EP0818594A1

EP0818594A1 - Parasol base, and method for its manufacture

Info

Publication number: EP0818594A1
Application number: EP97202050A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ronald Stefanus Heldens
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Heldens-Jacobs Ehm
Priority date: 1996-07-03
Filing date: 1997-07-03
Publication date: 1998-01-14
Also published as: NL1003494C2

Abstract

Parasol base (1) consisting of a combination of a concrete ballast element (5) and a holder (3) for accommodating therein a fluid, such as water or sand. In order to manufacture such a parasol base, it is proposed that the holder should be provided with a chamber (13) into which the concrete material is poured, and is vibrated and can set. A method is also proposed for pouring concrete material (5) into a plastic foam mould (24), in which said mould is provided with a relatively large bottom aperture. By subsequently exerting an impact load before the concrete is fully set (after approximately 23 hours), the plastic mould becomes detached from the concrete material and can further serve as a pack.

Description

The present invention relates to a parasol base, comprising a ballast element of concrete material provided with a socket for placing a parasol stand therein.

Such a parasol base is generally known in the prior art. In practice, such bases weigh approximately 40 kg and are relatively low in height, so that the concrete soon becomes damaged and becomes detached from the base. Another design is formed by parasol bases consisting of a plastic holder into which a fluid, such as water or sand, is subsequently introduced at the time of use. Such holders are not always sufficiently stable, because of the relatively high centre of gravity. Owing to the fact that such bases are greater in height, they mar the appearance. There are also problems in carrying out the fixing between the holder and the stem part of the parasol. After some time damage inevitably occurs, and such fixing is found to be insufficiently stable. In the case of a concrete ballast weight such problems do not occur, because the concrete material in which a socket part is made is sufficiently rigid to receive the stem, and even after a load thereon in the long term does not allow enlargement of the hole of the socket.

It is not possible to reinforce such holders at the position of the socket part. For such holders are made by blow moulding from plastic. Injection moulding would be too expensive and require particularly complex moulds on account of the considerable volume of such parasol bases, and there are problems with the seal.

Parasol bases with holders which have to be filled with a fluid still have a place on the market. This is owing to the fact that parasol bases with a concrete ballast are relatively heavy. Efforts are being made to reduce the end weight of a parasol base to approximately 40 - 50 kg. For handling and storage in shops, such a weight is extremely impractical. Owing to the increasingly stringent legal requirements, handling such weights is no longer permitted for personnel in shops without expensive handling aids which take up a large amount of space. That is why parasol bases consisting of a plastic holder which is filled with a fluid only at the place of use are becoming popular, despite the abovementioned problems.

The object of the present invention is to provide a parasol base in which the advantages of the parasol base consisting of a concrete ballast and a holder are combined, while the disadvantages are removed.

This object is achieved in the case of a parasol base of the type described above by the fact that the ballast element is provided with a holder for holding a fluid, which holder is provided with an introduction aperture for said fluid.

The invention is based on the idea of combining a concrete ballast part of relatively limited weight (for example, 20 kg) with a holder which can be filled up with a ballast-giving fluid, such as water or sand, at the destination. Using the concrete material in which the socket part for the stem, for example, is placed means that stable fixing of the stem of the parasol to be installed is also guaranteed for a fairly long time.

Since the transportation cost of such bases constitutes a considerable part of the price, it is important for the construction according to the present invention, on the one hand, to be a lower weight than concrete bases and, on the other hand, to have a smaller volume than water-fillable bases.

It is possible to place the holder and the ballast element in various positions relative to each other. The concrete ballast element will, however, preferably be situated at the underside when in the position for use, and according to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the holder is placed around the ballast element. If the holder is provided with a chamber in which the concrete ballast element is placed, it is extremely simple to manufacture the parasol base described above. For a holder is made of plastic material in the usual way, i.e. by blow moulding. This holder is then placed upside down relative to the position during use and the concrete material is poured into the chamber produced. The concrete material can then be vibrated and allowed to set. The chamber may be provided with ridges or other projections, in order to fix the concrete material immovably to the holder.

In the embodiment described above the holder is preferably provided with a feed-through aperture for the parasol stand. The socket part for receiving the bottom part of the parasol stand or stem is preferably designed in such a way that it shuts off said feed-through aperture. The socket can be, for example, integral with the holder, but it is also possible to fix it subsequently at the feed-through aperture as a separate (injection moulded) part, for example by snapping it on. The socket part may be provided with a bottom which can be knocked off by exerting some force after the parasol base is ready. An outlet for water can be provided in this way.

