TARPAULIN

Abstract

The invention relates to a tarpaulin (10) with (a) a water-repellent textile or film element (14), (b) a plurality of pylons (16) that are fastened to the textile or foil element (14), and (c) at least one thread (18) which is held resiliently taut by the pylons (16).

Claims

1. A tarpaulin, comprising: (a) a water-repellent textile or film element, (b) a plurality of pylons that are fastened to the textile or film element, and (c) at least one thread which is held resiliently taut by at least some of the pylons of the plurality of pylons.

2. The tarpaulin according to claim 1, wherein the at least some pylons are arranged and fastened to the textile or film element such that a deflection of the at least one thread centrally between two pylons of the at least some pylons is at least 0.003 meters per newton under a vertically acting force.

3. The tarpaulin according to claim 1 wherein the at least one thread comprises two threads, and wherein the at least some pylons are arranged such that a maximum distance between the two threads and/or a maximum distance between two thread sections of a same thread of the at least one thread is a maximum of 60 centimeters.

4. The tarpaulin according to claim 1 wherein the at least one thread comprises a first thread and a second thread, and wherein the plurality of pylons comprises at least one pylon comprising (a) a fastening structure for fastening the first thread thread, and (b) a hole for fastening the second thread, (c) wherein the hole is at a distance of at least 2 centimeters from the fastening structure in a longitudinal direction of the at least one pylon.

5. The tarpaulin according to claim 1 wherein the at least one thread comprises a first thread and a second thread, and wherein the plurality of pylons comprises at least one pylon comprising first holes and second holes, and wherein (a) the first thread extends through the first holes of the at least one pylon and forms a first pattern, and (b) the second thread extends through the second holes of the at least one pylon and forms a second pattern which differs from the first pattern.

6. The tarpaulin according to claim 1 further comprising a fastening structure which fastens the plurality of pylons to the textile or film element, wherein the fastening structure features at least one slat.

7. The tarpaulin according to claim 1 wherein each pylon of the plurality of pylons (a) has a foot and a pole and (b) the foot is magnetically connected to the pole.

8. The tarpaulin according to claim 5, wherein (a) each foot has a magnet and a cover, and (b) all magnets have a same magnetic orientation relative to a respective cover.

9. The tarpaulin according to claim 7 wherein the foot is integrally bonded with the textile or film element.

10. The tarpaulin according to claim 7 wherein (a) the foot of a pylon of the plurality of pylons comprises a first velcro structure, and (b) the textile or film element comprises a second velcro structure for fastening to the first velcro structure.

11. A boat with a tarpaulin according to claim 1.

Description

[0027] In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail by way of the attached figures. They show:

[0028] FIG. 1 a perspective partial view of a boat according to the invention with a tarpaulin according to the invention, and

[0029] FIG. 2 a pylon of the tarpaulin according to FIG. 1.

[0030] FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of the pylon where the foot is magnetically fastened to the pole.

[0031] FIG. 4a depicts an alternative embodiment of the pylon where the foot is fastened to the pole by way of velcro connection,

[0032] FIG. 4a depicts a further alternative embodiment of the pylon where the foot is stitched onto the textile or film element,

[0033] FIG. 5a depicts a further alternative embodiment of the pylon where the foot is fastened to the textile or film element by means of textile strips, and

[0034] FIG. 5b a view from above of the embodiment according to FIG. 5a.

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a tarpaulin 10 according to the invention on a boat 12 according to the invention. The tarpaulin 10 has a—preferably water-repellent—textile or film element 14, which can be, for example, a plastic, preferably a fiber-reinforced plastic, or a fiber-reinforced rubber.

[0036] The tarpaulin 10 also comprises a plurality of pylons 16.1, 16.2, . . . which are attached to the textile or film element 14. A thread 18.1 is resiliently taut between individual pylons 16.i (i=1, 2, 3, . . . ). The thread 18.j forms a thread section 20, for example the thread sections 20.1, 20.2, between two pylons 16.i, 16.j (i≠j). In the present case, the maximum distance d.sub.max between two thread sections 20.i, 20.j (i≠j), for example the thread sections 20.1, 20.2, is d.sub.max=50 centimeters.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows that a second thread 22 is stretched between the individual pylons 16.i. The second thread 22 forms a second pattern M2, which differs from a first pattern M1 with which the first thread 18 extends. For example, the first thread 18 extends from pylon 16.1 to pylon 16.3, but not to pylon 16.4. However, the second thread extends from the first pylon 16.1 to the fourth pylon 18.4.

