US3768494A - Umbrella - Google Patents

Abstract

An umbrella crown or runner to which the dome ribs or stretcher structure is hinged, wherein the dome ribs or stretcher members haveat least two hinge extensions and the crown or runner has pairs of parallel slots adapted to receive the hinge extensions of the dome ribs or runners, respectively.

Description

[451 Oct. 30, 1973 United States Patent Weber FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS UMBRELLA [75] Inventor:

Heinz Weber, I-lilden, Germany Assignee: Telesco Brophey Limited, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada Primary Examiner-J. Karl Bell Attorney-Alan Swabey [22 Filed: July 21,1971

21 Appl. No.: 164,764

ABSTRAKIT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 22, 1970 Germany................... P 20 36 255.4

An umbrella crown or runner to which the dome ribs or stretcher structure is hinged, wherein the dome ribs or stretcher members haveat least two hinge extensions and the crown or runner has pairs of parallel slots adapted to receive the hinge extensions of the dome ribs or runners, respectively.

605 2 2 MW 31 l 2 b 5 R4 5A 4 5 3m 9 ,1 b 5 N4 A 3 l [52] U.S. [5l] Int. Cl.. A45b 11/00, [58] Field of [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENfl-inncr 30 Ian SHEET 10F 2 INVENTOR Heinz WEBER A TTORNEY f UMBRELLA BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of Invention The present invention relates to an umbrella, and particularly to a hinging system for the dome ribs or support members to the crown or runners of the umbrella.

2. Description of Prior Art In the production of umbrellas, and particularly telescopic umbrellas, it is of advantage to increase the stability of the hinge or moving part of the umbrella so that when the umbrella is in an open position, it is of increased stability. I-leretofore, in umbrella constructions, and taking, for example, the dome ribs hinged to the crown, it has been the practice to provide slots in the periphery of the crown and a flat single extension of the dome rib which seats in the individual slot. A wire or other hinge pin passes through the slot and through apertures in the extensions of the dome ribs to provide for the connection of the dome rib to the crown and to allow for the hinging movement. However, the stability of the connection is reduced in that the slot is not normally sufficient to prevent the dome rib from tilting in a plane passing through the hinge axis.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an aim of the present invention to increase the stability of the connection of dome ribs to crowns and support members to runners, by providing a hinge structure which allows free pivoting movement in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the hinge axis and reduces to a minimum the play or tilting capability of the connection.

In a structure according to the present invention, there is provided an umbrella stick, a handle at one end of the stick, and means on the stick for pivotally mounting canopy support members which can be pivoted from an umbrella open position to an umbrella closed position. Each support member includes a pair of parallel planar extensions at one end thereof with aligned apertures in the extensions, a pair of spaced-apart parallel slots on means on the stick, the extensions of each support member being seated in thepairs of slots in the means on the stick, and hinge means passing through the slots and apertures for hingedly connecting the support members to the means on the stick.

In a more specific embodiment, a third slot, normal to each pair of slots extends and communicates with the pairs of slots above the hinge axis and the support member includes a web portion extending between the pairs of extensions and is adapted to be received in the third slot.

In a further, more specific, embodiment, the umbrella is of a telescopic flat construction, in which the support members include at least six dome ribs hinged to a flat crown, having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, the extent along the transverse axis being shorter than the extent of the crown along the longitudinal axis, such that the crown has two diametricallyopposed extensions and the dome ribs being distributed in two symmetrical groups, one group to each extension, respectively, and such that the individual slots of two opposing pairs of slots extend parallel and are symmetrical with the longitudinal center line of the crown and one pair of slots are provided on each transverse side of the extension, and being aligned in such a way that the projection of thecenter lines between all the pairs of slots intersect the center of each extension, respectively.

It is also preferable to have corresponding configurations of slots and construction of stretcher members associated with runners on the stick.

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 an umbrella in an open condition;

FIG 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view taken from underneath an open umbrella;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross section of a detail of the umbrella;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the detail of the umbrella shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the detail shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of another detail of the umbrella; and

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the detail shown in FIG. 6.

In the present embodiment, the umbrella shown in 7 FIGS. 1 and 2, for instance, is of the type generally referred to as a three-stage" umbrella, in which the stick and dome ribs are of three telescopic sections. The umbrella is also of a flat type, in that the crown, runners and handle have longitudinal axes in a direction normal to the stick and with transverse axes, the extent of which is less than the extended longitudinal axis, so that the closed package of the umbrella is of a flat and rectangular configuration.

The umbrella is shown including a stick 1 and a handle 2 at one end thereof. A crown 3, located at the other end of the stick 1, has laterally-extending diametric extensions 4 and 5 along the longitudinal axis of the crown. Hinged to the crown 3 are dome rib sections 6, which are of U-shape or channel cross section, the open side of the channel facing downwardly towards the handle 2 when the umbrella is open. Central dome rib sections 7 telescope within the channel-shaped sections 6, while the outer dome rib sections 8 telescope within the central sections 7. Each of the dome ribs are connected by a support structure, including stretcher members 10 and 11 articulated together and hinged at one end to the geats 9, connected to the outer dome rib section 8 and at the other end to a runner 14. A strut 12 is pivoted to the stretcher member section 11 at one end and at the other end to the main runner 41 on the stick. Finally, a link 13 is hinged to the strut l2 and the stretcher member section 10 in order to form a quadrilateral structure between the stretcher members and the strut member.

