Abstract:
A tent, such as a collapsible canopy, having removable awning structures. In some embodiments, the awning structure includes a detachable connection member, an awning tube coupled to the connection member and an awning fabric or other suitable awning body. The awning cloth can be fixed on the awning tube, such as extending between a pair of awning tubes. When the intensity or direction of the outdoor environment light/precipitation changes, the removable awning structures may be deployed as desired to increase or adjust the shade area according in the desired direction to flexibly meet shade or storm requirements.

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of the present disclosure. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The embodiments relate to a tent, canopy or other structure and, specifically, to a removable awning arrangement for such a tent, canopy or other structure. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Tents or canopies, such as collapsible canopies, are often used in to provide shade or rain protection outdoors. In existing canopies, a small amount of height adjustment of the roof of the tent structure is provided by height adjustment of the support legs. Users can adjust the individual support legs to different heights to achieve an angled position of the roof of the tent structure to address sun, wind or rain that is directed at an angle and not sufficiently blocked by a horizontal orientation of the roof structure. However, such adjustment is typically quite limited and results in reduced overhead clearance within at least portions of the interior of the canopy. In addition, the tent roof size remains fixed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The systems, methods and devices described herein have innovative aspects, no single one of which is indispensable or solely responsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the claims, some of the advantageous features will now be summarized. 
         [0007]    One or more embodiments provide a flexible adjustment of shade or rain protection, referred to herein as coverage. To address this purpose, the canopy includes a detachable awning and, in particular, detachable awning support structures. The canopy generally includes a roof and several support legs. The canopy also includes a removable awning structure, which includes removable awning connectors, tubes and awning cloth or other material. The awning connectors are connected to respective tube members and the awning connectors are detachably connectable to respective support legs of the canopy. 
         [0008]    An embodiment involves a canopy having a detachable awning structure, said canopy comprises a roof and legs, characterized in that the canopy further comprises a detachable awning structure, said detachable awning structure comprising an awning-connecting member, an awning tube and an awning cloth or other suitable body, wherein said awning cloth is fixed on said awning tube, said awning tube being connected with said awning-connecting member, and said awning-connecting member being detachably connected to said leg. 
         [0009]    In some configurations, said awning-connecting member comprises a leg groove and an awning tube groove; after being assembled, said awning tube being fitted to said awning tube groove and said leg groove being fitted tightly to said leg, so that said detachable awning structure is fixed to said leg. Said awning tube can be connected to said awning-connecting member by a rotating pin inserted into a fixing hole on said awning tube groove, and said awning tube being able to be rotated about the axis of said fixing hole relative to said awning-connecting member. A retention surface and a sloped entry surface can be provided at the upper portion of said awning tube groove of the awning-connecting member, said sloped entry surface helping said awning tube to slide downwards into said awning tube groove and said retention surface inhibiting or preventing the awning tube within the awning tube groove from moving out of said awning tube groove, so that said awning tube is retained in the awning tube groove in response to normal or expected forces. The cross sectional dimensions of the part of said leg groove that contacts said leg can be smaller than the cross sectional dimensions of said leg, so that said awning-connecting member is able to tightly clamp said leg without sliding downwards in response to normal or expected forces. 
         [0010]    In some configurations, said awning tube is fixedly connected to said awning tube groove of the awning-connecting member by a fixing pin that is inserted into a fixing hole on the awning tube groove. Said awning-connecting member can be provided with an upper frame and a lower frame with flexibility that define said leg groove, and when installing, said frames being pulled open to make said awning-connecting member clamp on said leg, thus said awning-connecting member will be stably fixed on said leg due to flexibility of said frames. A tube plug can be provided at the end of said awning tube installed in the awning tube groove of the awning-connecting member, wherein a spring and a button are provided between said tube plug and bottom of said awning tube groove, a button hole being provided at the bottom of the awning tube groove, the wall of the leg that is installed in the leg groove pressing said spring and abut against said button, so that the wall of said leg tightly contacts with said frames ensuring that said awning-connecting member is fixed at a specific height of the leg without slipping off. 
         [0011]    In some configurations, said awning-connecting member is made of elastic or resilient material. 
         [0012]    In some configurations, said detachable awning structure(s) is(are) installed at any one or more sides of said canopy. 
