US2687138A - Umbrella - Google Patents

Description

E. OKUN UMBRELLA Aug. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Original Filed Oct. 5, 1946 FIG. 3

FIG.2

FIG. 5

FIG. 7

FIG. 6

R O T N E V m FIG. 9 'EDWARD oKuN E. OKUN UMBRELLA Aug. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 5, 194

FIG. H

' FIG. 12

lNVENTOR EDWARD KUN BY L44 MM.'

ATTORN Y FIG. IO

Patented Aug. `24, 1954 UNITED TENT 701,509, n ow Patent No. 2,510,597, datdJune 6, 1950. Divided and this application June 9,

19.49, Seria/lf No. 98,029

a claims.V (o1. 135146) This invention relates to umbrellas, and. more particular-lv to folding umbrellas, although some of the .features oi the. invention are, applicable to. non:folding` umbrellas,

The general object of the present invention is to improve umbrellas, and more particularly, thoush not exclusively. folding umbrellas. e

Some. obieots of the invention center about the pivotal oohneetion between the inner ends of the ribs and the rib retainer at the end. of the ums brella stick. The usual practice is. to use a wire the ends oi wh are twisted `together to. secure the wire and ribs en the retainer. This requires hand labor to apply and twist, the wire. The twisting weakens the wire and lends to. break the same- The soit wire is not suitable for io-ng wear. When fastening the wire `position, an extra twist may break the wire, while on the. other hand, too little twist leave the wire loose in the retainer groove` Finally, the twisted end of the wire is unsightly, and tends. to eut the cloth of the umbrella. To overcome all of the foregoing diieultes is one prime object of the present invention.

A similar statement may be made. in. respect to the. pivotal connection. between the inner ends of the spreaders, and the runner which slides on the umbrella, stick. These have heretofore `been se-A cured by means of. a twisted wire extending around a groove on the. runner, with all of the attendant diilioulties ioreviouslv described for` the rib retainer. ll further `obieet of the. present iiivention is to improve the nivotal connection beE tween the snreaflers and the with a view to eliminating the aforesaid diiculties,

Folding umbrellas oorrimenlv emploi7 an umbrella stick made up of telesicopically related metal tubes. The handle of the umbrella may be provided with a skirtelike flange adapted to hold the rib tips close to the stiel; when the .urne biella is Closed, and to. hold the rib hinges close to the stick` when the umbrella isl folded. This requires a number of different relative positions of the telescopio tubes, together with appropriate detent means for maintaining those positions. Spring-pressed. balls h `ve been used as a datent, with. considerable atte ant trouble and expense. .A further object of the. present invention is to retain the smooth and .satisfactory operation or springepressed balls,v While eliminating the need for separate balls and spring and retainer for holding the same.

The inner tube of the teleseopicumbrela stick is closed at each end by suitable studs, the stud at. one end providing` a stop ledge to limit extem 2 sion of. the stiok., and the .stud at the other ena receiving the regular handle of the umbrella Further features and obieets of the invention oenter about these studs. and a method.: oi seourelv locking them the tube.

The present aoplioation is .a aivision oi oo.- pending parent application, `Serial No intatti, led Oetober 5, 1,946.- The parent anplioation is directed to the rib retainer, anal. trunnion eonstruotion, i while the present anolioation is direoted to ieatures of the. tubular umbrella stiolr- 13o aeeoinnlish the foregoingobioots anti. others which will hereinafter alinear, invention. rev sides in the umbrella elements ano their on one to the other, as are hereinafter more partielllariy described. in the sneolrieation- The sheollif Cation is aooornpanied bv drawings, in whiollf Fia.. 1 s a longitudinal. seotion. through the unnerend. of the umbrella stieli, with the umbrella frame in nearly iullv opened. eoniiition:

Fig. .2 is a plan view of. a eau whloh .iorrns a part. oi the rib retainer and the :v

Fig. 3 is a seetion taken in the plane. oi' the line 3T3 0f Fig.4 2;

Fig, 4 is a plan view oi the sleeve. oortion oi the rib retainer;

Fig. 5 is a siole elevation thereoi Fie. o is a plan view oi the sleeve nor-tion of the runner;

Fie.. i is side elevation thereof;

Fie, `8 is a nersneotive view showing the end o-.f a .rib having integrally formed. trunnio Fig. 9 is .a perspeetive view of the inner eno of a spreader having integrally formed tr'urinions;

Fig, 1Q is a longitudinal seetion through the urnbrella in ioldeii oondition. with. the fahr-io omitted;

Fig. 11 is a section through the Lipper engl of the inner tube of the umbrella stier: and

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of a detent forming a Dart oi the invention, drawn to enlarged seale- The nartioular umbrella .here illustrated is a folding umbrella of the type elisoloseel in niv prior patents., Re 21,492, granted June 2.5, 1.949, and 2,221,288, granted November 12, 1940, but seine of the `features .oi the invention are aonlioable to non-ioloing unibrellas, especially of the time olisolosed. in. rnv .Patent No. 2,221,289, granted. Novernf ber 12, 1940.

