Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Umbrella
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-19
2001-12-18
Gibson, Jr., Robert W. (Department: 3634)
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Umbrella
C135S019500, C135S020300, C135S033200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06330886
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Scope of Invention
This invention relates generally to table and beach umbrellas, and more particularly to an umbrella top formed of a plurality of separate elongated vanes or panels which are uniquely attached to one another to protect the umbrella top in wind.
2. Prior Art
Conventional table and beach umbrellas are susceptible to being upset and carried away, damaged or cause damage when strong gusts of wind are encountered. Various anchors, poles and other means of securing the elongated main umbrella pole are well known to at least partially deal with this problem. However, such anchoring means is quite dependent upon the surrounding support surface into which the anchor is positioned and may lead to damage to the main support pole itself.
Prior art teaches various attempts to provide a vented umbrella top to reduce the lifting forces and thus make them more wind resistant. However, most prior attempts do not effectively deal with the likelihood of the umbrella top becoming windborne, despite the fact that some of these attempts have become extremely complicated and inordinately heavy.
One successful attempt to answer this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,455 invented by O'Rear which provides a wind-resistant umbrella which has been shown to be effective, relatively economically manufacturable, light weight and inexpensive. This invention, however, relies upon extreme flexibility of the individual vanes or panels and a somewhat complex support structure including a rigid periphery to support the vanes while still allowing them to flex and twist in wind.
The present invention represents an improvement over the O'Rear umbrella by eliminating many of the more heavy and cumbersome structural members and further improving the strength and configuration of each of the vanes.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a collapsible wind-resistant umbrella including an elongated main support pole and an umbrella top. The umbrella top includes a tubular secondary pole slidably translatable over the main support pole, a hub connected at an upper end thereof to the secondary pole and supportively engaged against a support member on the main support pole whereby the secondary pole and hub are supported on the upright main support pole. A plurality of vanes, each being wider at the outer end thereof, are pivotally connected in evenly spaced relation at a central or inner end thereof to and around substantially the entire hub periphery. A vane carrier is mounted for sliding translation over the secondary pole and a plurality of rigid or semi-rigid vane support rods are pivotally connected at one end thereof in evenly spaced relation to and around substantially the entire said vane carrier periphery. The end of each said vane support rod is pivotally connected to a mid point of one longitudinal edge of each corresponding vane. An elongated endless non-elastic cord extends circumferentially around, and is connected to each vane adjacent its outer or distal end. The other edge of each vane remains free and overlapping the next adjacent vane whereby a portion of each vane may lift free of the next adjacent vane in a wind to permit venting of the umbrella.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved wind-resistant collapsible umbrella with improved strength and simplified, lightened construction and manufacturing economy while remaining effective in reducing likelihood of wind damage.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2517281 (1950-08-01), Brown
patent: 3345786 (1967-10-01), Buzzella et al.
patent: 3386455 (1968-06-01), O'Rear
patent: 3559661 (1971-02-01), O'Rear
patent: 3930514 (1976-01-01), Wu
patent: 4023582 (1977-05-01), Buzzella et al.
patent: 5348034 (1994-09-01), Bulgatz
patent: 5433233 (1995-07-01), Shiran et al.
Culver Patricia M.
Culver Philip H.
Aerovane Products, Inc.
Culver Patricia M.
Gibson , Jr. Robert W.
Prescott Charles J.
LandOfFree
Wind-resistant umbrella does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Wind-resistant umbrella, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Wind-resistant umbrella will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2595007