Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Umbrella – Having quick assembly feature
Patent
1996-07-09
1997-06-17
Mai, Lanna
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Umbrella
Having quick assembly feature
135 28, A45B 1300
Patent
active
056388462
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an umbrella, comprising a rod, one end of which serves as a handle, while the other end forms an end fitting on which are hinged radial ribs, and a slide block mounted on an axial slideway along the length of the rod, between an opening position in which it comes to a stop against the said ribs, maintaining them in the deployed position, and a closed position in which the ribs can fold in against the rod.
Umbrellas of the traditional type involve the use of a multiplicity of components, which require substantial labour for assembly and which cause their price to be relatively high.
An umbrella of a simple structure, thanks in particular to the elimination of the elements in the shape of a flying buttress, of which one of the ends is capable of articulation in the central area of the corresponding ribs, is described in WO-A-90/11702. This umbrella, of the type comprising a slide block such as that described in the preamble, comprises locking means which are capable of disconnection, and include a shaping of the slide block designed in such a way as to cooperate with the shaping of the ribs so as to ensure, with the umbrella in the deployed position, that a locking effect will be provided for the ribs in the deployed position, and a temporary locking effect, in the axial position, of the slide block.
However, the design of these locking means is complex, and demands a high degree of precision in manufacture in order to achieve a sufficient deployment of the ribs. If the umbrella is made of plastic material, it is virtually impossible to achieve a robust deployment of the ribs, in such a way as to stretch the fabric of the umbrella properly. Moreover, due to the fact of their shape, the locking means of the ribs in the deployed position can be easily unseated, and the umbrella tends to collapse at the lightest puff of wind.
The aim of the present invention is to propose an umbrella of simplified structure, which will allow for the disadvantages of the simplified design of umbrella, as described in WO-A-90/11702, to be overcome.
To this end, the invention relates to an umbrella comprising a rod, one end of which serves as a handle, while the other end forms an end mounting on which are hinged radial ribs, and a slide block mounted on an axial slide way along the length of the rod, between an opening position in which it comes to a stop against the said ribs, maintaining them in a deployed position, and a closed position in which the ribs can fold in against the rod, such as is defined in claim 1.
The umbrella according to the invention can to advantage be made entirely of plastic material.
Other advantages of the invention can be derived from the description which follows, given by way of example, and which relates to the appended drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a view of an axial section of a schematic design of the umbrella according to the invention, in the opened position;
FIG. 2 is a detailed section of the umbrella in FIG. 1, showing the manner in which the upper end of the slide block cooperates with the end of the ribs, in order to maintain the ribs in the deployed position;
FIG. 3 is a section I--I of a rib of the umbrella from FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a section II--II of a rib of the umbrella from FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view III--III of the rib from FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a detailed view from below of the end of the rib arranged to cooperate with the slide block;
FIG. 7 is a detailed schematic view of an example of the locking device of the slide block in the open position of the umbrella;
FIG. 8 is a detailed schematic view of an embodiment of the slide block locking device in the closed position of the umbrella.
The umbrella represented in FIG. 1 comprises a rod 1, which terminates at its lower end in a handle 2, and a number of ribs 3 (for example, eight) intended to deploy the fabric of the umbrella. A slide block 4 is mounted along the length of the rod 1, in such a way that it can slide axially along the length of the rod between a closed position, in which the ribs ca
REFERENCES:
patent: 1547538 (1925-07-01), Vincent
patent: 4182353 (1980-01-01), Hermanson
patent: 4215711 (1980-08-01), Hermanson
patent: 4624275 (1986-11-01), Baldwin
patent: 4736761 (1988-04-01), Warfield et al.
Browning Clifford W.
Mai Lanna
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