Body mounted umbrella

A collapsible umbrella shade is mounted to the body of the user by means of a belt to which a vertical post is pivoted. A shaft carrying the shade is pivoted to the top end of the post and may be folded downwardly to a compact storage position. During use, a removable pin maintains the shaft in an extended position wherein it forms an upward continuation of the post to locate the umbrella shade directly overhead. A pair of springs stabilize the post in its normal upright position, while wire arms serve as handles for displacing the post in order to provide already access to the pin and the operating mechanism for opening and closing the umbrella shade.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to umbrellas and more particularly to an 
improved umbrella of the type that is attached to the body. 
It is often inconvenient to hold an umbrella in the hand in the normal 
manner, as when the user is engaged in fishing or undertaking another 
activity which requires the use of both hands. Consequently, devices of 
various types have been proposed for attaching umbrellas to the body in 
order to free the hands. However, such devices have not been satisfactory 
in all respects. 
One major problem has been the inaccessability of the operating mechanism 
for the umbrella. Since the umbrella is mounted on the back, it is 
difficult to reach in order to open and close the shade or to remove the 
umbrella from the harness or other device that attaches it to the body. 
Moreover, it is usually necessary to completely remove the harness device 
from the body in order to close the umbrella shade. Therefore, the 
umbrella must be carried by hand when closed and must be opened and 
reattached to the body when it is to be used again. Manifestly, this 
procedure is cumbersome and time consuming and detracts from the ease of 
use of the device. 
It is typical for prior art umbrella carriers of this type to present a 
long vertical post which is awkward to carry on the back, particularly 
when the umbrella is not in use. Additional problems have been encountered 
in maintaining the umbrella shaft in a vertical position so that the shade 
is located directly overhead during use. Further, the devices which have 
been proposed in the past are overly complex and expensive and are so 
heavy and bulky that they are difficult to carry and store. 
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide the body 
mounted umbrella which is improved over prior art devices both in its 
construction and in its operating characteristics. 
More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a body 
mounted umbrella having a shaft that may be folded in half when not in 
use, thereby permitting the umbrella to be carried in a compact storage 
position. 
Another object of the invention is to provide an umbrella of the character 
described having operating mechanisms which are readily accessible. It is 
an important feature of the invention in this respect that the umbrella 
shade may be easily opened and closed and the shaft may be folded and 
unfolded without requiring the umbrella to be removed from the back. 
Accordingly, the umbrella may remain on the back when not in use and also 
when being opened and closed. 
A further object of the invention is to provide an umbrella of the 
character described which is firmly attached to the body and which 
includes reliable means for stabilizing the umbrella shaft in a vertical 
position to maintain the shade directly overhead. 
An additional object of the invention is to provide an umbrella of the 
character described which is light in weight and which is simple and 
economical to construct. 
Other and further objects of the invention, together with the features of 
novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the following 
description.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, numeral 10 designates a 
conventional collapsible umbrella shade which is mounted on a shaft 12 in 
the usual manner. The shade 10 may be collapsed on shaft 12 from the open 
position shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 to the closed position shown in 
broken lines. The lower end of shaft 12 is enlarged and is curved to the 
rear in a manner to present a short horizontal stub 12a. 
The umbrella is attached to the body of the user by means of a flexible 
belt 14 which may be formed of any suitable material. The belt 14 is 
rather wide and includes end straps 14a which are secured by conventional 
buckles 15 or by any other suitable mechanism that serves to tighten the 
belt. A rigid metal plate 16 is riveted or otherwise secured flatly 
against the back portion of belt 14. Extending rearwardly from plate 16 is 
a horizontal pin 18 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) which is threaded on its rearward 
end. A flat bar 20 is secured to a cylindrical bushing 22 which is sleeved 
over pin 18 and is able to turn thereon. A nut 24 is threaded onto the end 
of pin 18 in order to hold the bushing on the pin while permitting it to 
freely turn about the horizontal pin axis. 
