Patent Publication Number: US-6662815-B2

Title: Canopy support frame for a sunshade

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a canopy support frame for a sunshade. In particular, the present invention relates to a canopy support frame for a sunshade that assures reliable opening of the canopy of the sunshade even if the sunshade is placed on an inclined surface. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A sunshade may provide a comfortable space for outdoor activities. U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,156 to Tung issued on Nov. 28, 2000 discloses a sunshade with a tiltable canopy. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings, the sunshade disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,156 includes a supporting rod  12 , a canopy support frame  2 , and a canopy  3 . An adjusting sleeve  14  is slidably mounted around the supporting rod  12 . A holding sleeve  18  is pivotally connected to an upper end of the supporting rod  12 . An arcuate tube  24  is slidably extended through the holding sleeve  18 . An elbow  34  is mounted to a first end of the arcuate tube  24  and a reel  28  is mounted to a second end of the arcuate tube  24 . A connecting rod  222  is connected between the second end of the arcuate tube  24  and the adjusting sleeve  14 . An anchor  50  is releasably engaged in an anchor room  38  in a vertical section  36  of the elbow  34  to reliably retain the canopy support frame  2  in a desired tilting angle relative to the supporting rod  12 . However, it was found that, when the supporting rod  12  is placed on an inclined surface, the longitudinal axis of the anchor room  38  is not located in the vertical direction such that the anchor  50  could not enter the anchor room  38  when required, as shown in FIG.  9 . Further, it is not uncommon that the vertical section  36  of the anchor  34  is not aligned with the suspension member  44  in which the anchor  50  is mounted. As a result, the anchor  50  could not enter the anchor room  38  when required, resulting in malfunction when unfolding the sunshade. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a canopy support frame for a sunshade that assures reliable opening of the canopy of the sunshade even if the sunshade is placed on an inclined surface. Further, the canopy can be reliably retained in its fully open state. 
     A sunshade in accordance with the present invention comprises: 
     a supporting rod having a lower end and an upper end; 
     a tube supported by the supporting rod and including a first end and a second end; 
     an elbow connected to the first end of the tube and including a vertical section and a horizontal section, the vertical section including two spaced lugs having a space therebetween, an upper wall defining the space including a toothed section, the lugs including aligned vertical guide holes; 
     a canopy support frame for supporting a canopy and including an upper support base having a plurality of ribs attached thereto for supporting the canopy, a lower support base having a plurality of stretchers attached thereto for supporting the ribs, and a suspension member fixed to the upper support base to move therewith, the suspension member including a suspension head having a toothed portion for releasable engagement with the toothed section of the elbow; 
     a pivot extending through the vertical aligned holes of the lugs and the suspension head, allowing relative pivotal movement between the suspension head and the elbow when the toothed section of the elbow is disengaged from the toothed portion of the suspension head; 
     a reel mounted to the second end of the tube and including a handle; 
     a cable having a first end connected to the handle and a second end connected to the lower support base, the cable being movable in a retracting direction and a releasing direction; 
     wherein when the handle is operated to release the cable in the releasing direction, the toothed portion of the suspension head is disengaged from the toothed section of the elbow while the canopy is folded, and when the handle is operated to retract the cable in the retracting direction, the toothed portion of the suspension head is engaged with the toothed section of the elbow when the canopy reaches a fully open state. 
    
