Patent ID: 6892744

Claim:
A quickly erectable structure comprising: an expandable/collapsible top apparatus having a top internal frame and a flexible top cover attached to and supported by the top internal frame for movement between an expanded position and a collapsed position, the top internal frame including rigid top frame members pivotally attached together to define a peak where the top frame members extend radially from the peak, the top internal frame further including rigid right/lower and left/lower frame members pivotally attached to a bottom of each one of the top frame members at an overcenter joint, the right/lower and left/lower frame members forming an inverted “Y” shape with the associated top frame member when in the expanded position but forming a dense stack of substantially parallel frame members when in the collapsed position, a lower end of each right/lower frame member being pivotally attached to a lower end of the next adjacent one of the left/lower frame members so that, when expanded, the right/lower and left/lower frame members form a zigzag pattern around and spaced from the peak; a releasable support structure attached to the peak and each of the top frame members for selectively holding the top apparatus in the expanded position; and an expandable/collapsible bottom apparatus having a bottom internal frame supporting the top apparatus, and including a flexible bottom cover supported by the bottom internal frame, the bottom apparatus being expandable to form a geometric shape having sides and being collapsible for compact storage, wherein the bottom internal frame includes a crisscrossing pattern of pivotally interconnected pairs of frame members that form repeating “X” shapes.