The blow-moulded plastic holder can be provided in a known manner with a handle and/or roller means, in order to simplify the movement thereof.

As already indicated above, the invention also comprises a method for manufacturing the parasol base described above.

The invention also relates more generally to a method for manufacturing parasol bases in which the ballast element comprises concrete material. In particular, if the ballast element has to be made in different shapes, it is important to produce it in a flexible way. This is possible by manufacturing moulds from plastic foam material. According to the invention, the concrete is poured into such a mould made of plastic foam material, and allowed to set. However, the problem with such a method, which is known in the prior art, is that after setting the concrete material adheres to the plastic foam material and the plastic foam is difficult to remove.

This problem is solved according to the invention by the fact that after the concrete material has partially set the mould is turned, i.e. the open side from which the concrete material is introduced is placed facing down. A brief impact load is then applied to the mould, and it has been found that the not yet fully set concrete is extremely easy to detach from the mould. The partially set concrete material falls down over a short distance. Such a distance is preferably approximately 1 cm. The mould can subsequently be used as a pack. In order to prevent the ballast material, i.e. the partially set concrete from becoming detached from the plastic foam material, strips can be placed on the underside of the mould. In experiments it was found that if the standard concrete mortar mixture consisting of sand, gravel, cement and water, without accelerators, plasticizers or inhibitors, is left to set for approximately 20 - 68 hours and more, in particular approximately 48 hours, at a temperature of approximately 18°C, on the one hand, sufficient cohesion exists, so that the concrete material no longer needs support from the mould, but, on the other hand, sufficient adhesion has occurred between the concrete material and the mould, so that the separation is possible in a simple way. Complete setting is achieved after approximately 30 days.

In order to ensure that the socket part is anchored securely in the concrete material, the plastic foam mould of the socket part can be provided before said concrete material is poured. Good adhesion between the socket part and the concrete material after setting can be achieved by providing ribs and the like in the socket part. It should be understood that the method just described is also generally applicable, i.e. is not limited to the parasol base described above.

The invention will be explained further below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically in cross-section a first embodiment of a parasol base according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically in cross-section a second embodiment of a parasol base obtained by the method according to the invention; and

Fig. 3 shows a further variant of the parasol base according to the invention.

A parasol base is indicated in its entirety by 1 in Fig. 1. It is designed to receive a stem part 2 of a parasol not illustrated in any further detail. Parasol base 1 consists of a holder 3, which can be manufactured by, for example, blow moulding from plastic material. However, it should be understood that it can be manufactured by any other method known in the prior art, such as by injection moulding. Holder 3 is provided with an aperture 9, through which a fluid, such as water or sand 4, can be introduced. This aperture 9 can be shut off by means of a stopper 12 comprising a core with screw thread. The holder 3 is provided with a central feed-through aperture 14. Holder 3 is provided on the underside with a chamber 13, which is provided with a number of peripheral ribs 18. A ballast of concrete material, indicated by 5, is placed in chamber 13. A socket part 6 is fixed to the holder in the centre of the holder. This is achieved by means of a snap rib 15 in the holder and a corresponding groove 16 in the socket part 6. The socket part 6 is provided with a rib 7, while a centring part 8 of relatively low strength is provided on the underside. Supporting ring 28 is present to support stem part 2, to limit its movement respectively.

Finally, the parasol base is provided with a handle-like part 10 and roller means 11.

The parasol base described above is manufactured as follows:

First, the plastic holder 3 is provided by blow moulding or in a related way. The holder is then placed with the chamber 13 facing upwards, after which the socket part 6, which is manufactured by, for example, injection moulding, is snapped into groove 16. This produces a chamber 13 which is closed at the underside and side edge, and which is subsequently filled with concrete and thereby becomes watertight. Centring point 8 serves to place socket part 6 in the correct position, and during the pouring of the concrete is held by means of aids in a correct position relative to the holder 3. After vibrating and setting of the concrete, the position of socket part 6 is then fixed. The concrete part 5 will not become detached from the holder 3 because the peripheral ribs 18 and rib 7 of socket part 6 fix the position of the holder and the concrete ballast relative to each other. In this position the structure weighs approximately 20 kg, i.e. is easy to handle in shops and the like and provides a first ballast. If the user subsequently puts in the fluid at the final destination, a ballast with a weight of between 40 and 50 kg is obtained, which is an optimum value for a parasol base. Accommodating the socket part 6 in the concrete material ensures that a sturdy anchoring of stem 2 is obtained also in the longer term. During installation it is possible to knock centring point 8 away by applying a force from above. This provides an outlet aperture for water.

