1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to umbrellas and more particularly to such an umbrella having an illumination device with improved characteristics including being aesthetic, being capable of controlling color of emitted light, and being capable of flashing.
2. Description of Related Art
For increasing safety when walking in the night, umbrellas equipped with illumination devices are commercially available. In this regard, there have been numerous suggestions in prior patents for umbrella having illumination device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,451 discloses a lamp means detachably securable on umbrella top, U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,873 discloses an umbrella with an illumination device, U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,481 discloses an illumination assembly for umbrella, U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,509 discloses an illumination umbrella grip detachably mounted with cassette LED illuminating unit, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,434 discloses an umbrella grip attached with a light source.
Shank is the most important component for support the umbrella frame and withstanding strong wind. This is particularly true for large golf umbrellas. However, so far as the inventor is aware, there are no umbrella shanks equipped with illumination device.
As well known in the art, hollow umbrella shanks made of transparent plastic have the disadvantage of being weak in structural strength. Solid umbrella shanks made of transparent plastic have the advantage of added structural strength. But light transmission therethrough is adversely affected. Reflector(s) provided in the solid shank may improve its light transmission. However, it is still impossible of letting light passing through the whole length of the shank in terms of current technology.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a novel umbrella having its shank being structurally strong, transparent through its whole length, and capable of emitting colorful light and flashing in order to overcome the inadequacies of the prior art.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an umbrella having an illumination device so as to increase safety when walking in the night.
It is another object of the invention to provide an umbrella having an illumination device with improved characteristics being aesthetic, being capable of controlling color of emitted light, and being capable of flashing.
To achieve the above and other objects, the invention provides an illumination device for an umbrella including a hollow shank made of translucent FRP and a handle fixedly disposed on a bottom of the shank, the illumination device being disposed in the shank and comprising a plurality of illumination members spaced along the hollow of the shank, a power source, and an exposed switch adapted to press to either electrically connect the power source to the illumination members or electrically disconnect the power source from the illumination members.
In one aspect of the invention each of inner and/or outer surfaces of the shank has either a meshed structure or a strap-like structure so that light may be diffused after passing the shank, resulting in an aesthetic lighting.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.
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The handle 10 is hollow and thus has a cylindrical space 11 open to the top. The shank 20 is hollow and is made of translucent FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic). As shown in
The illumination device 30 comprises a circuit board 31 mounted in the space 11, a plurality of illumination members (e.g., LEDs (light-emitting diodes) or bulbs) 32 equally spaced along the hollow of the shank 20 in which one illumination member 32 is provided in the ferrule 60, a pair of wires 322 electrically interconnecting the illumination members 32 and the circuit board 31, a switch 33 mounted on the surface of the handle 10, and a power source (e.g., two cells) 34 mounted proximate the bottom of the handle 10, and a pair of conductors 311 electrically interconnecting the power source 34 and the circuit board 31.
A lower stop 23 is fixedly provided on a lower portion of the shank 20 and an upper stop 22 is fixedly provided on an upper portion of the shank 20. The lower stop 23 is disposed within the lower runner 40 when the umbrella 1 is closed. The upper stop 22 is disposed within the lower runner 40 when the umbrella 1 is open (see
The upper stop 22 comprises a lower inverted conic member 221 and an annular groove 222 immediately above the lower inverted conic member 221. The groove 222 has a diameter less than the top of the lower inverted conic member 221. The lower stop 23 comprises an upper conic member 231 and an annular groove 232 immediately below the upper conic member 231. The groove 232 has a diameter less than the bottom of the upper conic member 231. A cup 24 is slidably provided on the shank 20 below the lower stop 23. A helical spring 25 is put on the shank 20 and is biased between the cup 24 and the top of the handle 10.
The lower runner 40 is a hollow cylinder and comprises an axial bore 41 with the shank 20 freely passing through, an annular trough 42 around the bore 41 and open to the surface, a cylindrical projection 43 in the trough 42 opposing the opening of the trough 42, a lock ring 44 provided in the trough 42 and around the shank 20 in a partial contact fashion the umbrella 1 is either open or closed, the lock ring 44 having an exposed push button 441 and a cavity 442 opposite both the push button 441 and the opening of the trough 42 and facing the projection 43, and a torsion spring 45 partially put on the projection 43 and partially disposed in the cavity 442, the torsion spring 45 being biased between the trough 42 and the cavity 442 for pushing the push button 441 out of the opening of the trough 42.
A canopy support assembly 51 comprises a plurality of ribs 52 having one ends pivotably attached to the upper runner 50 and a plurality of stretchers 53 having one ends pivotably attached to the lower runner 40 and the other ends pivotably attached to intermediate portions of the ribs 52. A canopy 70 is secured in covering relation on the ribs 52 and is secured to the upper runner 50.
Umbrella opening and closing operations are described as follows. For closing the umbrella 1 a user may grasp the lower runner 40 to downward slide same along the shank 20 until the lock ring 44 passes the upper conic member 231 to lock in the annular groove 232 due to the expansion of the torsion spring 45. As a result, the lower runner 40 is locked.
For opening the umbrella 1 the user may press the push button 441 until the lock ring 44 clears the trough 42. Next, the user may upward slide the lower runner 40 along the shank 20 until the lock ring 44 passes the lower inverted conic member 221 to lock in the annular groove 222 due to the expansion of the torsion spring 45. As a result, the lower runner 40 is locked.
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While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.