Patent Publication Number: US-2004040591-A1

Title: Large-sized power umbrella

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention generally relates to a large-sized umbrella, and in particular to a large-sized power umbrella.  
       [0003] 2. The Related Art  
       [0004] Large-sized umbrellas are widely used in a variety of applications, such as beach umbrellas and garden umbrellas. The conventional large-sized umbrella comprises, in general, an upright center post having a lower end mounted to ground and an upper end to which a crown is fixed, a plurality of ribs pivoted to the crown and radially extending from the crown, a runner slidably mounted to the post and a plurality of stretchers arranged between and pivoted to the ribs and the runner. When the runner is moved toward the crown, the ribs are forced to open and expanding a flexible canopy attached thereto. When the runner is moved away from the crown, the umbrella is closed.  
       [0005] Conventionally, the runner is moved by a rope-pulley system which winds/unwinds a rope connected to the runner for driving the runner toward/away from the crown to open/close the umbrella. A disadvantage of the rope-pulley based driving system is the requirement of large man force in operating the driving system. This causes certain troubles to the general consumers.  
       [0006] Some of the large-sized umbrellas are equipped with a power driving system for eliminating the requirement of large man power in operating the umbrella. However, such a conventional power driving system has a complicated structure, requiring sophisticated and costly maintenance. In addition, such a power driving system is expensive and thus making the cost of the umbrella very high.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a large-sized umbrella comprising a power driving system having a simple structure.  
       [0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a large-sized power umbrella having low costs.  
       [0009] To achieve the above objects, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an umbrella comprising a center post having an upper end to which a crown is mounted. A number of ribs are pivoted to and radially extend from the crown. A runner is movably mounted to the center post. A stretcher is arranged between and pivoted to the runner and each rib. A canopy is attached to and supported by the ribs. An inner threaded member is mounted to the runner. A threaded rod engages the inner threaded member and is coupled to an output spindle of a motor by a reduction gear set whereby the rotation of the motor spindle is transmitted to the rod and the rotation of the rod causes the runner to move thereby opening/closing the umbrella. The motor is controlled by a control circuit that is in turn controlled by a remote control unit.  
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0010] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:  
     [0011]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a large-sized power umbrella constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0012]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the large-sized power umbrella of the present invention;  
     [0013]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a large-sized power umbrella constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0014]FIG. 4 is another cross-sectional view of the power umbrella of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0015]FIG. 5 is another cross-sectional view of the power umbrella of the second embodiment of the present invention; and  
     [0016]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a power umbrella constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0017] With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, a power umbrella constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises an umbrella frame (not labeled) comprising a center post  10  on which a runner  11  is movably mounted. The center post  10  has an upper end to which a crown  12  is attached. A number of ribs  13  are pivoted to the crown  12  and radially extend therefrom. A stretcher  14  has opposite ends respectively pivoted to the runner  11  and each rib  13 . Moving the runner  11  toward the crown  12  drives the stretchers  14  to expand the ribs  13 , thus opening the umbrella, and moving the runner  11  away from the crown  12  allows the ribs  13  to collapse and thus closing the umbrella. A flexible canopy  15  is attached to and supported by the ribs  13 .  
     [0018] Also referring to FIG. 4, the umbrella comprises a driving system (not labeled) comprising a threaded rod  24  located outside but parallel to the center post  10 . The threaded rod  24  has an upper end rotatably supported by the crown  12  and a lower end rotatably supported by a lug (not labeled) of the center post  10 . An inner-threaded collar or nut  16  is mounted to the runner  11 . The rod  24  engages and extends through the inner-threaded collar  16  whereby the upper and lower ends of the rod  24  are located on opposite sides of the runner  11 .  
     [0019] The driving system further comprises a motor  20  mounted in the center post  10  and powered by batteries  20  that are also mounted inside the center post  10 . A reduction gear set  23  is coupled between an output spindle (not labeled) of the motor  22  and the rod  24 . In this respect, the center post  10  forms a cutoff (not labeled) for the extension of the gear set  23 . The rotation of the output spindle of the motor  22  is transmitted to the rod  24  in a speed reduced manner. The rod  24  is thus rotated about its own axis and forces the runner  11  to move with respect thereto due to the threading engagement between the inner-threaded collar  16  and the threaded rod  24  whereby opening/closing the umbrella can be accomplished.  