Referring to the drawing, and more nartioularlv to Fie.. 10, the umbrella is there shown in folded oonflition, with the fabric. omitted, and all but two of the ribs andspreaders omitted, in order not to unduly complicate the drawing. The umbrella comprises an umbrella stick made up of hinges 22 have trough-shaped hinge extensions 28 the primary purpose of which is to hold the outer ribs 28 in alignment with the inner ribs I8 when the umbrella is opened. When the um brella is folded, the hinge extensions 26 cooperate i l with a flange or skirt 28 on umbrella handle 30, to hold the ribs I8 close to the umbrella stick. The umbrella is opened with the aid of spreaders 32, the outer ends of which are pivotally con: nected to the ribs I8 at 34, and the inner ends of which are pivotally connected to a runner 38. In Fig. 10, the runner is shown in its down position, but it will be understood that it may be slid upwardly on the umbrella stick to an up position, where it is retained by means of a Spring catch 38. Fig. 1 of the drawing shows the runner approaching the spring catch.

Before opening the umbrella, the umbrella stick is extended by pulling the handle 38 (Fig. and with it the inner tube I4 from within the outer tube I2, this motion being limited by a stop ledge 40 formed on a stud 42 closing the.

upper end of the inner tube I4. The stop ledge 40 bears against a stop ledge formed by the inner end of a stop liner 44 forming a part of the outer tube I2. The stick is held in extended condition by a lock 46 (better shown in Fig. l1) carried by the inner tube I4, which lock moves out beneath the lower end of the tube I2 (Fig. 10). To prevent relative rotation of the handle and the umbrella, the lock 46 moves into one of a number of slots 48 at the lower end of outer tube I2. This locks the inner tube against rotation relative to the outer tube. At this time the tips 24 of ribs 28 are clear of the skirt 28 of handle 3b, so that the umbrella may be opened. The handle 38 is screwed onto a threaded stud 58 the inner end 52 of which closes the lower end of the inner tube I4.

When the umbrella is in unfolded or extended condition, but closed, the skirt 28 of handle 3i) may be used to hold the tips 24 of the ribs 28 close to the umbrella stick. For this purpose, the inner tube I4 may be slid slightly into the outer tube I2 so that the skirt 28 will surround, instead of being clear of, the tips 24, and appropriate detent meansl are provided to hold the tubes in that position.

In all, there are four umbrella positions to be taken care of by the disclosed mechanism. In one position the umbrella stick is fully extended and the ribs and cloth are opened by the spreaders and runners; in another, the umbrella stick p is fully extended but the umbrella is closed; another position is the same, except that the handle is moved slightly to surround and hold the tips of the ribs; and in the fourth position, the ribs are folded and the stick is telescoped, as shown in Fig. 10.

Considering the invention now in detail, and referring first to Fig. 8, the inner end of the umbrella rib I8 is provided with integrally formed trunnions 68 extending in opposite directions. These trunnions act as a pivot between the rib I8 and the rib retainer I6, as is shown in Fig. 1

The particular rib here shown is of the double spring wire type disclosed in my patents previously referred to. Such a rib is made up of spring wires 62 and 84 terminated by a sheet metal f1ttng 66 having parts 68 curled about and clamped on the wires 62 and 84, and having ears l0, which heretofore were simply perforated to receive a wire threaded through all of the ribs, said Wire passing about a grooved runner, and having its ends twisted together, as previously mentioned. In accordance with the present invention, the sheet metal ears 'I8 are perliminarily drawn by appropriate dies and stamping presses to provide the hollow trunnions 68 formed integrally with the ears 10. As here shown, the outer ends of the trunnions are closed, and the inner ends are open. For purposes of the present specification, the trunnions may be thought of as formed integrally with the rib, for the end fitting 88 is itself a part of the particular kind of double spring wire rib here shown. In other words, if the rib were a single piece of metal, requiring no end ttings at all, the trunnions could be formed integrally as is the case with the spreader shown in Fig. 9.

The rib retainer I 6 (Fig. 1) is made up of a cap 'l2 and a sleeve portion 14. The sleeve is hanged outwardly at l5, and the flange is radially slotted as indicated at 'I8 (Fig. 4) to receive the inner ends of the ribs, or more specioally, the ears 'I8 shown in Fig. 8. The flange 'I6 together with the cap l2 provide a bearing space therebetween for receiving the trunnions SII.

