Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6810894
-
Patent Number
6,810,894
-
Date Filed
Monday, January 6, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, November 2, 200419 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- King; Anita
- Sterling; Amy J.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 135 22
- 135 23
- 135 24
- 135 251
- 135 254
- 135 75
- 135 203
- 135 201
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An automatic folding umbrella is disclosed. Operation of opening and retracting the umbrella is performed by the controlling device installed in the handle, The umbrella comprises of a set of telescopic shafts which includes an upper shaft, a middle shaft and a lower shaft, a notch fixed at the top of the upper shaft, a runner movable along the upper shaft, a pull ring installed on the upper shaft and between the notch and runner, a handle which includes a control device within, fixed at the lower end of the lower shaft, multiple ribs and stretchers connecting the notch and runner, a plurality of expandable springs installed between the notch and the pull ring, a plurality of expandable springs installed between the pull ring and runner, and at least one buckle installed between two shafts
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The mentioned invention relates to umbrellas, and particularly to an automatic folding umbrella. By such invention the umbrella user can easily and conveniently operate the umbrella with only one hand.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For conventional automatic umbrellas, the “automatic” mechanism is only applicable when opening the umbrella, and will still require manual operation when retracting and folding the umbrella back to its rest position. In general, there are two types of umbrellas, one is stick umbrellas and the other is folding umbrellas. The stick umbrella can not be folded down and will stay the same shape and size before and after use. The folding umbrella will fully stretch out and open when use, but can be folded down afterwards. Comparing to stick umbrellas, the sizes of the folding umbrellas are about one third of the sizes of the sick umbrellas at the resting position, and thus does not occupy as much space.
Even though the folding umbrella provides some advantage over stick umbrella, it will still require two hands to retract and fold-down the umbrella. Such requirement has proven to be very inconvenient and troublesome when the user is operating the folding umbrella while carrying objects in hand at the same time. The user simply does not have both hands free and available to successfully operate the folding umbrella. Such circumstance can be very difficult and frustrating when carrying objects in hand while entering a car or indoor in a raining day.
Thereby, an automatic folding umbrella is developed such that the umbrella can be opened up and folded back automatically. However the current automatic folding umbrella mechanism can only close in the umbrella cover and ribs while the umbrella shafts (multiple shafts) are still extended. It will require manual operation of pressing down the multiple shafts so that the umbrella can be completely retracted back to its original resting position. If such step is not taken to restore the umbrella back to its original resting position, the automatic mechanism will lose its ability to perform the “automatic opening” function in next usage. Thus, this design only posses ability to “auto” open, but “semi auto” close. It will still require manual operation to finish up the umbrella retracting step to full restore the umbrella back to its original resting position.
Based on the above mentioned facts, the objective of this invention is such that with single hand operation, one is capable of complete the cycle of operating an automatic umbrella from its resting position to the opening position, then retracting the open umbrella back to its original rest position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The first objective of this invention is to provide a fully automatic folding umbrella. With single hand operation, one is capable of completing the cycle of operating an automatic umbrella from a rest position to an opening position, then retracting the open umbrella back to its original rest position. At the umbrella open position, the fully connected and extended multiple umbrella shafts can be retracted back to the size and position of single shaft. A push and brake device installed at the upper end of the middle shaft. The push and brake device includes a sleeve in the middle shaft. A push rod is in the sleeve, having an upper tapered head and a lower tapered head. An expandable spring is in the sleeve for ejecting the push rod. A pull line is installed between the push rod and a brake block of the control device. A buckle has a buckle ring at the lower end of the upper shaft buckle stud and an expandable spring are in the inner hole of buckle ring, wherein after the buckle stud passes through the holes of the upper shaft and the middle shaft, and then inserts into a guide groove in the push rod and between an upper tapered head and a lower tapered head.
