IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE FRAMES AND FURNITURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS."
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Willis, of No. 75, Cheapside, in the City of
London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE
FRAMES AND FURNITURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Willis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
March 1855.
I, JAMES WILLIS, of No. 75, Cheapside, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE
FRAMES AND FURNITURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS" to be as follows, viz. :-
My Invention consists, first, in top notches and runners of peculiar
construction, in the manufacture of which I dispense with the use of cast
metal, and make them entirely of sheet steel or other sheet metal, so as to
substitute for the ordinary wheels or notch parts (which form sudden projections)
smaller, more gradual, and smoother projections, making them more even and.
compact in these parts, and less liable to cut or injure the silk or cover of the
umbrella or parasol. The top notches are also caused to fit the stems or sticks
more tightly.
Secondly, in ribs, top tips, and stretchers of peculiar formation at the ends,
required to work in the top notches and runners above mentioned.

page_text: Thirdly, in tips of glass or glazed materials, or of a compound of glass and
other materials to the bottom ends of the ribs, to prevent them from hurting the
hand, and to form durable ornaments, which shall not change in appearance
nor become discolored.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Willis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th
September 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WILLIS, of Cheapside, in the City of London, Umbrella Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Willis, Her special license that I, the said James Willis,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Willis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CERTAIN PARTS OF THE FRAMES AND FURNITURE OF UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS,"
'upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Willis, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Willis, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The first part of this Invention relates to the construction of the top notches
and runners of umbrellas and parasols, the main objects being, first, to dispense
,with the sharp edges and angles which runners and top notches of the ordinary
construction present to the silk or other covering, and thus to prevent the

page_text: fraying of the covers of umbrellas and parasols, which contact with the runners
and top notches is liable to effect; and, secondly, to give the top notches a firm
hold on the umbrella or parasol sticks.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn several modes of carrying out
the object of this part of my Invention. Instead of casting these parts of
umbrella furniture, I make them of conical tubes, composed of drawn or rolled
sheet metal, which, while by reason of its toughness it admits of the attain-
ment of greater strength for a given weight of metal, enables me to provide
any given number of sizes corresponding to certain standards, and thereby
to facilitate the operations of the workman in fitting these parts to canes or to
sticks in their natural or unturned state. The importance of fitting top notches
tightly upon the stick will be readily appreciated by the unbrella manufacturer,
as upon the permanent attachment of that piece to the central stick depends
the stability of the umbrella, the top notch when the umbrella is closed having
to bear the whole weight of the ribs, stretchers, and covering. To suit, there-
fore, the more irregular forms of natural sticks and canes, I propose in place of
tubes to form the top notches of strips of sheet metal, which I lap round the
stick or cane, and secure as hereafter particularly explained, by which means I
form a hoop which will take the shape of the stick or cane and clip it firmly,
whatever may be the irregularity of its conformation.
Fig. 1 shews in vertical section, and Fig. 2. in plan view, one mode in which
I provide against the cutting of the silk or other covering by the runner. The
tubular portion a is conical, the bottom of the cone being of a diameter that
will admit of its sliding freely, but without rattling over the stick, and the upper
part of a diameter equal to or somewhat superior to what in ordinary umbrellas
would be called the notched wheel. The part shewn at 6 I form of a double
thickness of metal, brazing an inner tube to the outer tube a. The upper edge
of this double thickness of metal I bend inwards by means of a burnisher,
roller, or swaging tool when the tube is rotating in a lathe, having first inserted
a collar c, (which has a lip bent up in a similar manner to receive the wire for
This collar
supporting the stretchers,) and soldered the same to the tube a.
must correspond in diameter with the lower end of the tube a, the same being;
as above said, of the smallest diameter that will allow of the free sliding of the
runner up and down the stick. When the collar c is secured in its place, and
the upper edge of the tube a is bent over upon it, I form by means of a circular
cutter the radial notches in the runner for the reception of the ends of the
stretchers. By this arrangement a rounded shoulder is formed at the top of
the runner of such thickness as will prevent the ends of the stretchers, when the
umbrella or parasol is closed, from projecting beyond the radial recesses. I next

