Protective tent stake cap

摘要

A water-tight, rigid plastic, domed, sphero-cylindrical protective cap is configured to be removably fitted over the convex head of a steel tent stake. The protective cap defines a sphero-cylindrical interior compartment that has a substantially flat circular base with an axial aperture. The protective cap is bilaterally hinged so that the interior compartment can be opened and the axial aperture bifurcated so as to accept the stake head for insertion through the base and enclosure within the interior compartment when the cap is closed. The bilaterally hinged structure of the cap enables it to be easily attached and removed from the tent stake, so that it can be taken off and replaced when the tent is being moved. This avoids a major problem of non-removable stake caps, which become deformed when the stakes are pulled up and hammered back into the ground. In some embodiments, to enhance visibility, the upper dome of the protective cap is translucent or transparent and includes within its interior one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

主权项

1. A protective tent stake cap apparatus, comprising:
a protective cap in combination with a tent stake having a convex stake head and a substantially cylindrical or tapered cylindrical shank, in which the stake head has a diameter and the shank has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the stake head; wherein the protective cap comprises a rigid plastic, bilaterally-hinged, sphero-cylindrical enclosure, which defines a sphero-cylindrical interior compartment, wherein the enclosure comprises an upper dome, a cylindrical wall and a flat circular base, which base has a circular axial aperture that accesses the interior compartment, and wherein the axial aperture has a diameter that is less than the diameter of the stake head but greater than the diameter of the shank, and wherein the interior compartment comprises an upper domed compartment space, a middle compartment space and a base compartment space; wherein the protective cap further comprises two bilateral partitions, consisting of a first partition and a second partition, and wherein the bilateral partitions are connected on a distal side by a hinge and are releasably connectible on a proximal side by a connective mechanism, such that, when the connective mechanism is released, the bilateral partitions are mutually rotatable apart from one another about the hinge, so as to put the enclosure into an open position, in which open position the axial aperture is bifurcated so as to allow the stake head to be inserted into the base compartment space, and such that, with the stake head inserted into the base compartment space, the bilateral partitions are mutually rotatable together about the hinge and are securable together by the connective mechanism, so as to put the enclosure into a closed position, in which position the stake head is enclosed by the protective cap, such that the protective cap is secured from sliding off the tent stake due to the larger diameter of the enclosed stake head in relation to the diameter of the axial aperture.