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Tent inflater

 Tent poles that inflate
 
(+3, -3) 		  [vote for,
against]

The solid tent poles for small tents (usually fiberglass) can be designed to be a permanent part of the sleeves that they are fed through. These inflatable poles can replace the fiberglass poles. Solid poles provide support in only the lengthwise direction and have very little support in the side to side direction. This lengthwise support can be accomplished with a column of pressurized air.

The inflatable tent poles use small inflatable tubes 1 cm in diameter. They are made out of Kevlar and inflate to a very high pressure and stiffness with a CO2 cartridge. The kevlar is aligned in a criss-cross pattern, similar to a garden hose (or the skin of a shark). This design is similar to a bike tire except the Kevlar is on the outside and the rubber is on the inside like an inner tube. The Kevlar and the tent sleeve protect the inflatable pole from damage. The ends of the tent are solid like standard tent poles (for durability) They are unlikely to be damaged by piercing because of the Kevlar covering.

The tent goes up in seconds by turning a valve to UP by a CO2 cartridge. Deflate the tent by turning a valve to DOWN and just pack it away. Since the volume in the inflatable poles is small, one CO2 cartridge will work for many camping trips. No poles to pull out of sleeves. Less weight and bulk to worry about for back packers.

—rslippert, Jul 22 2008

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       /I would think it's less weight because most of the weight of a standard tent pole is on the inside./   

       Standard tent poles have been hollow since I was a lad.   

       /since the insides of a structural element do little to add stiffness./   

       In bending, yes. In shear, not quite. Bending is more appropriate for tents though, but I just couldn't resist responding to your sweeping statement.
—Texticle, Jul 22 2008
   

       (+)
I could see pumping up a tent rather than messing with poles, but springing a leak in the middle of the night would be a royal pain.		   

       Poles that were telescopic gas springs would be good.   

       A more worthy endeavour would be to design a tent that, when wet, can be dried before being packed away, despite this being done outside in a muddy field in a downpour.
—8th of 7, Jul 23 2008
   

       //A more worthy endeavour [...]//   

       Easily done, within a larger tent.
—pertinax, Jul 24 2008
   

       Oh, of course, how obvious.
—8th of 7, Jul 25 2008
   

       These are very thin tent poles like those in small tents (not large tents). The column of air is supporting the fabric sleeve. keep in mind that the amount of CO2 to inflate is very small.
—rslippert, Jul 30 2008
   

       Thinking back, I do recall seeing this very thing, but on a massive clamshell tent (massive like 50x20x12m, IIRC, if not bigger). The inflated supports were an integral part of the canopy, and at very high pressure.
The main question is portability - CO2 cannister is small but heavy, the alternative hand pump is lighter but larger (typically).
(PS: What happened to some of the anno's?)
—neutrinos_shadow, Jul 30 2008
   

       Yeah, the old anno-be-gone trick.   

       I believe the offending annos were simply pointing out that this set up would be heavier than regular, modern tent poles.
—Texticle, Jul 31 2008
   

       a pricey solution. i think you miss the real potential here: a tent that erects and stows itself. The vascular system could fight against elastic elements that naturally stow the tent swelling it into an erect state. open the valve and the tent shrinks back into a compact node. how bout them apples.
—WcW, Jul 31 2008
   

       Inflatable tents have been done. Deleting annotations isn't done.
—baconbrain, Jul 31 2008
   

       This is not an inflatable tent, but instead an inflatable pole. If deleting annotations isn't done why is it possible? also why should I not delete a concern that was addressed in the concept as not pertaining to the concept? such annotations lead new people away from the intended meaning of the idea. At any rate I'm a new user so I'll note this point for the future, but many of these annotations miss the fact that solid tent poles on small tents support the tent in only the lengthwise direction and need very little strength in the side to side direction. A thin tube of pressurized air can do the same thing. The force required to raise and hold the tent is based on the force at the ends of the poles, which in this case is based on the pressure inside the poles.
—rslippert, Aug 03 2008
   

       right. still you must let others disagree with the idea even if you feel that their objections are incorrect. I firmly agree with your idea and agree that it would be lighter and more compact. let the others disagree. This forum is an ecosystem for ideas. Some that look good die hopeless deaths others with no technical merit are canonized. It is much an evaluation of the art you apply in presenting the idea as the idea itself.   

       If you sold an InflaTent i would buy it just for the novelty. Please include a substantial patching kit.
—WcW, Aug 03 2008
   


 

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