Patent Publication Number: US-6216712-B1

Title: Catch-free safety umbrella

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIG. 31, a conventional umbrella includes: a central shaft C having a plurality of top ribs T pivotally secured to an upper notch N on the shaft, a plurality of stretcher ribs S each pivotally connected between each top rib T and a runner R slidably held on the shaft; whereby upon opening of the umbrella, the runner R will be retained on an upper portion of the shaft by an upper spring catch C 1  resiliently held on the shaft; and upon closing of the umbrella, the runner R will be retained on a lower portion of the shaft by engaging a slot R′ formed in the runner with a lower catch C 2  resiliently held on a lower portion of the shaft. 
     Since either upper catch C 1  or lower catch C 2  has an acute corner portion formed on the catch, it may easily injure an umbrella user when depressing the catch for closing or opening the umbrella. 
     The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional umbrella and invented the present safety umbrella without spring catch. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a safety umbrella including: a central shaft; a rib assembly having a plurality of top ribs pivotally secured to an upper notch on the shaft each top rib pulled by a pulling rope to be tensioned towards an upper portion on the shaft, and a plurality of stretcher ribs each pivotally connected between each top rib and a runner slidably held on the shaft, with each stretcher rib forming an acute angle between the stretcher rib and the shaft; whereby upon opening of the umbrella, the tension force as effected by the pulling rope and acting upon each top rib will be transferred to each stretcher rib to form an upwardly orienting fraction force to lift the stretcher rib along the shaft to stably hold the rib assembly at an opening state; and a ball resiliently held in a lower portion of the shaft, whereby upon closing of the umbrella, the runner will be engaged with the ball for stably retracting the rib assembly at a folded condition, thereby eliminating the acute spring catches as found in a conventional umbrella and preventing from injury to the umbrella user. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration showing an opening umbrella of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged illustration of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an illustration showing a closed umbrella of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged illustration of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is an illustration showing a stably folded umbrella of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a lowering of the runner to approximate the ball resiliently held in the shaft. 
     FIG. 7 shows a depression of the ball by the lowered runner, following FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 shows an engagement between the ball and the runner for stably closing the umbrella of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a front view of FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 10 shows a connection between the pulling rope and the top rib. 
     FIG. 11 shows the connection of the pulling ropes on the collar disposed on the shaft of the present invention. 
     FIG. 12 shows another connection of the ropes on the collar. 
     FIG. 13 shows further connection of the ropes with the collar. 
     FIG. 14 shows another modification of the ball and the runner of the present invention. 
     FIG. 15 shows still another modification of the ball with the runner of this invention. 
     FIG. 16 shows further modification of the ball with the runner of this invention. 
     FIG. 17 is an illustration of another preferred embodiment of the present invention when opened. 
     FIG. 18 is a partially enlarged illustration of FIG.  17 . 
     FIG. 19 shows a closed umbrella as folded from FIG.  17 . 
     FIG. 20 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.  19 . 
     FIG. 21 shows a stably closed umbrella as further folded from FIG.  19 . 
     FIG. 22 is an exploded view of the runner of the umbrella as shown in FIG.  18 . 
     FIG. 23 is a sectional drawing of the runner as assembled from FIG.  22 . 
     FIG. 24 is a cross sectional drawing when the runner is lowered to initially touch a ball on the shaft when closing the umbrella. 
     FIG. 25 is a longitudinal sectional drawing as viewed from  25 — 25  direction of FIG.  24 . 
     FIG. 26 shows a sloping block on the runner when separating from the ball, following FIG.  24 . 
     FIG. 27 is a longitudinal sectional drawing as viewed from  27 — 27  direction of FIG.  26 . 
     FIG. 28 is a cross sectional drawing when the runner is engaged and locked by the ball of the present invention. 
     FIG. 29 is a longitudinal sectional drawing as viewed from  29 — 29  direction of FIG.  28 . 
