Patent Application
20210298436
Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet as filed with the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 C.F.R. § 1.57.
This application is directed to shade structures, assemblies, and components, including umbrella assemblies and components.
Umbrellas typically have a symmetrical configuration with an umbrella pole in the center of a canopy assembly. The canopy assembly can include upper and lower hubs with rib members that are foldable and extendable. When extended the umbrella ribs extend a shade-providing canopy over the rib members and pole. The rib members extend radially in a symmetrical manner from the hub or hubs.
It is desired to provide shade structures and components therefor that can provide non-symmetrical shade structure and umbrella configurations. For example, a rectangular umbrella can be provided. Ribs can be supported from a central hub. The ribs can extend from the central hub to a periphery of the canopy. Some of the ribs extend radially from the hub to the periphery of the canopy. Some of the ribs extend along a direction angled from a radial direction.
In one embodiment an umbrella rib apparatus is provided. The apparatus can be a rib end connector, a plug to receive a rib socket, or a rib to be coupled with an upper or lower hub of an umbrella or other shade structure. The apparatus includes a pin connection portion that has a first end configured to be disposed in a channel of an umbrella or other shade structure hub. The apparatus has a second portion opposite the first portion, a first side surface and a second side surface. A circumferential width of the pin connection portion is defined between the first and second lateral surfaces. A pin channel disposed between the first side surface and the second side surface. The pin channel has a narrowest portion disposed between the first side surface and the second side surface. The pin channel increases in size along at least one direction between the narrowest portion and the first side surface and/or the second side surface.
The pin channel can increase in size in a radial direction. The pin channel can have a constant height from the first side surface to the second side surface. The pin channel can enlarge symmetrically from the narrowest portion to the first side surface and to the second side surface. The pin channel comprises an hourglass shape in longitudinal cross-section.
At least one of the first side surface and the second side surface can be tapered toward the first end of the pin connection portion. The first side surface and the second side surface can both be tapered toward the first end.
Features of the invention can be better understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. The drawings include the following figures:
While the present description sets forth specific details of various embodiments, it will be appreciated that the description is illustrative only and should not be construed in any way as limiting. Furthermore, various applications of such embodiments and modifications thereto, which may occur to those who are skilled in the art, are also encompassed by the general concepts described herein. Each and every feature described herein, and each and every combination of two or more of such features, is included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in such a combination are not mutually inconsistent.
This application discloses an inventive umbrella and other shade structures and components for the same.
The umbrella assembly 100 is often used for a shade structure that is symmetrical about the umbrella pole 104, e.g., a circular, square, hexagon, or similar shape.
The pin channel 320 can have a constant height in one embodiment. In this context, the height is the dimension perpendicular to the radial dimension. The shape of the pin channel 320 are the opposing side surfaces 328 is oval with a major axis aligned with the radial direction and a minor axis transverse to the radial direction. The minor axis at the opposing side surfaces 328 can be equal to the radius of the opening at the narrowest portion 324.
In use, the shape of the pin channel 320 allows an upper ribs 108 including the rib end connector 300 coupled to the hub 216 to be angled away from a radial direction. The pin channel 320 can allow a pin orientation P1 (illustrated horizontally by solid lines in
The oval shape of the pin channel 320 provides that in some embodiments an upper rib 108 with the rib end connector 300 will tilt in only one direction in addition to open-close rotation about the pin 224. For example the upper ribs 108 disposed in a central portion of the channel 222, e.g., aligned with the horizontal mid-plane of the hub 216 can tilt in the circumferential direction of the hub 216 but will not tilt about the longitudinal axis of the upper rib 108. This one direction tilting allows the upper rib 108 to extend along a direction that can reach a corner portion of a rectangular or other asymmetric shape while another rib can extend along the radial direction to reach another portion of a periphery of a canopy fabric 102. By providing such tilting the rib end connector 300 is able to provide for angling the ribs without relying on bending of a connector.
In an alternative embodiment, the pin channel 320 lacks the narrowest portion 324. The pin channel 320 can extend from the first opposing side surface 328 to the second opposing side surface 328 forming a slot within the rib end connector having substantially the same cross sectional shape therethrough. The enlarged internal shape of the pin channel 320 can also accommodate the pin orientation P2. The tapered first and second opposing side surfaces 328 can accommodate angling of the connection portion 304 about the axis 302B within the inner walls of the channel 222. The slot formed by the pin channel 320 can accommodate angling of the connection portion 304 about the axis 302B on the pin 224.
While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the systems and methods described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present inventions is defined only by reference to the appended claims.
Features, materials, characteristics, or groups described in conjunction with a particular aspect, embodiment, or example are to be understood to be applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example described in this section or elsewhere in this specification unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. The protection is not restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. The protection extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.
Furthermore, certain features that are described in this disclosure in the context of separate implementations can also be implemented in combination in a single implementation. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised from the combination, and the combination may be claimed as a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.
Moreover, while operations may be depicted in the drawings or described in the specification in a particular order, such operations need not be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Other operations that are not depicted or described can be incorporated in the example methods and processes. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the described operations. Further, the operations may be rearranged or reordered in other implementations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the actual steps taken in the processes illustrated and/or disclosed may differ from those shown in the figures. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps described above may be removed, others may be added. Furthermore, the features and attributes of the specific embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Also, the separation of various system components in the implementations described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and it should be understood that the described components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single product or packaged into multiple products.
For purposes of this disclosure, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features are described herein. Not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves one advantage or a group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
Conditional language, such as “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.
Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require the presence of at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.
Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately”, “about”, “generally,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and within less than 0.01% of the stated amount. As another example, in certain embodiments, the terms “generally parallel” and “substantially parallel” refer to a value, amount, or characteristic that departs from exactly parallel by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degree.
The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by the specific disclosures of preferred embodiments in this section or elsewhere in this specification, and may be defined by claims as presented in this section or elsewhere in this specification or as presented in the future. The language of the claims is to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to the examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63001108 | Mar 2020 | US |