The stretcher member sections 11 are also of U- shape or channel cross section, similar to the cross section of the dome ribs.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 through 5, the crown 3 shown has been made up of a crown section and a resilient cap section which retains the canopy B on the um-.

brella. The particular crown of the present embodiment is shown adapted for mounting six dome ribs and each extension 4 and 5 is somewhat trapezoidal in shape having three peripheral edges as shown in FIG. 4. In each edge of the extensions 4 and 5, there is provided spaced-apart parallel slots grouped in pairs, identified 15...26.

Now each of the dome rib sections 6 has parallel legs 27 and 28 which extend beyond the edge of the web of the sections 6. These extended legs 27 and 28 seat in the parallel slots and 16, for instance, as shown in FIG. 4, and a peripheral groove 30 in the plane of the dome rib hinge axis passes completely around the crown 3. A wire can be passed in this groove 30 and will act as the hinge member which passes through the apertures in the legs 27 and 28 of the dome rib sections 6.

Furthermore, a slot 31 is provided at the upper edges of the slots 15 and 16 to allow the end of the web of the dome rib section 6 to enter and be seated therein when the umbrella is in a fully-open position. This increases the stability of the structure when the dome rib is open, since the three end edges of the dome ribs 6 are seated in narrow slots in the crown, thereby reducing the load on the pivot wire passing in the groove 30. It is noted that the slot 31 is above the groove 30, which itself is common with the hinge axis of the dome ribs.

As can be seen from the drawings, and particularly FIGS. 2 and 4, the dome ribs are divided up into two groups and each group is symmetrically arranged about each extension 4 and 5, respectively. At least one dome rib is hinged to each face of the trapezoidal configuration of the extensions 4 and 5. Also, the slots 15 and 16, for instance, are parallel and equally spaced apart from the projection of the longitudinal axis of the crown as well as the slots 21 and 22 diametrically opposed therefrom on the extension 5. Furthermore, projection of the center lines M and M] of the groups of slots 19, and 17, 18 intersect with the longitudinal axis approximately at the center of the extension 4. Similarly, the projection of the center lines M and M1 of the groups of slots 25, 26 and 23, 24 intersect with the longitudinal axis at the point 12 approximately at thecenter of the extension 5.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a runner 14 having a similar configuration to the crown 3. The stretcher member section 1 1 has channel extension legs 39 and 40, which are seated in the slots provided in the runner 14, such as in the crown, above described.

I claim:

1. An umbrella having a canopy adapted to be held in position by means of support members, the support members being pivotally attached to means on the stick for pivoting movement in the plane of this stick relative to the means on the stick, each of the support members being of channel configuration near the pivot end thereof and including a pair of parallel terminal planar extensions and a web therebetween, said means on the stick including a body defining spaced-apart slots arranged in pairs, each slot of a respective pair pivotally retaining an extension of one of the cooperating support members for restricted movement in the plane of the stick; and hinge means passing through the slots and extensions to pivotally mount the support members to the means on the stick, and a third slot extending between each pair of slots and normal thereto and above the hinge axis of the support member, such that the web between the extensions of the support member can be seated in the third slot when the umbrella is opened.

2. An umbrella as defined in claim 1, wherein the means on the stick is a crown, and the support members are dome ribs attached to the canopy and hinged to the crown in respective pairs of slots.

3. An umbrella as defined in claim 2, wherein the crown has a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, the extent of the lateral axis being less than the extent of the longitudinal axis, the dome ribs being provided in two groups, one group of each end of the crown, and the pairs of slots for receiving the dome rib members being arranged such that the center line between the slots intersects at a point substantially close to the center of one half of the extent of the axis of the crown.

4. An umbrella as defined in claim 3, wherein there is provided a runner sliding on a stick and stretcher means are connected to the runner and to the dome ribs, the configuration of the runner being similar to the configuration of the crown in that pairs of slots are provided for receiving parallel extensions of the stretcher members for pivoting movement therewith.

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Claims (4)

1. An umbrella having a canopy adapted to be held in position by means of support members, the support members being pivotally attached to means on the stick for pivoting movement in the plane of the stick relative to the means on the stick, each of the support members being of channel configuration near the pivot end thereof and including a pair of parallel terminal planar extensions and a web therebetween, said means on the stick including a body defining spaced-apart slots arranged in pairs, each slot of a respective pair pivotally retaining an extension of one of the cooperating support members for restricted movement in the plane of the stick; and hinge means passing through the slots and extensions to pivotally mount the support members to the means on the stick, and a third slot extending between each pair of slots and normal thereto and above the hinge axis of the support member, such that the web between the extensions of the support member can be seated in the third slot when the umbrella is opened.

2. An umbrella as defined in claim 1, wherein the means on the stick is a crown, and the support members are dome ribs attached to the canopy and hinged to the crown in respective pairs of slots.

3. An umbrella as defined in claim 2, wherein the crown has a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis, the extent of the lateral axis being less than the extent of the longitudinal axis, the dome ribs being provided in two groups, one group to each end of the crown, and the pairs of slots for receiving the dome rib members being arranged such that the center line between the slots intersects at a point substantially close to the center of one half of the extent of the axis of the crown.

4. An umbrella as defined in claim 3, wherein there is provided a runner sliding on a stick and stretcher means are connected to the runner and to the dome ribs, the configuration of the runner being similar to the configuration of the crown in that pairs of slots are provided for receiving parallel extensions of the stretcher members for pivoting movement therewith.

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