U.S. patent application number 11/450283 was filed with the patent office on 2007-12-13 for pagoda-shaped umbrella.
Invention is credited to Joen-Shen Ma.
Application Number | 20070283988 11/450283 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38820649 |
Filed Date | 2007-12-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070283988 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ma; Joen-Shen |
December 13, 2007 |
PAGODA-SHAPED UMBRELLA
Abstract
A pagoda-shaped umbrella includes a center post, a crown fixed
to an upper end of the center post, a runner movable along the
center post, a plurality of ribs each coupled to the runner by a
stretcher, and a canopy supported by the ribs. A canopy retainer is
mounted to the canopy to move to the topmost position when the
canopy is open. A collar movably fits over the center post between
the runner and the crown and a pair of slide bars extending from
the collar, along opposite sides of the center post and movably
through openings defined in the crown. Upper ends of the bars are
fixed to the canopy retainer. When the runner is moved upward to
drive the stretchers and the ribs for opening the canopy, the
runner gets into contact with and thus drives the collar upward,
which in turn causes upward movement of the retainer to the topmost
position thereby shaping the canopy as a pagoda.
Inventors: |
Ma; Joen-Shen; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROSENBERG, KLEIN & LEE
3458 ELLICOTT CENTER DRIVE-SUITE 101
ELLICOTT CITY
MD
21043
US
|
Family ID: |
38820649 |
Appl. No.: |
11/450283 |
Filed: |
June 12, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
135/28 ;
135/39 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45B 25/18 20130101;
A45B 25/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
135/28 ;
135/39 |
International
Class: |
A45B 25/06 20060101
A45B025/06 |
Claims
1. A pagoda umbrella comprising: a center post; a crown fixed to an
upper end of the center post; a runner movable along the center
post; a plurality of ribs; a stretcher coupling each rib to the
runner; a canopy supported by the ribs whereby when the runner
moves along the center post, the ribs are driven by the stretchers
to open/close the canopy; a canopy retainer mounted to the canopy
and movable to a topmost position of the umbrella when the canopy
is open, said crown and said canopy retainer being coupled to the
other to provide a fixed distance therebetween; a collar movably
mounted over the center post located between the runner and the
crown and; a pair of slide bars extending along opposite sides of
the center post and movably extending through the crown, the slide
bars having lower ends fixed to the collar and upper ends fixed to
the canopy retainers, wherein when the runner is moved upward. said
rib and stretchers are actuated to open the canopy, the runner
further engages and drives the collar upward thereby moving the
slide bars and the canopy retainer upward to position the canopy
retainer at the topmost position and whereby said canopy is shaped
into the contour of a pagoda.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to a pagoda-shaped
umbrella having a contractible topmost extension of a center post
to shape a canopy of the umbrella as a pagoda, and in particular to
a pagoda-shaped umbrella having bars axially extendible from the
top end of the center post to form a tee of the pagoda with a
simple mechanism.
[0003] 2. The Related Art
[0004] A conventional pagoda-shaped umbrella, as illustrated in
FIG. 5 of the attached drawings, comprises an upright center post
30 having a lower supported on a base (not labeled) and an upper
end to which a crown 32 is attached, a runner 31 movable along the
center post 30, a plurality of ribs 33 pivoted to and radially
extending from the crown 32 and stretchers 34 coupled between the
ribs 33 and the runners 31 whereby when the runner 31 is moved
toward the crown 32, the ribs 33 are driven upward by the
stretchers 34 to open a canopy 35 mounted to the ribs 33. An axle
38 coaxially and telescopically extends from the upper end of the
center post 30 and forms a top canopy retainer 36 at an upper end
thereof. A helical spring 37 encompasses the axle 38 and is
retained between the canopy retainer 36 and the crown 32 to bias
the retainer 36 upward and away from the crown 32 to form a tee of
a pagoda. When the umbrella is opened by moving the runner 31
toward the crown 32, the particularly configured canopy 35, under
the action of the spring force of the spring 37, allows the axle 38
to move upward and thus making the retainer 36 away from the crown
32 to support the canopy 35 as a tee of a pagoda.
[0005] The conventional device that makes use of the spring force
to support the retainer 36 at a distant position suffers fatigue of
the spring 37, which reduces the spring force to expand the canopy
to form the pagoda shape. Thus, the overall configuration of the
canopy, after being expanded by the reduced spring force, is no
longer maintained as a pagoda. The service life of the umbrella is
thus shortened. In addition, the axle 38 is a must for properly
supporting the spring 37 in position. The axle 38 must extend
through the crown 32 in a telescopic and coaxial manner. This
complicates the manufacturing process and the increases costs.
[0006] Thus, the present invention is aimed to solve the problems
of the conventional pagoda-shaped umbrellas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] An objective of the present invention is to provide a
pagoda-shaped umbrella comprising a collar and slide bar assembly
that forms a tee of a pagoda after the umbrella is opened, which
collar and slide bar assembly has a simple construction and low
costs.
