Inflatable changing and / or storage room and method of use

Abstract

An inflatable changing / storage room has a pair of inflatable arches as well as front, back, and side walls. The room includes one or a pair of doors in the front wall to allow ingress to an interior space of the changing room and elongated openings in at least the side walls of the room. The changing room can be positioned in a stall with one of the doors aligned with a door of the stall. The elongated openings in at least the side walls allow access to the walls of the stall, wherein a user of the room can use the top of the stall walls for hanging different items, clothes, tack, and the like.

Description

[0001] INFLATABLE CHANGING AND / OR STORAGE ROOM AND METHOD OF USE

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] An inflatable changing room includes a pair of inflatable arches and side walls extending between the arches and within the arches. The changing room can be located in a stall to allow changing of clothes as well as storage of items, particularly a horse stall for a show, wherein clothes changing is common place and there is a need for privacy.

[0004] BACKGROUND ART

[0005] Events involving the showing of horses are common place in the show horse industry. Horse owners attending these events will often time rent a number of stalls for their horses and storage of items related thereto. Typically, these stalls will have a door on a front wall, include two side walls, a back wall, and be without a roof. The walls are commonly five or seven feet in height. In some instances, stalls will be back to back, wherein the back wall of one stall will serve as the same back wall of another stall.

[0006] One need when attending these horse shows is to have the ability to change clothes, e.g. riders may need to change into or out of performance clothes. However, the stall arrangement does not provide a high level of privacy for clothes changing and a need exists to be able to provide the ability for clothes changing in an efficient and temporary manner given that the attendance at the horse show is for a limited time. The present responds to this need by providing an inflatable changing room that is particularly adapted to fit within a stall and provide a high level of privacy for clothes changing. The inflatable nature of the changing room makes it easily transported, installed, and taken down.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] One object of the present invention is to provide an improved inflatable room, that is preferably adapted for use in stalls.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of using the inflatable room and being able to take advantage of the stall for purposes of storing / hanging items.

[0010] Yet a further object of the invention is providing an inflatable storage room that allows ingress and egress regardless of whether the stall has a right hand or left hand opening for entry and exit.

[0011] Providing an inflatable room, the room is easily transported to different sites and used for changing purposes and / or storage purposes.

[0012] Other objects and advantages will become apparent when reading the more detailed description of the invention.

[0013] One embodiment of the invention as an inflatable changing and / or storage room includes first and second arches, each of the first and second arches including first and second legs and an arch portion extending between end portions of the first and second legs. The room also includes a first side wall extending between the first legs of each of the first and second arches and a second side wall extending between the second legs of each of the first and second arches.

[0014] A roof is also provided, the roof extending between ends of each of the first and second side walls and between the arch portion of each of the first and second arches;

[0015] The room also includes a front wall extending between the first and second legs of the first arch and beneath the arch portion thereof and a back wall extending between the first and second legs of the second arch and beneath the arch portion thereof. The front wall has a pair of doors, a first door allowing entry through one half of the front wall and a second door allowing entry through the other half of the front wall. While the doors can be any kind, preferred door configurations include a roll up door or a slit opening in the front wall.

[0016] At least one of the first and second side walls and back wall have at least first and second horizontally extending elongated openings, the first and second elongated openings vertically spaced apart from each other, the elongated openings being closeable. The elongated openings can include closure means to close the openings along a length thereof and allow opening to access space outside the room. A preferred closure means including hook and loop fasteners, snaps, and the like.

[0017] Finally, a means for inflating the first and second arches is provided to impart a three dimensional shape to the arches to create a changing space within the first and second side walls, the back wall, and the front wall.

[0018] The roof can include a plurality of vent openings therein. Each vent opening includes a flexible tube that extends downwardly from each vent opening and has an opening adapted to fit to a discharge opening of a portable AC unit. The roof can also have one or more transparent portions thereof.

[0019] The can also include means for tying down the inflatable changing room to ground, with the tying down means preferably attached to the first and second arches.

[0020] While the location of the first and second horizontally extending elongated openings can vary amongst the walls of the room, preferably, they are in each of the first and second side walls and back wall. The first and second horizontally extending elongated openings can extend either continuously or discontinuously along a width of the at least one of the first and second side walls and back wall.

