The invention relates to umbrellas.
Umbrellas are designed to protect a user against natural elements, such as sunlight and precipitation, like rain and snow. When a conventional umbrella is open, strong wind gusts can strike the underside of the canopy, causing the stretchers to bend in an upward direction, thereby inverting the dome-like shape of the canopy. This renders the umbrella ineffective in protecting a user from the natural elements. Further, such an inversion may cause the stretchers to break and, therefore, the umbrella to become unusable.
In one aspect, the invention relates to an umbrella including a support shaft, a plurality of ribs, a rotatable cam assembly, and a canopy. The support shaft includes an upper portion, a lower portion, and a longitudinal axis. Each rib of the plurality of ribs has a proximal end portion and a distal end portion. The proximal end portion is pivotably attached to the upper portion of the support shaft to pivot the rib between an open position and a closed position. The rotatable cam assembly includes a cam configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis. The cam is engaged with each rib of the plurality of ribs such that (i) each rib moves in a direction from the closed position to the open position when the cam rotates in a first direction and (ii) each rib moves in a direction from the open position to the closed position when the cam rotates in a second direction, the second direction being opposite the first direction. The canopy has an inner edge and an outer edge attached to the distal end portion of each of the ribs.
In another aspect, the invention relates to an umbrella including a support shaft, a plurality of ribs, a rotatable cam assembly, a fixed handle, and a canopy. The support shaft includes an upper portion, a lower portion, and a longitudinal axis. Each rib of the plurality of ribs has a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, and a slot formed in the proximal end portion. The slot includes a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end portion of each rib being pivotably attached to the upper portion of the support shaft to pivot the rib between an open position and a closed position. The rotatable cam assembly includes a cam, a movable handle, a rotatable shaft and a fixed handle. The cam is configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis. The cam includes a plurality of radially projecting rods. Each rod is engaged with the slot in a corresponding one of the ribs to slide in the slot. The movable handle is configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis. The rotatable shaft connects the movable handle to the cam such that, when the movable handle is rotated about the longitudinal axis, the movable handle rotates the rotatable shaft about the longitudinal axis, and the rotatable shaft rotates the cam assembly about the longitudinal axis. The fixed handle is connected to the lower portion of the support shaft. The canopy has an inner edge centrally mounted to the upper portion of the support shaft and an outer edge attached to the distal end portion of each of the ribs. When the movable handle rotates in a first direction, each rod slides in the corresponding slot from the proximal end to the distal end to move the corresponding rib from the closed position to the open position. When the movable handle rotates in a second direction, each rod slides in the corresponding slot from the distal end to the proximal end to move the corresponding rib from the open position to the closed position.
These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following disclosure.
In the description of preferred embodiments of the invention, the terms “inner” and “outer” are used in relation to an inner side and an outer side of a canopy of an umbrella, respectively, and are interchangeable with the terms “interior” and “exterior,” respectively. The terms “upper” and “lower” are used in relation to an upper end and a lower end of a support shaft, respectively, when the umbrella is oriented upright, as shown in
The outer edge 124 of the canopy 120 is attached to the distal end portion 134 of each of the ribs 130 by any suitable connection known in the art. In this embodiment, a plurality of receivers 126 are formed on the underside of the canopy 120. Each receiver 126 is configured to slide over the distal end portion 134, and more specifically the distal tip, of each rib 130. To remove the canopy 120, the top cap 146 is first removed by disengaging the snap engagement features and lifting the top cap 146 from the adaptor 142. The set screw 144 is then loosened to detach the adaptor 142 from the support shaft 110. The adaptor 142 can then be moved to provide slack in the canopy 120 and allow each receiver 126 to slide off of the distal end portion 134 of each rib 130. The process is reversed to install the canopy 120.
As shown in
As shown in
The structure of the umbrella 100, and more specifically the rotatable cam assembly 200 and the connection to the rib 130, discussed herein enables a fewer number of ribs to be used as compared to traditional umbrellas. The umbrella 100 preferably includes at least three ribs 130. In the embodiments shown and discussed herein, the umbrella 100 includes five ribs 130, but any suitable number of ribs 130 may be used. In some embodiments, each of the panels 128 are generally triangular between the ribs 130, with the. The canopy 120 may have a shape (e.g., the outer edge 124 of the canopy) with the same number of sides as the number of ribs 130. In the embodiment shown in
As shown in
The movable handle 210 is part of a rotatable cam assembly 200 that is used to move the plurality of ribs 130 between the closed position and the open position. The rotatable cam assembly 200 will be described in more detail with reference to
The arm 136 includes a slot 170 formed therein. The slot 170 is elongated in a direction from the proximal end portion 132 to the distal end portion 134 of the rib 130 in which the slot is formed. The slot 170 includes a proximal end 172 and a distal end 174 defining a longitudinal axis 176 of the slot 170. In some embodiments, the slot 170 may be linear from the proximal end 172 to the distal end 174 along the longitudinal axis 176, but in other embodiments, the slot 170 may have a shape, such as a curve shape or a V-shape. In the embodiment shown in
The rotatable cam assembly 200 also includes a rotatable shaft 220 and a cam 230. The movable handle 210 is connected to the cam 230 and configured to rotate the cam 230 about the longitudinal axis 102 when the movable handle 210 is moved. In this embodiment, the rotatable shaft 220 connects the movable handle 210 and the cam 230. Although indirect connections may be used, the rotatable shaft 220 directly connects the movable handle 210 to the cam 230 such that, when the movable handle 210 is rotated about the longitudinal axis 102, the movable handle 210 rotates the rotatable shaft 220 about the longitudinal axis, and the rotatable shaft 220 rotates the cam 230 about the movable handle 210.
