A device for automatically receiving an umbrella in a bag

Abstract: A device for automatically placing an umbrella (U) in a receiving bag (4), comprises a main body (1) containing at least one said receiving bag (4) and a rotatable bag-opening means (20) for opening an insertion opening (4a) of said bag when rotated by said umbrella (U). The bag-opening means (20) is mounted to said body (1) via a parallelogram mouting mechanism (16, 17, 18), so as to be movable towards and away from said receiving bag (4).

Description: Field The present invention relates to a device which is installed at the entrances of, for example, hotels, stores, and so on and automatically receives a wet umbrella in a bag in rainy weather. Background of the invention Conventionally, umbrellas have been put in the receiving bags made of synthetic resin and so on in order to prevent clothes, floors, or commodities and so on from getting wet by wet umbrellas carried by customers in rainy weather at, for example, hotels, stores, and so on. Various kinds of devices in which insertion openings of the receiving bags are automatically opened in order to easily conduct the operation of receiving umbrellas in the receiving bags and umbrellas are received only by inserting the umbrellas into the insertion openings which are opened have been proposed (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Sh. 60-134817 Official Gazette, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. Sh. 62-125708 Official Gazette, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei. 4-31222 Official Gazette). However, the conventional devices use a means to suck with negative pressure or a number of link and cam mechanisms and so on as means to open the insertion openings of the receiving bags, so that they are complicatedly arranged and have to use a vacuum suction pump, or a motor and so on; therefore the manufacturing cost increases and the devices can not be used where there is no electric power source nearby. In addition, there are disadvantages, for example, that the electric cords become a hindrance and that there is fear of an electric leak since the devices are used in rainy weather. Furthermore, a device in accordance with the preamble of claim 1 is known from JP-U-03 012 489. The present invention is proposed, mitigating the above-described disadvantages, and an object of the present invention is to provide a device which is simply arranged and can surely receive an umbrella in a bag. According to the present invention there is provided a device for automatically placing an umbrella in a receiving bag, comprising a main body containing at least one of said receiving bag and an opening operation mechanism comprising an opening operation member for opening an insertion opening of said receiving bag when the opening operation member is pressed by said umbrella; wherein: the opening operation mechanism includes a fixing plate mounted to a fixing support board attached to an inner surface of an upper part of the main body, a movable plate mounted to the fixed plate by a pair of parallel links so as to be able to advance towards or retreat from the receiving bag, the opening operation member being mounted to the movable plate, characterised in that: the opening operation member is mounted to the movable plate by a support shaft so as to be rotatable downwardly from an inoperative position towards the insertion opening of said receiving bag; a front end portion of the opening operation member is formed to be of substantially triangular planar form and to bend downwards, on the top of the center part of the opening operation member, a concave part is formed for receiving a point of the umbrella; both end parts of a return spring are connected to and held by the opening operation member and the fixed support board, respectively so as to bias the opening operation member and the movable plate towards their retreated, inoperative positions; and wherein stoppers are provided so as to be able to abut the parallel links and thereby regulate a range in which the movable plate moves and reciprocates. The present invention arranged as described above is provided with the opening operation member for opening the insertion opening of the receiving bag loaded within the main body so as to be movable within the main body, and is arranged so that the insertion opening of the receiving bag is opened by rotating the opening operation member with the point portion of an umbrella; therefore the receiving bag is easily and surely opened, and an umbrella can be automatically received in the bag. Certain preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device for automatically placing an umbrella in a bag which is described for reference only. