Patent Publication Number: US-2019174889-A1

Title: Removably mountable umbrella

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to umbrellas, and, more particularly, to removably mountable umbrellas. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     An umbrella typically includes a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic shaft. It may be used to protect a person from rain or sunlight. 
     Nonetheless, despite their widespread usage, typical umbrellas suffer from several disadvantages. A user of an ordinary umbrella may, for example, be required to continuously hold the umbrella during its use, leaving only one hand free to perform other tasks. When loading packages into an automobile, for example, a user with a typical umbrella must use one hand to hold the umbrella while performing the loading with only the remaining hand. 
     There is, as a result, a need for improved umbrella designs that allow an umbrella to be supported independently of a user so that the user is free to perform tasks with both hands. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention address the above-identified needs by providing an umbrella system that is removably mountable to almost any reasonably flat surface. 
     Aspects of the invention are directed to an apparatus comprising a shaft, an umbrella canopy, a handle, an upper suction cup, and a lower suction cup. The umbrella canopy and the handle are attached to the shaft. The handle comprises a body, an upper projection, and a lower projection. The upper projection and the lower projection project from the body in the same direction and are in spaced relation to one another. The upper suction cup is attached to the upper projection, while the lower suction cup is attached to the lower projection. 
     Additional aspects of the invention are directed to a method for supporting an umbrella on a flat surface. The method comprises obtaining an apparatus like that described in the previous paragraph. Once obtained, the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup are adhered to the flat surface via suction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an illustrative apparatus, which includes features of the claimed invention; 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  show intact and exploded perspective views, respectively, of the portion of the  FIG. 1  apparatus circled in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIGS. 4A-4D  show top perspective, bottom perspective, top elevational, and bottom elevational views, respectively, of just a handle portion of the  FIG. 1  apparatus independent of other elements. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made to these embodiments and the results will still come within the scope of the invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodiments described herein are intended or should be inferred. 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an illustrative apparatus  100 , which includes features of the claimed invention. The apparatus  100  comprises a shaft  105 , an umbrella canopy  110 , a handle  115 , an upper suction cup  120 , and a lower suction cup  125 . The umbrella canopy  110  is attached to one end of the shaft  105 , while the handle  115  is attached to another end of the shaft  105 . At the same time, the upper and the lower suction cups  120 ,  125  are attached to the handle  115 . Configured in this manner, the apparatus  100  may serve as an umbrella that is removably mountable to almost any flat surface. The apparatus  100  may, for example, be mounted to a window of an automobile while loading the automobile with packages. The user is thereby free to use both hands while remaining protected from the elements. 
     Additional details of the apparatus  100  are provided in  FIGS. 2-4D .  FIGS. 2 and 3  show intact and exploded perspective views, respectively, of the portion of the apparatus  100  circled in  FIG. 1 .  FIGS. 4A-4D  show top perspective, bottom perspective, top elevational, and bottom elevational views, respectively, of just a handle portion of the apparatus  100  independent of other elements. 
     The handle  115  comprises a body  130 , an upper projection  135 , and a lower projection  140 . Both the upper and the lower projection  135 ,  140  project from the body  130  in the same direction and are arranged in spaced relation to one another. The upper suction cup  120  is attached to the upper projection  135  by means of an upper threaded shaft  145  that forms part of the upper suction cup  120 , in combination with an upper threaded receiving hole  150  in the upper projection  135 . The upper threaded shaft  145  threadably engages the upper threaded receiving hole  150 . The lower suction cup  125 , in contrast, is attached to the lower projection  140  via a lower receiving hole  155  built into the lower suction cup  125  that engages a lower shaft  160  defined by the lower projection  140 . An adhesive may be placed between the lower receiving hole  155  and the lower shaft  160  to aid with attachment if a compressive attachment is not deemed adequate. 
     While the apparatus  100  has the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  attached to the handle  115  in a particular manner, that particular arrangement is merely illustrative. In alternative embodiments also falling within the claims, the attachment means of the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  may be reversed from that described above. For example, the upper suction cup  120  may define a threaded receiving hole while the upper projection  135  defines a threaded shaft. Independently or additionally, the lower suction cup  125  may define a lower shaft that engages a lower receiving hole in the lower projection  140 . 
