Umbrella having a cam assembly

An umbrella comprising:

• a support shaft including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a longitudinal axis;
• a plurality of ribs, each rib of the plurality of ribs having a proximal end portion, a distal end portion, and a slot formed in the proximal end portion, the slot including 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;
• a rotatable cam assembly including:
• a cam configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis, the cam including a plurality of radially projecting rods, each rod being engaged with the slot in a corresponding one of the ribs to slide in the slot;
• a movable handle configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis;
• a rotatable shaft connecting 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;
• and
• a fixed handle connected to the lower portion of the support shaft;
• and
• a canopy having 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,
• wherein, 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, and
• wherein, 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.

An umbrella comprising:

• a support shaft including an upper portion, a lower portion, and a longitudinal axis;
• a plurality of ribs, each rib of the plurality of ribs having a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, the proximal end portion being pivotably attached to the upper portion of the support shaft to pivot the rib between an open position and a closed position such that the distal end portion pivots upward from the closed position to the open position and downward from the open position to the closed position, each of the plurality of ribs moving between the open position and the closed position in a plane which does not include the longitudinal axis;
• a rotatable cam assembly including a cam configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis, the cam being 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;
• and
• a canopy having an inner edge and an outer edge attached to the distal end portion of each of the ribs, the canopy including a plurality of panels, the panels being joined to each other at a seam, each seam being substantially aligned with a corresponding rib.