U.S. patent application number 09/900993 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-09 for five-piece umbrella cover.
Invention is credited to Chen, Shih-Chau.
Application Number | 20030005952 09/900993 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25413430 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030005952 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen, Shih-Chau |
January 9, 2003 |
Five-piece umbrella cover
Abstract
A five-piece umbrella cover includes a primary cover and four
secondary covers each securely attached to a corresponding one of
the sides of the primary cover. The primary cover is square and may
be composed of multiple auxiliary covers. The four corners of the
primary cover are not attached to any of the secondary covers.
Angles defined by ribs are not all the same.
Inventors: |
Chen, Shih-Chau; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Alan D. Kamrath
Rider, Bennett, Egan & Arundel, LLP
Suite 2000
333 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis
MN
55402
US
|
Family ID: |
25413430 |
Appl. No.: |
09/900993 |
Filed: |
July 9, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
135/33.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45B 25/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/33.2 |
International
Class: |
A45B 025/18 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An umbrella cover for use with N.times.4 ribs, the umbrella
cover comprising a central square primary cover and four secondary
covers, each securely sewn to a corresponding one side of the
primary cover, wherein protruding corners of the primary and
secondary covers are adapted to connect with a corresponding one of
the ribs, wherein the improvements comprise: each side of the
primary cover corresponding to a big angle defined between two
adjacent ribs and angles between two adjacent big angles being
small angles, wherein the number of big angles is four and the
number of small angles is (N-1).times.4.
2. An umbrella cover for use with N.times.4 ribs (where N>3 and
N is natural number), the umbrella cover comprising a central
square primary cover and four secondary covers each securely sewn
to a corresponding one of sides of the primary cover, wherein
protruding corners of the primary and secondary covers are adapted
to attach to a corresponding one of the ribs, wherein the
improvements comprise: two adjacent secondary covers corresponding
to two small angles defined between two adjacent ribs and angles
between two separated small angles being big angles, wherein the
number of small angle is 8 and the number of big angles is
M.times.4 (M.gtoreq.1) and N(x)=M; x is a variable.
3. An umbrella cover for use with twelve ribs, the umbrella cover
comprising a central square primary cover and four secondary covers
each securely sewn to a corresponding one of sides of the primary
cover, wherein protruding corners of the primary and secondary
covers are adapted to attached to a corresponding one of the ribs,
wherein the improvements comprise: the secondary cover being
composed of a trapezoid and two triangles formed on opposite sides
of the trapezoid.
4. An umbrella cover for use with twelve ribs, the umbrella cover
comprising a central square primary cover and four secondary covers
each securely sewn to a corresponding one of sides of the primary
cover, wherein protruding corners of the primary and secondary
covers are adapted to attach to a corresponding one of the ribs,
wherein the improvements comprise: the secondary cover being
composed of a trapezoid, a triangle formed on two opposite sides of
the trapezoid and a sectorial area between the trapezoid and the
triangle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an umbrella cover, and more
particularly to an umbrella cover with a primary cover and four
secondary covers each securely attached to a side of the primary
cover.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] An umbrella cover is normally composed of multiple
triangular pieces sewn to one another to form a complete cover.
After the umbrella cover is finished, multiple ribs radially extend
out from the center of the cover, multiple stretchers are each
pivotally connected to a corresponding rib and a runner that is
movably mounted on the shaft of the umbrella. Indeed, an umbrella
of this kind is a strong and durable. However, when a commercial
logo, brand, etc. is to be printed on the cover, the umbrella cover
of this type increases the difficulty of printing a mark on the
cover and the cost of printing.
[0005] With reference to FIG. 5, because the umbrella cover is
composed of triangular panels (51) sewn together, manufacturers
need to have several different mats for printing. After the logo,
brand name, etc. is printed on each of the triangular pieces, the
printed pattern will overlap at the joints of adjacent triangle
panels (51) when the triangle panels (51) are sewn together and not
align properly. In order to obviate the foregoing drawback, a new
structure of the umbrella cover is developed.
