Improvements in Umbrellas and Parasols.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 29th June, 1889-Accepted, 17th Aug., 1889.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Umbrellas and Parasols.
We WILLIAM ALLEN BINDLEY and WILLIAM JAMES GELL both of Armstrong
Works Chester Street Aston Road Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manu-
fucturers and JOSEPH FREDERICK BOHAM of Richmond Villa Highfield Road Saltley
near Birmingham aforesaid Machinist do hereby declare the nature of this Invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention has reference to the ribs and stretchers of umbrellas and parasols and
parts connected therewith and has for its object to effect automatically the complete
closing or opening of the umbrella or parasol after the closing or opening operation
has been started or partially effected by hand.
We will describe our invention in connection with an umbrella.
In the construction both of the ribs and stretchers wo employ trough shaped steel
wire such as is commonly employed in the manufacture of umbrella ribs of the kind
called paragon ribs. The trough shaped wire of which we form the stretchers is of
such a size that in the closed umbrella the ribs lie in the troughs of the stretchers.
In order to effect the connection of the stretchers to the ribs we proceed as follows.
To the hollow or concave side of the rib we fix two. narrow parallel strips of sheet
steel between two and three inches in length and of a breadth a little greater than the
depth of the trough of the rib. The strips are in contact at their ends but are
separated a short distance from each other at the intermediate parts. The said parallel
strips of sheet steel are connected by their ends to the rib and in the normal or closed
position of the rib they are in contact or nearly in contact with the edges of the trough like
rib. The stretcher is jointed to the middle of the said parallel strips the fork of the stretcher
embracing the said strips. In the joint end of the stretcher is fixed a plate of steel
the rounded end of which protrudes beyond the joint of the stretcher into the trough
of the rib. When the stretcher is at right angles or nearly at right angles to the rib
the protruding end of the said plate of steel bearing forcibly against the bottom of the
trough of the rib bends that part of the rib near the stretcher joint into a bow shape.
When however the stretcher is in such a position that it makes an angle with the rib
a few degrees on either side a right angle that is when the protruding end of the plate
carried by the stretcher is on either side the dead centre the elasticity of the distorted
rib acting on the end of the said plate tends to force it in one or other direction and
thereby to bring the stretcher and rib into the positions they occupy in a closed or
opened umbrella. Henco when the umbrella provided with ribs stretchers and
appliances of the kind described is opened to about half the full extent its full opening
takes place automatically and when it is about half closed its complete closing is effected
automatically.
Umbrellas and parasols made according to our invention do not require the spring
fastenings for fixing them in their opened and closed states.
Dated this 24th day of October 1888
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Umbrellas and Parasols.
We WILLIAM ALLEN BINDLEY and WILLIAM JAMES GELL both of Armstrong Works
5 Chester Street Aston Road Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturers
and JOSEPH FREDERICK BOHAM of Richmond Villa Highfield Road Saltley near
Birmingham aforesaid Machinist do hereby declare the nature of our invention and
[Price 8d

page_text: in what manner, the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:—
Our invention has reference to the ribs and stretchers of umbrellas and parasols and
parts connected therewith and has for its object to effect automatically the complete
closing or opening of the umbrella or parasol after the closing or opening operation
has been started or partially effected by hand.
We will describe our invention in connection with an umbrella.
In the construction both of the ribs and stretchers we employ trough shaped steel
wire such as is commonly employed in the manufacture of umbrella ribs of the kind
called paragon ribs. The trough shaped wire of which, we form the stretchers is of
such a size that in the closed umbrella the ribs lie in the troughs of the stretchers.
In order to effect the connection of the stretchers to the ribs we proceed as follows. To
the hollow or concave side of the rib we fix two narrow parallel strips of sheet steel
between two and three inches in length and of a breadth a little greater than the depth
of the trough of the rib. The strips are in contact at their ends but are separated a
short distance from each other at the intermediate parts. The said parallel strips of
sheet steel are connected by their ends to the rib and in the normal or closed position
of the rib they are in contact or nearly in contact with the edges of the trough like rib.
The stretcher is jointed to the middle of the said parallel strips the fork of the stretcher
embracing the said strips. In the joint end of the stretcher is fixed a plate of steel
the rounded end of which protrudes beyond the joint of the stretcher into the trough
of the rib. When the stretcher is at right angles or nearly at right angles to the
rib the protruding end of the said plate of steel bearing forcibly against the bottom of
the trough of the rib bends that part of the rib near the stretcher joint into a bow
shape. When however the stretcher is in such a position that it makes an angle with
the rib a few degrees on either side a right angle, that is, when the protruding end of
the plate carried by the stretcher is on either side the dead centre, the elasticity of the
distorted or deflected rib acting on the end of the said plate tends to force it in one or
other direction and thereby to bring the stretcher and rib into the positions they
occupy in a closed or opened umbrella. Hence, when the umbrella provided with ribs
stretchers and appliances of the kind described is opened to about half the full extent
its full opening takes place automatically and when it is about half closed its complete
closing is effected automatically.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in side elevation and Figure 2
in front elevation a portion of the rib and stretcher of an umbrella to which our
invention is applied, the said rib and stretcher having the positions which they respec-
tively take when the umbrella is closed; Figure 3 represents a side elevation of the
same when the stretcher is situated at or about the dead centre during the opening or
closing of the umbrella and Figure 4 represents the same view as Figure 3 after the
stretcher has been carried beyond the dead centre by the elasticity of the rib and the
complete opening of the umbrella effected.
