AU2011374007A1

AU2011374007A1 - Laborsaving mechanism for unfolding sunshade

Info

Publication number: AU2011374007A1
Application number: AU2011374007A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Oliver Joen-An Ma
Original assignee: Activa Leisure Inc
Current assignee: Activa Leisure Inc
Priority date: 2011-07-28
Filing date: 2011-12-06
Publication date: 2014-02-20
Also published as: EP2737818A1; BR112014002088A2; CN102247042B; CN102247042A; US20140166060A1; WO2013013474A1; CA2842708A1; JP2014524817A

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention is a laborsaving mechanism for unfolding a sunshade, which comprises a cantilever (1), a drawstring (2), an elastic member (3), and a fixing block (4). The drawstring (2) is provided with a first end (21) threading through the end surface (11) of the cantilever, and a second end (22) fastened to the fixing block (4). The second end, the elastic member, and the fixing block is located in the cantilever. The elastic member is located between, and abutted respectively on the end face of the cantilever and the fixed block. The elastic member is a spring which surrounded the drawstring. The fixing block is an end face clip. The laborsaving mechanism also comprises a drawstring support (5), a diagonal rod fixing block (6), and a locking plated (7).The drawstring support is partly encircled by the first end, and is set on the diagonal rod fixing block, to which the first end is fastened. The diagonal rod fixing block is fastened to the pillar of the sunshade by the locking platen. The laborsaving mechanism has the advantages of simple structure, laborsaving unfolding, and never affecting the overall appearance.

