Abstract:
A portable collapsible shelter trailer comprising of a container having four doors on each side that are hinged along the bottom, and which may be folded to a horizontal position to yield a portable shelter having rigid frame and flexible fabric sections. The deployment of the fabric shelter after the doors are deployed is accomplished by air actuated cylinders which are mounted to each of the doors, and are controlled from a control panel by means of air valves that regulate the flow of compressed air into the cylinders to impart tension to the fabric shelter.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/594,641, filed Apr. 26, 2005. This and all other references referenced herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and for all their teachings and disclosures, regardless of where the references may appear in this application. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The invention relates to the field of portable shelters and more particularly to collapsible portable shelters having both rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse to a rigid container or trailer.  
         [0003]     Transportable shelters having both rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse to a rigid container or trailer are known and used in a variety of industries and applications that require economical and rapidly deployable temporary shelter facilities, such as for example, military, disaster response, forestry and construction applications. Desirable traits of such portable shelters include the ease of transportability and the ease and speed of deployment. Accordingly there is a need for shelters that are simple to deploy using as few personnel as possible, and which may be easily deployed by such personnel in the shortest amount of time possible.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     The present invention provides collapsible portable shelters having both rigid frame and flexible fabric sections which collapse to a rigid container or trailer in which the deployment of the fabric shelter after the doors are deployed is accomplished by air actuated cylinders which are mounted to each of the doors, and are controlled from a control panel by means of air valves that regulate the flow of compressed air into the air cylinders to impart tension to the fabric shelter.  
         [0005]     Thus, in one aspect, the collapsible portable shelter herein comprises a rigid, hollow container having vertical sides, a horizontal top and bottom, wherein at least one of the sides includes a wall portion that is hingedly connected to said side at the lower edge of the wall portion to enable the wall portion to be swung between a closed vertical position and an open horizontal position, the wall portion having an outer edge, and said side defining an opening circumscribed by edges of said side when said wall portion is in the open position, means associated with the container and with said wall portion for releasably securing said wall portion in the vertical position, at least one support mechanism cooperating with the wall portion for providing stability to the wall portion when the wall portion is in the horizontal position, a flexible cover secured to the outer edge of the wall portion and to the container around the opening in said side, and adapted to extend above the wall portion when the wall portion is in the horizontal position to define a covered space above the wall portion, a fluid actuated tensioner extending outwardly from the vertical side and within the covered space above the wall portion when the wall portion is in the horizontal position for supporting the flexible cover above the wall portion and providing tension to the flexible cover, a source of pressurized fluid in fluid communication with the tensioner for providing fluid to the tensioner, and a control valve associated with the source of fluid for regulating the amount of fluid flowing into the tensioner to cause a lengthening of the tensioner in response to input from a user.  
         [0006]     Some embodiments of the collapsible portable shelter may also include a trailer chassis and the container is mounted to the chassis such that the apparatus may be towed behind a vehicle. In either case, the fluid actuated tensioner may be pneumatically actuated and the pressurized fluid may a pressurized gas. In particular, the pressurized gas is compressed air.  
         [0007]     In some embodiments, the fluid actuated tensioner comprises a pair of air cylinders, one on each side of the wall portion, each air cylinder being hingedly connected at a first end to an inside surface of the wall portion near the lower edge thereof in a manner that enables a second end of the air cylinder to swing in relation to the wall portion, and a horizontal cross member that is connected at each end to one of the air cylinders at the second end thereof, wherein the air cylinders and the horizontal cross member define a frame that is hinged in relation to the wall portion and which is able to abut the inside of the flexible cover to apply tension to the cover, and wherein the apparatus further includes a manifold located mid-way between said air cylinders and in fluid communication with the source of compressed air and with the air cylinders for distributing an equal amount of air to each of the cylinders.  
         [0008]     In some embodiments, the support mechanism may comprise a plurality of adjustable legs hingedly connected to the outside of the wall portion in a manner that as the wall portion in swung toward the horizontal position, the adjustable legs swing away from the wall portion into a vertical orientation and into contact with the surface on which the apparatus is rests so that each leg provides support to the wall portion. As well, the support mechanism may further comprise at least one stop cable connected to an upper portion of the side of the container and to an upper portion of the wall portion, the cable being of a length sufficient to permit the wall portion to be lowered into the horizontal position, but which prevents the wall portion from being lowered beyond the horizontal position.  