[0021] While any known inflating means can be used to inflate the arches, it is preferred to employ an air pump contained within at least one of the first and second arches and use means for interconnecting the first arch with the second arch, the interconnecting means allowing pressurized air from the pump-containing first or second arch to inflate the other of the first or second arch. While any interconnecting means can be used to provide communication between the interior of the first and second arches, a preferred means is at least one tubular member that provides communication between the first and second arches for inflation thereof. While the interconnecting means can be located anywhere between the arches, preferably it involves the at least one tubular member being positioned along a bottom of at least one of the side walls and extending between the first and second arches. While the elongated openings can be spaced at different distances, a preferred spacing is approximately 5 feet and 7 feet, respectively, from a bottom of the first and second arches.

[0022] The invention also includes using the room described above for changing and / or storage purposes. Such method would include providing the inflatable changing / storage and positioning the inflatable changing / storage room in a desired spaced, preferably the space being open-top stall having three side walls and a doorcontaining front wall, wherein the front wall of the inflatable changing room aligns with the door-containing front wall of the stall to allow ingress and egress to the inflatable changing room through the door of the stall and one of the doors of the front wall.

[0023] In using the inventive room at a given location, particularly one where one or more walls are adjacent to the walls of the room, the elongated openings in at least one of the first and second side walls and back wall allow access to a top of at least one the walls adjacent to the room to allow the top of the one of the walls to be used for hanging items.

[0024] While room above is shown with two doors on the front wall, a single door could be used as well. When a roll up door is used, it could close on its sides using magnets to allow for access to the inside of the room when the door is in the closed position by disengaging the magnets located on one side of the door. The door could also include handles to facilitate is movement to the open position. One or more of the legs could include zippers that would facilitate a rapid deflation when unzipped. The legs of the arches and side walls could also be configured to form a generally planar face that would facilitate the use of attachment or connecting means on the legs and / or side walls to allow for adjacent rooms to be securely connected or attached together at their respective opposing side walls / arch legs. One or both side walls could have a door in it, with the access means being part of the door in the side wall. Attaching means to facilitate joining of adjacent rooms could also be in the form of flaps running along the legs and / or side walls, the flaps having a fastening means on it, e.g., hooks or loops of a hook and loop fastening system.

[0025] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1A shows a front view of one embodiment of the inflatable changing / storage room.

[0027] Figure IB shows an enlarged portion of one of the legs of the front wall arch of the room of Figure 1A.

[0028] Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the room of Figure 1A showing the back wall and the left side wall.

[0029] Figure 3 shows a right side perspective view of the room of Figure 1A.

[0030] Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the room of Figure 1A showing the front and right side wall.

[0031] Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the top of the room of Figure 1A.

[0032] Figure 6 show a view of a portion of the inside of the room of Figure 5.

[0033] Figure 7 shows one embodiment of the access means for the side or back wall of the room. Figure 8 shows another embodiment of the access means for the side or back wall of the room.

[0034] Figure 9 shows a schematic view of a side wall of the room adjacent a stall wall.

[0035] Figure 10 shows a front wall of another embodiment of the room with a different door configuration in the open position.

[0036] Figure 11 shows the room of Figure 10 with the door closed.

[0037] Figure 12 shows a right side perspective of the room of Figure 10 wherein the side wall / arch legs are configured to attach or connect to an adjacent room.

[0038] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] Figures 1A-4 shows one embodiment of an inflatable changing room and the room is designated by the reference numeral 10. Figure 1A shows a front view of the room. Figure IB shows an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 1A. Figure 2 shows a rear perspective view of the room. Figure 3 shows a perspective side view of the room. Figure 4 shows a front perspective view of the room and Figure 5 shows a top view of the room.

[0040] With reference to Figures 1A-5, the room 10 includes a pair of arches 1 and 3. Arch 1 defines a front wall 4, see Figure 1A, of the room and arch 3 defines a back wall 6 of the room, see Figure 2. Extending between the two arches 1 and 3 are a pair of side walls 5 and 7 and a roof 9.

