GB2346555A

GB2346555A - Waterproof container for an umbrella

Info

Publication number: GB2346555A
Application number: GB9903395A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Greg Louis Guye; Nicholas Adrian Moyes; Terrence Mark Loh
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-02-15
Filing date: 1999-02-15
Publication date: 2000-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2019-02-15
Also published as: AU2559100A; GB2346555B; GB9903395D0; WO2000047076A1

Abstract

An umbrella with a telescopic shaft 15 and a canopy 17 is provided on the shaft with a waterproof container 3 for the collapsed umbrella. The container may be of rigid moulded plastics (eg translucent ABS) and may slide along the shaft to a position under the opened canopy (Fig 4). A lid 7 seals the top of the container when the umbrella is collapsed inside it. The base of the container may fit into the handle 13 (Fig 6). The container may be integral with the handle or be provided as a separate item for fitting to an existing umbrella.

Description

An Umbrella and Container for an Umbrella The present invention relates to the field of umbrellas. Most specifically, the present invention relates to the field of containers for umbrellas.

Conventional umbrellas are supplied both with and without covers. During use, the umbrella becomes wet, this is inconvenient for the user as he has to carry around the soaking wet object for the rest of the day. Also, a wet umbrella can be a safety hazard as the umbrella may drip over floors and surfaces causing them to become slippery.

Umbrellas have previously been provided with completely removable covers.

However, these covers are generally only intended to keep the canopy of the umbrella neat so that it can be easily stored away. These covers do not provide any serious waterproofing to the umbrella and hence the user still has to carry around a wet object all day.

The present invention addresses the above problems and, in a first aspect provides an umbrella having a shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, said umbrella further comprising a container for the canopy, wherein said container is substantially waterproof and is capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when said canopy is closed, the container being substantially shielded by the canopy when the canopy is open, wherein the container remains attached to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy.

Hence, the umbrella container stays dry when the canopy is open as it is shielded by the canopy. When the wet canopy is enclosed or sealed in the substantially waterproof container, the canopy cannot drip. Hence, the user can confidently store the umbrella in a bag or case etc., without the risk of getting the contents of the bag or the case wet.

The umbrella in question can either be of the so-called folding variety where the shaft of the umbrella is extendible (preferably telescopic) or the non-folding variety.

As folding umbrellas are more commonly used today, the invention will be described specifically with reference to a folding umbrella. However, it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the principles of the waterproof container are also applicable to non-folding umbrellas.

Preferably, the container is attached around the shaft of the umbrella. More preferably, the container has an aperture for receiving the shaft of the umbrella, the shaft of the umbrella being slidable through the aperture of the container.

For folding umbrellas, it is preferable if the canopy of the umbrella is removed from the container by moving the container and the canopy apart along the shaft of the umbrella.

Folding umbrellas preferably have a telescopic shaft. To open a folding umbrella, the shaft needs to be extended. According to a preferred arrangement of the present invention, the canopy is removed from the container by moving the canopy and the container apart along the direction of the shaft.

In one arrangement, the shaft is extendible when the container encloses the canopy. To fully open the umbrella, the container is then slid down the shaft away from the canopy and the canopy is opened. The container is then preferably slid along the shaft towards the canopy and fixed in position under the canopy.

In an alternative arrangement, the container is moved away from the canopy as the shaft is extended. When the shaft is fully extended, the container is at the opposite end of the shaft to the canopy. The canopy is then opened and the container is preferably moved up the shaft towards the canopy and fixed in position under the canopy. The container preferably has catch means to fix it at the handle end of the shaft or the canopy end of the shaft. More preferably, two catches are provided, one for fixing the container at the handle end of the shaft and one for fixing the container under the canopy.

In both of the above arrangements, the container is moved up the shaft and fixed directly under the open canopy. This is because optimum shielding of the container is achieved when the container is located directly below the canopy. However, it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the canopy still shields the container, when the container is located at the opposing end of the shaft to the canopy.

Preferably, the shaft is provided with a handle on the opposing end of the shaft to the canopy. In a further preferred arrangement, the handle may be integral with the container.

Preferably, the container has a container body and a lid which is opened to allow the canopy to emerge from the container. The lid is preferably permanently attached to the container body to stop it becoming lost. Preferably, sealing means are provided either on one of or both of the lid and container body such that a water tight seal can be formed between the lid and the container body. Such a seal may be formed by a lip on the container body and a co-operating lip on the lid.

The present invention has been discussed in the context of an umbrella which is of the manual variety, where, for example, the canopy has a sliding member which fits around and is slidable along the shaft. Opening of the canopy is manually effected by pushing the sliding member along the shaft way from the handle.

The present invention can also be used with automatic umbrellas where the canopy is openable by an automatic deployment mechanism operable by the user. Such a mechanism is usually operated by means of a button or lever on the handle of the umbrella.

