US2819724A - Inflatable tent - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 14, 1958 E. D. BARKER INFLATABLE TENT Filed sept. 16, 1952 Unite FLATABLE TENT Edward D. Barker, New Carlisle, Ghia, assigner to Aviators Clothing Company, Inc., Beacon, N. Y., a corpora.- tion of New York The invention described herein may be manufactured and usedy by or for the Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a pneumatic shelter and in par ticular to a tent wherein the tent is of double walled con struction and the wall and door is capable of being inated.

Semi-rigid portable shelters have been developed in the past but they are generally heavy, bulky, and constructed of aluminum or plywood and they have also used insulating materialssuch as liber. glass, rock wool, cork and balsa. A need for an emergency shelter for use in the Arctic regions was recognized by the inventor. By the use f new materials and techniques he has constructed a light weight, easily inilatable, emergency shelter.

It is therefore an. object of this invention to provide a pneumatic shelter of double wall construction which requires no internal bracing, offers good insulation, can be heated easily and which offers a minimum resistance to the wind.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an emergency shelter which is simple to erect and is of light weight and can be folded. into a compact bundle for air transport.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a pneumatic shelter which is of suicient height to permit reasonable camp movement therein and enables the` occupants to stand while dressing or undressing.

It is a further object of this invention to provide apneumatic shelter which is international orange in color on the outside for visibility to aid search and rescueaircraft in the location of the survivors.

It is a further object to provid-e an emergency shelter which is aked with aluminumon the inside to reect the heat from a stove and for reducing the heat loss due to radiation.

Another further object of thisinvention is to provide a pneumatic shelter which utilizes the air between the double walls for insulation and support purposes.

These and other objects will become moreapparent when read in the light of the accompanying drawings and specification wherein similar parts have like numbers and wherein:

Fig. l is a view showing the general outside -construction of the tent.

Fig. 2 is a cut away view showing theindividual' seg` ments and oor ofthe tent in assembled relation.Y

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of one ofthe segments showing the construction of the double wall of the tent.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view showing the; manifold and valve connection.

Referring to the drawings, generally designates a pneumatic shelter used for emergency purposesy in the Arctic region. The shelter is comprised of a door: 12, and segments 14 and 16 which are generally easily foldable and occupyfa smallamount of space-when not inated.

States Patent r. a n.

2V Although two segments areshown, the tent maycomprise many segments. Each segment and door is comprised of a, double wall construction having fabric layers 18 and 20 as shown in Fig. 3. Thel fabricy layers are held togetherr in spaced relationt when inilated, by a number of crossthreads 22 at right angles` to the fabric which, arewoven' into the fabric as the layers are. woven. The number of threads per square inch and their length can becontrolled'.- Edges of the floor and each of the sides of the segmentsv are adapted to be joined by cementingf the segments and the door together and then covering the outsideareas and edges by an airtight process to form a sealed tent. The door and each segment by virtueofits doublefwall construction form individual air bags. The. walls of the segments, floor, and` doors are inated separately in thev preferred embodiment of the invention. However, theV ination of the segments, floors and. doors can be performed from a single source at the same time instead of iniiating them separately. The bottom of the wall or segments is provided with a main manifold 19 which is further provided withA a main valve 21., whichvalve extends from both the inside and outside of the tent so that the. erection of the tent can be completed either from Within or outside of the tent. The manit`old'19v is connected to the individual segments by` jumper valves 23 so that the individual panels may be opened when inflated and individually locked ott after the shelter is erected by clos-- ing their valves to the manifold. The walls of the tent are further provided with windows 24 and 26 and doorsz 27 and 28 which are inflatable and arehinged at the top so, as to swing upwardly. A valve 25 is provided in the door` and a valve 29 is provided in the doors. so as to inflate them separately. Surroundingthe outside of each door. is a permanently attached waterproof fabric tunnel 30. This tunnel is used for store space or as a door in the event the doors 27 and 28 do not operate properly. This fabric tunnel is made of lose cloth and is attached around' thev opening of the doorways at one end and is tied down at its other end to the ground by a peg-32 or the like. as shown in Fig. l. The tent is further'provided with han'- dles 34^and 36 for carrying the tent. Loops 385 are provided at the endsof the tent and centered for guideropes (not shown) so as to tie down the tent in place to prevent. a strong wind or the like from blowing the tent away. The oor, walls and doors of the shelter are coated with` a low temperature coating compound for sealing the shelter, thereby making it airtight. The inside ofthe tent'is iiakedwith aluminumto reiect the heat from the stove', thereby reducing the heat loss due to radiation.

