U.S. patent application number 09/849270 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-22 for vented umbrella.
Invention is credited to You, Ching-Chuan.
Application Number | 20010042562 09/849270 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46257736 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010042562 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
You, Ching-Chuan |
November 22, 2001 |
Vented umbrella
Abstract
A vented umbrella is resistant to inversion from the wind and
effective in ventilation. The umbrella comprises a foldable frame,
a lower canopy, and an upper canopy in a concentric covering
relation with respect to lower canopy with a small overlapped
peripheral area therebetween. A plurality of nonelastic ropes are
provided each connected between the center portion of peripheral
edge in respective sector of lower canopy and the upper ring.
Hence, a plurality of openings are formed at the junction between
sectors of upper and lower canopies in a fully extended condition.
This also can save cloth and effect a simplified manufacturing
process.
Inventors: |
You, Ching-Chuan; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ching-Chuan YOU
C/O Percy International Patent Corp.
P.O. Box 1-79
Taipei
100
TW
|
Family ID: |
46257736 |
Appl. No.: |
09/849270 |
Filed: |
May 7, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09849270 |
May 7, 2001 |
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09563399 |
May 3, 2000 |
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6250319 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
135/33.7 ;
135/28 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45B 25/22 20130101;
A45B 2200/1036 20130101; A45B 2025/186 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/33.7 ;
135/28 |
International
Class: |
A45B 025/20 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A vented umbrella comprising: a frame including a shank; a hub
fixedly mounted on top of said shank; an upper ring slidably
mounted on said shank and including a plurality of equally spaced
apart L-shaped channels extended from a top surface to a peripheral
surface; a lower ring slidably mounted on said shank; a plurality
of ribs each having one end linked to said hub; a plurality of
stretchers each having one end pivotally linked to said lower ring
and said other end pivotally linked to an intermediate portion of a
corresponding one of said ribs; a canopy covered on said stretched
frame including a lower canopy and an upper canopy each consisting
of a plurality of sectors wherein said upper canopy is in a
concentric partial covering relation with respect to said lower
canopy with a predetermined overlapped peripheral area therebetween
and a peripheral edge of said upper canopy is covered on an upper
peripheral edge of said lower canopy; and a plurality of ropes each
secured between said upper peripheral edge in each respective
sector of said lower canopy and the corresponding L-shaped channel
of the upper ring; whereby a plurality of openings are formed at
said overlapped peripheral area between said sectors of said upper
canopy and said corresponding sectors of said lower canopy in a
fully extended condition.
2. A vented umbrella comprising: a frame including a shank; a hub
fixedly mounted on top of said shank; an upper ring slidably
mounted on said shank and including a lower body having a central
bore sleeved on said shank, a plurality of peripheral, equally
spaced apart top openings each having a slit open to a periphery,
and a plurality of equally spaced apart longitudinal grooves formed
on said periphery, and a cap including a central hole sleeved on
said shank and a plurality of legs each having a latch wherein said
latches are fastened to bottom of said lower body and said legs are
received in said grooves, thereby releasably securing said cap to
said lower body; a lower ring slidably mounted on said shank; a
plurality of ribs each having one end linked to said hub; a
plurality of stretchers each having one end pivotally linked to
said lower ring and said other end pivotally linked to an
intermediate portion of a corresponding one of said ribs; a canopy
covered on said stretched frame including a lower canopy and an
upper canopy each consisting of a plurality of sectors wherein said
upper canopy is in a concentric partial covering relation with
respect to said lower canopy with a predetermined overlapped
peripheral area therebetween and a peripheral edge of said upper
canopy is covered on an upper peripheral edge of said lower canopy;
and a plurality of ropes each having one end secured to said upper
peripheral edge in each respective sector of said lower canopy and
an other end thereof secured to the respective top opening of said
upper ring; whereby a plurality of openings are formed at said
overlapped peripheral area between said sectors of said upper
canopy and said corresponding sectors of said lower canopy in a
fully extended condition.
3. The vented umbrella of claim 2, wherein said other end of said
rope is passed through said corresponding slit and knotted on said
top opening.
Description
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 09/563,399, filed on May 3, 2000 in the name of
Ching-Chuan YOU entitled "Vented Umbrella". The subject matter of
the above application is now granted.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to umbrellas and more
particularly to a vented umbrella that is resistant to inversion
from the wind and effective in ventilating air between the
underside of umbrella and the upper side thereof.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Conventionally, an umbrella is a foldable means carried by
people for protection against the rain and/or sun. Further, canopy
is typically an opaque cloth with a close texture. This also means
that the permeability thereof is poor. Hence, an umbrella user
often feels muggy under the hot sun due to the poor ventilation. To
the worse, in a rainy windy day, a wind will catch an umbrella user
unaware and exert a force against the inner surface of the canopy
which will cause the canopy to invert from its normal operable
position to a bowed position.