         [0009]     These and other aspects, features and embodiments are set forth within this application, including the following detailed description and attached drawings. In addition, various references are set forth herein, including in the Cross-Reference To Related Applications, that discuss certain systems, apparatus, methods and other information; all such references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and for all their teachings and disclosures, regardless of where the references may appear in this application. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention in collapsed state of a trailer;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in a deployed state in which all four walls or doors are folded down in a horizontal position, and the fabric shelter in place;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  without the fabric shelter covering to expose the internal structures of the collapsible portable shelter;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a corner of the trailer showing two mounted air actuated cylinders when the trailer is in the collapsed state;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of one air cylinder in the configuration it would be in when the wall or door on which it is mounted is in the deployed state;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5   a  is a close-up view of the rod end of the air cylinder in  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the air cylinder of  FIG. 5  showing its attachment to the corresponding shelter support tube; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 6   a  is a close-up view of the rod end of the air cylinder in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention.  
         [0019]     With reference to FIGS.  1  to  6   a , an embodiment of a collapsible portable shelter of the present invention in its collapsed state ( FIG. 1 ) forms a trailer  10  comprising a rigid hollow container or box structure  14  having rectangular vertical sides and a horizontal top and bottom. The container  14  is mounted on a trailer chassis  16  having wheels  18  mounted on two low profile axles  17  which eliminating the need for wheel wells. Stabilizing jacks  19  are provided at each corner of the trailer frame for leveling and stabilizing the trailer. The container has a sub frame  20  with a solid floor of wood or aluminum  22  on which are provided two F tracks  24  used to tie down on-board cargo.  
         [0020]     Each corner of the container has a tubular vertical corner post  26  of the sub frame  20  that support the roof  30 . The roof  30  has its own sub frame mounted to the corner posts, that supports the roof joists and roof panels. The two sub frames and corner posts form the main frame for the fold down doors  34  that are mounted on each side of the trailer. This upper structure is designed to give maximum opening size. The size of the material used in the structure is determined by the overall length of the trailer. In the illustrated embodiment, the length of the corner posts are set by the size of the sub frames and have 88″ of clear opening.  
         [0021]     Each of the vertical sides of the container include wall portions, which are referred to herein as doors  34 , that are each hinged at their lower edge to the bottom sub frame  20  to enable the doors to be swung between a closed vertical position and an open horizontal position. The vertical side defines a door frame or opening circumscribed by edges of the vertical side when the door is in the horizontal position. In order to allow one-person deployment of the doors, there are provided torsion bars associated with the container and the doors that reduce the weight of each door to approximately 10 percent of the total door weight. While in the illustrated embodiment, the wall portions or doors are shown to virtually take up the entire vertical sides to maximize the amount of available space in the deployed apparatus, it is conceivable that the doors could be made smaller than the vertical sides in some embodiments.  
         [0022]     The doors are releasably secured or held in the closed position by door locks of the kind used in standard trailers. Each door has an angle  36  of 2 to 3 inches attached to the top and sides of the door and approximately 1″ from the inside edge, except for the rear door  40  where there is a 42″ gap on the outside angle to accommodate loading of equipment via a ramp  42 , which is retained in loading ramp case  43  during transport of the trailer. The doors have a rubber weather strip installed around the perimeter to eliminate air and water leaks. There is also provided an awning rail  38  adjacent the angle  36  for securing a flexible cover or fabric shelter  80  to the door. The rear fold down door  40  has a 42″ man-door installed which allows users to load or unload ancillary equipment and supplies without lowering the main door and deploying the fabric structure.  
         [0023]     On the outside of each door are provided adjustable legs  45  that are preferably mounted no more than five feet apart. These legs are locked in the closed position with a spring catch. The adjustable legs are released from the spring clips before the doors are lowered and the adjustable legs swing into position and are set to hold the doors in a horizontal position, thereby acting as a support mechanism for the doors.  
         [0024]     Wire door stop cables  50  are provided on each side of the doors to stop the doors in the horizontal position, thereby also acting as a support mechanism for the doors. These cables are mounted at the top corner of the door frame and a distance of 3″ from the top edge of the door and 1″ from the side of the door. ⅜″ bolts with sleeves are used to mount the cables to the door and door frame. These cables prevent over-tensioning of the fabric, which would occur if the doors are not stopped at the horizontal position. All cables are mounted on the inside of the fabric shelter portions.  
         [0025]     Each fold down door  34  has two air actuated cylinders  60 , each being mounted with a mounting bracket  62  that is bolted to the door a distance of 2″ from bottom inside edge of door to center of the blind end pin, and 3 7/16″ from side edge to the center of the cylinder. The air actuated cylinders are mounted to the mounting bracket with a blind end pin and two cotter pins. Accordingly, the air cylinders are able to swing or pivot in relation to the door.  
