MENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Willis, of Little Britain, in the City of
London, Umbrella Furniture Maker, for the Invention of
MENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS."
"IMPROVE.
Sealed the 15th August 1861, and dated the 7th May 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Willis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th
May 1861.
I, JAMES WILLIS, of Little Britain, in the City of London, Umbrella
Furniture Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "Im.
PROVEMENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND PARASOLS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in umbrellas and parasols.
For these purposes when constructing "solid steel ribs, for umbrellas and
parasols, in place of their being made parallel from end to end, they are
made for any desired portion of their length parallel, but towards their outer
ends they are made gradually to increase in width, and to decrease in thickness,
and it is preferred that at such parts the outer surfaces should be convex
and the inner surfaces flat. In place of fixing the covers of umbrellas or
parasols directly to the tips or outer ends of the ribs, a small piece of fabric
is fixed to each tip or outer end of a rib by rivets or otherwise, and the
covering fabric is then sewed or fixed to the pieces of fabric so fastened. In
constructing the runners and runner springs with catches used in umbrellas
and parasols, I form a runner spring with two hooks or catches; one at each
Price Sd 1

page_text: end, in which respect it is similar to what has before been done, but in place
of having two pins or axes through such spring, with two lugs on the runner
to receive them, as has heretofore been the case, I dispense with the lugs
or projections on the runner, and I make the spring with only one eye or
passage for an axis which comes into a notch where the stretchers are
attached to the runner, by which the same wire which connects the stretchers
may connect the spring to the runner, or a separate axis or wire may be
used to connect the spring to the runner. The other end of the spring is
made to slide in an eye through a projection on the end of the runner. The
spring may have its eye formed through the substance of that part of the
spring, or the eye may be produced by making a single coil of the spring (at
that part of its length) on an axis such as that on which it is to be used.
Or an enlargement may be made by fixing additional metal at that part
of the spring where the eye is to be formed by pressure. In some cases in
place of the spring having catches at its two ends, the two ends are held
secured to the runner so as to cause the spring intermediate of the ends to
bend outwards from the outer surface of the runner. Intermediate of its length
the spring is arranged to slide through an eye in a projection on the runner,
so that the spring is caused to assume the form of two convex bends, from
the surface of the runner, to one of which bends a proper stop, catch, or
projection is fixed, which will hold the runner to the stick, so long as the
other convex bend is not pressed on, but such stop, catch, or projection will
be moved out of the way when the other convex bend is pressed on.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Willis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th November 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I. JAMES
WILLIS, of Little Britain, in the City of London, Umbrella Furniture Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Willis, Her special licence that 1, the said James Willis, my
éxecutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Willis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: 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 UMBRELLAS
AND PARASOLS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Willis, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in umbrellas and parasols.
For these purposes when constructing solid steel ribs. for umbrellas and
parasols, in place of their being made parallel from end to end, they are
made for any desired portion of their length parallel, but towards their outer
ends they are made gradually to increase in width. and to decrease in thick-
ness, and it is preferred that at such parts the outer surfaces should be
convex, and the inner surfaces flat.
Figure is a plan, and Figure 2 a side view. of a rib thus formed;
Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sections taken at the lines 1. 1, 2, 2,
respectively. In order to produce this form of rib, it is preferred to employ
rollers geared together and suitably grooved; the rib is projected through the
rollers as far as the point where flattening is desired to commence; as the
rollers revolve they reject the rib, at the same time flattening it as required.
The forming the rib in this manner renders it more flexible towards the point,
and causes an umbrella or parasol made from such ribs to take a better shape.
In place of making the rib become gradually thinner and thinner as it ap-
proaches the point, the flattening rolls may be so formed as to give an
undulating form to the under side of the rib this arrangement will also give
greater flexibility towards the point of the rib, but is inferior to that first
described.
I claim as respects this part of my Invention, the so forming the ribs of
umbrellas and parasols that towards their outer ends they may increase
in width, and decrease in thickness as described. In place of fixing the
covers of umbrellas or parasols directly to the tips or outer ends of the ribs,