The second objective of this invention is to provide a fully automatic folding umbrella. A special control device installed in the handle enables the user at the push of button on the umbrella handle, in a two-step procedure, to open and retract the umbrella. The umbrella will be fully retracted back to its original rest position without additional manual assistance. The control device in the handle includes a button at a groove of the handle, a brake block in the lower shaft, a spring installed in a guided groove of the handle for pushing the button backwards, and a contractible spring at a lower end of the brake block. The inner side of the button has a control ring passing through a radial groove. When the lower shaft passes through the axial straight hole of the handle, the control ring encloses a periphery of the lower shaft, and a front stopper and a rear stopper on the inner wall of the control ring passes through the two corresponding holes of the lower shaft. The rear stopper resists against an upper end of the brake block.
The third objective of this invention is to provide a fully automatic folding umbrella. A buckle serves for connecting the middle shaft and the lower shaft. The buckle includes a post stud installed in the lower shaft and a pulley installed in a post rod at the upper end of the post stud. An inserting stud for fixing the post stud to the lower shaft, and an elastic buckle piece is installed at the wall of the post stud. The inserting stud passes through a hole in the lower shaft, and then in inserted into the hole of the post stud. The pulley is a turning point of the pull line, and elastic buckling piece has a bead. The bead is buckled into the holes of the middle shaft and lower shaft.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG.1
is a schematic cross sectional view showing that in the present invention the umbrella cover and ribs are folded in, the multiple shafts are stretched-out.
FIG. 1A
is a schematic view showing the push rod and the buckle stud of
FIG. 1
FIG. 1B
is a schematic view of umbrella handle showing the engagement of the brake block and the control device.
FIG. 1C
shows the of buckle stud for the pull-ring at lock-in position with the upper shaft
FIG. 2
is a prospective view of drawing on the handle and brake block.
FIG. 3
is a prospective view of drawing on the pull-ring, buckles and push-and-brake device.
FIG. 4
is a prospective view of drawing on the join-buckle between an upper shaft and an middle shaft of the present invention.
FIG. 5
is a prospective view of drawing on the construction of upper shaft and pull-ring of the present invention.
FIG. 6
is a cross section view of the umbrella retracted and folded at its rest position according to the present invention.
FIG. 7
is a schematic view showing the umbrella at open position after first release of the handle push-button.
FIG. 7A
is a schematic view showing the buckle stud for the pull-ring at release position with the upper shaft.
FIG. 7B
is a schematic view showing the operation of the handle after the first release of the handle push-button.
FIG. 8
is a schematic view showing the position of the umbrella after the second release of the handle push-button.
FIG. 8A
is a schematic view showing that the buckle stud in
FIG. 8
is released from the middle shaft
FIG. 9
is a schematic view showing the shafts retracted in as the runner and pull-ring descend.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The Invention will be Described in Detail Below
With reference to
FIG. 1
, the cross section view showing that in the present invention, the umbrella cover and ribs are folded in, the multiple shafts are stretched-out. The multiple set of shafts
10
umbrella comprises a middle shaft
12
, an upper shaft
11
on a top of middle shaft
12
, and a runner
30
moveable along an upper shaft
11
; a pull-ring
40
positioned among the upper shaft
11
, a notch
20
, a runner
30
, a handle
50
at a lower end of lower shaft
13
; and an umbrella rib and a stretcher
61
connecting notch
20
and runner
30
. The umbrella rib and stretcher
61
is the main construction in support of the umbrella cover. A set of expandable spring is positioned on the upper shaft
11
and between the notch
20
and a pull-ring
40
, and a contractible spring
63
is installed on the upper shaft
11
and is installed between the pull-string
40
and the runner
30
. In the drawing, the multiple set of shafts
10
is assembled by an upper shaft
11
, a middle shaft
12
and a lower shaft
13
. The number of shafts is not confined by this embodiment; the number of shafts may be 2, 4 or more.
A buckle
90
is mounted between the upper and middle shafts
11
and
12
, and another buckle
80
is mounted between the middle and lower shafts
12
and
13
. The handle
50
has a push button controlling device
51
for opening and closing the umbrella. A push and brake device
70
is mounted inside the middle shaft
12
where it joins the upper shaft
11
.
In reference to FIG.