[0041] Each of the arches are made to be inflatable. While any inflating means can be used to inflate the arches, one example of such a means is the use of a pump, which is made an integral part of leg 11 of the arch 1 and designated by reference numeral 13.

[0042] Any kind of pump could be used to inflate the two arches 1 and 3. An enlarged view of the pump 13 is shown in Figure IB.

[0043] Figure IB also shows a zipper 12 in the leg 11. The zipper is an air tight zipper type, such that in the closed position, pressurized air in the room does not leak. Having the zipper facilitates a more rapid deflation of the room. While a zipper is shown, any sealable means can be incorporated into one or all four legs of the two arches that would seal the inflatable parts of the room and allow for opening and deflation.

[0044] While not shown, the room can include supporting means like d-rings and loops, e.g., hook and loop fastening loop, attached to different parts of the interior surface of the room, e.g., the roof, the arches, and walls, etc. Items to be supported by the supporting means would be those of the necessary weight that they would not disrupt the attachment between the supporting means that the arches and / or wall.

[0045] Figure 4 shows a means to allow communication or interconnection between the inside spaces of the two arches 1 and 3. This means is illustrated as a tubular member 15 that interconnects the two arches 1 and 3. With the pump 11 inflating arch 1, pressurized air can travel from the arch 1, through the tube 15, and into the arch 3 for inflation thereof. While one tube is shown, two or more tubes could be used for inflation purposes for the other arch. Also, the tube is just an example and other connections between the two arches could be employed for inflation purposes. The tube 15 is preferably positioned at the base of the side wall 5 so that the base of the arches 1 and 3 are stabilized. Another tube in the same position is preferably associated with the other side wall 7. The tubing or interconnection means could be positioned in different locations as well. For example, the roof 9 could include tubing or additional tubing could be positioned where the roof meets the side walls so as to provide support where the arch portion meets the legs of the arches. The tubing could be positioned inside the room rather than outside as illustrated. The presence of the inflated tubes or other means also provides a separation of the two arches to contribute to the structural integrity of the room. The tubing between the arches at the junction of the roof and side walls could match the diameter of the arches. With this tubing placed on the inside of the room, the side walls can be aligned with an outer side of the legs of the arches. Such alignment would then create a planar wall, wherein the side wall would meet at the leg. This arrangement is illustrated below with an embodiment of the room with a single door.

[0046] In another embodiment, each arch 1 and 3 could have their own pump so that means for interconnecting the insides of the arches would not be necessary. In this embodiment, since the tubing 15 would not be needed, some other means would be needed between the two arches to maintain separation and provide a tension to the side walls. Such means could include spring rods like used in tents for support, the spring rods configured to extend between the two individually-pressurized arches for support therebetween.

[0047] The front wall of the room is designated by the reference numeral 4, see Figure 4. The front wall is configured to have two separate doors for access to an interior of the room. The reason for having two distinct doors is that the stall that the inflatable room will be located in can have a door on a right side or left side of the front wall of the stall. Since the location of the door in the stall is not known until the stall is actually seen, having two separate doors on the front wall 4 allow the room to be used regardless of the placement of the door in the stall.

[0048] The two doors can be any type that would allow ingress to the interior of the room. Figure 1 shows one example of a roll up door 19, which is held in place with an attachment means, for example, hook and loop fasteners 21. While not illustrated, the door 19 can include zippers on the side thereof to maintain a more closed state. An example of another door is the split door 23, which also includes hook and loop fasteners 25 spaced along the length of the door opening to allow for closing and opening. As an example, the hook and loop fasteners could be one inch wide and spaced apart by about a foot. While hook and loop fasteners are illustrated, any closing means can be employed for the split door.

[0049] Each door should be positioned generally adjacent to each leg of the arch 1 and be on one half of the front wall 17 of the room. In this way, the floor of the stall will align with either of the doors 19 and 23 for access to the interior of the room 10.