Generally the tent is carried about in a compact pack# age and occupiesasmall amount of space. This enables the tent to be carried as standardeqnipment in aircraft in the event of' an emergency, or it may be carried` by parties going on a camping trip. ln either event, whenA thel occasion arises `for its-use,rit is easily assembled byy removing the-tent from the package and infiating it. The' inilation of the fabric layers 18 and 20 erects the'shelterl andf serves-to insulate and support' it. Theination can be accomplished with bottle gas suchas CO2 orthe like. No-framework is necessary to support this tent. As :eachI ofthe1segments or panels become` filled" tothe desired' amount ofair' pressure, each segment or paneliisclosed fromthe other panels. The series of panels'prevents'the' shelter from collapsing/in thev eventr` one'v of'thepanels should spring a leak; Thetent is' so dcsignedso asto be of 'small' resistance tothewind andweatherl elements as possible: When erected,` the tentis suciently highvk to permit' reasonable movement therein-1 to enable the' occupants to perfornr` any" dutiesnecessary"whileirtic tent. The tent islotran orange'color-iirtheeventthat the Vtent is used" by personnel' dying' inan4 aii'crattwho have beendorcedltdown; sonasA to `enable*search* partiesrto locate the survivors. Further, the tent can be increased in size by additional segments to the central portion.

The inventor has provided a very simple construction for a pneumatic shelter which is easily transported by person or .may be used as standard equipment in aircraft -in the event of an emergency landing.

lt is apparent the specific embodiment shown above has been given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that the structures above described are subject to wide variation and modification, as will he readily apparent therefrom to those versed in the art, without departing from ,the scope or intent of the invention, all of which variations and modifications are to be considered as equivalents and be included within the scope of the present invention as generally dened by the appended claims.

Whereby I claim:

l. A pneumatic device which is completely self sustaining within itself on inflation thereof to form a shelter comprising, a flexible outer wall, a flexible inner Wall, thread elements woven into said inner wall and connected to and interwoven into said outer wall and constituting load members, means connecting said walls to form an airtight enclosure thereby, and inflation means connected therewith whereby on inflation thereof the device is self erecting to define a free standing shelter, whereupon the said load members become operative to resist deformation of said shelter by the elements to provide a shelter of uniform strength which is impervious to the elements.

2. rihe structure as set forth in claim l, and the said inner wall being aked with aluminum on the inner surface thereof to maintain the heat or temperature established within the shelter with a minimum of heat loss therefrom to provide maximum safety to the occupants thereof in the event of extremely cold weather.

3. A pneumatic device which is completely self sustaining within itself on inflation thereof to form a shelter comprising, segments of fabric in sealingly connected relation providing the floor and inner wall of said device on inflation, segments of fabric impervious to the clements in connected relation providing an outer wall, means connecting the inner wall and said outer wall at their perimeters to provide an airtight enclosure, threads interwoven into said inner and outer walls to form connections integral therewith and therebetween in a closely spaced continuous fashion, and inilating means connected into the space between said walls whereby on inflation thereof the device is completely self erecting and self sustaining, the integrally connected threads providing deformation resistant load members to the walls on inilation to provide a shelter uniformly self resistant to the elements and to loads thereon merely by the inflation thereof.