Preferably, an automatic deployment mechanism can be used to remove the canopy from the container as well as opening the canopy itself. The mechanism could be operated by a button or lever on the handle or even on the container itself.

Preferably, the container is rigid to allow easy insertion of the canopy into the container. More preferably, the container tapers in shape towards the base of the container, to further aid easy insertion of the canopy into the container.

If the container is provided with a container body and cap or a lid, the provision of a rigid container allows a good seal to be made between the body and the cap or lid.

The container is preferably made from plastics material and is more preferably a moulded container. The container may be made from any waterproof material be it woven or non-woven.

More preferably, the container is substantially transparent so that it does not block the view of the user carrying the open umbrella.

It will be appreciated by a man skilled in the art that the container could be supplied to fit on to standard existing umbrellas. Therefore, in a second aspect, there is provided a container for an umbrella having a shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the container being waterproof and being capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when the canopy is closed, the container being shielded by the canopy when the canopy is open, the container being fixable to the umbrella such that it remains fixed to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the preferred nonlimiting embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 shows an umbrella and container in accordance with the present invention, with the canopy enclosed in the container; Figure 2 shows the umbrella of Figure 1 with the shaft of the umbrella extended ; Figure 3 shows the umbrella of Figures 1 and 2 with the canopy being opened; Figure 4 shows the umbrella of Figures 1 to 3 with the canopy open and the container fixed in place ; Figure 5 shows an umbrella with its canopy closed, located in the container of the present invention; Figure 6 shows a cross-section of an umbrella and container shown in Figure 5, with the cap of the container closed; Figure 7 shows the umbrella and container of Figure 6 with the cap of the container open ; Figure 8 shows the umbrella container (without umbrella canopy) and the umbrella handle; and Figure 9 shows a detail of the cap of the container for the umbrella.

Figure 1 shows an umbrella and container assembly 1. The umbrella container 3 has a body 5 to which is hingeably connected cap 7. Cap 7 can be opened by applying pressure to finger grip 9 which causes cap 7 to move about hinge 11.

In this closed position, the umbrella canopy is housed within the container 3.

The base of the container 3 is received in umbrella handle 13. The interaction between the base of the container 3 and the umbrella handle 13 will be described in greater detail with reference to Figure 6. The umbrella canopy (not shown) is enclosed within container 3.

The first stage of opening the umbrella is shown in Figure 2. In this figure, the telescopic shaft 15 of the umbrella is extended by pulling handle 13 away from the container 3. The cap 7 of the container 3 is then opened by applying pressure to finger grip 9 to expose the top of the umbrella canopy 17.

The container body 5 has a base 19 which is visible when the shaft 15 and handle 13 are extended away from the container 3. (In the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the base of the container 3 is located within umbrella handle 13.) To further open the umbrella, the canopy 17 is removed from the remainder of the container body 5 by moving container body 5 down the shaft 15 towards umbrella handle 13. The base 19 of the container 3 fits into handle 13.

The umbrella canopy 17 can then be opened in the standard way by pushing grip 21 of the canopy 17 along the shaft 15 away from the handle end of the shaft 13.

The final opening stage of the umbrella is shown in Figure 4. The umbrella canopy 17 is fully extended and the container 3 is moved up the shaft 15 towards the canopy 17 until the container 3 is located directly below the canopy 17. The container 3 is fixed in this position. The umbrella is now ready for use.

Due to the position of the container 3, the container 3 is shielded from the rain by the canopy 17 and thus stays dry throughout use of the umbrella.

To lower the umbrella, the reverse of the process described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 is performed. The container 3 is slid down the shaft 15 towards the handle 13 (as shown in Figure 3) to allow closure of the canopy 17.

Once the canopy 17 is closed, the container 3 is slid up the shaft 15 towards the canopy to partially enclose the canopy. The lid of the container 3 is then closed to seal the wet umbrella inside the waterproof container 3. The shaft 15 is then retracted into the container and the base of the container 19 is fitted into handle 13.

The above opening of the umbrella I has been described with reference to extending the shaft 15 of the umbrella and then sliding the container 3 along the shaft.

However, the umbrella may be opened by releasing cap 7 of the container 3 without first extending the shaft 15 and pulling the handle 13 with the container 3 away from the canopy 17 to release the canopy 17 from the container 3. It will be appreciated that in this configuration, the umbrella handle 13 could be integral with the container 3.

Figure 5 shows a further detail of the container 3 with the umbrella canopy 17 within the container 3. The cap 7 of the container 3 is open. The cap hingeably moves about hinge 11. This figure shows details of the cap 11 sealing to container body 5. In order to maintain a waterproof container, the cap 11 should form a waterproof seal with container 5. The cap 7 is preferably formed of rubber. The body 5 of container 3 is rigid and is provided with a lip 23 provided at the top of the container body, the rubber moulded cap 7 is capable of fitting over said lip 23 to form a watertight connection.

