U.S. patent application number 09/891372 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-02 for structure of lightening umbrella.
Invention is credited to Lai, Jin-Sheng.
Application Number | 20030000557 09/891372 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25398072 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030000557 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lai, Jin-Sheng |
January 2, 2003 |
Structure of lightening umbrella
Abstract
A structure of a lightening umbrella having a plurality of lamp
strings fixedly provided beneath the ribs and stretchers thereof,
the conductors of the lamp strings are extended into the shaft of
the umbrella through a top fixed collar of the umbrella to connect
with an electric control circuit provided in the umbrella, the
control circuit is further provided at the middle position of the
shaft with a lamp-controlling switch and an indicating light,
conductors from the control circuit are connected to a power supply
on the bottom of the shaft to obtain the required power. Thereby,
the lamp strings can have various lightening modes by selection and
controlling with the switch, and effects of illumination and
decoration can be obtained. By virtue that the electric lines are
provided in the shaft, they do not affect the activity of the
runner. Besides, the lamp-controlling switch can do remote control
with a remote controller.
Inventors: |
Lai, Jin-Sheng; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVID E. DOUGHERTY
DENNISON, SCHULTZ & DOUGHERTY
612 CRYSTAL SQUARE 4
1745 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY
ARLINGTON,
VA
22202
US
|
Family ID: |
25398072 |
Appl. No.: |
09/891372 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
135/15.1 ;
135/16; 135/20.3; 135/33.2; 135/910 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45B 2023/0012 20130101;
A45B 25/10 20130101; A45B 3/04 20130101; F21V 33/0004 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/15.1 ;
135/16; 135/20.3; 135/33.2; 135/910 |
International
Class: |
A45B 001/00; A45B
003/00; A45B 005/00; A45B 011/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is
1. A structure of a lightening umbrella comprising: ribs and
stretchers having lamp strings therebeneath, a hollow shaft, a top
fixed collar, an electric control circuit and a power supply, said
structure is characterized by: conductors of said lamp strings are
extended into said hollow shaft through said top fixed collar; said
electric control circuit is provided in said shaft, said control
circuit is further provided at the middle position of said shaft
with a lamp-controlling switch and an indicating light; conductors
from said control circuit are connected to said power supply on the
bottom of said shaft to obtain the required power; thereby, said
lamp strings can have various lightening modes by selection and
controlling with said lamp-controlling switch.
2. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 1, wherein:
said electric control circuit is composed of a plurality of
resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, a Zener diode, an
oscillator and a single chip.
3. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 1, wherein:
said hollow shaft is comprised of a lower sleeve, a lower
positioning sleeve, an upper sleeve, an upper positioning sleeve,
an upper fixed collar and a finishing top cap.
4. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 3, wherein:
said upper sleeve is provided thereabove equidistantly arranged
with a plurality of pin holes for insertion of a latching pin for
positioning of a lower runner.
5. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 3, wherein:
said upper fixed collar is provided centrally with a longitudinal
fitting-over hole, and also is provided horizontally at the
positions connected to said ribs with a plurality of through holes
communicating with one another; said through holes also communicate
with said longitudinal fitting-over hole.
6. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 2, wherein:
said control circuit is added with a set of radio emitter and a
radio receiver.
7. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 1, wherein:
said lamp strings are parallelly electrically connected with one
another.
8. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 1, wherein:
said power supply is an AC/DC circuit connecting with a power
supply plug added with a transformer.
9. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 8, wherein:
said AC/DC circuit is a simple bridge-rectifier circuit.
10. A structure of a lightening umbrella as in claim 1, wherein:
said power supply provided on the bottom of said shaft of said
umbrella is a dry battery providing a DC power source.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention is related to a structure of a
lightening umbrella, and especially to such a structure in which
lights can change in their various lightening modes. The umbrella
provides the effects of illumination and decoration without
affecting operation of collapsing and opening of the umbrella by
means of a runner. The present invention suits particularly
sun-shading big umbrellas.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Generally sun-shading big umbrellas are used at beaches,
swimming pools or in courtyards, more and more of coffee shops or
restaurants also use sun-shading big umbrellas on tables outdoors
not only for sun-shading and rain-shielding but also for providing
the mood of being in the suburb. Thereby, the big umbrellas are
quite practical.