1
B and
FIG. 2
, the control device
51
is installed in the umbrella handle
50
and constitutes of push-button
52
in the handle groove
502
, a brake block
53
at the lower shaft
13
, a spring
54
installed in a handle guide groove
503
for pushing back the push-button
52
, and a contractible spring
55
underneath the brake block
53
. Connecting to the push-button
52
is a control ring
521
that passes through the groove area
503
. When the lower shaft
13
penetrates through the straight hole
501
in handle
50
, the control ring
521
will embrace the lower shaft
13
, and two symmetrical front stopper
522
and rear stopper
523
in the control ring
521
will pass through the two corresponding holes
131
,
132
at the lower shaft
13
. The rear stopper
523
will resist against the upper side of brake block
53
. In addition, the bottom of the brake block
53
is pulled down by a contractible spring
55
. The other end of the contractible spring
55
is fixed to the bottom end of lower shaft
13
. As shown in FIG.
2
and
FIG. 1B
, the contractible spring
55
is fixed to block
552
by the screw
551
. The top of the brake block
53
is hooked up and pulled by a pull line
74
at a fixed length. The upper end of pull line
74
is fixed to a push rod
72
of a push and brake device
70
. On the side of brake block
53
facing the button
52
is a first protruding block
531
, and a second protruding block
534
. Another end of the brake block
53
facing the button
52
is installed with a first receiving groove
532
, and a second receiving groove
533
. The height of the first protruding block
531
is lower then that of the first receiving groove
532
, but higher than that of the second receiving groove
533
.
As shown in the
FIGS. 1A and 3
, an inner upper end of the middle shaft
12
is installed with a push and brake device
70
(referring to left side view of FIG.
3
). The push and brake device
70
includes a sleeve
71
in the middle shaft
12
, a push rod
72
in the sleeve
71
, an expandable spring
73
installed in the sleeve
71
for ejecting the push rod
72
and a pull line
74
hung between the push rod
72
and the brake block
53
.
The push rod
72
is a round tube
721
with an upper tapered head
722
and a lower tapered head
723
. Diameters of the upper tapered head
722
and lower tapered head
723
are larger than that of the sleeve
71
. A top of the tapered head
722
serves for fixing the pull line
74
. A protruding block
724
can be installed. A long slot
725
on a wall of the round tube
721
is matched and coupled to the though holes
711
of the sleeve
71
and the though hole
122
on the wall of the middle shaft
12
for being inserted by a stud
75
. Therefore, the sleeve
71
is fixed to the middle shaft
12
. The push rod
72
resists against the stud
75
by the long slot
725
so that it only moves along a predetermined distance and cannot rotate leftwards or rightwards.
Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 3
, the buckle
90
serves to fix the upper shaft
11
and middle shaft
12
. As the right side view of the drawing, the buckle
90
is positioned below the lower cell
30
. The buckle
90
includes a buckling ring
91
at a lower end of the upper shaft
11
, a buckle stud
92
and an expandable spring
62
in an inner hole
911
of the buckling ring
91
. An insert stud
94
passes through the though hole
912
and then through the positioning hole
113
of the upper shaft
11
so that the buckling ring
91
is fixed. The buckle stud
92
passes through the though holes
111
,
121
of the upper shaft
11
and middle shaft
12
(referring to FIG.
1
A), and then through the guide groove
726
between the upper tapered head and lower tapered head. Next, an inner hole
301
at a lower end of the lower cell
30
has a buckle stud
31
and an expandable spring
32
. The buckle stud
31
passes through the though hole
112
the upper shaft
11
(referring to
FIG. 1A
) to resist against a top end of the upper tapered head of the push rod
72
.
