WO2011151353A1

WO2011151353A1 - A tent

Info

Publication number: WO2011151353A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/058998
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jonathan Garland; Terri O'kane; Houston Reid; Stephen Caldwell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-05-31
Filing date: 2011-05-31
Publication date: 2011-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2012-11-30
Also published as: GB201009023D0

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards a temporary- use tent (100) comprising a framework (600) of knockdown construction supporting a weather-proof fabric (102), the weather- proof fabric having an inwardly facing side and an outwardly facing side, the outwardly facing side having a weather-proof coating applied thereon, wherein, the weatherproof fabric and the framework are both fabricated entirely from a biodegradable material. The advantage of using a temporary- use tent which is fabricated and carry from a biodegradable material is that the temporary- use tent may be left standing on the campsite at the end of a festival and allowed to biodegrade naturally over the subsequent 6-9 months. Clearly this is an advantage to the festival goer as they do not need to take down their tent and carry it home. Secondly, the festival organisers can benefit from allowing the biodegradable temporary- used tents to stand in place as they do not need to organise a security and surveillance operation to ensure festival goers are bringing home their tents.

Description

"A Tent"

Introduction

This invention relates to a tent of the type comprising a support structure covered by sheet material, which tent is usually secured to soft ground by tent pegs.

There are various different types of such tents currently available on the market. The various different types of tent are provided as tents are used in many different circumstances. For example, tents may be used by an entire family for a relatively long period of time. Such a tent would likely comprise a number of partitioned off sleeping areas and an internal living area. Alternatively, if a tent were only to be used for one or two nights by a couple of people, then it is likely that a smaller, simpler type of tent would be used. Dependent on the amount of time that the tent will be used and the number of people which the tent must accommodate, larger and more elaborate tents may be used in order to provide more comfort to the inhabitants, or, smaller, simpler tents may be used for ease-of-use when comfort is not such a concern.

When people are engaging in a short period of camping such as, for example, the attendance at open-air meetings, concerts, festivals for between one to four days, it is more likely that a smaller, simpler type of tent will be used as comfort is less of a concern to the tent users due to their short stay in the tent. A smaller tent is more attractive as it is easier to carry to the festival campsite and it is also easier to erect them larger, more complicated tents.

Unfortunately, because such tents are very basic in their construction, they are generally relatively inexpensive to purchase and the lack of value associated with these small, simple tents leads to problems.

Since the small, simple tents are relatively inexpensive to purchase, people tend not to bother removing the tents from festival campsites when the festival has ended. Quite often, the tent owners simply abandon the small tents on the festival campsite when they are leaving. This is particularly true when the tent owners do not intend using the small tent for another year or so, and, the tent owners find it to troublesome and cumbersome to pack up the tent and carry it homeward after the exertions over the period of the festival.

Moreover, some tents become damaged during the course of the festival, and the tent owners again simply abandon these damaged tents as the tents cannot be used again.

Whilst many campsites offer facilities to discard used tents, it is easier for the tent owner to simply walk away from their tent without going through the difficulty of taking down their tent, only to discard it. This is particularly true as it is impractical to attempt to identify the individuals who leave their tents behind. Consequently, due to the lack of any deterrent, tent owners are more likely to abandon their tent. Without organising a very large security and surveillance operation to continually monitor all of the tent pitches in the festival campsite as people leave, it is impossible to counteract this problem. Obviously, the cost of organising such a large security and surveillance operation would be prohibitive and unrealistic to implement.

By way of example of the problem, the famous Glastonbury Festival in the United Kingdom held in 2009 resulted in over 15,000 tents being abandoned in Glastonbury when the festival ended. This represented approximately 10% of the number of tents at the festival. When one considers the number of festivals held throughout the World and the number of tents that are left at all of these festivals, the problem shows itself to be an enormous one.

