Abstract:
A shelter having an internal frame comprised of a roof supported by legs. A canopy covers the roof of the frame to provide protection from the elements. The canopy is taughtly held onto the frame by cords which pass through sleeves in the front and back of the canopy and attach to the corner legs of the frame. To tension the canopy onto the frame, the corner legs are twisted to tension the cords and, in turn, the canopy. Upon tensioning the canopy, the corner legs are locked in the rotated position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/339,577, filed Oct. 26, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present disclosure relates generally to a shelter and, more particularly, to a shelter including a frame with a canopy thereon. Even more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a shelter including a canopy mounted on the frame by stretchable cords and a twist tightening mechanism.  
           [0004]    2. Background of the Related Art  
           [0005]    Over the years, many shelters which provide protection from the elements have been introduced. Some common uses for such structures are to provide shelter during camping trips, picnics, and parties as well as store vehicles such as automobiles and boats. While conventional wooden or brick shelters provide the desired protection, such structures are generally quite expensive. In fact, it is often the case that construction of such a conventional garage structure costs as much or more than the vehicle that it is intended to protect.  
           [0006]    As an alternative to such conventional garage and tent structures, relatively inexpensive and light-weight canopy-type structures are often employed. These canopy structures are typically comprised of a light-weight internal frame and an outer covering or canopy. In general, such canopy structures provide complete or full overhead protection and occasionally provide partial side wall protection. Such canopy-type structures provide some degree of protection from the sun and rain, however, they often perform poorly in windy conditions. That is, the outer covering is easily moved and flopped by the wind. In light wind conditions, such movement tends to reduce the overall aesthetic appearance and effectiveness of the canopy, as rain and sun are periodically allowed to pass unobstructed into the interior or protected region of the canopy. Furthermore, in high wind conditions, the movement of the canopy may actually lead to damage. Moreover, some prior shelter frames also allow the canopy to sag and form unsightly pockets where water can accumulate to: stress and tear the canopy; loosen the fit of the canopy making it insecure; reduce headroom; and ultimately produce an unsightly shelter.  
           [0007]    Therefore there is and continues to be a need for an improved light-weight and relatively inexpensive protective canopy structure, that includes a covering which is securely tensioned to the supporting internal frame structure.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention is directed to a shelter including a frame having opposing sides, a front, a back and a roof. A canopy covers the roof and includes two pockets formed along the front and back of the canopy. Cording, disposed in each of the pockets, has a fastener for securing each end of the cording to a respective corner leg of the frame such that when the corner legs of the frame are rotated, the canopy is tensioned onto the frame. A fastener is set in holes formed in the corner legs and roof to maintain the rotated position of the corner legs. As a result, a bungyless canopy shelter can be quickly, easily and cheaply constructed. Additionally, a plurality of bungee-ball cords can be disposed in grommets in the canopy to further secure the canopy to the sides of the frame.  
           [0009]    The present invention is also directed to a method for making a shelter including the steps of assembling a frame having opposing sides, a front, a back and a roof, forming pockets along opposing edges of a canopy, disposing a cord in each of the pockets, covering the roof with the canopy, securing each end of the cords to a corner of the frame, twisting the corners of the frame to tension the canopy onto the frame, sashing the canopy to the sides of the frame and preventing unraveling of the twisting of the corners of the frame.  
           [0010]    Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide an inexpensive and efficient method for effectively assembling a shelter with a canopy securely and aesthetically secured to a frame.  
           [0011]    It is another object of the subject invention to provide a shelter which, upon tensioning a canopy onto a frame in the corners, results in a canopy taughtly held across the entire roof of the frame.  
           [0012]    It is another object of the subject invention to provide a shelter which does not pucker or hang loosely in the corners.  
           [0013]    It is another object of the subject invention to provide a shelter which does not require bungy attachments on the front or back.  