[0008] To achieve the above objective, in accordance with the
present invention, a pagoda-shaped umbrella comprises an umbrella
frame comprised of a center post, a runner, a crown, a plurality of
ribs each supported by a stretcher to support a canopy. The crown
is mounted to an upper end of the center post. The runner is
movable along the center post and is coupled to the ribs by the
stretchers to open and close the canopy that is supported by the
ribs. A canopy retainer is arranged at a center of the canopy and
is movable to a topmost position when the umbrella is opened. A
collar is movably fit over the center post between the crown and
the runner. A pair of slide bars extends along opposite sides of
the center post and movably through openings defined in the crown.
Lower ends of the slide bars are fixed to the collar and upper ends
of the slide bars are fixed to the canopy retainer that is located
at the center of the canopy. The movable extension of the slide
bars through the crown allows the distance between the canopy
retainer and the retainer to be variable. When the collar moves
along the center post, the slide bar drives the canopy retainer to
move in unison with the collar. By moving the runner along the
center post to open the canopy through the coupling of the ribs and
the stretchers, the collar is also moved by the runner and thus the
canopy retainer upward to the topmost position to form the pagoda
tee.
[0009] When the runner is moved downward to close the canopy, the
collar and the retainer are allowed to move downward until the
retainer gets into contact with the crown. This effectively
shortens the overall length of the collapsed umbrella.
[0010] By means of the assembly of the collar and the slide bars,
the movement of the canopy retainer that is fixed to the canopy can
be easily effected without any resilient element or spring that is
conventionally required. Thus, fatigue of resiliency is completely
eliminated. Further, due to the simple construction of the collar
and slide bars, the manufacturing process of the pagoda-shaped
umbrella is simplified and manufacturing costs are reduced. Such a
simple construction is also effective in reducing the chance of
malfunction or breakdown, which in turn extends the service life of
the umbrella. The overall length of the umbrella after collapse of
the umbrella is shortened, which is advantageous in packaging,
transportation and storage of the umbrella.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in
the art by reading the following description of a preferred
embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in
which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a pagoda-shaped
umbrella constructed in accordance with the present invention in an
open condition;
[0013] FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 but with a canopy removed to
illustrate inside details of the umbrella of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the collapse of
the umbrella of the present invention, with the canopy removed;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a collar and slide bar
assembly of the pagoda-shaped umbrella of the present invention;
and
[0016] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a conventional
pagoda-shaped umbrella with a canopy removed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0017] With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1
and 2, which are side elevational views of a pagoda-shaped umbrella
constructed in accordance with the present invention, respectively
showing a canopy attached to and removed from a frame of the
umbrella in an open condition, and FIG. 3, which shows the umbrella
in a closed condition, the umbrella constructed in accordance with
the present invention comprises a center post 10, a runner 11, a
crown 12, a plurality of ribs 13 each associated with a stretcher
14, and a canopy 15.
[0018] The crown 12 is fixed to an upper end of the center post 10.
The runner 11 is movable along the center post 10. Each rib 13 is
coupled to the runner 11 by the associated stretcher 14 to
open/close the canopy 15, which is supported by the ribs 13, with
the movement of the runner 11 along the post 10 in upward/downward
direction.
[0019] A canopy retainer 16 is arranged at and fixed to a center of
the canopy 15. When the umbrella is open or expanded, the retainer
16 is located at a topmost position of the umbrella in a regular
application, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0020] A collar 20 is movably fit over the center post 10 between
the crown 12 and the runner 11, as best seen in FIG. 4. A pair of
slide bars 21 is arranged on opposite sides of and extends along
the center post 10. The slide bars 21 have lower ends fixed to the
collar 20 and upper ends movably extending through openings (not
labeled) defined in the crown 12 and fixed to the retainer 16.
[0021] The movable extension of the slide bars 21 through the crown
12 makes a variable distance between the crown 12 and the retainer
16, as shown in FIG. 4. When the collar 20 moves along the center
post 10, the slide bars 21 moves with respect to the crown 12,
which causes displacement of the retainer 16 with respect to the
crown 12 thereby changing the distance therebetween.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, when the runner 11 is driven upward
along the center post 10, the ribs 13 are forced upward by the
stretchers 14 thereby opening the canopy 15. The upward movement of
the runner 11 brings the runner 11 into contact with the collar 20
and then causes the collar 20 to move upward with the runner 11.
The movement of the collar 20 is transmitted to the retainer 16 by
the slide bars 21, thereby driving the retainer 16 away from the
crown 12 to the topmost position, showing an upward-projecting tee
of a pagoda.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, when the runner 11 is moved downward
along the center post 10, the canopy 15 collapses. At the same
time, the collar 20 and the slide bars 21 are allowed to move
downward, which brings the retainer 16 toward and eventually
getting into contact with the crown 12. The overall length of the
umbrella in the collapsed condition is thus shortened.
[0024] The umbrella described above is simple in construction, easy
to assemble, and durable for long term use. The overall length of
the umbrella after collapse is shortened, which facilitates
packaging, transportation, and storage.
[0025] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to
those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention which is intended to be defined by the appended
claims.
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