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Inflatable tent for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck

Inflatable tent for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck description/claims

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/904,360 filed Mar. 2, 2007 entitled Inflatable Tent for Mounting into the Bed of a Pickup Truck.

This invention relates to the fields of inflatable tents and in particular to an inflatable tent which is adapted for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck.

Inflatable tents for use in camping are known in the prior art and are sold commercially for example by Airzone Recreation Products of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. These tents are the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,617 which issued Jul. 24, 2001 to Turcot. Such tents typically replicate camping tents available commercially which rely on bent fibreglass poles for their support structure and instead substitute inflatable poles which, when bent, provide the supporting frame work for the exterior canopy of the tent over which a so-called fly sheet may be mounted.

Applicant is also aware of an inflatable tent for sport utility vehicle which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,367 which issued Jan. 30, 2001 to Bowen. Bowen discloses an inflatable tent assembly for a vehicle having a rear hatch, wherein the inflatable tent assembly includes an inflatable frame and cover having the shape of the inflatable frame when inflated, the cover having a vehicle side and being sized to fit on the exterior of the inflatable frame. An opening on the vehicle side of the cover and a fastener system disposed around the peripheral edge of the opening connects the frame to the rear hatch of the vehicle. The frame is preferably made of collapsible hollow tubes.

Also in the prior art, applicant is aware of the following patents which disclose various tents adapted for use in cooperation with a vehicle:

U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,279 which issued Dec. 5, 2000 to Humphrey; U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,468 which issued Aug. 15, 2000 to Lowrey et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,026 which issued Feb. 29, 2000 to Vega et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,195 which issued Nov. 23, 1999 to Kaestner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,076 which issued Sep. 21, 1999 to McGinnis; U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,761 which issued Jul. 20, 1999 to Harrison; U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,795 which issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Mininger; U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,851 which issued Aug. 23, 1994 to Miller et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,281 which issued Oct. 31, 1989 to Altmann; U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,299 which issued Apr. 14, 1987 to Mahan; U.S. Design Pat. No. D461,759 which issued Aug. 20, 2002 to Napieraj; U.S. Design Pat. No. D454,328 which issued Mar. 12, 2002 to Cornelius; U.S. Design Pat. No. D428,595 which issued Jul. 25, 2000 to Salinas; U.S. Design Pat. No. D397,669 which issued Sep. 1, 1998 to Komick; U.S. Design Pat. No. D382,248 which issued Aug. 12, 1997 to Long; U.S. Design Pat. No. D352,690 which issued Nov. 22, 1994 to Schorr; U.S. Design Pat. No. D340,689 which issued Oct. 26, 1993 to Wolcott et al.; U.S. Design Pat. No. D337,979 which issued Aug. 3, 1993 to Napieraj; U.S. Design Pat. No. D318,446 which issued Jul. 23, 1991 to Magyar et al.; U.S. Design Pat. No. D299,817 which issued Feb. 14, 1989 to Wolcott et al.; U.S. Design Pat. No. D297,424 which issued Aug. 30, 1988 to Norris, III.

In summary, the inflatable tent according to the present invention for mounting into the bed of a pickup truck may be characterized in one aspect as including at least one inflatable beam having opposite ends and extending from a front of the bed to the rear of the bed when mounted at its opposite ends to the bed, and a flexible tent canopy mounted to the at least one inflatable beam.

The tent according to the present invention may include a pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams, and the opposite ends of the pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams are mounted in corresponding opposite corners of the bed.

In one embodiment each inflatable beam forms a substantially ogive shape when the beam is viewed in its side elevation when inflated and mounted into the bed so as to dispose the opposite ends in releasably mounted engagement secured to interior opposite ends of the bed. In an embodiment the beams, when unconstrained by the canopy, are substantially linear when inflated, and the canopy is formed into a mushroom-like shape defining the substantially ogive shape for each beam of the pair of criss-crossed inflatable beams. Each beam may have at its opposite ends a vertical leg portion when inflated and mounted in the corners of the bed. The vertical leg portion extends vertically the height of a corresponding sidewall of the bed, and the ogive shape may flare outwardly of the bed over the sidewalls of the bed from upper ends of the vertical leg portions.

The canopy may constrain each beam vertically downwardly at an apex of the canopy when beams are inflated so as to urge mid-portions of each end of each beam to bulge outwardly of the bed and over the sidewalls of the bed from the upper ends of the vertical leg portions so as to form the ogive-shape of each beam. Further, the canopy may include seams formed along panels of flexible material which define the substantially ogive-shape for each beam, and wherein each beam is mounted along corresponding seams. In one embodiment the seams are mounted along and underneath each beam.

FIG. 1 is, in perspective view, an embodiment of the inflatable truck-mountable tent according to the present invention incorporating a single inflatable beam extending longitudinally along the bed of the truck.

FIG. 2 is, in side elevation view, the tent of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is, in rear elevation view, the tent of FIG. 1.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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