[0005] However, it is obscured in the nights, and illumination
equipment provided outdoors is not so helpful to distinct the
positions of the sun-shading big umbrellas, besides, the big
umbrellas themselves also obscure some light beams therearound to
render the areas within the umbrellas more dark. In order to get
rid of the defects stated above, there has been a fixing device for
lamp strings arranged in a radiant style. Wherein, one end of a
main conductor is connected to a plug, while the other end thereof
is connected to an annular wire from which a plurality of branch
lines separated from one another are extend outwardly, the branch
lines are provided thereon with lamp bulbs; the connecting areas
between the branch lines and the annular wire are fixed by means of
a water repellent fixing device in a "T" shape; the branch lines
are clamped on the ribs and stretchers by means of fixing means
with "U" shaped sections and with hooking clamping portions on the
upper ends thereof. The device can improve visibility of the areas
under such a big umbrella at nights, however it only makes
connection for lamp bulbs to the ribs and stretchers of the
umbrellas. The lamp bulbs are directly controlled with a plug for
turning on/off, they can not have any variations; the annular wire
is provided on the stretchers, when the runner of the umbrella
slides up and down to open/collapse the umbrella, the annular wire
is subjected to being hooked and pulled or even inadvertently
pulled to break. Such device thereby is not desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, it is the motive of the present invention to
provide a structure of a lightening umbrella in which lights can
changes in their various lightening modes, while operation of the
runner in collapsing and opening the umbrella is not affected by
conductors. The umbrella can thereby be safely used.
[0007] The main object of the present invention is to provide a
structure of a lightening umbrella in which lights can change in
their various lightening modes and provide the effects of
illumination and decoration.
[0008] The secondary object of the present invention is to provide
a structure of a lightening umbrella in which conductors will not
affect displacement of the runner.
[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
structure of a lightening umbrella in which the effects of
illumination can be controlled by means of a remote controller.
[0010] To get the above stated objects, the structure of the
lightening umbrella of the present invention has a plurality of
lamp strings fixedly provided beneath the ribs and stretchers
thereof, the conductors of the lamp strings are extended into the
shaft of the umbrella through a top fixed collar of the umbrella to
connect with an electric control circuit provided in the umbrella,
the control circuit is further provided at the middle position of
the shaft with a lamp-controlling switch and an indicating light,
conductors from the control circuit are connected to a power supply
on the bottom of the shaft to obtain the required power. Thereby,
the lamp strings can have various lightening modes by selection and
controlling with the lamp-controlling switch, and effects of
illumination and decoration can be obtained. By virtue that the
electric lines arc provided in the shaft, they do not affect the
activity of the runner. Besides, the lamp-controlling switch can do
remote control with a remote controller.
[0011] The present invention will be apparent after reading the
detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof in
reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0013] FIG. 1a is a sectional view showing another embodiment of
the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 is top view showing the runner of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 is the entire circuit diagram of a control circuit of
the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing remote
controlling of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 5 is the entire circuit diagram of an AC/DC circuit of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 1, the shaft of the sun-shading big
umbrella 1 of the present invention is comprised sequentially of a
hollow lower sleeve 27, a lower positioning sleeve 23 connected
with the former sleeve 27, an upper sleeve 20 and an upper
positioning sleeve 14, an umbrella frame formed from an upper fixed
collar 11 and a lower runner 19 connected respectively with a
plurality of longer ribs 17 an shorter stretchers 18 is inserted
into the shaft, the upper sleeve 20 is provided thereabove
equidistantly arranged with a plurality of pin holes 21 for
insertion of a latching pin 22, so that the lower runner 19 can be
moved up to open and position the frame. Finally, a finishing top
cap 10 of the umbrella is fixedly mounted on the upper fixed collar
11 to complete the sun-shading big umbrella 1. In which, the upper
fixed collar 11 of the present invention is provided centrally with
a longitudinal fitting-over hole 12, and also is provided
horizontally at the positions connected to the ribs 17 with a
plurality of through holes 13 communicating with one another. The
through holes 13 also communicate with the longitudinal
fitting-over hole 12 (as shown in FIG. 2). Thereby, the lamp
strings 16 (with lamp bulbs) fixedly provided on the ribs 17 have
their conductors extended from the bottom thereof through the
through holes 13 and the fitting-over hole 12 to connect to a
control circuit 15 fixedly provided in the upper positioning sleeve
14. The control circuit 15 is controlled by a lamp-controlling
switch 25 and an LED indicating light 24 fixedly provided on the
lower positioning sleeve 23. The lamp-controlling switch 25 and the
LED indicating light 24 are further connected to a power supply
connector 26 to be connected with an AC/DC circuit 28 provided in
the hollow lower sleeve 27. The AC/DC circuit 28 is extended out of
the shaft of the umbrella to connect with a power supply plug 30
added with a transformer 29; alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1a,
the power supply connector 26 provided in the lower positioning
sleeve 23 can be directly insertion connected with a dry battery 33
provided in the hollow lower sleeve 27; these both provide power
for the control circuit 15.
