COLLAPSIBLE SHELVING DEVICE

Abstract

A shelving device comprising: shelves having an outer shell enclosing a grid of shelving units so as to be erectable from a collapsed configuration of the shelving device, in which the shelves are in an accumulated condition, to an erected configuration of the shelving device, in which the shelves are stretched out to define the shelving units. A structure mechanism stretches the shelves to the erected configuration. The structure mechanism has a pole hub. Poles each have a top end pivotally connected to the pole hub and a body longitudinally connected to the outer shell of the shelves. A stretch mechanism is operatively interconnected to the poles and is manually displaceable to pivot the body of the poles away from one another about the pole hub so as to have the poles stretch the shelves to the erected configuration.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application claims priority on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/786,404, filed on Mar. 28, 2006, by the present applicant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to camping equipment and, more particularly, to a portable shelving device.

2. Background Art

Whether it be in sports, leisure, or work-related activities, temporary housing is commonplace. Tents, rudimentary shelters and the like are associated with wilderness, in sport/leisure activities such as camping, and work-related activities, such as cutting, tree planting. Although tents and shelters are used on a temporary basis, campers may stay on a same site for several days.

These activities have evolved to enhance the comfort of campers, especially when camping trips are over a few nights. Therefore, domestic tools that used to be confined to the comfort of the home, have now reached the wilderness, and have become an essential part of camping. In addition to classic camping items such as flashlights and insect repellent, campers often carry around reading lights, books and other reading material, tissue and toilet paper, alarms, cameras, portable music players and a plurality of such accessories.

However, tents and shelters remain rudimentary, and often simply consist of a floor surrounded by walls. Therefore, the above-enumerated camping accessories are typically all over the floor, if not all mixed up in a bag. This is a nuisance to campers in many instances. For example, campers may lose some time and sleep trying to find accessories such as the flashlight, without which the camper may have problems exiting the tent at dusk.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a collapsible shelving device that addresses issues associated with the prior art.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a shelving device comprising: shelves having an outer shell enclosing non-rigid vertical panels interconnected with non-rigid horizontal panels to form a grid of shelving units so as to be erectable from a collapsed configuration of the shelving device, in which the shelves are in an accumulated condition, to an erected configuration of the shelving device, in which the shelves are stretched out to define the shelving units; and a structure mechanism to stretch the shelves to the erected configuration, the structure mechanism having: a pole hub, poles each having a top end pivotally connected to the pole hub and a body longitudinally connected to the outer shell of the shelves, and a stretch mechanism operatively interconnected to the poles and manually displaceable to pivot the body of the poles away from one another about the pole hub so as to have the poles stretch the shelves to the erected configuration.

Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for erecting a shelving device, comprising the steps of: providing non-rigid shelves secured to poles of a structure mechanism, with ends of the poles being pivotally connected to a pole hub, and with a cable of a stretch mechanism associated with the pole hub and poles; positioning a first hand on the hub; grasping a free end of the cable with a second hand; pulling the free end of the cable away from the hub whereby the poles stretch the shelves to an erected configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a collapsible shelving device constructed in accordance with the present invention, in an erected configuration;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, fragmented, of a structure mechanism of the collapsible shelving device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the collapsible shelving device of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, fragmented, of the collapsible shelving device of FIG. 1, in a collapsed configuration as being fitted in to a pouch.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, a collapsible shelving device in accordance with a preferred embodiment is generally shown at 10. The collapsible shelving device 10 is in an erected configuration in FIG. 1. The shelving device 10 has shelves 12 and a structure mechanism 14.

The shelves 12 are made of a canvas, cloth, fabric, or the like, and are non-rigid. The shelves 12 are made of various panels interrelated (i.e., sewn) to define the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 when erected.

The structure mechanism 14 is associated with the shelves 12 so as to define the structure of the shelving device 10. The structure mechanism 14 is manually or automatically actuatable toward a retracted state, in which the shelving device 10 is collapsed.

Referring to FIG. 1, the shelves 12 have a dome shape in the erected configuration, with an outer shell 20. A pair of door panels 21 are optionally provided on a front face of the shelves 12. In FIG. 1, one of the door panels 21 is retained by tabs 22 so as to expose the interior of the shelves 12. The other door panel 21 hangs freely, and therefore covers its part of the interior of the shelves 12.

The shelves 12 are provided with horizontal shelf panels 23 and vertical shelf panels 24, so as to form a grid of compartments (i.e., shelving units) as shown in FIG. 1. The horizontal shelf panels 23 and the vertical shelf panels 24 are preferably interconnected (e.g., sewn or seamed), to ensure the structural integrity of the shelves 12 when supporting objects. A zipper closure 25 is provided on the door panels 21 to secure them to one another, and hence conceal the objects supported by the shelves 12 behind the door panels 21.