           [0014]    It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented and utilized in numerous ways, including without limitation as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device and a method for applications now known and later developed. These and other unique features of the system disclosed herein will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    So that those having ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosed system appertains will more readily understand how to make and use the same, reference may be had to the drawings wherein:  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelter according to the present disclosure including a canopy mounted on a frame.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the frame of FIG. 1.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a foot plate for a leg of the frame of the shelter of FIG. 1.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a bungee-ball cord sashing the canopy to the side of the frame of FIG. 1.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 5 is a detailed view of an upper corner of the frame of the shelter of FIG. 1 from the inside of the shelter prior to twisting the cord about the corner.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6 is a detailed view of an upper corner of the frame of the shelter of FIG. 1 from the outside of the shelter prior to twisting the cord about the corner.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7 is a detailed view of an upper corner of the frame of the shelter of FIG. 1 from the inside of the shelter after twisting the cord about the corner.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 8 is a detailed view of an upper corner of the frame of the shelter of FIG. 1 from the outside of the shelter after twisting the cord about the corner.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 9 is a detailed view of the assembly for maintaining rotational position of the corner of the shelter of FIG. 1.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 10 is a detailed view of an upper corner of the frame of the shelter of a second embodiment from the inside of the shelter prior to fixing the cord about the corner.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 11 is a detailed view of an upper corner of the frame of the shelter of FIG. 10 after fixing the cord about the corner.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0027]    The present invention overcomes many of the prior art problems associated with shelters having a canopy. The advantages, and other features of the shelter disclosed herein, will become more readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings which set forth representative embodiments of the present invention and wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural elements.  
         [0028]    Referring to FIG. 1, a shelter  10  in accordance with the present disclosure includes a frame  12  with a canopy  14  mounted thereon. As shown, the shelter  10  is in a raised or “set-up” condition. Although the subject invention is discussed with respect to frame  12 , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art that many different configurations of frame would benefit from the subject disclosure. Preferably, the sides  18  of the canopy  14  are secured to the frame  12  by a plurality of bungees  36  as will be described below with respect to FIG. 4 and the front  20  and back  22  of the canopy  14  are secured to the frame  12  by cording  32  as will be described below with respect to FIGS.  5 - 9 .  
         [0029]    Referring also to FIG. 2, the frame  12  includes eight legs  16  supporting by laterally extending trusses  24 . It should be understood, however, that a frame  12  according to the present disclosure may include more or less than eight legs with corresponding trusses  24 . It should be appreciated that all the legs  16  may be identical or varied in configuration. Substantially horizontal cross poles  26  extend between the legs  16 . When assembled, the legs  16 , trusses  24  and cross poles  26  are joined and linked together using a plurality of connectors  27 . In a preferred embodiment, the legs  16 , trusses  24 , cross poles  26  and connectors  27  are PVC pipe. In alternative embodiments, the frame  12  is in the form of hollow tubes fabricated from a metal such as an aluminum allow, a suitably strong plastic polymer or combinations thereof. Preferably, the legs  16  are supported at the ground level by optional feet plates  28  (best seen in FIG. 3) which are secured thereto by a fastener  29 . Further, it will be appreciated that the frame  12  may be set in concrete or partially buried to further stabilize the shelter  10 .  
         [0030]    The canopy  14  of the shelter  10  is preferably a resilient, weather-proof material such as water sealed nylon and the like to preferably provide sufficient protection from the elements. In a preferred embodiment, the canopy  14  is made from a substantially rectangular piece of material slightly larger than the footprint of the shelter  10 . It should be appreciated that the material may be sewn, welded and the like to create pockets or sleeves  23  and secure features thereto. In a preferred embodiment, the canopy  14  is folded back, stitched and welded so as to effectively form sleeves  23  along the front  20  and back  22  of the canopy  14 . Disposed within the sleeves  23  is cording  32 , which is preferably rope although the cording  32  may be elastic as well.  
