the joint ring of the sliding member, and the other end, which has one side hinge-coupled to a first connection bar hinge-coupled to the joint ring of the support pole and the other side hinge-coupled to a second connection bar hinge-coupled to the joint ring of the main body, wherein the hollow interior of the main body is equipped with a compression spring and a spring holder, the spring holder is coupled to the lower portion of the cylinder, and the cylinder of the sliding member is fitted into the hollow interior of the main body from the top of the hollow interior such that the cylinder is movable in the upward and downward directions. 
     Moreover, the sliding member further includes a retaining portion, which is formed on a side of the lower end portion thereof in such a way that a stopper is caught thereto, and a fastening ring, which is formed on the outer surface of the main body for fixing the stopper thereto. 
     Furthermore, a cover is connected to the top of the sliding member, and the cover has a through hole formed on the upper face thereof to allow a user to connect a cord to the retaining ring formed on one side of the stopper caught to the retaining portion of the sliding member to thereby release the stopper. 
     Additionally, the spring holder includes a through hole to allow the user to insert a cord into the through hole to form a ring so that the user can install the tent by downwardly pulling the ring. 
     In addition, each of the poles includes: a first pole having one end hinge-coupled with the connection device located on the top of the tent and the other end joined to the first joint member; a plurality of second poles, each having one end joined to the first joint member and the other end fixed to the second joint member; a plurality of third poles, each having one end joined to the second joint member and the other end fixed to the fixing member; and a flexure preventing pipe mounted on the outer face of the second pole for preventing flexure of the second pole, wherein the fixing member is joined with the third pole and has a T-shaped through hole to which a fixing ring mounted at an edge of the lower end portion of the tent fabric is inserted and fixed thereinto. 
     As described above, the canopy tent according to the present invention can be rapidly and easily installed by the elastic force of the compression spring disposed in the connection device and by the elastic force of the poles connected to the support poles and can be rapidly dismantled by the poles, which are folded in a direction of the central axis of the connection device mounted at the top of the tent. 
     Furthermore, the canopy tent according to the present invention is prevented from being collapsed by the external force or stumbled by a draft of air because it includes the flexure preventing pipe mounted on the outer face of each pole. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a view showing an example of the use of a conventional canopy tent; 
         FIG. 2  is a view showing an example of the use of a canopy tent according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of a connection device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a view showing a folded state of the connection device; 
         FIG. 5  is a view showing an operation process of a stopper according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are views showing an operational state of the connection device; 
         FIG. 8  is a view showing a connected state of poles of the canopy tent according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a view showing a connected state of poles of the canopy tent according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view of a second joint member according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 11  is view showing a used process of a fixing member according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, which can be easily embodied by those skilled in the art, with reference to the attached drawings. 
       FIG. 2  is a view showing an example of the use of a canopy tent according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of a connection device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a view showing a folded state of the connection device; and  FIG. 5  is a view showing an operation process of a stopper according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     First, as shown in  FIGS. 2 to 5 , the canopy tent according to the present invention includes a tent fabric  11 , poles  12 , sag preventing members  14 , connection members  16  and  17 , fixing members  18 , and a connection device  100 . 
     The poles  12  constitute a frame of the tent  10  and are mounted in various forms according to the structure and area of the tent fabric  11  produced in various shapes and colors. 
     At least one sag preventing member  14  is located on a part of the outer face of the tent fabric  11 , and the poles  12  are respectively inserted into the sag preventing member  14  to keep the form of the tent fabric  11  as it is when the poles  12  are expanded or folded, so that the tent  10  can be more easily installed or dismantled. 
     The connection device  100  is mounted on the top of the tent  10  for allowing the poles  12 , which are radially expanded, to be expanded or folded in one direction. The connection device  100  includes a cover  110 , a sliding member  120 , a main body  130 , support poles  140 , a joint bar  150 , a first connection bar  152 , a second connection bar  154 , and a stopper  160 . 
     The main body  130  of the connection device  100  includes: a hollow interior  132  formed therein, for example, in a cylindrical shape; a plurality of fastening rings  136  and  138  protruding from the outer surface of the central portion and the lower end portion; and a through hole  134  formed on the top thereof for inserting and moving the sliding member  120  therein. 
     The sliding member  120  includes: a cylinder  121  downwardly protruding from the inner surface thereof for allowing a upward insertion and movement of the main body  130 ; a joining portion  122  protruding from the outer surface of the central portion thereof for screw-coupling with the cover  110 ; a plurality of joint rings  124  protruding from the lower end portion thereof and hinge-coupled with the joint bar  150 ; and a retaining jaw  126 , to which the stopper  160  is retained between the joint rings  124 , which are formed at the lower end portion thereof, in one direction. 
