Portable changing room

Abstract

A portable changing room device includes opaque fabric that covers a collapsible wire frame. In a default collapsed state, the apparatus may be in a flat, disc that provides portability. In use, the wire frame expands, stretching the fabric between two ends into a self-supporting, free-standing tube. A user can stand within the apparatus when collapsed and raise the frame around them, providing cover. The tube remains expanded without being held by the user allowing the user to freely change inside the tube without fear of exposure. When done changing, the user may quickly collapse the frame back into the default disc shape, which is then secured flat to carry away.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A portable changing room apparatus, comprising:
 a collapsible wire frame, including a top end and a bottom end; and   a fabric covering the wire frame from the top end to the bottom end, wherein the collapsible wire frame is configured to generate in cooperation with the fabric, a volume enclosed by the fabric in response to an expansion of the collapsible wire frame.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the top end is open and the bottom end is closed. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is opaque. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the collapsible wire frame includes a helical section of wire. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the top end comprises a hoop. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom end comprises a hoop. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the collapsible wire frame is coiled. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the collapsible wire frame is a compression spring. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a mesh lining coupled to the bottom end. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a liner attached to an interior surface of the fabric. 
     
     
         11 . A portable changing room apparatus, comprising:
 a collapsible wire frame including:
 a top end of the wire frame; 
 a bottom end of the wire frame; and 
 a spiral section of the wire frame connecting the top end of the wire frame to the bottom end of the wire frame; 
   a cover coupled to the top end of the wire frame, to the bottom end of the wire frame, and to the spiral section of the wire frame, wherein:   in a collapsed state, the top end of the wire frame abuts the bottom end of the wire frame, and   in an expanded state, the top end of the wire frame, the bottom end of the wire frame, the spiral section of the wire frame, and the cover cooperate as a freestanding structure and are configured to generate a tubular changing room covering at least some part of a body of a user standing inside a volume between diametrically opposed sides of the cover.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a handle attached to either the top end of the wire frame, the bottom end of the wire frame, the spiral section of the wire frame, or the cover. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a floor configured to close off the bottom end of the wire frame bottom end of the wire frame. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising a mesh lining coupled to the bottom end of the wire frame. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the mesh lining is positioned above the floor. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a liner attached to an interior surface of the cover. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the liner covers the spiral section of the wire frame. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the cover is opaque. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the spiral section of the wire frame is configured to collapse in response to a user pressure applied to the top end of the wire frame. 
     
     
         20 . A portable changing room apparatus, comprising:
 a collapsible, coiled wire frame, including:
 a flat, open, top end of the wire frame; 
 a flat, bottom end of the wire frame; and 
 a helical section of the wire frame connecting the top end of the wire frame to the bottom end of the wire frame; 
   an opaque fabric cover, including an interior surface and an exterior surface, covering the helical section of the wire frame from the top end of the wire frame to the bottom end of the wire frame;   a liner attached to and covering the interior surface of the fabric cover and covering the helical section of the wire frame;   a floor attached to the flat, bottom end of the wire frame; and   a mesh lining coupled to and covering an interior surface of the floor, wherein:
 in a first state, the helical section of the wire frame compresses pulling the top end of the wire frame to the bottom end of the wire frame with the fabric covering crumpling between the top end of the wire frame and the bottom end of the wire frame, and 
 in a second state, the top end of the wire frame is expanded from the bottom end of the wire frame, 
 the helical section of the wire frame and the cover expand and are configured to generate an enclosed volume of space within diametrically opposed sides of the interior surface of the opaque fabric cover, and 
 the top end of the wire frame, the bottom end of the wire frame, and the helical section of the wire frame are configured to maintain a self-supported structure.