Another method of manufacturing a concrete base is described with reference to Fig. 2. A mould consisting of a plastic foam material, such as polystyrene, is formed in accordance with the requirement of the user. This mould is indicated by 24. Concrete material 25 is poured into such a mould. The set concrete material 25 forms the desired concrete base. Before pouring concrete, a socket part 26 comparable to the socket part 6 according to Fig. 1 is inserted. Before or after pouring, packing strips 20 are placed on the open side of the mould 24. It will be understood that during the pouring the mould 24 is in an inverted position relative to what is shown in Fig. 2. After the pouring, the concrete sets partially, and after approximately 24 hours the mould is inverted, and the situation shown in Fig. 2 occurs. The underside of the concrete part is indicated by 21. If an impact load is now exerted in the downward direction on the mould, the partially set concrete will relatively easily become detached from the mould and fall onto the strips 20. The connection of the strips 20 to the mould 24 ensures that good packing is retained and the user need only cut away the strips 20 at the destination and remove the mould 24 from the concrete part 25. Exerting a loosening impact load means that further adhesion of the concrete material to the plastic foam material is prevented, which in the prior art led to great problems during the removal of the packing. It will be understood that this method can be achieved independently of the concrete base described above with reference to Fig. 1.

Another variant according to the invention is shown with reference to Fig. 3. The parasol base shown therein is indicated in its entirety by 31. The stem part 32 is embedded in a concrete ballast 35. This concrete ballast is provided on the underside with a plastic ring 33, on which the parasol base rests. An annular trough 34 is provided in the concrete ballast, over which trough a cap 36 can be pushed. Trough 34 determines an aperture 39 for placing therein a fluid, such as water or another weighting medium, which can be introduced by the user on site. After the medium has been placed therein, the cap 36 described above is placed thereon, and the cap is held in place by tightening clamping piece 37 on the threaded end of stem part 32. If clamping nut 40 is then tightened, a stem (not shown in any further detail) of a parasol base can be accommodated. The concrete base can be manufactured in the manner described above.

It is clear from the above that many variants of the device described above, which lie within the scope of the inventive idea, are possible. It will also be understood that numerous modifications can be made to the device and method described above without going beyond the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Parasol base (1, 31), comprising a ballast element (5, 35) of concrete material provided with a socket (6) for placing a parasol stand (2) therein, characterized in that the ballast element (5) is provided with a holder (3, 35, 36) for holding a fluid, which holder is provided with an introduction aperture (9, 34) for said fluid.
Parasol base according to Claim 1, in which in the position for use the holder is placed above the ballast element.
Parasol base according to Claim 2, in which the holder is provided with a chamber (15) for the ballast element, which chamber in the position for use is at the underside.
Parasol base according to one of the preceding claims, in which the holder is provided with a feed-through aperture (14) for the parasol stand (2).
Parasol base according to one of the preceding claims, in which the socket comprises a part connected to the holder.
Parasol base according to one of the preceding claims, in which the holder comprises handle (10) and/or roller means (11).
Method for manufacturing a parasol base comprising a ballast element of concrete material, comprising providing a holder with a chamber which in the position for use is at the underside, placing said holder upside down and filling said chamber with concrete material.
Method according to Claim 7, in which said holder is provided with a feed-through aperture which for filling with concrete material is shut off with a stopper, which forms the socket for subsequently receiving the parasol stand.
Method for manufacturing a parasol base, comprising a ballast element of concrete material, comprising the provision of a mould of plastic foam material, which mould is open at one side, filling said mould with concrete material from said open side, and allowing said concrete material to set at least partially, and with the open side down exerting a downward directed impact load on said mould.
Method according to Claim 9, in which strips are provided on the underside of the mould for turning over said mould.
Method according to Claim 9 or 10, in which the concrete material is allowed to set for 20 - 68 hours before said impact load is exerted.
Method according to one of claims 9 - 11, in which a socket part is made in the concrete material in the plastic material.