Improvements in Umbrellas, Parasols, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 5th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 5th Jan., 1898
Improvements in Umbrellas, Parasols, and the like.
We, BEATRICE BROUGHTON, Spinster, of 29 Laurel Grove, Anerley, in the County
of Surrey, and JOHN' BRAILSFORD BRIGHT, Barrister-at-Law, of 12 Marlborough Place,
Brighton, in the County of Sussex, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
It consists, generally, of a new combination of arrangements or devices, (of
which latter, one at least is itself a novelty,) in the construction of the sticks & frames
of Umbrellas, Parasols, & the like.
The chief advantages which we believe our present invention offers are the
following:-(1) That umbrellas, &c., manufactured according to our specification
will be found to wear much longer than those at present in use; (2) That they are
practically unbreakable; (3) That they are not liable to be turned inside out when
caught by strong winds; (4) That they can be opened and closed easily, without the
exertion of great pressure or jerking movements; (5) That the cost of their
manufacture is considerably lower than that of articles of this class, of the same
general quality, at present in use-(We consider that a saving of at least 15% can
be effected by adopting our invention); (6) That the frames of our umbrellas, and
the like, can be put together in less than an hour, and that skilled labour is not
required for this purpose; and (7) that, while rolling up into quite as small a
compass as the previous types of umbrellas, & the like, ours can be made even
lighter in weight for the same bulk, and can be folded up for many days without
creasing thereby.
Our invention may be provisionally described as follows:-
For the purpose of securing the ribs to the top-pieces, and the stretchers to the
sliding ring a cylinder (sometimes designated the "slide,") as well as to the centre-
points of the ribs, we employ Universal Cup-joints. That is to say, the ends of the
stretchers, and also the top-ends of the ribs, are made globular or bulbous in. form,
and fit into cupola or truncated-pear-shaped receptacles, in which they play freely
when the umbrella, parasol, or the like, is being opened or closed. Or sometimes
we substitute, for the same purpose, Ring-Joints; that is to say, we provide the
ribs, at the centre-points, and also the top-pieces and slides respectively, with rings,
slots, or recesses, and we provide the stretchers and ribs (at the ends where they are
to be connected respectively with the slides, centre-points of ribs, and top-pieces,)
with projecting pins, so that they are maintained in position in the said rings, slots,
or recesses. These pins may be made to project either side- or front-ways, and
are easily connected or disconnected by the opening of the said receptacles, rings,
slots, or recesses.
CC
In order to maintain the frame solid, and prevent the usual oscillation or
wobbling," we construct the stick and sliding ring in the following fashion. Along
the stick, (which may be either solid or hollow, and consisting either of metal, of
hard wood, or of any other tough & suitable material,) we cut two or more parallel &
equidistant grooves, along which runs the cylinder of the slide, which is fitted with
corresponding flanges or knife-edges for this purpose. Or, in some cases, we prefer

page_text: to adopt the opposite arrangement that is to say, we groove the sliding cylinder,
and construct the stick itself with flanges or knife-edges. With a view to keeping
the whole frame firm in its proper position, we fix a ferrule round the higher part of
the stick, a few inches from the top: this ferrule is threaded on the outside, and the
top-piece of the frame firmly screwed onto it.
For the purpose of keeping the sliding ring in position when opened, we arrange
on it a button provided with a thread & corresponding hole, so that a slight turn of
the finger & thumb suffices to screw it down and unscrew it again. Or the ordinary
spring & slot, or any other suitable fastening, may be employed, if preferred.
The covering of such umbrellas, parasols, &c, may be of silk, cotton, alpaca, or
other usual material; and we consider Ramie-cloth particularly suitable, on account
of its glossy appearance combined with toughness & durability.
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Improvements in Umbrellas, Parasols, and the like."
We, BEATRICE BROUGHTON, of 29, Laurel Grove, Anerley, in the county of Surrey,
Spinster, and JOHN BRAILSFORD BRIGHT, of 12, Marlborough Place, Brighton, in the
county of Sussex, Barrister-at-Law, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in umbrellas, parasols and the like, the
improvements chiefly referring to the ribs, stretchers, top-notches and runners and
has mainly for object to facilitate the connection of the various parts forming the
frame and for holding the runner rigidly upon the stick when the former is in its
uppermost position and the umbrella or the like is opened.
According to the invention we provide the inner ends of the ribs of the umbrella
or the like and both ends of the stretchers with ball-shaped or pear-shaped heads and
we form the top-notch and the runner with spherical recesses for receiving the said
ball-shaped or pear-shaped ends of the ribs and stretchers respectively the said ribs
also being provided with spherical recesses for receiving the ends of the stretchers.
Or instead of the ball-shaped or pear-shaped ends the ribs and stretchers may be
provided at their ends with lateral cylindrical pins arranged to work in suitably
shaped recesses in the top-notch and runner and ribs respectively.
To hold the runner from twisting upon the stick of the umbrella or the like when
in its uppermost position, we form the said runner with one or more longitudinal slots
into which a feather or feathers upon the upper end of the said stick enters or enter
when the runner is slid upwards thereon. Or the runner may be provided with an
internal pin or feather engaging in a longitudinal slot in the umbrella stick. Above
the top-notch we advantageously provide the stick with a ferrule the upper part of
which is screw-threaded externally so that the conical cap of the umbrella or the
like, which cap is internally screw-threaded for the purpose, can be screwed upon it.
This construction facilitates the removal of the cap for recovering the umbrella or.
the like.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of an umbrella stick and a rib and
stretcher having our improvements applied thereto :
Figure 2 is an elevation of the top-notch and the ferrule in position on the stick :
Figure 3 is an underside view of the top-notch :

