Portable baby tent

• US 7,201,177 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2005
• Issued: 04/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jennifer Cobb Anticoli, Lavonda Lynn Chandler
• Original Assignee: Jennifer Cobb Anticoli, Lavonda Lynn Chandler
• Inventors: Chandler, LaVonda Lynn, Anticoli, Jennifer Cobb
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo; Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hawk; Noah Chandler
• Application Number:
  US11/111,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20050236026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 719 Days
• Field of Search: 135/116, 135/124, 135/125, 135/126, 135/128, 135/137, 135/120.1, 446/487
• US Class Current: 135/125
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 15/40 flexible

Abstract

A collapsible tent provides insect protection for infants such as less than a year old while being small and portable enough for use in many public spaces. Excellent ventilation and visibility are provided by mosquito and no-see-um blocking fabric formed into a dome-like shape. Flexible support rods cross one another at the apex of the tent and reside within arch-shaped fabric channels. A detachable or alternatively attached ground barrier completes the enclosure. For storage, the flexible support rods are brought adjacent to one another to form a flat arch-shape with the pair of proximate ends then coiled toward the other pair to form a small circular shape that is readily retained within this compact shape by a carrying pouch. When the tent is erected, the carrying pouch is attachable to the tent to serve as a sunshade. A hanging support inside the tent may be used to suspend infant toys.

Claims

1. A tent, comprising:

four triangular panels formed from an insect blocking fabric arranged into a dome-like shape having a square bottom forming an insect blocking barrier;

a pair of flexible support rods having ends attached at opposite bottom corners of the dome-like shape and having crossed midpoints at an apex of the dome-like shape, wherein the support rods may be drawn adjacent to one another and wound into two overlaid coils for storing with overlapping ends forming a substantially reduced circumference smaller than a length of each one of the pair of flexible support rods said overlapping ends being unattached when coiled in a closed postion; and

a carrying constraint operably configured to maintain the support rods in an adjacent and coiled configuration of reduced circumference.

2. The tent of claim 1, wherein the carrying constraint comprises a carrying enclosure having an opening.

3. The tent of claim 2, further including an attachment mechanism operably configured to attach the carrying enclosure to the insect blocking barrier when erected for acting as a sunshade.

4. The tent of claim 1, further including a ground barrier.

5. The tent of claim 4, wherein the ground barrier is attached to the bottom of the square bottom, wherein at least one of the four triangular panels includes a sealable opening.

6. The tent of claim 1, further including a hanging attachment interiorly disposed from an apex of the insect blocking barrier, the hanging attachment operatively configured to receive infant toys.

7. The tent of claim 1, wherein the support rods comprise fiberglass material.

8. The tent of claim 1, wherein the support rods comprise spring steel.

18. The tent of claim 2, wherein the carrying constraint comprising the carrying enclosure having the opening comprises a circular bag.

19. The tent of claim 18, wherein the circular bag is exteriorly attached to the apex of the dome-like shape, positionable to a selected side for providing shade.

20. The tent of claim 1, wherein at least one of the four triangular panels includes an inverted-J shaped opening.

9. An infant tent, comprising:

an even numbered plurality of three-sided panels formed from an insect blocking fabric arranged into a dome-like shape;

a plurality of flexible support rods comprising one per two three-sided panels, each flexible support rod resiliently positionable between a coiled shape and a domed arc shape when erected;

for each pair of adjacent three-sided panels, an arcing tent support operatively configured to contain one end of a selected one of the plurality of flexible support rods with an opposite pair of adjacent three-sided panels including a communicating arcing tent support aligned to receive the other end of the selected flexible support rod, wherein the plurality of contained flexible support rods cross at an apex of the dome-like shape; and

a carrying bag operably configured to maintain the support rods in an adjacent and coiled configuration;

wherein the tent is stored by drawing the flexible support rods while contained in the arcing tent supports into close parallel alignment and coiling the flexible support rods into a circular configuration with overlapping ends forming a reduced circumference smaller than a length of each one of the pair of flexible support rods, said overlapping ends being unattached when coiled in a closed position for insertion into the carrying bag.

10. The infant tent of claim 9, wherein the carrying bag includes an attachment feature operatively configured to temporarily attach the carrying bag to a selected side of the erected dome-like shape for sun shade.

11. The infant tent of claim 9, further comprising a tent floor shaped to close a lower opening of the dome-like shape.

12. The infant tent of claim 11, wherein the tent floor is removably attached to the dome-like shape via closures.

13. The infant tent of claim 9, further comprising a mobile attachment extending downward from the apex of the dome-like shape operatively configured to engage a baby toy.

14. An infant tent for protecting a baby from insects, comprising:

a fabric tent formed from an insect blocking material sized to encompass an infant in a portable infant carrier;

a plurality of resilient support rods attached inside of the fabric tent in a crossed arcing configuration to erect the fabric tent; and

a tent storage container;

wherein the fabric tent with resilient support rods is configurable into a disc shape with coiled resilient support rods with overlapping ends by being wound into a plurality of overlaid coils forming a substantially reduced circumference smaller than a length of each one of the pair of resilient support rods and said overlapping ends being unattached when coiled in a closed position for insertion into the tent storage container.

15. The infant tent of claim 14, further comprising a removably attached ground floor and shaped to close an open bottom of the fabric tent.

16. The infant tent of claim 14, further comprising a ground floor attached to close the open bottom of the fabric tent, further comprising a closeable entrance in the fabric tent.

17. The infant tent of claim 14, further comprising an attachment feature for attaching the tent storage container to an exterior of the fabric tent for shade.