The financial cost of removing all of these abandoned tents is extremely high. Furthermore, the environmental damage caused to the hinterland by having to dispose of the tents is also very harmful and costly. Indeed, it is notable that recently the organisers of the Glastonbury Festival have urged campers to use biodegradable tent pegs because the metallic tent pegs left behind in the field in Glastonbury were causing damage to the normal inhabitants, namely cows, of Worthy Farm, Somerset where the Glastonbury festival takes place each year.

When one considers that these small, simple types of tent are normally fabricated from nylon, or similar type of polyester taffeta, the toxic effect on the area where the tents is abandoned to disintegrate is rather substantial indeed. Indeed, the fabrics used in the small, simple types of tents used by festival goers cannot really be said to biodegrade in any meaningful manner and therefore the toxic effect on the hinterland where the tent has been abandoned is very long-lasting.

Furthermore, the price point of tent has decreased over the past decade or 2 to a point where the cost of buying a tent is now very affordable to the majority of people. For example, when you compare the cost of a small, simple two-man tent, which is somewhat of the order of £25, with the cost of a ticket per person to attend one of these open-air music and cultural festivals, which can be of the order of over £100 for the full length of the festival period; then it is clear that the cost of the tents have become irrelevant in comparison to the total overall cost of attending the festival itself. Indeed, if one were to add up the total expenses for an individual to attend a festival over a three-day period, it is unlikely that the tent would account for anything more than 10% of the total cost to the festival goer.

As a consequence, many festival goers budget to purchase and subsequently abandon a tent as part of the overall expenses of attending a festival. Returning to example of the Glastonbury Festival, the cost of a ticket per person in 2009 was £145, and it is easy to appreciate that the cost of the tent is a minor part of the total overall cost. Accordingly the tent owners have no hesitation in abandoning their now unwanted tents, some of which have become damaged, and many of which would require substantial cleaning to become usable again. In short, due to the low price point of these small, simple types of tent, such tents have become disposable items to festival goers, and, the disposal of the large number of abandoned tents has become a major problem for festival organisers, both from a financial point of view and from an organisational point of view. It is a goal of the present invention to provide an apparatus that overcomes at least one of the above mentioned problems associated with using the currently known types of small, simple tents which are commonly used at festivals and other such open-air events.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is directed towards a temporary-use tent comprising a framework of knockdown construction supporting a weather-proof fabric, the weatherproof fabric having an inwardly facing side and an outwardly facing side, the outwardly facing side having a weather-proof coating applied thereon, wherein, the weatherproof fabric and the framework are both fabricated entirely from a biodegradable material.

The advantage of using a temporary-use tent which is fabricated entirely from a biodegradable material is that the temporary-use tent may be left standing on the campsite at the end of a festival and allowed to biodegrade naturally over the subsequent 6-9 months. Clearly this is an advantage to the festival goer as they do not need to take down their tent and carry it home. Secondly, the festival organisers can benefit from allowing the biodegradable temporary-used tents to stand in place as they do not need to organise a security and surveillance operation to ensure festival goers are bringing home their tents. The advantage of providing the weather-proof coating on the outwardly facing side of the temporary-use tent is that the weather will not accelerate the biodegradation of the temporary-use tent during an initial usage period. The initial usage period will typically be of the order of 2 to 3 days, but may be longer. In one embodiment, it is envisaged that the temporary-use tent will not begin to biodegrade until a bulldozer or other such mechanical crushing device breaks up the temporary-use tent so that the inwardly facing side of the temporary-use tent and the framework of the temporary-use tent become exposed to the weather, and consequently begin to biodegrade. At present, festival organisers encourage festival goers to bring home their tents. The present invention is directed to a completely counter-intuitive approach whereby festival goers are encouraged to abandon their tents. This is in complete contrast to the approach taken to date to deal with the problem of festival goers abandoning their tents in festival campsites.

In a further embodiment, the weather-proof fabric is fabricated from a jute tarpaulin. This is seen to be particularly advantageous as jute is in high abundance and has appropriate properties to allow a weather-proof fabric to be fabricated from it. In particular, jute can be allowed to be absorbed into the hinterland, nourishing the hinterland itself.