A straight vertical post 26 is riveted or otherwise attached to bar 20 in 
upward extension therefrom. The post is thus mounted to pivot about pin 18 
between the upright position shown in FIG. 2 and the displaced position 
shown in FIG. 3. Post 26 is biased toward the FIG. 2 position by a pair of 
springs 28 each having one end hooked to the lower end of bar 20 at a 
location below pin 18. The opposite ends of the springs are hooked to lugs 
30 located on opposite sides of the axis of post 26. The springs 28 act to 
stabilize post 26 in its upright position since displacement of the post 
about the axis of pin 18 results in stretching of one of the springs and a 
resulting force that urges the post to return to the upright position. 
Plate 16 is provided with a pair of stops 31 located on opposite sides of 
post 26. Stops 31 are engaged by post 26 as shown in FIG. 3 to limit the 
extent to which the post may be displaced from its normal upright 
position. 
The upper end of post 26 is provided with a bracket 32 having a pair of 
flat, rearwardly extending arm portions spaced apart from one another. The 
stub 12a of the umbrella shaft 12 is received between the arm portions of 
bracket 32 and is pivotally connected to the bracket by a horizontal pivot 
coupling 34. Shaft 12 is thus connected with post 26 for pivotal movement 
between the solid and broken line positions of FIG. 1. In the solid line 
position, the shaft forms an upward extension of post 26, while the shaft 
is folded to extend alongside and parallel to the post in the broken line 
storage position. It is pointed out that coupling 34 is offset rearwardly 
of post 26 in order to facilitate pivotal movement of shaft 12 between the 
extended and folded positions. 
The top end of post 26 has an upward extension piece 36 which is located 
above bracket 32 and which is located above bracket 32 and which is open 
at the rear in order to receive the enlarged lower end of shaft 12 when 
same is in the extended position. The shaft is maintained in the extended 
position by a pin 38 which is extended through an opening formed in the 
extension piece 36 and through a corresponding opening formed in the 
enlarged lower end portion of shaft 12. Pin 36 is retained on the end of a 
flexible wire 40 (FIG. 2) which is tied around post 26 at its opposite 
end. 
A pair of horizontal arms 42 project laterally in opposite directions from 
post 26 at a location slightly below the bracket 32. Each arm 42 is in the 
form of a small wire having an enlarged ball 42a on its end. As will be 
explained in more detail, the arms 42 provide handles which facilitate 
access to pin 38 and the operating mechanism for opening and closing the 
umbrella shade 10. 
In use, belt 14 is extended around the waist and is tightened and secured 
such that post 26 is centered on the back as shown in the drawing. Springs 
28 maintain post 26 in the upright position and resist any forces tended 
to move the post away from its centered position on the back. When the 
umbrella shade 10 is needed, it is spread to the open position shown in 
FIG. 1 and shaft 12 is moved to the extended position. Pin 38 is extended 
through member 36 and shaft 12 to maintain the shaft in the vertical 
position such that the shade 10 is located directly over the head of the 
user. 
When the umbrella shade 10 is not needed, one of the wire arms 42 is 
grasped with one hand to pull post 26 away from its vertical position to 
the displaced position shown in FIG. 3. In this position, the operating 
mechanism for opening and closing shade 10 is readily accessible, as is 
pin 38 since it is located well to one side of the user. After shade 10 
has been closed and secured in the closed position, pin 38 is removed and 
shaft 12 is folded downwardly to the storage position shown in broken 
lines in FIG. 1. When arms 42 are subsequently released, springs 38 assure 
that post 26 is returned to the upright position. Arms 42 again provide 
handles for displacing post 26 when the umbrella is to be raised from the 
storage position. 
It is pointed out that when the unit is in the stored position, the 
umbrella shaft does not extend above the shoulder area of the user and is 
thus easily carried at an out of the way position. Further, since arms 42 
project beyond the sides of the user, they are easily accessible to 
facilitate access to pin 38 and the opening and closing mechanism of the 
umbrella shade. 
From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted 
to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with 
other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the 
structure. 
It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of 
utility and may be employed without reference to other features and 
subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the 
claims. 
Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without 
departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter 
herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted 
as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.