     FIG. 30 is a partial sectional drawing showing an anti-slipping tip of the shaft and an anti-slipping end of the grip in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 31 shows a conventional umbrella. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in FIGS.  1 ˜ 16 , the safety umbrella of the present invention comprises: a central shaft  1 ; a rib assembly  2  having a plurality of top ribs  21  each pivotally secured to an upper notch  20  formed on top end portion  11  of the shaft  1 , and a plurality of stretcher ribs  22  each pivotally connected between each top rib  21  and a runner  23  slidably held on the shaft  1 ; a plurality of pulling ropes  24  each pulling each top rib  21  towards a collar  25  disposed around the shaft  1 ; and a ball  13  resiliently held in the shaft  1  adjacent to a grip  12  secured to a lower portion of the shaft  1 . Each stretcher rib  22  defines an acute angle A (or a right angle) between the stretcher rib  22  and the shaft  1  (from the runner towards the grip  12 ) when the umbrella is opened. A longitudinal axis X is defined at a longitudinal center of the shaft  1 . 
     Each pulling rope  24  may be made of Nylon, or other materials light in weight and durable in strength. The rope  24  may also be substituted with wire, string, or threads. 
     Each pulling rope  24  includes: an inner rope end  241  secured on a collar  25  disposed around the shaft  1  (FIGS.  11 ˜ 13 ), and an outer rope end  242  secured with an outer portion of the top rib  21  by means of a retainer  27  fixed on the top rib as shown in FIG.  10 . 
     The collar  25  is resiliently tensioned on a tension spring  26  retained on fixing ring or pin  261  fixed on an upper portion of the shaft  1  to tension the rope between the top rib  21  and the collar  25 . 
     When the umbrella is opened as shown in FIG. 1, the top rib  21  is pulled and bent by the pulling rope  24  towards the upper portion of the shaft. A tension force on the top rib  21  as pulled by the rope  24  will act upon each stretcher rib  22  which in turn transfers the tension force F towards the runner to form a force fraction Fr to lift the stretcher rib  22  upwardly to prevent from a gravitational descending of the runner  23  and the rib assembly  2 , thereby stably keeping the umbrella at an opening condition. 
     When subjected to an upwardly blowing strong wind, the pulling ropes  24  will pull the top ribs  21  and the stretcher ribs  22  centripetally towards the axis X to help stabilize the rib assembly  2  at their opening condition and to prevent from inversion of the umbrella cloth as secured on the rib assembly. 
     Even when the umbrella is closed to retract the rib assembly towards the shaft, the pulling ropes  24  may still be tensioned by the tension spring  26  which urges the collar  25  upwardly, thereby preventing from the loosening or tangling of the ropes  24  with one another. 
     The inner rope end  241  of the pulling rope  24  may be formed as a loop  241   a  to be retained in two neighboring rope holes  251  formed in the collar  25  as shown in FIG.  11 . The rope  24  may also be individually secured to the collar  25  as shown in FIG. 12; or the inner rope end  241  of each rope is embedded into a rope slot  252  formed in the collar  25  as shown in FIG.  13 . 
     The ball  13  having a spherical or arcuate surface is resiliently held in the central shaft  1  adjacent to the grip  12 . The ball  13  is linked with a spring  15  retained in a ball holder  14  fixed in the central shaft  1  so that the ball  13  is urged outwardly by the spring  15  beyond a tube surface of the central shaft  1  to be engaged with a ball hole  233  formed in runner  23  when closing the umbrella. 
     The runner  23  includes a ferrule  231  circumferentially formed on the runner for pivotally connecting the stretcher ribs  22  on the ferrule, a lower rim  232  formed on a bottom portion of the runner  23  having the ball hole  233  formed in the runner adjacent the lower rim  232 ; whereby when lowering the runner  23  when closing the umbrella, the lower rim  232  will depress the ball  13  inwardly into the holder  14  as shown in FIGS. 6,  7 ; and the ball  13  will be urged outwardly as restored by the spring  15  to engage the hole  233  for stably locking the runner  23  on a folded or closed state as shown in FIGS. 8,  9  and  5 . 
