Inflatable Tent Arch Using Disposable Plastic Sheets

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional tents are complex, heavy, expensive, and difficult to dispose of, making them unsuitable for single-use applications, and existing inflatable tents are also complex and challenging to manufacture and recycle.

Innovation Solution

A tent design featuring an inflated arch and a flysheet, where the arch is formed by joining flexible sheets to create structural support chambers, allowing for easy pitching, striking, and recycling, and eliminating the need for additional closure mechanisms like zippers or metal components.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If conventional tents use durable materials like aluminum, cotton and synthetic polymer fabrics, then structural strength is improved, but disposal difficulty and environmental impact worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural strengthVSAvoiddisposal difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies disposable plastic sheet material instead of durable materials like aluminum and cotton, enabling the tent to be used once and then easily discarded or recycled without complex disposal processes. This resolves the contradiction by sacrificing long-term durability for ease of disposal and reduced environmental impact.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the material parameter from durable natural/synthetic fabrics to single-use plastic sheets, fundamentally altering the lifecycle characteristics. This parameter change enables both adequate structural strength for temporary use and effortless disposal afterward, resolving the contradiction between strength and disposal difficulty.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Stability of the object's composition

If conventional tents use complex constructions with multiple components, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidconstruction complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The tent is divided into simple modular components: a ground sheet, an arch structure, and a fly sheet. Each component is a simple plastic sheet formation without complex sub-assemblies. This segmentation maintains structural stability through proper geometric arrangement while dramatically reducing manufacturing complexity compared to traditional multi-component tents.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses homogeneous plastic sheet material for all structural components (ground sheet, arch, fly sheet), eliminating the need for multiple different materials and their associated joining methods. This homogeneity simplifies manufacturing while maintaining structural integrity through the inflated arch design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #33Homogeneity

3Strength

If conventional tents use traditional pole structures, then structural support is improved, but weight and portability worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural supportVSAvoidtent weight

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses an inflated arch structure where air pressure provides structural support instead of solid poles. The arch is formed by inflating a plastic sheet between ground anchors, creating a self-supporting curved structure. This pneumatic approach dramatically reduces weight while maintaining adequate structural support for the tent canopy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses flexible plastic sheets formed into an inflated arch shell instead of rigid poles. The thin film structure, when pressurized, creates sufficient structural support while being extremely lightweight and easily transportable. This resolves the contradiction between structural support and weight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

4Adaptability or versatility

If conventional tents include multiple materials and components, then functional versatility is improved, but recyclability and disposal ease worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefunctional versatilityVSAvoidrecyclability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses homogeneous plastic sheet material for all tent components, making the entire structure compatible with single-stream plastic recycling processes. Unlike multi-material conventional tents that require separation and different recycling streams, this homogeneous construction can be recycled together, dramatically improving recyclability while maintaining functional versatility through design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #33Homogeneity

Data Source

PatentUS11788318B2Inflatable tent

Publication Date: 2023.10.17 STUDIO NINABER BV

AI summary

The document concerns inflatable tents, in particular non-durable, inflatable tents. The tents are provided with an inflated arch and a flysheet. The arch can be simply constructed from first and second flexible sheet materials joined to one another, and the flysheet is pivotally openable about the arch.