[0006] A conventional windproof umbrella is shown in FIG. 8 wherein
umbrella 3 comprises a lower canopy 30 and an upper canopy 31.
Lower canopy 30 is in a covering position over the fully stretched
ribs 41. A plurality of openings 301 are formed on lower canopy 30
wherein each opening 301 is located between two adjacent ribs 41.
Upper canopy 31 is smaller than lower canopy 30 in size. Upper
canopy 31 is in a concentric covering relation with respect to
lower canopy 30 wherein openings 301 are also covered by upper
canopy 31. With this, during windy weather, wind caught beneath the
upper canopy 31 exits through the openings 301 and applies pressure
to the underside of the lower canopy 30. This forces lower canopy
30 lift away from upper canopy 31 to provide a path for wind to
escape the umbrella 3.
[0007] Another conventional windproof umbrella is shown in FIG. 9
wherein umbrella 5 comprises a lower canopy 50 and an upper canopy
51. Lower canopy 50 is in a covering position over the fully
stretched ribs 61. A multilateral canopy 501 is in a concentric
covering relation with respect to lower canopy 50. This umbrella 5
also can ventilate air through canopy 501.
[0008] But these are unsatisfactory for the purpose for which the
invention is concerned for the following reasons:
[0009] 1. Ventilation is poor. In detail, upper canopy is in a
close covering relation with respect to lower canopy, whereby only
a small vent exists between upper canopy and lower canopy for
ventilating when a strong wind applies pressure to the underside of
lower canopy.
[0010] 2. Expensive. It is seen that lower canopy and upper canopy
are relatively large. Further, the covering area of upper canopy
with respect to lower canopy is also large, resulting in an
increase in the manufacturing cost.
[0011] 3. Complex manufacturing processes. The provision of
openings inevitably complicates the manufacturing processes.
[0012] A still another conventional windproof umbrella is shown in
FIGS. 10 and 11. This one eliminates the drawbacks of above two
prior art umbrellas. In detail, peripheral edge 211 of upper canopy
21 is held taut by attaching elastic strips 22 to the fasteners 121
on stretchers 12 to form a plurality of V-shapes. This can prevent
elastic strips 22 from sliding along the stretchers 12 as shown in
FIG. 11. A plurality of large openings 204 are formed in the
umbrella. However, elastic strips 22 generally have the same
orientation as ribs 11, i.e., nearly parallel each other. Also,
peripheral edge 211 of upper canopy 21 is partially closed by the
open openings 204. To the worse, openings 204 may be closed by a
strong wind coming from above the top of umbrella as indicated by
arrow A. Thus the ventilation is poor. Further, the elasticity of
elastic strips 22 will be worn out as time passes because the
elastic strips 22 are often stretched. This in turn causes openings
204 to shrink. Furthermore, the provision of fasteners 121 is time
consuming in assembly, resulting in an increase in the
manufacturing cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] It is an object of the present invention to provide a vented
umbrella having the features of resistant to inversion from the
wind, effective in ventilating air between the underside of
umbrella and the upper side thereof, fabric saving, and simplified
manufacturing process.
[0014] To achieve the above and other objects, the present
invention provides a vented umbrella comprising a frame and a
canopy covered on the stretched frame wherein the frame includes a
shank, a hub, an upper ring, and a lower ring all provided on the
shank, a plurality of ribs, and a plurality of stretchers being
foldable. Canopy includes a lower canopy and an upper canopy in a
concentric partial covering relation with respect to lower canopy
with a small overlapped peripheral area therebetween. The
peripheral edge of upper canopy is covered on the upper peripheral
edge of lower canopy. A plurality of nonelastic ropes are provided
each connected between the center portion of peripheral edge in
each sectors of lower canopy and the upper ring. As such, an
opening is formed at the junction between each sector of upper
canopy and the corresponding sector of lower canopy when the
umbrella is fully extended. Thus an effective ventilation in the
umbrella is achieved.
[0015] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description taken with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a first preferred
embodiment of vented umbrella according to the invention, viewed
from above the umbrella;
[0017] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a second preferred
embodiment of vented umbrella according to the invention, viewed
from below the umbrella;
[0018] FIG. 2B is another partial perspective view of FIG. 2A,
viewed from above the umbrella;
[0019] FIG. 2C is partial perspective view of FIG. 2C, viewed from
the side;
[0020] FIG. 2D is a sectional view of upper ring and associated
components of FIG. 2A;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the wind flow in the
umbrella of the invention;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a third preferred
embodiment of vented umbrella according to the invention, viewed
from above the umbrella;
[0023] FIG. 5A is a fragmentary perspective view of upper ring and
associated components shown in FIG. 4;
[0024] FIG. 5B is an exploded perspective view of upper ring shown
in FIG. 5A;
[0025] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 5A;
[0026] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of upper ring of FIG. 5A;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a first conventional
windproof umbrella, viewed from below the umbrella;
[0028] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second conventional
windproof umbrella, viewed from below the umbrella;
[0029] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a third conventional
windproof umbrella, viewed from the side of umbrella; and
[0030] FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating the wind flow in the
windproof umbrella of FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0031] Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 3,
there is shown first and second preferred embodiments of vented
umbrella in accordance with the invention. The frame of umbrella
comprises a shank 70, a lower ring 71 and a hub 72 both provided
around the shank 70, a plurality of ribs 73, and a plurality of
stretchers 74 being foldable. Canopy 80 covered on the stretched
frame includes a lower canopy 82 and an upper canopy 81. It is
designed that the upper canopy 81 occupies about 60% to 80% of the
total area of umbrella 80. The upper peripheral edge 821 of lower
canopy 82 is extended from a position above the lower peripheral
edge 811 of upper canopy 81. Hence, upper canopy 81 is in a
concentric partial covering relation with respect to the lower
canopy 82 with a small peripheral area being overlapped between
lower and upper canopies 82 and 81.
