METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROTECTING UMBRELLAS WITH A FERRULED TIP

Abstract: The invention falls within the sector relating to umbrellas. A protection device comprises a tubular body (1) which acts as a reservoir and is provided with a single opening through which the umbrella (3) is inserted and is provided with a manual actuator (7) for causing sliding of the tubular body (1) over the pleats of the umbrella, bringing it from a condition where it completely surrounds the closed pleats into a position where it is folded up in the zone of tip (2) inside the manual actuator (7), and vice versa. The invention also relates to the associated method.

Description: METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROTECTING UMBRELLAS WITH A FERRULED TIP DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a method and a device for protecting umbrellas provided with a ferruled tip, which may also be applied to beach umbrellas. When an umbrella is used to protect the user from rain or snow, the fabric forming the umbrella becomes soaked with water and, when the umbrella is closed, the absorbed water trickles down towards its tip resulting in dripping. This dripping is particularly bothersome when the user enters, with his/her umbrella, a house, car or other means of transport such as buses, trains and taxis, as well as public premises, shops and offices, despite the fact that special umbrella stands are often provided in these areas. Umbrella stands in fact result in the user having to part temporarily with his/her umbrella and it often happens, when the time comes to collect it again, that the umbrella is difficult to distinguish from among the other umbrellas or that it may even have been mistakenly taken by another user. In order to overcome these drawbacks and prevent dripping of the umbrella and the necessary use of umbrella stands, a particular sheath, forming the subject of Italian Utility Model Application No. RE94U000031 in the name of the same Applicant, is known. This protective tubular sheath for umbrellas consists of a tubular body made of flexible impermeable material which surrounds the umbrella and at one end is passed through by the tip of the umbrella to which it is fixed by means of fastening and sealing means consisting of an external cap and an internal element which are joined together, clamping between them the tubular body. A first drawback of this design consists in the presence of a sheath which has a hole at the tip, thus requiring the provision of suitable sealing means in order to prevent the water which has collected inside the sheath itself from escaping through the hole. A further drawback consists in the difficulties relating to extension of the sheath, which is impregnated with water, outside the umbrella, and the subsequent bunching or folding- up at the tip before the umbrella is opened. Basically the sheath described above is not efficient, becomes impregnated with water, is difficult to use and has an aesthetically displeasing appearance when the umbrella is open since it is bunched and folded-up around the tip. The object of the present invention is that of eliminating the abovementioned drawbacks and providing a method and an efficient device for preventing dripping of the umbrella, which are particularly simple, economical and easy to use. A further object is that of allowing the application of said device to various types of umbrella with a ferruled tip, independently of the diameter of the tip. Another object is that of being able to apply the device to umbrellas which already exist on the market and to beach umbrellas. Said objects are fully achieved by the device according to the present invention, which is characterized by the contents of the claims indicated below and in particular by the fact that the sheath is essentially a container or impermeable tubular reservoir provided with a single opening for containing the umbrella and not provided with a hole in the region of the tip since the tip is contained inside the tubular reservoir. The sheath is provided with a manual actuator in the form of a tube at the opening of the sheath itself. The manual actuator, when the umbrella is closed, is located substantially in the region of the umbrella handle, while, when the umbrella is open, it is positioned around the tip. The sheath is fixed to the tip of the umbrella, being clasped between an internal element mounted on the tip and an external cap. The internal element is provided with a projecting annular element for pushing the sheath inside the manual actuator when the umbrella is open. The present invention also relates to a method which comprises the steps of: insertion of the umbrella inside a tubular body with a closed bottom made of flexible and impermeable material until the pleats of the umbrella are fully covered by the tubular body, in the closed condition of the umbrella; fixing of the closed end of the tubular body to the tip zone of the umbrella; sliding of the tubular body over the pleats of the umbrella, so as to allow opening of the umbrella, until the tubular body is folded up in the tip zone of the umbrella inside an element for actuating and receiving the tubular body, said actuating element being fixed to the open end of said tubular body. These and other characteristic features will emerge more clearly from the following description of a preferred embodiment illustrated, purely by way of a non-limiting example, in the accompanying illustrative plates, in which: - Figure 1 shows the device applied to a closed umbrella; - Figure 2 shows the device applied to an open umbrella; - Figure 3 shows a detail of the device according to a variation of embodiment; - Figure 4 shows a detail of the device; - Figure 5 shows the detail of Figure 4 along the cross-section A-A of Figure 1; - Figure 6, 7 and 8 show a variation of embodiment of the device and in particular Figure 7 shows a cross-section along the line B-B of Figure 6. 