Assembly comprising an air-tight inflatable axisymmetric elongated element that comprises a harness

Abstract

The invention relates to an assembly (2) comprising an air-tight inflatable vertical shaft (8) and at least one inflatable tube (14) projecting transversely outward with respect to the vertical shaft (8). The vertical shaft (8) and / or the inflatable tube (14) comprises an air-tight inflatable axisymmetric elongated element (18). The assembly (2) comprises at least one guy wire (12) that connects the vertical shaft (8) to the inflatable tube (14) by being attached to a fastening member (26a, 26b) of a harness mounted on an outer shell of the air-tight inflatable axisymmetric elongated element (18).

Description

[0001] TITLE: ASSEMBLY COMPRISING AN ELONGATED ELEMENT OF REVOLUTION INFLATABLE WITH CAPTIVE AIR WHICH INCLUDES A HARNESS

[0002] Technical field

[0003] The technical field of the invention is captive air inflatable elements.

[0004] In particular, the present invention relates to an assembly, in particular for sun protection, comprising at least one elongated element of revolution inflatable with captive air.

[0005] Previous techniques

[0006] To secure a captive air inflatable element, a rope is generally used around a part of the inflatable element. If the rope is put under heavy stress on the inflatable element, it may tear.

[0007] The present invention aims to remedy this drawback.

[0008] Statement of the invention

[0009] The invention relates to an assembly, in particular for solar protection, comprising an inflatable vertical barrel with captive air, at least one inflatable tube extending transversely relative to said vertical barrel, and at least one guy wire.

[0010] Assembly in which said vertical barrel comprises an elongated element of revolution inflatable with captive air comprising an external envelope.

[0011] The elongate member further comprises a harness mounted on the outer casing and provided with:

[0012] - at least one belt radially surrounding the external envelope,

[0013] - a strap provided with first and second longitudinal strands extending from said belt along the outer casing and being arranged on either side of said outer casing, and a connecting strand connecting the first and second longitudinal strands and being in contact with one of the axial ends of the outer casing, and

[0014] - at least one member for attaching a body external to said elongated element mounted on said belt and / or on said strap.

[0015] According to a general characteristic, said stay is connected on the one hand to said attachment member of the harness of said elongated element and on the other hand to said inflatable tube.

[0016] And / or, assembly in which said inflatable tube comprises an elongated element of revolution inflatable with captive air comprising an external envelope.

[0017] The elongate member further comprises a harness mounted on the outer casing and provided with:

[0018] - at least one belt radially surrounding the external envelope,

[0019] - a strap provided with first and second longitudinal strands extending from said belt along the outer casing and being arranged on either side of said outer casing, and a connecting strand connecting the first and second longitudinal strands and being in contact with one of the axial ends of the outer casing, and

[0020] - at least one member for attaching a body external to said elongated element mounted on said belt and / or on said strap.

[0021] According to a general characteristic, said stay is connected on the one hand to said attachment member of the harness of said elongated element and on the other hand to said vertical shaft.

[0022] When an external body, in particular said inflatable tube or said vertical barrel, is attached to said attachment member of the harness and exerts a tensile force on said attachment member, the tensile force is distributed between an axial force along the strap and a radial force along said belt, thus reducing the risk of damage to the elongated element.

[0023] When said vertical barrel and said inflatable tube each comprise an elongated inflatable revolution element with captive air as defined above, said stay is connected on the one hand to said attachment member of the harness of said elongated element of the vertical barrel and on the other hand to said attachment member of the harness of said elongated element of said inflatable tube.

[0024] The said belt can be made of elastic material.

[0025] This promotes the absorption of forces in the axial direction along the strap.

[0026] Said strap can be made of elastic material.

[0027] This encourages the recovery of forces in the radial direction along the said belt.

[0028] The harness may further comprise at least one additional belt arranged axially between said belt and said axial end of said elongate element, said first and second longitudinal strands being connected to said additional belt.

[0029] Thus, the force exerted by the external body, in particular said inflatable tube or said vertical barrel, on said harness attachment member is distributed between an axial force along the strap, a radial force along said belt, and a radial force along said additional belt, thus reducing the risk of deterioration of the elongated element.