         [0031]    The canopy  14  is also folded back and welded along the sides  18  to double the material. In this case, the doubling back of material is intended to provide additional strength to the sides  18  such that each side  18  may accommodate a plurality of reinforcing grommets  34 . The reinforcing grommets  34  are typically formed of metal and are press fit into apertures formed in the sides  18  of the canopy  14  so as to provide a high strength, rip resistant attachment point for cords  36 .  
         [0032]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 4 , to assemble the shelter  10 , the canopy  14  is placed upon the assembled frame  12 . A plurality of bungee-ball cords  36  are fed through the grommets  34  and around the crosspoles  26  along arrow “a” for lashing the sides  18  of the canopy  14  to the frame  12 . Preferably, the elastic portion  37  of the bungee-ball cords  36  forms a loop which hooks onto the ball  39  for a tight secure fit of the canopy  14  which can withstand windy conditions. Although the ball  39  is shown larger that the aperture formed by the grommets  34 , a variety of sashing mechanisms could be advantageously employed as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.  
         [0033]    Turning to FIGS.  5 - 8 , with the canopy  14  partially secured on the sides  18  by the bungee-ball cords  36 , the cording  32  secures the canopy to the frame  12  by attaching to the corner legs  16 , respectively. Hooks  38  are attached to the ends of the cording  32  which has been fed through the sleeves  23  of the front  20  and back  22  of the canopy  14 . It should be appreciated that the cording may be elastic, traditional rope and the like and the hooks  38  although shown as S-shaped may be of a variety of suitable configurations well known to those skilled in the pertinent art. The hooks  38  secure the cording  32  to the corner legs  16  by engaging a hole  40  formed in each of the corner legs  16 . In another embodiment, the cording  32  is pulled tight and secured to the corner legs  116  to tension the canopy  14  not only in the front and back but on the sides as well.  
         [0034]    In a preferred embodiment, upon engagement of the hooks  38  in the holes  40 , each corner leg  16  is twisted with respect to the respective connector  27  to increase the tension on the cording  32  and, in turn, increase the tension on the front  20  and back  22  as well as the sides  18  which are also tensioned about the corner legs  116 . As a result of the twisting, the canopy  14  has an improved tight fit which looks pleasing and can withstand the elements. The size and configuration of the canopy  14  as shown is particularly well-suited to completely tensioning without puckering. In another embodiment, additional pockets, having the cording  32  therein, are created in the canopy  14  parallel to the crosspoles  26 , and secured to the legs  16 . Then, the legs  16  can be twisted to further tighten and secure the canopy  14 .  
         [0035]    Referring now to FIG. 9, to prevent the corner legs  16  from unraveling and releasing the tension from twisting, a retaining hook  42  can engage a hole  48  in the coupling  27  depending from the truss  24  and a hole (not shown) in the upper portion of the corner legs  16  to fix the rotational position thereof. A bungee-ball assembly  44  secures the hook  42  in place to prevent the hook  42  from wobbling loose in high wind conditions. It is envisioned that multiple holes may be formed in the couplings  27  or the corner legs  16  to allow a series of adjustment points and to allow for subsequent tightening as required. In another embodiment (not shown), a depressible button on the top portion of the legs  16  selectively engages one of a plurality of holes in the couplings  27  to secure the rotational positions of the legs  16 .  
         [0036]    Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, in another embodiment, an alternative twist tensioning arrangement for a shelter  110  is shown. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, the shelter  110  is only partially illustrated and utilizes the same principles of the shelter  10  described above. Accordingly, like reference numerals preceded by the numeral “1” are used to indicate like elements. The cording  132  does not have a hook but simply threads into a through hole  140  in the corner legs  116 . As the cording  132  is pulled taught, the respective front or back and corresponding side are tensioned onto the frame  112 . Upon tensioning, the cording  132  is tied to the corner leg  116  prior to twisting the leg  116  to complete the tensioning operation. Alternatively, the cording  132  is wrapped around the leg  116  to tension the canopy  114  onto the frame  112  then secured in through hole  140 . In still another embodiment, the cording  132  is simply pulled tight and tied, hooked or otherwise fastened to the frame  112 .  
         [0037]    While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.