     Each of the support poles  140  includes: a pair of hinge portions  142  formed on one side thereof and hinge-coupled to the joint rings  136  and  138  of the main body  130 ; a pole connection portion  144  for connecting the poles  12  to stand the tent fabric  11  upright; and a joint ring  146  protrudingly formed on the outer face of the pole connection portion  144  and hinge-coupled with the first connection bar  152 . 
     The joint bar  150  has one end hinge-coupled with the joint ring  146  of the sliding member  120  and the other end which has one side hinge-coupled to the first connection bar  152  hinge-coupled to the joint ring  146  of the support pole and the other side hinge-coupled with the second connection bar  154  hinge-coupled to the joint ring  138  of the main body  130 . 
     The cover  110  is screw-coupled to the top of the sliding member  120 , and includes a plurality of screw holes  112  formed on the upper portion thereof and a through hole  114  formed on a side of the lower end portion thereof. 
     The stopper  160  includes: a hinge coupling portion  162  hinge-coupled to a fastening ring  139  formed on the outer surface of the main body  130 ; an elastic spring  163  mounted at the lower portion of the hinge coupling portion  162 ; a retaining portion  164  caught to the retaining jaw  126  formed on a side of the lower end portion of the sliding member  120 ; and a retaining ring  165 , which is formed in the opposite direction of the retaining portion  164 , and, for instance, to which a cord is connected. 
     Here, in a state where the retaining portion  164  of the stopper  160  is caught to the retaining jaw  126  of the sliding member  120 , when the cord connected to the retaining ring  165  is exposed to the outside through the through hole  114  of the cover  110 , the user can release the retained state of the stopper  160  by pulling the exposed cord. 
     A compression spring  170  and a spring holder  172  are arranged on the hollow interior  132  of the main body  130 , the spring holder  172  and the lower portion of the cylinder  121  are screw-coupled with each other, and the cylinder  121  of the sliding member  120  is inserted into the hollow interior  132  from the top of the main body  130 , and then, moves vertically therein. 
     The spring holder  172  has a through hole  174  formed downwardly from the upper portion thereof. When the cord is inserted into the through hole  174  to form a ring and the tent  10  is spread out to be installed, the through hole  174  can help the user to finally install the tent  10  by downwardly pulling the ring. 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are views showing an operational state of the connection device. In order to install the canopy tent according to the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , when the user grasps the connection device  100 , which is located at the top of the folded tent  10 , with the hand, and upwardly rotates the support poles  140 , which are folded relative to the connection device  100 , with the hand, the tent poles  12  connected to the support poles  140  are upwardly expanded. 
     In this instance, while the compression spring  170  compressed inside the hollow interior  132  of the main body  130  is expanded, the tent poles  12  connected to the support poles  140  can be easily expanded in the upward direction even by a small external force transferred from the user&#39;s hand. 
     Here, when the tent poles  12  connected to the support poles  140  are expanded upwardly, the sliding member  120  slides down, and the joint bar  150  hinge-coupled to the sliding member  120  evenly at regular intervals in a radial direction moves downwardly. 
     Moreover, while the first and second connection bars  152  and  154  that respectively have one end of which is hinge-coupled with the joint bar  150  and the other end of which is connected to the support poles  140  and the main body  130  are expanded in the upward direction that the support poles  140  are expanded, the support poles  140 , the joint bar  150 , the first and second connection bar  152  and  154 , which are in a folded state, are rotated and expanded upwardly. 
     After that, in the state that the support poles  140  are expanded at a predetermined angle (for instance, within a range of 70 degrees to 80 degrees) relative to the main body  130 , when the user continuously pulls the cord, which is drawn out in the downward direction of the main body  130  and connected to the spring holder  172 , in the downward direction, the sliding member  120  lowers to the maximum, and the retaining portion  164  of the stopper  160  mounted on the side of the main body  130  is caught and fixed to the retaining jaw  126  of the sliding member  120 . 
     In the meantime, in order to dismantle the canopy tent, when the user pulls the cord, which is illustrated in  FIG. 5  and connected to the retaining ring  165  of the stopper  160  mounted on the side of the main body  130 , with the hand, the retaining portion  164  caught and fixed to the retaining jaw  126  of the sliding member  120  is separated from the retaining jaw  126 , and hence, the retained condition is removed. 
