Folding Tent, Transmutable into a Boat or a Sledge.
Year: 1895

page_text: Application, ou
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Complete Specification Left, 8th May, 1-96-Accepted. 8th Sept., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Folding Tent, Transmutable into a Boat or a Sledge.
I OTTO HUGO KURTZAHN, of 7, Franken Strasse, Schöneberg near Berlin
(in Germany), Author, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to a water-proof tent, which can be folded up into a
double-boat (with sun-shade) or a sledge (with pikes for moving on). The object
referred to represents a combination of four rectangular and eight triangled plates
or frames of wood, cane, aluminium or wire-gauze and the like, which are connected
by means of hinges, if necessary, supported by metal rails and covered with double
sail-cloth of one piece. These plates or frames, of which the outer rectangular
ones serve for holding the outfit, can be either folded up altogether or they may
be placed and fixed in various positions to each other in order to be used, as may
be required, either as boat, sledge or tent. In order to use the said plates or
frames as a boat, they are folded up in such a way, that the four rectangular
plates form the sides of the boat and the eight triangled plates the bow or the
hind-part of the same. Seats or forms are arranged by twos situated opposite
each other, fixed to the outer rectangular plates or frames and movable in
joints, placed on the inner rectangular plates and there held fast by springs or
scrowed to the plates, in order to keep the walls of the boat apart. The double-
boat is used as a "sledge" by the metal rails provided at the foot of the
rectangular frames or plate-. As a sailing boat it can be used by putting up
the oars in the boat as sail-poles, to which a tent cloth is attached as a sail. In
order to use the said plates or frames as a tent, the double-boat or the sledge is
either turned over, or the plates or frames are screwed together, with the
assistance of turnable levers, into a box serving as tent roof. The under frame
of the tent is in both cases formed out of oars or tent-poles provided with turnably
fixed cross-bars, the oars or pole- being pushed, by means of their guide-fillets,
into the guides of the outer plates or frames.
Dated this Second day of August 1895.
OTTO HUGO KURTZAHN.
Folding Tent, Transmutable into a Boat or a Sledge.
I OTTO HUGO KURIZAHN, Author, of 121 Grunewaldstrasse, Schoeneberg,
(late of 7 Frankenstrasse) Berlin, in the Kingdom of Prussia, in the Empire of
Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to Le particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
This invention relates to a folding waterproof tert, convertible into a twin bont
with awning for sun or rain-or into a sledge.
11
The tent, boat or sledge is made up from four rectangular, and eight right-angled
Price 8d 1

page_text: triangular plates or Irames made Or wood, cane, aluminium, papier-maché,
wire-gauze, or other suitable light material, securel together by means of hinges,
strengthened if necessary by nails, and covered with double sail-cloth, all in one
piece.
And in order that my invention may be clearly understood I will now procee.l
to describe the same with reference to the sheets of drawings accompanying this
specification, in which
Fig. 1 shews a side elevation of the tent or boat folded up, Fig. 2 a corresponding
plan,
65
Figs. 3 and 3 side elevations of the oars or tent poles.
Fig. 4 is a cross section of the twin boat, with the awning up :
Fig. 5 is a plan of the boat, with the awning removed:
Fig. 6 shews a longitudinal section of the end of the hamlle of an oar, with
pick," covered by a metal cap, which can be unscrewed:
Fig. 7 illustrates the fastening of the supports of the roof of the tent, or awning
of the twin boat, as the case may be,
Fig. 8 shews the tent, with the box-roof;
Fig. 9 is a top view of the box-roof, shewing the method of fastening the walls
of the tent thereto; Figs. 10 and 11 shew details of this method of fastening; and
Fig. 12 shews the ground work of plates or frames, used for the whole.
The plates or frames which are intended to form the boat, box-roof of the tent,
or the sledge, are shewn in ground plan at Figure 12. They consist of a number
of plates stamped or cut out, or of frames forined so as to lighten them, as indicated
on plates numbered 7, 10, 11 and 12.
one
propose to cover the plates with double, water-proofed sail cloth, all in
piece, so as to be particularly suitable for the uses to which they are to be put.
Where it is folded over, I propose to fasten the material by means of nails or
rivets, and the edges are covered in with thin metal bands m, shewn at Figs. 1
and 8.
The plates or frames are connected together by suitable hinges, so that they
may be turned into the various positions necessary for forming the boat, sledge or
roof for the tent, as hereinafter described.
To form a twin boat or sledge, it is necessary to turn the plates or frames into
the positions shewn at Fig. 4 in cross section and Figure 5 in plan. I have
indicated the numbers on each of the plates or frames in Fig. 5, corresponding
with Figure 12, so that no difficulty can be experienced in turning them into the
positions shewn in that figure.
i, il are flaps, hinged on the plates 5 and 8, as shewn clearly at Figure 4, where
they are turned so as to overlap one another and are screwed together by means of
two screws, in order to keep the plates 5 and 8 rigidly in position.
The seats B are hinged at one end on to plates 2 and 11, and when turned into
the position shewn at Figure 4 drop into recesses y cut for their reception in the
edges of plates 5 and 8, where they are screwed down by thumb screws.
twin boat or sledge is thus kept perfectly rigid.
The
The floor boards T have metal strips fixed diagonally under same, as shewn
dotted in Figure 5 in order to strengthen them. They are cut away at their edges
so as to take over the projecting pieces 2, 22", as shewn at Fig. 5. x, x shew two
hollows, on the upper sides of the floor boards T, for the heels to take into, in
order to give a purchase when rowing. The row-locks u, turn in metal sockets,
shewn clearly in Figures 1 and 4, at v.
N, N Figure 4 shew two rolls of canvas, stowed away under the floor boards T.
The cars S are provided at their upper ends, with pivotted arms D. Figure 7
shews how the blade end of an oar is attached to the sides of the boat at plates 2
and 11. In this figure shews a metal dove-tailed socket piece, screwed on to the
plates 2 and 11, and c is a corresponding dove-tailed projection on the blade of the
oar, so that such projection may slide into the socket formed by b.
The oars are shewn set up in this way at Figure 4 in full lines, in which case