[0019] Referring simultaneously to FIG. 5 and 3, in the entire
circuit diagrams of the AC/DC circuit 28 and the control circuit 15
of the present invention, the AC/DC circuit 28 is composed of a
simple bridge-rectifier and a capacitor; while the control circuit
15 is composed of a plurality of resistors, capacitors, diodes,
transistors, a Zener diode, an oscillator 151 and a single chip
150. The control circuit 15 is connected to the power supply
connector 26 to be connected with the AC/DC circuit 28 for
supplying power, while pins nos. 1, 2, 17 and 18 of the single chip
150 are respectively connected to two lamp strings 16 which are
respectively connected further to two opposite ribs 17. Pins nos.
16, 14 and 4 are connected to a pin no. 1 of the oscillator 151,
while the pin no. 4 is connected further to pins nos. 5, 2, 3 and 8
of the oscillator 151; and a pin no. 13 of the single chip 150 is
connected to the lamp-controlling switch 25 and the LED indicating
light 24, a pin no. 6 thereof is connected to a pin no. 6 of the
oscillator 151, and a pin no. 5 thereof is connected to a the pin
no. 3 and a pin no. 4 of the oscillator 151, a pin no. 7 of the
oscillator 151 is connected again to the pin no. 2. In this way,
referring again to FIG. 2, after the plug 30 is inserted into a
house-socket, the AC voltage of 120 V is transformed into a AC
voltage of 28 V through a transformer 29, then is converted into a
DC electric power through the AC/DC circuit 28, and then a stable
DC voltage is provided through the Zener diode. At this time, if
the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down, the lamp strings 16
will have the following variations:
[0020] 1. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
first time, the single chip 150 receives a first series of signals
from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 are lightened.
[0021] 2. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
second time, the single chip 150 receives a second series of
signals from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 are
lightened in a way as if a rotating lamp is rotated fast.
[0022] 3. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
third time, the single chip 150 receives a third series of signals
from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 are lightened in a
way as if a rotating lamp is rotated slowly.
[0023] 4. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
fourth time, the single chip 150 receives a fourth series of
signals from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 are
lightened in a way of fast flashing.
[0024] 5. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
fifth time, the single chip 150 receives a fifth series of signals
from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 are lightened in a
way of flashing slowly.
[0025] 6. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
sixth time, the single chip 150 receives a sixth series of signals
from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 automatically
function to go in circulations from the above second to fifth
situations to continuously change the modes of lightening.
[0026] 7. When the lamp-controlling switch 25 is pressed down the
seventh time, the single chip 150 receives a seventh series of
signals from the oscillator 151, all the lamp strings 16 are
extinguished.
[0027] The control circuit 15 of the present invention can also be
added with a set of radio emitter/receiver 31 and 32, as shown in
FIG. 4, the push button on the radio emitter 31 can completely
correspond with the lamp-controlling switch 25, thereby, at any
orientation within the scope (about 25 m) of the big umbrella 1,
lightening can be controlled.
[0028] This is because that, on a prototype of the present
invention, the circuit and the electric lines are arranged to be
all provided in the shaft of the umbrella, this is convenient in
assembling, and the electric lines will not be hooked and torn
during the course of opening and collapsing the umbrella; and
design of the control circuit is simple and tidy, all the lamp
strings are parallelly electrically connected with one another,
once one of the lamp bulbs is damaged, variations of changing of
the lightening modes will not be affected. And more, the lightening
can be controlled with a radio remote controlling mode, hence the
present invention is more convenient for use.
[0029] The structure of such a lightening umbrella is simple and
tidy, it can not only get rid of the defects resided in the
conventional lightening umbrella having electric lines exposed to
affect collapsing and opening of the umbrella, but also can get the
effects that lights thereon can vividly change in their various
lightening modes. The umbrella thereby provides the effects of
illumination and decoration.
* * * * *