Telescopic Umbrella

Abstract

The umbrella is of the type having a telescopic stick and a folding dome rib structure with a parallelogram dome rib support structure for opening and closing the umbrella and a pair of outwardly folding members are hinged to the crown and to each dome rib for controlling the shape of the cover material on the umbrella frame as the umbrella is being closed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to an umbrella and more particularly to an umbrella of the type which can be collapsed to a relatively small package when the umbrella is not in use.

2. Description of Prior Art

Umbrellas have been developed which have a parallelogram structure as described, for example, in Japanese Utility Model 8038/1930, published July 8, 1930, and U.S. Pat. 3,467,115, Brooks et al, Sept. 16, 1969. This type of umbrella is convenient in that the umbrella is opened and closed in a very simple action since the dome ribs are not telescoped but are actually folded and controlled as to angularity by a parallelogram support structure. However, one of the disadvantages with this type of umbrella is that the cover material near the crown is folded generally between the support structure rather than its being billowed out in a mushroom as with the conventional telescopic umbrella. When the umbrella cover is wet, the part which is stuffed between the support structure does not get a chance to dry properly and the humidity collected therein will easily affect the joints of the support structure through rust and so on.

Furthermore, in the use of conventional umbrellas, the covering material is usually attached centrally of the crown of the umbrella and at the tips of the dome ribs. Often, the umbrella cover is attached at an intermediate point to a sliding geats on the dome ribs. However, as the dome ribs are being telescoped, the portion of the cover between the attachment of the geats and at the crown is usually bunched in a bulky condition and must be manually reformed and neatly folded before inserting the telescoped umbrella into a sheath.

Furthermore, the folds of the cover between its attachment with the geats and the crown are often pinched by the geats against the crown when the umbrella is fully collapsed. This can give rise to accidentally tearing of the cover in this area.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a structure integral with the umbrella frame which is effective to control the cover material as the umbrella frame is being collapsed.

A structure in accordance with the present invention includes an umbrella having an umbrella frame and a cover, a telescopic stick, a crown at one end of the stick, at least a runner slidable on the stick, dome ribs on the frame, a pair of members foldable in a direction outwardly from the stick hinged to the crown and to each dome rib, a cover attached to the crown and to the dome ribs, such that when the umbrella is being closed to its collapsed position, the foldable members will fold outwardly causing the umbrella cover in the area of the foldable members to spread outwardly forming a mushroom.

In a more specific embodiment of the present invention, the foldable members include a member hinged to the crown, and a second member hinged to the dome ribs, whereby the first member is longer than the second member such that when the umbrella is being closed into a collapsed position, the first section of longer length of the foldable members causes the mushroom so formed with the cover to fold downwardly into a position adjacent the collapsed umbrella against the folded dome ribs.

In yet a more specific embodiment, the umbrella frame includes a first runner slidable on the umbrella stick, a second runner slidable on the stick between a first runner and the crown, a stretcher member hinged to the first runner, a strut member hinged to the second runner, and to a point intermediate the stretcher member, a dome rib hinged near one end thereof to the end of stretcher member, a link member hinged to a point on the strut at one end thereof and at the inner end of the dome rib whereby the portion of the strut between the hinge point of the link and the hinge point of the stretcher member, the portion of the stretcher member between the hinge point of the strut member and the hinge point of the dome rib member, the dome rib section between the hinge of the stretcher and the hinge point of the link, as well as the link member form a parallelogram linkage for controlling the folding and angular position of the dome rib relative to the stick; and foldable members with one member hinged to the crown and the other member hinged to the end of the dome rib such that the members fold outwardly from the stick to thereby control the folding of the umbrella cover when the umbrella is being collapsed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the umbrella in a fully opened condition;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation of the umbrella in a closed position but with the umbrella stick fully extended;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the umbrella in its fully collapsed position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the umbrella frame with the outline of the cover shown and the umbrella frame being in a position whereby it is being closed and showing the foldable member forming a mushroom with the umbrella cover;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the umbrella showing the umbrella frame in a position being collapsed from a fully open position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the umbrella frame in a fully open position;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to FIG. 6 but showing a different embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of the umbrella frame with the outline of the cover shown and the umbrella frame being in a position whereby it is being closed and showing the foldable member forming a mushroom with the umbrella cover and incorporating the embodiment of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross section of a detail of the hinge connection of the foldable member to the crown; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a detail of the foldable member of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, the umbrella includes a stick 1 comprising two telescopic sections 2 and 3 with section 2 being of circular cross section and section 3 being of polygonal cross section. At one end of the stick section 2, a polygonal-shaped mouth is provided adapted to receive the polygonal-shaped stick section 3. A conventional locking device 4 is also provided in the area of the mouth, whereby when the umbrella sticks are fully extended, they are releasably locked.

