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US 10,441,040 B2Granted
Umbrella, umbrella frame and rib therefor
OwnerHubert Samuel Frostinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerHubert Samuel Frostinventor
Estimating the term…
An umbrella has a canopy, a main shaft and a plurality of ribs pivotally attached to the main shaft, each rib being of adjustable length and including a pair of outer rib elements, wherein the outer rib elements are flexible and normally adopt a straight configuration aligned with the main shaft in a closed position of the umbrella, and in an open position of the umbrella, flex so that outer ends of the outer rib elements extend generally circumferentially with respect to the canopy. The umbrella can have ribs that would normally be of one piece, in which case accommodation is made for an effective change in the radius of the ribs as the outer rib elements flex. The umbrella may be a folding umbrella with two part ribs. The outer ribs can have a non-uniform cross-section and may taper.
A frame for an umbrella for supporting a canopy, the frame comprising:
A rib structure for an umbrella or the like, comprising an inner rib element, and a pair of outer rib elements, that are flexible, for adopting a straight configuration in a closed configuration of an umbrella and being capable of flexing for an open position of an umbrella, wherein the outer rib elements, along the length thereof, have non-uniform cross-sections, and wherein each outer rib element, along the length thereof provides for a first bending resistance to movement generally circumferentially in an open configuration of an umbrella, and a second bending resistance along the length thereof generally perpendicular to the canopy of an umbrella that is greater than the first bending resistance along the length thereof, and wherein at least one of the depth and the width of each outer rib element tapers from a larger dimension at an inner end thereof to a smaller dimension at an outer end thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.