Patent Publication Number: US-6702245-B1

Title: Deck rail mounting bracket

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of deck rail mounting brackets and more particularly to the field of deck rail mounting brackets that mount a vertical pole to the deck rail. 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     The inventor of this invention wanted to move his patio umbrella that fits within his patio set to the edge of the deck so that he and his guests could sit at the edge of the deck and look out over his property. However, the umbrella that came with his patio set, which was a basic umbrella mounted on a long pole, was designed only to fit within the patio deck table. The patio deck table had an opening in the middle through which the patio umbrella was placed and it was further held in place by the legs of the table or by a weighted container. Thus, the inventor could not move the patio deck umbrella to the deck railing without moving the table. 
     The inventor realized that the bracket necessary for mounting the umbrella on the deck rail must meet several objectives. First this mounting bracket must be light weight and be able to be easily mounted on the deck rail. Further, it must also be easy to remove and not cause any damage to the deck. Another objective would be that the bracket would be inexpensive to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a bracket that is adapted to attach to a deck rail and hold an umbrella with a long pole similar to the umbrellas that come in patio sets. The bracket is a piece of material with an opening at one end. Within the opening, on the bottom of the piece of material, a ring is placed which is adjustable and adapted to tighten against the umbrella&#39;s pole. On the other end of the bracket on its bottom side, two L shaped brackets are placed. These two L shaped brackets are spaced a distance equal to the width of a deck rail. On both L shaped brackets, a slot is placed for a belt. The belt contains a buckle that enables the belt to be tightened. To use the bracket one places the deck rail between the two L shaped brackets and then tightens the belt against the deck rail to hold the bracket in place. Then one places the umbrella through the opening and tightens the adjustable ring against the umbrella&#39;s pole to hold the umbrella in place. For additional security, one places a small rubber mat on the deck under the umbrella pole to insure that the pole will not slip. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the piece of material. 
     FIG. 2 is a side cut away view of the invention mounted on a deck rail and with the pole in place. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the invention in use mounted on a deck rail and with the pole in place. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the invention. 
     FIG. 5 a  is a side view of the invention. 
     FIG. 5B is a bottom view of the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is an end view of the L-shaped bracket. 
     FIG. 7A is a cut away side view of the adjustable ring. 
     FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the adjustable ring. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the piece of material  10 . It shows the invention is a piece of material  10 , which is usually wood and is approximately twenty-four inches long and five and one-half inches wide and approximately one inch thick. At one end of the piece of material  10 , there is an opening  12 , which is larger in diameter than the diameter of the pole  14  of the umbrella. FIG. 2 is the side view of the invention mounted on a deck rail. FIG. 4 is atop view of the invention. On the top of this opening  12  as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an adapter ring  18  is mounted. The adapter ring&#39;s  18  inner diameter is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the umbrella&#39;s pole  14  shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The outer diameter of this adapter ring  18  is just slightly less than the diameter of the opening  12  in the piece of material  10 . At the top of this adapter ring  18  an annular ridge  16  is formed. This annular ridge  16  is adapted such that when the adapter ring  18  is placed within the opening  12  on the piece of material  10 , the annular ridge  16  extends over the top of the piece of material  10  and holds the adapter ring in place  16  as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 5B shows the bottom view of the invention. On the bottom of the piece of material  10  at the opening  12 , a adjustable ring  20  is placed. The adjustable ring&#39;s  20  inner diameter is about the same diameter as the opening&#39;s  12  diameter. On the top of the adjustable ring  20  is an annular ridge  22 . This annular ridge  22  fits up against the piece of material  10  as shown in FIG.  2 . In the annular ridge  22 , there are screw openings  24  for screws to attach the adjustable ring  20  to the piece of material as shown in FIG.  5 . This adjustable ring  20  can be attached by several other methods known in the art such as glue. The adjustable ring  20  extends downward from the annular ridge  22 . Along this, downward extension  23 , threaded openings are placed as shown in FIG.  7 A. In the preferred embodiment, there are three threaded openings  26  shown in  7 B. In the preferred embodiment, these threaded openings  26  are located 120° from each other along the adjustable ring  20  downward extension  23  as shown in FIGS.  2 , 5  and  7 B. Within each of the threaded openings  26 , a thumbscrew  28  is placed. 
     At the other end of the piece of material  10 , two L-shaped brackets  30  are placed as shown in FIGS. 5A and B. These two L-shaped brackets  30  extend nearly across the width of the piece of material  10 . The L-shaped brackets  30  are spaced so that a two by six deck rail  32  can fit between them. The L-shaped brackets  30  can be adjusted for other sizes of deck rails. On a portion of the L-shaped bracket  30  that extends along the bottom of the piece of material  10 , screw mounting openings  34  are placed as shown in FIG.  5 B. These screw mounting openings  34  are designed to take a screw to screw the L-shaped brackets  30  to the piece of material  10 . FIG. 6 show that along the downward extending portion  36  of the L-shaped brackets  30 , a slot  38  is located. This slot  38  is located on the L-shaped brackets  30  at a point that is accessible for placing a belt  40  through when the deck rail  32  is placed between the L-shaped brackets  30 . Through this slot  38  a belt  40  is run. The belt  40  contains a buckle  42  that allows piece of material  10  to be pulled tight against a deck rail  32  and buckled. The belt  40  is made of a material that will not mark the deck rail  32 . 
     FIG. 3 shows the invention in use. To use the invention one first places the piece of material  10  over the deck rail  32  with the deck rail  32  fitting between the two L-shaped brackets  30 . Then one runs the belt  40  through the slots  38  in each of the L-shaped brackets  30 . The belt  42  is then pulled tight around the deck rail  32  and the piece of material  10 , and the belt is buckled with the buckle  42  to hold the invention in place. Then the umbrella&#39;s pole  14  is placed through the adapter ring  18 , the opening  12  in the piece of material  10 , and the adjustable ring  20 . A rubber pad  44  is placed on the deck under the umbrella&#39;s pole  14  so the pole  14  does not slip as shown in FIG.  3 . Then the thumbscrews  28  in the downward extension  23  of the adjustable ring  20  are tightened against the umbrella&#39;s pole  14  to hold the umbrella&#39;s pole  14  in place. The umbrella now can be opened and used. 
     Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appending claims.