U.S. patent application number 11/669687 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-13 for wind resistant umbrella.
Invention is credited to Chun Ho Yu.
Application Number | 20070209692 11/669687 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36585804 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070209692 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yu; Chun Ho |
September 13, 2007 |
Wind Resistant Umbrella
Abstract
The umbrella having a shaft, a plurality of ribs movably engaged
to the shaft, an umbrella cloth having a periphery and an internal
surface attached on the ribs, and in addition, a strengthening
member in form of a loop operatively associated to the internal
surface of the umbrella cloth at a position adjacent to the
periphery of the umbrella cloth. The size of the loop is smaller
than the periphery of the umbrella cloth such that the
strengthening member pulls the umbrella cloth against the ribs when
the umbrella is open. The strengthening member reinforces the ribs
against the upward force from the wind, and resists the ribs from
flexing upward.
Inventors: |
Yu; Chun Ho; (Hong Kong,
HK) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VEDDER PRICE KAUFMAN & KAMMHOLZ
222 N. LASALLE STREET
CHICAGO
IL
60601
US
|
Family ID: |
36585804 |
Appl. No.: |
11/669687 |
Filed: |
January 31, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
135/33.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45B 25/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/33.2 |
International
Class: |
A45B 25/18 20060101
A45B025/18 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 8, 2006 |
CN |
06102993.7 |
Claims
1. An umbrella, having a shaft, a plurality of ribs movably engaged
to the shaft, and an umbrella cloth having a periphery and an
internal surface attached on the ribs, wherein the umbrella further
comprises: a strengthening member in form of a loop operatively
associated with the internal surface of the umbrella cloth at a
position adjacent to said periphery, wherein the size of said loop
is smaller than said periphery, for pulling the umbrella cloth
against the ribs when the umbrella is open, whereby said
strengthening member reinforces the ribs against the upward force
from the wind, and resists the ribs from flexing upward.
2. The umbrella, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a
connecting member having a first end attached to said internal
surface of the umbrella cloth at a position adjacent to said
periphery, and a second end for holding the strengthening member
when the umbrella is open.
3. The umbrella, as recited in claim 2, wherein said connecting
member forms a substantial right angle adjacently with the shaft
when the umbrella is open.
4. The umbrella, as recited in claim 2, wherein said connecting
member is a strip of cloth forming a channel at the second end for
receiving the strengthening member.
5. The umbrella, as recited in claim 2, wherein said connecting
member is a tubular strip of cloth for receiving the strengthening
member.
6. The umbrella, as recited in claim 1, wherein the strengthening
member is a flexible cord.
7. An umbrella, having a shaft, a plurality of ribs movably engaged
to the shaft, and an umbrella cloth having a periphery and an
internal surface attached on the ribs, wherein the umbrella further
comprises: a strengthening member in form of a loop operatively
associated to the internal surface of the umbrella cloth at a
position adjacent to said periphery, wherein the size of said loop
is smaller than said periphery, for pulling the umbrella cloth
against the ribs when the umbrella is open; a connecting member
having a first end attached to said internal surface of the
umbrella cloth at a position adjacent to said periphery, and a
second end for holding the strengthening member when the umbrella
is open, whereby said strengthening member reinforces the ribs
against the upward force from the wind, and resists the ribs from
flexing upward.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority from Chinese
Patent Application No. 06102993.7, filed Mar. 8, 2006, which is
fully incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates generally to umbrellas.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Most umbrellas, in particular the folding umbrellas, are
easily flexed by strong wind which unduly asserts pressure on the
internal surface of the umbrella cloth. Some umbrellas use ribs
made of a flexible material to divert the wind, or rib structure
specially designed to resist the wind. The disadvantage of such
umbrellas is that it involves the modification on the existing rib
structure which usually results in a significant increase in the
production cost.
[0004] PRC Pat. Publication No. CN 1264560A discloses an umbrella
having openings on the umbrella cloth for the wind to pass through
the umbrella cloth without causing much pressure on the ribs.
Although the openings are covered by some shielding cloth, the
heavy rain may still easily enter into the openings and wet the
user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an
umbrella which resists wind from easily flexing the ribs
upward.
[0006] The umbrella of this invention has a shaft, a plurality of
ribs movably engaged to the shaft, an umbrella cloth having a
periphery and an internal surface attached on the ribs, and in
addition, a strengthening member in form of a loop operatively
associated to the internal surface of the umbrella cloth at a
position adjacent to the periphery of the umbrella cloth. The size
of the loop is smaller than the periphery of the umbrella cloth
such that the strengthening member pulls the umbrella cloth against
the ribs when the umbrella is open. The strengthening member
reinforces the ribs against the upward force from the wind, and
resists the ribs from flexing upward.
