Patent ID: 8881753

Claim:
A collapsible enclosure comprising: a frame assembly including an articulated frame that extends between and presents opposite frame ends; and a cover attached to the frame assembly so that the frame assembly and cover cooperatively define an interior space, said articulated frame including a plurality of rigid frame sections that each define a framed area, said frame sections being attached in series with one another to extend continuously between the frame ends and present multiple adjacent pairs of frame sections, each of said adjacent pairs of frame sections being pivotally attached to one another by at least one pivot joint so as to be pivotal into and out of a folded position where the framed areas are positioned adjacent one another, said articulated frame being shiftable between a collapsed configuration where each of the adjacent pairs of frame sections are moved into the folded positions so that the frame sections are stacked in series with one another and an erected configuration where each of the adjacent pairs of frame sections are moved out of the folded positions so that the articulated frame spans an erected area along the interior space greater than the framed area, said frame assembly including a plurality of elongated flexible rods, said rods extending along the length of the articulated frame to interconnect multiple frame sections, said framed area of each of the multiple frame sections having a generally planar shape, with the attached cover being under tension in the erected configuration and thereby urged to conform along the planar shapes in the erected configuration, said rods extending along a curved path that extends at least partly out of the planes of the multiple frame sections so as to urge the attached cover out of conformity with the planar shapes of the multiple frame sections.