Patent ID: 7588041

Claim:
An umbrella comprising: a central shaft including a stationary hub disposed on an upper portion of said central shaft, and including a hand grip attached to a lower portion of said central shaft for being held by a user, a runner slidably engaged onto said central shaft for coupling to a whale bone device, a tubular member slidably engaged onto said central shaft for moving up and down along said central shaft, and including a lower portion, and including an upper portion secured to said runner for allowing said tubular member to be moved in concert with said runner, said runner being movable toward said stationary hub for allowing said whale bone device to be folded to a compact folding position, and said runner being movable away from said stationary hub for allowing said whale bone device to be opened to an open working position, a handle attached to said lower portion of said tubular member for allowing said tubular member and said runner to be moved up and down along said central shaft with said handle, and means for controlling said handle to move along said central shaft in order to selectively fold said whale bone device to the compact folding position or to open said whale bone device to the open working position.