[0007] Preferably, the strengthening member is attached to the
internal surface of the umbrella cloth by a connecting member. The
connecting member has a first end attached to the umbrella cloth at
a position adjacent to the periphery of the umbrella cloth, and a
second end for holding the strengthening member when the umbrella
is open.
[0008] The present invention is applicable to any conventional
umbrella, whether foldable or unfoldable, without modifying the
existing rib structure of the umbrella.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0009] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of
the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an umbrella according to an
embodiment of this invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the umbrella of FIG.
1.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the umbrella cloth section
39 of FIG. 2.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the umbrella of FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an umbrella according to
another embodiment of this invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the umbrella of FIG.
5.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the umbrella of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conventional umbrella 10
includes a shaft 20, an umbrella cloth 30 and a plurality of ribs
40 for supporting the umbrella cloth 30. The ribs 40 are movably
engaged to the shaft 20 for opening and closing the umbrella 10.
The ribs 40 may include main ribs 42 for attaching to the internal
surface 32 of the umbrella cloth 30 and the branch ribs 44 for
stretching the main ribs 42. The branch ribs 44 may be attached to
a collar 50 slidable along the shaft 20 at one end and the main
ribs 42 at the other end.
[0018] The umbrella 10 may be a foldable umbrella. In that case,
the main ribs 42 may be foldable and the shaft 20 may be telescopic
for folding the umbrella 10 when not in use.
[0019] When the umbrella 10 is open, the wind may assert undue
pressure on the internal surface 32 of the umbrella cloth 30 and
flex the main ribs 42 upward. In the embodiment as shown in FIGS.
1, 2 and 3, a strengthening member 100 is used to reinforce the
main ribs 42. The strengthening member 100 may be a flexible cord
in form a loop having a size smaller than the periphery 34 of the
umbrella cloth 30 when the umbrella 10 is open. By way of example,
the cord for the strengthening member 100 is made of nylon. A
number of cords may be applied to enhance the strengthening member
100 if necessary.
[0020] The strengthening member 100 is attached to the internal
surface 32 of the umbrella cloth 30 adjacent to the periphery 34 by
a connecting member 200. The connecting member 200 may be a number
of strips of cloth each attached to an umbrella cloth section 35 at
a first end 210. A channel 230 may be formed at the second end 220,
for example, by sewing the cloth at the portion near the second end
220, for receiving the strengthening member 100. When the umbrella
10 is open, the connecting member 200 holds the strengthening
member 100 at the second end 220. The strips of cloth may also be
connected as one piece of cloth forming the connecting member 200.
The strip of cloth may be made of the same material of the umbrella
cloth 30.
[0021] By way of non-limiting example, the connecting member 200
may be attached to the umbrella cloth section 35 at about 6 cm to
20 cm from the periphery 34 of the umbrella cloth 30, the first end
210 may be about 4 cm to 14 cm from the second end 220 of the
connecting member 200, depending on the size of the umbrella 10.
The bigger the umbrella size, the larger the distance between the
first end 210 and the second end 220 of the connecting member 200.
Each strip of cloth may be positioned about 6 cm from each adjacent
main rib 42.
[0022] The size of the loop of the strengthening member 100 is
predetermined such that when the umbrella 10 is open, the
connecting member 200 is pulled flat by the strengthening member
100. The umbrella cloth 30 is pulled against the main ribs 42
against the upward force from the wind. The strengthening member
100 links the main ribs 42 together so that the force from the wind
can be spread across the main ribs 42, and resists the main ribs 42
from flexing upward. The strengthening member 100 performs best if
the connecting member 200 is pulled flat and forms a substantial
right angle adjacently with the shaft 20 as shown in FIG. 4 when
the umbrella 10 is open.
[0023] When the umbrella 10 is closed, the strengthening member 100
and the connecting member 200 are folded due to their flexible
nature. The strengthening member 100 is contained inside the
connecting member 200 and is prevented from entangling with the
ribs 40.
[0024] As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, in another embodiment, the
connecting member 300 may be a number of strips of cloth each sewed
together to the internal surface 32 of the umbrella cloth section
35 at the first end 310. The strip of cloth forms a tube for
receiving the strengthening member 100. When the umbrella 10 is
open, the tubular strip of cloth is pulled flat by the
strengthening member 100 and holds the strengthening member 100 at
the second end 320.
[0025] The strengthening member 100 and the connecting member 200
may be applied to the umbrellas of any existing rib structure and
without modifying the rib structure.
[0026] While the invention has been described in detail with
reference to disclosed embodiments, various modifications within
the scope of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary
skill in this field. It is to be appreciated that features
described with respect to one embodiment typically may be applied
to other embodiments.
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