With reference to
FIGS. 1 and 4
, a buckle piece
80
serves to fix the middle shaft
12
and lower shaft
13
. The buckle
80
includes an inserting stud
83
fixed in the lower shaft
13
and an elastic buckle
85
at a wall of the post stud
81
, a pulley
82
at the post
811
at an upper end of the post stud
81
, an inserting stud
83
for fixing the post stud
81
at the lower shaft
13
; and an elastic buckle piece
85
installed on an wall of the post stud
81
. The inserting stud
83
passes through the though hole
134
of the lower shaft
13
and then inserts into an embedding hole
813
of the post stud
81
. The pulley
82
is a turning point of the pull line
84
. Upper ends of the two pull lines
84
passing through the pulley pass through the right and left pulleys
21
at a top of the upper shaft
11
and then are guided into the pull ring
40
to wind around the two winding wheels
42
. When the upper shaft
11
, middle shaft
12
and lower shaft
13
expand completely, the pull lines
84
are tightly extended. By the pull lines
84
, the pull ring
40
can be pulled upwards to a top of the upper shaft
11
. On the contrary, when the upper shaft
11
, middle shaft
12
and lower shaft
13
are contracted, the pull lines
84
are loosed. The pull ring
40
will descend due to the releasing effect of the top expandable spring
62
(this will be described further in the following). A lower inserting piece
852
of the elastic buckle piece
85
is inserted into an inserting opening
812
of the post stud
81
. An bead
851
at an upper end of the elastic buckle piece
85
can be buckled into a though hole
133
at an upper end of the upper shaft
11
and then embeds into the though hole
122
of the middle shaft
12
so that the middle shaft
12
and lower shaft
13
are buckled with one another. On the contrary, if the beads do not embed into the lower though hole
122
of the middle shaft
12
, the middle shaft
12
and lower shaft
13
will release from one another.
Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 5
, a center of the pull ring
40
at an upper end of the upper shaft
11
has a slot
41
for being passed through by the upper shaft
11
. Two sides inside the slot
41
each have respective winding wheels
84
for winding the pull lines
84
. The pull line
84
passes out of the line holes
43
at a top surface of the pull ring
40
, and then winds through the pulleys
21
in the notches
201
of the upper cells
20
, then the pull lines
84
pass through the two symmetrical notches
115
at a top of the upper shaft
11
; and then extends downwards to wind around the pulley
82
of the buckle
80
. When the middle rods
11
to
13
are expanded, the pull lines
84
are tightened. When the pulley
82
rises, the pull line looses so that the pull ring
40
descends due to the expansion of the expandable springs
62
. On the contrary, when the pulley
82
descends to a predetermined position (referring to FIG.
1
), the pull line
84
tightens so that the pull ring
40
pulls upwards until the buckle stud
45
is embedded into a though hole
114
of the upper shaft
11
(referring to FIG.
1
C). The springs
62
are pressed by the pull ring
40
and thus compresses. A lateral wall of the pull ring
40
is formed with a though hole
44
for receiving the buckle stud
45
and the expandable spring
46
. A rear end of the buckle stud
45
is combined with an inserting rod
47
. The inserting rod
47
inserts into the inserting opening
441
. The inserting opening
441
is communicated with the though hole
44
. Another axial though hole
401
is communicated with the radial inserting opening
441
. The though hole
401
may be inserted by a passing rod
48
from an upper side thereof. A top of this passing rod
48
has a wedge surface
481
and a thin rod
482
. The thin rod
482
can insert into an annular opening
471
of the inserting rod
47
. When the wedge surface
481
moves upwards or descends, the inserting rod
47
moves laterally to enforce the buckle stud
45
moves. When the buckle stud
45
is buckled into the though hole
114
at the top of the upper shaft
11
, the pull ring
40
will fix to the upper shaft
11
without separation. If the buckle stud
45
separates from the though hole
114
, the pull ring
40
is separated from the upper shaft
11
.
The expansion process of the present invention is illustrated in FIG.
6
. In
FIG. 6
, the umbrella is folded for storage before expansion. The set of shafts
10
is contracted as a single section, when it is desired to expand the umbrella, the middle rods
11
to
13
of the set of shafts
10
are extended manually, as illustrated in FIG.
