Sunshade apparatus

A sunshade apparatus for shading a chair, the sunshade apparatus comprising:

• a pair of vertical support legs, each of the pair of vertical support legs having a top end and a bottom end;
• a pair of attachment elements, each of the attachment elements being attached to the bottom end of one of the pair of vertical support legs, the pair of attachment elements being adapted for mounting the sunshade apparatus on the chair;
• a pair of horizontally extending arms, each of the pair of horizontally extending arms having a proximal end and a distal end;
• a pair of hinges, each of the pair of hinges hingably connecting the top end of one of the pair of vertical support legs to the proximal end of one of the pair of horizontally extending arms such that the pair of horizontally extending arms can pivot with respect to the pair of vertical support legs between a folded configuration and an extended configuration;
• a locking element that functions to lock the pair of horizontally extending arms in the extended configuration with respect to the pair of vertical support legs;
• a folding element that joins the pair of horizontally extending arms and folds between a collapsed configuration wherein the pair of horizontally extending arms are adjacent, and a spread configuration wherein the pair of horizontally extending arms are laterally spaced from each other;
• a flexible canopy element attached to the pair of horizontally extending arms such that the flexible canopy extends between the pair of horizontally extending arms when the pair of horizontally extending arms are in the spread configuration;
• and
• wherein the folding element includes a pair of folding cross-bars that are each pivotally attached at a first end to one of the pair of horizontally extending arms, and each pivotally attached at a second end to a horizontal slider that is adapted to slidably engage one of the pair of horizontally extending arms, and wherein the pair of folding cross-bars are pivotally connected together in a middle with a pivot pin.

A method for shading a chair, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a sunshade apparatus comprising:
• a pair of vertical support legs, each of the pair of vertical support legs having a top end and a bottom end;
• a pair of attachment elements, each of the attachment elements being attached to the bottom end of one of the pair of vertical support legs, the pair of attachment elements being adapted for mounting the sunshade apparatus on the chair;
• a pair of horizontally extending arms, each of the pair of horizontally extending arms having a proximal end and a distal end;
• a pair of hinges, each of the pair of hinges hingably connecting the top end of one of the pair of vertical support legs to the proximal end of one of the pair of horizontally extending arms such that the pair of horizontally extending arms can pivot with respect to the pair of vertical support legs between a folded configuration and an extended configuration;
• a locking element that functions to lock the pair of horizontally extending arms in the extended configuration with respect to the pair of vertical support legs;
• a folding element that joins the pair of horizontally extending arms and folds between a collapsed configuration wherein the pair of horizontally extending arms are adjacent, and a spread configuration wherein the pair of horizontally extending arms are laterally spaced from each other;
• and
• a flexible canopy element attached to the pair of horizontally extending arms such that the flexible canopy extends between the pair of horizontally extending arms when the pair of horizontally extending arms are in the spread configuration;
• spreading the pair of horizontally extending arms to the spread configuration;
• attaching the pair of attachment elements to the chair;
• lifting the pair of horizontally extending arms to the extended configuration;
• and
• locking the pair of horizontally extending arms in the extended configuration using the locking element.