Umbrella rack for motor vehicles

An umbrella rack for motor vehicles, including a casing defining a chamber and having a plurality of top holes in communication with the chamber, a plurality of telescopic sockets respectively mounted in the top holes of the casing for holding an umbrella respectively, a sliding water tray mounted in the chamber of the casing for collecting water from the umbrellas being mounted in the top holes of the casing, and a mounting device adapted for securing the casing to the backrest of a vehicle chair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to an umbrella rack for motor vehicles, and 
relates more particularly to such an umbrella rack which can be 
conveniently mounted on the back of the backrest of a vehicle chair to 
hold umbrellas and to collect rain water from the umbrellas being loaded. 
When an umbrella is prepared in a motor vehicle, it may be directly put in 
the motor vehicle at any place. If a wet umbrella is collapsed and put in 
a motor vehicle, rain water will drop from the umbrella to wet the inside 
of the motor vehicle. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in 
view. It is one object of the present invention to provide an umbrella 
rack which can be conveniently mounted on the backrest of a vehicle chair 
inside a motor vehicle to hold umbrellas and to collect rain water from 
the umbrellas being loaded. It is another object of the present invention 
to provide an umbrella rack which moves with the vehicle chair when the 
position of the vehicle chair is adjusted. According to the present 
invention, the umbrella rack comprises a casing, which holds a sliding 
water tray on the inside, a plurality of telescopic Sockets mounted in 
respective holes at the top of the casing for holding an umbrella 
respectively for permitting rain water to drop from the umbrella in each 
hole of the casing to the water tray, and a mounting device for securing 
the casing to the backrest of a vehicle chair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. from 1 to 5, an umbrella rack for motor vehicles in 
accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a casing 
1, a water tray 2, two telescopic sockets 3, and a mounting device 4. The 
casing 1 is a hollow shell having an inside chamber 11, a plurality of 
raised top holes 12 and a front opening 13 respectively disposed in 
communication with the inside chamber 11. The water tray 2 is inserted 
through the front opening 13 into the inside chamber 11 to collect water 
from the top holes 12, having a retaining knob 21 for positioning. When 
the retaining knob 21 is pressed down, the water tray 2 can be smoothly 
taken out of the inside chamber 11 through the front opening 13. The 
telescopic sockets 3 are respectively mounted in the top holes 12 of the 
casing 1, each comprised of a plurality of tubular sections 31 that slide 
one inside another. The mounting device 4 is adapted for securing the 
casing 1 to a vehicle chair 5 at the back side. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, as a first embodiment of the present invention, 
the mounting device 4 comprises a horizontal mounting board 41 
perpendicularly raised from the casing 1 at one side opposite to the front 
opening 13, and adapted for inserting into the gap between the seat 52 and 
the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5, a vertical board 411 raised from 
the horizontal mounting board 41 adjacent to the casing 1 and having a 
plurality of slots 42, an elastic strap 43 inserted through the slots 42, 
a buckle 431 fastened to the elastic strap 43 for joining its two opposite 
ends, and a fastening strap 47 fixedly secured to the vertical board 411 
and adapted for securing to the head rest (not shown) of the vehicle chair 
5 above the backrest 51. Through the buckle 431, the elastic strap 43 can 
be fastened to the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5 to hold the casing 1 
in place. The casing 1 comprises an inside chamber 11, a plurality of 
raised top holes 12 and a front opening 13 respectively disposed in 
communication with the inside chamber 11. The water tray 2 is inserted 
through the front opening 13 into the inside chamber 11 to collect water 
from the top holes 12, having a retaining knob 21 for positioning. When in 
use, the horizontal mounting board 41 is inserted into the gap between the 
seat 52 and the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5, then the fastening 
strap 47 is secured to the head rest above the backrest 51 of the vehicle 
chair 5, and the buckle 431 is fastened up to secure the casing 1 to the 
backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5. When a wet umbrella is put in one 
telescopic socket 3, the telescopic socket 3 is pulled up to the extended 
position, permitting the wet umbrella to be covered within the telescopic 
socket 3. Therefore, rain water is allowed to drop from the umbrella to 
the inside of the water tray 2 through the corresponding top hole 12 of 
the casing 1. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, as an alternate form of the present invention, 
the mounting device 4 comprises a first horizontal mounting board 44 
raised from the casing 1 at one side opposite to the water tray 2, a 
second horizontal mounting board 44' extending from the casing 1 at one 
side opposite to the water tray 2, two belt loops 45 fixedly secured to 
the casing 1 at two opposite lateral sides, and an elastic strap 43 with a 
buckle 431 (not shown) inserted through the belt loops 45. When the first 
horizontal mounting board 44 is inserted into the gap between the seat 52 
and the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5, the second horizontal mounting 
board 44' is retained to the bottom side of the seat 52, and then the 
elastic strap 43 is mounted around the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5 
and secured in place by fastening up the buckle 431. Furthermore, each 
telescopic socket 3 is coupled to the casing 1 by a bellows tube 38. When 
not in use, the telescopic sockets 3 are collapsed. When a wet umbrella is 
put in one telescopic socket 3, the tubular section 31 of the respective 
telescopic socket 3 is pulled up to the extended position to hold the wet 
umbrella on the inside, permitting rain water to drop from the umbrella 
through the corresponding top hole 12 into the water tray 2. When the 
retaining knob 21 is pressed down, the water tray 2 can be removed from 
the casing 1, permitting accumulated water to be poured out. Because the 
telescopic sockets 3 are respectively coupled to the casing 1 by a 
respective bellows tube 38, they can be tilted to the desired angle when 
the angle of inclination of the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5 is 
adjusted. 
FIGS. 3 and 4, as another alternate form of the present invention, the 
mounting device 4 comprises a horizontal board 41 perpendicularly raised 
from the casing 1 at one side opposite to the front opening 13, a vertical 
board 411 raised from the horizontal mounting board 41 adjacent to the 
casing 1 and a mounting frame 46 adapted for fastening to the vehicle 
chair 5 to hold the horizontal mounting board 41. The mounting frame 46 
comprises a vertical wall 461 fitting the curvature of the front side of 
the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5, a horizontal wall 462 extending 
from the bottom side of the vertical wall 461 at right angles and adapted 
for inserting into the gap between the seat 52 and the backrest 51 of the 
vehicle chair 5. The horizontal wall 462 defines a track 463 at the bottom 
side adapted for receiving the horizontal mounting board 41. When the 
horizontal wall 462 of the mounting frame 46 is inserted into the gap 
between the seat 52 and the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5 from the 
front side to closely attach the vertical wall 461 to the front side of 
the backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5, the horizontal mounting board 41 
is inserted into the track 463 of the horizontal wall 462 of the mounting 
frame 46 to closely attach the vertical board 411 to the back side of the 
backrest 51 of the vehicle chair 5 to firmly secure the whole assembly of 
the umbrella rack in place. When a wet umbrella is put in one telescopic 
socket 3, the tubular sections 31 of the respective telescopic socket 3 
are pulled upwards from one another to the extended position to hold the 
wet umbrella on the inside, permitting rain water to drop from the 
umbrella through the corresponding top hole 12 into the water tray 2. 
It is to be understood that the drawings are designed for purposes of 
illustration only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits and 
scope of the invention disclosed.