In this embodiment, the support shaft 110 is an inner shaft and extends through each of the movable handle 210, rotatable shaft 220, and cam 230. More specifically, each of the movable handle 210, rotatable shaft 220, and cam 230 are annular having a passage formed therein, and the support shaft 110 extends through the passage. However, other suitable arrangements may be used, for example, the support shaft 110 may be the outer shaft having the passage formed therein and the rotatable shaft 220 may be the inner shaft extending through the support shaft 110.
The cam 230 is engaged with each rib 130 of the plurality of ribs 130 such that each rib 130 moves in a direction from the closed position to the open position when the cam 230 rotates in the first direction and each rib 130 moves in a direction from the open position to the closed position when the cam 230 rotates in the second direction. In this embodiment, the cam 230 includes a rotatable hub 232 having a plurality of radially projecting rods 234. Each rod 234 engages with the slot 170 in a corresponding one of the ribs 130. The rod 234 slides within the slot 170 as the rotatable hub 232 rotates about the longitudinal axis 102. When the rotatable hub 232 rotates in the first direction, each rod 234 slides in the corresponding slot 170 from the proximal end 172 to the distal end 174 to move the corresponding rib 130 from the closed position to the open position. The combination of the rotatable hub 232 and the rod 234 turns the rotational movement of the rotatable hub 232 to translational movement of the rod 234. As the rod 234 sidles (translates) in the slot 170, the rod 234 bears upon (contacts) an upper surface of the slot 170 raising the rib 130 from the closed position to the open position. The rod 234 has a length such that the rod 234 remains engaged with the slot 170 throughout the length of travel as the cam 230 rotates. To close the umbrella 100, the process is reversed. Each rod 234 slides in the corresponding slot 170, from the distal end 174 to the proximal end 172 to move the corresponding rib 130 from the open position to the closed position when the rotatable hub 232 rotates in the second direction.
An advantage of the umbrella 100 and the rotatable cam assembly 200 described herein, is that the umbrella 100 has very good wind resistance. In a conventional umbrella, the ribs are supported by a plurality of stretchers that connect an intermediate point of the rib to the shaft. The frame and the shaft of conventional umbrellas are optimized to be lightweight, so that the user can hold and support the conventional umbrella with one hand. As a result, the stretchers of the frame tend to be relatively thin. When the conventional umbrella is open, strong wind gusts can strike the lower side of the canopy, causing the stretchers to bend in an upward direction, thereby inverting the dome-like shape of the canopy. This renders the umbrella ineffective for protection from precipitation. Further, such an inversion may cause the stretchers to break and, therefore, the umbrella to become unusable.
The movable handle 210 includes a driving gear 242 and the rotatable shaft 220 includes a driven gear 244. The driving gear 242 of the movable handle 210 is configured to transmit a driving force from the movable handle 210 to the driven gear 244 of the rotatable shaft 220. In this embodiment, the driving gear 242 and the driven gear 244 are integrally molded (formed) with the movable handle 210 and the rotatable shaft 220, respectively.
The gear assembly 240 of this embodiment is a planetary gear arrangement with the driving gear 242 being a sun gear and the driven gear 244 being a ring gear. The gear assembly 240 also includes a plurality of intermediate gears 246 having teeth formed on an exterior surface thereof. Teeth are formed on the exterior of the driving gear 242 and the teeth of each of the intermediate gears 246 mesh with the teeth of the driving gear 242 such that the driving force is transmitted from the driving gear 242 to the intermediate gears 246. As noted above, the driven gear 244 is a ring gear with teeth formed on an interior surface thereof. The teeth of the intermediate gears 246 also mesh with the teeth of the driven gear 244 to transmit the driving force from the intermediate gear 246 to the driven gear 244 and thus the rotatable shaft 220. The driving gear 242 and the driven gear 244 are positioned coaxially with each other and the axis is the longitudinal axis 102. Each of the driving gear 242 and the driven gear 244 are configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis 102.
In this embodiment shown in
As noted above, a locking mechanism 180 may be used to prevent the movable handle 210 and thus the rotatable cam assembly 200 from rotating. An example of such a locking mechanism 180 is shown in
Although this invention has been described with respect to certain specific exemplary embodiments, many additional modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. It is, therefore, to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. Thus, the exemplary embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the invention to be determined by any claims supportable by this application and the equivalents thereof, rather than by the foregoing description.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/050,812, filed Jul. 12, 2020, and titled “SPIRAL-SPOKED UMBRELLA,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220007803 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63050812 | Jul 2020 | US |