Patent Publication Number: US-2003230327-A1

Title: Windproof umbrella having multiple canopies in a partial covering relation therebetween

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates to umbrellas and more particularly to an umbrella having multiple canopies in a partial covering relation therebetween so as to have more escape paths for wind for avoiding inversion from the wind.  
       [0003] 2. Description of Related Art  
       [0004] Frequently, a wind will catch an umbrella user unaware and exert a force against the inner surface of the canopy which will cause the canopy to invert from its normal operable position to an upwardly convex position. Accordingly, specially designed umbrellas for rainy, windy weather have been proposed. As shown in FIG. 7, this disclosed windproof umbrella has a small upper canopy  31  in a partial covering relation to a large lower canopy  30  secured to a plurality of ribs  41  of frame  40 . The lower canopy  30  has a plurality of (eight as shown) vent holes  301  equally disposed apart therearound. The upper canopy  31  is in covering relation to the vent holes  301 . During rainy, windy weather, wind caught beneath the lower canopy  30  exits through the vent holes  301  and applies pressure to the underside of the upper canopy  31 . This forces the upper canopy  31  to lift away from the lower canopy  30  for providing a path (i.e., through peripheral edge  311 ) for wind to escape the umbrella.  
       [0005] Another conventional windproof umbrella  5  is shown in FIG. 8 in which a small upper canopy  51  is in a partial covering relation to a large lower canopy  50 . Likewise, during rainy, windy weather, wind caught beneath the lower canopy  50  applies pressure to the underside of the upper canopy  51 . This forces the upper canopy  51  to lift away from the lower canopy  50  for providing a path (i.e., through peripheral edge  511 ) for wind to escape the umbrella.  
       [0006] However, both the prior art suffered from several disadvantages. For example, the number of escape paths for wind is small. Thus, a desired sufficient air escape is not achievable. Further, the covering area is relatively large, resulting in an increase in the manufacturing cost, i.e., excessive fabric is wasted. Furthermore, the manufacturing process is time consuming due to the provision of vent holes.  
       [0007] Still another conventional windproof umbrella  2  is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 in which a plurality of inverted V-shaped elastic strips  22  are secured between a plurality of fasteners  121  on stretchers  12  and a peripheral edge  211 . However, the prior art still suffered from several disadvantages. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the elastic strips  22  are generally parallel to ribs  11  when the upper canopy  20  lifts away from the lower canopy  21  by strong wind. As a result, the peripheral edge  211  is generally closed, i.e., escape path from the peripheral edge  211  to vent holes  204  is blocked. Moreover, the vent holes  204  are generally closed as indicated by arrow A when a strong wind exerts a force upward on the elastic strips  22 . As a result, the air escape function is compromised. Also, because the elastic strips  22  often stretched, its elasticity will be worn out after being used for a predetermined times. As an end, the escape space for wind will become smaller. Additionally, the mounting of fasteners  121  on the stretchers  12  is a time consuming process and thus cost ineffective. Therefore, improvement still exists.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a windproof umbrella having multiple canopies in a partial covering relation therebetween for effectively preventing inversion of the umbrella during high winds.  
       [0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide a windproof umbrella having multiple canopies in a partial covering relation therebetween in which a stitching process of canopies and ribs is simplified.  
       [0010] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a windproof umbrella having multiple canopies in a partial covering relation therebetween in which a fabric cut out from the central opening of the lower canopy is used for the upper canopy so that fabric is saved during the manufacturing process.  
       [0011] To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provide a windproof umbrella comprising a lower canopy including a central opening, an upper peripheral edge, and a lower peripheral edge; an intermediate canopy in a partial covering relation to the lower canopy and including a central opening, an upper peripheral edge, and a lower peripheral edge; an upper canopy in a partial covering relation to the intermediate canopy and including a lower peripheral edge; a shank; a first ring slidable along the shank; a plurality of ribs; a plurality of spreaders secured between the first ring and predetermined positions of the ribs; a hub at a top of the shank; wherein two sets of a plurality of gaps are temporarily formed between the lower and the intermediate-canopies and between the intermediate and the upper canopies during high winds as wind caught beneath the canopies will apply pressure upward to force both the intermediate canopy to lift away from the lower canopy a predetermined distance to provide paths through one set of the gaps for the wind to escape the umbrella and the upper canopy to lift away from the intermediate canopy a predetermined distance to provide paths through the other set of the gaps for the wind to escape the umbrella respectively.  
       [0012] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.  