[0006] With reference to FIGS. 3A to 3F of U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,559
('599), issued to Mr. Chenmin Lai on Jun. 4, 1991, the '599 patent
discloses a five-piece umbrella cover which consists of a centrally
located primary cover and four secondary covers each securely
attached to a side of the primary cover. After the engagement
between the primary cover and the secondary covers is finished,
there are eight protruding corners each provided with a rib
extending out from the center of the primary cover. Naturally, the
manufacturer is able to determine the size of the primary cover and
the secondary cover so as to produce umbrellas of different sizes.
With reference to FIGS. 4B to 4C of the '559 patent, the secondary
cover of the umbrella cover is triangular so the umbrella has eight
ribs. An umbrella made with the foregoing structure operates
perfectly, and because the logo, brand name, etc. is able to be
printed directly on the primary cover, the manufacturer is able to
save cost. However, when an umbrella has more than eight ribs, the
operation of the umbrella is not as good as expected.
[0007] With reference to FIGS. 6A to 6E, the secondary cover (62,
63, 64, 65, 66) each securely sewn to a side of the primary cover
(61) also forms a circular umbrella cover. Each distal end of the
secondary cover (62, 63, 64, 65, 66) engages with the primary cover
(61) at a right angle, which results in insufficient support to the
ribs (not numbered) except for ribs at the four corners of the
primary cover (61) and this will cause the ribs to move and deform
when the umbrella is open. Furthermore, at the joint between the
secondary cover and the primary cover along the line of each rib is
stretched and thus causes rest of the umbrella cover to be
loose.
[0008] To overcome the above mentioned shortcomings, with reference
to FIGS. 7A and 7B, another umbrella cover was developed. This kind
of umbrella cover still suffers problems. The diagonals AB, CD,
where the cover is stretched the most, are not suitable for
deploying ribs. If ribs are placed on the diagonals AB, CD, the
ribs on the diagonals AB, CD will have the most deformation, which
results in the umbrella not being symmetric in shape. Further, the
four points a,b,c,d around the center of the primary cover define
an area that is not flat when the umbrella cover is open.
[0009] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to
provide an improved umbrella cover to mitigate and obviate the
aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The primary objective of the present invention is to obviate
the stretch between the engagement of the secondary covers and the
primary cover. To accomplish this objective, the four corners of
the primary cover are exposed to the air without engagement with
the secondary covers and the angles between ribs are not the
same.
[0011] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIGS. 1A and 1B are bottom plan views of the umbrella cover
in accordance with the present invention;
[0013] FIGS. 2A to 2E are bottom plan views of the first preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIGS. 3A to 3E are bottom plan views of the second preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIGS. 4A to 4D are perspective views of the first preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIGS. 5A and 5B are top plan views of the panels of a
conventional umbrella cover;
[0017] FIGS. 6A to 6E are bottom plan views of conventional
five-piece umbrella covers; and
[0018] FIGS. 7A to 7B are bottom plan views of conventional
one-piece umbrella covers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0019] With reference to FIGS. 1A to 1B, due to the stretch problem
in the conventional five-piece umbrella cover, the positioning to
the ribs is not sufficient, which causes serious deformation to the
ribs, the cover is loose even after the umbrella cover is fully
stretched. However, to keep the printing cost from increasing, the
umbrella cover should include a central primary cover (11) and four
secondary covers (12) each securely attached to a side of the
primary cover (11). Further, because an umbrella with the
five-piece cover stretched by eight ribs operates perfectly, the
focus of the invention mainly discusses on umbrellas with at least
twelve ribs.