[0030] Advantageously, the assembly may comprise at least three, in particular six, inflatable tubes regularly spaced in the circumferential direction and extending transversely relative to said vertical shaft, each inflatable tube comprising an inflatable elongated element of revolution with captive air, the assembly further comprising at least one canvas fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes, said canvas being fixed to the harnesses of the inflatable elongated elements of revolution of said pair of successive inflatable tubes.

[0031] Said canvas can be fixed to the belts of said harnesses of said pair of successive inflatable elongated revolution elements.

[0032] Alternatively, the assembly may comprise at least three, in particular six, inflatable tubes regularly spaced in the circumferential direction and extending transversely from said vertical shaft, each inflatable tube comprising an inflatable elongated element of revolution with captive air, the assembly further comprising at least one rope or strap fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes, said rope or strap being fixed to the harnesses of the inflatable elongated elements of revolution of said pair of successive inflatable tubes.

[0033] Said rope or strap can be attached to the belts of said harnesses of said pair of successive inflatable elongated revolution elements.

[0034] Brief description of the drawings

[0035] The present invention will be better understood upon studying the detailed description of embodiments, taken as non-limiting examples and illustrated by the appended drawings in which:

[0036] [Fig 1] is a schematic side view of an assembly for solar protection according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

[0037] [Fig 2] is a top view of the assembly of Figure 1;

[0038] [Fig 3] is a detailed representation of a member of Figure 1;

[0039] [Fig 4] is a representation of the frame of Figure 3 in which certain elements have not been represented for reasons of understanding; and

[0040] [Fig 5] is a detailed representation of the attachment between a member and the vertical shaft of Figure 1.

[0041] Detailed description

[0042] Figure 1 schematically represents an assembly 2 for solar protection comprising a trunk 4, an inflatable structure 6 mounted on the trunk 4 and provided with an inflatable vertical shaft 8 with captive air deploying from the trunk 4 and a canopy 10 projecting transversely relative to the vertical shaft 8, and a plurality of guy ropes 12 fixing the canopy 10 to the vertical shaft 8.

[0043] As illustrated more visibly in Figure 2, the canopy 10 comprises a plurality of inflatable members or tubes 14, here six in number, extending transversely relative to the vertical shaft 8 and spaced regularly along the circumferential direction of the vertical shaft 8.

[0044] The assembly 2 for solar protection also comprises canvases 16 fixed between the successive frames 14 of the canopy 10 in the circumferential direction of the vertical shaft 8, the canvases 16 forming protection under the canopy 10.

[0045] In the illustrated embodiment, the canopy 10 comprising six members 14 is hexagonal in shape, thus making it possible to juxtapose several assemblies 2 for solar protection according to a hexagonal mesh in order to obtain solar protection over a larger surface area. Alternatively, the canopy 10 may have other shapes, for example circular, oval, square, rectangular.

[0046] As illustrated in Figures 3 and 5, the inflatable tubes 14 and the vertical barrel 8 are each in the form of an elongated element 18 of revolution inflatable with captive air, here an elongated cylindrical element 18 with circular section. The elongated elements 18 of the inflatable tubes 14 are here identical to each other.

[0047] Each elongated element 18 of revolution inflatable with captive air is composed of a plurality of internal air chambers and an external envelope inside which the internal air chambers are housed.

[0048] The outer casing of the captive air inflatable elongated elements 18 of revolution is formed of a fabric, for example DACRON®. Each internal air chamber of the captive air inflatable elongated elements 18 of revolution is formed of a stretchable material, for example polyurethane. The internal air chambers form the framework of the captive air inflatable elongated elements 18 of revolution. Alternatively, each captive air inflatable elongated element 18 of revolution comprises an airtight casing, for example formed of a coated fabric. In this case, each captive air inflatable elongated element 18 of revolution may be assembled by heat welding and each captive air inflatable elongated element 18 of revolution may be devoid of an internal air chamber.Each elongated element 18 of captive air inflatable revolution comprises one or more inflation points (not shown), in particular an inflation valve allowing the internal air chambers of the elongated element 18 to be inflated simultaneously or several inflation valves allowing the internal air chambers of the elongated element 18 to be inflated independently, so that each elongated element 18 of captive air inflatable revolution can be inflated independently of the other elongated elements 18 of captive air inflatable revolution.

[0049] Each elongated element 18 of captive air inflatable revolution further comprises a harness 20 mounted on its external envelope.