Description

An Effortless Unfolding Structure of Sunshade Umbrella Field of Technology The present invention relates to the technical field of umbrellas, particularly to the technical 5 field of sunshade umbrellas, and more particularly to an effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella which facilitates to unfold the umbrella in a labor-saving way. Description of the Prior Art Nowadays, sunshade umbrellas can be seen everywhere. Some types of the sunshade 10 umbrellas have effortless unfolding structures, while similar existing products on the market are all provided with external gas springs to achieve the effortless unfolding of the umbrellas. The drawback of these products lies in the destroyed overall appearance, the high cost and being subjected to the limitation of gas springs. Moreover, the Chinese patent ZL 97249802.8 has disclosed an elastic pipe clip for umbrella rib, which could clamp onto the umbrella rib and hinge 15 with branching ribs, and on which springs mounted resists against the branching ribs. Thus while opening the umbrella with such elastic pipe clip, the branching ribs receive release force from spring and stretch out for unfolding the umbrella in a quick and effortless way. But the drawback of harm in the whole appearance also exists in this structure. Thus, in order to solve the abovementioned problems and drawbacks, an effortless 20 unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas needs to be provided. It is effortless to unfold the umbrella and the whole appearance will not be affected. Summary of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide an effortless unfolding structure of 25 sunshade umbrella for overcoming above drawbacks in prior art. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella is ingeniously designed, concise in structure and can facilitate to open umbrella in a labor saving way. Also, the whole appearance will not be affected and it is appropriate to be promoted and applied on a large scale. In order to achieve the abovementioned object, the present invention provides an effortless 30 unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella comprising a cantilever, a pulling rope, an elastic component and a fixing block, wherein pulling rope comprises a first end part and a second end part. Said second end part, said elastic component and said fixing block are all arranged inside said cantilever. Said first end part passes through the end face of said cantilever and said second end part is fixed to said fixing block. Said elastic component is arranged between the end face of An effortless unfolding mechanism of sunshade umbrellas Page 1 of 9 said cantilever and said fixing block with its two ends resisting against the end face of said cantilever and said fixing block respectively. Preferably, said elastic component is a spring and said spring sleeves outside said pulling rope. 5 Preferably, said fixing block is an end face snap-fit piece. More preferably, said pulling rope is a steel wire rope, and said end face snap-fit piece is applied for the steel wire rope. Preferably, the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas also comprises a bearing component for the pulling rope, and said first end part winds part of said bearing component for 10 the pulling rope. More preferably, said bearing component for the pulling rope is a bearing block with a groove, and said first end part winds part of said groove. More preferably, the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas also comprises a fixing block for the oblique rods. Said bearing component for the pulling rope is mounted on the 15 fixing block for the oblique rods, and said first end part is fixed on said fixing block for the oblique rods. Further, said bearing component for the pulling rope and said fixing block for the oblique rods are integrally formed. Further, the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas also comprises a locking 20 plate. Said fixing block for the oblique rods is fixed on the post of the sunshade umbrella by means of said locking block. The advantages of the present invention lie in: the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas of the present invention comprises a cantilever, a pulling rope, an elastic component and a fixing block; said pulling rope comprises a first end part and a second end part; said second 25 end part, said elastic component and said fixing block are all arranged inside said cantilever; said first end part threads through the end face of said cantilever and said second end part is fixed to said fixing block; said elastic component is arranged between the end face of said cantilever and said fixing block with its two ends resisting against the end face of said cantilever and said fixing block respectively; during the installation, The cantilever is mounted between the two oblique 30 rods which support the umbrella frame; the first end part of the pulling rope is mounted on the post of the sunshade umbrella, and thus making use of the relative movement of the oblique rods relative to the post; the pulling rope pulls the fixing block to compress the elastic component for storing energy to unfold the umbrella. It is ingeniously designed, concise in structure and can facilitate to open umbrella in a labor saving way; also the whole appearance will not be affected An effortless unfolding mechanism of sunshade umbrellas Page 2 of 9 and it is appropriate to be promoted and applied on a large scale. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view showing the assembly of connection between 5 the post and the oblique rod in one embodiment of the present invention. Fig.2 is the partial cross sectional view showing connection between the post and the oblique rod in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig.3 is another partial cross sectional view showing connection between the post and the oblique rod in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1. 10 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment In order to understand the technical content of the present invention more clearly, the following embodiments is exemplified to be described in details. It should be understood that the embodiment should be considered as illustrative rather than restrictive. 15 Please refer to Fig. 1 to Fig.3, the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella of the present invention comprises a cantilever 1, a pulling rope 2, an elastic component 3 and a fixing block 4. Said pulling rope 2 comprises a first end part 21 and a second end part 22. The said second end part 22, the said elastic component 3 and the said fixing block 4 are all arranged inside the said cantilever 1. The said first end part 21 threads the end face 11 of the said 20 cantilever 1. The second end part 22 is fixed to the said fixing block 4. Said elastic component 3 is mounted between the end face 1lof the said cantilever 1 with its two ends resisting against the end face 11 of the cantilever 1 and the said fixing block 4 respectively. The elastic component 3 can be any appropriate component. Please refer to Fig. 1 to Fig.3, in the embodiment of the present invention, the elastic component 3 is a spring and the said 25 spring sleeves outside said pulling rope 2. Said fixing block 4 can be any appropriate component. Preferably, the said fixing block 4 is an end face snap-fit piece. Please refer to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, in the embodiment of the present invention, said pulling rope 2 is a steel wire rope and said end face snap-fit piece is an end face snap-fit piece for a steel wire rope. The steel wire rope is snapped in the end face snap-fit piece. 30 In order to facilitate the pulling rope 2 to displace relative to the cantilever 1, preferably, said effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella also comprises a bearing component 5 for the pulling rope. The said first end part 21 winds part of the said bearing component 5. Said bearing component 5 can be of any appropriate structure. Please refer to Fig. 1 to Fig.3, in the embodiment of the present invention, said bearing component for the pulling rope 5 is a bearing An effortless unfolding mechanism of sunshade umbrellas Page 3 of 9 block with a groove, and the first end part 21 winds part of said groove. The oblique rod 10 of the sunshade umbrella can be fixed to the post 20 by any appropriate ways. Preferably, the said effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella also comprises a fixing block 6 for the oblique rods. Said bearing component 5 for the pulling rope is mounted on 5 the said fixing block 6 for the oblique rod. Said first end pat 21 is fixed on the said fixing block 6 for the oblique rods. The oblique rods 10 are pivotally connected with the fixing block 6 and the fixing block 6 is fixed on the post 20. Said bearing component 5 for the pulling rope can be mounted on said fixing block 6 for the oblique rod; or otherwise, said bearing component 5 for the pulling rope and said fixing block 6 10 for the oblique rods can be formed integrally. Please refer to Fig. 1 to Fig.3, in the embodiment of the present model utility, the bearing block 5 with the groove and said fixing block 6 for the oblique rods are formed integrally. That is to say, the groove is actually a protruded groove of the fixing block 6 for the oblique rods and preferably has a gradual changing diameter. Said fixing block 6 for the oblique rods can be fixed to the post 20 of the sunshade umbrella 15 in any appropriate structures. Please refer to the Fig. 1 to Fig.3, in the embodiment of the present invention, said effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas also comprises a locking plate 7. Said fixing block 6 for the oblique rods is fixed to the post 20 of the sunshade umbrella by means of the said locking plate 7. The oblique rods 10 are pivotally connected with the fixing block 6 for the oblique rods by means of a connecting head 30. 20 Refer to Fig. 1, during the installation the cantilever is mounted between the two oblique rods 10 which support the umbrella fame. The first end part 21 of the pulling rope 2 winds the groove and is mounted on the fixing block 6 for the oblique rod. The fixing block 6 for the oblique rod is fixed to the post 20 of the sunshade umbrella by means of the said locking plate 7, for example locking screw. 25 Refer to Fig.2, it is an unfolding status of the umbrella. The spring inside the cantilever 1 is in its initial status which can be considered that there is no compressive force. Refer to Fig.3, it is an folding status of the umbrella. Since the length of the wire steel rope won't change, and as the oblique rods 10 rotate downwards and inwards relative to the post 20, the more of the wire steel rope will wind the groove. For example, the steel wire rope in Fig.3 wind almost a quarter of the 30 groove, and thus the difference in size is produced. The steel wire rope makes the end face snap-fit piece compress the spring to produce a reactive force against the folding action. However, the rebound force of the spring is less than the force that is needed to unfold the umbrella, so that the umbrella can be folded successfully. In reverse, when the umbrella is unfolded, this rebound force will facilitate to unfold the umbrella effortlessly. The specific An effortless unfolding mechanism of sunshade umbrellas Page 4 of 9 process is that the spring elongates to make the end face snap-fit piece for the steel wire rope acting on the cantilever internally, which makes the oblique rods unfolded. To sum up, the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella is ingeniously designed, concise in structure, and can facilitate to open umbrella in a labor saving way. The overall 5 appearance will not be damaged. It is suitable to be promoted and applied on a large scale. In this specification, the present invention has been described with reference to its specific embodiments. However, it is obvious still that modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the specification and the drawings should be considered as illustrative rather than restrictive. An effortless unfolding mechanism of sunshade umbrellas Page 5 of 9

