GB2270837A

GB2270837A - A guard for an umbrella

Info

Publication number: GB2270837A
Application number: GB9220094A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Arnold Fulton
Original assignee: FULTON Co Ltd A
Current assignee: FULTON Co Ltd A
Priority date: 1992-09-23
Filing date: 1992-09-23
Publication date: 1994-03-30
Also published as: GB9220094D0

Abstract

A guard located on the runner (8) of an umbrella, comprises a substantially annular ring (20) having a plurality of fingers (21) extending from one end and a flexible projection (22) extending from the other end. Each finger (21) is for location between adjacent stretchers (6) on the runner (8). The guard is intended to protect the fingers of the user when operating the umbrella. <IMAGE>

Description

A GUARD FOR AN UMBRELLA The present invention relates to a guard for use with an umbrella, in particular, a guard which protects the hands of the user when operating the runner mechanism of an umbrella.

A problem often experienced when opening and closing umbrellas is that of trapping the skin of the fingers between the runner mechanism and the operating buttons which are located on the shaft of the umbrella. This problem can be particularly traumatic for small children and there is, therefore, a demand for a solution to this problem.

According to the present invention there is provided a guard for use with an umbrella adapted for location on the runner mechanism of the umbrella to protect the fingers of the user when activating the operating means of the umbrella.

Preferably, the guard comprises a substantially annular ring, one end of said ring having a plurality of spaced fingers extending therefrom, each finger being located, in use, between adjacent stretcher means on the runner mechanism of the umbrella, the other end of said ring having a flexible projection extending therefrom, which projection is located, in use, over the distal operating means of said umbrella when in an open position.

Preferably, the guard is a snap fit over the runner mechanism of the umbrella.

Preferably, each finger has a tapered rib at its tip to facilitate location on the runner mechanism and hinder its removal.

Preferably, the guard is used with an umbrella of the type which has substantially aligned proximal and distal operating means located on the shaft of the umbrella and the runner mechanism has a slot in which the proximal and distal operating means sit in the closed and open positions of the umbrella respectively, such that the projection of the guard is able to cover the proximal operating means when in the closed position and the distal operating means when in the open position.

Preferably, the guard is used with an umbrella of the type which has proximal and distal operating means which are offset on the shaft of the umbrella and the runner mechanism has a slot in which only the proximal operating means sits in the closed position of the umbrella, the distal operating means sitting outside the runner mechanism when the umbrella is in an open position, the projection of the guard being arranged to cover only the distal operating means when the umbrella is in an open position.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure la depicts a first type of umbrella on which a guard, according to the present invention, can be located; Figure lb depicts a second type of umbrella on which a guard, according to the present invention, can be located; Figure 2 shows detail of the runner mechanism in the open position of the umbrella in Figure la; Figure 3 depicts a guard according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 depicts the guard in Figure 3 when located on the runner mechanism in Figure 2; Figure 5 depicts a guard according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention when located on the runner mechanism of the umbrella in Figure lb.

Figure la depicts a first type of umbrella on which the guard of the present invention can be located. The umbrella comprises a hollow shaft 1 having a handle 2 at one end and a ferrule 3 at the opposite end. The cover 4 of the umbrella is attached to the shaft 1 by a number of spaced ribs 5. Each rib 5 is connected to a stretcher 6 which is pivoted at point 7. The other end of each stretcher 6 is connected to a runner mechanism 8 which can slide along the shaft 1. Each stretcher 6 is held on the runner mechanism 8 by a wire 9 which passes through each stretcher and is then knotted (see Figure 2 for enlarged detail). The runner mechanism is provided with an elongate slot 10 which co-operates with proximal and distal operating buttons 11 and 12 in both the closed and open positions respectively, of the umbrella.It should be noted that the term "proximal" means that button which is closest to handle 2 and the term "distal" means that button which is furthest from handle 2.

The operating buttons 11 and 12 are typically aligned sprung elements which are biased to protrude from aligned elongate slots in the hollow shaft 1 of the umbrella. There is also a stopper pin 13 which limits the movement of runner mechanism 8 to ensure that the stretchers 6 are not pushed past their intended position on the shaft 1.