[0050] The harness 20 of each elongate element 18 is provided with a plurality of belts 22a, 22b, 22c radially surrounding the outer casing of the elongate element 18 and spaced apart from each other along the outer casing of the elongate element 18, a strap 24a extending along the outer casing of the elongate element 18 and attached to the belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20, and a plurality of attachment members 26a each mounted on a belt 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20, here each mounted on a belt 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 at the junction between the belt 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 and the strap 24a of the harness 20.

[0051] Each attachment member 26a comprises, for example, an attachment ring.

[0052] As illustrated more visibly in Figure 4 corresponding to Figure 3 in which the elongate element 18 of the inflatable tube 14 and the canvases 16 have not been shown, the strap 24a of the harness 20 of each elongate element 18 comprises a first longitudinal strand 28 extending longitudinally along the outer envelope of the elongate element 18, a second longitudinal strand 30 extending longitudinally along the outer envelope of the elongate element 18 while being located radially opposite the first longitudinal strand 28 of the strap 24a relative to the outer envelope of the elongate element 18, and a connecting strand 32 extending at least radially by connecting the first and second strands 28, 30 of the strap 24a while being in axial contact with the distal end of the outer envelope of the elongate element 18. The longitudinal strands 28, 30 of the strap 24a are located in the median longitudinal plane of the elongate element 18.The assembly formed by the longitudinal strands 28, 30 and the connecting strand 32 of the strap 24a of each harness 20 has a “U” shape.

[0053] In the illustrated embodiment, the harness 20 of each elongate element 18 comprises a proximal belt 22a, two intermediate belts 22b and a distal belt 22c.

[0054] The first and second longitudinal strands 28, 30 of the strap 24a of the harness 20 of each elongated element 18 extend longitudinally between the proximal belt 22a and the distal belt 22c of the harness 20, being connected to the proximal 22a, intermediate 22b and distal 22c belts of the harness 20.

[0055] The harness 20 of the elongated element 18 of the vertical barrel 8 also comprises a plurality of additional straps 24b identical to the straps 24a and spaced from each other in the circumferential direction of the vertical barrel 8, as well as a plurality of additional attachment members 26b each mounted on a belt 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20, here each mounted on a belt 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 at the junction between the belt 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 and an additional strap 24b of the harness 20. The additional strap 24b of the harness 20 of the elongated element 18 of the vertical barrel 8 shown is offset in the circumferential direction of the vertical barrel 8, here by an angle of approximately 60 degrees relative to the strap 24a of the harness 20 of the element elongated 18 of the vertical barrel 8 so as to be oriented in the direction of an inflatable tube 14 of the canopy 10.The connecting strands 32 of the straps 24a, 24b of the harness 20 of the elongated element 18 of the vertical shaft 8 overlap each other at the distal end of the external envelope of the elongated element 18 of the vertical shaft 8.

[0056] Each guy 12 of the assembly 2 is connected on the one hand to a hooking member 26a of the harness 20 of an elongated element 18 of an inflatable tube 14 and on the other hand to a hooking member 26a of the harness 20 of the elongated element 18 of the vertical shaft 8. Each canvas 16 of the assembly 2 fixed between the successive inflatable tubes 14 of the canopy 10 in the circumferential direction of the vertical shaft 8 is fixed to the belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 of the elongated elements 18 of the inflatable tubes 14. In the example shown, the assembly 2 comprises three canvases 16 fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes 14.

[0057] The belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 of the elongated element 18 of the vertical barrel 8 are here made of an elastic material. Alternatively, or in addition, the straps 24a, 24b of the harness 20 of the elongated element 18 of the vertical barrel 8 can be made of an elastic material.

[0058] The strap 24a of the harness 20 of the elongated elements 18 of the inflatable tubes 14 is here made of an elastic material. Alternatively, or in addition, the belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harness 20 of the elongated elements 18 of the inflatable tubes 14 can also be made of an elastic material.

[0059] The elastic material used is, for example, a Velcro-type elastic material.

[0060] In the example illustrated, the attachment members 26a of the harnesses 20 of the elongated elements 18 are mounted on the belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harnesses 20. Alternatively, the attachment members 26a of the harnesses 20 of the elongated elements 18 can be mounted on the strap 24a of the harnesses 20.