The said Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 are drawn to a large scale.
As all the ribs and their respective stretchers of the umbrella frame are constructed
alike we have only thought it necessary to represent a single rib and its stretcher but it
must be understood that the construction and action which we shall hereinafter describe
with respect to a single rib and its stretcher applies equally to all the ribs and
stretchers of the umbrella frame. a a is the trough shaped rib and b is the trough
shaped stretcher the troughs of the said rib and stretcher being presented to each
other and having such sizes that when the umbrella is closed the rib lies in the stretcher
from a short distance below the joint of the stretcher to the runner end of the said
stretcher. To the hollow or concave side of the rib a two narrow strips of sheet steel c care
jointed, the said strips cc being jointed at d to the ear piece e closed on the rib a and jointed
at to the second ear piece g closed on the rib a, the joint pin atf working in slots ath in the
strips cc consequent on the change of figure of the part a of the rib a during the
opening or closing of the umbrella. It will be seen by an examination of Figure 2
that the parallel strips c c are in contact at their ends through which ends the joint
pins at d; pass but are separated a short distance from each other at the intermediate

page_text: part. The stretcher bis jointed by its forked end at k to the middle of the parallel
strips c, c the said forked end embracing the said strips. In the joint end of the
stretcher b a plate of steel i is fixed by means of a projection on the edge of the plate
being passed through a slot in the stretcher and rivetted or expanded at . The said
plate i passes between the strips c, c and protrudes beyond the joint k of the stretcher
into the trough of the part a' of the rib a. The projecting end of the plate i is rounded
as represented. When the stretcher 6 is parallel with the riba as in the closed umbrella the
plate occupies the position represented in Figures 1 and 2, that is, it is parallel with the
rib and stretcher and has no action on the part a² of the rib. When the stretcher b
is brought by the partial opening or closing of the umbrella, effected by the runner,
into the position represented in Figure 3; that is, when the projecting end of the
plate is situated at the dead centre the said projecting end of the plate i on the
stretcher bears forcibly against the bottom of the trough of the part a² of the rib and
bends or deflects that part of the said rib near the stretcher joint into a bow shape as
represented in the said Figure 3. When by the continued upward motion of the
runner to open the umbrella the projecting end of the plate i is carried below the dead
centre the elasticity of the deflected rib at a² acting on the end of the plate i tends to
force the said plate downwards and to lift the stretcher into the position represented
in Figure 4 and the umbrella is fully opened automatically, the rib a³ now bearing
less forcibly on the plate i but sufficiently to maintain the umbrella firmly in its open
position.
When the stretcher is moved from the position represented in Figure 4 to that
represented in Figure 3 in the act of closing the umbrella, the projecting end of the
plate i first deflects the rib at a² and after the said end of the plate i has passed the
dead centre position Figure 3, the elasticity of the said deflected rib at a tends to
press upwards the said projecting end of the plate i and to press down the stretcher b
and the umbrella is automatically closed as represented in Figures 1 and 2. In this
way the umbrella having been partly opened, say to about half its full extent, its full
opening takes place automatically by the elasticity of the deflected part at a³ of the
rib a upon the stretcher 6 and the umbrella having been about half closed it is fully
closed automatically by the elasticity of the said deflected part a² of the rib upon the
stretcher bas before described.
Umbrellas and parasols made according to our invention do not require the spring
fastenings for fixing them in their opened and closed states.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed we declare that we claim as our
invention of "Improvements in umbrellas and parasols ":-
The construction and combination of the parts herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawing for effecting automatically the complete closing or
opening of the umbrella or parasol after the closing or opening operation has been
started or partially effected by hand; that is to say, jointing each of the trough
stretchers to the middle of two parallel open strips closed at their ends and jointed to
the rib and connecting to the joint end of the stretcher a plate of steel which works
between the parallel strips the end of the said plate of steel protruding beyond the
joint into the trough of the rib the action of the protruding end of the said plate when
the umbrella or parasol is partially opened or partially closed by hand giving a bow figure
to the rib on which it acts the elasticity of the deflected part of the rib when the said
protruding end of the plate is carried by the stretcher on either side the dead centre
forcing it in one or other direction and thereby completely opening or completely
closing the umbrella or parasol substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated the Twenty eighth day of June 1889.
WILLIAM ALLEN BINDLEY.
WILLIAM JAMES GELL.
JOSEPH FREDERICK BOHAM.