1
. Since the upper shaft
11
and middle shaft
12
are fixed by the buckle
90
, and the middle shaft
12
and the lower shaft
13
are fixed by the buckle
80
, after expansion, the upper shaft
11
, middle shaft
12
and upper shaft
11
are positioned and do not contract. When the lower shaft
13
extends backwards, the pulley
82
at the top of the lower shaft
13
rises by the two pull lines
84
so as to pull the pull ring
40
until the buckle stud
45
moves upwards and then buckled into the though hole
114
of the upper shaft
11
and is buckled therein. Then, a buckle stud
31
at a lower end of the lower cell
30
will be ejects by spring
32
so as to be buckled into the though hole
112
near a lower end of the upper shaft
11
to resist the rising of the push rod
72
. Besides, after the upper shaft
11
moves to an upper end of the middle shaft
12
, the buckle stud
91
for buckling the buckle
90
will be buckled into the though hole
121
.
Referring to
FIG. 7
, when the user presses the button
52
of the handle
50
first time, the stopper
523
reduces so that the brake block
53
is not hindered and thus can rise upwards. When the raised brake block
53
is hindered by the front stopper
522
at the lateral side of the first protruding block
531
, it will not rise again. Therefore, the brake block
53
only rises through a distance of L
1
. Since the brake block
53
rises through a distance of L
1
, the push rod
72
also rises with a distance of L
1
. However, at this time, the upper tapered head
722
will press the buckle stud
31
so as to reduce outwards to separate from the though hole
112
. Therefore, the lower cell
30
is not be fixed to a lower end of the upper shaft
11
. On the contrary, it is pulled by the compressed spring
63
. When it rises to the top to touch the pass rod
48
so that after the pass rod
48
(referring to
FIG. 7A
) rises, the inserting rod
47
will move outwards and the buckle stud
45
separates from the though hole
114
. Thereby, the pull ring
40
is not fixed the upper end of the upper shaft
11
. Although the lower cell
30
and pull ring
40
are not combined to the upper shaft
11
, and the middle rods
11
to
13
are fixed by the buckles
80
and
90
, the lower cell
30
and pull ring
40
can not descend. Since the bones
61
and umbrella cloth are expands, the user can use the umbrella to shield rain or sunshine.
With reference to
FIG. 7B
, when the finger release the button
52
, the button
52
will restore by the expansion of the spring
54
and thus the front stopper
522
reduces inwards and the brake block
53
rises slightly until the protruded rear stopper
523
moves to the first receiving groove
532
, while the brake block
53
does not rise again.
Referring to
FIG. 8
, when the umbrella is to be folded, the user presses the button
52
twice, and then the rear stopper
523
reduces so that the brake block
53
dose not be hindered. When the raised brake block
53
does not rise since the second protruding block
534
is hindered by the front stopper
522
. Therefore, the brake block
53
rises through a distance of L
2
. On the contrary, after the pull line
74
releases, the push rod
72
is pushed by the spring
73
to rise through a distance of L
2
. However, at this time, the lower tapered head
723
will press the buckle stud
92
to reduce outwards and thus not to pass through the though hole
121
(referring to FIG.
8
A). Then the upper shaft
11
and middle shaft
12
does not be buckled and thus the two can be separated at any time. When the middle shaft
12
reduces into the upper shaft
11
, the pull lines
84
will loose so that the expandable springs
62
extend. The tensions from the extension of the expandable springs
62
are larger than the elastic force of the contractible spring
63
so as to enforce the pull ring
40
and lower cell
30
descends. Thus the upper shaft
11
descends therewith. The middle shaft
12
reduces into the upper shaft
11
continuously.
Referring to
FIG. 9
, when the upper shaft
11
descends to be flushed with a lower end of the middle shaft
12
, the bead
851
of the buckle
80
is extruded inward to separate from the though hole
122
so that the middle shaft
12
and lower shaft
13
are released from one another. Therefore, the upper shaft
11
and middle shaft
12
descend to be flushed with the lower shaft
13
. Finally, a folding condition as shown in the
FIG. 6
is achieved. The bones
61
and umbrella cloth are folded for storage without any manual operation.