page_text: the arms D are turned into a horizontal position and are screwed together at g¹, g¹¹,
so as to make a frame-work for an awning.
The dotted lines shew how I set up the oars to form masts for a sail. This may
be seen clearly on Figure 4 and needs no further description.
Should it be intended to use the twin boat for the transport of light articles,
such as saddles, harness, boots, clothing and the like, the floor board T may be
drawn up and with the rolls N attached by lashing or otherwise to the seats B,
as shewn at N¹ dotted on Figure 4: but for use as an ordinary boat, and for
carrying ammunition and the like, it is advisable to put in the floor board.
The twin boat is employed as a sledge, by means of the metal rods or runners F,
fastened to the bottoms of the plates or frames 2 5, 8 and 11.
These runners may
be seen at F Figures 1 and 4. When making use of the sledge the metal caps ẞ
Figure 6 are unscrewed from the oar handles so that they may serve as picks.
The parts in Figures 4 and 5 with letters not already referred to only shew the
positions of parts which come into use in forming the tent hereafter referred to.
The simplest way of forming said tent is to merely invert the boat or sledge
shewn at Figure 4, and stretch the canvas of the rolls N round same to form the
curtains, the boat portion thus forms the roof of said tent.
According to another way of forming the tent, shewn at Figures 8 to 11, starting
from the ground plan, shewn at Figure 12, the plates are turned up so as to form
a box, having the plates 5 and 8 for bottom, 2 and 11 for its longer sides, and
the others for its shorter or remaining sides.
This box forms, when turned over, the roof of the tent, Figure 8. As
however the plates or frames being so easily movable might make it a difficult
matter to put this together, each four of the eight smaller plates or frames are
bound or held together by the pivotted bar a and the flaps 4 and 9 are provided
with tongues or strips (d, e Figures 1 and 5) which fit into grooves in and
temporarily support the plates or frames 7 and 6, whilst the bar a is being
adjusted.
At the corners of the plates or frames 2 and 11 are four of the dove tail
grooved pieces b, shewn clearly at Figure 1.
When putting up the tent, the projections c on the blades of the oars are slid
into the grooves b, and then the pivotted arms D are turned into a horizontal
position, and screwed to the lower ends of the oars S, forming the tent poles as
shewn clearly at Figure 8. The tent curtains Figures 10 and 11, consist of sail cloth,
and are sewn, each along one edge around metal bands 1, on which are metal
projections serving as guides when inserting the curtains into the slots n or the
strips s on the roof of the tent, shewn at the sectional portions of Figure 9. The
fastening of the lower edges of the curtains is made to buttons 9 on the cross
pieces D see Figure 8, that of the side edges, when necessary by tapes h on to
knobs on the boards T.
The whole may be conveniently packed together for transport, by folding the
plates forming the ground work along the middle line M (see Fig. 12), then
turning back the plates 10, 11 and 12, and then those marked 1, 2 and 3. The
plates will then lie flat upon one another as seen at Figure 1, the seats B lying on
the outsides of the plates. The hooks q, and q' are then hooked into their
corresponding eyes, as seen in Figure 2.
The oars, rolls of canvas N and the other loose parts of the outfit are then
placed on the said plates and the whole is bound together by binding a rope
round the plates or frames, through any of the hooks etc. that may be convenient
for the purpose, and around the projecting screw and nail heads.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. A folding tent transmutable into a boat or a sledge, substantially as herein-

page_text: 2. The folding tent, convertible into a boat or a sledge, consisting of four
rectangular, and eight right angled triangular frames or plates, movable on hinges:
said plates being capable of being arranged and fixed in different positions with
respect to one another, in order that they may be entirely folded together, when
the individual plates or frames serve for the reception of parts of the outfit, or
converted at will either into a twin boat or a sledge.
3. In the employment of the plates or frames, such as those claimed in Claim 2,
as a boat, the arrangement of the plates or frames in such a way that the four
rectangular plates (2, 11, 5, and 8) form the longer sides, and the eight right
angled triangular plates or frames (1, 7, 4, 10, 3, 6, 9, and 12) form the bow and
stern of the twin boat, the sides of the said boat being kept apart by means of the
benches (B, B.), arranged opposite to one another in pairs, fastened by joints to
the outer rectangular frames or plates (2 and 11), and capable of being laid on
and secured to the two inner rectangular plates or frames (5 and 8) substantially
as described.
4. In the employment of the plates or frames, such as those claimed in Claim 2,
as a sledge, the use of the metal strips or runners F fitted to the bottom of the
sides of the boat claimed in Claim 3, substantially as described.
5. In the employment of the plates or frames, such as those claimed in Claim 2,
as a tent, the arrangement of the plates or frames so as to form a box-roof for the
tent, (or their arrangement as a boat, as claimed in Claim 3, which boat, when
inverted forms the roof of the tent) the framework of said tent being made of four
oars S S formed with cross pieces, which can be turned upon pivots, said oars
being furnished with strips c sliding into dovetailed grooves in the outer rectangular
plates or frames 2 and 11, substantially as described.
Dated this Eighth day of May One thousand eight hundred and ninety-six.
BROWNE & Co.,
9 Warwick Court, Gray's Inn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.