Referring to FIG. 3, pockets 26 are optionally provided on lateral faces of the outer shell 20 of the shelves 12. In an embodiment, the pockets 26 are made of a mesh fabric, with an elastic band at an upper end thereof to resiliently retain objects in the pockets 26. Pockets 26 may be provided on any of the surfaces of the outer shell 20.

In order to cooperate with the structure mechanism 14, the shelves 12 are provided with sleeves 30. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, there are sleeves 30 at the four corners of the shelves 12. The sleeves 30 each have a closed end at the bottom of the shelves 12, and an open end toward an upper end of the shelves 12, so as to receive poles of the structure mechanism 14, as will be described hereinafter. It is considered to use tabs, loops or the like as alternatives to the sleeves 30.

Loops 31 are provided adjacent to a central top of the shelves 12. The loops 31 are each aligned with a respective sleeve 30 and the central top of the shelves 12. A central opening 32 is defined in the outer shell 20 at the central top of the shelves 12. Lateral openings 33 are provided in the outer shell 20, in alignment with the open ends of the sleeves 30 and the respective loops 31.

Referring to FIG. 2, a working portion of the structure mechanism 14 is shown in greater detail. The structure mechanism 14 has a pole hub 40. Poles 41 project from the pole hub 40. The poles 41 are pivotally connected to the pole hub 40 by way of hub hinges 42. The hub hinges 42 enable the pivoting of the poles 41 from a position in which the poles 41 are all generally parallel (FIG. 4), to the position illustrated in both FIGS. 1 and 2, in which the collapsible shelving device 10 is erected with the body of the poles 41 being distanced from one another when compared to the collapsed configuration of FIG. 4. A central bore 43 is defined in the pole hub 40, so as to receive a pullable deployment cable for deployment of the structure mechanism 14, as will be described hereinafter.

The structure mechanism 14 also has a stretch mechanism that has stretcher hub 50 positioned below the pole hub 40, and in axial alignment therewith. Stretcher rods 51 are pivotally connected to the stretcher hub 50 by way of hub hinges 52. The stretcher rods 51 are each pivotally connected to a respective one of the poles 41 by stretcher hinges 53. A pullable deployment cable 54 extends upwardly from the stretcher hub 50, and passes through the central bore 43 in the pole hub 40. A quick-release blocking device 55 is displaceable on the deployment cable 54. The quick-release blocking device 55 is of the type that is displaceable by pushing its detent and moving it along the cable 54 to select a position of the blocking device 55. A pullable retraction cable 56 has a free end secured to the stretcher hub 50.

Now that the various components of the shelves 12 and the structure mechanism 14 have been described, the correlation between the shelves 12 and the structure mechanism 14 will be described.

As seen in FIG. 1, the structure mechanism 14 is positioned with respect to the shelves 12 in such a way that the stretcher hinges 53 pass through the lateral openings 33 in the outer shell 20 of the shelves 12, and the poles 41 are received in the sleeves 30 and extend all the way to the closed bottom end of the sleeves 30. The poles 41 are also threaded through the respective loops 31.

The pole hub 40 and the stretcher hub 50 (not visible in FIG. 1) are opposite one another on opposed sides of the central opening 32, in such a way that the pull cable 54 passes through the central opening 32.

When the collapsible shelving device 10 is in its collapsed configuration, as in FIG. 4, the pole hub 40 and the stretcher hub 50 (not seen in FIG. 4) are away from one another. The poles 41 are generally parallel to one another, with the shelves 12 being in an accumulated condition such that the shelving device 10 can be fitted into a pouch 60.

In order to deploy the collapsible shelving device 10 to its erected configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, the deployment cable 54 is pulled in the direction illustrated by A in FIG. 2. The resulting movement of the hubs 40 and 50 toward one another will have the stretcher rods 51 push the poles 41 toward the position illustrated in FIG. 2, with the body of the poles 41 being pushed away from one another. It is pointed out that the hubs 40 and 50 contact each other in FIG. 2, therefore limiting further movement of the poles 41 away from one another. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, it is the contact between hubs 40 and 50 that delimits the erected configuration.