A handle 5 is provided at the end of stick section 3, while a crown 6 is fixed to the end of the stick section 2.

A runner 24 on the umbrella stick 1 and an auxiliary runner 27 slide on the track between the main runner 24 and the crown 6. A stretcher member 25 is hinged to the flange 26 on the main runner 24 at one end thereof, and elongated rigid hinge bracket 14 is hingedly connected to the other end of the stretcher member 25. A dome rib 7 is fixed to the hinge bracket 14 and extends longitudinally therefrom. A strut 29 is hinged to the auxiliary runner 27 at one end thereof, and at the other end, it is hinged at hinge point 30 midway of the stretcher member 25. A link member 31 is hinged to the strut 29 at hinge point 33 and at the other end thereof it is hinged to the end of the hinge bracket 14 at hinge point 15. The link member 31 has a slight kink 32 near the hinge point 15.

Foldable members T1 and T2 are provided between the hinge bracket 14 and the crown 6. Member T1 is hinged to the flange 8 of the crown 6 at 9. A kink 10 is provided near the hinge point 9 in the member T1, while a kink 11 is provided near the other end of the member T1. Member T1 is of circular wire cross section, while member T2 is of channel cross section so as to receive member T1 when the members are folded. Member T1 is hinged at hinge point 12 in the channel-shaped member T2 spaced from the end of the member T2 represented by the distance 13. This prevents the members T1 and T2 from folding inwardly, but allows them to fold outwardly. Member T2 includes a reverse kink 18 near its hinge point 17 on the hinge bracket 14.

The three hinge points 15, 16 and 17 on the hinge bracket 14 are represented in FIG. 6 by the triangle with apices I, II and III, respectively, the hinge point of the member T2 is located at the outer apex of this triangle. The direction of extension of member T2 corresponds approximately to the axis of alignment between hinge points 15 and 16 with the kink 18, the member T2 forms an obtuse angle opening in an upward direction. The cover 20 is attached to the crown 6.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is noted that the cover is also secured in the area of the kink 11 by a thread 22 and centrally about the hinge bracket 14 by a thread 21. Finally, the cover material is attached at the ends 23 of each dome rib section 7.

Provided between the runner 24 and the auxiliary runner 27 on the upper portion of stick section 2 is a friction sleeve 36 which is relatively difficult to slide on the stick section 2. When the umbrella is being closed from a fully open position shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, it is necessary to move runner 24 in the direction of the handle by first disengaging the locking lever 37 which engages the aperture R in the stick section 2. Although this movement causes the parallelogram support system S to move towards the umbrella stick 1, the auxiliary runner 27 is initially prevented from moving along the stick by the friction sleeve 36. The support system S therefore continues to move towards the umbrella stick in an accelerated condition. Simultaneously, the members T1 and T2 fold slightly outwardly holding the cover 20 in this area. As the stretcher 25 and strut 29 approach a straight line, the auxiliary runner is pulled downwardly against the frictional resistance of the sleeve 36 and the umbrella frame assumes a position shown in FIG. 2 with the members T1 and T2 in a somewhat bowed condition which keeps a wet umbrella cover 20 away from the umbrella stick 1 and prevents the members T1 and T2 from being locked.

If it is desired to completely collapse the umbrella, it is now merely necessary to move the runner 24 towards the crown 6 of the umbrella which causes the already folded support system S to move together with the umbrella cover towards the crown 6. This causes the members T1 and T2 to fold outwardly and form an open angle .alpha.. The covering material 20 is automatically billowed to a mushroom shape marked T1 in FIG. 4 and hinge point 12 becomes the apex of the angle formed by members T1 and T2. Further movement of the main runner 24 in the upward direction causes the hinge point 17 to move towards the crown 6. Since the member T2 is slightly shorter than the member T1, member T2 folds downwardly into a position shown in FIG. 3, as does member T1.

When it is required to open the umbrella, the reverse sequence is followed.

