Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Umbrella – Mechanically operated
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-25
2001-05-15
Canfield, Robert (Department: 3635)
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Umbrella
Mechanically operated
C242S395000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230724
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an operation mechanism for a parasol, in which a cord winding mechanism and deflection mechanism are combined. A crank mechanism is used to switchably operate both the cord winding mechanism and the deflection mechanism for stretching open the parasol face or folding the parasol stem by a certain deflection angle in accordance with the oblique angle of the sunlight.
A conventional parasol is used to shade the sunlight or decorate a garden yard. The conventional parasol is composed of a parasol face, a stem, a seat, a wire winder and other operation mechanisms. Generally, the operation mechanisms only have the functions of stretching and collecting the parasol face of the conventional parasol.
After the parasol face is stretched open to shade the sunlight, in the case that the sunlight is projected by an oblique angle. The parasol face cannot be deflected in accordance with the angle of the sunlight so as to effectively shade the sunlight. In order to solve this problem, a parasol equipped with a folding mechanism has been developed.
FIG. 8
is a perspective exploded view of the conventional folding mechanism of the parasol stem, which includes an upper member
10
and a lower member
20
. The center of the upper member
10
is formed with a pin hole
11
. A back face of a bottom board body of the upper member is disposed with a key slot
12
. The lower member
20
is disposed with a cartridge section
21
and a push button
22
. The push button
22
is formed with a key tooth
23
and a spring cavity
24
in which a spring
25
is received. The push button
22
is inserted into a socket
26
of the lower member
20
and then the upper member
10
is placed into the cartridge section
21
of the lower member
20
. A pin member
27
is passed through the pin hole
11
to lock with a nut
28
. When it is desired to change the deflection angle of the parasol, the push button
22
is pressed inward and then the stem connected between the upper member
10
and the parasol face is folded to achieve a desired deflection angle corresponding to the oblique angle of the sunlight.
The above operation procedure cannot be conveniently manually performed. The parasol face is stretched or collected by a manually operated crank, while the deflection angle of the parasol face is adjusted by other operation mechanisms. Moreover, the push button for adjusting the deflection angle of the parasol face is generally arranged at a relatively high position. Therefore, a user needs to press the push button with one and hold and fold the parasol stem with the other hand. Such operation necessitates both hands and is thus inconvenient and strength-consuming for the user.
Moreover, the folding mechanism of the conventional parasol as shown in
FIG. 8
can only achieve a deflection function in one single direction. Most part of the parasol stem is connected with a bottom weight for achieving a stabilizing effect. Basically, the angles of the sunlight in sunrise and sunset are varied by 180 degrees on the same plane. The conventional folding mechanism is not applicable to shade the sunlight within the range of 180 degrees on a plane unless the bottom weight is together with the parasol stem lifted to rotate the parasol face. Such procedure is laborious and not practical.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an operation mechanism for a parasol, in which a cord winding mechanism and deflection mechanism are combined. A crank mechanism is used to switchably operate both the cord winding mechanism and the deflection mechanism for stretching open the parasol face or folding the parasol stem by a certain deflection angle. Therefore, the folding mechanism of the parasol is simplified. A clutch mechanism is engaged between the winding mechanism and the swinging head of the deflection mechanism. By means of rotating a single crank, the clutch mechanism is engaged with either the winding mechanism or the deflection mechanism so as to stretch open the parasol face or deflect the parasol face.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above operation mechanism in which a damper mechanism is disposed to provide a frictionally damping effect so as to prevent the parasol face from sliding downward.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide the above operation mechanism which is able to deflect the parasol leftward or rightward on the same plane so as to meet the different oblique angles of the sunlight in sunrise and sunset.
According to the above objects, the operation mechanism for the parasol of the present invention includes a deflection mechanism, a winding mechanism, a damper mechanism and a clutch mechanism. The deflection mechanism is installed on a locating seat. An upper and a lower sections of the locating seat are formed with upper and lower pin holes. Two shaft rods at two ends of a spiral rod are passed through the upper pin holes with the spiral rod received in the locating seat. One side of the locating seat is rotatably fixed with a first gear. A bottom of a swinging head is formed with a spiral toothed face engaged with and driven by the spiral rod. The winding mechanism and damper mechanism are passed through the lower pin hole. The clutch mechanism connected with a crank is disposed at one end of the winding mechanism. When rotating the crank, the winding mechanism is driven to wind a cord for stretching open the parasol face. When the crank is pulled outward, a second gear of the clutch mechanism is engaged with the first gear of the deflection mechanism so that the swinging head of the deflection mechanism can be driven and deflected to adjust the deflection angle of the parasol. When the parasol is stretched open to a limit position, the damper mechanism provide a frictionally damping effect for preventing the parasol from sliding downward. By means of one single crank, the operation of the winding mechanism and deflection mechanism can be both performed.
The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:
REFERENCES:
patent: 3175568 (1965-03-01), Kafka
patent: 4674522 (1987-06-01), Ma
patent: 4877045 (1989-10-01), Lin
patent: 4878509 (1989-11-01), Tung
patent: 5711333 (1998-01-01), Vanderminden
Canfield Robert
Varndell & Varndell PLLC
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