Umbrella, umbrella frame and rib therefor
OwnerHubert Samuel Frostinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
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.
Claims19
A frame for an umbrella for supporting a canopy, the frame comprising:
- a main shaft;
- a plurality of ribs connected to the main shaft, each rib including a pair of outer rib elements and being movable between open position and closed position, with an outer end of the each outer rib element being connected to the free end of the outer rib element of an adjacent rib, and being adapted to be attached to the periphery of the umbrella canopy, 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, and wherein each of the outer rib elements along the length thereof has a first bending resistance in a direction generally perpendicular to the canopy in use, and along the length thereof a second bending resistance in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the first bending resistance is greater than the second bending resistance along the length thereof.
A frame for an umbrella, the frame comprising a main shaft, a plurality of ribs pivotally connected to the main shaft, each rib being of adjustable length, and each rib including a pair of outer rib elements, that are flexible, whereby in use, the outer rib elements in a closed configuration, extend generally straight and aligned with the main shaft, and in an open configuration, are flexed so that outer ends thereof extend generally circumferentially, wherein the length of each rib is adjustable by an amount to compensate for an apparent change in radius caused by flexing of the outer rib elements, wherein each rib has at least two components pivotally connected, so as to be movable between open and closed configurations that accommodate the flexing of the outer rib elements, wherein one of the components is pivotally connected adjacent to the top of the main shaft, and the other component is pivotally connected to said one component and is connected to the outer rib elements of the respective rib, whereby pivotal movement between the two components changes the effective length of the respective rib, the two components extending outwardly in the open configuration and being adjacent one another in the closed configuration.
A foldable umbrella comprising:
- a canopy;
- a main shaft;
- a plurality of ribs pivotally attached to the main shaft, each rib comprising at least two rib elements pivotally attached to one another, to enable the umbrella to fold to a compact closed configuration, and each rib further including a pair of outer rib elements, that extend generally straight and aligned with the main shaft in the closed configuration, and in an open configuration have outer ends extending generally circumferentially with respect to the canopy, wherein inner ends of pairs of outer rib elements are connected a middle rib element, and each middle rib element is pivotally connected to an inner rib element and pivotally connected to one connecting rib, with each inner rib element pivotally connected to main shaft, the inner rib element and the one connecting rib being arranged to effect pivotal movement between the inner and middle rib elements that changes the effective length of the respective rib, the inner and middle rib elements extending outwardly in the open configuration and being adjacent one another in the compact closed configuration.
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.