         [0013]    In some configurations, one or two sides of said canopy each is provided with two detachable awning structures, wherein the two detachable awning structures are fixedly installed at different heights of said legs. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings. 
           [0015]      FIG. 1A  is a top perspective view of a canopy equipped with four detachable awning structures having certain features, aspects and advantages of an embodiment. 
           [0016]      FIG. 1B  is a top perspective view of the canopy with three detachable awning structures. 
           [0017]      FIG. 1C  is a top perspective view of the canopy with two detachable awning structures positioned on opposite sides of the canopy. 
           [0018]      FIG. 1D  is a top perspective view of the canopy with one detachable awning structure on one side of the canopy. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a connecting member for detachably connecting an awning support member to a support leg of the canopy. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the connecting member of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the connecting member of  FIG. 2  taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a front view of an assembly of the connecting member detachably coupling an awning support tube to a canopy support leg. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the assembly of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the assembly of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view a second embodiment of a connecting member for detachably connecting an awning support member to a support leg of a canopy. 
           [0026]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an assembly of the connecting member of  FIG. 8  detachably coupling an awning support member to a support leg of a canopy. 
           [0027]      FIG. 10  is a side view of the assembly of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of  FIG. 9  taken along line  11 - 11  in  FIG. 10 . 
           [0029]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of an arrangement in which one side of a canopy is provided with two overhangs or awning arrangements staggered in height from another. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0030]    Embodiments of systems, components and methods of assembly and manufacture will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals refer to like or similar elements throughout. Although several embodiments, examples and illustrations are disclosed below, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the inventions described herein extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments, examples and illustrations, and can include other uses of the inventions and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner simply because it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the inventions. In addition, embodiments of the inventions can comprise several novel features and no single feature is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or is essential to practicing the inventions herein described. 
         [0031]    Certain terminology may be used in the following description for the purpose of reference only, and thus are not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as “above” and “below” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Terms such as “front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “rear,” and “side” describe the orientation and/or location of portions of the components or elements within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which is made clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the components or elements under discussion. Moreover, terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” and so on may be used to describe separate components. Such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 1A-1D  illustrate perspective views of a tent or canopy  100 , which can be a collapsible canopy, incorporating one or more detachable awning arrangements, each of which can be referred to herein as an overhang  101 . As shown, the tent  100  includes a roof  1 , one or more support legs or pipes  2  (which may be height adjustable—e.g., telescoping) and one or more detachable awnings or overhangs  101 . The detachable awnings or overhangs  101  disclosed herein are detachable without the use of tools. Preferably, the awnings or overhangs  101  can be quickly and conveniently assembled to the associated tent  100  without the use of tools. In the illustrated configurations, the resiliency of the couplings or connection members produces at least a portion of a retention force for the detachable awnings or overhangs  101 . Additional coupling members or arrangements can provide additional retention force. The tent  100  can be a collapsible or folding canopy having a foldable frame and a cover, such as those sold under the trademark EZ-UP. One example of a collapsible canopy is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,483, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. The awning arrangement  101  generally comprises one or more awning supports, such as a pair of awning support tubes  5 , awning fabric or an awning body  3  of another material and detachable connections  4 ,  4 ′ coupled to respective awning support tubes  5 . When assembled, the detachable connections  4 ,  4 ′ are mounted on respective support legs  2  of the canopy  100  and support the awning support tubes  5  relative to the canopy support legs  2 , thereby permitting quick and removable installation of the overhang  101  on the canopy  100 . The awning body  3  can be permanently coupled to the awning support tubes  5  or, in some configurations, the awning body  3  can be positioned on the awning support tubes  5  (e.g., slid onto) after the awning support tubes  5  are attached to the canopy support legs  2 .  FIGS. 1A-1D  shows only four possible mounting arrangements of the overhang structure scheme. In fact, the overhang structure  101  may be mounted on any side of the tent  100  and at any height based on the actual needs in order to achieve desired side shade or side rain protection, for example. 