1 denotes a tubular body or sheath which is closed at one end so as to form a container or reservoir. The tubular body 1 is made of flexible and impermeable material, for example polyethylene or PVC or polyethylene (in the pure state or with the addition of PVC) or cartene. The tubular body 1 is fixed to a tip 2 of an umbrella 3 by means of fastening means comprising an element 4 inside the tubular body 4 and a cap 5 outside the tubular body. The internal element 4, which is preferably made of plastic or rubbery or elastically deformable material, is provided with a hole 6 for insertion, by means of pressure, of the umbrella tip. The hole 6 may have a cross-section with an elliptical or oval shape so as to be able to adapt to tips of different diameter, expanding or retracting elastically. Obviously in the case of a tip with a small diameter, the hole embraces the tip mainly with the opposite walls situated at a smaller distance (smaller axis of the hole), while the tips with a larger diameter also interact with the walls of the hole along the larger axis thereof. The internal element 4 and the cap 5 are formed, as illustrated, in such a way as to engage together, clamping between them the tubular body, which is thus fixed to the umbrella. The tubular body 1 in the fully extended condition with the umbrella closed covers entirely the pleats of the umbrella as far as the handle zone, as illustrated in Figure 1. The free end of the tubular body is provided with an opening through which the umbrella is inserted and to the edges of which an element 7 for actuating the tubular body is applied. The actuator 7 comprises a first tube 8, which is substantially cylindrical or slightly frustoconical and into which the open end of the tubular body is inserted until it projects slightly from said first tube, and a second cylindrical tube 9 or cap with a hole which engages with the first tube 8 so as to fix the free end of the tubular body thereto. The second tube 9 is in fact provided with a cylindrical neck 10 into which the cylindrical edge of the first tube 8 is inserted, with the end of the tubular body remaining trapped inside said neck. The length 11 of the actuator 7 is not greater than the distance 12 between the point where the pleats of the umbrella converge and the cap 5. According to a variation of embodiment shown in Figure 6, the actuator 7 consists of a single cylindrical tube to which the tubular body is welded, for example by means of heat welding or ultrasound welding (depending on the type of material from which the tubular body itself is made). Figure 1 shows the closed umbrella with, fitted to it, the present device in the condition where the tubular body is completely extended so as to cover totally the pleats. In this case, with the umbrella arranged with the handle 13 upwards, the tubular body 1 acts as a reservoir for containing the water and any dripping is avoided. Drainage of the collected water is performed upon opening of the umbrella. When it is required to open the umbrella, it is sufficient to slide the actuator 7 over the pleats of the umbrella until it engages with the cap 5. The cap 5 is in fact in turn provided with a cylindrical groove 14 which allows elastic pressure-engagement between the cap 5 and the internal element 4 and the cylindrical edge of the actuator 7, as illustrated in Figure 2. For these purpose the edges of the groove 14 are provided with incisions, not shown, for conferring elasticity to the cap 5. The internal element 4 is provided with an annular shoulder 15 projecting so that the tubular body 5 is collected together, being folded up inside the actuator 7, as shown in Figure 2. The method therefore involves the following steps: - insertion of the umbrella with the tip into the tubular body with the closed bottom (in the known art insertion was performed into a cylindrical open tube and the umbrella projected outside of it with its tip) until the pleats of the umbrella are totally covered by the tubular body, in the closed condition of the umbrella; - fixing of the closed end of the tubular body to the tip zone of the umbrella; - sliding of the tubular body over the pleats of the umbrella until the tubular body is folded up in the tip zone of the umbrella inside an actuating element (absent in the known art) for receiving the tubular body, which actuating element is fixed to the open end of said tubular body, in the open condition of the umbrella. The present device, which is constructed separately from the umbrella, may be fitted directly to the umbrella prior to distribution thereof, or may be distributed separately as an accessory which can be fitted to a large variety of umbrellas of different sizes. It is sufficient in fact to shorten, if necessary, the tubular body according to the dimensions of the umbrella, before fitting the actuating element and the device to the umbrella. Basically the device comprises a fixed component, consisting of the fastening means 4 and 5, and a movable component consisting of the actuator 7, in which the movable component, when the umbrella is open, engages with the fixed component. The latter, according to a variation of embodiment not shown, may be provided with a semi-automatic operating system, in the sense that it is envisaged using a spring acting between the actuator and the fastening means and a trigger which mounted on the stem of the umbrella in the vicinity of the handle so as to free the actuator and allow the spring to cause sliding thereof towards the tip of the umbrella. According to a variation of embodiment shown in Figure 3, the internal element 4 defines a hole 6 inside which a plurality of elastically deformable lips 16 are formed, said lips favouring stable insertion of the tip 2 into the hole 6, increasing the friction with the tip in the event of extraction of the tip from the hole. This variation of embodiment may be applied both to a hole 6 with a cross-section which is elliptical or oval or in any case such that it may be defined as having a larger axis and a smaller axis, and to a circular hole. One advantage of the present invention is that it allows the umbrella to be placed on the seat of a car, on tables, furniture, armchairs, etc, without wetting them, since the tubular body encloses inside it the whole umbrella as far as the handle, isolating it. In the case of fitting to beach umbrellas, the internal element 4 is normally absent since the umbrella terminates usually in an element which is identical to the internal element 4 and able to perform the functions thereof. Figures 6, 7 and 8 show a variation of embodiment of the present invention on the basis of which a covering element 17 in the form of a small umbrella or bell is used to cover the folded-up tubular body 1. The covering element 17, a plan view of which is shown in Figure 8, is made of polyurethane and is provided with radial ribs 19 made of thickened material and is such as to be normally open. The covering element 17 is also provided with an elastic central ring 18 for mounting inside a corresponding groove or recess in the internal element 4, but said ring may also be welded onto the tubular body 1. The internal element 4, in the example shown in Figures 6 and 7, is provided with recesses 22 into which elastic rings 21 are inserted so as to fix the internal element 4 to the tip 2 of the umbrella. 