Umbrella cover

An umbrella cover (10) is provided in which a sleeve (10) contains a substantially rigid telescoping support rod (20) which enables the cover (10) to be readily mounted on an umbrella canopy (12) while facilitating compact storage of the cover (10). The lower end of the sleeve (10) includes a flap portion (16) which is folded back to form a cuff (24) prior to lifting the cover (10) over the umbrella (12). A stiffening strip (30) is provided along the lower edge of the cuff (24) to facilitate placement of the cover (10) over the umbrella (12). The flap portion (16) is temporarily held in the cuff configuration (24), which is preferably tricorner, by Velcro fasteners (26) which facilitate the fastening and unfastening of the flap portion (16).

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to protective umbrella covers, and 
particularly to such covers which may be easily mounted and dismounted 
from the canopy of an umbrella, while being compactly storable when not in 
use. 
BACKGROUND ART 
Umbrella covers are well known in the art such as disclosed in my earlier 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,370. With respect to 
my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469, although the umbrella cover described 
therein is satisfactory for most purposes, it contains certain features 
which are not as desirable from a manufacturing and storage standpoint. 
Namely, this cover utilizes a zipper closure for a slit extending 
substantially the entire length of the cover as well as having an 
assembled rod which also extends for substantially the entire length of 
the cover. While these features help facilitate usage of the cover, they 
can be disadvantageous from a manufacturing and storage standpoint in that 
the long rod may make storage or packaging of the cover cumbersome, and 
the zipper may rust if made of metal or may experience difficulty in 
opening if made of plastic. 
As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,370, in an effort to overcome some of 
those disadvantages, an umbrella cover may be provided which does not have 
have a zipper closure in that it forms an envelope, similar to that 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,820,040 for use on trees. However, such a 
cover does not have an installed rigid support but rather relies on the 
use of a pole whose tip is slipped into a pocket to lift the cover on and 
off the umbrella. This arrangement is unsatisfactory and is less 
advantageous in use than the prior art arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 
3,490,469. Thus in attempting to solve some of the potential manufacturing 
and storage difficulties of the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,490,469, the arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,370 
reintroduces the usage disadvantages previously overcome by the 
arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,469. Thus, applicant is not 
presently aware of any satisfactory prior art arrangement which is 
advantageous not only in usage but in manufacturing and storage as well. 
These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
A protective umbrella cover is provided in which a sleeve of substantially 
pliable material contains a substantially rigid telescoping support rod 
partially extending along the length of the sleeve, whereby the cover may 
be readily mounted upon an umbrella canopy with the support rod 
telescopically extended and coverage of the canopy completed by telescopic 
closure of the rod. The lower end of the sleeve, which is open, comprises 
a flap portion which is folded up to form a cuff such as a tricorner 
configuration, and temporarily held in position, such as by Velcro 
fasteners. The bottom portion of the sleeve also includes an inner 
circumferential stiffening member, such as plastic or vinyl webbing to 
facilitate mounting of the sleeve on the umbrella canopy by keeping the 
bottom open. The telescoping rod is secured with the sleeve for a distance 
which is preferably less than half the length of the sleeve which 
facilitates storage and packaging of the cover. In use, the cuff is held 
in position prior to lifting of the cover over the canopy, the telescoping 
rod is extended and the cover lifted over the canopy by the rod. As the 
cover is brought down over the canopy, the rod retracts until the cover is 
fully in position. Thereafter, the flap is pulled down and may be tied in 
position by a drawstring.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawings in detail and initially to FIG. 1 thereof, a 
protective umbrella cover, generally referred to by the reference numeral 
10, in accordance with the present invention is shown. The umbrella cover 
as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter, is preferably arranged 
to be lifted over a conventional umbrella canopy 12 such as a garden or 
bench umbrella, and pulled down to form a protective covering for the 
umbrella 12. In addition, as will also be explained in greater detail 
hereinafter the cover 10, which is preferably formed of a soft pliable 
material, such as vinyl or weather protected fabric, is constructed so as 
to be compactly storable and/or packaged. 
