IMPROVE- MENTS IN PARASOLS AND UMBRELLAS
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Francis Sangster at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd
February 1868.
I, FRANCIS SANGSTER, of No. 15, Dacre Park, Lee, in the County of
Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PARASOLS AND UMBRELLAS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in parasols and
umbrellas. Heretofore the stretchers and ribs respectively_.used in.
parasols and umbrellas have in all cases been, equal in length; and so
when the frame is covered a regular and even surface not very well.
adapted to ornamentation is obtained.
Now according to my Invention I employ stretchers of unequal
lengths so that the ribs which are jointed to them may be raised to
unequal heights; then if a continuous covering be applied a ridge and
furrow, or a similar form of surface, is obtained, which is more elegant
than a flat surface, an effect which may be further varied by making
the ribs of unequal lengths; or the upper ribs may support an outer
covering (which may be more or less complete) whilst the lower ribs
support a lining; or the outer covering may be attached alternately to

page_text: the upper and lower ribs, whilst the lining is carried by the lower ribs
only; or in other ways the novel feature of employing stretchers of
unequal lengths attached to ribs of equal or unequal lengths may be
worked out in practice, but the distance from the top notch to the joint
between the rib and stretcher, and then along the stretcher to the runner,
should be the same throughout the parasol, notwithstanding the unequal
lengths of the stretchers. The number of ribs, stretchers, top notches
and runner notches may be varied.
Also according to my Invention in place of spacing the ribs equally or
at regular distances apart all around the parasol, which gives a regular
width to the gores of the covering and an effect which is wanting in
variety, I space the ribs unequally with intervals alternately wide and
narrow, or otherwise, so that the gores of the covering may be of two or
more different sizes, the large and the small alternating or otherwise.
In this manner a parasol of approximately a square form, but with
truncated corners may be produced. Where the ribs are of varying
lengths they increase in length round a quarter circle of the parasol, and
then similarly decrease in the next quarter, increasing again in the third
quarter, and decreasing in the fourth; in this way an oval parasol or a
parasol of an otherwise gracefully curved outline may be made. The
varying lengths can be arranged in different ways according to design.
In some cases I construct parasols with the runner to slide up the
stick until it comes in contact or nearly in contact with the top notch,
and in this way the ribs are made to stand at right angles to the stick.
I cover them with fabric all in one piece, and so obtain a flat topped
parasol, or the same result may be obtained by increasing the length of
the stretchers and lowering the runner pitch. The fabric I prefer to
employ in covering such parasols is an elastic fabric made on the warp
machine. I sometimes arrange the stretchers on the outside of the
parasol in place of inside as heretofore.
Parts of this Invention are also applicable to umbrellas.