US2747591A - Raising and lowering means for lawn umbrellas - Google Patents

Description

F. H. OGDEN May 29, 1956 RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR LAWN UMBRELLAS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1955 Fie.1.

INVENTOR.

May 29, 1956 F. H. OGDEN 2,747,591

RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR LAWN UMBRELLAS Filed Jan. 26, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FLOYD H. OGDEN,

United Sttes RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR LAWN UMBRELLAS FloydI-IIOgden, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

-Application.Januai'y26,:1955, Serial No; 484,141

2 Claims. (Cl. 13520) invention relates toameans' for raising and lowering'th'e' conventional beach or lawn umbrella, and has particular reference to a winding ,device whereby the umbrella may be elevated to theextendedposition and locked against shifting without the aid of the usual and weir-known spring latch.

'I'lieidevice'conte'mplates novel clampaon devices that areen'gagedwith the usual standard or pole of the umbrella and with one of the. clamp-on devices embodying a'windin'g drum having an operating handle that is disposed within easy'reach of an operatorwhereby the um-' brella maybe raised or lowered in a quick and easy manher without the necessity of reaching upwardly to release the normal spring latch which, in many instances, is .extremely d'ifiicult; especially where the umbrella 'is sup: ported centrally of a lawn table.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device 'will be' clearly apparent during the course of the. foilowingdescription; reference being had to the accompanyingdrawi'ngs wherein'has been disclosed a preferred fornr of the device and wherein likecharacters of ref-.' erence are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures;

lnthe drawingsz Figurel isaside elevation of the device in use upon an.

Figure-3 is a side elevation of an upper cable guide,

Figure 4 is-a-section taken substantially on line 4-4 of' Figure 1 with the cable omitted,

Figure-j is an end elevation ofthe winding device,"

Figure 6-is a section taken substantially on line of Figured, and" Figure 7 is a section takensu'bstantially on line '7-"7 of Figure 5.

Referring" specific'allyno the drawings, the numeral 5 designates the usual' and well known supporting standard-er pole for the umbrella, here shown as being solid, although it-will be app arent that the device of this inventionis just as-applicable to the tubular standards. Supported at the upper end of the pole:5 is the usual and well known umbrella 6 constructed in a conventional manner and shifted to the open or closed position under the influence of the usual and well known radial rods 7. The rods 7 are pivotally connected, as at 8, to the usual sliding collar 9. The collar 9 is shiftable along the pole 5 for spreading or lowering the umbrella 6. The collar 9 is normally retained in its elevated position by the usual and well known spring latch, here omitted, since the latch now forms no part of the means for maintaining the umbrella in the upper or spread position.

Means are provided to manually raise and lower the umbrella, consisting of a lower winding device, designated as a whole by the numeral 10, and an upper cable guide, designated as a whole by the numeral 11. The winding device embodies a pair of cooperating elongated clamps .12l'andl 13 Each. of the clamps- 12 and 13- havetheir opposediaees grooved as at 14 and 15 forpartial embracing and Iclamping engagement upon. the .pole 5: The clamps 12and .13 are held in rigid clamping engager ment upon .the pole 5 by screws 16 .thatpass through the clamp 13. to havethreaded engagement within threaded aperturesof the clamp .12. Atone side, the..clamp 12 has been extended to provide a semi-cylindrical boss..17 that is. apertured .to. receive ashaft .18 that extends for-. wardly of the clamp.12 forthe rotatable reception .of .awinding drum .19. The.shaft.18 ispreferably rigidly mounted against rotation. while the. drum.10' is .rotatable thereon. The drum. 19 includes :fianges :2lland 21 -and with the flange 20-provided withlapreferably integral winding handle 22.. Theflange 20 is' furtherprovidedwith a diagonally disposediaperture 23 for the anchoring. reception of one. end of a winding cable '24. The cable. 24 at assembly has one. .free'end pass through the .aperr. ture 23 to be subsequentlyknotted fuponthe outerface of the flange 20, as at 25. Means are provided to lock' the drum 19 against rotation, consisting of-a shiftable pin 26" that issIidable through aligned apertures 27 and. 28 formed withinthe. clampsl3 and 12. Oneend of the pin 26 is engageable. withina selected aperture 29 formedwithin the flange 21. and servesto prevent. rotation of; the drum. with respect to the winding device 10... The device 10Iis'mounteduponzthe poler5 at.a.point..that is-. within-convenient. reaehof .an operator.

The cable guide lLembodiesapair of mating clamps 30' and..31- havingv their .opposed faces grooved at. 32 and. 33'for.the.partial embracingand clamping. engagement. of .the device uponthe pole 5. at a-point. adjacent. the upper endof the pole and at a point. above themaximum. upward .movement .of the sleeve 9, when the .umbrellais. fully extended. Theclampjlis.providedwith a..fiX6d stub.shaft..34 for the rotatable reception of a grooved pulley 35. A concentric guard .plate.36.is preferably cast integralwiththe clamp. .31 .andclo'sely overlies .the pulley 35 as a .means toprevent! the accidentaldisplacement of: the .cable. 2410 be .passedltherearound. The-upper free end of the cable.24 is. preferablyanchored .in.any;con-. venient .manner .upon .the sleeve 9. 'such, for .instance,: as looping and tyingthe free.end thereof. about one of the pivotal connections. 8. of. the. umbrella, thus avoiding. any additionalpins or. other.connecting means. The devices 10 and 11.1.. are cast .or stampedfrom suitable metal having. rust-resisting, qualities, since quite fre-. quentlyumbrellas are employed-in. beach :areas :where the metal parts soon-become rusted, and it is one purpose of thisv invention to provide .a structure ofthis character. that has arelatively long lifetand may beremoved and replaceduponaother umbrellas at will.