In a further embodiment, the framework comprises potato starch. In a further embodiment, the framework comprises corn starch. Such materials as potato starch and cornstarch have already proven to be of sufficient strength to allow a framework to be fabricated which supports a weather-proof fabric.

In a further embodiment, the framework comprises a plurality of tent poles fabricated from potato starch.

In a further embodiment, the framework comprises nine tent poles and a plurality of pole connectors; whereby, three tent poles are connected, using some of the plurality of pole connectors, to form a first substantially triangular frame; three further tent poles are connected, using some of the plurality of pole connectors, to form a second substantially triangular frame; and, three further tent poles are used to connect the first substantially triangular frame with the second substantially triangular frame to form a substantially triangular prism.

This is advantageous as a relatively simple shape can be formed so that the assembly of the temporary-use tent is speedy and simple. It is envisaged that the temporary-use tent could be erected within five minutes.

In a further embodiment, the weather-proof fabric comprises a zip to allow a closable entranceway to be formed in the weather-proof fabric. In a preferred embodiment, a pair of zips may be provided on the temporary-use tent to allow a large entranceway to be formed in the weather-proof of fabric. Preferably, the zips may comprise loopholes to allow a padlock to secure the zip in its closed position to secure the interior of the temporary-use tent.

In a further embodiment, the zip is fabricated from potato starch. Alternatively, it is envisaged that the zip may be fabricated from cornstarch or other such biodegradable, solid materials. For example, a biodegradable plastics has recently become available on the market. Indeed, it is envisaged that the tent poles and the pole connectors used in the framework of the temporary-use tent could also be fabricated from a biodegradable plastics.

In a further embodiment, the weather-proof coating comprises bees wax. In a further embodiment, the weather-proof coating comprises sugar cane pulp. This is advantageous as to whether-proof coating is made of a biodegradable material. In one embodiment, it is envisaged that the coating may not be 100% biodegradable as the coating will only account for an insignificant amount of the temporary-use tent and therefore will not affect the overall biodegradable nature of the temporary-use tent. In such a case, it is envisaged that the non-biodegradable weather-proof coating would be non-toxic.

In a further embodiment, the weather-proof coating comprises a fire retardant composition. This is advantageous, as in order to meet stringent safety requirements, a flame retardant coating and/or for a fire retardant coating must be on the temporary- use tent.

In a further embodiment, the temporary-use tent is coated with a fire retardant coating. In a further embodiment, the fire retardant coating comprises urea, phosphate, sulphite and bromide. This type of aqueous solution comprising urea, phosphate, sulphite and bromide has been found to be particularly effective in acting as a fire retardant. ln a further embodiment, the temporary-use tent comprises tent pegs which are fabricated from potato starch. In a further embodiment, the temporary-use tent is compostable. This is advantageous as the temporary-use tent would not only be biodegradable, but would be compostable in the sense that the tent would nourish the hinterland into which it has been left to degrade into. The present invention is directed to a tent of the small, simple type hereinbefore described manufactured from a biodegradable material, which biodegradable material is so chosen as not to be immediately biodegradable.

In one embodiment of the invention the covering of the tent is made from jute. Jute is an extremely environmentally friendly material.

In another embodiment the outer surface of the tent is treated with a waterproof liquid. Ideally it is also treated with a fire prevention material. None of these cause any great difficulty because suitable biodegradable waterproofing and fireproofing materials are available and their amount compared to that of the other materials making up the tent is miniscule.

The framework of the material will be manufactured from a suitable biodegradable material such as potato starch which can also be used to manufacture the tent pegs. Indeed such pegs are already manufactured and sold under the Trade Mark Greenstake.

