Multiple-fold automatic umbrella with simplified reliable control means

An automatic umbrella comprising:

• a central shaft means including:
• an inner tube, a grip secured with the inner tube, a middle tube slidably held on an outer and upper side of the inner tube, an outer tube slidably held on an outer and upper side of the middle tube, an upper notch secured on a top portion of the outer tube, and a central sleeve set having an inner and outer sleeve section telescopically held within said inner, middle and outer tubes;
• a rib assembly including a plurality of ribs pivotally connected with one another and pivotally secured between the upper notch and a lower runner slidably held on said central shaft means;
• an opening spring for opening an umbrella retained in said central shaft means and slidably disposed about the central sleeve set;
• a plurality of closing springs respectively secured on said rib assembly for operatively closing an umbrella from an opened state by an elastic energy stored when opening the umbrella;
• and
• a control means including:
• a push button resiliently held in the grip, an upper latch slidably held in a slotted arm member perpendicularly protruding from a middle button portion of the push button from a first side of the central shaft means towards a second side of the shaft means and operatively depressed by the push button for opening the umbrella, a closing controller having a lower latch resiliently held in the grip and operatively depressible by the push button for inwardly pushing a locking head, which is secured with a drag rod coupled to a drag rope which is linked through the lower runner to an upper portion of the outer tube, for disengaging the locking head from a detent protrusion formed in a lower portion of the inner tube, for closing the umbrella from an opened state, and said lower latch including:
• a pin secured at a base portion of the slotted arm member of the push button for pivotally mounting the lower latch at a middle inside portion of the button, a latch restoring spring retained on the push button for normally levelling the lower latch to be generally perpendicular to the push button to allow an arcuate latch end formed at an inner free end of the lower latch to depress the locking head to be disengaged from the detent protrusion when closing the umbrella, said lower latch downwardly biased by each bottom tube end of the outer tube and middle tube when closing and resetting the umbrella for storing energy of the opening spring, thereby allowing an inward depression of the push button to open the umbrella;
• said upper latch including:
• a spring notch formed at the second side of the shaft means to be resiliently urged towards the first side of the shaft means by a restoring spring retained in the grip adjacent to the second side of the shaft means to be engageable with a lower hole in the outer tube, and a lower hole formed in the middle tube for locking an umbrella under a closed state;
• and said push button having the slotted arm member formed with a central hole in a central portion of the slotted arm member for downwardly passing a bottom tube portion of each said outer tube and said middle tube when folding the central shaft means for closing the umbrella;
• the improvement which comprises:
• said upper latch including:
• a pair of lugs protruding outwardly towards the second side of the central shaft means from a sloping latch portion to be engaged with two sockets formed in an inner portion of the slotted arm member of the push button, and a latch slot formed through an inner end portion of the slotted arm member adjacent to the second side of said shaft means for slidably holding the sloping latch portion in the latch slot, whereby upon an inward depression of the push button to allow the two sockets of the slotted arm member of the push button to retract the two lugs of said upper latch for disengaging the sloping latch portion from the lower holes of the outer and middle tubes, the umbrella will be opened;
• and
• said convex spring plate having a lower spring end fixed to a plug inserted in the inner tube inserted into the inner hole of the grip, said convex spring plate having a pair of flaps disposed on two opposite side portions thereof for slidably holding the locking head to be locked on the detent protrusion when closing the umbrella.