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view of the device in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plane view of the device in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse cross section plane view of the device in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a front view of the receiving bag; Fig. 6 is a section view of the receiving bag; Fig. 7 is an operational diagram when an umbrella is received in the receiving bag; Fig. 8 is an operational diagram when an umbrella is received in the receiving bag; Fig. 9 is an operational diagram when an umbrella is received in the receiving bag; Fig. 10 is an operational diagram when an umbrella is received in the receiving bag; Fig. 11 is a sectional side elevation view illustrating even another embodiment of a device for automatically receiving an umbrella in a bag of the present invention; Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the state that the embodiment of Fig. 11 is positioned; and Fig. 13 is a perspective view for illustrating the operation of replenishing the receiving bags of the embodiment of Fig. 11 and Fig. 12. Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred embodiment of a device for automatically receiving an umbrella in a bag in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a plane view of the embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a transverse cross section plane view of the embodiment. Reference numeral 1 indicates the main body of a substantially box-shaped device which extends vertically. On top of the main body 1, an opening la having a substantially U-shaped plane form is provided, with an edge frame 2 being provided at the edge of the opening. The opening la extends downwardly and opens onto the central part of the front of the main body 1 device at an opening 1b. A pedestal 3 is provided, as part of the main body at the lower end thereof. Within the main body 1, as Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 illustrate, are provided a bag holding case 5 which holds umbrella receiving bags 4, and a mechanism holding case 7 which holds an opening operation mechanism 6 for opening an insertion opening of the receiving bag 4 held in the bag holding case 5. On the top surface of the bag holding case 5 is provided a hinged lid 8 mounted by a hinge 9 for retaining the receiving bags 4. A fixing support panel 10 is attached on the inner surface of the upper part of the main body 1, across both the above-described bag holding case 5 and the mechanism holding case 7. A support plate 11 is attached onto the bag holding case 5 side of the fixing support panel 10. A hook 11a is provided as an integral part of the support plate. A generally U-shaped hanger 13 for hanging and holding the receiving bags 4 is freely detachably provided between the hook 11a and an engagement member 12 which is attached onto the inner surface of the upper part of the main body 1, facing the hook 11a. In the present embodiment, the above-described receiving bag 4 is made of a synthetic resin film, and is in the form of an envelope having an insertion opening 4a at an upper part, as Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 illustrate. The upper edge 41a of the front piece 41 is folded back into the insertion opening 4a. However, the upper edge 41a may instead be folded forward - i.e. outwardly. The upper portion 42a of the back piece 42 extends beyond the front piece 41, and a pair of hanger holes 4b are provided in this upper portion. By inserting the above-described U-shaped hanger 13 through each of the hanger holes 4b, and engaging the U-shaped hanger 13 in the above-described hook 11a and engagement hole 12a provided by the engagement member 12, a large number of receiving bags 4 may be hung and held. At the rear of the hanging receiving bags 4, a compression plate 14 is provided along the hanger 13 so as to be movable. A compression coiled spring 15 is provided between the compression plate 14 and the engagement member 12. The compression coiled spring 15 is mounted around the above-described hanger 13, so as to urge the receiving bags 4 leftwardly as viewed from Fig. 2 by pressing the compression plate 14 to contact the back of the rearmost receiving bag 4. Turning to the mechanism holding case 7, the opening operation mechanism 6 for opening the insertion opening 4a of the foremost receiving bag 4 is held and positioned as described above. A fixing plate 16 is provided by the fixing support panel 10 as a part of it. A movable plate 18 is mounted to the fixing plate 16 by a pair of U-shaped parallel links 17a and 17b so as to be able to advance towards or retreat from the receiving bag 4. An opening operation member 20 in the form of a plate is rotatably mounted on the movable plate 18 by a support shaft 19. In the device illustrated in the drawings, the support shaft 19 is also used to connect one parallel link 17b to the movable plate 18, however, a connection shaft may be provided separately. The front edge 20a of the opening operation member 20 is substantially triangular and is bent downwards. The top of the center part of the opening operation member 20b to which a ferrule U1 of the point of an umbrella U abuts is concave.. At both sides of the opening operation member 20 opposite the front end portion 20a, are folded parts 20c of inward facing U-shape. The bottom surface of each folded part 20c is arranged to abut against the top surface of the movable plate 18. 21 in the drawings is a rotational return spring of the opening operation member 20 formed by a tension coil spring, and both end parts of the return spring 21 are connected to and held by spring bearings 22 and 23 which are respectively provided at the opening operation member 20 and the fixing support panel 10. 