Wind-proof umbrella

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6474352
  • Patent Number
    6,474,352
  • Date Filed
    Friday, June 29, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 5, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Wilkens; Janet M.
    Agents
    • Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen, LLP
Abstract
A wind-proof umbrella has secondary ribs pivotally connected with second linking ribs and having a flexibility the same as that of flexible ribs that are mounted between second joints on the second linking ribs and third joints on the outer supporting ribs. The secondary ribs are overlapped on top of the flexible ribs and able to pivot with respect to the flexible ribs so as to prevent a flip-over of the umbrella.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a wind-proof umbrella, and more particularly to an umbrella having a primary cover with a centrally defined through hole and a secondary cover detachably connected with the primary cover and having an area sufficient enough to enclose the through hole. The primary cover is supported by outer supporting ribs and flexible ribs. The secondary cover is supported by supporting ribs divergently extending out from the shaft of the umbrella, first linking ribs, second linking ribs and outer supporting ribs. Secondary ribs each are pivotally connected with the first linking ribs so that the secondary cover is able to detach from the primary cover to allow strong air flow to flow through the gap between the primary cover and the secondary cover.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




A conventional wind-proof umbrella has a centrally defined through hole in the primary cover. A secondary cover is mounted on top of the-through hole and is movably engaged with the primary cover, such that when strong wind is blowing under the primary cover, the wind will push the secondary cover to move away from the primary cover so as to prevent the umbrella from flip-over.




However, this type of conventional wind-proof suffers several disadvantages such as:




1. Because the secondary is securely attached with the ribs of the umbrella, such that when the wind blows the secondary cover to disengage the secondary cover from the primary cover, the gap between the primary cover and the secondary cover is not sufficient to allow the escape of the wind. A potential flip-over of the umbrella still exists.




2. The structure of the conventional umbrella is weak so that it needs multiple strips to enhance the structure of the umbrella, which increases the cost of manufacture.




3. The engagement between the secondary cover and the primary cover lies on the weight of the secondary cover so that in order to ensure the rain will not seep inside the umbrella, the area of the secondary cover needs to be larger than the area of the through a hole of the primary cover, which needs a lot of fabric to make the secondary cover and thus increases the cost.




To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention intends to provide an improved wind-proof umbrella to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The primary objective of the invention is to provide a wind-proof umbrella having a primary cover with a centrally defined through hole and a secondary cover detachably connected with the primary cover and having an area sufficient enough to enclose the through hole. The gap between the primary cover and the secondary cover is large enough to allow the escape of the strong wind so as to prevent flip-over of the umbrella.




Another objective of the invention is to provide a resilient rib to control the movement of the secondary cover so as to ensure the rain will not seep through the joint between the primary cover and the secondary cover.




Still, another objective of the invention is to provide an improved umbrella structure, which is able to fight against the strong wind.




In order to accomplish the foregoing objectives, the primary cover of the umbrella is supported by outer supporting ribs and flexible ribs. The secondary cover is supported by supporting ribs divergently extending out from the shaft of the umbrella, first linking ribs, second linking ribs and outer supporting ribs. Secondary ribs each are pivotally connected with the first linking ribs so that the secondary cover is able to detach from the primary cover to allow strong air flow to flow through the gap between the primary cover and the secondary cover.




Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a side plan view of the structure of the umbrella of the invention.





FIG. 1A

is an enlarged plan view showing the supporting member of the secondary cover.





FIG. 2

is a bottom plan view of the structure of the umbrella of the invention.





FIG. 3

is a side plan view showing the movement of the secondary cover.





FIG. 3A

is an enlarged side plan view showing the operation of the secondary cover with respect to the primary cover.