[0050] The roof 9, see Figure 2, extends between the two arches 1 and 3 and the two side walls 5 and 7. The roof 9 provides protection from the elements and is or can be equipped with at least one transparent portion 27 made of a transparent material. The extent of the transparent portion can vary with an example of the shape of the transparent portion shown in Figure 5 and the top view of the room 10 to allow light entry into the interior of the room 10. Instead of a transparent portion as part of the roof 9, a translucent portion could be employed that would still allow light entry into the interior of the room but provide a higher level of privacy. The translucent portion could form the entire roof 9 or only portions thereof as is the case with the transparent portion 27.

[0051] Optionally the roof 9 can include means for venting the space of the room. In one example, the venting means can be just one or more openings 29 in the roof 9 to allow escape of air. In a preferred embodiment and referring to Figure 6, the means for venting can be the type that allows for a connection to a portable AC unit that would require outside venting for operation. In this embodiment, one end of flexible vent tubes 31 would be attached to an underside of the roof 9. The flexible vent tubes would have a length such that a distal end of the tubes would extend from the underside of the roof and be in a position where the end of the vent tubes could attach to an AC unit. Although not shown, clamping means could be provided, either as an integral part of the vent tubes, or separate therefrom, for securing the distal end of the vent tube to the AC unit and making a tight seal between the outlet of the AC unit and the distal end of the vent tube. Any kinds of clamping means could be used, hose clamps, elastic members, and the like.

[0052] Another feature of the room 10 is providing the ability to utilize one or more walls of the stall for storage purposes. Because of the need to make the inflatable changing room easily transportable, the front, back, and side wall are just made of a fabric, plastic or like that provides little structural integrity. The integrity of the inflatable changing room is achieved by inflating the arches and ensuring a separation therebetween, whether that separation is the use of inflatable structure between the two arches or a rigid structure providing support between the two arches.

[0053] As an alternative to the use of an inflatable structure between the two arches to provide support for the arches, rigid structure could be employed between the two arches to provide support therefor. In this embodiment, since the rigid structure, e.g., bars or the like disposed between the two arches, would take the place of the inflatable structure between the two arches, each arch would need its own inflating means, as is noted above.

[0054] In order to provide access to and utilize the walls of the stall, at least one of the side walls and / or back wall have a means from providing access through the walls and to a stall wall adjacent to a given side or back wall of the room. This stall wall access means is not one or more windows having a see through portion as having windows in a changing room defeats the privacy requirement. In a preferred embodiment, the access means are elongated openings that run, either continuously or intermittently along at least one of side walls and / or back wall, in a generally horizontal direction. Thus, the opening can continuously run between the back arch for the back wall or between the front and back arches for one or more of the side walls. Alternatively, the opening can run in an intermittent fashion so that only portions of the stall wall could be accessed. Preferably, the openings run continuously as this provides access to the entire stall wall for storage purposes.

[0055] In some instances, the inflatable changing room may be placed in a stall wherein one of the side or back walls of the inflatable changing room would face a stall wall that would be part of a stall that houses a horse. In this situation, with a horse in an adjacent stall that shares a wall with the stall having the inflatable changing room therein, one would not want to use the shared wall of the stall having a horse therein for hanging items as the horse could access the hanging items and damage them. In fact, it could be that the stall containing the inflatable changing room is adjacent to two horse-containing stalls, and only one of the side and back walls could be used for hanging items. Since one does not know what adjacent stalls would be used for, it is preferred to have the stall wall access means in each of the side walls and back wall. This still allows the stall wall access means to be used even if only one adjacent stall and its stall wall is available for hanging. However, in certain situations where it is known that the stall to be used with the inflatable changing room will not be adjacent to a horse-containing stall, the inflatable changing room could have the stall wall access means on just one of the side or back walls.

[0056] The purpose of the stall wall access means is to allow the stall wall to be used as a support to hang items such a clothing, tack, and the like. For example, a user of the room can access the top of the one or more of the stall walls via the stall wall access means. The user can then move whatever items need to be stored by hanging them on the stall wall. Since tack items can be heavy, being able to use the stall walls for hanging purposes avoids the need to provide any strengthening features for the side and / or back walls of the room.