11111161156 of the device the-umbrella is elevated and. latched'inthe usual and well known manner, after which the cable-guide v11 .isri-gidly'mountedata point slightly,

above the maximum upper position of'the-sleeve 9. The. device 10 :isthen :anchored at: a convenient pointof reach. upon. the pole 5 and withathe drum 10 and vthe pulley, 35 being substantially parallel 'to each other. The cable 24 is then passed through the aperture 23 and its end knotted at 25 to prevent displacement thereof. The opposite end of the cable is then trained about the pulley 35, brought downwardly and wound about one of the pivotal ears of the sleeve 9 and securely tied in position with the cable being relatively taut. It should be understood, of course, that when drawing the cable taut, the locked end 26 should be engaged within one of the apertures 29 of the flange 21. It will further be obvious that the lower end of the cable 24 has been wound about the drum a sufiicient number of turns to permit the full lowering action of the umbrella, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. With the drum 10 locked again rotation by the pin 26, the usual spring latch for the sleeve 9 may be permanently disengaged or shifted to and held in inactive position. Now, when the umbrella is to be lowered, the operator grasps the handle 22 to prevent rotation of the drum 19 and shifts the lock pin 26 out of engagement with the flange 21. Then, by holding the handle 22, the operator may wind the drum and feed the cable 24 aboutthe pulley 25 to the point where the umbrella has been fully collapsed. The elevated or extending of the umbrella is accomplished in a reverse manner by winding the drum 19 in a direction to wind the cable thereon, elevating the sleeve 9 to spread the umbrella to the desired tautness, at which time the pin 26 is shifted to locking engagement with the flange 21.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a very novel and highly desirable means has been provided for the control of the usual and well known beach or lawn umbrellas." It frequently happens that in disengaging the old and well known retaining latch for the sleeve 9, the fingers or thumb of the operator are injured, and this invention completely avoids that difliculty. In other instances the umbrella may be supported centrally of a garden table and at such elevation as makes it extremely diflicult, to reach the device of the umbrella and usually requires that the umbrella be fully removed from the table to permit the operator to reach upwardly for release of the latch to permit the umbrella to be collapsed. This invention completely avoids the necessity of moving the umbrella from the table. The device is quickly and easilyv mounted to operative positions with the winding drum device being positioned at an elevation convenient to the reach of an individual operating the device. The parts are few and simple, are strong, durable, cheap to manufacture and highly convenient in use. While the clamps and associated elements have been indicated as being cast or stamped from metal, it will be apparent that the devices may be formed of other materials, such as plastic. Further, the use of the invention requires no additions or changes in the umbrella structure.

It is to be understood, that the invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, but that changes are contemplated as fall within the spirit of the invention, as determined by the scope of the subjoined claims.

' Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

'1. In combination with a lawn umbrella having a supporting pole and a cover connected thereto to be raised and lowered, a collar slidable upon the pole and having means connected thereto to raise and lower the umbrella, a cable winding device that is clamped upon the pole below the collar, a cable guide pulley clamped to the pole above the collar, a cable wound upon the winding device and extending upwardly and about the guide pulley and with the free end of the cable being connected to the collar, manual means for actuating the winding device to wind the cable thereon whereby to cause the collar to be elevated upon the pole for raising the umbrella and latch means associated with the winding device whereby to prevent the winding device from moving in a reverse direction when the umbrella has been 6 raised, the latch means when released permitting the umbrella to be lowered by gravity as the cable is unwound for the non-rotatable support of a forwardly extending shaft, a Winding drum rotatable'on the shaft and with the drum having end flanges, one flange adjacent the clamping plate being provided with a plurality of spaced apart apertures, the other of said flanges being provided with an aperture for the anchoring connection of one end of the cable, the said last named flange being provided with a winding handle, the clamp plates each provided with a cylindrical opening and with the openings being in axial alignment, the said latch means comprising a latch pin slidable jointly in the openings whereby the pin may be shifted to engage in a selected aperture of the apertured first named flange whereby to prevent rotation of the winding drum accidentally when the a cable winding device that is clamped upon the pole below the collar, a cable guide pulley clamped to the pole above the collar, a cable wound upon the winding device and extending upwardly and about the guide pulley and with the free end of the cable being connected to the collar, manual means for actuating the winding device to wind the cable thereon whereby to cause the collar to be elevated upon the pole for raising the umbrella and latch means associated with the winding device whereby to prevent the winding device from moving in a reverse direction when the umbrella has been raised, the latch means when released permitting the, umbrella to be lowered by gravity as the cable is unwound from the winding device, the said winding device com-' prising the said cable guide pulley being rotatably supported upon a two-part clamping device, the clamping device embodying a pair of mating clamp plates that have their opposed faces vertically grooved wherebyto partially embrace the pole when the clamps are in clamping position, screw devices between the clamp plates whereby to shift them toward each other forbinding engagement upon the pole, one clamp plate havingja forwardly projecting shaft fixed with respect thereto, the said guide pulley being rotatable upon the shaft for guiding traverse of the cable and a concentric flange formed upon the last named clamp plate that overlies the pulley whereby to prevent accidental displacement of the cable from the pulley.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,727 Crary Apr. 9, 1907 1,086,118 Alexander Feb. 3, 1914 2,249,433 Palmer July 15, 1941 2,595,697 Pereira May 6, 1952

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