CAMPING UNIT

Abstract: A camping unit is in the form of a cabin mounted on wheels for transport by road which is divided by a partition (17) into a kitchen unit (18) having a cooker, a refrigerator and a sink unit and a toilet unit (19) having a wash basin, water closet and shower unit. An opening (14) in the side of the camping unit can be connected by a temporary passageway with an opening in the back of a conventional tent and there is a common floor (37) for the camping unit, the passageway, and at least a part of the tent.

Description: This invention relates to a camping unit, that is to say, a service unit particularly suitable for use by campers. In this specification, a "service unit" means a cabin containing one or more of such services as a fuel supply, an electricity supply, a water supply, means for connection to an external supply of water, electricity or fuel, and a drain. Although when camping a tent may contain a cooker energised by gas from a bottle, it is usual for any electricity to be supplied from an overhead or underground line and for campers to use camping blocks for the toilet facilities and washing up. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a combination of a tent and a service unit, the service unit being a structure capable of transport by road preferably with means for forming a temporary enclosed passageway between a door on the tent and a door on the service unit. There may be a floor which is common to the tent, the service unit and the passageway. Although caravans are known consisting of rigid structures capable of being transported by road, most of the space in a caravan tends to be occupied by living accommodation. For camping, it is very convenient to use a tent for providing the living accommodation, because of the ease with which it can be packed up, transported and moved, but it has been discovered that it is very attractive to be able to associate a conventional tent with a service unit containing all the bulky equipment and means for providing supplies without also having accommodation space, but having means for conveniently coupling the service unit to a tent so that to the user, when the tent is erected, the combination appears to be a single living space. According to another aspect of the present invention, a service unit is in the form of a structure capable of transport by road and having means for defining a temporary enclosed passageway from a door of the unit to, for example, a door of the tent. The passageway means could consist of flexible sheeting, zip fastener connections. According to another aspect of the present invention a camping unit comprises a cabin with at least one of a toilet unit, a shower unit, a sink, a cooker, a freezer, a refrigerator and an electrical appliance contained within the cabin. The camping unit may have any one or more of the following features in any combination. There may be access to the cabin through an opening in the side which can be positioned to correspond with an exit opening at the rear of a tent. In addition to such an opening in the side there may be a door and doorway on the other side or at one end of the cabin. The cabin may have rigid floor, walls, and roof. The cabin may have connections for such services as electricity, water, gas and drainage. The unit may be on wheels and may be narrow enough for transport by road. The cabin may be in two sections preferably end to end, one of which is in the form of a kitchen and the other of which is in the form of a toilet and then there may be a wall with a door separating the two sections. There may be ventilators in the roof of the cabin. The cabin may have no other compartment than a kitchen compartment and a toilet compartment. In a preferred form of the unit the length is about 5500 mm to correspond roughly with the width of a standard tent, whereas the width may be about 1200 mm to be suitable for transport by road. The invention includes such a cabin when adjacent a tent with a side opening in the cabin in communication with a rear or side doorway of the tent so that a user can move directly from the tent to the camping unit. According to another aspect of the invention a combination of a camping unit and the tent may include a common floor, that is to say a floor in the form of a continuous area of material over the floor of the camping unit and at least a part of the floor of the tent including the part leading to the doorway. Such a floor may be of sheet material with a zip connection around its edge to the walls of the cabin and to parts of the sides of the tent. There may also be an awning or other connection between the side of the cabin and a wall fo the tent defining a short tunnel through which people can pass from the tent to the cabin. The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a tent having a mobile block unit at its rear; Figure 2 is a plan view of the tent and block unit; Figure 3 is a plan view of the block unit with the roof omitted; and Figures 4, 5 and 6 are elevations of the block unit as seen respectively in the directions indicated by the arrows A, B and C in Figure 3. The tent 11 is conventional and has a rear opening 12 which has been used in the past for access to a toilet unit. The block unit 13 is of more permanent construction being in the form of a small cabin or caravan with rigid walls, floor and ceiling, and has an opening 14 part-way along one side as shown in Figures 3 and 4 which mates with the opening 12 in the back of the tent. The block unit 13 would usually be mounted on wheels for transportation over the camping site and indeed along the road. There will also be provision for supply of at least cold water and possibly electricity and there will be a drain for removal of waste water. Many camp sites have appropriate connections for such supplies and services. Figure 4 shows that the block unit has a slightly pitched and ridged roof extending transversely across the top midway between the ends, and below the ridge 16 is a partition 17 which divides the unit into a kitchen unit 18 and a toilet unit 19. The partition has a door 21 so that the toilet unit can normally be closed off. The toilet unit 19 includes a hand basin 22, a close coupled toilet suite 23, a shower unit 24, and a butane gas operated water heater 25 arranged to pass exhaust fumes to the outside of the unit. The kitchen unit 18 has a bottled gas operated cooker 28, a sink unit 29, a cupboard 31, a refrigerator 32 under the sink unit, and sliding windows 33. In addition to the access through the opening 14 in the side there is a door 35 in one end of the unit for direct access to the kitchen from outside. The pitched roof has vents 36 respectively over the toilet unit and the kitchen unit. In the example being described, the block unit is 3600 mm in length to correspond with the width of the tent 11 and is 1500 mm in width to be a convenient size for transportation by road. The height is about 2400 mm. Figure 2 shows by the heavy line 37 how a uniform and continuous floor is common to the main body of the tent, to the passage between the two bed compartments 38 and 39 of the tent, and the block unit 13. That floor will be of waterproof fabric or sheet plastics material and will be connected all around the heavy line 37 in Figure 2 by a zip to the tent and to the block unit. A fabric cover 40 zipped or otherwise connected at its ends to the tent opening 12 and the unit opening 14 and at the bottom of its sides to the floor 13, defines an enclosed passageway 41 between the unit and the tent. Thus, apart from the bed compartments 38 and 39 there will be a continuous floor and continuous access from the front part of the tent to the kitchen and toilet unit. This makes a very convenient camping dwelling with the main body of the tent being collapsible conventionally, and the service unit, which is not collapsible, being of such a size as to be easily brought and manoeuvered into position, and to form an integral whole with the tent. Although it has been proposed to provide toilet units as additions at the side of a tent and it has been proposed to provide small awnings or the like at an end of the towed caravan, each of those proposals still results in what is essentially a tent which can be completely collapsed and packaged for stowing, or a caravan which is completely self-contained and can be towed from the site by a car.

