Hard-Sided Collapsible Shelter for Portable Secure Camping

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Solution Overview

Problem

There is a need for a portable shelter or camper that provides excellent protection from weather, animals, and theft while being highly portable and capable of being attached to various vehicles without requiring permanent modifications, and can easily store and accommodate various components like mattresses, electronics, and kitchen or bathroom fixtures without compromising portability.

Innovation Solution

A hard-sided, collapsible shelter or camper with a foldable, rigid enclosure made of composite materials like fiberglass or carbon fiber, which can be easily attached to vehicles, featuring a movable bed platform, climate control, and storage for electronics and plumbing, allowing for easy transition between open and closed configurations, and can be stored on a roof rack or towed behind a vehicle.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a shelter is made with rigid walls and roof for protection, then protection from weather, animals, and theft is improved, but portability and ease of transport deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection from weather, animals, and theftVSAvoidportability and ease of transport

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The shelter is divided into multiple collapsible wall panels that can be segmented and folded together. Each panel is a rigid structure providing protection, but when collapsed they nest within each other to reduce volume for transport, resolving the contradiction between rigid protection and portability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The shelter transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure. The walls are designed with hinges and connectors that allow the rigid panels to move between an extended protective configuration and a collapsed portable configuration, enabling both protection and ease of transport.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If a shelter is made highly portable with fabric walls, then portability is improved, but protection and security deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveportabilityVSAvoidprotection and security

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The shelter uses segmented rigid panels instead of continuous fabric walls. These panels can be collapsed and nested for portable transport like fabric shelters, but when assembled provide the rigid protection and security of hard-sided structures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The shelter employs composite construction combining rigid protective materials (such as aluminum, fiberglass, or composite panels) with portable structural elements. This creates a hybrid structure that achieves both the protection of rigid materials and the portability needed for easy transport.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

3Reliability

If a shelter is made larger for better protection, then protection from elements and animals is improved, but storage space requirements and vehicle towing capabilities deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotection from elements and animalsVSAvoidstorage space and vehicle requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The shelter volume is dynamic rather than fixed. When assembled, it provides a large protected volume for safety from elements and animals. When collapsed for transport, the volume is reduced to a compact nested configuration that fits in small vehicles or storage spaces, resolving the contradiction between protected volume and transport volume.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Reliability

If a vehicle is modified permanently to add protective shelter, then protection is improved, but vehicle adaptability and resale value deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotective shelterVSAvoidvehicle adaptability and resale value

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The shelter is designed as a separate, modular unit that attaches to the vehicle rather than being permanently integrated. This segmentation allows the shelter to be installed or removed without modifying the vehicle structure, preserving vehicle adaptability and resale value while providing protective shelter when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The protective shelter function is extracted as a separate removable component from the vehicle itself. This allows the vehicle to maintain its original configuration and value, while the extracted shelter module provides protection when attached, resolving the contradiction between having protective shelter and maintaining vehicle versatility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS12199552B2Collapsible shelter

Publication Date: 2025.01.14 OUTLIER CAMPERS LLC

AI summary

A shelter or camper that provides improved portability and protection. The shelter or camper may include rigid walls to offer greater protection from weather, animals, and theft. The shelter or camper may be transitionable between different configurations for different purposes, including an open and expanded configuration for use as a shelter, camper, or sleeping quarters and a compact, closed case configuration for easy storage and transport. To facilitate this, the walls may be foldable, expandable, or collapsible. When the walls are folded or collapsed, roof and floor sections may be connected to each other and may enclose the folded, collapsed walls and internal components within the collapsed closed case.