Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Aug., 1887
Complete Left, 9th May, 1888
Complete Accepted, 15th June, 1888
I FREDERICK ARTHUR ELLIS of 77 Glengarry Road East Dulwich in the county
of Surrey, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide an umbrella frame which when closed shall
occupy less space than those at present in use, and by which the abrasion of the
stick, and the tearing of the covering at the joint of the rib and stretcher shall be
entirely avoided.
"
The invention relates to that species of frames with hollow ribs, known as
paragon" frames as well as others, and is for an improvement upon the device for
connecting the rib and stretcher for which letters patent were granted me bearing
date the 11th day of April 1885, and numbered 4507, together with other improve-
ments described below.
In the invention above referred to the rib and stretcher when closed lie close
together, in my present invention I arrange them so that the stretcher shall lie inside
the rib, or the rib inside the stretcher.
In order to do this I employ a solid "git" or middle piece and fix it inside the rib,
making one end of it in the form of a fork; and I insert a similar "git" or middle bit
in the end of the stretcher, but I form the end of this with a tongue. These "gits"
may be secured in any convenient way as for instance by cramping, swaging, or
soldering. I make the tongue at the end of the stretcher to fit nicely into the fork of
the "git" in the rib, and through both I drill or otherwise form a hole for the joint
pin to pass. Thus I form a joint which lies entirely inside the rib and which when
the frame is closed enables the stretcher also to lie entirely within it, and one which
produces no projection to damage the umbrella covering, or to swell out the umbrella
when rolled up.
The "gits" may if preferred be arranged with the fork at the end of the stretcher
and the tongue in the rib.
I do not confine my improvement to frames having a U section, as they may be
advantageously employed when other sections are used; particularly when made from

page_text: a plate bent to form a T section, which leaves the tail of the T double: Other
sections may also be employed as for instance a channel, the flanges of which may be
turned inwards if desired, and when a U section is employed its flanges may be
turned inwards and carried part way down, or to the bottom.
When the section is used 1 cut the back off the tail of the T sufficiently to form
a fork, into which I insert the tail of the T which forms the rib, and having fitted a
pin to form the required joint, I have another form of rib and stretcher which when
closed lie one inside the other.
As by making the joint as above described, no projections are formed for securing
the covering to the frame, I make such holes in the back or sides of the rib as
may be required, or I secure a piece of metal inside the rib having eyes, for the same
purpose.
In order to reduce the sizo of the umbrella frame and stick to a minimum I may
make the stick fluted if made of wood, or corrugated if made of metal, in order to
form recesses for the ribs with stretchers inside them to lie in.
A. H. REED,
Agent.

page_text: Improvements in Umbrella Frames.
I, FREDERICK ARTHUR ELLIS, of 77, Glengarry Road, East Dulwich, in the
County of Surrey, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly describe and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to the joints between the ribs and stretchers of umbrella
frames; and has for its object to permit the ribs and stretchers to lie closer together
when the umbrella is closed than those at present in use, and to avoid abrasion of the
stick and wear of the umbrella covering in the region of these joints.
The Invention is particularly applicable to the ribs of the well known U section
(known as the "paragon") as well as to those of other shapes hereinafter referred to
with reference to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,
wherein figure 1 is an inside face view of as much of a rib of U section as is
necessary to illustrate the improved rib and stretcher joint. Figure 2 is a side view
of the same, and figure 3 is a cross-section on line 1-1 figures 1 and 2. Figure 4 is
a modification in which the relative positions of the parts of the joint are reversed.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 are similar views of a joint applied to a rib and stretcher of
T section. Figures 8, 9, and 10 are similar views of a joint applied to a rib of
U section and stretcher of double U section. Figure 11 is a detail. Figure 12 is a
cross-section of another modification. Figure 13 is a detail.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures; a being the
rib, the stretcher, c the middle piece, and the joint pin.
According to the present invention, the joint is so constructed that when the
umbrella is closed the stretcher shall be inside the rib, as in figures 1 to 4, or the rib
inside the stretcher, as in figures 5 to 7 or mutnally partly within each other, as in
figures 8 to 10.
In figures 1 to 3, the middle piece c is formed of a solid piece of metal forked at
one end to receive the tongue at the end of the stretcher. The middle piece c is
adapted to fit in the hollow of the groove of the rib and the forked end of this piece
and the end of the tongue b' of the stretcher are drilled to receive the joint pin d.
The solid shank of the middle piece c is secured in the hollow of the rib a by swaging
or pressing over the edges of the rib, or by soldering, or by both means, the fork of
the middle piece being directed towards the tip of the rib, the operation of securing
the middle piece being performed after the stretcher has been pin jointed to the
middle piece. A joint is thus formed which is entirely contained within the hollow
of the rib, and which when the umbrella is closed enables the stretcher also to lie
within the rib, there being moreover, no projection on the back or outer side of the
rib to swell out the umbrella when folded, or to damage the umbrella covering.
In figure 4, the end of the stretcher is forked and the middle piece c is formed with
a tongue, that is to say, the relative positions of the fork and tongue are reversed, the
joint being otherwise the same as that above described.
$6
Figures 5, 6, and 7, illustrate a rib and stretcher jointed directly together without
a middle piece," the rib being in this case of T section and the stretcher of flanged
U section or vice versa, so that when folded, the web of the one will lie in the hollow
of the other, the joint being made in the one case by forking the end of the stretcher,
as shewn, so that it will embrace the web of the T rib to which it is pin jointed
d'rectly; in the alternative arrangement the end of the stretcher is filled with a piece