page_text: a small piece of fabric is according to this Invention fixed to each tip or
outer end of a rib by rivets or otherwise, and the covering fabric is then
sewed or fixed to the pieces of fabric so fastened.
Figure 5 is a plan, and Figure 6 is an edge view, of the outer end of a
rib, having a piece of fabric suitable for attaching the covering material
secured to it by rivets. a is the end of the rib; b, b, rivets; c, a small piece of
fabric to which the covering material is to be sewed; the rivets b, b, as will
be seen, pass through both the rib and the fabric c; the heads of the rivets
come against the under side of the rib, and their other ends pass through
metal discs d, d, which rest on the fabric c; beyond these discs, the rivets
are clenched; the clenching tools employed are of such a form that they
bend the edges of the discs downwards, so that they become concave
towards the fabric; this causes the edges of the discs to nip the fabric firmly.
Figures 7, 8, and 9 shew another method of securing to the rib the small piece
of fabric to which the covering material is to be fastened. Figure 7 is a plan
of a rib with an eye formed through it near the tip. Figure 8 is a plan, and
Figures 9 an edge view, of the rib with the fabric secured to it. a is the fabric;
usually a piece of tape or ribbon, it is doubled and passed through the eye;
through the loop a suitable stop piece b, of silk or other cord or material, is
then passed so as to prevent the fabric a returning through the eye. The
covering fabric is sewed to the fabric a.
In Figures 10 are shewn another arrangement for securing the covering
material to the rib. The rib a is in this case perforated, and a rivet b is placed
through the hole; on this a washer c of leather, or other strong and soft
material, is placed, and the rivet serves to secure it to the rib; d is the
covering material, which by the same rivet is attached to the washer c, a disc
of metal being placed over the covering material on the rivet, and its edges
pressed downwards so as to press the covering material tightly against the
washer c. I claim as respects this part of my Invention, the fixing a small
piece of fabric to the tip or outer end of the rib of an umbrella or parasol, and
sewing or fixing the covering material thereto, in place of fixing the covering
material directly to the tip. or outer end of the rib as heretofore.
In constructing the runners and runner springs with catches used in
umbrellas and parasols, I form a runner spring with two hooks or catches,
one at each end, in which respect it is similar to runner springs heretofore
made, but in place of having as heretofore two pins or axes through such
spring, with two lugs on the runner to receive them, I dispense with the lugs
or projections on the runner, and I make the spring with only one eye or
passage for an axis, which comes into a notch where the stretchers are attached

page_text: to the runner, so that the same wire which connects the stretchers to the
runner may connect the spring thereto, or a separate axis or wire may be
used to connect the spring to the runner. The other end of the spring (or
that at a distance from the axis, is made to slide in an eye through a pro-
jection on the end of the runner. The spring may have its eye formed
through the substance of that part of the spring where the eye is required, or
the eye may be produced by making a single coil of the spring (at that part
of its length) on an axis such as that on which it is to be used, or an enlarge-
ment may be made by fixing additional metal by pressure at that part of the
springs where the eye is to be formed.
Figure 1 is a side view of an umbrella or parasol runner, differing but
slightly from those ordinarily employed. It has one more notch formed in it
than is required for the stretchers, and into this the spring a is received, the
wire b, which serves also to secure the stretchers, passing through an eye in
the spring and holding it just as the stretchers are held; c is a loop or eye
soldered to the runner through which the spring passes. It will be seen that
at each end of the spring a hook al is formed; one of these hooks, either
when the umbrella or parasol is extended or when it is closed, catches over a
projecting ring, and so retains the runner in the required position; there are
two such rings on the stick or cane, one of which is caught when the umbrella
or parasol is extended and the other when it is closed; a ring of the des-
cription intended is shewn at Figure 18, herein-after described. It will be
seen that by pressing on the centre portion a of the springs the two hooks a', a¹,
will be simultaneously raised. The spring a may be formed in several ways;
it may be forged out of the solid, but this is somewhat expensive. It may be
formed of steel wire bent to the required form, a loop in the wire serving as
the eye; a front and edge view of such a spring is shewn at Figures 12; the
hooks a', u', are formed by bending and cutting the wire to the required form,
and the centre portion a² of the spring is flattened to give it more flexibility:
the spring when wrought to the required form is tempered in the usual
manner. Or the spring may be formed as above described, with the exception
of forming the loop for the eye, and in place of this an enlargement may be
fixed on the spring by pressure at the point where the eye is required, and
this enlargement may afterwards be pierced to form the eye.
A side view
and an edge view of a spring so formed are shewn at Figures 13. To fix the
enlargement the spring is indented on each side near where the eye is required;
Figures 14 shew on a larger scale the nature of this indentation; a forked
piece of metal, shewn at Figures 15, either iron or hard brass, is then placed
over the indented part of the spring, and when so placed is struck between