Accordingly, as the poles 41 are retained in the sleeves 30 (FIG. 1), the poles 41 will stretch the shelves 12 to the erected configuration of FIG. 1 of the device 10, by adopting a curved shape. Therefore, the poles 41 are made of a material rigid enough to maintain the shelves 12 in the erected configuration of the shelving device 10 (and support objects in the shelves 12), while being flexible enough to offer a plastic deformation to provide the shelving device 10 with its dome shape. The loops 31 are provided so as to hook the upper portion of the outer shell 20 to the deployed structure mechanism 14.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is pointed out that the tension, caused by the interrelation between the poles 41 and the shelves 12 in the erected configuration of the shelving device 10, maintains the structure mechanism 14 in its deployed configuration. The blocking device 55 is displaced to come into abutment with a top end of the pole hub 40, to ensure that the structure mechanism 14 is locked in the deployed configuration. To release the structure mechanism 14 from its deployed configuration, the hubs 40 and 50 are pulled away from one another. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the pullable retraction cable 56 is provided to bring the shelving device 10 to the collapsed configuration of FIG. 4. It is suggested to pull downwardly on the retraction cable 56, while exerting a slight upward pull on the deployment cable 54, to avoid an abrupt contraction of the shelving device 10. The blocking device 55 must be displaced before pulling on the retraction cable 56 so as not to block the movement of the cable 54 into the hub 40.

Although the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 has four poles 41, the collapsible shelving device 10 may be provided with fewer or more poles 41. The use of four poles however gives the shelving device 10 a dome shape with front, rear and lateral faces, which is well suited to minimize the space taken by the shelving device 10 in a tent.

The pullable deployment cable 54 may be substituted with a rod or the like. The cable 54 or like substitute guides the stretcher hub 50 toward the pole hub 40. A cable is advantageously used as excess cable coming out of the pole hub 40 simply falls onto the shell 20. A rigid actuator (e.g., rod), would typically project upwardly from the pole hub 40 and therefore does not represent an efficient space-saving solution. However, the cable 54 can be replaced by a rod in view of using a mechanism for the automatic deployment of the shelving device 10.

In FIG. 2, the pullable deployment cable 54 and retraction cable 56 are shown having a handle to facilitate the pulling action. Mechanisms similar to the structure mechanism 14 may be used, but the structure mechanism 14 is advantageous in that the stretcher hub 50 and stretcher rods 51 are not visible from an outside of the collapsible shelving device 10. The hub 40 and the poles 41 could be within the shell 20 as well. The stretcher hub 50 and the stretcher rods 51 can be replaced with other suitable stretch mechanisms having as a function the exertion of pressure on the poles 41 to stretch the outer shell 20.

Claims

1. A shelving device comprising:

shelves having an outer shell enclosing non-rigid vertical panels interconnected with non-rigid horizontal panels to form a grid of shelving units so as to be erectable from a collapsed configuration of the shelving device, in which the shelves are in an accumulated condition, to an erected configuration of the shelving device, in which the shelves are stretched out to define the shelving units; and

a structure mechanism to stretch the shelves to the erected configuration, the structure mechanism having:

a pole hub,

poles each having a top end pivotally connected to the pole hub and a body longitudinally connected to the outer shell of the shelves, and

a stretch mechanism operatively interconnected to the poles and manually displaceable to pivot the body of the poles away from one another about the pole hub so as to have the poles stretch the shelves to the erected configuration.

2. The shelving device according to claim 1, wherein the stretch mechanism has a stretcher hub, and stretcher rods each pivotally mounted at one end to the stretcher hub and to one said pole at another end, whereby a displacement of the stretcher hub toward the pole hub results in the stretcher rods pushing the poles to stretch the shelves to the erected configuration.

3. The shelving device according to claim 2, wherein the pole hub and the stretcher hub come into contact to limit the stretching of the shelves to the erected configuration.

4. The shelving device according to claim 2, wherein a deployment cable is secured at one end to the stretcher hub, the deployment cable passing through the pole hub and having a free pulling end manually pulled to bring the stretcher hub toward the pole hub to stretch the shelves to the erected configuration.

5. The shelving device according to claim 4, further comprising a blocking device releasably lockable on the deployment cable so as to block movement of the deployment cable with respect to the pole hub so as to lock the shelves in the erected configuration.

6. The shelving device according to claim 4, further comprising a retraction cable secured at a first end to the stretcher hub, the retraction cable having a free pulling end manually pulled to separate the stretcher hub from the pole hub to bring the shelves to the collapsed configuration.

7. The shelving device according to claim 1, wherein the structure mechanism has four of said poles, such that the shelving device has a front face, a pair of lateral faces and a rear face with each of said faces being between a pair of adjacent ones of said poles.

8. The shelving device according to claim 7, wherein the outer shell defines a pair of doors covering the front face, the pair of doors being releasably securable to one another to conceal an interior of the shelves.

9. The shelving device according to claim 8, wherein the outer shell has tabs on a periphery of the front face to hold the doors to expose the interior of the shelves.

10. The shelving device according to claim 7, further comprising pockets on the lateral faces of the outer shell.

11. The shelving device according to claim 1, wherein a major portion of the body of the said pole is accommodated in a sleeve provided on the surface of the outer shell.