page_text: Figure o is a plan or the said plate:
Figure 6 is a vertical section of the cap of the umbrella:
Figure 7 is a section on the line 7-7 figure 1:
Figure 8 is a view shewing the joint between the rib and stretcher the said view
being drawn to a larger scale :
Figure 9 is a section on the line 9-9 figure 8:
Figures 10 and 11 are views at right angles to one another of the end of a rib:
Figure 12 is an elevation of the runner shewn on the stick :
Figure 13 is a plan thereof:
Figure 14 is a vertical section of the top-notch shewing it constructed to receive
ribs with cylindrical lateral pins :
Figure 15 is an underside view of the same; and,
Figure 16 is a section on the line 16-16 figure 14.
a is the umbrella stick, the said stick being of ordinary construction and provided
with the usual springs for retaining the runner in its lowermost and uppermost
positions. b, b are the ribs, the said ribs being provided at their inner ends with ball-
shaped heads c,c as shewn in figures 1, 10 and 11, and d, d are the stretchers which
are provided with ball-shaped heads e, e at both ends as shewn in figures 1 and 8.
fis the top-notch, the said top-notch being provided with the usual slits g to allow
of the movement of the ribs and being provided with a tubular extension f¹ connected
thereto by a short neck f and formed square externally. h, h, figures 3 and 4, are
the spherical recesses for receiving the ball-shaped ends of the ribs b, b, as shewn in
figure 1.
The ribs b, b are held in position in the top-notch f by means of a plate i of
the same diameter as the upper part of the top-notch fand of the same thickness as
the short neck 2 connecting the top-notch with the extension fl. The plate is
provided with slits ¹ corresponding with the slits g in the said top-notch and is
formed with a square hole i² of slightly larger size than the square extension f¹ of the
top-notch f so that it can be passed over the said extension f¹ until it comes opposite
the neck and then turned until the corners of the upper end of the extension f¹
overlap the sides of the square hole 2 in the plate i, as shewn in figure 3, so as to hold
the plate i against the underside of the top-notch f. j is a screw pin which is passed
through the plate i into the top notch f so as to hold it in position against the
latter.
kis the runner, the said runner being provided with slits k¹ and with spherical
recesses ² for receiving the inner ball shaped ends of the stretchers d, d as above
described with reference to the top-notch f. The runner is formed with an extension
similar to the extension f on the top-notch and it is connected to the said runner
by a short neck 1 similar to the neck f² of the extension ft. The stretchers are held
in position in the runner by means of a plate m similar to the plate i and which
fits into the neck and is held against the runner by a screw pin n, as shewn in
figure 12.
o is the slot formed in the runner k, the said slot being widened at its upper end
and p is the feather upon the stick a of the umbrella which passes into the said slot o
when the runner is raised into the position shewn in dotted lines in figure 1, when
the umbrella is opened.
Figures 8 and 9 show the method of connecting the stretchers to the ribs by means
of the ball and socket joint. In this case the said ribs b are provided with clips b¹
formed at their ends with cup-shaped recesses 62 for receiving the ends of the
stretchers d.
In figures 14, 15 and 16 we have illustrated the method of connecting the ribs to
the top-notch by lateral cylindrical pins. The said pins q, q are formed upon the
ends of the ribs b and the top-notch fis provided at its underside with an annular
recess having slits g into which the flattened ends of the ribs pass. The said ribs
are held in position in the recess by means of a sleeve 8 arranged upon the umbrella
stick a underneath the top-notch f and the upper end of which is formed conical so
that by pushing the sleeve up into the recessed portion of the top-notch ƒ and

page_text: securing it in position upon the stick by a screw t the lateral pins q, q are prevented
from leaving the annular recess r.
It will be obvious that this modified construction is also applicable to the runner.
u (figure 2) is the ferrule with which the stick a is provided above the top-notch f
the said ferrule being provided with an external screw-thread u¹ at its upper end.
vis the cap, the said cap being provided with an internal screw-thread by means
of which it can be screwed on the ferrule u, as shewn in figure 1. .
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that We
are aware it has already been proposed to form the ribs and stretchers of umbrella
frames with ball-shaped ends, or with lateral pins, for connecting the ribs to the top
notches aud the stretchers to the runners and ribs. We therefore make no separate
claim to this construction but what we claim is:-
1. In umbrellas, parasols and the like providing the stick above the top-notch with
a screw-threaded ferrule upon which the correspondingly threaded cap is screwed,
substantially as described and illustrated.
2. In umbrellas, parasols .and the like forming the runner:with a slot (or a feather)
arranged to engage with a feather (or a slot) on (or in) the stick of the umbrella,
parasol or the like, substantially as, and for the purpose, herein before described.
3. An umbrella, parasol or similar frame the parts of which are constructed and
fitted together in the manner hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawing.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.
4, South Street, Finsbury, London. Agents for the Applicants.