[0020] With reference to FIGS. 2A to 2E the first preferred
embodiment of the umbrella cover in accordance with the present
invention has a central primary cover (11) and four secondary
covers (12, 13, 14,15) each securely attached to a side of the
primary cover (11) with the same shape. Ribs (10) radially extend
from the center of the primary cover (11) and each of the ribs (10)
respectively is attached to a corresponding protruding corners of
the primary or secondary covers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15) so that the
angles in the umbrella cover of the invention are not evenly
distributed. A big angle .alpha. corresponds to each side of the
primary cover (11). In conclusion, in an umbrella with twelve ribs
(10), there are four big angles .alpha. and eight small angles
.beta.. In an umbrella with sixteen ribs (10), there are four big
angles .alpha. and twelve small angles .beta.. In an umbrella with
twenty ribs (10), there are four big angles .alpha. and sixteen
small angles .beta.. In an umbrella with twenty-four ribs (10),
there are four big angles .alpha. and twenty small angles .beta..
With reference to FIG. 2E, it is noted that the secondary cover
(12) is composed of a trapezoid (121) and two triangles (122) on
each short side of the trapezoid (121). Also, the secondary cover
(12) may be composed of a trapezoid (121), a triangle (122) on each
side of the short side of the trapezoid (121) and a sectorial area
(123) between the trapezoid (121) and the triangle (122). It is to
be noted that the foregoing structure may be expressed as:
[0021] An umbrella cover for use with N.times.4 ribs (where N>3
and N is natural number), the umbrella cover comprising a central
square primary cover and four secondary covers each securely sewn
to a corresponding one of sides of the primary cover, wherein
protruding corners of the primary and secondary covers are adapted
to attach to a corresponding one of the ribs. Further, two adjacent
secondary covers correspond to two small angles defined between two
adjacent ribs and angles between two separated small angles being
big angles, wherein the number of small angle is 8 and the number
of big angles is M.times.4 (M.gtoreq.1) and N(x)=M; x is a
variable.
[0022] With reference to FIGS. 3A to 3D, another preferred
embodiment of the umbrella cover in accordance with the present
invention has a central primary cover (11) and four secondary
covers (12', 13', 14', 15'). Each of the four secondary covers
(12', 13', 14', 15') is the same shape, and each secondary covers
(12', 13', 14', 15') is securely attached to a side of the primary
cover (11). Ribs (10) radially extend from the center of the
primary cover (11), and each of the ribs (10) respectively attaches
to a corresponding one of protruding corners of either the primary
or secondary cover (11, 12', 13', 14', 15') so that the angles
between the ribs (not numbered) in the umbrella cover are not all
the same. That is, there are two small angles .beta. between two
adjacent secondary covers (12', 13', 14', 15'). In conclusion, in
an umbrella cover (FIG. 3A) with twelve ribs (10), there are four
big angles .alpha. and eight small angles .beta.. In an umbrella
cover (FIG. 3B) with sixteen ribs (10), there are eight big angles
.alpha. and eight small angles .beta. . In an umbrella cover (FIG.
3C) with twenty ribs (10), there are twelve big angles .alpha. and
eight small angles .beta. .In an umbrella cover (FIG. 3D) with
twenty-four ribs (10), there are sixteen big angles .alpha. and
eight small angles .beta..
[0023] With reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D, it is noted the umbrella
cover is able to provide sufficient support to the ribs (10) when
the cover is fully expanded. Because two opposite sides of the
secondary covers (12, 13, 14, 15) are not vertical relative to the
sides of the primary cover (11), loose on the cover caused by
stretch is thus obviated and each rib (10) is supported by the
expanded secondary (12,13,14,15) and the primary cover (11).
[0024] The umbrella cover of the present invention has the
following characteristics:
[0025] 1. The primary cover is square and may be composed of
multiple auxiliary covers which form the square primary cover.
[0026] 2. The umbrella cover has four secondary covers and each
secondary cover is securely attached to a corresponding one of the
sides of the primary cover.
[0027] 3. The four corners of the primary cover are not attached to
any of the secondary covers.
[0028] 4. Angles defined by the ribs are not all the same.
[0029] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been
set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of
the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
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