16a and 16b are stoppers to which the parallel links 17a and 17b abut, regulating the range over which the movable plate 18 can move. In the above-described arrangement, the receiving bag 4 for taking in umbrella U is hung from and held by the hanger 13 as Fig. 2 illustrates, and is urged to move in the left direction of Fig. 2 by the compression coiled spring 15 via the compression plate 14. The opening operation member 20 and the movable plate 18 are biased to the left of Fig. 2 by the return spring 21, i.e. into the state illustrated in the drawing, with one link 17a abutting the stopper 16a. In order to put the umbrella U into the receiving bag 4 in this state, a point portion of the umbrella U is inserted into the main body 1 through the U-shaped opening la on the top of the main body 1 of the device, as Fig. 2 illustrates, until the ferrule U1 at the point portion abuts the top of the concave part 20b of the opening operation member 20. The umbrella U is then pressed downwards. Then, as Fig. 7 illustrates, the opening operation member 20 and the movable plate 18 move in the rightward direction of Fig. 7 against the return spring 21. The movable plate 18 is prevented from moving any further by the link 17b abutting the stopper 16b, when the front end portion 20a abuts the upper portion of the back piece of the receiving bag 4 which is in the foremost position. When the umbrella U is further pressed downwards, the opening operation member 20 rotates around the support shaft 19 in the clockwise direction of Fig. 8, against the tension coiled spring 21, and the front end portion 20a of the opening operation member 20 advances into the insertion opening 4a of the above-described receiving bag 4, as Fig. 8 illustrates. When the umbrella U is further pressed downwards, the front end portion 20a of the opening operation member 20 advances further into the insertion opening 4a, as Fig. 9 illustrates, and at the same time the opening operation member 20 inclines further downwards, so that the ferrule U1 of the umbrella U which is made to abut to the top of the concave part 20b of the opening operation member 20 slides on the surface of the concave part 20b and enters the inside of the receiving bag 4. By pressing the umbrella U further downwards, the umbrella U is automatically put in the bag 4 as Fig. 10 illustrates. The bag 4 and the umbrella U may then be easily taken out by pulling out the bag 4 and umbrella U in the direction of the front of the main body 1 of the device, making the umbrella U slant slightly downwards thereby tearing above the hanger holes 1b and removing the bag 4 from the hanger 13. By taking out the umbrella U which has been received in the bag 4, the opening operation member 20 and the movable plate 18 automatically return to their original state illustrated in Fig. 2 by the tension coiled spring 21 so as again to be in the standby state. Since the movable plate 18 is provided within the main body 1 of the device so as to be able to advance towards or retreat from the receiving bag 4 loaded in the main body 1, and the opening operation member 20 is supported by the movable plate 18 so as to be rotatable as in the above-described device, when the opening operation member 20 returns to the original state as described above, the movable plate 18 is pulled in the left direction of Fig. 10 by the tension coiled spring 21 and the opening operation member 20 also moves in the left direction, before the opening operation member 20 rotates around the support shaft 19 in the upward direction and returns to a substantially horizontal state. This means that the opening operation member 20 returns to the original state without touching the receiving bag which is waiting for the next time it is used; therefore the opening operation member 20 is prevented from rolling up the next receiving bag. In the embodiment of Fig. 11 to 13, which is proposed for use in such circumstances, the dimension in the longitudinal direction is made smaller by as much as possible, and an umbrella can be received in a receiving bag without obstructing the way even when a device of the embodiment is placed in narrow places such as an aisle and the like. In Fig. 11, a main body (or the casing) of which the entire body is illustrated by at reference 1A has a comparatively small number of receiving bags 4 held therein (for example, about 200 bags), and is extremely small in the longitudinal direction (in Fig. 11, illustrated by an arrow F, and an arrow R) compared to those of the embodiment of Fig. 1 to Fig. 10. Accordingly, as Fig. 12 illustrates, the amount by which the device projects from the wall PW of a passage is extremely small. In Fig. 11, at the back of the main body 1A of the device is a base member 1B for being attached to the main body. Attachment bolts 200 are fixed to the base member 1B. At the top of the main body 1A of the device, a handle 202 is provided for tilting the device when the receiving bags 4 are replenished. Further, at the front of the upper part of the device are provided, a guide 204 which furls (or wrings) an umbrella (not illustrated) in order to make it easy to be received in the bag 4; and a protective cover 206 for an opening operation