Umbrella with reinforcement frame

Abstract

An umbrella includes a shaft with a cap connected thereto and a plurality of ribs are pivotally connected to the cap. A runner is movably mounted to the shaft and a plurality of stretchers are pivotally connected between the ribs and the runner. A top stop button and a lower stop button are respectively connected to the shaft. The ribs and the shaft are made of composite material and a reinforcement metal layer is coated on each of the ribs and the shaft.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an umbrella and the frame of the umbrella is made of composite material with a metal layer coated thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] A conventional umbrella is shown in FIG. 7 and generally includes a shaft 31 has a cap 41 connected to a top end thereof so that ribs 42 are pivotally connected to the cap 41 and a fabric is connected on the ribs 42. A runner 44 is movably mounted to the shaft 31 and multiple stretchers 43 are pivotally connected between the rubber 44 and the ribs 42. A top stop button 45 and a lower stop button 46 are respectively connected to the shaft 31 so that when the runner 44 is pushed upward and is engaged with the top stop button 45, the stretchers 43 are stretched and the umbrella is opened. When the runner 44 is pulled downward and engaged with the lower stop button 46, the umbrella is closed. In order to reduce the total weight of the umbrella, the ribs 42 are made by composite material and the stretchers 43 are connected to the ribs 42 by a connection member 40 as shown in FIG. 8. However, the composite material made ribs 42 are easily broken by a bending force as shown in FIG. 9 and this could happen when the umbrella is used in a strong windy area. Besides, the fibers of the composite material could split off if the heat treatment of the parts is not well finished, the sharp and stiff fibers may hurt the users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a umbrella which comprises a shaft with a cap connected thereto and a plurality of ribs are pivotally connected to the cap. Each rib has a connection member connected thereto and a runner is movably mounted to the shaft. A plurality of stretchers are pivotally connected between the connection members and the runner. A top stop button and a lower stop button are respectively connected to the shaft, and the runner is engaged with one of the top stop button and the lower stop button. The ribs and the stretchers are made of composite material and a reinforcement metal layer is coated on each of the ribs and the stretchers.

[0004] The primary object of the present invention is to provide a reinforcement metal layer coated on the frame of an umbrella so that the frame has better strength and is light in weight.

[0005] The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 is a side view to show the umbrella frame of the present invention;

[0007] FIG. 2 is a flow chart to show the steps for forming the reinforcement metal layer on the frame;

[0008] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view to show the reinforcement metal layer on the frame;

[0009] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view to show that the reinforcement metal layer on a rib and a connection member is connected to the rib and a stretcher is connected to the connection member;

[0010] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view to show the runner mounted to the shaft and engaged with one of the top stop button and the lower step button;

[0011] FIG. 6 shows that the ribs of the present invention have appropriate flexibility;

[0012] FIG. 7 is a side view to show a conventional umbrella frame;

[0013] FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view to show that conventional rib made of composite material and a connection member is connected to the rib and a stretcher is connected to the connection member, and

[0014] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view to show that conventional rib made of composite material as shown in FIG. 8 is broken.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1, the umbrella of the present invention comprises a shaft 111 with a cap 21 connected thereto and a plurality of ribs 22 pivotally connected to the cap 21. A fabric (not shown) is connected on the ribs 22. Each rib 22 has a connection member 25 connected thereto as shown in FIG. 4 and each connection member 25 has a lug which is to be connected to a stretcher 23. A runner 24 is movably mounted to the shaft 11 and a plurality of stretchers 23 are pivotally connected between the lugs of the connection members 25 and the runner 24. A top stop button 110 and a lower stop button 111 are respectively connected to the shaft 11. Referring to FIG. 5, the runner 24 is engaged with the top stop button 110 or the lower stop button 111 when the umbrella is opened or closed.

[0016] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the ribs 22 and the shaft 11 are made of composite material which can be carbon fibers or glass fibers and is heated to form the solid ribs 22 and the shaft 11. The shaft 11 and the ribs 22 are made by thermosetting plastics or thermoplastics. A reinforcement metal layer 50/500 is coated on each of the ribs 22 and/or the shaft 11. The reinforcement metal layer 50/500 is formed by the following steps:

[0017] step 1: corroding an outer periphery of each of the ribs 22 and the stretchers 23 to be a rough surface;

[0018] step 2: emerging the rough surface in a media chemical agent to form a bridging agent;

[0019] step 3: plating a layer of nickel by way of chemical plating on the rough surface and the nickel is electricity productive, and

[0020] step 4: coating a layer of metal on the nickel layer by way of anodic process or electroplating, for example.

[0021] The metal layer can be copper, nickel, bronze, gold, black nickel and/or chrome. A transparent paint can also be coated directly on the layer of nickel.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reinforcement metal layer 50/500 prevents the fibers of the composite material split out from the ribs 22 and/or the shaft 11, and the connection members 25 and the runner 24 will not scrape the surface of the ribs 22 and/or the shaft 11. As shown in FIG. 6, the structural strength of the ribs 22 is reinforced so that they has better flexibility and are not broken when the ribs 22 are bent by strong wind.

[0023] While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An umbrella comprising: a shaft with a cap connected thereto and a plurality of ribs pivotally connected to said cap, each rib having a connection member connected thereto, a runner movably mounted to said shaft and a plurality of stretchers pivotally connected between said connection members and said runner, a top stop button and a lower stop button respectively connected to said shaft, said runner engaged with one of said top stop button and said lower stop button, said ribs being made of composite material and a reinforcement metal layer coated on each of said ribs.

2. The umbrella as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shaft is made of composite material and a reinforcement metal layer coated to said shaft.

3. The umbrella as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ribs are made by thermo-setting plastics.

4. The umbrella as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ribs are made by thermo-plastics.

5. The umbrella as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shaft is made by thermo-setting plastics.

6. The umbrella as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shaft is made by thermo-plastics.

7. The umbrella as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein said reinforcement metal layer is formed by the following steps: step 1: corroding an outer periphery of each of said ribs and said shaft to a rough surface; step 2: emerging said rough surface in a media chemical agent to form a bridging agent; step 3: plating a layer of nickel by way of chemical plating on said rough surface, and step 4: coating a layer of metal on said nickel layer.