Detailed Description of Embodiments The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side perspective view of a temporary-use tent according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the temporary-use tent of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the temporary-use tent of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the temporary-use tent of Figure 1 ; Figure 5 is a plan view of a weather-proof fabric used in the temporary-use tent of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a framework of knockdown construction used in the temporary-use tent of Figure 1 ;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a pole connector used in the framework of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a further pole connector used in the framework of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of another pole connector used in the framework of Figure 6; and, Figure 10 perspective view of a tent pole used in the framework of Figure 6.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, there is provided a temporary-use tent indicated generally by the reference numeral 100. The temporary-use tent 100 comprising a framework having a weather-proof fabric 102 draped thereover. The weather-proof fabric 102 comprises a double sided zip fastener 104, 106.

The weather-proof fabric 102 is a jute tarpaulin which is biodegradable. It will be understood that alternative biodegradable materials could be used in the stead of the jute tarpaulin. For example, biodegradable plastics have recently been developed which could be used. The weather-proof fabric of 102 comprises an inwardly facing side which faces towards the interior of the temporary-use tent 100, and, and outwardly facing side which faces away from the temporary-use tent 100. The outwardly facing side is viewable in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive. The outwardly facing side is coated with a weather-proof coating. The weather-proof coating is advantageously a water-proof coating. The weather-proof coating also comprises a fire retardant coating. The double sided zip fastener 104, 106 is manufactured from a biodegradable and composting material, namely potato starch and/or cornstarch. It will be understood that is any biodegradable, solid material could be used to manufacture the double sided zip fastener 104, 106. With reference to Figure 5, the weather-proof fabric 102 is shown laid out as a piece of canvas 500. The canvas 500 comprises three substantially rectangular shaped cloth pieces 502, 504, 506 which form the floor 504 of the temporary-use tent, and the two sidewalls 502, 506 of the temporary use tent, and, a pair substantially triangular shaped cloth pieces 508, 510 which form end walls of the temporary-use tent. Double sided zip fasteners 104, 106, 512, 514 are provided along the sides to allow the weather-proof fabric 102 to be formed into a substantially triangular prism. The double sided zip fasteners 104, 106 also act to form a closable entranceway into the temporary-use tent. It will be understood that the weather-proof fabric 102 could alternatively be sown or sealed together using an adhesive into the substantially triangular prism such that the framework of the temporary-use tent is erected within the weather-proof fabric 102, thus forming the temporary-use tent. The temporary-use tent 100 in Figures 1 to 5 thus comprises a floor 504, a pair of sidewalls 502, 506 and a pair of end walls 508, 510.

With reference to Figures 6 to 10 inclusive, the framework of the temporary-use tent 100 is indicated generally by reference numeral 600. The framework 600 is of a knockdown construction type comprising a first substantially triangular frame comprising three tent poles 602a, 602b, 602c. Three further tent poles 604a, 604b, 604c are connected to form a second substantially triangular frame. Three bracing tent poles 606a, 606b, 606c are used to connect the first substantially triangular frame with the second substantially triangular frame to form a substantially triangular prism.

Pole connectors 608a, 608b, 610a, 610b, 612a, 612b connect the tent poles 602a, 602b, 602c, 604a, 604b, 604c, 606a, 606b, 606c to form the substantially triangular prism shaped framework 600.

Figure 7 illustrates top pole connectors 612a, 612b having a plurality of pole receiving holes 702, 704 to receive some of the tent poles of the framework 600. Figure 8 illustrates corner pole connectors 610a, 610b having a plurality of pole receiving holes 802, 804, 806 to receive some of the tent poles of the framework 600.

Figure 9 illustrates further corner pole connectors 608a, 608b having a plurality of pole receiving holes 902, 904, 906 to receive some of the tent poles of the framework 600.

Figure 10 illustrates a tent pole 1000. The tent pole 1000 may be, as in the embodiment shown in the appended Figures, either 2 metres or 1 metre in length.

It will be readily understood that the weather-proof fabric 102 of Figure 5 is draped over the framework of 600 of Figure 6 to form the temporary-use tent 100 of Figure 1.