[0057] The stall wall access means also includes means for closing the access to maintain the privacy for the room and allowing opening of the access means when so desired. Referring to Figures 1, 4, 7, and 8, in particular, one example of the stall wall access means is designated by the reference numeral 33. Referring to Figure 7 in particular, two spaced apart elongated openings 35 / 37 are positioned the side wall 5, see Figure 4. and these elongated openings would also be positioned in the back wall 6, see Figure 6, and other side wall 7, see Figure 3. The openings 35 / 37 are shown extending continuously between two archesl and 3 for the side walls 5 and 7 and between the legs of the back arch 3, see Figure 1. In this embodiment, the elongated openings 35 and 37 are spaced apart in terms of a height dimension by approximately two feet and are positioned about 4.9 and 6.9 feet, respectively, from the bottom of the room. The reasoning for the spacing and height of the elongated openings 35 and 37 is that the stall walls are commonly 5 and 7 feet in height. Since one does not know the kind of stall that one may rent for use with the inflatable changing room, it is preferred to having the pair of elongated openings in each of the side walls and back wall. In this way, no matter what size stall is rented at a horse show event, the top of the stall wall can be utilized when using the inflatable changing room.

[0058] While any means can be employed to provide a closing function to the elongated openings 35 and 37, hook and loop fasteners are preferred as they are inexpensive and provide the necessary closing and opening capability. Figure 7 shows one arrangement of such fasteners for side wall 5. One half 39 of a fastener is attached to side wall portion 41, with the complementary other half 43 of the fastener attached to the wall portion 45. The wall portion 41 slightly overlaps the wall portion 45 to allow the fastener halves 39 and 43 to engage to close the opening 37. A similar arrangement is provided for wall portion 47 and wall portion 45 to allow for closing and opening of the elongated opening 35 using hook and loop fasteners 48 and 50. In this arrangement, the surfaces of the wall portions 41 and 47 are exterior wall surfaces. However, the hook and loop fastener 43 could be on an inside surface of the wall portion 41 as well. Figure 8 shows another example wherein the wall portion 45 attaches to an interior and an exterior surface of the side wall 5. It should be understood that Figures 7 and 8 are just two examples of using hook and loop fasteners to provide a closing and opening capability to the elongated openings and other arrangements could be employed. Moreover, other kinds of fasteners could be used as well. For example, snaps could be provided to connect the wall portion 45 to the wall portions 41 and 47. The important aspect of the access means in terms of its elongated configuration is that it allows one from inside the room to access a stall wall that would be adjacent to a side or back wall room to utilize the stall wall for storage purposes, and without compromising the privacy of the room.

[0059] Figure 9 shows a schematic of one of the side walls, i.e., side wall 3 of the room adjacent to a wall 53 of a stall. It can be seen that the uppermost stall wall access means 33 is positioned near the top 55 of the stall wall 53. The different height access means 33 are shown schematically This positioning allows a user to access the top 55. In an exemplary use of the stall wall access means, a hook 57 representing a clothes hanger can be attached to the top 55 of the wall with clothes intended to be worn or stored. Referring now to Figures 10-12, a room designated by the reference numeral 80 is illustrated. This room includes a single door rather than two doors as disclosed above. While any single door construction can be used, it is preferred to use a roll up door 81, similar to the roll up door 19 of FigurelA. A portion of the front wall 4 can include a series of magnets 83 positioned vertically along the door opening 85. Corresponding magnets would be included on the inside surface (not shown) of the door so that a closure mechanism exists along the side openings 87 of the door.

[0060] Figure 11 shows the door 81 in a closed state. The door can include a pair of handles 89, which would be flexible in nature so that they could be rolled up when the door is in the open position as shown in Figure 10.