Referring now to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, all of the common components of the umbrella include similar numerals which have been raised by 100. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 through 10 include an integral folded plastic member T1 and T2 which can be hinged at one end to the crown 106. The hinge to the crown can be either a conventional hinge wherein the channel shaped legs of the foldable member are perforated by a hinge wire running about the periphery of the crown or as in FIG. 9 wherein the web of the channel shaped foldable member is extended and merges with an enlarged disc having a central aperture 142 adapted to pass over the umbrella stick and the foldable members extend from the disc 140. The cross section of FIG. 9 is taken along lines 9--9 of FIG. 8 but FIG. 8 shows a conventional type crown.

The foldable members T1 and T2 include two channel shaped sections T1 and T2 and the section T1 is adapted to nest in the section T2 as shown in FIG. 10. The hinge area of the channel members T1, T2 has the legs of the channel members cut away so that only the web 144 connects the members T1 and T2. The section T2 is hinged at 117 to the hinge bracket 114. The operation of the umbrella is identical to the operation described in relation to FIGS. 1 to 6.

It is understood that other embodiments of the present invention can be devised, for instance, wherein a more conventional type of umbrella frame would be used and the foldable members would override the dome ribs which are hinged to the crown in that case. Further, the foldable members can be integrally molded and foldable at a hinge so formed.

Claims

I claim:

1. An umbrella including an umbrella frame and a cover, a telescopic stick, a crown at one end of the stick, at least a main runner slidable on the stick, a stretcher member hinged to the runner, a strut member hinged to a point on the stick between the main runner and the crown, and to a point intermediate the stretcher member, a dome rib hinged near one end thereof to the end of the stretcher member, a link member hinged to a point on the strut at one end thereof, and at the inner end of the dome rib forming a quadrilateral linkage therewith, a pair of members foldable in a direction outwardly from the stick hinged to the crown and to the inner end of the dome rib, a cover attached to the crown and to the dome ribs, such that when the umbrella is being closed to its collapsed position, the foldable members will fold outwardly causing the umbrella cover in the area of the foldable members to spread outwardly forming a mushroom.

2. An umbrella frame comprising an umbrella stick, a crown at one end of the stick, a first runner slidable on the stick, a second runner slidable on the stick between the first runner and the crown, a stretcher member hinged to the first runner, a strut member hinged to the second runner and to a point intermediate the stretcher member, a dome rib hinged near one end thereof to the end of the stretcher member, a link member hinged to a point on the strut at one end thereof, and at the inner end of the dome rib whereby the portion of the strut between the hinge point of the link and the hinge point of the stretcher member, the portion of the stretcher member between the hinge point of the strut member and the hinge point of the dome rib, the dome rib section between the hinge of the stretcher and the hinge point of the link, as well as the link member, form a parallelogram linkage for controlling the folding and angular position of the dome rib relative to the stick, and foldable members with one member hinged to the crown and the other member hinged to the end of the dome ribs such that the members fold outwardly from the stick when the umbrella is being closed to a collapsed position.

3. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 1, wherein the foldable members include a first member hinged to the crown and a second member hinged to the dome rib whereby the first member is longer than the second member such that when the umbrella is being folded to a collapsed position, the first member will force the second member to fold downwardly thereby collapsing the foldable members adjacent the folded dome ribs and support structure.

4. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2, wherein a friction sleeve is provided on the stick between the main runner and auxiliary runner in order to resist the axial movement of the auxiliary member while the umbrella is being closed to a collapsed position.

5. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2, wherein a cover is provided on the frame and is attached to the crown and to the ends of the dome ribs, the cover is also attached to the foldable members at the hinge thereof and in the area of the inner end of the dome ribs.

6. An umbrella frame as defined in claim 2, wherein the inner end of the dome rib includes a rigid hinge bracket providing the hinge points for the stretcher member, the link member and the second foldable member, wherein these hinge points form a triangle with the outer apex of the triangle being the hinge point for the second foldable member.

7. An umbrella as defined in claim 1 wherein the pair of foldable members in the form of an integral elongated molded plastic member foldable at a given location at each end of the foldable members is hinged to the crown and to each dome rib respectively.

8. An umbrella as defined in claim 7 wherein the elongated integral plastic member includes a pair of channel shaped members adapted to nest one within the other when they are folded together, each member being joined by an integral web member adapted to fold.

9. An umbrella as defined in claim 7 wherein the end of each foldable plastic elongated member is integraly connected to a disc mounted centrally to the umbrella stick.