The weather-proof fabric 102 is manufactured from jute which has been treated with a suitable water proofing and fireproofing spray which are themselves biodegradable though obviously less so than an easily biodegradable material. In any case the amount of material forming the waterproofing and fireproofing materials is insignificant in comparison to the other materials used and it can effectively be ignored. The framework 600 and tent pegs (not shown) are manufactured from a suitable potato starch material.

In use, it is been found that the weather-proof fabric 102, when in situ, is not biodegrade over a reasonable period of use, such as a month, but when once disassembled and placed on the ground it quickly biodegrades as its surfaces, other than those protected by the waterproof spray are attacked by the elements and in general the temporary-use tent 100 biodegrades over about six months. A further advantage in the use of the particular biodegradable materials namely jute and corn starch and potato starch is that they act as soil enrichment.

Jute has some very important attributes which makes it ideally suitable for use with the present invention. It is 100% biodegradable and it deteriorates organically and replaces valuable nutrients in the soil. Everything should be done to encourage its use since it is a fast-growing crop with very high carbon dioxide absorption and does not produce any toxic or harmful gases and indeed is a very durable material.

It is envisaged that other biodegradable materials may be used once they are sufficiently protected from immediate attack by the elements. Also it is appreciated that depending on the particular country and its environmental conditions where the tent is being used, different levels protection may be required.

While is further envisaged that because the temporary-use tents 100 will be disposable they are ideally suited for promotional materials to be incorporated in the weather-proof fabric 102.

The above-described embodiment shows a 2-man tent, however it is envisaged that 3-man, 4-man or family sized tents may be provided which are instructed in a similar manner.

There are further advantages with the invention in the sense that the purchaser of such a product will appreciate that not alone are they not damaging the environment, but by using a soil enrichment product they are helping the environment.

In one embodiment, it is envisaged that the tent poles 1000 may be preferably reinforced with wheat straw, or similar such naturally occurring and biodegrading and/or composting material.

Throughout the preceding specification, the term "biodegradable", including any grammatical variations thereof, should be interpreted as not being immediately biodegradable, but rather biodegradable over a period of time such as 6 months in accordance with the European Standard on Biodegradability, EN 14046, or, the US Biodegradability Standard, ASTM D6400.

It will be readily understood that the present iinvention also applies to awnings, marquees and the like.

The terms "comprise" and "include", and any variations thereof required for grammatical reasons, are to be considered as interchangeable and accorded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A temporary-use tent comprising a framework of knockdown construction supporting a weather-proof fabric, the weather-proof fabric having an inwardly facing side and an outwardly facing side, the outwardly facing side having a weather-proof coating applied thereon, characterised in that, the weather-proof fabric and the framework are both fabricated entirely from a biodegradable material.

2. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, the weather-proof fabric is fabricated from a jute tarpaulin.

3. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein, the framework comprises potato starch.

4. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the framework comprises corn starch.

5. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the framework comprises a plurality of tent poles fabricated from potato starch.

6. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein, the framework comprises nine tent poles and a plurality of pole connectors; whereby, three tent poles are connected, using some of the plurality of pole connectors, to form a first substantially triangular frame;

three further tent poles are connected, using some of the plurality of pole connectors, to form a second substantially triangular frame; and,

three further tent poles are used to connect the first substantially triangular frame with the second substantially triangular frame to form a substantially triangular prism.

7. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the weather-proof fabric comprises a zip to allow a closable entranceway to be formed in the weather-proof fabric.

8. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in claim 7, wherein, the zip is fabricated from potato starch.

9. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the weather-proof coating comprises bees wax.

10. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the weather-proof coating comprises sugar cane pulp.

1 1. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the weather-proof coating comprises a fire retardant composition.

12. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the temporary-use tent is coated with a fire retardant coating.

13. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in claim 12, wherein, the fire retardant coating comprises urea, phosphate, sulphite and bromide.

14. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the temporary-use tent comprises tent pegs which are fabricated from potato starch.

15. A temporary-use tent structure as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, the temporary-use tent is compostable.