The particular rib retainer here employed is best shown in Figs. 2 through 5 of the drawings. The cap 72 comprises a top wall 88, an inner wall 82, and a rim 84, the latter being shaped to receive and hold the edge of the flange IS as here illustrated, the rim is internally grooved at 88 to receive the edge of the flange 16. The edge of the'rim 84 is preferably beveled as indicated at 88, and this, together with the slots 90, make it possible to spring the cap onto the sleeve with a snap fit. In Figs. 4 and 5 it will be seen that the edge of flange 'I6 may also be beveled, as indicated at 92. The sleeve is provided with means for securing it to the outer tube I2 of the umbrella stick, and in the form here shown, there are tongues 94 which slope inwardly and are received in recesses 96. In preferred form, half the tongues point downwardly, and the other half point upwardly, so that the retainer will be held against rotation, and also against axial movement on the stick. In the present example, four 'tongues are used.

In practice, the sleeve portion 'I4 of the rib retainer is preliminarily secured to the umbrella stick, and in effect forms a part of the same. The ribs are hung downwardly from the flange 16, the trunnions of each rib being supported by the flange. The cap 'I2 is then added, it being simply pressed downwardly with a snap i-lt, and thereafter operates to hold the ribs in position.

The spreader 32 may be a single heavy wire, as described in my earlier patents. The inner end of the spreader 'is flattened, as indicated at |00 (Fig. 9), but instead of perforating the flattened end, as heretofore, the die which flattens the same is so shaped as to leave trunnions |02 projecting in opposite directions therefrom, these trunnions being integral with the spreader. Subsequent die operations may be performed to bring the trunnions to the cylindrical shape shown.

Reverting now to Fig. l, the trunnions |02 are received in a bearing space formed in the runner 3B previouslyreferred to. 'The runner is much like the retainer inbeing made up` of. a sleeve portion |04 and. a. capIS. The sleeve. portion is better` shown in Figslf and?, it. comprising a cylindrical part of sufficient diameter to slide readily on the umbrellastick, and a flange |618. The flange is preferably' madeidentical in dimension with that of. the rib retainer, so `that the same cap maybe employed for both the retainer and the runner. A window IIB is cut through the sleeve |04 `to receive the spring catch 38 previously `mentioned. The opposite end of the sleeve is flared `outwardlyrslightly asshown at H2, in order `to .facilitate sliding `movement on the stick; and more importantly, in order to retain an annular ngerpiece II4 on. thesleeve. This finger `piece IIIIzispushed upwardly when opening the `iumbrella,`and -is pulled. downwardly when closing the umbrella. During this downward movement, the sloping inner? surface` IIB of the fingerpiece bears against the catch 38, and cams it inwardly, thereby releasing the runner for downward movement. It will be understood that both the flange |08 and the cap |06 are radially slotted and appropriately beveled and grooved to fit together with a snap engagement, all as previously described. It will also. be understood that the innerends of the spreaders are gathered together in proper position before snapping the parts of the runner together. If -the spreaders have beenpreliminarily riveted to the ribs, as is usually thelcase, the inner ends of the spreaders are gathered into the cap |06, and the sleeve is then snapped into the cap.

Referring now to Fig. 1'0, the'hinge extensions 26 are held within skirt 28 of handle 30, and for this purpose the inner tube I4 is retained in position by detent projections I I8 received above the stop liner 44. Ihe detent projections IIB are formed at the lower ends of the arms of an inverted U-shaped spring member carried inside the tube I4. The projections I l|8 pass through diametrically opposed openings or windows |22 in tube I4.

The spring detent is best shown in Fig. 12, where it has been drawn to enlarged scale. Until pushed into and confined by the tube, the arms normally assume a widespread condition shown in broken. lines at |20. The detent projections I I8 are well rounded, and are preferably narrower in width than the U-shaped portion |20. Thus adequate spring pressure may be obtained, and

the detent member is better locked against possible displacement within the tube, while at the same time the detent projections I|8 themselves are Small, and act much like the spring-pressed balls heretofore employed. The present improvement dispenses with the need for two balls, a compression spring for the same, and retainer means to hold the spring and balls in position.

