Portable shelter

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable shelter assembly including a support. An expandable shelter is supported by the support and expands to shelter at least one person. One or more anchors are provided for anchoring the shelter. Advantageously, the anchors anchor the shelter to impede the assembly from bang blown away in the wind.

1 . A portable shelter assembly including:
 a support including a spike for hammering into the ground with a hammer pole that slides relative to the spike;   an expandable shelter for being supported by the support and expanding to shelter at least one person; and   one or more anchors for anchoring the shelter.   
     
     
         2 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the anchors include receptacles, in the form of open pockets, for receiving material to prevent contraction of arms of the expanded shelter. 
     
     
         3 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the receptacles include sheet material or other suitable material. 
     
     
         4 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the anchors include four strips extending from a periphery of the shelter to define four viewing spaces between adjacent strips with no walls between the adjacent strips. 
     
     
         5 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the strips are corner strips and include sheet material. 
     
     
         6 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein one or more of the strips include respective interior pockets. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the support includes the hammer pole which releasably receives the spike, and the spike is hammered into the ground by moving the pole up and down. 
     
     
         9 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the shelter can be expanded in two steps, namely: a first step for opening the shelter and a second step for tightening the shelter. 
     
     
         10 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the expandable shelter includes a canopy. 
     
     
         11 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the canopy includes a sheet of material. 
     
     
         12 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the shelter includes ribs supporting the canopy. 
     
     
         13 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the ribs are axially expandable to tighten the canopy. 
     
     
         14 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein each rib includes a lock for locking the rib in an expanded configuration. 
     
     
         15 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the ribs are pivotally expandable to tighten the canopy. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled) 
     
     
         17 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the shelter can be square and expanded to be at least 1.7 meters long×1.7 meters wide. 
     
     
         18 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the assembled shelter is of sufficient height to accommodate a standing person. 
     
     
         19 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , including framework with lightweight and resilient tubes. 
     
     
         20 . A method for assembling a portable shelter assembly, the method including:
 erecting a support by hammering a spike into the ground with a hammer pole that slides relative to the spike;   supporting an expandable shelter with the support including the hammer pole;   anchoring the shelter; and   expanding the shelter to shelter a person.   
     
     
         21 . A shelter assembly as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the receptacles rest on the ground to prevent contraction of the expanded shelter.