Tepee tent
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention is in the field of portable collapsible shelters, and is more specifically directed to a flexible walled tent having an internal rigid support structure which is easily disassembled and packed into a compact package. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Several tepee tents have been previously marketed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,145 describes a tepee tent which uses a large number of tent poles, which detracts from its portability and collapsibility. Another type of a tepee tent is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,780, which uses collapsible tent poles. However, the number of poles is excessive and contributes to a weight not readily appreciated by a camper. Another type of a tepee tent is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,880, which also uses a large number of poles which are collapsible but still contribute to excessive weight in its dismantled condition. 
     Another tent structure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,261, which uses a reduced number of tent poles which are subjected to spring members to provide a taut appearance to the tent cover. The use of springs to provide a taut appearance has the disadvantage of being lost or broken. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To avoid the disadvantages of the prior art tepee tents, the invention provides a structure using an absolute minimum of tent poles and supplants the eliminated tent poles by shock cords which not only function as replaced tent poles, but also provide a taut appearance to the erected structure. A truncated inner cover is integrally associated with a floor panel. The truncation provides an upper opening for ventilation purposes. The inner cover is primarily supported by three tent poles and further supported in each section between two adjacent tent poles by a pair of spaced shock cords. The distal ends of the tent poles penetrate the ground, and the distal ends of the shock cords are secured to stakes or tent pegs driven into the ground and which initially define the polygonal shape or formation of the tepee tent. The upper ends of the tent poles and the shock cords meet together in a common junction defined by an apex cup. The upper perimeter of the inner cover is slidably and adjustably secured to the tent stakes and the shock cords in the interior of the tent formation. An outer cover or fly is placed over the tent poles and the shock cords including the tent cover on the exterior of the tent formation, thereby providing a separation between the inner cover and the outer cover to improve ventilation. The upper portion of the outer cover is provided with flaps for providing an opening to the interior of the tepee tent for ventilation purposes. 
     A primary object of the invention is to provide a tepee tent using an utmost minimum of tent stakes in conjunction with a number of non-rigid stakes defined by resilient members. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a suspension for an inner cover which can be tensioned to provide a taut appearance to the tepee tent. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide means for supporting an inner cover and an outer cover so as to provide a space therebetween for improving the flow of air between the two covers to improve thermal comfort inside the tepee tent. 
     Further advantages and objects of the invention will be defined more precisely in the appended specification in reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a partial erection of a tepee tent; 
     FIG. 2 shows a completed erection of the tepee tent; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of an apex cup which functions to commonly support all of the tent poles; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the apex cup; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional illustration of the apex cup along the lines 5--5 in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is an underneath view of the apex cup; 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of the tepee tent shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 8 shows an inner cover of the tepee tent stretched out on ground prior to erection; 
     FIG. 9 shows an erected form of the inner cover provided with a screened entry; 
     FIG. 10 shows an outer cover of the tepee tent stretched out on ground; and 
     FIG. 11 shows a completed erection of the tepee tent provided with screened openings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a tepee tent 10, partly erected, comprising three rigid tent poles 12 of the telescopic type and six non-rigid tent poles 14a-14f, which are more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. A truncated inner cover 16 is supported by the rigid and non-rigid tent poles which converge to a common point and are secured to an apex cup 18. The rigid tent poles have lower ends provided with conical points 13 for penetrating the ground. The inner cover 16 is provided with a floor panel 20 to exclude intrusion of insects. The inner cover 16 and the floor panel 20 are secured by fasteners 15 to pegs 17 driven into the ground. The inner cover 16 is provided with one or more screened openings 19 provided with closure flaps 21. 
     The apex cup 18 is provided with three truncated panels 22 interconnected by cylindrical sockets 24 which receive the upper ends of the rigid tent poles 12. Each truncated panel 22 is provided with a pair of spaced hooks 26 which function to receive rings 28 attached to the ends of the non-rigid tent poles 14. Instead of rings, the non-rigid tent poles 14 may possess looped ends. For example, adjacent non-rigid tent poles, such as 14a and 14b, would be connected to the same truncated panel. To provide rigidity to the apex cup 18, the upper ends of the sockets 24 are commonly joined together by a plate 30. Alternatively, the apex cup 18 may be an integrally molded unit. The inner cover 16 is provided with three fasteners 32 which are adapted to be attached to the three rigid tent poles 12 and slidably adjusted thereon. Further, the inner cover is provided with a zipper 34 for closing together flaps 36 and 38, and zippers 40 and 42 for securing the bottom edges of the flaps to the floor panel 20, the foregoing providing ingress and egress from the interior of the tepee tent. 