FIG. 4

is a bottom plan view showing the operation of the secondary cover with respect to the primary cover.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




With reference to

FIGS. 1 and 1A

, the umbrella in accordance with the present invention has a shaft


1


with a head


11


at a distal end of the shaft


1


and a nest


12


movably mounted on the shaft


1


, multiple supporting ribs


2


radially extending out from the head


11


, multiple bridging ribs


3


pivotally connected between the nest


12


and the supporting ribs


12


, first linking ribs


4


each pivotally connected with a corresponding one of the bridging ribs


3


at a first joint


31


on the bridging rib


3


, second linking ribs


40


each pivotally connected with a corresponding one of the first linking ribs


4


at a second joint


401


on the second linking rib


40


, outer supporting ribs


20


each pivotally connected with a corresponding one of the second linking ribs


40


at a third joint


201


. A flexible rib


5


is mounted between the second joint


401


and the third joint


201


and has a bend


51


.




With such an arrangement as described above, the upward movement of the nest


12


along the shaft


1


drives the supporting ribs


2


, the bridging ribs


3


, the first linking ribs


4


, the second linking ribs


40


and the outer supporting ribs


20


to move accordingly so as to form a bowl like shape.




Each of the first linking ribs


4


has a fourth joint


61


formed to pivotally connect a secondary rib


6


having the same flexibility as that of the flexible rib


5


. A primary cover


7


is secured with and supported by the flexible ribs


5


and outer supporting ribs


20


and has a through hole


70


defined to have an area covered by the supporting ribs


20


and a portion of the flexible ribs


5


. A center of a secondary cover


8


secured by a fastener


13


on the head


11


extends from the head


11


to the outer supporting ribs


20


. That is. the through hole


70


is entirely covered by the secondary cover


8


and a portion of the primary cover


7


and the secondary cover


8


are overlapped with each other. Furthermore, the secondary ribs


6


are securely engaged with an outer periphery of the secondary cover


8


.




When the nest


12


move upward, each of the secondary ribs


6


overlaps on top of a corresponding one of the flexible ribs


5


. Because the free ends of the secondary ribs


6


exceed over the bends


51


, the free ends of the secondary ribs


6


extend downward so as to effectively prevent the rain from seeping into the through hole


70


of the primary cover


7


of the umbrella. When strong wind blows under the umbrella and the strength of the wind overcome the flexibility of the secondary ribs


6


, the secondary ribs


6


pivot upward with respect to the primary cover


7


at the fourth joints


61


to define a gap between the primary cover


7


and the secondary cover


8


, as shown in

FIGS. 3

,


3


A and


4


. Thus. the wind is able to flow through the through hole


70


and a flip-over of the umbrella is avoided.




Thereafter, the user only needs to push the umbrella forward against the air to use the air pressure to turn the secondary cover


8


back to engage with the primary cover


7


and cover the through hole


70


again.




Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.



Claims
  • 1. A wind-proof umbrella comprising:a shaft with a head at a distal end of the shaft and a nest movably mounted on the shaft; multiple supporting ribs radially extending out from the head; multiple bridging ribs pivotally connected between the nest and the supporting ribs; first linking ribs each pivotally connected with a corresponding one of the bridging ribs at a first joint on the bridging rib; second linking ribs each pivotally connected with a corresponding one of the first linking ribs at a second joint on the second linking rib; outer supporting ribs each pivotally connected with a corresponding one of the second linking ribs at a third joint; flexible ribs each mounted between the second joint and the third joint and having a bend; a primary cover secured with and supported by the flexible ribs and outer supporting ribs and having a through hole defined to have an area covered by the supporting ribs and a portion of the flexible ribs; a secondary cover secured by a fastener on the head extending from the head to the outer supporting ribs to cover the through hole and a portion of the primary cover, wherein each of the first linking ribs has a fourth joint formed to pivotally connect a secondary rib having the same flexibility as that of the flexible rib and securely engaged with an outer periphery of the secondary cover and wherein the secondary cover is detachably engaged with the primary cover.
  • 2. The umbrella as claimed in claim 1, wherein the through hole has an area smaller than an area defined by the bends of the flexible ribs and the secondary cover has an area larger than the area defined by the bends of the flexible ribs.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
1249007 Block Dec 1917 A
5370144 Yang Dec 1994 A
5553634 Yang Sep 1996 A
6039063 Lin et al. Mar 2000 A
6095171 Lin et al. Aug 2000 A
6336464 Ko Jan 2002 B1
6390108 Lin et al. May 2002 B1