[0061] In the example shown, the belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harnesses 20 of the elongated elements 18 are of constant width. Alternatively, the belts 22a, 22b, 22c of the harnesses 20 of the elongated elements 18, in particular the inflatable tubes 14, could be of variable width so as to distribute the forces exerted on the attachment member 26a over a larger surface of the elongated element 18 on the side opposite the attachment member 26a.

[0062] In the example shown, the assembly 2 comprises three canvases 16 fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes 14. Alternatively or in addition, the assembly 2 may comprise one or more ropes or straps fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes 14.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Assembly (2), in particular for sun protection, comprising a vertical inflatable barrel (8) with captive air, at least one inflatable tube (14) extending transversely relative to said vertical barrel (8), and at least one guy (12), characterized in that said vertical barrel (8) comprises an elongated element (18) of revolution inflatable with captive air comprising an external envelope, and a harness (20) mounted on the external envelope and provided with: - at least one belt (22a, 22b, 22c) radially surrounding the external envelope, - a strap (24a, 24b) provided with first and second longitudinal strands (28, 30) extending from said belt (22a, 22b, 22c) along the outer casing and being arranged on either side of said outer casing, and a connecting strand (32) connecting the first and second longitudinal strands (28, 30) and being in contact with one of the axial ends of the outer casing, and - at least one attachment member (26a, 26b) of a body external to said elongated element (18) mounted on said belt (22a, 22b, 22c) and / or on said strap (24a, 24b), said stay (12) being connected on the one hand to said attachment member (26a, 26b) of the harness (20) of said elongated element (18) and on the other hand to said inflatable tube (14), and / or characterized in that said inflatable tube (14) comprises an elongated element (18) of revolution inflatable with captive air comprising an external envelope, and a harness (20) mounted on the external envelope and provided with: - at least one belt (22a, 22b, 22c) radially surrounding the external envelope, - a strap (24a, 24b) provided with first and second longitudinal strands (28, 30) extending from said belt (22a, 22b, 22c) along the outer envelope and being arranged on either side of said outer envelope, and a connecting strand (32) connecting the first and second longitudinal strands (28, 30) and being in contact with one of the axial ends of the outer casing, and - at least one attachment member (26a, 26b) of a body external to said elongated element (18) mounted on said belt (22a, 22b, 22c) and / or on said strap (24a, 24b), said stay (12) being connected on the one hand to said attachment member (26a, 26b) of the harness (20) of said elongated element (18) and on the other hand to said vertical shaft (8).

2. Assembly (2) according to claim 1, comprising at least three, in particular six, inflatable tubes (14) spaced regularly in the circumferential direction and extending transversely relative to said vertical shaft (8), each inflatable tube (14) comprising an elongated element (18) of revolution inflatable with captive air, the assembly (2) further comprising at least one canvas (16) fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes (14), said canvas (16) being fixed to the harnesses (20) of the elongated elements (18) of revolution inflatable of said pair of successive inflatable tubes (14).

3. Assembly (2) according to claim 2, wherein said canvas (16) is fixed to the belts (22a, 22b, 22c) of said harnesses (20) of said pair of successive inflatable elongated revolution elements (18).

4. Assembly (2) according to claim 1, comprising at least three, in particular six, inflatable tubes (14) spaced regularly in the circumferential direction and extending transversely relative to said vertical shaft (8), each inflatable tube (14) comprising an elongated element (18) of revolution inflatable with captive air, the assembly (2) further comprising at least one rope or strap fixed between each pair of successive inflatable tubes (14), said rope or strap being fixed to the harnesses (20) of the elongated elements (18) of revolution inflatable of said pair of successive inflatable tubes (14).

5. Assembly (2) according to claim 4, wherein said rope or strap is fixed to the belts (22a, 22b, 22c) of said harnesses (20) of said pair of successive inflatable elongated revolution elements (18).

6. Assembly (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said belt (22a, 22b, 22c) is made of elastic material.

7. Assembly (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said strap (24a, 24b) is made of elastic material.

8. Assembly (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the harness (20) further comprises at least one additional belt (22a, 22b, 22c) arranged axially between said belt (22a, 22b, 22c) and said axial end of said elongate element (18), said first and second longitudinal strands (28, 30) being connected to said additional belt (22a, 22b, 22c).

Images