     The upper portion of the tent cover 16 is secured to each and every one of the non-rigid tent poles 14a-14f by fasteners 44. The fastener 44 permits adjustability with a certain amount of friction existing between the fastener and the non-rigid tent pole 14. The flaps 36 and 38 may be made from a screen cloth to provide visibility and ventilation. 
     The tepee tent 10 is completed with a fly or outer cover 46 which is draped over the tent poles as well as the inner cover. The outer cover 46 has a pair of flaps 48 and 50 in overlapping relationship to the inner cover flaps 36 and 38 and provided with further zippers 43, 45 to complete the closure of the tepee tent. The fly 46 is also provided with ventilation flaps 52 and 54 which can be secured together to completely enclose the tepee tent. 
     The floor panel 20, as best viewed in FIG. 7, possesses a polygonal shape, namely a nine-sided shape, which properly establishes the positioning of pegs 56. After the floor panel 20 is laid out at the camp site, the pegs 56 are driven into the ground to secure the lower ends of both the rigid and non-rigid tent poles to the ground. Thereafter, the telescopic tent poles 12 are extended and raised upwardly and inserted into the sockets 24 in the apex cup 18. Then, the shock cords 14 are attached by their looped ends 28 to the hooks 26 on the apex cup 18. 
     As shown in FIG. 7, the inner cover 16 is provided with three fasteners 58 for attaching the inner cover to the rigid tent poles 12. The fasteners may be of the pressure type, such as a Velcro (Trademark) strap, to pass over and around the tent pole 12. The inner cover 16 is provided with loops 57 for securing the inner cover to the pegs 17, which also function to engage the looped ends 61 of the non-rigid tent poles 14a-14f. Understandably, the conical points 13 on the rigid tent poles 12 penetrate appropriate looped ends 62 of the inner cover 16. 
     A modification of the tepee tent shown in FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIGS. 8-11. 
     As shown in FIG. 8, the inner cover 16 is stretched out on the ground having an upper perimeter 64 provided with fasteners 32. It should be mentioned here that identical components shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 will be identified by identical reference numerals. Pegs 17 are driven through the looped ends 57 at each corner of the inner cover 16 into the ground. Three corners of the inner cover 16 are secured to the tent poles 12 by fasteners 58. The floor panel 20 is provided with a central opening closed by a fire hole cover 66, which is attachable to the floor panel 20 by a circular pressure-engaging means 68, such as a Velcro (Trademark) closure. To erect the inner wall 16, the perimeter 64 is raised upwardly and attached to the rigid and non-rigid tent poles by the fasteners 32. 
     As shown in FIG. 9, the inner cover 16 has a perimeter 64 also provided with a furred edge 70 which is adapted to abut the undersurface of the fly 46 which is separated from the inner cover 16 by the rigid and non-rigid tent poles. The object of the furred edge is to provide air flow between the inner cover and the fly and simultaneously prevent the entry of any insects into the interior of the tepee tent. The flaps 36 and 38 are made from screen cloth. 
     Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a fly 46 laid out on the ground, having a perimeter 72 provided with loops 63 for attachment to the pegs 17 and having fastener strips 59 which are adapted to engage fastener straps 65 extending from an inner surface of the inner cover 16, as shown in FIG. 11. The clasped fastener 59 and strap 65 is shown at 67. The foregoing arrangement secures together the inner cover 16 and the fly 46. The fly 46 has certain portions 74, 76, and 78 made from screen cloth to provide ventilation and exposure to daylight. The opening associated with the flaps 52 and 54 in FIG. 11 will also permit the escape of smoke if a fire is built within the tepee tent. 
     Flaps 52 and 54 are provided with pressure-engaging fasteners 80 and 82 to secure the flaps in a closed position to prevent the entry of rain or cold air. The flaps 52 and 54 are retained in their open position, as shown in FIG. 10, by another pair of pressure-engaging fasteners which cannot be seen under the flaps. The flaps 48 and 50 shown in open condition in FIG. 11 are retained in that position by means of pressure-engaging fasteners 84 and 86. Similarly, the screened opening 19 in FIG. 10 is associated with flaps 21 which are retained in their open position by pressure-engaging fasteners 88 in engagement with similar fasteners underneath the flaps (not shown). 
     The air flow between the inner cover and the fly 46 is shown by an arrow 69.