Improvements in Locking or Retaining Devices for Umbrellas.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 20th Dec.. 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Locking or Retaining Devices for Umbrellas.
I, CARL LEOPOLD, Manufacturer, of 20 Hohenzollernring, Cologne, in the German
Empire do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
-
My invention relates to the means for securing umbrellas in their open and in their
closed position; and has for its object, to construct a very simple, reliable and durable
locking device, without weakening the stick by grooves or notches which are usually
employed for the reception of the springs.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figs. 1 and 2 represent the lower sleeve or runner, in side view and plan. Figs. 3
and 4 are corresponding views of the upper sleeve or runner, which is provided with
a notched ring for holding the stretchers. Fig. 5 is a front elevation, Fig. 6 a back
elevation, and Fig. 7 a section along line showing the two sleeves placed one
within the other. Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 1 show the same locking device with the
addition of a cup y. Figs. 8 and 9 being side views, Fig. 10 a vertical section, along
line of Fig. 8; and Fig. 11 a plan.
The inner sleeve or runner a which is mounted on the umbrella stick and movable
on the same, has at its upper and at its lower end a rectangular or bayonet shaped
groove n, n. On this sleeve is mounted the second or outer sleeve b which adapted
to turn on the sleeve a and carries the notched ring c for receiving the lower ends of
the stretchers. This sleeve is held in position by a plate d attached to the lower
sleeve a and situated in a recess of b. The lower sleeve a can only be turned in
the upper sleeve b within limits determined by the plate d, that is to say, until one
of the edges of the said plate touch one of the edges of the recess b¹.
The slide a has, in addition to the recess ³, also a slot e at the upper end.
A pair of pins are driven into the umbrella stick, one at the top and one at the
bottom of the same, in position corresponding to the position of the horizontal parts
of the grooves n, n', when the umbrella is open and when it closed, which pins are
provided with hemispherical or spherical heads to prevent the umbrella covering from
being torn.
When the umbrella is closed, the lower pin situated near the handle of the umbrella,
is placed in the horizontal part of the lower groove n' of the sleeve a, thus keeping
the umbrella closed. If now the sleeve a is turned to the left, the pin enters the
vertical part of groove n', after which the umbrella can be opened by causing the
runners a and b to slide on the stick.
In this position of the runners the runner 6 is situated with its recess over the
vertical part of the upper groove n of a. If now the runners are pushed upward until
the vertical grooves eh touch with their lower edges the upper pin f and then the
inner sleeve a is turned to the right, the pin enters the horizontal part of the
groove n of the said sleeve, and is retained therein by the edge of the groove of b.
In this position, the closing of the umbrella is impossible; the latter can only be closed
after the slide a has been turned back. To facilitate the turning of the slide a, its
lower part is serrated, roughened, or corrugated.
This locking device may be provided with a cap y for holding together the lower
ends of the ribs, as shown by Figs. 8 to 11.
The said cap is fixed on the runner a by means of a strip situated in a recess of
the cap, and allowing the cap g to slide up and down on the runner a, but forcing the
latter to share the motion of the cap, when the cap is turned. The said strip or key
is fixed in such a manner, that the cap can only be shifted as far as the upper edge of

page_text: the horizontal part of the groove n¹ of the runner a. The shifting of the cap in the
opposite direction is impeded by the notched ring c.
The employment of a cap 9 renders the lower groove n¹ unnecessary.
The runner may consist only of a notched ring e adapted to turn on the sleeve a
within certain limits.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
a,
A locking or retaining device for umbrellas, comprising a pair of runners or
sleeves b mounted one on the other, and capable of turning against each other
within given limits, and two pins f fixed at suitable places of the umbrella stick, the
said locking device having the characteristic feature, that by turning the lower sleeve a
after the runners a, b have been placed into a suitable position corresponding to the
opened or to the closed umbrella, the respective pin is caused to enter the horizontal
part either of the upper groove n or of the lower groove n', and thereby to retain the
umbrella in its position, and which locking device may comprise a cap attached to
the lower sleeve a in such a manner, that it can move up and down on the latter within
given limits only, substantially as described.
Dated this 19th day of November 1890
CARL LEOPOLD.
By Fairfax & Wetter,
433, Strand, London, Agents for the Applicant.