By the present invention, the user can control the umbrella by only one hand so that the user can use the umbrella easily and conveniently. Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. An automatic folding umbrella comprisinga set of telescopic shafts including an upper shaft, a middle shaft and a lower shaft, a notch fixed at a top of the upper shaft, a runner movable along an upper shaft, a pull ring installed on the upper shaft and installed between the notch and the runner, a handle including a control device within, fixed at a lower end of the lower shaft, a plurality of ribs and stretchers connecting the notch and the runner, expandable springs installed between the notch and the pull ring, expandable springs installed between the pull ring and runner, at least one first buckle installed between two shafts, characterized in that: a push and brake device installed at an upper end of the middle shaft, the push and brake device includes a sleeve in the middle shaft, a push rod in the sleeve, the push rod has an upper tapered and a lower tapered head, an expandable spring in the sleeve for ejecting the push rod, a pull line installed between the push rod and a break block of the control device, a second buckle is installed at the lower end of the upper shaft, a buckle stud and an expandable spring in an inner hole of the buckle ring, where as after the buckle stud passes through holes of the upper shaft, middle shaft, and then insert into a guide groove in the push rod between a upper tapered head and a lower tapered head.
- 2. The automatic folding umbrella construction as claimed in above claim 1, wherein an inner hole at the lower end of the runner has a buckle stud and an expandable spring, the buckle stud is inserted into a through hole of the upper shaft to resist against a top end of the upper tapered head of the push rod.
- 3. The automatic folding umbrella as claimed in claim 1, wherein the push rod is a round tube with an upper tapered head and a lower tapered head, diameters of the upper tapered head and lower tapered head are larger than that of the sleeves; at a upper tapered head is a protruding block to fix the pull line.
- 4. The automatic folding umbrella as claimed in claim 1, wherein a wall of the push rod is formed with a slot, the slot is aligned with the through holes of the wall of the sleeve and middle shaft, an inserting stud inserts into the through hole of the sleeve and the middle shaft for fixing the sleeve to the middle shaft, the stud is further inserted into the slot of the push rod so that the displacement of the push rod is confined by the stud.
- 5. An automatic folding umbrella comprising:a set of telescopic shafts including an upper shaft, a middle shaft and a lower shaft, a notch fixed at a top of the upper shaft, a runner movable along the upper shaft, a pull ring installed on the upper shaft, in between the notch and runner, a handle including a control device fixed at the lower end of the lower shaft, a plurality of ribs and stretchers connecting the notch and runner, a plurality of expandable springs installed between the notch and the pull ring, a plurality of springs installed between the pull ring and runner, a first buckle connecting the upper shaft and the middle shaft and a second buckle connecting the middle shaft and the lower shaft; wherein the second buckle for connecting the middle shaft and the lower shaft includes a post stud installed in the lower shaft, and a pulley installed on a post rod at an upper end of the post stud, an inserting stud for fixing the post stud to the lower shaft, and an elastic buckle piece installed at a wall of the post stud, the inserting stud passes through a hole in the lower shaft, and then is inserted into an embedded hole of the post stud, the pulley is a turning point of the pull line, and the elastic buckling piece has a bead, the bead is buckled into the holes of the middle shaft and lower shaft.
- 6. The automatic folding umbrella as claimed in claim 5 wherein a lower end of the elastic buckle piece is inserted into an inserting opening of the post stud and the bead is formed at an upper end of the elastic buckle piece.
- 7. The automatic folding umbrella as claimed in claim 5, wherein two ends of the pull line are formed as two lines after the pull line passes through the pulley, upper ends of the pull lines pass through the pulleys at a left and right top end of the upper shaft, and then the pull lines are guided into the pull ring to wind around the two winding wheels in the pull ring.
- 8. The automatic folding umbrella as claimed in claim 5, wherein an inner lateral wall of the pull ring is formed with a through hole for receiving the buckle stud and the expandable spring, a rear end of the buckle stud is combined with an inserting rod, an outer lateral wall of the pull ring is installed with an inserting opening, the inserting rod inserts into an inserting opening, the inserting opening is communicated with the hole, another axial hole is communicated with the radial inserting opening, the axial hole is inserted by a passing rod from an upper side thereof, a top of this passing rod has a wedge surface and a thin rod, the thin rod is insert into an annular opening of the inserting rod.
US Referenced Citations (12)