         [0026]     The flexible cover or fabric shelter  80  is provided and made of a waterproof PVC coated polyester material or something similar, which can also be insulated. The roof of the fabric shelter and two sides are attached to the door frame. A horizontal cross member such as shelter support tube or awning tube  100  is provided having a slot at each end for attachment to an air cylinder. The fabric shelter is attached to the support tube  100  by sliding a beaded edge on the inside of the fabric shelter, located where the roof meets the outside wall, into a corresponding groove on the support tube. Accordingly, the air cylinders and the support tube define a frame that is hinged in relation to the door, and together they act as a fluid or pneumatically actuated tensioner that supports the fabric shelter above its respective door when in the deployed position and provides tension to the fabric shelter.  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIGS. 5 &amp; 6 , the rod end mechanism of each air actuated cylinder  60  is shown ( FIGS. 5   a  and  6   a ) and is attached to the shelter support tube  100  along with two cables  110  and  112 . The rod end mechanism utilizes adjusting screw  114  received within a hex nut  115  for final tensioning of fabric. The cables  110  and  112  ensure that the air actuated cylinder, hence the support tube  100  extends into the correct position. These cables are mounted on the same ⅜″ bolts as the door stop cable  50  and are installed before the fabric shelter. The rod end is inserted into the support tube and the fabric shelter is then attached to the angles on the outside edges of the doors using awning rails  38  and fasteners.  
         [0028]     Each end or long wall of the fabric shelter has a 42″ zippered door  120  in the center of the fabric wall. When positioning two trailers, side-by-side, a fabric tube may be used to join the two trailers together. Multiple trailers can be joined in this way using either front, rear or side doors. All doors can have two-step staircases  130  or a 36″ wide ramp  42  attached to allow ingress or egress to the trailer.  
         [0029]     Control panel hinges are mounted to the front driver&#39;s side corner tube with the rear of the panel in its stowed position 2″ from the front wall. Two hood catches are attached to hold the control panel  70  in its transport position. The control panel utilizes a source of compressed air from an air bottle mounted in the control panel or a static high-pressure storage tank mounted to the trailer frame or from a 120-volt air compressor. This air source is connected to the main control panel, equipped with one master control valve and four control valves, one for each door. The control panel also has a shore power plug for remote power hookup and light switches to turn the lights off and on.  
         [0030]     From the control panel, a large air line is deployed to a central location for each door, where a manifold then allows a smaller air line to be routed to each of the cylinders located at each door side. The manifold must be located at the center of the door on the main frame of the trailer, and the small lines must be of equal length. This is the only way that the cylinders will extend or contract at the same speed. It is important for this to happen otherwise jamming will occur.  
         [0031]     In deploying the portable shelter trailer, the adjustable legs on a door are released from their spring clips, and then the door locks are released to permit the door to be pulled open and lowered until it stops. This is repeated for the other doors. To erect the individual fabric shelter portions, the desired air valve on the control panel is turned on to allow the flow of compressed air to actuate the corresponding air cylinders on that door to tension the corresponding fabric shelter portion. With this air actuation system, each shelter portion may be erected in a very short period of time, often in a matter of seconds. This is repeated for the three other shelter portions to complete the deployment of the entire unit. From within the trailer, locking pins are inserted into a hole  134  provided on each of the cylinders, and then all of the air valves are turned off to stop the flow of air to the cylinders. From within the enclosed area, three bungee cords (described below) are removed each shelter portion and a retention-webbing strap.  
         [0032]     To stow the trailer, attach the three bungee cords to the sides of the shelter for each unit. These cords are used to pull the fabric inside the trailer as the doors are raised and prevent the fabric from jamming between the door and the door frame. Next, attach the retention straps to the webbing handle, located on the inside corner of each corner post 60″ from the floor. These straps hold the shelters and cylinders in an upright position to allow stowage of equipment and supplies during transport. If the surface on which the trailer is parked is irregular, return the adjustable legs to the stowing position. Then remove the locking pins from the cylinders by pushing on the awning tube and lowering the cylinders at the same rate. Now lift the doors from outside and lock in-place with door locks. Stow the adjustable legs in spring clips. Return the ancillary equipment and supplies to the trailer using the stairs or the ramp through the man-door. Secure the equipment with tie-downs. Trailer is now ready for transport.  
         [0033]     From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments have been discussed herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.