SPECIFICATIONThe water exclusion system for a tent comprises a liquid proof sheet; and one or more fasteners for attaching the sheet to the walls of the tent to form a liquid proof tub containing the base and a lower portion of the tent walls. The fasteners employed may be of any type whatever or combinations of different types.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSThere are no applications related to this application.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERAL SPONSORSHIPNo invention claimed in this application was made under Federally sponsored research or development.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTIONThe exclusion of water from camping equipment and tents in particular is a long sought goal of camping equipment designers. A common approach to exclusion of water or other liquids from the base area of a tent is provision of a water proof base for the tent as exemplified by the patents to Hardee (European Patent Number 1312733), Gladden (U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,013), and Bareis (U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,414). The present invention provides a water exclusion system which is not an integral portion of any particular tent or tent design and therefore has the advantage of extending the useful life of a tent with an integral water tight base when the integral base loses its liquid exclusion properties through normal wear or damage. Further the present invention provides liquid exclusion for tents with non liquid excluding floors and tents without floors.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe water exclusion system for a tent comprises a liquid proof sheet sized to exceed the base dimensions of a tent; and one or more fasteners for attaching said sheet to the walls of said tent to form a liquid proof tub containing the base and a lower portion of the tent walls. The fasteners may be of any type whatever provided that they serve to detachably attach the edges of the sheet to the sidewalls of the tent and thereby form a liquid proof tub capable of excluding water from the base area of the tent. The fasteners may be comprised of strips of hook and loop materials, snaps, hook and eye assemblies, or any other fasteners capable of detachably attaching the liquid proof sheet to the walls of the tent to form a waterproof tub.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a perspective view of the system in use.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view ofFIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the liquid proof sheet.
FIG. 4 is a detail view of a fastener.
FIG. 5 is a first embodiment of a fastener.
FIG. 6 is a second embodiment of a fastener.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThewater exclusion system1 for atent2 comprises aliquid proof sheet3 sized to exceed thebase4 dimensions of atent2; and one ormore fasteners5 for attaching saidsheet3 to thewalls6 of saidtent2 to form aliquid proof tub7 containing thebase4 and a lower portion of thetent walls6. Thefasteners5 may be of any type whatever provided that they serve to detachably attach theedges8 of thesheet3 to thesidewalls6 of thetent2 and thereby form aliquid proof tub7 capable of excluding water from thebase4 area of thetent2. Thefasteners5 may be comprised of strips of hook andloop materials9, snaps, hook and eye assemblies, or anyother fasteners5 capable of being detachably attaching theliquid proof sheet3 to thewalls6 of thetent2 to form awaterproof tub7. Any combination of fastener types may be employed in a single instance of thewater exclusion system1 to accomplish economy of manufacture or ease of use or both provided that the fastener set employed causes theliquid proof sheet3 to form aliquid proof tub7 which excludes water from thebase4 area of thetent2.
It will also be appreciated that the formation of the liquid-proof tub7 includes the formation of corners or curves to accommodate the shape of thetent base4. Said corners and curves may be accomplished by folding, heat sealing, pre-forming or any other suitable means which creates and maintains the liquid-proof characteristics of thetub4 so formed.
Thewater exclusion system1 for atent2 is most effective when used in conjunction with arain fly12.
In one embodiment thewater exclusion system1 has one or both ends of the selectedfasteners5 attached to a patch ofmaterial10 suitable to be adhesively attached to thetent walls6 and theliquid proof sheet3. In another embodiment thewater exclusion system1 has one or both ends of the selectedfasteners5 attached to a patch of material suitable to be attached to thetent walls6 and theliquid proof sheet3 by means of stitching11.
It will be appreciated that the selection of methods of attachment of thefasteners5 to thetent walls6 or to theliquid proof sheet3 is dependant on many factors including the material from which thetent wall6 orliquid proof sheet3 is constructed. Therefore various combinations of methods of attaching thefasteners5 to thetent walls6 and the
Liquid proof sheet3 may be employed in a single instance of thewater exclusion system1.