     For opening the umbrella, the runner  23  can be raised upwardly by reversing the foregoing umbrella-closing procedure, namely, from FIG. 8 back to FIG. 6, the ball will be first retracted by the lower rim  232  (FIG.  8 ); and the runner  23  will then leap over the ball  13  in order to be unlocked and lifted for opening the umbrella as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     After opening the umbrella, the rib assembly  2  is stably retained on the upper portion of the shaft by the pulling ropes  24 , thereby eliminating the conventional upper spring catch held on the upper portion of the shaft for preventing injury to the umbrella user. 
     Upon closing of the umbrella, the runner  23  is lowered to retract the ball which will then be automatically restored for locking the runner, thereby greatly minimizing the chance to touch or injure the user&#39;s hand. Meanwhile, the ball is so small and has a smooth spherical ball surface, causing no injury to the umbrella user. So, the present invention also provides a safety umbrella by eliminating the conventional lower spring catch adjacent the grip. 
     As shown in FIG. 14, the lower rim  232  having an annular arcuate groove recessed in the rim  232  of the runner  23  will be engaged with the ball  13  as resiliently urged by the spring  15  and held in the holder  14  fixed in the shaft for stably locking the runner at it folded state. 
     As shown in FIG. 15, the ball  13  is fixed on a V-shaped spring  15  fixed in the shaft  1  for urging the ball  13  outwardly to be engaged with the ball hole  233  formed in the runner  23  for stably locking the runner at a closed state of the umbrella. 
     As shown in FIG. 16, the ball  13  has been modified to be a ball-headed pin  13   a  inserted into the shaft  1 , and the runner  23  is formed with a tab  230  hingedly secured to the runner  23  having the ball hole  233  formed in the tab  230  for engaging the ball-headed pin  13   a  when closing the umbrella. The tab  230  has a bottom rim  230   a  resiliently urged outwardly by the ball-headed pin  13   a , whereby when the bottom rim  230   a  is leaving from the ball-headed pin  13   a , the ball-headed pin  13   a  will be engaged with the hole  233  in the tab  230  for stably locking the runner  23  at its folded condition. 
     Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS.  17 ˜ 29 , in which the runner  23  and the ball  13  have been modified to be the runner  23  and a ball  13   b  formed on a pin especially shown in FIGS. 22,  23  and  24 ˜ 29 . 
     The ball  13   b  slightly protrudes outwardly on the tube surface of the shaft  1 , thereby causing no injury to an umbrella user and ensuring the safety function of this invention. 
     The runner  23 , defining a central through hole  23   a  as shown in FIG. 22, includes: a ferrule  231  for pivotally securing the stretcher ribs  22  thereon; an inner cylinder  234  resiliently connected under the ferrule  231  by a restoring coil spring  235  retained therebetween; an outer cylinder  236  rotatably coupled with and disposed around the inner cylinder  234  allowing a single-direction rotation of one cylinder relative to the other cylinder; a bottom retainer ring  237  secured to the bottom of the inner cylinder  234  for rotatably limiting the outer cylinder  236  for rotatably engaging the outer cylinder  236  about the inner cylinder  234 ; and a sloping block  234   a  formed in a bottom portion of the inner cylinder  234  contiguous to the central through hole  23   a  formed through the runner  23  and sloping downwardly concentrically about the axis X for engaging the ball  13   b  which is formed with a pin transversely fixed in the shaft  1  when closing the umbrella; whereby upon lowering (D) of the runner  23  to let the sloping block  234   a  of the inner cylinder  234  to be thrusted by the ball  13   b  (FIGS. 24,  25 ) to cause a rotation (R 1 ) of the inner cylinder  234  to disengage the sloping block  234   a  from the ball  13   b  (FIGS. 26,  27 ), the coil spring  235  as twisted by the rotating inner cylinder  234  will store a spring energy of the coil spring  235  and then restore (R 2 ) the inner cylinder  234  to engage the ball  13   b  on a retarding portion  234   r  formed on a top portion of the sloping block  234   b  (as shown from FIGS. 26,  27  to FIGS. 28,  29 ), thereby stably locking the runner  23  on its folded state. 