page_text: bend up (to the dotted position) the bent-over edge of the tube a, just suffi-
ciently to permit of the insertion of the wire which supports the stretchers.
When the stretchers have been inserted in the notches, the wire is secured in
its annular seat by pressing forward the curved edge of the tube a into contact
with the collar c. For the better security of the wire, I propose to insert its
twisted ends into a hole formed to receive it in the top of the runner, as
shewn in the plan view, Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shews in vertical section a top notch
constructed after the same manner as the runner.
Fig: 4 shews in vertical section a modification of the above-described runner.
In the upper part of the taper tube a, a double tube b, shewn detached at Fig. 5,
is inserted and soldered. To bring this tube to the shape shewn at Fig. 5,
vertical cuts are made in its lower end, and the severed portions of the tube are
then bent over to form the double tube. The top edge is then curved inwards
by means of a burnisher; and to complete the runner, a collar, similar to that
shewn at Fig. 1, but in an inverted position, is inserted and soldered to the
tube b. The runner is then ready to be notched, as before described, by the
application thereto of a circular cutter. In order to permit of the insertion of
the wire, the bent-over edges must be parted by the insertion of a proper tool
between them, and when the stretchers are inserted in the notches the wire is
secured in its seat, as above explained. Fig. 6 shews this modified arrangement
of parts as applied to a top notch.
To prevent the shoulder or inner projection of the runner from catching
against the top spring, I form the spring with two projections, as shewn at Fig. 7.
As therefore the runner is moved down to close the umbrella, the decreasing
diameter of the tube a will meet and press against the lower projection on the
spring, and bear back the spring clear of the inner shoulder of the runner.
The fastening of the improved top notches above described to umbrella sticks
I effect in the ordinary manner, viz, by means of a pin which runs through the
top notch and the stick.
Figures 8 shew another mode of making top notches; this construction
being peculiarly applicable in cases where the periphery of the stick or cane is
of an irregular form. This top notch is made of sheet metal, either stamped
out by a fly press with tongues at one edge thereof, or notched by a rotating
cutter. The tongues are rolled up to form a notched lip, a space being left
therein to receive the wire, and the radial notches are then trimmed to shape.
The wire having been inserted in the lip and the ribs strung on the wire, the
strip of plate metal is then bent into the form of a tube, as shewn in plan view
at Fig. 9; a tang e at one extremity of the strip being slipped through slits f
cut in the metal to receive it, and thus a lap joint is formed. The top notch

page_text: thus constructed may be bound tightly round the stick and secured thereto by
pins, as shewn at Fig. 10.
When using this construction of top notch I prefer to form a kind of shoulder
on the stick, to permit of its receiving the strain put on the wheel when the
umbrella is closed, and it is used as a walking stick. In that case the whole
weight of the ribs, stretchers, runner, and covering is carried by the wheel, and
the pin or rivet is very liable to work loose in the stick. To prevent this I
place a coil of wire g, Fig. 10, in the top notch, and pass the ends of the wire
through one of the notches formed therein. I then slip the top notch and wire
over the stick, and draw the wire tight around the stick; the lip of the top
notch will then bear upon the wire as a shoulder. I then further secure
the top notch to the stick by passing a pin through the stick in the usual
manner.
My Invention relates, secondly, to an improvement in the construction of
ribs and stretchers, and consists in forming the same with shoulders, as shewn
at Figures 11 and 12, either by stamping in dies or otherwise. This form of
shoulder permits of the ribs and stretchers working close up to the lip of the
top notch or the runner, and yet lying close thereto when the umbrella or
parasol is closed.
The last part of my Invention consists in attaching to the bottom ends of
the ribs of umbrellas and parasols tips or knobs of glass, or glazed or vitrified
materials, whether colored or plain; the object being to give an agreeable finish
to that part, and prevent the ribs from hurting the hand. To facilitate the
attachment of the glass to the ribs, I prefer to give the ends of the ribs any one
of the forms shown at Figures 13 and 14, a projection being either left on the
rib for the glass head to surround, or a hole being formed in the rib for the glass
to enter. I may also find it desirable to blow the glass tips upon split tubes,
as shewn at a, Figures 13, and 6, Figures 14, and fix the tube tips on to the
ribs with cement. The use of tubes to carry the glass tips will admit of their
application to umbrellas and parasols having whalebone or cane ribs. The
attachment thereto of the tubes may be readily effected by pressure, or I make
the glass heads as shewn at c, Fig. 14, and secure them to the end of the ribs
by cement. The advantage of glass or other vitrified substance over ivory or
bone is, that it admits of being more readily and securely attached, and that
it has no tendency to change color by wear or exposure.
Having now set. forth the nature of my improvements in certain parts of the
frames and furniture of umbrellas and parasols, and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above
in part recited Letters Patent I claim,-

page_text: First, forming runners and top notches as above explained, whereby the
projecting sharp edges are removed, and a sufficient depth of recess is provided
to receive the ends of the stretchers, and prevent them from projecting from
the rounded shoulder when the umbrella or parasol is closed, while at the same
time the diameter of the runners and top notches is reduced.
Secondly, constructing the stretchers and ribs with shoulders as explained,
whereby increased stability is given to the parasol or umbrella frame.
Third, the application of glass or glazed or vitrified substances to the tips of
umbrella and parasol ribs.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Willis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JAMES WILLIS. (L.S.)