[0061] Another aspect of the invention is providing a connecting means on the side walls of the room. Referring to Figure 12, a right side perspective view of the room 80 is shown with strips 91, 93, and 99 of either hooks or loops of a hook and loop fastening system. The strips 99 also are shown in Figure 1A. The room designed to be positioned adjacent room 80 would include complementary hook or loop strips in the same position as shown in Figure 12, but on the left side of the room. With the hooks of one room left side wall facing the loops of the right side of an adjacent room, the two rooms can be connected together if so desired. While the connection of two rooms is described, three or even more rooms could be linked together this way. The strips shown in Figure 12 would be also located on the left side of the room so there is no need to show this additional illustration. While any means could be employed to connect adjacent rooms together, a preferred configuration is to have the side wall of the room align with an end surface of the arch leg so that a generally planar surface is created using the legs of the arches and the side wall, this configuration shown in Figure 12. This enables the use of connecting or attaching means on both the legs of the arches and the side wall to provide a greater degree of attachment or connection. However, attaching means could also be used just on the arch legs if the attaching means had sufficient attachment power to keep adjacent rooms connected together. This embodiment would work for the room of Figure 1A, wherein the side walls are not aligned with ends of the arches. If the side walls are aligned with the ends of the arches, the side walls alone could have the attaching means as another option. The attaching means could also be in the form of flaps that are attached to the side walls and / or legs of the arches, with the flaps having the hooks or loops for attachment to an adjacent room flap. The flaps are more forgiving in terms of aligning with the flap of an adjacent room to make the connection between rooms.

[0062] Figure 12 also shows an alternative communication or interconnection means as compared to the means 15 shown in Figure 1A. In Figure 12, a tubular connection 101 is shown that interconnects the first and second arches. While one is shown, this embodiment would have a tubular connection associated with each side wall. This tubular connection would be positioned on the inside of the room where the side walls meet the roof and be preferably sized in diameter to match the diameter size of the arch, thus providing improved stability to the room when inflated. Of course, other sizes for the tubular connection 101 could be used as well. These connections could also support the hooks or loops described above for hanging items in the room. In yet another embodiment, three tubular structures could be used, one on each side of the room and one positioned between the centers of the upper parts of the arches.

[0063] The side walls can also include doors as a part thereof, with the doors including the access means 33. This embodiment is also shown in Figure 12, wherein 95 and 97 would represent zippers for a roll up door 98. The roll up door would be configured like that shown in Figure 1A in the open state, with some attaching means holding the door in its rolled up state. Thus, the attaching means are not shown in Figure 12. It should be understood that only one side wall of the room could be equipped with the side door of Figure 12.

[0064] The arches and means for connecting the arches for inflation purposes can be made of any materials that would maintain a pressurized environment so that the arches provide stability for the room. The walls of the room can also be made of any materials, oxford cloth being one example.

[0065] While the inflatable changing room is designed for use in a stall, it could also be used in a location without a surrounding structure such as a stall.

[0066] To account for uses of the room would not be located in a structure, the room also can include tie down means associated with the arches 1 and 3 if a need would exist to tie the room down during use. One example of such means would be d-rings mounted to the legs of the arches, the d-rings designated by 49, see Figure 1A, with a tie down rope 51. The d-rings would provide a means for one end of the rope 51 to be attached to the d-ring 49 and the other end attached to a stake or the like. D-rings are just one example of a means for tying down the room and other means could be used as well. For example, a rope-like member could be attached to each of the arches and would be of sufficient length that the end of the rope-like member could be used to secure the room in a given location, e.g., tied to a stake, a tree, or the like.

[0067] Another advantage to the arch shape is the ability to display indicia for advertising or branding purposes. Referring to Figure 1A, the side walls of the room are approximately 8 feet in height with the height of the arch being approximately ten feet. With a stall height being 5 or 7 feet, the front arch is exposed to allow the placement of indicia, e.g., the SHOW STALL lettering, on an upper portion of the arch for all to see.

[0068] The inflatable changing room provides a number of advantages over other inflatable structures. Most other inflatable structure have one or more windows in side walls thereof, such structures not suitable as a changing room. Other inflatable structures employ only a single door and cannot accommodate being placed in a walled location whether the door location may vary.

[0069] The inventive inflatable changing room and its stall wall accessing means allows a structure outside of the inflatable changing room to be utilized for hanging items, thus removing the need to have some structure as part of the room itself to support items that need to be hung up. The stall wall accessing means also allow access to stall walls of different heights by providing a pair of accessing means at different heights in the side or back walls of the inflatable changing room. Because of the need to avoid windows or the like in the walls of the room, the roof can include a transparent or translucent portion to allow light to enter into the room and avoid the need for lighting during the daytime.

