IMPROVE- MENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND SUNSHADES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Willis, of Stratten Villa, Malvern
Wells, in the County of Worcester, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND SUNSHADES,'
"
Sealed the 3rd March 1876, and dated the 24th December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Willis at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th December 1875.
I, JAMES WILLIS, of Stratten Villa, Malvern Wells, in the County
of Worcester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND SUNSHADES," to be as follows:-
"
This Invention has firstly for its object to improve the means of
securing to "paragon or trough ribs the git or middle' bit which forms
part of the stretcher joint. For this purpose I place in the hollow of the
paragon or trough rib, at the point at which the "git" is to be applied
to it, a filling piece of wire; it may be a wire of a similar section to
the rib, or a solid round wire. I then close together the sides of the

page_text: rib at this point, and at the same time causo indentations to be made in
the opposite sides of the rib.
The git is formed solid and with two projecting webs to come on the
two sides of the rib, and tho whole is then compressed in a press to causo
part of the metal of the two webs to enter and fill up the indentations E
in the sides of the ribs.
By these means I am enabled to apply a "git" to paragon or trough
ribs without allowing any portion of the git to project from the rib at
the back.
In some cases the filling piece of wire is made longer than the git 1
to strengthen the rib on each side of the git, as described in the
Specification of a former Patent granted to Samuel Fox, on the 21st
September 1868, No. 2908.
The stretcher end which is to be jointed to the git I make "two-
fork," as described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me ou 1
the 26th January 1875, No. 298, the stretcher end having insorted into
it a strengthening piece of wire; or a strengthening wire of a trough
form may be placed upon the exterior of the stretcher end.
The joint pin of the stretcher joint I pass through the git close up to.
the rib, and curve the stretcher end so as to enable the stretcher to lic
close up to and against the rib when the umbrella is closed. By this
means also the git may be made smaller, that is, less deep than here-
tofore, and the tendency of the ribs to lock or catch together when
the umbrella is being opened is much reduced.
To enable the joint pin to be brought as near as practicable to the
centre of the rib, I form the indentation above mentioned in each sido
of the ribs wider at its two ends than at its centro so as not to bulge the
rib outwards whero the joint pin is to lio across it.
The top ends of paragon or trough ribs and the ends of the stretchers
which are jointed to the runner I make two-fork, in the manner
proviously mentioned with regard to the ends of tho stretchers, which
aro jointed to the ribs.
The top notch and the runner have formed in them two slots for each
rib and stretcher respectively. By this construction an extremely strong
frame is obtained, whereas heretofore, when other ribs and stretchers

page_text: have been made two-fork, where they have been jointed to the top
notch and runner, their ends have been deficient in strength by
reason of the defective manner in which the forked ends have been
formed.
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 June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WILLIS, of Stratten Villa, Malvern Wells, in the County of Worcester,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of December, in
the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five, in the thirty-ninth 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN UMBRELLAS AND SUNSHADES," upon the coд-
dition (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 scals, 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 performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has firstly for its object to improve the means of

page_text: "
securing to “ paragon or trough ribs the git or middle bit which forms
part of the stretcher joint. For this purpose I place in the hollow of
the paragon or trough rib, at the point at which the "git" is to bo
applied to it, a filling piece of wire; it may be a wire of a similar
section to the rib, or a solid round wire. I then close together the sides 5
of the rib at this point, and at the same time cause indentations to be
made in the opposito sides of the rib.
The git is formed solid and with two projecting webs to come on the
two sides of the rib, and the whole is then compressed in a press to
cause part of the metal of the two webs to enter and fill up the 1
indentations in the sides of the ribs.
By these means I am enabled to apply a "git" to paragon or trough
ribs without allowing any portion of the git to project from the rib at
the back.
In some cases the filling piece of wire is made longer than the git to 1
strengthen the rib on each side of the git, as described in the Specifi-
cation of a former Patent granted to Samuel Fox, on the 21st September
1808, No. 2908.
The stretcher end which is to be jointed to the git I make two-
fork, as described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me on 20
the 26th January 1875, No. 298, the stretcher end having inserted into
it a strengthening piece of wire, or a strengthening wire of a trough
form may be placed upon the exterior of the stretcher end.
The joint pin of the stretcher joint I pass through the git close up
to the rib, and curve the stretcher end so as to enable the stretcher to 2
lie close up to and against the rib when the umbrella is closed. By
this means also the git may be made smaller, that is, less deep than
heretofore, and the tendency of the ribs to lock or catch together when
the umbrella is being opened is much reduced.
To enable the joint pin to be brought as near as practicable to the 8
centre of the rib, I prefer to form the indentation above mentioned in
cach side of the ribs wider at its two ends than at its centro so as not
to bulge the rib outwards where the joint pin is to lio across it.
Figures 3, 4, 4*, and 5, of the Drawings annexed show illustrations
of gits or middle bits affixed to paragon or trough ribs in the manner 3
above described.

