Patent ID: 8371319

Claim:
A system providing shade above ground, the system comprising: an umbrella; an anchor comprising: a distal portion; an intermediate portion comprising a smooth-walled bore; and a proximal portion comprising an aperture in communication with the bore, wherein the aperture is shaped to receive a bottom end of a pole of the umbrella to enable insertion of the bottom end into the bore; wherein the proximal portion comprises a stabilization feature that includes a flange having a plurality of spokes extending outwardly from an axis of the anchor, and a ring connected to distal ends of the spokes to form a proximal surface coplanar with the aperture for engaging the ground to restrict motion of the anchor relative to the ground; wherein the distal portion is embeddable in the ground in response to exertion of an exclusively linear force urging the proximal portion toward the ground; wherein the intermediate portion is positioned between the distal portion and the proximal portion such that the intermediate portion does not extend beyond the stabilization feature.