23 denotes an end protection cover provided with an annular shoulder 24 which acts as an end-of-travel stop for sliding of a cylindrical tube 20. It is also possible for the end cover 25 not to be provided and in this case, not shown, the shoulder 24 is formed directly on the cap 5. The cylindrical tube 20 is slidable on the tubular body from an upper position shown in the right-hand part of Figure 6 (with the end-of-travel stop consisting of the shoulder 24) to a bottom position shown in the left-hand part of Figure 6. The upper position corresponds to the situation where the umbrella is open and the covering element 17 is also open, while the bottom position corresponds to the situation in which both the umbrella and the covering element 17 of the tubular body are closed. The cylindrical tube 20 is provided with internal ribs, not shown, which are inserted between the radial ribs 19 of the covering element 17 and facilitate the operations of opening and closing of the covering element 17 itself.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Protection device for pleated umbrellas with a ferruled tip and for beach umbrellas, of the type comprising: - a tubular body (1) made of flexible impermeable material which in the closed condition of the umbrella (3) surrounds the pleats of the umbrella and in the open condition of the umbrella is folded up in the zone of the tip (2); - means (4, 5) for fastening the tubular body (1) to the ferruled tip (2) of the umbrella (3) or the tip zone of the umbrella, characterized in that the tubular body (1) is a container or reservoir provided with a single opening through which the umbrella (3) is inserted and is provided with a manual actuator (7) for causing sliding of the tubular body (1) over the pleats of the umbrella, bringing it from a condition where it completely surrounds the closed pleats into a position where it is folded-up in the zone of the tip (2) inside the manual actuator (7), and vice versa. 2. Device according to Claim 1, in which the fastening means comprise: - an element (4) located inside the tubular body (1) and provided with a hole (6) into which the tip (2) of the umbrella (3) is stably engaged; - a cap (5) outside the tubular body (1); the internal element (4) and the cap (5) being formed in such a way as to engage together, clamping between them the tubular body (1) which is thus attached to the tip (2) of the umbrella (3). 3. Device according to Claim 2, in which the external cap (5) is formed so as to engage with the actuator (7) in the open condition of the umbrella. 4. Device according to Claim 2, in which the internal element (4) is provided with a projecting annular shoulder (15) formed so as to favour folding of the tubular body (1) which is curled up inside the actuator (7), in the open condition of the umbrella. 5. Device according to Claim 1 , in which the actuator (7) comprises a first cylindrical tube (8) into which the open end of the tubular body (1) is inserted, a second cylindrical tube (9) or cap with a hole which is formed so as to engage with the first cylindrical tube (8), fixing thereto the open end of the tubular body (1). 6. Device according to Claim 2, in which the internal element (4) is made of rubber or elastically deformable material and has, formed in it, a hole (6) with a cross-section which has a substantially elliptical or oval shape or in any case such that it may be defined as having a larger axis or smaller axis, so as to be adaptable to tips (2) of varying diameter. 7. Device according to Claim 2, in which the internal element (4) defines a hole (6) inside which a plurality of elastically deformable lips (16) are formed, said lips favouring stable insertion of the tip (2) into the hole (6), increasing the friction with the tip in the event of extraction of the tip from the hole. 8. Device according to Claim 1, in which the fastening means comprise a cap (5) outside the tubular body (1) formed so as to be fixed onto the end zone of the beach umbrella so as to attach thereto the closed bottom of the tubular body (1). 9. Device according to Claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a covering element ( 17) in the form of a small umbrella mounted outside the tubular body (1) in the region of the tip zone of the umbrella and formed so as to be normally in the open position and to be closed up, by way of protection of the tubular body (1), by means of a cylindrical tube (20) which is slidable on said covering element, opening of the covering element (17) occurring when the actuator (7) folds up the tubular body (1) in the region of the tip zone of the umbrella (3). 10. Method for protecting umbrellas or beach umbrellascharacterized in that it involves the following steps: - insertion of the umbrella inside a tubular body with a closed bottom made of flexible and impermeable material until the pleats of the umbrella are totally covered by the tubular body, in the closed condition of the umbrella; - fixing of the closed end of the tubular body to the tip zone of the umbrella; - sliding of the tubular body over the pleats of the umbrella until the tubular body is folded up in the tip zone of the umbrella inside an element for actuating and receiving the tubular body, said actuating element being fixed to the open end of said tubular body, in the open condition of the umbrella. 1. Umbrella or beach umbrella, characterized in that it is provided with a device according to any one of Claims 1 to 9 or operates in accordance with a method according to Claim 10.

Inventors: ROSSI DANILLO, ROSSI, DANILLO
Applicants: ROSSI DANILLO, ROSSI, DANILLO
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A45B25
IPC codes: A45B25