page_text: Figures 1 show a portion of a paragon or trough rib where the git or
middle bit is to be secured to it. a is tho rib; b, a short length of wiro
inserted into the trough or hollow of the rib. This wire is retained by
closing over it the sides of the rib, as shown. a*, a*, are small
indentations made in the two opposite sides of the rib at this point.
For cheaper work, and where a shallow joint is not required, a single
indentation only may be made on either side of the rib, as shown at
Figure 1*.
Figures 2 show one of the gits in its rough state. This git is tem-
porarily secured in its place on the rib by pressing the webs of the git
inwards, and the whole is then compressed together by a pair of tools in
a fly press to secure the git firmly, and at the same time give to it the
proper form. Afterwards the git is finished in the same manner as with
gits on solid ribs, and has a hole c pierced or drilled through it, as
shown at Figures 3, and as is well understood to receive the joint pin of
the stretcher joint.
By these means I am enabled to apply a solid (git to paragon or
trough ribs which cannot possibly become twisted or loosened, and
which leaves the back of tho rib perfectly smooth.
Figure 4 shows a paragon rib with a git secured to it in the manner
above described, and with the filling piece of wire 6 extending beyond
the git so as to strengthen the rib on each side of the git, as described
in the Specification above mentioned, No. 2908, in the year 1868.
Figure 4* shows a similar rib and git with the filling and strengthen-
ing piece b of trough wire of a similar section to the rib; a filling piece
of fine wire is in addition inserted into it at the point where the git is
to be secured.
Figure 6 shows a side view of a stretcher end to be jointed to the git.
This Figure shows how the forked arms are curved to enable the pin of
the joint to pass through the git close up to the rib.
For cheaper work, when a shallow joint is not required, the stretcher
ends may be made straight, the rib in this case being prepared to
receive the git in the manner shown in Figure 1*, and the hole c
being pierced through the git in its ordinary position, as shown.at
Figure 3*.

page_text: The two-fork stretcher end I strengthen with a filling pieco d placed
within it, as shown at Figure 7, and as is described in the Specification
of the Patent granted to me, No. 298, in the year 1875, or the stretcher
end may be strengthened by a trough wire d fixed to it 'externally, as
shown at Figures 8 and 9, the strengthening piece being secured to
the stretcher by indentations made in its sides and in the sides of the
stretcher, as shown.
In order to prevent as far as may be any strain being put upon the
forked ends of the stretchers at the time when the umbrella cover is
being folded up, and also to reduce the tendency to droop downwards of
those ribs which happen to be at the two sides of the stick when the
umbrella is being opened, I in some cases elongate the gits towards the
outer or tip ends of the ribs, and also shape the portion of the gits
which projects from the ribs to fit within the forks of the stretchers, in
the manner shown at Figures 5.
Elongated gits shaped as above described to fit within the forked ends
of the stretchers may also be used with solid ribs.
The top ends of the paragon or trough ribs and the ends of the
stretchers which are jointed to the runner I make two-fork, in the
manner previously mentioned with regard to the ends of the stretchers, 2
which are jointed to the ribs.
The top notch and the runner have formed in them two slots for cach
rib and stretcher respectively. Figures 10 show a top notch formed as
abovo described with two slits for each rib end, all of the rib ends
being made two-fork and strengthened either with an internal or 2
external strengthening piece, as before described with regard to the
stretcher ends. This mode of jointing the ribs to the top notch greatly
increases the durability and steadiness of the frame, even if tho
stretchers are jointed to the runner in the ordinary manner.
Figures 11 show a runner formed with two slits for cach stretcher 3
end, the several stretcher ends being made two-fork and strengthened
as described. This way of jointing trough stretchers to a runner by
means of a strengthened two-fork end is applicable both when the
stretchers are of the same section as the ribs, and also when the
stretchers are of considerably wider section to allow of the ribs lying 8
within them when the umbrella is closed. By this construction an

page_text: extremely strong frame is obtained, whereas heretofore, when other ribs
and stretchers have been made two-fork, where they have been jointed
to the top notch and runner, their ends have been deficient in strength
by reason of the defective_manner in which the forked ends have been
formed.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim,-
First. Securing a git or middle bit to paragon or trough ribs, sub-
stantially in the manner above described.
Second. Forming the git or middle bit to fit within the stretcher fork,
substantially in the manner above described.
Third. Jointing the ends of paragon or trough ribs to the top notch
with a "two-fork" joint, the fork on the rib end being strengthened
substantially in the manner above described.
Fourth. Jointing the ends of paragon or trough stretchers to the
runner with a "two-fork " joint, the forks on the stretcher ends being
strengthened substantially in the manner above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Willis, havo hercunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
JAMES WILLIS. (L.S.)