Patent ID: 8056572

Claim:
A shelter, wherein the shelter is lightweight, portable, and collapsible, and wherein, when set up by a human operator, the shelter is free standing on a supporting surface, the shelter comprising: a) a frame comprising: i) three or more cover shafts pivotably connected to an upper plate which forms an apex of the shelter, the shelter having an axis substantially perpendicular to an upper plate, ii) three or more stretcher shafts pivotably connected to each respective cover shaft and pivotably connected to a lower plate, and iii) a separation shaft connected to one of the plates, wherein the separation shaft comprises: (1) a separation shaft tip configured to pass through the other plate, and (2) a separation shaft stop configured to engage the other plate, and iv) a means for applying opposing forces to the upper plate and the lower plate to cause the separation shaft to separate the plates at a predetermined distance, the predetermined distance set by the separation shaft stop, b) a cover skin having a predetermined shape, the cover skin comprising: i) a number of cover panels corresponding to the number of cover shafts, ii) a plurality of cover corners formed by a plurality of cover seams between adjacent cover panels, wherein the cover comprises an inverted-T window, the inverted-T window comprising a horizontal left window fastener, a horizontal right window fastener, and a vertical top window fastener, said fasteners forming an inverted-T, and wherein the left window fastener and the right window fastener each is configured to open out from a center, and the top window fastener configured to open up from the center.