IMPROVEMENTS IN UMBRELLA FRAMES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st July 1875.-A communication from abroad by John Horton
and George P Kato, both of the City and State of New York,
United States of America.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lakc, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare tho
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN UMBRELLA FRAMES," a
communication, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in umbrella frames,
and the said Invention consists, first, in an umbrella frame constructed
with springs or ribs, which are secured to the collar and runner without
the aid of wires or rivets, and also in a metal clamp constructed and
secured to the ribs and stretchers in the manner herein-after described.
As is well known the weak parts in umbrella frames are the wire
These wires
which confine the springs or ribs to the collar and runner.
invariably rust out and the frame falls to pieces. To obviate this detets

page_text: I construct the collar of one or more pieces of metal cast or otherwise
formed. This collar has a concave inner surface, and it has formed in it
a series of slots. The springs or ribs have formed at their upper end a
flattened bearing and a rounded head These springs or ribs are fitted
to the said collar by placing the flattened bearing within the slots, the 5
rounded head being within the concavity of the collai, the said collar is
then fitted to the stick in any desirable manner.
When the springs or ribs are spread open by the action of the
stretchers the flattened bearing freely works within the slots, permitting
the spring or rib to be moved up and down as if it were hinged; the 1
head working within the concavity of the collar and being of somewhat
larger diameter tlian-the-width of the slot,-keeps the end of the spring_
or rib from being drawn through the slot and hence keeps it in
position
If it is desired to unite the stretcher' with the runner it may be dono 1
in precisely the same manner, by forming on the head of the runner a
concave collar similar to the other collar, and uniting the ends of the
stretchers therein in precisely the manner just described.
From the foregoing it is obvious that an umbrella frame constructed
in the manner herein-before described, will be far more durable than 2
ordinary frames since there is no confining wire to rust out, and it is
believed the expense of constructing and fitting such a frame will be
materially less than that of the old construction.
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•
In securing the ribs to the stretchers it is always sought to make' the
frames as light as possible consistent with strength. To allow this the
ribs and stretchers should be made of metal of small diameters and size,
hence when it is sought to secure the several parts together by the use
of rivets, the holes drilled for the rivets weaken the metal to such an
extent as to render them liable to breakage when subjected to any
undue strain. By this Invention this difficulty is obviated as follows
A clamp is constructed of any kind of material and having formed'in it
two bosses, and near these bosses but on opposite sides of the clamp arc
two small lugs. In the body of the clamp are formed two slits,
the clamp being constructed, substantially as described; it is secured'
to the aforesaid rib by raising the centre of the clamp, and passing the
rib between such raised centre and the sides of the clamp, and then
bending the clamp over until its two ends are brought together,

page_text: forming jaws, the rib being firmly grasped between the sides of the
clamp which arc folded over, and the centre which is folded under
the clamp. The clamp being in this way secured to the rib, the
stretcher is formed with a flattened bearing and with a rounded head.
This end of the stretcher is inserted between the jaws of the clamp, the
rounded head fitting into the bosses and the flattened bearing of the
stretcher working between the jaws When the stretcher is in position
within the clamp the lugs are folded across the sides of the same,
locking the two sides together and securely clamping the end of the
stretcher within the jaws of the clamp The rounded head of the
stretcher being in this way held in the bosses of the clamp cannot be
withdrawn therefrom, and at the same time it is free to work up and
down with the Jaws of the clamp as may be required by the opening
and shutting of the umbrella No rivet being used to confine the
stretcher to the rib, no parts of the same are weakened by having holes
drilled in them.