page_text: two suitably formed tools in a fly press or other suitable apparatus; these both
fix the enlargement firmly to the spring, and bring it to the form shewn on an
enlarged scale at Figures 16; any burr or superfluous metal is afterwards
removed and the eye is bored. The object of the small projections a³ and a
is to relieve the wire b from the strain on the catch, which, but for these, it
would receive; the projection a enters the groove in the runner, and takes
the downward thrust when the umbrella or parasol is extended; the pro-
jection a rests on the top of the runner, and receives any pressure which may
come in the opposite direction. The method above described of aflixing to
the spring the enlargement for the eye is similar to a method now employed
for fixing on the ribs enlargements to receive the stretchers. In some cases
in place of securing the spring by means of the wire b, I secure the same in
the manner described in the Specification of a former, Patent granted to me,
and dated 19th April 1860, No. 984, for securing the stretchers to the runner.
When the springs are thus secured the stretchers are retained in a similar
manner. Figures 17 shew a vertical and a horizontal section of a runner and
runner spring arranged in this manner; c is the tubular portion of the runner;
d is a hollow ring soldered to the upper end thereof; this ring is formed by
bending round a small metal tube, the joint of which is open as is
the notches are cut in the top of the runner in the usual manner. The spring
has fitted through its eye a short axis a, which is slightly curved; the
stretchers are fitted with similar axes, and the axes being placed within the
tubular ring d, the same is closed to hold the axes securely. I claim as
respects this part of my Invention, the making the runner spring with two
hooks or catches, one at each end, and with but one eye or axis, as described.
I also claim the fixing the axis or fulcrum of a runner spring having two hooks
or catches, one at each end, in a notch in the runner, as described. I also
claim the making the eye of a runner spring in an enlargement produced on
the said spring by fixing additional metal thereto by pressure.
seen at d';
In some cases in arranging runner springs according to my Invention, in
place of the spring having catches at its two ends, the two ends are held
secured to the runner so as to cause the spring intermediate of the ends to
bend outwards from the outer surface of the runner. Intermediate of its
length the spring is arranged to slide through an eye in a projection on the
runner, so that the spring is caused to assume the form of two convex bends
from the surface of the runner, to one of which bends a proper stop, catch, or
projection is fixed, which will hold the runner to the stick so long as the other
convex bend is not pressed on, but such stop, catch, or projection will be
moved out of the way when the other convex hend is pressed on. Figure 18 is a

page_text: side view, partly in section, of this arrangement. a is the cane or stick with a
ring a fixed upon it; b and b' are the two parts in which the runner tube is made;
the upper part is of larger diameter than the lower so that it may pass
freely over the ring a¹; c is the notched ring for receiving the stretchers;
d is the runner spring, it is fixed at each end to the tubes b, b, and at its
centre portion it passes through an eye formed for it between the notched
ring in the tube b'; d¹ is a catch fixed on the spring d; it is inclined at
its upper side, so that when the runner is pushed up it recedes to pass over
the ring a, and then by the action of the spring returns so as to prevent the
runner again descending. It will be seen that if the portion d of the spring d
is pressed on, the catch d' will be drawn back, the bow of the spring to which
it is attached being forced to become more curved. The arrangement above
described is more especially applicable to parasols, as the catch is adapted to
retain the runner at one end only of the stick or cane. Figure 19, however,
similar arrangement adapted for an
is a side view, partly in section, of a
umbrella; in this case the catch, in place of taking over a ring on the stick or
cane, enters a hole therein, and it will serve to hold the runner at any point
where a hole to receive the catch may be formed in the stick or cane. I
claim as respects this part of my Invention, the constructing runner springs in
the manner described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Willis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
JAMES WILLIS. (L.S.)