[0070] While the inflatable changing room can function as a changing room, it can also be used for storage, either using the stall walls as described above or just storing items within the room itself.

[0071] As such, an invention has been disclosed in terms of preferred embodiments thereof which fulfills each and every one of the objects of the present invention as set forth above and provides a new and improved inflatable room that is ideally suited for use in stalls but has other uses in terms of being a changing / storage room and a method of providing a space for changing and / or storage using the inventive inflatable room.

[0072] Of course, various changes, modifications and alterations from the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof. It is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.

Claims

I Claim:

1. An inflatable changing and / or storage room comprising first and second arches, each of the first and second arches including first and second legs and an arch portion extending between end portions of the first and second legs; a first side wall extending between the first legs of each of the first and second arches; a second side wall extending between the second legs of each of the first and second arches; a roof extending between ends of each of the first and second side walls and between the arch portion of each of the first and second arches; a front wall extending between the first and second legs of the first arch and beneath the arch portion thereof, and a back wall extending between the first and second legs of the second arch and beneath the arch portion thereof, at least one of the first and second side walls and back wall having at least first and second horizontally extending elongated openings, the first and second elongate openings vertically spaced apart from each other, the elongated openings being closeable; the front wall having either a single door or a pair of doors, a first door of the pair allowing entry through one half of the front wall and a second door of the pair allowing entry through the other half of the front wall.means for inflating the first and second arches to create a changing space within the first and second side walls, the back wall, and the front wall.

2. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the roof includes a plurality of vent openings therein.

3. The inflatable room of claim 2, wherein each vent opening includes a flexible tube that extends downwardly from each vent opening and has an opening adapted to fit to a discharge opening of a portable AC unit.

4. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the roof has one or more transparent portions thereof.

5. The inflatable room of claim 1, further comprising means for tying down the inflatable changing room to ground.

6. The inflatable room of claim 5, wherein the tying down means are attached to the first and second arches.

7. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the first and second horizontally extending elongated openings are in each of the first and second side walls and back wall.

8. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the first and second horizontally extending elongated openings extend continuously along a width of the at least one of the first and second side walls and back wall.

9. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the first and second horizontally extending elongated openings extend discontinuously along a width of the at least one of the first and second side walls and back wall.

10. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the inflating means includes an air pump contained within at least one of the first and second arches and means for interconnecting the first arch with the second arch, the interconnecting means allowing pressurized air from the pump-containing first or second arch to inflate the other of the first or second arch.

11. The inflatable room of claim 10, wherein the interconnecting means is at least one tubular member that provides communication between the first and second arches for inflation thereof.

12. The inflatable room of claim 11, wherein the at least one tubular member is positioned along a bottom of at least one of the side walls and extending between the first and second arches or positioned inside the room near a junction of the side wall and the roof.

13. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the elongated openings are spaced at approximately 5 feet and 7 feet from a bottom of the first and second arches.

14. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein at least one side wall includes a door with the at least first and second horizontally extending elongated openings.

15. The inflatable room of claim 1, wherein the first and second doors each comprise one of a roll up door or a slit opening in the front wall.

16. The inflatable room of claim 1, further comprising hook and loop fasteners associated with each horizontally extending elongated opening to allow each horizontally extending elongated opening to be closed and opened.

17. The inflatable room of claim 1, further comprising connecting means positioned on the arches and / or side walls, the connecting means facilitating connecting adjacent rooms together.

18. A method of providing a room for changing clothes and / or storage comprising providing the inflatable changing room of claim 1, positioning the inflatable changing room in an open-top stall having three side walls and a door-containing front wall, wherein the front wall of the inflatable changingroom aligns with the door-containing front wall of the stall to allow ingress and egress to the inflatable changing room through the door of the stall and one of the doors of the front wall, the elongated openings in at least one of the first and second side walls and back wall allowing access to a top of at least one the three side walls of the stall to allow the top of the one of the three side walls to be used for hanging items.

Images