     [0020] A control circuit  21  is arranged between the batteries  20  and the motor  22  for controlling power supplied to the motor  22 . A remote control device  30  allows manual control of the motor  22  via the control circuit  21 . The control device  30  can be of wired type that has a wire connection with the control circuit  21 . Or alternatively, the control device  30  is a wireless remote control communicating the control circuit  21  by means of electromagnetic signals.  
     [0021]FIGS. 3 and 5 show a power umbrella constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention comprising an umbrella frame (not labeled) comprising a center post  10  having an upper end to which a crown  12  is attached. A number of ribs  13  are pivoted to the crown  12  and radially extend therefrom. A runner  11  is movably mounted to the center post  10 . A stretcher  14  has opposite ends respectively pivoted to the runner  11  and each rib  13 . Moving the runner  11  toward the crown  12  drives the stretchers  14  to expand the ribs  13 , thus opening the umbrella, and moving the runner  11  away from the crown  12  allows the ribs  13  to collapse and thus closing the umbrella.  
     [0022] The umbrella comprises a driving system (not labeled) for driving the runner  11  toward/away from the crown  12  to open/close the umbrella. The driving system comprises a threaded rod  24  located inside and parallel to the center post  10 . The threaded rod  24  has upper and lower ends rotatably supported by the center post  10 . The center post  10  defines an elongate slot  18  extending along the center post  10 . The runner  11  forms an inward projection  17  extending through the slot  18  into the center post  10 . The projection  17  is sized to allow for free movement of the runner  11  with respect to the center post  10 . An inner-threaded collar or nut  16  is mounted to the inward projection  17  of the runner  11  and the rod  24  engages with the inner-threaded collar  16 .  
     [0023] The driving system further comprises a motor  20  mounted in the center post  10  and powered by batteries  20  that are also mounted inside the center post  10 . A reduction gear set  23  is coupled between an output spindle (not labeled) of the motor  22  and the rod  24 . The rotation of the output spindle of the motor  22  is transmitted to the rod  24  in a speed reduced manner. The rod  24  is thus rotated about its own axis and forces the runner  11  to move with respect thereto due to the threading engagement between the inner-threaded collar  16  and the threaded rod  24  whereby opening/closing the umbrella can be accomplished.  
     [0024] A control circuit  21  is arranged between the batteries  20  and the motor  22  for controlling power supplied to the motor  22 . A remote control device  30  allows manual control of the motor  22  via the control circuit  21 . The control device  30  can be of wired type that has a wire connection with the control circuit  21 . Or alternatively, the control device  30  is a wireless remote control communicating the control circuit  21  by means of electromagnetic signals.  
     [0025]FIG. 6 shows a power umbrella constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention comprising an umbrella frame (not labeled) comprising a center post  10  having circumferential side wall (not labeled) in which a recessed channel  19  is formed and extending along the center post  10 . A runner  11  is movably mounted to the center post  10 . A number of stretchers  14  have ends pivoted to the runner  11 .  
     [0026] The umbrella comprises a driving system (not labeled) for driving the runner  11  along the center post  10 . The driving system comprises a threaded rod  24  located inside the channel  19  and parallel to the center post  10 . The runner  11  forms an inward projection  17  movably received in the channel  19 . An inner-threaded collar or nut  16  is mounted to the projection  17  of the runner  11  and the rod  24  engages with the inner-threaded collar  16 . Ends of the rod  24  extend through openings defined in the center post  10  to engage the motor  22 .  
     [0027] The channel  19  allows the rod  24  to be shielded without causing substantial damage to the structural strength of the center post  10 .  
     [0028] The power umbrella of the present invention may further comprise solar cells  40  for collecting and converting solar energy into electricity for charging the batteries  20 . In this respect, the batteries  20  are rechargeable batteries. Alternatively, the electricity of the solar cells  40  directly powers the motor  22 . Preferably, the solar cells  40  are mounted on the canopy  15  close to the crown  12  for efficiently receiving and absorbing sunlight.  
     [0029] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.