Quick assembly methods and components for shade structures

An umbrella hub comprising,

• an aperture configured to be disposed about an umbrella pole;
• an upper portion including a top surface extending between the aperture and an outer periphery of the hub;
• a lower portion including a bottom surface extending between the aperture and the outer periphery of the hub;
• a first engagement position configured to permit insertion of end portions of umbrella structural members into the hub, the first engagement position being provided by first relative movement of the upper and lower portions of the hub along an axis extending through, the aperture;
• and
• a second engagement position configured to retain end portions of umbrella structural members within the hub, the second engagement position being provided by second relative movement of the upper and lower portions of the hub along an axis extending through the aperture;
• wherein a first locking protrusion is provided on the upper portion of the hub to engage with a first locking recess on the lower portion of the hub and a second locking protrusion is provided on one of the upper and lower portions of the hub to engage with a second locking recess on the other one of the upper and lower portions of the hub;
• wherein the first locking protrusion comprises a hook projecting below a lower surface of the upper portion to a lateral portion and the first locking recess is configured to receive the lateral portion of the hook in one of the first and, second engagement positions;
• and
• wherein the first locking recess comprises a first lateral recess being located at a first elevation of the lower portion of the hub to receive the hook in the first engagement position and a second lateral recess being located at a second elevation of the lower portion of the hub to receive the hook in the second engagement position, the first elevation being disposed between the second elevation and the lower surface of the upper portion of the hub when the hub is assembled.

An umbrella hub comprising:,

• an aperture configured to be disposed about an umbrella pole;
• an upper portion including a top surface extending between the aperture and an outer periphery of the hub;
• a lower portion including a bottom surface extending between the aperture and the outer periphery of the hub;
• a first engagement position configured to permit insertion of end portions of umbrella structural members into the hub, the first engagement position being provided by first relative movement of the upper and lower portions of the hub along an axis extending through the aperture;
• and
• a second engagement position configured to retain end portions of umbrella structural members within the hub, the second engagement position being provided by second relative movement of the upper and lower portions of the hub along an axis extending through the aperture;
• wherein a first locking protrusion is provided on, one of the upper and lower portions of the hub to engage with, a first locking recess on the other one of the upper and lower portions of the hub and a second locking protrusion is provided on the lower portion of the hub to engage with a second locking recess on the upper portion of the hub;
• and
• wherein the second locking protrusion comprises a tapered member disposed above an upper surface of the lower portion and the second locking recess comprises a passage extending between the lower surface of the upper hub portion and the upper surface of the upper portion.

An umbrella hub comprising:

• an upper portion including a top surface extending toward an outer periphery of the hub;
• a lower portion including a bottom surface extending toward the outer periphery of the hub;
• a snap-together coupling comprising a cantilever member extending from one of the upper and lower portions across an interface between the upper and lower portions and a series of recesses disposed on the other of the upper and lower portion, the recesses being aligned but spaced apart along a direction disposed transverse to the interface;
• wherein the cantilever member having a lateral portion adjacent to a free end thereof and the recesses are configured to receive the lateral portion of the cantilever member to define a partial or full assembly configuration.

An umbrella hub assembly comprising:

• a plurality of elongate ribs, each rib having an inner end, an outer end, and a body extending therebetween along a longitudinal axis, the inner end having a transverse pivot member extending away from the longitudinal axis;
• a hub assembly comprising:
• an upper portion having a lower surface partially defining a hub interface;
• a lower portion having an upper surface partially defining the hub interface;
• a rib end coupler disposed at the hub interface, the rib end coupler comprising a deflectable member configured to be deflected to receive the transverse pivot member of one of the ribs in a first configuration of the rib end coupler and a retainer configured to receive the deflectable member in a second configuration of the, rib end coupler;
• wherein in the first configuration of the rib end coupler, the upper and lower portions are coupled together and the deflectable member is disposed in a pathway between an outer periphery of a portion of the hub and a coupled position and the retainer is disposed away from the deflectable member such that the deflectable member can be deflected in a first direction out of the pathway to permit the transverse pivot member to move into the coupled position;
• and
• wherein in the second configuration, the upper and lower portions are coupled together and the retainer is disposed immediately adjacent to the deflectable member such that the retainer prevents the deflectable member from being deflected in the first direction by a distance sufficient to permit the transverse pivot member to move out of the coupled position.

A method of assembling umbrella components, comprising:

• advancing a first portion of an umbrella hub toward a second portion of the umbrella hub to a first position in which the first and second portions of the umbrella hub are engaged for assembly;
• inserting an end of a rib laterally into an engagement portion of the hub to dispose a pivot member of the end of the rib adjacent a rib end coupler disposed on the first and second portions of the umbrella hub;
• actuating a deflectable member of the rib end coupler on the first portion to expand a gap in the rib end coupler to permit the pivot member to be advanced, into a pivoting space in the rib end coupler;
• and
• locking the first portion of the umbrella hub to the second portion in a second position of the umbrella hub to position a retainer of the rib end coupler on the second portion to prevent the gap in the rib end coupler from expanding sufficiently to retain the pivot member in the rib end coupler.

An umbrella hub comprising:

• an aperture configured to be disposed about an umbrella pole;
• an upper portion including a top surface extending between the aperture and an outer periphery of the hub;
• a lower portion including a bottom surface extending between the aperture and the outer periphery of the hub;
• a first engagement position configured to permit insertion of end portions of umbrella structural members into the hub, the first engagement position being provided by first relative movement of the upper and lower portions of the hub along an axis extending through the aperture;
• and
• a second engagement position configured to retain end portions of umbrella structural members within the hub, the second engagement position being provided by second relative movement of the upper and lower portions of the hub along an axis extending through the aperture,
• wherein a first locking protrusion is provided on one of the upper and lower portions of the hub to engage with a first locking recess on the other of the upper and lower portion of the hub and a second locking protrusion is provided on one of the upper and lower portions of the hub to engage with a second locking recess on the other of the upper and lower portion of the hub;
• and
• wherein the second locking protrusion, comprises [a] a tapered member disposed above an upper surface of the lower portion and the second locking recess comprises a passage extending between, the lower surface of the upper portion and the upper surface of the upper portion or [b] a tapered member is disposed below a lower surface of the upper portion and the second locking recess comprises a passage extending between the upper surface of the lower portion and the lower surface of the lower portion if the tapered member is provided on the upper portion.