20030145882 | Telescopic cover with imbricated elements | August, 2003 | Sanna |
20080179850 | DEVICE FOR GUIDING A CHILD'S FIRST STEPS | July, 2008 | Catelli |
20050045217 | Height adjustable umbrella assembly | March, 2005 | Clarke |
20020104557 | Adjusting sleeve assembly for a sunshade with a tiltable canopy | August, 2002 | Tung |
20070283987 | Solar powered umbrella | December, 2007 | Reyes et al. |
20080040985 | Structural Sky Roof | February, 2008 | Taran |
20060272687 | Beach umbrella | December, 2006 | Tanner et al. |
20060107983 | Collapsible shelter apparatus | May, 2006 | Froncek |
20060213546 | Erectable tent | September, 2006 | Mitsui et al. |
20090120480 | LOCKING DEVICE FOR A TENT | May, 2009 | Takayama |
20080149152 | Umbrella having uneven cover or canopy | June, 2008 | Huang |
[0001] Tent stakes are used by backpackers to maintain the structural integrity of their tent. Lightweight tents typically utilize at least four and sometimes as many as 12 stakes. Many varieties of stakes are available on the market. Lightweight backpacking tent stakes are made from plastic, aluminum and titanium and are available in many different cross-sections, including round tubes, solid wire, Y-cross-section, and T-cross-section. Lengths vary from 6 inches to 12 inches. This large variety is due to the different types of surfaces upon which the tent may be setup. The surface may be soft dirt, deep pine needles, rocks, sand, soft snow, icy snow, packed dirt, frozen ground, tree roots, and any combination of these surfaces. Many types of tent stakes prove useless in some soils, such as a wire type stake in beach sand. Beach sand will require a fatter cross-section and a longer length to insure wind forces due not pull the stake out. But a long, fat stake will bend if pounded into a rocky soil. Snow requires long wide stakes; soils with tree roots need a short, sharp wire stake made of titanium that will not bend when hammered.
[0002] Backpackers strive for light weight and compact gear. Many backpackers will carry several sets of stakes to be sure the tent will work at all campsites. Typically a long tubular stake and a short wire stake are enough for all but extreme campsites. But tent stakes are easy to lose and are usually dirty and have sharp edges. It would be desirable to carry a stake that combined the features of a long tubular stake and a short wire stake. It is also desirable to reduce the weight of the tent stake by using carbon fiber composite materials where possible.
[0003] The invention is a co-axial tent stake optimized for use by lightweight backpackers that is comprised of a long outer hollow tubular stake which has co-axially nested inside a shorter solid rod stake. The inner rod stake can be removed from the outer stake by twisting the end cap of the inner stake from its attachment to the outer stake. This allows the camper to use the long and fat outer stake in soft ground, sand, or snow or use the inner stiff rod stake in rocky, hard-packed, or root-filled soils. The sharp point of the wire stake is sheathed by the outer hollow stake when stored in the backpack. The two stakes can be tethered together with a string and also tethered to the tent strap to insure they do not get lost. To reduce the weight of the co-axial tent stake, either stake or both stakes can be fabricated with aluminum, titanium, or carbon fiber composite materials.
[0004]
[0005]
[0006]
[0007] The co-axial tent stake as shown in
[0008] The inner stake