` When the umbrella stick is in extended position, but the umbrella is closed with the skirt 28 of handle 30 around the tips 24 of the ribs, the inner tube I4 is held in position by engagement of another set of detent projections I 24 located near the upper end of tube I4. These cooperate with the same stopyliner 44. They are formed at the ends of a U-shaped member |26 identical with that already described and shown in Fig. l2. The detent projections are received in diametrically opposed Windows, as already described, the l tube. so: that the U-shapedportions face in opposite directions. i l

The lock 46 (Fig. l1) is itself formed as a part of a U-shaped spring |28, and. this is disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the spring |26, so that there is no interference therebetween. In fact, the inner edge of lock 46 may be cut away, as indicated at |30, to safely clear the U-shaped spring |28 when the lock is pushed inwardly. While the lock 46 holdsY the tube I4 against inward movement .and against rotation, the stop ledge 40 of stud 42 holds the tube I4 against outward movement or complete removal from the outer tube. For this purpose, the stop ledge 40 is larger in diameter than the inner tube, and is large enough in diameter to bear against the stop liner 44 (Fig. 10) previously referred to.

To secure the stud 42' in the end of tube I4, the stud is peripherally grooved at |32, and the tube I4 is spun inwardly at |34 to lock. the stud and tube together. This eliminates the need for a diametrical Icross pin or rivet, and provides a neater, better; and less expensive connection.

The stud 52` at the lower end of the inner tube 44 is similarly grooved at |36,` `and the tube I4 is spun inwardly at |38 to securely lock the parts against axial movement. In this case, however, the stud is preferably longitudinally knurled or fluted as indicated at |40, before beingzdriven into the tube, in order tofurther guard against any possibility of rotative movement of the stud rela.- tive tothe tube. This is desirable so that the umbrella handle 30 may be screwed tightly onto the stick, and also to guard against any possibility .of rotation of the handle and stud relative to the umbrella. l

The stop liner 44 is secured Within the outer tube I2 in any desired fashion, as by the use of,

tongues |42 received in mating slots in the liner. The catch l38 may be secured on the outer tube I2 in any convenient manner, as by the use of a ring I 44. The ornament I 46 at the end of the umbrella stick is screwed in place, it being internally threaded to mate with a thread |48 formed at the free end of the tube I2 above therib retainer I6.

It is believed that the improved umbrella construction of my invention, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The use of integrally formed trunnions on the inner ends of the ribs and spreaders, together with the rib retainer and runner which are assembled around the trunnions, provides a stronger, long wearing, simplified structure. There is a substantial reduction in the labor needed to assemble the unbrella frame. Similar remark applies to the detents, which are simpler in structure, and require less labor for assembly than is the case with spring-pressed ball detents. 'Ihe end studs are secured to the inner tube of the umbrella stick with less labor than with a diametrical pin, and the resulting structure is stronger than that heretofore provided. p

It will be apparent that While I have shown andV described my invention in one particular form, changes may be made in the structure shown, without departing from the spirit of the invention as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A folding umbrella comprising a tubular metal umbrella stick, said stick having telescopically related inner and outer portions, the inner or smaller diameter portion being provided with rounded frictional detent means cooperating with the outer or larger diameter portion to yieldably hold the stick in shortened condition, said detent means including a spring metal strip bent to U shape and disposed inside the smaller diameter portion, the ends of said U being bent reversely to form rounded detent projections, and said inner portion having a pair of diametrically opposed windows through which said detent projections project to engage a part of` the outer tubular member intermediate the ends of said outer tubular member, a flat lock formed at one endof a U-shaped spring also disposed in said inner portion, the plane of said lock passing through the axis of the stick and being substantially perpendicular to the plane of the detent,

said lock and said detent being so shaped and disposed as to avoid interference by the detent when the lock is pushed inward to release the saine.

2. A folding umbrella comprising a tubular metal umbrella stick, said stick having telescopically related inner and outer portions, said outer stick having a stop ledge of reduced diameter near its lower end, said outer stick having an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of the inner stick to afford room for said stop ledge, the inner or smaller diameter portion ably hold the stick in shortened condition, the

ends of` said U being substantially reduced in width compared to the main body ofthe U, and said narrowed ends being bent reversely convex- 1y outward to form rounded detent projections, and said inner portion having a pair of diametrically opposed windows through which the outermost portions only of said rounded detent projections project to engage the aforesaid stop ledge, said windows being wide enough to pass the reduced width of the ends but not the wider main A body of the detent.

3. In a folding umbrella, a telescopic umbrella stick comprising a tubular metal outer portion and a tubular metal inner portion, a solid metal stud having an inner end closing the lower end of the inner portion of said stick and having a threaded portion projecting therefrom beyond the end of the stick for receiving an umbrella handle, the inner `end of said stud `being longitudinally knurled or fluted on its outer surface to discourage rotation, and being provided also with a peripheral groove, said tubular inner portion of said stick being spun inwardly at said groove to permanently lock the stud and tubular inner portion of said stick together.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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