4. The structure as set forth in claim 3, and the said inner wall of fabric being flaked with aluminum on the inner surface thereof to maintain the temperature established within the shelter on inflation thereof with a minimum of heat loss therefrom to provide maximum safety to the occupants thereof in the event of extremely cold weather.

5. A pneumatic device which is completely self sustaining within itself on ination thereof to form a shelter comprising, a oor section, a superstructure section, each of said sections consisting of an outer wall and an opposed inner wall and threads interwoven integrally with and connecting to the opposed walls in a closely spaced uniform manner, means connected to the extremities of said sections and forming an airtight connection therebetween, and inating means connected to the respective sections whereby on inflation thereof the device is completely self erecting and self sustaining, the integral threads providing deformation resistant load members on ination to effect a shelter uniformly resistant tothe elements and the loads thereon merely by inflation thereof.

6. The structurer as set forth in claim 5, and the said inner wall being aked with aluminum on the inner surface thereof to maintain the temperature established within the shelter on inflation thereof with a minimum of heat loss therefrom whereby to provide maximum safety to the occupants thereof in the event of extreme weather conditions.

7. A pneumatic device which is completely self sustaining within itself on inflation thereof to form a shelter comprising, a iloor section, a plurality of superstructure sections associated therewith, each of said sections consisting of an. outer wall and an opposed inner wall and threads interwoven integrally with and connecting to the opposing walls in a closely spaced uniform manner, means respectively connected to extremities of said sections to form an airtight connection therebetween, an inilating section connecting said superstructure sections to form an integral part thereof and having inflating means associated therewith, and means connected to said inating section and selectively communicating with said superstructure sections including means operable to close a particular section off from said inflating section whereby on inflation said device provides a self erecting, self sustaining stable structure which is not materially affected by damage to a portion thereof.

8. The structure as set forth in claim 7, and the said inner walls being alted with aluminum on the inner surface thereof to maintain the temperature established within the shelter on inflation thereof whereby to provide maximum protection to the occupants thereof in the event of extreme weather conditions.

9. A pneumatic device which is completely self sustain-` ing within itself on inflation thereof to form a shelter comprising, a floor section, superstructure sections of curved contour interconnected in airtight fashion, each of said sections consisting of an outer wall and an opposed inner wall and threads interwoven integrally with and connecting the opposing walls, means connecting said lloor section and associated superstructure sections, and an inilating means generally and selectively connected to said respective sections whereby on inllation of the sections the device is completely self erecting and self sustaining, the integral threads providing deformation resistant load members on inflation of the sections to provide a shelter uniformly self resistant to the elements and loads thereon.

l0. A pneumatic device which is completely self sustaining within itself on inflation thereof to form a shelter comprising, a floor section, a superstructure section, each of said sections consisting of an outer wall and an opposed inner wall and threads interwoven integrally with and connecting the opposing walls in a uniform manner, means connecting said lloor section and superstructure section in airtight relation, inflatable end closure panels providing a continuous enclosure and having access means therein, inilating means generally and selectively connected in said sections, said inner wall having the inner surface thereof ilaked with aluminum, and hood closure elements connected about said access means whereby on inflation thereof the device is completely self erecting and self sustaining, the threads effecting a deformation and weather resistant shelter, the hood elements preventing a direct opening to the outer elements upon opening a closure element, and the aluminum llake insuring a minimum of heat exchange providing maximum protection to the occupants of the shelter.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 468,455 Giessmann Feb. 9, 1892 627,932 Hickson June 27, 1899 1,560,114` Skog Nov. 3, 1925 2,345,377 Bowen Mar. 28, 1944 2,401,252 Klimashesky May 28, 1946 (Other references on following page) Harris Aug. 1, 1950 Katzenmeyer et al. Apr. 8, 1952 Finlay et al. Apr. 28, 1953 Kreuzer Oct. 27, 1953 Ford Nov. 3, 1953 6 Merrill Nov. 3, 1953 Phane Dec. 28, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 11, 1919 France May 18, 1931 Switzerland May 16, 1934

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