Figures 6 and 7 show a cross-section of the umbrella when enclosed in container 3. The cap 7 is in the closed position in Figure 6 and the open position in Figure 7. In Figures 6 and 7, the base 19 of container 3 is fitted into umbrella handle 13. Umbrella handle 13 abuts against container body 5 at notches 25 and 27. These notches provide a secondary watertight sealing action.

The base 19 of container 3 is provided with a central aperture 29 through which the umbrella shaft 15 is inserted. The aperture 29 allows the container 3 to be slid along the shaft 15. Also, the aperture 29 is provided with a catch action (not shown) which allows the container 3 to be fixed either within the handle of the umbrella 13 or directly underneath the canopy 17 as shown in Figure 4. Generally, two catches will be provided, one to fix the container 3 within the handle of umbrella 13 and the other to fix the container 3, directly under the canopy as shown in Figure 4.

The position of the container body 5 with respect to umbrella handle 13 is identical in Figures 5 and 6. The arrangement of the body of container 5 located in handle 13 allows the bottom of the container to be properly watertight.

In Figure 6, the cap 7 is in the closed position. The body 5 is provided with a sealing lip 23 with which the cap 7 engages. The inside 31 of lip 23 is curved so that when the canopy 17 is slid back into the container body 5, there is no sharp surface for the canopy 17 on which the canopy can be caught. Further, the underside 33 of lip 23 is also curved to aid release of the canopy 17 from the container body 5.

Figure 7 shows a detail of hinge 11. The rubber cap 7 is provided with a flap 35 and lug 37 which engages in a pocket 39 of the body 5 of container 3. The flap 35 is flexible to allow the hinge movement of the cap 7 about hinge 11.

Figure 8 shows further constructional details of the umbrella handle and the body 5 of container 3. The container is rigid and tapers towards the base 19 to allow easy insertion of the canopy (17 in Figures 6 and 7) to the container body 5. The container body is rigid and is substantially transparent so that it does not hinder the view of the user. In this specific example, the container body 5 is made from single reversible injection motion and made from translucent ABS.

Figure 9 shows details of the cap 7 of the container 3. The hinge flap 35 with lug 37 is shown to the left of the picture. On the opposing side of the cap 7, finger grip 9 is shown which is used to open container 3.

The cap has a lip 41 which is designed to cooperate with lip 23 of container body 5 to form a watertight seal between the cap 7 and the container body 5. The cap is formed by an injection moulding technique and the cap has a rubberised finish to allow easy grip of the cap with wet hands.

Claims

CLAIMS: I. An umbrella having a shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, said umbrella further comprising a container for the canopy, wherein said container is substantially waterproof and is capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when said canopy is closed, the container being substantially shielded by the canopy when the canopy is open, wherein the container remains attached to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy.
2. An umbrella according to claim 1, wherein said container is attached around the shaft of said umbrella.
3. An umbrella according to claim 2, wherein the container has an aperture for receiving the shaft of the umbrella, and the shaft of the umbrella is slidable through the aperture of the container.
4. An umbrella with container according to either of claims 2 or 3, wherein said umbrella is of the foldable type with an extendible shaft, the canopy being removable from the container by moving the container and the canopy apart along the shaft of the umbrella.
5. An umbrella according to claim 4, wherein when the canopy is open, the container is moveable along the shaft towards the open canopy and fixable at a predetermined position along the shaft.
6. An umbrella according to either of claims 4 or 5, wherein the top of the container is openable to allow removal of the canopy from the container, the top end of the container being defined as the end of the container closest to the canopy after the canopy has been removed from the container.
7. An umbrella according to claim 6, wherein the container has a body and a lid provided at the top end of the container, the lid being openable to allow release of the umbrella canopy.
8. An umbrella according to claim 7, wherein the lid and/or the container body are provided with sealing means to form a watertight seal between the lid and the container body
9. An umbrella according to any of claims 4 to 8, wherein the extendible shaft of the umbrella is extendible when the container encloses the canopy.
10. An umbrella according to any of claims 4 to 8, wherein the umbrella further comprises a handle at an opposing end of the shaft to the canopy and said container remains at the handle end of the shaft during the removal of the canopy from the container.
11. An umbrella according to claim 10 when not dependent on claim 5, wherein said container is integral with the handle of said umbrella.
12. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the canopy is openable by an automatic deployment mechanism operable by the user of the umbrella.
13. An umbrella according to claim 12, wherein the automatic deployment mechanism causes the canopy to be released from the container.
14. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is substantially rigid.
15. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is substantially transparent.
16. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is a moulded container.
17. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises plastics material.
18. A container for an umbrella having a shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the container being waterproof and being capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when the canopy is closed, the container being shielded by the canopy when the canopy is open, the container being fixable to the umbrella such that it remains fixed to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy.
19. An umbrella and container as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.
20. A container for an umbrella as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.