Air cooled umbrella

An air cooled sunshade constructed to provide cooling under the canopy of the sunshade. The foldable canopy of the sunshade includes a plurality of segments of elongated panels having embedded solar panels and a plurality of segments of pliable material to allow the canopy to easily stretch when in the open position and collapse in the closed position, typically arranged having one elongated panel connected on foldable material segment arranged around a center piece. In an embodiment disclosed herein, the pliable material is formed as a pipe having an upper layer and a lower layer, the lower layer having pores through which air can flow to the area under the canopy. The air can then flow from a fan or an air conditioner mounted on the center piece and allowing air to flow evenly under the canopy. The solar panels are connected to provide the necessary energy.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention generally relates to umbrellas, and more specifically to umbrellas used to cover a larger sitting or playing area, and even more specifically to umbrellas that are equipped with solar cells to generate electrical energy.

BACKGROUND

The use of umbrellas in general, and in particular use of umbrellas for the sake of shading larger sitting and playing areas is well-known in the art. Such use provides shade and a somewhat cooler and less exposed area to beaming sun rays. However, on hot days in general, and in particular on windless days, heat in the canopied area may still be unpleasant. Therefore different solutions have been proposed to help in removing the warm air that accumulates in the canopy area. Some such solutions provide fans as part of the canopy to enable movement of such warm air.

With the advent of solar cells, some solutions even propose the addition of solar cells to harness the sun's energy for the production of electricity and driving the fans therefrom. This is of particular use when the umbrella is placed in such areas as the beach or other areas where the use of high voltage electricity is not practical or hazardous. The solutions provided in the prior art suffer from various disadvantages, including, but not limited to, insufficient solar cells to accumulate enough energy, exposed fan wings, and limited cooling capabilities.

It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the deficiencies of the prior art. In particular it would be advantageous if such a solution provided for ample conversion of solar energy to electrical energy, be safe to use, and provided extended cooling capabilities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments disclosed are only examples of the many possible advantageous uses and implementations of the innovative teachings presented herein. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. In general, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in plural and vice versa with no loss of generality. In the drawings, like numerals refer to like parts through several views.

Certain exemplary embodiments disclosed herein include an air cooled sunshade, e.g., umbrella provides cooling under the canopy of the umbrella. The foldable canopy of the umbrella is comprised of a plurality of segments of elongated panels that have embedded solar panels and a plurality of segments of foldable material to allow the canopy to easily stretch when in the open position and collapse when in the closed position, typically arranged by having one elongated panel connected on a foldable material segment arranged around a center piece.

In one embodiment, the foldable material is formed as a pipe having an upper layer and a lower layer, the lower layer having pores through which air can flow to the area under the canopy. The air can then flow from a fan, or an air conditioner mounted on the center piece, thereby allowing air to evenly flow under the canopy. The solar panels are connected to provide the necessary energy.

According to various disclosed embodiments, a sunshade, for example in the form of an umbrella, is created from a plurality of two types of segments that are connected to each other. A first type of segment is an elongated panel into which at least a solar cell is embedded. The panel may be constructed of fortified glass or durable transparent plastic of any kind suitable for the task. The second type of segment is made of a durable but pliable material in an elongated form that is connected to the first type of segment along its long side. Such pairs of segments are then connected to each other to create the canopy of the sunshade. Any one of these segments may be further equipped with a rib at the bottom part of the segment to be connected to a radial support arm. The radial support arm is connected to a sliding ring that is mounted on a center pole.

The sliding ring may move up and down the pole to adjust the canopy, from a closed position when the sliding ring moves to its lowest position on the pole, to a fully opened canopy when the sliding ring is at its highest point on the pole. A fan is mounted in a housing at the top of the sunshade such that air is sucked in from the outside, through the fan housing. The housing is designed to have a plurality of output tubes located at positions corresponding to the second type of segment. This segment is further designed as a tube having an upper side and a bottom side, the tube being closed at one end and fitting the output of the housing at the other end. The bottom side is further designed to have pores in various locations on the bottom side. When air flows through the housing it is pushed into the plurality of second segments and flows in, preferably, a laminar fashion from the pore in the bottom side of the second segment downwards, thereby spreading the airflow evenly throughout the canopy. In one embodiment, instead of the housing having a mere fan, it is equipped with a direct current (DC) air conditioner and hence can provide ample cooling to the area under the canopy. The first type of segment has all the electrical outputs coming from the solar cells connected to the housing where the electricity is provided to the fan or DC air conditioner, or otherwise to a battery that is part of the housing for the purpose of storage.