     In this instance, while the compression spring  170 , which is in an expanded state inside the hollow interior  132  of the main body  130 , is compressed, the poles  12 , which are connected to the support poles  140  and radially expanded, are folded at a regular angle by their own elastic force. 
     Here, when the poles  12  connected to the support poles  140  are folded downwardly, the sliding member  120  slidably moves in the upward direction, and the joint bar  150  hinge-coupled to the sliding member evenly at regular intervals in the radial direction are moved in the upward direction. 
     Furthermore, while the first and second connection bars  152  and  154 , each of which has one end hinge-coupled with the joint bar  150  and the other end connected to the support poles  140  and the main body  130 , are folded in the downward direction that the support poles  140  are folded, the support poles  140 , the joint bar  150 , the first and second connection bar  152  and  154 , which are arranged around the main body  130 , are rotated and folded downwardly. 
     In the state where the poles  12  connected to the support poles  140  are folded at a predetermined angle (for instance, in the range of 60 degrees to 70 degrees) relative to the main body  130 , when the user collects and folds the support poles  140  more relative to the main body  130 , the sliding member  120  ascends to the maximum and the support poles  140  are completely folded relative to the main body  130 . 
     After that, the user can connect connection members  16  and  17  between the poles  12  inserted into the sag preventing members  14  of the tent fabric  11  in such a way as to make two-stage or three-stage foldable poles  12 . After that, the user folds the poles  12  inwardly or outwardly in one direction, and then, puts and keeps the canopy tent in a case (not shown) after rolling the tent fabric  11  in one direction. 
     Meanwhile,  FIG. 8  is a view showing a connected state of poles of the canopy tent according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 9  is a view showing a connected state of poles of the canopy tent according to the second preferred embodiment,  FIG. 10  is an exploded view of a second joint member according to the second preferred embodiment, and  FIG. 11  is view showing a used process of a fixing member according to the second preferred embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8 to 11 , the canopy tent according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention includes first poles  210 , first joint members  220 , second poles  230 , second joint members  240 , third poles  250 , fixing members  260 , and flexure preventing pipes  270 . 
     The connection device is mounted on the top of the tent  10  for allowing the first poles  210  expanded radially to be expanded or folded in one direction, and each of the first poles  210  has one end hinge-coupled through the support poles  140  connected with the connection device  100  located at the top of the tent  10  and the other end hinge-coupled to each of the first joint members  220 . 
     Each of the first joint members  220  includes: hinge coupling portions  221  formed at both sides thereof and joined to the first pole  210  and the second pole  230 ; and a pole supporting portion  222  for supporting and preventing the first pole  210  and the second pole  230  joined to the hinge coupling portion  221  from being rotated at a predetermined angle, for instance, within the limit of 200 degrees to 220 degrees. 
     Each of the second poles  230  has one end hinge-coupled to the first joint member  220  and the other end fixed to the second joint member  240 . 
     Each of the second joint member  240  includes a coupling member  241  coupled with the second pole  230  and a rotation member  245  coupled with the third pole  250 . 
     The coupling member  241  has guide projections  242  formed at both sides thereof, an elongated hole  243  to which the rotation member  245  is hinge-coupled, and a fixing projection  244  formed on the lower end portion of the front face meeting the rotation member  245 . 
     The rotation member  245  has an open upper portion, guide grooves  246 , which are formed on the inner surface of both sides of the rotation member  245  and correspond to the guide projections, and a fixing hole  247  corresponding to the fixing projection  244 . 
     Each of the third poles  250  has one end joined to the second joint member  240  and the other end fixed to the fixing member  260 . 
     Each of the fixing members  260  has, for instance, a T-shaped through hole  262 , and a fixing ring  19  mounted at an edge portion of the lower end portion of the tent  10  is, as shown in  FIGS. 11(   a ) and ( b ), inserted and fit in a longitudinal direction of the T-shaped through hole  262 , and as shown in  FIG. 11(   c ), rotated at an angle of 90 degrees toward a head portion of the T-shaped through hole  262 , and then, is fixed. 
     The flexure preventing pipe  270  is mounted on the outer face of the second pole  230  mounted between the first joint member  220  and the second joint member  240  to prevent the outward flexure of the second pole  230 , so that the side of the canopy tent can keep a straight form as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     As described above, the canopy tent according to the present invention is configured in such a way that the tent poles can be easily folded or expanded relative to the central axis of the tent in a state where the poles are connected with one another, and hence, can be rapidly installed and dismantled. 
     Additionally, the canopy tent according to the present invention can be conveniently installed and dismantled with a small power and can prevent that the installed tent is collapsed by the external force or stumbled by a draft of air. 
     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.