    
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a sunshade with a canopy support frame in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the canopy support frame in accordance with the present invention, wherein the canopy support frame is in a folded state. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, wherein the canopy support frame is in a fully open state. 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an elbow and a suspension member of the canopy support frame in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, wherein the elbow is inclined relative to the suspension member. 
     FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, wherein the canopy support frame is fully opened. 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic side view illustrating a modified embodiment of the canopy support frame in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of a conventional sunshade with a tiltable canopy. 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a canopy support frame of the conventional sunshade in FIG. 8 on an inclined surface. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a sunshade in accordance with the present invention generally includes a main frame  7 , a canopy support frame  8  (FIG.  2 ), and a canopy  9 . The main frame  7  includes a supporting rod  71 , an adjusting sleeve  72  slidably mounted around the supporting rod  71 , and a lever  73  mounted to the adjusting sleeve  72 . When the lever  73  is in a locked position, the adjusting sleeve  72  is frictionally retained in place, and when the lever  73  is in a released position, sliding movement of the adjusting sleeve  72  relative to the supporting rod  71  is allowed. A holding sleeve  74  is pivotally connected to an upper end of the supporting rod  71 . An arcuate tube  75  is slidably extended through the holding sleeve  74  and includes an elbow  77  mounted to a first end thereof and a reel  79  mounted to a second end thereof. The reel  79  includes a handle  791  for manual operation for folding or unfolding the canopy  9 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, the canopy support frame  8  includes a suspension member  81 , an upper support base  82  having a number of ribs  84  attached thereto for supporting the canopy  9 , and a lower support base  83  having a number of stretchers  85  attached thereto for supporting the ribs  84 . The elbow  77  includes a horizontal section  771  and a vertical section  772 . A cable  70  includes a first end attached to and operable by the handle  791  of the reel  79  so as to be movable in a retracting direction and a releasing direction. A second end of the cable  70  is secured to an upper end of the lower support base  83  after wound through a pulley  78 , which, in turn, is freely rotatably mounted in the elbow  70  by a pin  781 . The upper support base  82  includes a tube  821  inserted into a lower end of the suspension member  81  to move therewith. 
     Of more importance, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 4, the vertical section  772  of the elbow  77  includes two spaced lugs  774  having a space  773  therebetween. An upper arcuate wall defining the space  773  includes a toothed section  776 . Further, the lugs  774  include aligned vertical guide holes  775  that are preferably elongated. 
     A disc-like suspension head  811  is formed on an upper end of the suspension member  81  and is partially received in the space  773  between the lugs  774 . A toothed portion  812  is formed on top of the suspension head  811  for releasable engagement with the toothed section  776  of the elbow  77 . The suspension head  811  includes a transverse pivot hole  813 . A pivot  86  is extended through the vertical guide holes  775  of the lugs  774  of the elbow  77  and the pivot hole  813  of the suspension head  811 . Further, the pivot  86  is movable in the vertical guide holes  775  along a vertical direction. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, when the suspension member  81  is not subject to an upward force, the pivot  86  is located in lower ends of the vertical guide holes  775  with the toothed portion  812  of the suspension head  811  being disengaged from the toothed section  776  of the elbow  77 . Thus, the suspension member  81  and the elbow  77  may pivot relative to each other. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, when the suspension member  81  is subject to an upward force, the pivot  86  moves upward along the vertical guide holes  775  until the toothed portion  812  of the suspension head  811  engages with the toothed section  776  of the elbow  77 . Thus, the canopy  9  is retained in its fully open (unfolded) state. 
     The canopy  9  of the sunshade in FIG. 1 is in a fully open state. When not in use, the user may operate the handle  791  to move the cable  70  in the releasing direction to thereby lower the suspension head  811  such that the suspension head  811  disengages from the elbow  77 , and the canopy  9  collapses. Also, the user may operate the handle  791  to move the cable  70  in the retracting direction to unfold the canopy  9 . It is noted that the lower support base  83  is moved upward by the retracting cable  70 . When the canopy  9  reaches its fully open state, the suspension member  81  is moved together with the tube  821  of the upper support base  81 , which, in turn, is moved upward by the lower support base  83 . Thus, the toothed portion  812  of the suspension head  811  engages with the toothed section  776  of the elbow  77 , thereby retaining the canopy  9  in its fully open state. 
     When the supporting rod  71  in FIG. 1 is placed on an inclined surface, the elbow  77  is also inclined. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the vertical section  772  of the elbow  77  is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the suspension member  81 . In this case, referring to FIG. 6, when user operates the handle  791  to move the cable  70  in the retracting direction to open the canopy  9  and when the canopy  9  is in its fully open state, the suspension member  81  is moved together with the tube  821  of the upper support base  81 , which, in turn, is moved upward by the lower support base  83 . Thus, the toothed portion  812  of the suspension head  811  engages with the toothed section  776  of the elbow  77 . Accordingly, reliable opening of the canopy  9  is assured and the canopy  9  is reliably retained in its fully open state even if the supporting rod  71  is placed on an inclined surface. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the pivot  86  includes a cable hole  861  through which the cable  70  extends. Two protrusions  862  are formed on an outer periphery of the pivot  86  and located on both sides of the cable hole  861 . In assembly, the pivot  86  is inserted into the vertical guide holes  775  with the protrusions  862  being located in the vertical direction. When two ends of the pivot  86  are respectively located in the vertical guide holes  775 , the pivot  86  is turned through 90 degrees until the cable hole  861  lies in the vertical direction, allowing the cable  70  to pass therethrough. Thus, the protrusions  862  are now located in the narrow width direction (i.e., horizontal direction) of the vertical guide holes  775 . As a result, disengagement of the pivot  86  from the vertical guide holes  775  is prevented. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a modified embodiment of the invention, wherein each lug  774  of the elbow  77  further includes a toothed section  777  on an underside thereof, and the suspension member  81  includes two toothed portions  814  on both sides of the suspension head  811  for respectively engaging with the toothed sections  777  of the lugs  774 . This further assures reliable engagement between the elbow  77  and the suspension member  81 . 
     The tilting angle of the canopy  9  can be adjusted. A typical example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,156. 
     According to the above description, it is appreciated that reliable opening of the canopy of the sunshade of the present invention is assured even if the supporting rod  71  is placed on an inclined surface. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the toothed portion  812  of the suspension head  811  may engage with the toothed section  776  of the elbow  77  even if the vertical section  772  of the elbow  77  is at a large angle with the longitudinal axis of the suspension member  81 . 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.