Claims

1. An effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella, comprising a cantilever, a pulling rope, an elastic component and a fixing block; wherein, said pulling rope comprises a first end 5 part and a second end part; said second end part, said elastic component and said fixing block all arranged inside said cantilever; said first end part threads the end face of said cantilever; said second end part is fixed to said fixing block; said elastic component is arranged between the end face of said cantilever and said fixing block with its two ends resisting against the end face of said cantilever and said fixing block respectively. 10

2. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said elastic component is a spring and said spring sleeves outside said pulling rope.

3. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas according to claim 1, wherein said fixing block is an end face snap-fit piece.

4. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrellas according to claim 3, wherein 15 said pulling rope is a steel wire rope, and said end face snap-fit piece is applied for the steel wire rope.

5. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella according to claim 1, wherein the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella also comprises a bearing component for the pulling rope, and said first end part winds part of said bearing component for the pulling rope. 20

6. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella according to claim 5, wherein said bearing component for the pulling rope is a bearing block with a groove, and said first end part winds part of said groove.

7. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella according to claim 5, wherein the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella also comprises a fixing block for the oblique 25 rods; said bearing component for the pulling rope is mounted on the fixing block for the oblique rods, and said first end part is fixed on said fixing block for the oblique rods.

8. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella according to claim 7, said bearing component for the pulling rope and said fixing block for the oblique rods are integrally formed. 30

9. The effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella according to claim 7, wherein the effortless unfolding structure of sunshade umbrella also comprises a locking plate, and said fixing block for the oblique rods is fixed on the post of the sunshade umbrella by means of said locking plate. An effortless unfolding mechanism of sunshade umbrellas Page 6 of 9