In one embodiment, display sheets, made for example of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) are used for at least one of the sides of the segments. These sheets can then be used for display purposes, for example, for the display of an advertisement, in the form of an image and/or a video clip. It may be further used for display on the inside and/or outside of the canopy. The display may use the power provided by the solar cells making it self-sufficient.

FIG. 1depicts an exemplary and non-limiting schematic diagram of a top view100of an opened canopy of a sunshade in the form of an umbrella implemented according to various disclosed embodiments. The canopy is comprised of segments120, which are segments of the first type as discussed hereinabove, and segments130, which are segments of the second type as discussed hereinabove. In this exemplary case where the canopy has the exemplary and non-limiting effective shape of an octagon, the segment130also has a seam140which may be used for the purpose of connecting a rib (not shown) to which a radial support rod is connected. The segments120and130are connected to each other to form the entire canopy. The segment120is an elongated panel into which a solar cell or cells are embedded and further has output wires (not shown) that are used to collect the electric energy and power the systems of the umbrella as discussed herein below in more detail. The segment130is formed as a tube having its outer end sealed, and connected on its other end to the bottom part110of a housing150to allow the flow of air from the housing150into the tube of segment130, as further explained below with respect ofFIG. 3.

In one embodiment, at least one of the segments120or130is coated with an OLED sheet that is further electrically connected to the housing150. A control circuit within the housing150controls the display on the OLED sheet(s) providing, for example, advertisements displayed on at least portions of the canopy. Typically the advertisement, or otherwise an image or video clip, is stored in a memory of the control circuit. In one embodiment, an interface, such as a universal serial bus (USB) connected to the control circuit, is used for the purpose of uploading displayable content to the memory. In yet another embodiment, a battery is used to store energy and in yet another embodiment, an electrical cord allows the connection of the system to an electric outlet to allow for the supply of electricity to the umbrella to supplement the energy harvested from the sun.

FIG. 2shows an exemplary and non-limiting first cross-section A-A200of a side view of the umbrella. The canopy is mounted on a rod210, equipped, for example, in one end with a sharp point for the purpose of affixing the rod into the ground. This cross-section A-A cuts through the panels120to reveal the solar cell125, embedded within the panel120. An electrical connection from the segment120provided from the solar cell125is connected to the housing150to form an electrical circuit (not shown) that would be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art. The segments120are connected to the housing150by means of a pivot250that allows the segment120to move upwards when the canopy is to be opened and downwards when the canopy is to be closed. Radial support rods240may be affixed to the segment120at one end and to a sliding ring220on the other end. As the sliding ring220is pushed up or down, the canopy will either open or close respectively. The sliding ring220can be locked into position by means known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are therefore not shown herein. The housing150houses a fan230that when allowed to spin using the power provided from the solar cell125pushes air through the chamber of the housing150sucking air from the outside top and into the chamber, and as further explained in more detail with respect ofFIG. 3. While a fan230is shown herein, it is envisioned that the fan can be replaced by a DC air-conditioner, such that the housing150is configured of moving air that was chilled in the DC air-conditioner through the chamber of the housing150.

FIG. 3shows an exemplary and non-limiting second cross-section B-B300of a side view of the umbrella. This cross-section B-B cuts through the tube segment130. The segment130has an upper part which is sealed and a bottom part which has pores310. The segment130is sealed on one end of its length and is connected to a tube that leads into the chamber of the housing150in the other end. This allows the flow of air from the chamber of the housing150through the tube of segment130and then through the pores310of the bottom part of the segment130providing an essentially laminar air flow from the top of the umbrella towards the bottom, providing a cooler sensation to persons sitting under the canopy. In the embodiment where a DC air conditioner is used in the housing150, an air conditioned environment is provided.

In one embodiment, additional electronics may be added to be powered from the housing150. For example, loudspeakers may be added to allow the playing of music from a gadget such as an Apple Computers® iPod® and other like devices. In yet another embodiment, the panel may be replaced by pliable and/or foldable solar panels to provide additional folding capability of the canopy.

FIG. 4shows an exemplary and non-limiting schematic block diagram400of the electrical circuit for a sunshade, e.g., the umbrella discussed in greater detail hereinabove. The solar cells125feed a power regulator410which generates one or more supply voltages as may be necessary. The power regulator410provides the power to the elements of the circuit. A control circuit420, which may be comprised of a microprocessor or microcontroller, is connected to memory430which may store a plurality of instructions for the control of other parts of the circuit. The memory430may further contain content uploaded to the memory via, for example, interface470. The control circuit420controls the operation of the fan440and the optional air conditioner450. A display460connected to the control circuit420and optionally coupled to the memory430allows the display of content from the memory430under the control of the control circuit420.