As shown and preferred in FIG. 1, the cover 10 may generally be of a 
tapered configuration having a peak portion 14 at the upper end and a flap 
portion 16 at the bottom end. The cover 10 forms a sleeve, with the cover 
10 being mountable over the umbrella canopy 12 through the opening 18 at 
the bottom of the sleeve 10. Preferably a telescoping rigid support rod 20 
is secured in the sleeve 10 such as by being sewn in a pocket 22 formed 
along one side of the sleeve 10. The flap portion 16, as will be described 
in greater detail hereinafter, is preferably foldable up to form a 
tricorner configured cuff 24 which is temporarily securable in this 
configuration to the outside of the sleeve 10 by means of Velcro fasteners 
26 or some other type of temporary attachment means. An inner 
circumferential stiffening member of reinforcing strip or band 30, such as 
one formed from a plastic or vinyl webbing of the type used for tubular 
furniture, such as a 12 gauge, two inch wide webbing strip, is preferably 
located within the interior of the sleeve 10 along the fold line for the 
flap portion 16 so as to reinforce the bottom opening 18 of the sleeve 10 
when the flap portion 16 forms the cuff 24 and, thereby, keep the bottom 
of the cover 10 open and facilitate placement of the cover 10 over the 
canopy 12. The flap portion 16 preferably includes a conventional 
drawstring 31 at the bottom to enable the mounted cover 10 to be tied 
closed. The triangular configured cuff 24 formed by portion 16 
necessitates provision of a longitudinal slit 32 (FIG. 5) having a 
longitudinal extent e equal to the height of the triangular space formed 
when the cuff 24 is formed. 
As will be described hereinafter the telescoping supporting rod 20 enables 
the secured rod 20 to be extended to its full length to facilitate lifting 
of the cover 10 over the canopy 12 while enabling the rod 20 to be 
retracted as the cover 10 is being brought down over the umbrella 12 and 
the rod 20 contacts a table top 33, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, 
the telescoped rod 20 enables this removed cover 10 to be folded along 
fold lines 34 and 36 to form a compact storage assembly. By way of 
example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for conventional garden type 
umbrellas, the approximate relative dimensions of the cover 10, using the 
reference letters a,b,c,d,e,f,g and h, are as follows: a=22 inches, b=30 
inches, c=70 inches, d=e=15 inches, f=1 inch, g=4 inches and h=30 inches 
with approximately an additional 2 inch overlap of the two portions of the 
telescoping rod 2D. The telescoping rod 20 preferably has the two portions 
secured to each other by a conventional umbrella type spring lock 44 which 
when pushed in will enable the rod 20 to be extended to its full height or 
will enable the rod 20 to be retracted as a result of upward pressure 
against the bottom portion of the rod 20. 
Referring now to FIGS. 2-5, the cover 10 is preferably used as follows. The 
flap portion 16 is folded up to form the triangular cuff 24, if not 
already in this position, and temporarily secured in place by fasteners 
26, with one cuff 24 being formed on each of the two sides of the cover 
10. The spring lock 44 on the rod 20 is then pushed in and the rod 20 is 
then extended to its full length, as shown in FIG. 2, and the cover 10 is 
lifted over the umbrella canopy 12. Once the cover 10 is over the umbrella 
12, the sewn in portion 40 of the rod 20 and the reinforced bottom portion 
30 of the cover 10 enables the cover 10 to readily fall into place about 
halfway down on the umbrella 12. As the user continues to pull the cover 
10 down over the umbrella 12, the bottom of the rod 20 contacts the table 
top 33 (FIG. 3) and, the user again pushes in the spring lock 44 releasing 
14. The continued pressure of the rod 20 against the table top 33 as the 
cover 10 is thereafter pulled downward by the user will cause the rod 20 
to telescope back and retract until the cover 10 is completely in 
position. If the rod 20 did not retract, it could interfere with the cover 
10 being fully placed in position because of the table top 33. Thereafter, 
the rod 20 may be locked in the retracted position due to a second 
conventional detent on the bottom portion of the rod 20. The flap portions 
16 are then separated from the fasteners 26 on the sleeve 10 and the flaps 
16 are then folded down (FIG. 4). If desired, the drawstring 31 may be 
pulled tight and tied to complete the installation of the cover 10 on the 
umbrella 12. To remove and store the cover, the above procedure is 
reversed. When the cover 10 is removed and the rod 20 has been retracted, 
the cover 10 may be refolded along fold lines 34 and 36 and stored in a 
compact package whose overall height would be the height b of the upper 
portion of the telescoping rod 20. 
Thus, by utilizing the present invention a compactly storable umbrella 
cover may be provided without sacrificing the advantages provided by rigid 
rod support. 
It is to be understood that the above described embodiment of the invention 
is merely illustrative of the principles thereof and that numerous 
modifications and embodiments of the invention may be denied within the 
spirit and scope thereof.