     The inner cylinder  234  has a first ratchet-teeth ring  234   b  annularly formed on an upper periphery of the inner cylinder  234 , and the outer cylinder  236  has a second ratchet-teeth ring  236   a  annularly formed on an upper periphery of the outer cylinder  236  and engageable with the first ratchet-teeth ring  234   b  of the inner cylinder  234 ; whereby upon a rotation of the inner cylinder  234  in a counter clockwise direction (R 1 ), the first ratchet-teeth ring  234   b  on the inner cylinder  234  will be slipped away from the second ratchet-teeth ring  236   a  on the outer cylinder  236 , allowing a rotation of the inner cylinder  234  counter clockwise relative to the outer cylinder; and upon a rotation of the outer cylinder  236  counter clockwise (R 1 ), the outer cylinder  236  will drive the inner cylinder  234  to rotate (R 1 ) simultaneously. 
     The sloping block  234   a  is inclinedly tangential to the ball  13   b  when lowering the runner  23  for closing the umbrella (FIGS. 25,  24 ), with the sloping block  234   a  sloping concentrically downwardly in a counter clockwise direction (R 1 ) about the longitudinal axis X, whereby upon lowering (D) of the runner  23 , the sloping block  234   a  will be obstructed by the ball  13   b  and then thrusted by the ball  13   b  to rotate counter clockwise (R 1 ) to separate the sloping block  234   a  from the ball  13   b  and to store the resilience of the coil spring  235  which is twisted by the rotating inner cylinder  234 , the coil spring  235  will in turn restore and rotate the inner cylinder  234  clockwise (R 2 ) as shown from FIG. 27 to FIG. 29 to engage the ball  13   b  on the retarding portion  234   r  formed on a top portion of the sloping block  234   a , thereby stably locking the runner at a folded condition. 
     For opening the umbrella, the outer cylinder  236  is rotated counterclockwise (R 1 ) as shown in FIG. 29 to disengage the sloping block  234   a  from the ball  13   b , allowing an upward raising (U) of the runner  23  for opening the umbrella. 
     A bottom coil spring  238  is retained between the outer cylinder  236  and the bottom retainer ring  237  fixed on the inner cylinder  234 ; whereby upon lowering of the runner  23  when closing the umbrella by holding the outer cylinder  236 , the second ratchet-teeth ring  236   a  will be disengaged from the first ratchet-teeth ring  234   b , allowing a free rotation of the inner cylinder  234  clockwise (R 2 ) for locking the ball  13   b  on the retarding portion  234   r  from FIG. 27 to FIG. 29 when the coil spring  235  automatically restore the inner cylinder  234  clockwise (R 2 ). 
     The ferrule  231  includes a lug  231   a  formed on a lower periphery of the ferrule to be rotated within a groove  234   c  arcuately recessed in an inside wall of the inner cylinder  234  (FIG.  22 ), thereby limiting a rotating angle of the cylinders  234 ,  236  for easily controlling the engagement or disengagement between the runner  23  and the ball  13   b.    
     As shown in FIG. 30, the top end portion  11  of the central shaft  1  includes an anti-slipping tip plug  113  (which may be made of rubber or the like) inserted in a tip sleeve member  112  (which may be made of plastic material) as jacketed on a tip  111  of the top end portion of the shaft  1  for preventing slippery of the tip on the ground surface; and the grip  12  has a hook end portion formed with a sleeve hole  121  therein, having a sleeve member  122  (which may be made of metal or plastic material) inserted into the sleeve hole  121  and an anti-slipping plug  123  (which may be made of rubber or the like) plugged into the sleeve member  122  for preventing slipping of the umbrella when hung on a supporting surface. 
     The present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.