Claims: 1. A combination of a tent (11) and a service unit (13) characterised in that the service unit is a structure capable of transport by road and by means for forming a temporary enclosed passageway (41) between an opening (12) in the tent and an opening (14) in the unit. 2. A combination as claimed in Claim 1 including a floor common to the passageway and at least a part of the tent and preferably also to the service unit. 3. A combination as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which all the living accommodation apart from the kitchen and the toilet unit is provided within the tent. 4. A combination as claimed in any of the preceding claims including an entrance to the service unit in addition to the opening to the passageway. 5. A combination as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the service unit is divided by a partition (17) into two sections, namely a kitchen section (18) and a toilet section (19). 6. A service unit in the form of a structure capable of transport by road and having means for defining a temporary enclosed passageway (41) from an opening (14) in the unit to an opening (12) in a tent. 7. A service unit as claimed in Claim 6 in which the passageway means comprises flexible sheeting and zip fastener or other connections. 8. A service unit as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7 including a partition (17) dividing the unit into a kitchen unit (18) and a toilet unit (19), the kitchen unit and the toilet unit making up substantially the entire space within the service unit. 9. A service unit comprising a cabin with at least one of a toilet unit, a shower unit, a sink, a cooker and freezer, a refrigerator and an electrical appliance contained within the cabin. 10. A combination of a tent (11) and a service unit (13) characterised in that the service unit is a structure capable of transport by road.

Inventors: CUTHBERT, JAMES DAVID ROLLO
Applicants: CUTHBERT, JAMES DAVID ROLLO
Application year: 1986
Main classification: E04H15
IPC codes: E04H15, B60R15