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of a windproof umbrella according to the invention for illustrating details of the top;  
     [0014]FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the umbrella for illustrating details of the bottom;  
     [0015]FIG. 3 is a side view of the umbrella;  
     [0016]FIGS. 4A and 4B are fragmentary enlarged view of FIG. 3 for illustrating a closed escape path for wind and an open escape path for wind during high winds respectively;  
     [0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of a windproof umbrella according to the invention for illustrating details of the bottom;  
     [0018]FIGS. 6A and 6B are fragmentary enlarged view of FIG. 5 for illustrating a closed escape path for wind and an open escape path for wind during high winds respectively;  
     [0019]FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a conventional windproof umbrella;  
     [0020]FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of another conventional windproof umbrella;  
     [0021]FIG. 9 is a partial side view of still another conventional windproof umbrella; and  
     [0022]FIG. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged view of FIG. 9 for illustrating a closed escape path for wind during high winds. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0023] Referring to FIGS.  1  to  4 , there is shown a first preferred embodiment of a windproof umbrella constructed in accordance with the invention comprising a lower canopy  10  including a central opening  11 , an upper peripheral edge  12 , and a lower peripheral edge  14 ; an intermediate canopy  20  in a partial covering relation to the lower canopy  10  and including a central opening  21 , an upper peripheral edge  22 , and a lower peripheral edge  24 ; an upper canopy  30  in a partial covering relation to the intermediate canopy  20  and including a lower peripheral edge  34 ; a shank  40 ; a ring  41  slidable along the shank  40 ; a plurality of ribs  43 ; a plurality of spreaders  44  secured between the ring  41  and predetermined positions of the ribs  43 ; a hub  42  at a top of the shank  40 ; a lower fastening means  51  for securing each lower corner of the lower canopy  10  along the lower peripheral edge  14  to a free end of rib  43 ; an intermediate fastening means  52  for securing each lower corner of the intermediate canopy  20  along the lower peripheral edge  24  and also each upper portion of the lower canopy  10  along the upper peripheral edge  12  to an about central portion of rib  43 ; and an upper fastening means  53  for securing each corner of the upper canopy  30  along the lower peripheral edge  34  to a corresponding upper portion of the intermediate canopy  20  adjacent either side of the rib  43 . Hence, as shown in FIG. 4A, during calm weather, two sets of a plurality of small gaps S 1  and S 2  are temporarily formed between the lower and the intermediate canopies  10  and  20  and between the intermediate and the upper canopies  20  and  30 . During windy weather, wind (as indicated by each arrow of FIG. 4B) caught beneath the canopies  10 ,  20  and  30  will apply pressure upward. This forces both the lower peripheral edge  24  of the intermediate canopy  20  to lift away from the lower canopy  10  a predetermined distance to provide paths through the gaps S 1  for the wind to escape the umbrella and the lower peripheral edge  34  of the upper canopy  30  to lift away from the intermediate canopy  20  a predetermined distance to provide a path through the gap S 2  for the wind to escape the umbrella respectively. As a result, a potential inversion from the wind during strong winds is prevented.  
     [0024] Note that fabric cut out from the central opening  11  of the lower canopy  10  is discarded in the prior art. However, such fabric in the present invention is used to manufacture the upper canopy  30  so as to save fabric material during the manufacturing process. Further note that the securing of lower and intermediate fastening means  51  and  52  to the ribs  43  is done by stitching additionally, while the securing of upper fastening means  53  is done by stitching to the fabric only without securing to the ribs  43  in manufacturing process. Thus, the manufacturing process is faster.  
     [0025] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown a second preferred embodiment of a windproof umbrella constructed in accordance with the invention. The differences between the first and the second preferred embodiments are detailed below. In the second embodiment, there are further provided a second ring  60  between the ring  41  and the hub  42  and a plurality of inelastic strips  70  interconnecting the second ring  60  at inner end  72  and upper corners  121  of the upper peripheral edge  12  at outer end  71 . As a result, an opening is formed in each sector of the upper peripheral edge  12  of the lower canopy  10 . Further, the openings are in fluid communication with one set of the gaps S 1  formed between the lower canopy  10  and the intermediate canopy  20  during windy weather. This can further increase ventilation during high winds. Note that the outer end  71  of inelastic strip  70  is stitched to the upper corner  121  of lower canopy  10  in a generally horizontal direction and the inner end  72  thereof is secured to the second ring  60  in a generally horizontal direction. As shown, each sector of upper peripheral edge  12  of the lower canopy  10  is open to its lower edge by the inelastic strip  70  (i.e., forming a gap) in a generally horizontal direction. Moreover, the inelastic strip  70  is about perpendicular to the shank  40 . As such, the gap S 2  can be opened to its maximum. As a result, the escape path for wind is not blocked completely. It is noted that in another preferred embodiment, an orientation of the inelastic strip  70  is about ±30 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction.  
     [0026] While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.