page_text: of soft wire as usual, flattened cropped and pierced to form a tongue which is received
within the hollow of the rib and is jointed directly thereto.
In figures 8, 9, 10, the rib and middle picce c are of U section the latter (shewn
separately in figure 11) fitting within the hollow of the former and being ultimately
secured by swaging the sides of the rib, or soldering, (or both) at each end of the
middle piece. The stretcher is of double U form, as shewn in figure 10, and is
provided with a double fork 6* secured to it by clamping it over the stretcher, as
shown in figure 10. The middle eye of this fork is received within the hollow of the
middle piece c which is slotted at the back near the joint to allow room for the eye.
The joint holes are pierced in the fork and middle piece, and the joint pin inserted and
rivetted so as to connect the stretcher to the middle piece before the latter is secured
in the rib as above mentioned, the edges of the rib being slightly indented by swaging,
to partly receive the joint pin and retain the middle piece in position in the rib, by
enabling it to resist longitudinal thrust.
Figure 12, is a modification of figure 4. In this case, the rib a is drawn of
U section with the edges turned over inwards, and the middle piece c is drawn of
double section and inserted within the hollow of the rib by sliding it in at the end
thereof, and secured therein by swaging, the inwardly turned edges of the rib tightly
over the edges of the middle piece. The middle member or web of the middle
piece c is pierced to receive the joint pin and enters the forked end of the stretcher
which is made as shewn in figure 4.
The umbrella covering is secured to the frame by sewing through holes punched
in the bottom of the hollow rib, so as to avoid the sewing thread lying across the
hollow of the rib at that part where the stretcher is to lie within the rib. Or,
instead of punching holes in the rib, the back of the rib may be embraced by a
band of thin brass of U section, the ends of which are turned in over the edges
of the rib, holes being afterwards drilled through the projecting portions of this
metal as shown in figure 13 for stitching the covering to, at opposite sides of
the rib.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is;
1. The herein described mode of jointing the rib and stretcher by means of a
middle piece which lies wholly within the hollow of the rib, and is secured therein
as specified with reference to figures 1 to 4, and 8 to 12, of the drawings.
2. The combination with a rib of U section, of a stretcher of double U section
having a double fork and of a middle piece of hollow or U section, substantially
as specified with reference to figures 8 to 11 of the drawings.
3. The combination with a rib of U section, of a middle piece of double U section
secured therein by turning over the edges of the rib, as specified with reference to
figure 12 of the drawings.
4. The combination of a rib of T section with a stretcher of flanged U section
jointed directly to the web of the rib without the intervention of a middle piece,
the web of the rib being received within the hollow of the stretcher when the
umbrella is closed, substantially as specified with reference to figures 5, 6, and 7,
of the drawings.