         [0033]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the connecting member  4  separate from the canopy  100 . As shown, the awning connector  4  includes a leg opening  8  that removably and securably receives a support leg  2  of the canopy  100 . The awning connector  4  also includes an awning support tube opening or groove  7  that selectively receives the awning support tube  5 . At least one or a pair of fixing holes  6  rotatably supports the awning support tube  5 , such as via a shaft, pin or fastener. Rotation of the awning support tube  5  about the rotation pin (not shown) or other support member inserted into the holes  6  allows the awning  101  to be assembled to the support leg  2  of the canopy and selectively secured in place. In some configurations, the awning  101  can be moved between two positions, such as a raised and lowered position, for example. 
         [0034]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the overhang connector member  4  and  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 . The connecting member  4  preferably has retention surface  10  at an open or upper end of the groove  7  to inhibit unintentional or undesirable removal of the awning support tube  5  from the groove  7 . The entry or mouth of the groove preferably defines a sloped entry surface  9 , which facilitates entry of the awning support tube  5  into the groove  7 . The bottom surface of the groove  7  is angled or offset from the horizontal plane (or a plane perpendicular to an axis of the leg opening  8 ) by an angle such that when the awning support tube  5  is installed, the awning  101  is inclined towards the ground in a direction away from the outer edge of the roof  1 . Preferably, the angle is between about 2-15°, about 2-10° or about 4°. If desired, the bottom surface of the groove  7  can be arranged in the horizontal plane (or the plane perpendicular to an axis of the leg opening  8 ), and thus the tube  5  and the awning  101  when installed can be parallel to the ground. 
         [0035]    In one or more configurations, during the installation of the overhang  101  to the tent structure  100 , each side of the cloth or other overhang body  3  is fixed to an awning tube  5 . The connecting members  4  are connected to the support legs  2  of the tent  100  by inserting the leg  2  into the leg opening  8 . Then, the awning support tube  5  is rotated into the groove  7  through the entry surface  9  of the mouth and is retained in place by the retention surface  10 . In such a position, the awning support tube  5  preferably contacts the leg tube  2  and tightly jams the leg tube  2  in the opening  8  and against the connecting member  4  so that the overhang tube  5  is fixedly coupled to the tent leg tube  2 . In some configurations, the overhang tubes  5  are connected to the leg tubes  2  and then the awning member  3  is assembled to the two adjacent tubes  5  so that the overhanging awning cloth or body  3  is attached the outer edge of the roof  1  in order to achieve a good supplement shading or rain protection. 
         [0036]    Preferably, to facilitate the awning connection member  4  being fixedly connectable to the tent leg tube  2 , a material having elasticity is utilized in constructing the awning connecting member  4  such that the groove  8  can have a relaxed or normal size that is slightly smaller than the cross section of leg tube  2 . That is, in at least some configurations, the leg opening dimension (a) of the groove  8  is slightly smaller than the width of a leg tube  2  corresponding to the width (a) of the opening so that the awning has a resilient member  4  that can snap tightly to the leg tube  2  and be removably connected thereto without slipping on leg tube  2  in response to normal or expected forces. The resilient or elastic material can also enhance frictional engagement with the leg tube  2 . Other suitable structural features can be employed that permit the overhang  101  leg connecting member  4  to be detachably, semi-permanently or permanently connected to the leg tube  2 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  is an assembly including the awning connecting member  4  shown in  FIGS. 2-4  coupled to a tent support leg  2  and supporting an awning support tube  5 .  FIG. 6  is a side view of the assembly of  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 7  is a top view of the assembly of  FIG. 5 . In the illustrated assembly, the awning support tube  5  is securely connected to the tent support leg  2  (e.g., such that it does not move on the leg  2  in response to normal or expected operational forces) and is slightly inclined in a downward direction from the inner to the outer edge of the awning  101 . To remove the awning  101 , the awning support tube  5  can be simply rotated upwards and moved out of registration with the leg opening  8  such that the connecting member  4  can be removed from the tent support leg  2 . In the illustrated arrangement, the connecting member  4  is positioned on or surrounds three sides and the awning support tube  5  is positioned on or surrounds the fourth side. 
         [0038]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the connector  4 ′, which is a modification of the connector  4  of  FIGS. 2-7 . Similar to the prior embodiment, the connector  4 ′ includes a leg opening  8 ′, awning support tube duct  7 ′ and awning support tube fixing holes  6 ′. Preferably, the awning support tube  5  is received in the duct  7 ′ and is attached to the connector  4 ′ by a fixing pin (not shown) or other suitable fastener received within the tube fixing holes  6 ′. Preferably, the awning connecting member  4 ′ is constructed of an at least somewhat elastic or resilient material, such as a relatively flexible plastic material, for example. 