mechanism which exists around the guide 204 and opens the bags. A hinge 208 is provided at the bottom of the main body 1A, to enable the device to be tilted. With reference to Fig. 13, as described above, in the embodiment of Fig. 11 to Fig. 13, the number of the bags 4 which are held therein is comparatively small; therefore it is required to replenish or supplement the bags at an opportune moment. In this case, for example, the handle 202 is pulled and the main body 1A is thus rotated about the hinge 208 (Fig. 11) so as to be in the state illustrated in Fig. 13. The way to replenish the bags 4, in the embodiment of Fig. 13, is the same as in the embodiment of Fig. 1 to Fig. 10, so no further description is given. The way to place an umbrella (which is not illustrated in the state illustrated by Fig. 12) is the same as described above, so that a repeated description is omitted. In this way, by the embodiment in Fig. 11 to Fig. 13, the device can be installed without obstructing the way in narrow places such as passages (for example, the aisles of buses) in which the installation of the embodiment of Fig. 1 to Fig. 10 would be difficult. The operation etc., are the same as those of the embodiment in Fig. 1 to Fig. 10. It is added that the embodiments shown in the drawings are only examples, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. As described above, since the device for automatically receiving an umbrella in a bag of the present invention, wherein the receiving bags for receiving umbrellas are loaded within the main body of the device and the opening operation member for opening the insertion opening of the receiving bag is provided within the main body of the device so as to be rotatable, is arranged so as to open the insertion opening of the above-described receiving bag by operating the opening operation member by compressing it with the point of an umbrella can be automatically and easily received in the bag without using a motor and so on (prior arts), and so the device of the present invention has an effect of for example, providing an extremely practical device which can be used where there is no electric power source, as well as, can reduce the manufacturing cost, without the possibilities that the electric cord will become a hindrance and that an electric leak will occur. Further, when the umbrella which has been received in the bag is taken out of the device, the opening operation mechanism automatically returns to the state the same as that of before the umbrella compresses the opening operation mechanism by the elasticity repulsion of the elasticity members such as a spring and so on; therefore the device can be used successively. In addition, when the opening operation mechanism returns to the state the same as that of before it is compressed by an umbrella, the opening operation mechanism is prevented from rolling up the unused receiving bag which faces the opening operation of the mechanism.

Claims: A device for automatically placing an umbrella (U) in a receiving bag (4), comprising a main body (1) containing at least one of said receiving bag (4) and an opening operation mechanism (6) comprising an opening operation member (20) for opening an insertion opening (4) of said receiving bag (4) when the opening operation member (20) is pressed by said umbrella (U); wherein: the opening operation mechanism (6) includes a fixing plate (16) mounted to a fixing support board (10) attached to an inner surface of an upper part of the main body (1), a movable plate (18) mounted to the fixed plate (16) by a pair of parallel links 17a, 17b so as to be able to advance towards or retreat from the receiving bag (4), the opening operation member (20) being mounted to the movable plate (18), characterised in that : the opening operation member (20) is mounted to the movable plate (18) by a support shaft (19) so as to be rotatable downwardly from an inoperative position towards the insertion opening (4) of said receiving bag; a front end portion (20a) of the opening operation member (20) is formed to be of substantially triangular planar form and to bend downwards; on the top of the center part of the opening operation member (20), a concave part (20b) is formed for receiving a point of the umbrella (U); both end parts of a return spring (21) are connected to and held by the opening operation member (20) and the fixed support board (10), respectively so as to bias the opening operation member (20) and the movable plate (18) towards their retreated, inoperative positions; and wherein stoppers (16a, 16b) are provided so as to be able to abut the parallel links (17a, 17b) and thereby regulate a range in which the movable plate (18) moves and reciprocates. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising a hinge (208) so as to allow one part (1A) of the main body (1) to be tilted away from another part (1B) thereby allowing further receiving bags (4) to be loaded into the main body (1A, 1B).

Inventors: MURAKAMI TOSHIYUKI, MURAKAMI, TOSHIYUKI
Applicants: MURAHARU SEISAKUSHO KK, NIIKURA SCALES CO LTD, KABUSHIKI KAISHA MURAHARU SEISAKUSHO, NIIKURA SCALES CO., LTD.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B65B43
IPC codes: A45B25, B65B67, B65B43, A47G25, B65B5