Figure 1b depicts a second type of umbrella which differs from the umbrella in Figure la in that the proximal and distal operating buttons 11 and 12 are not aligned on the shaft 1. It is clear from Figure la that whereas proximal operating button 11 will co-operate with slot 10 in the runner mechanism 8 when the umbrella is closed, the distal operating button 12 sits outside the runner mechanism 8 offset from slot 10 in the open position. Otherwise, the umbrellas in Figures la and 1b are identical and function in the same manner.

Both types of umbrella suffer from the disadvantage that the skin of the fingers can be trapped between the runner mechanism 8 and the operating buttons 11 and 12. This is readily apparent from Figure 2 which shows enlarged detail of the runner mechanism in Figure la. In addition, the ends 9a of the wire 9 which are knotted or twisted to hold the stretchers 6 in place can cut the skin if they protrude sufficiently.

Figure 3 depicts a guard according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention for use with the umbrella in Figure 2. The guard comprises an annular ring 20 which has eight spaced fingers 21 extending from one end and a flexible projection 22 extending from the other end. Each finger 21 has a raised rib 23 at its tip on the internal surface 24.

The guard can be placed over the runner mechanism 8 in Figure 2 during assembly of the umbrella by simply sliding it along the shaft 1 until it "snaps" into position. Each finger 21 will be located between adjacent stretchers 6 to cover the wire 9, including the ends 9a and the projection 22 will cover the operating button 12. Figure 4 shows the guard in Figure 3 located on the runner mechanism in Figure 2. Clearly, there will be little risk to the user of the umbrella when such a guard is employed because both the wire 9 and operating button 12 are covered.

The projection 22 should be manufactured such that it is rigid enough to withstand repeated use and flexible enough to allow the operating button 12 to be depressed. For a Figure la type umbrella, the projection 22 will also cover the operating button 11 when the umbrella is closed.

If the umbrella is a Figure 1b type, the guard must be modified slightly by extending the length of projection 22. It is clear from Figure 1b that the projection 22 must be long enough to extend from the annular ring 20 over the runner mechanism 8 and beyond to cover the distal operating button 12. A guard suitable for this purpose is depicted in Figure 5. Since the proximal and distal operating buttons are offset, the projection 22 will serve no purpose when the umbrella is closed.

It is also envisaged that the runner mechanism 8 could be modified such that its outer surface is flush with the projection 22 to provide a more aesthetic appearance.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A guard for use with an umbrella adapted for location on the runner mechanism of the umbrella to protect the fingers of the user when activating the operating means of the umbrella.

2. A guard for use with an umbrella as claimed in Claim 1, comprising a substantially annular ring, one end of said ring having a plurality of spaced fingers extending therefrom, each finger being located, in use, between adjacent stretcher means on the runner mechanism of the umbrella, the other end of said ring having a flexible projection extending therefrom, which projection is located, in use, over the distal operating means of said umbrella when in an open position.

3. A guard as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 which is a snap fit over the runner mechanism of an umbrella.

4. A guard as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein each finger has a tapered rib at its tip to facilitate location on the runner mechanism and hinder its removal.

5. An umbrella comprising the guard as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the umbrella is of the type which has substantially aligned proximal and distal operating means located on the shaft of the umbrella and the runner mechanism has a slot in which the proximal and distal operating means sit in the closed and open positions of the umbrella respectively, such that the projection of the guard is able to cover the proximal operating means when in the closed position and the distal operating means when in the open position.

6. An umbrella comprising the guard as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the umbrella is of the type which has proximal and distal operating means which are offset on the shaft of the umbrella and the runner mechanism has a slot in which only the proximal operating means sits in the closed position of the umbrella, the distal operating means sitting outside the runner mechanism when the umbrella is in an open position, the projection of the guard being arranged to cover only the distal operating means when the umbrella is in an open position.

7. A guard for an umbrella substantially as herein described and as illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.