EP2777427A1

EP2777427A1 - Collapsible umbrella

Info

Publication number: EP2777427A1
Application number: EP13250028.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ping-Tung Su
Original assignee: Grant Barnett & Co Ltd
Current assignee: Grant Barnett & Co Ltd
Priority date: 2013-03-15
Filing date: 2013-03-15
Publication date: 2014-09-17

Abstract

The collapsible umbrella includes a shank (10), an arm assembly (20) and a telescoping mechanism (50). The shank (10) has an upper seat (11) and a lower seat (12). The arm assembly (20) has a plurality of arms for supporting a canopy (30) and connects with the upper seat (11) and the lower seat (12). The lower seat (12) is axially slidably disposed on the shank (10) so as to make the arm assembly (20) collapsible. The telescoping mechanism (50) is disposed between the upper seat (11) and a cap (40) and composed of a fixing rod (51) and an elastic member (52). The fixing rod (51) is formed with a connecting portion (511) fastened to the cap (40). The elastic member (52)has an extending length greater than a length of the fixing rod (51). The elastic member (52) is clamped between the fixing rod (51) and the upper seat (11), so that the telescoping mechanism (50) makes the cap (40) move upward and downward.

Description

Background of the Invention

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to umbrellas, particularly to collapsible umbrellas.

2. Related Art

An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. A collapsible (or collapsible) umbrella has sliding levers to be shrunk and is easy to be carried or stored.
A typical collapsible umbrella is shown in FIG. 1, the canopy slightly protrudes at the ferrule. As shown in FIG. 2, such a collapsible umbrella will cause the ferrule to be protrudent. This protrusion will extend the closed length of the umbrella and spoil the appearance of the umbrella.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the invention is to provide a collapsible umbrella, which can make a pretty quasi-conoid center when the umbrella is opened and make the ferrule not to be protrudent when the umbrella is retracted.
To accomplish the above object, the collapsible umbrella of the invention includes a shank, an arm assembly and a telescoping mechanism. The shank has an upper seat and a lower seat. The arm assembly has a plurality of arms for supporting a canopy and connects with the upper seat and the lower seat. The lower seat is axially slidably disposed on the shank so as to make the arm assembly collapsible. The telescoping mechanism is disposed between the upper seat and a cap and composed of a fixing rod and an elastic member. The fixing rod is formed with a connecting portion fastened to the cap. The elastic member has an extending length greater than a length of the fixing rod. The elastic member is clamped between the fixing rod and the upper seat, so that the telescoping mechanism makes the cap move upward and downward.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic views of a conventional collapsible umbrella;
FIG. 3A is a sectional plan of the invention;
FIG. 3B is a partially exploded view of the invention;
FIG. 3C is an enlarged view of circle A in FIG. 3A;
FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the invention in a retracted status; and
FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of circle B in FIG. 4A.

Detailed Description of the Invention

An embodiment is now described with reference to the figures, where like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the description. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that this can also be employed in a variety of other applications other than what is described herein.
Please refer to FIG. 3A, which shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. The collapsible umbrella 100 of the invention includes a shank 10, an arm assembly 20, a telescoping mechanism 50 and a canopy 30.
The shank 10 is provided with an upper seat 11 and a lower seat 12. The arm assembly 20 has a plurality of arms for supporting the canopy 30 and connects with the upper seat 11 and the lower seat 12. Thus the lower seat 12 can slide on the shank 10 to make the arm assembly 20 and the canopy 30 collapsible.
Please refer to FIG. 3B. The telescoping mechanism 50 is disposed between the upper seat 11 and a cap 40 and composed of a fixing rod 51 and an elastic member 52. The fixing rod 51 is formed with a connecting portion 511 fastened to the cap 40. And the canopy 30 is clamped between the cap 40 and the connecting portion 511. As a result, the center of the canopy 30 can be pulled up to form a protrudent top 70 like a sloped turret as shown in FIG. 3A.
The cap 40 and connecting portion 511 can be further formed with a first engagement portion 61 and a second engagement portion 62, respectively, so that the canopy 30 can be held more firmly.
Please refer to FIG. 3C. The elastic member 52 has an extending length greater than a length of the fixing rod 51. One end of the elastic member 52 is axially received in the fixing rod 51. Alternately, the elastic member 52 may be passed through by the fixing rod 51. The other end of the elastic member 52 is axially passed through by a bar 111 of the upper seat 11. Thus the elastic member 52 is clamped between the fixing rod 51 and the upper seat 11. In the shown embodiment, the elastic member 52 is a spring, but not limited to this.
The upper seat 11 is further formed with a sleeve 112 to receive the top of the shank 10. Moreover, the upper seat 11 is further formed with a plurality of connecting bases 113 for connecting the arm assembly 20 so that the telescoping mechanism 50 makes the cap 40 move upward and downward.
Please refer to FIGS. 4A and 4B. When the lower seat 12 is pulled down to retract the arm assembly 20, the canopy 30 will pull the cap 40 down and the elastic member 52 will be compressed. As a result, the top 70 can be shrunk without being protrudent from the arm assembly 20 and the closed length of the collapsible umbrella 100 can be shortened when the arm assembly 20 is retracted. When the arm assembly 20 is spread, the canopy 30 is also spread and is not pulled by the cap 40, and the elastic member 52 stretches to restore the conic shape of the top 70 as shown in FIG. 3A.

Claims

A collapsible umbrella (100) comprising:
a shank (10) having an upper seat (11) and a lower seat (12);

an arm assembly (20), having a plurality of arms for supporting a canopy (30), and connecting with the upper seat (11) and the lower seat (12), wherein the lower seat (12) is axially slidably disposed on the shank (10) so as to make the arm assembly (20) collapsible; and

a telescoping mechanism (50), disposed between the upper seat (11) and a cap (40), and comprising a fixing rod (51) and an elastic member (52), wherein the fixing rod (51) is formed with a connecting portion (511) fastened to the cap (40), the elastic member (52) has an extending length greater than a length of the fixing rod (51), and the elastic member (52) is clamped between the fixing rod (51) and the upper seat (11), so that the telescoping mechanism (50) makes the cap (40) move upward and downward.
The collapsible umbrella (100) of claim 1, wherein the cap (40) and the connecting portion (511) are further formed with a first engagement portion (61) and a second engagement portion (62), respectively.
The collapsible umbrella (100) of claim 1, wherein the upper seat (11) comprises a bar to connect an end of the elastic member (52).
The collapsible umbrella (100) of claim 1, wherein the upper seat (11) is formed with a sleeve (112) to receive the shank (10).
The collapsible umbrella (100) of claim 1, wherein the upper seat (11) is formed with a plurality of connecting bases (113) for connecting the arm assembly (20).
The collapsible umbrella (100) of claim 1, wherein the elastic member (52) is a spring.