[0038] The pylons 16.i are fastened to the textile or film element 14 in such a way that a force F, which acts vertically and centrally on a thread section, on thread section 20.1 in the present case, causes a deflection x of the thread 18, wherein a force of 3 newtons results in a deflection of at least x=1 centimeter. The thread section 20.1 in its deflected form is depicted by the dashed line.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a pylon 16 (any reference without a numerical suffix refers to all relevant objects) of the tarpaulin 10 according to FIG. 1. It should be noted that the pylon 16 comprises a pole 24 and a foot 26. The foot 26 extends transversely to a longitudinal direction L of the pole 24 and along a foot section 28 of the pole 24.

[0040] The pylon 16 features a fastening structure 30. The fastening structure 30 comprises at least two, preferably at least three, in the present form multiple slats 32.1, . . . , 32.9. The slat distance I of two adjacent slats from one another is preferably between 0.5 times and 0.95 times a diameter of the thread 18 (cf. FIG. 1).

[0041] In addition, FIG. 2 shows that the pole has a first hole 34, through which the second thread 22 (cf. FIG. 1) extends. The pole also features a second hole 36 through which a thread, not depicted, can extend as an alternative or in addition to thread 22. The existence of a second or third thread represents an optional embodiment.

[0042] The distance between the fastening structure 30 on the one hand and the first hole 34 is preferably at least 2 centimeters and at most 15 centimeters. The distance between the first hole 34 and the second hole 36 is preferably also between 2 centimeters and 15 centimeters. The distance between the second hole 36 and the foot section 28 is preferably also between 2 and 15 centimeters.

[0043] The partial figure at the bottom right shows a cross-section through the pylon 16 at its foot end. It can be seen that the foot 26 is connected to the pole 34, and the foot section 28 is configured as a separate component from the pole 24 that can be connected to the pole 24 by means of a snap connector 38. In the assembled state, the textile or film element 14, depicted schematically, extends between the foot section 28 and the foot 26.

[0044] According to an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, the foot 28 is connected to the pole 24 by means of a magnet 40. In this case, the foot section 28 is preferably an integral component of the pole 24 and the foot 36 a separate component. A first magnet 40, which is a component of the foot 26, interacts with a second magnet 42 in such a way that the foot 26 is securely attached to the pole 24. The textile or film element 14 extends between the foot 26 and the pole 24.

[0045] It is especially convenient if—as shown in FIG. 3—the first magnet 40 and the second magnet 42 each face each other with only one magnetic orientation, i.e. north pole N or south pole S. It is especially convenient if all feet 26 are structurally identical such that the same magnetic orientation, for example the north pole in each case, is arranged facing away from a cover 44. The greater the thickness of the cover 44, the smaller the maximum attractive force that can exist between two feet. It is possible, but not essential, for the foot section 28 and/or the foot 26 to be additionally fastened to the textile or film element 14 by means of an adhesive or adhesive element 46. The adhesive element can simultaneously act as a sealing element and comprise foam, for example.

[0046] FIG. 4a depicts an embodiment in which the pylon 16 has a first velcro structure 48 on its foot section 28, said structure being connected to a second velcro structure 50 of the text or film element 14. In the present case, the first velcro structure 48 is a barbed mat; the second velcro structure 50 is a loop mat.

[0047] The first velcro structure 48 may be stuck to the foot section 28, for example, or integrally formed on the foot section 28. The second velcro structure 50 is, for example, stitched to, integrally formed on, or glued to the textile or film element 14.

[0048] FIG. 5a depicts a further alternative embodiment of the pylon 16, the foot 26 of which is fastened to the textile or film element by means of a seam 52. To this end, a thread 54 extends through holes 56.1, 56.2, . . . in the foot 26 and through the textile or film element 14.

[0049] FIG. 5a shows a side view of a further alternative embodiment of the pylon 16, the foot 26 of which is attached to the textile or film element 14 by means of textile strips 58.1, 58.2. The textile strips 58.1, 58.2 are, for example, stitched, glued or fastened via velcro fastener to the textile or film element 14 and extend across the foot 26.

[0050] FIG. 5b shows a view from above of the embodiment according to FIG. 5a.

REFERENCE LIST

[0051] 10 tarpaulin

[0052] 12 boat

[0053] 14 textile or film element

[0054] 16 pylon

[0055] 18 thread

[0056] 20 thread section

[0057] 22 second thread

[0058] 24 pole

[0059] 26 foot

[0060] 28 foot section

[0061] 32 slat

[0062] 34 first hole

[0063] 36 second hole

[0064] 38 snap connector

[0065] 40 first magnet

[0066] 42 second magnet

[0067] 44 cover

[0068] 46 adhesive

[0069] 48 first velcro structure

[0070] 50 second velcro structure

[0071] 52 seam

[0072] 54 thread

[0073] 56 hole

[0074] 58 textile strips

[0075] d.sub.max maximum distance

[0076] M pattern

[0077] F force

[0078] L longitudinal direction

[0079] I slat distance