[0032] In addition, a plurality of equally spaced apart L-shaped
channels 105 extended from top surface to peripheral surface are
formed on upper ring 100 affixed to the shank 70 (FIG. 2D). A
plurality of generally horizontally extending ropes 90 are provided
each having one end 91 stitched or fastened to the center portion
of upper peripheral edge 821 in each sector of lower canopy 82 and
the other end 92 inserted through a corresponding channel 105 and
knotted on the peripheral opening thereof. With these approximately
horizontally supporting forces of ropes 90, a plurality of large
openings 812 are formed at the overlapped areas between the lower
peripheral edge 811 of upper canopy 81 and the upper peripheral
edge 821 of lower canopy 82 when umbrella is fully extended (FIG.
3). It is seen that rope 90 is preferably kept at the approximately
horizontal orientation with respect to the shank 70 even at the
strong wind condition and thus, as stated above, the plurality of
openings 812 are generated for allowing wind to easily pass
through. Further, the orientation of rope 90 according to the
present invention is preferably at an angle of about 45 degrees
with respect to the rib 73, or at an angle of about 90 degrees with
respect to the shank 70, when upper canopy 81 is stretched outward
to the full. Accordingly, the openings 812 can also be expanded to
the full, resulting in a better ventilation.
[0033] FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate the second preferred embodiment of
vented umbrella according to the invention. This embodiment is
generally the same as the first one except the provision of above
channels 105 and the followings. Upper ring 100 of the first
embodiment is replaced by a sliding upper ring 100A. Further, a
coil spring 101 is biased between upper ring 100A and hub 72.
Furthermore, a tab 102 is provided on shank 70 between upper ring
100A and lower ring 71 for defining the lowest position of upper
ring 100A. With this configuration, the tautness of rope 90 is
adapted to the strength of wind. Also, the size of opening 812 is
adapted to the strength of wind.
[0034] FIGS. 4 to 7 illustrate a third preferred embodiment of
vented umbrella according to the invention. This embodiment is
generally the same as the first one except the followings. The
integral upper ring 100 of the first embodiment is replaced by a
two-piece upper ring 200. As shown, the two-piece upper ring 200
comprises a lower body 202 having a central bore 2021 sleeved on
shank 70, a plurality of peripheral, equally spaced apart top
openings 2022 each having a slit 2023 open to the periphery, and a
plurality of equally spaced apart longitudinal grooves 2024 formed
on the peripheral surface; and a cap 201 including a central hole
2011 substantially sized to conform to the bore 2021 and a
plurality of legs 2012 each having a latch 2013.
[0035] In assembly, one end 91 of each rope 90 is first stitched or
fastened to the center portion 821A of upper peripheral edge 821 in
each sector of lower canopy 82 and the other end 92 is passed
through the slit 2023 and knotted on the associated opening 2022.
Then cling cap 201 onto lower body 202 in which latches 2013 are
fastened to the bottom of lower body 202 by inserting legs 2012
into grooves 2024. This completes the upper ring 200.
[0036] Note that in effect, the orientation of rope 90 may be at an
angle other than 45 degrees with respect to rib 73 as implemented
in above two embodiments. For example, when the other end (i.e.,
the second end) 92 of rope 90 is in a fixed point, while one end
(i.e., the first end) 91 of rope 90 is varied, the orientation of
rope 90 has an angle between -45.degree. and +45.degree. with
respect to the horizontal direction of the shank 70 is also
possible. In addition, the rope 90 is preferable a nonelastic rope
to prevent the tension of the rope from loosening when the umbrella
is used for a period of time. It is to be understood that an
arrangement of said plurality of ropes 90 according to the present
invention is preferably positioned on the upper space of the
plurality of stretchers 74 in order to prevent from being
interfered by both the stretchers 74 and the ropes 90 when the
umbrella is in a closed condition.
[0037] While the invention herein disclosed has been described by
means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and
variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art
without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set
forth in the claims.
* * * * *