     The shaft  105  also attaches to the handle  115  via insertion into a corresponding hole, in this case, via insertion into a body receiving hole  165  in the body  130 . Here again, an adhesive may be utilized if a compressive attachment is deemed too weak. 
     The shaft  105  includes an actuation button  170 , which is clearly visible in  FIGS. 1-3 . This actuation button  170  may control the expansion and folding of the umbrella canopy  110  in the manner of many conventional umbrellas. When folded, pressing the actuation button  170  causes the umbrella canopy  110  to automatically expand in response to one or more springs built into the apparatus  100 . When expanded, the actuation button  170  allows the umbrella canopy  110  to be manually folded against the springs so that the apparatus  100  takes on a more compact form. 
     Once configured as indicated above, the apparatus  100  may be attached to almost any reasonably flat surface with which the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  may adhere via suction. The window pane of a car is one example, which was mentioned earlier. Notably, the position of the upper suction cup  120  with respect to the upper projection  135  may be easily changed by more fully or less fully threadably engaging the upper threaded shaft  145  into the upper threaded receiving hole  150 . Doing so changes the tilt of the shaft  105  of the apparatus  100  and thereby provides a means of customizing the positioning of the umbrella canopy  110  relative to the object to which the apparatus  100  is attached. The additional tilt may help to further shade the user from rain, compensate for wind, and so forth. 
     Reference to  FIGS. 1-3  will indicate that the illustrative apparatus  100  further includes a unique release strip  175  that spans between the upper suction cup  120  and the lower suction cup  125 . To aid with attachment of this release strip  175 , the upper suction cup  120  defines an upper loop  180  at one of its edges, while the lower suction cup  125  defines a lower loop  185  at one of its edges. The release strip  175  includes two spear-headed pins  190  located at opposing ends of the release strip  175 . These spear-headed pins  190  engage the upper and lower loops  180 ,  185 , thereby attaching the release strip  175  to the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125 . The spear-headed pin  190  associated with the upper loop  180  may temporarily be disengaged from the upper loop  180  when the upper suction cup  120  is rotated so as to adjust tilt. 
     With the release strip  175  so placed, removing the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  from whatever flat surface they are adhered is a matter of simply lifting upward on the release strip  175  towards the body  130  of the handle  115 . Curvature in the release strip  175  allows a user to curl one or two fingers around the release strip  175 . The lifting action lifts the edges of the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125 , and allows air to fill in the vacuum responsible for holding the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  in place. Stated another way, actuating the release strip  175  breaks the suction holding the upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  to the surface to which they are adhered. 
     The particular apparatus  100  detailed above, and, more generally, apparatus  100  in accordance with aspects of the invention, thereby provide umbrella systems that may be removably mounted to almost any reasonably flat surface, such as a wall or car window. Once so mounted, such an umbrella system can protect the user from the elements while leaving the user&#39;s hands free to accomplish other tasks. Features such as the adjustable upper suction cup  120  may allow the tilt of the umbrella system to be customized. At the same time, the release strip  175  may allow the umbrella system to be readily removed from a surface so that the umbrella system can be moved. 
     Once understood from the description provided herein, the apparatus  100  may be manufactured using ordinary manufacturing techniques that will already be familiar to one having ordinary skill in the relevant manufacturing arts. To aid with robustness, the body  130  and the upper and lower projections  135 ,  140  of the handle  115  may, for example, form one integral element (meaning that they cannot be separated without cutting or breaking the handle  115 ), and may comprise wood, metal, rubber, or plastic. If formed of plastic, the handle  115  may be formed by injection molding. The upper and lower suction cups  120 ,  125  may be available commercially or may also be injection molded. They may be formed of, for example, an elastomeric material such as, but not limited to, nitrile or silicone. The remainder of the apparatus  100  (e.g., the shaft  105 , the umbrella canopy  110 , the supporting ribs, and other umbrella-specific hardware) may be obtained commercially. 
     It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only. Other embodiments can use different types and arrangements of elements for implementing the described functionality. These numerous alternative embodiments within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to one skilled in the art. 
     All the features disclosed herein may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. 
     Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function or “step for” performing a specified function is not to be interpreted as a “means for” or “step for” clause as specified in AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). In particular, the use of “steps of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).