         [0039]    The awning connecting member  4 ′ can be mounted to the leg tube  2  via upper and lower connection arms  14  that cooperate to receive and engage the leg tube  2 . Preferably, the upper and lower connection arms  14  can deflect to permit engagement of the connecting member  4 ′ with the tent leg tube  2  and then resiliently return toward a relaxed position and/or toward restoration of the original shape to engage the leg tube  2 . In some configurations, a space between the arms  14  allows entry of the leg tube  2  into the leg opening  8 ′ when the connecting member  4 ′ is rotated to a particular angle and, once the leg tube  2  is located within the leg opening  8 ′, the connecting member  4 ′ can be rotated to cause the arms  14  to flex outwardly and then resiliently return to engage the leg tube  2 . Each of the arms  14  can be located on or wrap a portion or all of three sides of the leg tube  2 . Each of the arms  14  can include a hook end that engages the fourth side of the leg tube  2 . Preferably, the hook end wraps only partially around the fourth side of the leg tube  2 . In the illustrated arrangement, the arms  14  mirror each other such that the hook ends engage different (e.g., opposite) sides of the leg tube  2 . 
         [0040]    With reference to  FIG. 11 , preferably the end of the awning support tube  5  includes an end surface, which can be defined by an end plug  13  or other suitable structure. In addition, preferably, the connector  4 ′ includes a spring  12  acting between the end plug  13  and an engagement member  11 , which can contact the leg tube  2  via the biasing force of the spring  12  to inhibit or further inhibit movement of the connecting member  4 ′ relative to the leg tube  2 . In some arrangements, the engagement member  11  can engage empty adjustment openings  21  of the leg tube  2 . Accordingly, after installing the awning leg  5  to the leg tube structure  2 , the compression spring  12  urges the engagement member  11  into the adjustment opening or hole  21  to squeeze the leg tube  2  thereby further ensuring that the awning connector  4 ′ is fixed on the leg tube  2  at a specific height without slippage. The engagement member  11  could also be configured to frictionally engage the leg tube  2  and could comprise or be constructed of a rubber, rubber-like or other grip-enhancing material. 
         [0041]      FIG. 12  illustrates one awning  101  coupled to the tent  100  with connectors  4  (the upper awning  101 ) and a second awning  101  coupled to the tent  100  with the connectors  4 ′ (the lower awning  101 ) engaging empty adjustment openings  21  of the leg tubes  2 . The second awning  101  is positioned below the first awning  101 . When the solar elevation angle is small, this installation method further provides better shading effect. For example, some smaller pets can avoid sunlight under the lower position of the awning. 
       CONCLUSION 
       [0042]    It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the herein-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. Moreover, any of the steps described herein can be performed simultaneously or in an order different from the steps as ordered herein. Moreover, as should be apparent, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0043]    Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. 
         [0044]    Moreover, the following terminology may have been used herein. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to an item includes reference to one or more items. The term “ones” refers to one, two, or more, and generally applies to the selection of some or all of a quantity. The term “plurality” refers to two or more of an item. The term “about” or “approximately” means that quantities, dimensions, sizes, formulations, parameters, shapes and other characteristics need not be exact, but may be approximated and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting acceptable tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like and other factors known to those of skill in the art. The term “substantially” means that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide. 
         [0045]    Numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also interpreted to include all of the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration, a numerical range of “about 1 to 5” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited values of about 1 to about 5, but should also be interpreted to also include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3 and 4 and sub-ranges such as “about 1 to about 3,” “about 2 to about 4” and “about 3 to about 5,” “1 to 3,” “2 to 4,” “3 to 5,” etc. This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value (e.g., “greater than about 1”) and should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described. A plurality of items may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. Furthermore, where the terms “and” and “or” are used in conjunction with a list of items, they are to be interpreted broadly, in that any one or more of the listed items may be used alone or in combination with other listed items. The term “alternatively” refers to selection of one of two or more alternatives, and is not intended to limit the selection to only those listed alternatives or to only one of the listed alternatives at a time, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.