Patent Publication Number: US-11028542-B2

Title: Portable windbreak shelter assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/865,332 filed on Jan. 9, 2018. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to shelter devices and more particularly pertains to a new shelter device for providing a combination shelter and windbreak which can be moved to a desired position using conventional vehicles typically available on a farm. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a shelter frame having a front, a back, a bottom face, a first lateral side face, and a second lateral side face. The first lateral side face and the second lateral side face extend upwardly from respective opposite edges of the bottom face and meet to define an apex of the shelter frame extending between the front and the back. A covering is coupled to the shelter frame wherein the covering and the shelter frame inhibit wind from passing through the shelter frame to define a sheltered interior space. The shelter frame is movable using conventional farm equipment. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a top front side perspective view of a portable windbreak shelter assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a top rear side perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a top front side perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure in an alternative position. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new shelter device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , the portable windbreak shelter assembly  10  generally comprises a shelter frame  12 . The shelter frame  12  has a front  14 , a back  16 , a bottom face  18 , a first lateral side face  20 , and a second lateral side face  22 . The first lateral side face  20  and the second lateral side face  22  extend upwardly from respective opposite edges  24  of the bottom face  18  and meet to define an apex  26  of the shelter frame  12 . The apex  26  extends between the front  14  and the back  16  of the shelter frame  12 . The shelter frame  12  may be formed by a plurality of spaced triangular sections  28  and longitudinal members  30  forming a prism shape. Additional braces  32  may be provided in each of the triangular sections  28  near the apex  26 . The shelter frame  12  has a plurality of door sections  34  positioned at the front  14  of the shelter frame  12 . The door sections  34  define a door opening  36  through the front  14  of the shelter frame  12 . 
     A covering  38  is coupled to the shelter frame  12  to inhibit wind from passing through the shelter frame  12 . Thus, the shelter frame  12  and covering  38  define a sheltered interior space  40 . The covering  38  extends from the bottom face  18  upwardly towards the apex  26 . The bottom face  18  is left uncovered and open to the ground except for those portions of the triangular sections  28  extending across the bottom face  18 . The covering  38  has top edges  42  on the front  14  and the back of said shelter frame  12  being spaced from the apex  26  defining a pair of top vents  104  into the shelter frame  12  wherein the sheltered interior space  40  is partially open to allow for venting and to prevent the sheltered interior space  40  from becoming too hot. A top portion  106  of the covering  38  adjacent to the apex  26  and extending along at least one or each of the first lateral side face  20  and the second lateral side face  22  is either transparent or translucent allowing light to enter into the sheltered interior space  40 . The covering  38  has a front opening  46  positioned along the front  14  of the shelter frame  12  corresponding to and in alignment with the door opening  36 . The front opening  46  extends upwardly from the bottom face  18  towards the apex  26 . The covering  38  has a side opening  50  positioned along the first lateral side face  20  of the shelter frame  12 . The side opening  50  extends upwardly from the bottom face  18  towards the apex  26 . The shelter frame  12  has no more than one triangular section  28  being positioned to extend across the side opening  50 . The side opening  50  may have opposite ends  52  positioned adjacent to respective triangular sections  28 . The covering  38  may be comprised of conventional sheeting material. 
     A door  44  is pivotally coupled to the shelter frame  12  wherein the door  44  is pivotable between an open position  54  and a closed position  56 . The door  44  is solid and covers the front opening  46  when in the closed position  56 . The door  44  may be constructed of framing and sheeting material the same as used for the shelter frame  12  and covering  38 . A door lock  58  of conventional design is coupled to the door  44  to selectively engage the shelter frame  12  wherein the door  44  is held in the closed position  56 . 
     A gate  60  is coupled to the first lateral side face  20  of the shelter frame  12  in alignment with the side opening  50 . The gate  60  includes an array of spaced elongated members  62  defining a grid  64  configured for allowing air to pass through the side opening  50  while inhibiting an animal from passing through the side opening  50  when the gate  60  is in a shut position  66  covering the side opening  50 . A top  68  of the gate  60  is pivotally coupled to the first lateral side face  20  of the shelter frame  12  wherein the gate  60  is pivotable into an unshut position  70  relative to the side opening  50 . A gate tether  72  is coupled to the gate  60 . The gate tether  72  is securable to hold the gate  60  in the unshut position  70 . The gate tether  72  may be a chain  74 . A catch  76  is coupled to and extends from the covering  38  on the first lateral side face  20  of the shelter frame  12 . The catch  76  may be secured to the shelter frame  12  through the covering  38 . The chain  74  is engageable to the catch  76  wherein the gate  60  is held in the unshut position  70 . 
     Each of a plurality of hooks  78  is coupled to the shelter frame  12 . Each of the hooks  78  extends perpendicularly relative to the apex  26  of the shelter frame  12  wherein the hooks  78  are configured for being engaged by a lifting mechanism of a vehicle to lift and move the shelter frame  12 . The lifting mechanism may be a bucket, boom arm, or the like operationally coupled to the vehicle, such as a tractor, truck, skidloader, or the like. Each of the hooks  78  is coupled to the shelter frame  12  such that the hooks  78  are spaced above the apex  26 . Each of the hooks  78  may be formed by a plate  80  extending simultaneously downward towards the bottom face  18  of the shelter frame  12  and outwardly away from the apex  26 . The plurality of hooks  78  is arranged into a plurality of aligned pairs  82 . The hooks  78  of each of the aligned pairs  82  are equidistant from the front  14  of the shelter frame  12  and extend in opposite directions perpendicular to the apex  26 . The plurality of aligned pairs  82  includes a pair of outermost pairs  84  and a medial pair  86  positioned between the outermost pairs  84 . A support  88  is coupled to the shelter frame  12  to space the hooks  78  from the apex  26 . The support  88  includes a pair of vertical posts  90  and a beam  92  coupled to and extending between the vertical posts  90 . Each of the hooks  78  is coupled directly to and extends from the beam  92 . 
     An outer frame  94  is coupled to the front  14  of the shelter frame  12 . Each of a plurality of fasteners  96  is coupled to the outer frame  94  wherein the outer frame  94  is configured for coupling to a structure positioned adjacent to the outer frame  94  such as a building, corral section, windbreak panel, or the like. 
     To provide an alternative to lifting of the shelter frame  12 , each of a a plurality of tow connection sites  98  is coupled to the shelter frame  12 . Each of the tow connection sites  98  has an aperture  100  wherein the tow connection site  98  is configured for being engaged by a tow line to facilitate dragging of the shelter frame  12  by a vehicle pulling the tow line. The tow connection sites  98  may be formed by gussets  102  coupled to the shelter frame  12  along the bottom face  18 . 
     In use, the assembly  10  is liftable by the hooks  78  or can be dragged using tow connection sites  98 . The assembly  10  provides a windbreak and the sheltered interior space  40  when more than a simple windbreak may be desired. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.