US1297471A - Umbrella. - Google Patents

Description

F. W. HOWARD.

UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION` FILED MAY 4, I9I5,

Patented Mar. 1S, 199.

2 SHEETSSHEET l- F. W. HOWARD.

UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. I9I5.

1,297,47I. PaIenIed Mar. 18,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 porting a plurality of umbrella ribs 25. These umbrellaribs 25 are referabl lformedx of round steel or wire o small d1 ameter, for instance, they may be of agi# proximately one-sixteenth of an inch in amstel', with thin flat ,ends 26; and near -their middle points these lribs are bent upon themselves so as to form eyes 27 which are useful in' completingl the umbrella for Vsecuring the stretchers v28 to the ribs (see Fig. 10). The umbrella may have as many of these ribs as desired.' In thepresent in-A stance, I have illustrated the umbrella as being formed ofv six ribs (see 3).

4The center of 4the stand l20 -whiolf is to support the ribs in the4 manner indicated 4is preferably provided with a central opening 29 formed in a central block or rest 30.

I produce a sleeve 31 which is'to be the crown sleeve of the'umbrella. This sleeve is of simple cylindrical formexcept that at, its upper end, as seen in Fig. 2, the material' is swaged outwardly to form a mouth, lip or enlargement 32. The ribs 25 toward the flat ends 26 are given a permanent bend as indicated at 33 in Fig. 2. vBy means of the l hooks 24 the ribs are .all supported so that the lat faces of these llat ends 26 lie against the inner face of the wall of the sleeve 31.l

Withv the sleeve 31 and ribs 25 all supported.

in the relative position indicated, I force down through the sleeve 31 the crown-end of the umbrella stick 34 from a position above the sleeve as indicated by the dotted lin-s 34a in Fig. 2, and as further indicatedby the arrow adjacent to the dotted-outline. This stick 34 is preferably of wood or similar inexpensive and comprcssible material and is of suiiciently large diameter to fit tightly in the opening 35 (see Figi 3). Considerable force is therefore necessary to force the stick through the opening 35 in the manner suggestcd, and this has the effect of crushing the face of the stick by the fiat ends 26 ofv the ribs. I-n this way the ribs tend to form flat faces on the stick and may plow or impress shallow grooves or channels 36 for themselves which extend longitudinally from the .tipof the stick inwardly (see Figs. 1 and4). When the stick has been applied in this way, the sleeve and ribs-will remain inplace. The crushing of the face of the stick lat least lattens the face of the stick adjacent the ribs and this tends to prevent the sleeve vand ribs from rotating. Under ordinary circumstances, this method o"f fasten` ing just described will be suilicient..

If it isdesired to make the crown of the umbrella doubly secure, I prefer to accomplish this by formingsmall notches or recesses such as .the recess 37 in the outer faces of the fiat ends 26 of the ribs in such a way that when the ribs are arranged as in Fig. Q, the'recesseswill' come against the inner yface ofthe Sleeve. Then after the stick is fastenedv in the manner described above, the

material of the sleeve is offset` inwardly i. a circumferential line opposite the notcheM vby means of a chisel-pointed tool 38 "indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 6. This tool 38, by offsetting the sleeve inwardly, causes an interlocking engagement between the sleeve and ribs which evidently will prevent the sleeve from moving longitudinally with relation tothe ribs.

'After the stick has been shoved home 1n the sleeve, thevnatural resiliency or elasticity of the stick beyond the point 39 (Fig. 6) at the upper end of the sleeve, tends .to restore the end of the stick to its normaldiameter and shape, and'this tendency is also aug` mented .when the exposed 'portion of the um- I brella becomes wet when the umbrella is used in the rain. This tendency of the stick 4to Yroll-the umbrella in a tight roll such'asvis commonly done with ordinary umbrellas. I believe Iam the first to, produce a pa ercovered umbrella which is capable of b ing rolled neatly and tightly like an ordinary cloth covered umbrella without injury to the paper. I am aware that parasolshave been constructed of'paper but such parasols when folded have been bul and have produced a roll of much larger iameter than that of an ordinary cloth covered'umbrella. 4In such parasols, though the paper may becreased,-

it is not creased and rolled about the stick.

I prefer to give the water-proofpaper a treatment such as will render it capable of withstanding the strains due .to creasing and tightly rolling the paper about-the stick. This is preferably effected by moistening the paper. It is a paradoxical fact that although thepaper is water-proof, itis affected by moisture to a certain extent, the effect of the moisture being to render the paper more pliable and to reduce its tendency to crack when creased or roughly handled. This softening treatment if desired may 4be ac complished by piling the sheets -or blanks 40 from which the cover is to be formed in a horizontal pack 41, with moistened sheets 42 of absorbent material such as between the sheets of paper.

for iexample several hours, the paper sheets become very pliable and can be'workcd vup ,1n very'much the same manneras cloth. 'if

cloth disposed l c If vsuch apack' 1s permltted to stand for aconlsiderable time',V

In forming the cover, I prefer to cut from the blanks or sheets 40 a plurality of cover sections 43 preferably of 'substantially the shape indicated in Fig. 9, that is, of substantially triangular shape except that the long sides of the triangle are in the form of gradual ogee 'curves consisting of a long convex" curve 44, extending from the base line 45 of the section, and a smaller concave curve 46 near 'the crown end -of the cover section. Six of these cover sections are then attached together along their edges 44, preferably by sewing or stitches 47 ap ulied through a deep overlaid edge' 48 (see Fig. l2). VIn this way a cover 43L is formed having a central crown-opening with van edge 49 (see Fig. 5). In addition to this, I prefer to place a plurality of eyelets 50 in the edges of the cover, and these eye-- lets correspond'in number and, position to the umbrella ribs. v

Il: order tov attach the umbrella cover to the crown sleeve, I' prefer to turn the um* brella cover wrong side out and then apply Athe central. opening of the cover to the crowr. sleeve in a reverse positionsuch as that di' 'ted in Fig. 5', that is, with the edge 49 A'of the umbrella cover lying adj-acens; to the enlarged end or lip 32 of the sleeve 31. I then attach this edge 49 preferably by tying the same with several turns of a vcord 51 applied aropnd the sleeve at this point, preferably in the manner indicated in Fig. 5. After tying the umbrella cover to the crown sleeve in this way, the cover is thenv turned right side out and then brought down into substantially the position indicated in Fig. 6. 'In tying the'urnbrella.cover to the sleeve, it is .preferable that the ed e 49 should project slightly beyond the e ge of the lip 32. Thi is done so as to prevent the stretched portion of the cover from coming into direct contact with the edge 32 which might tend to tear the paper. The edge of thel umbrella cover is then brought donn and applied to the ribs 25 near their cuter ends, and so that the eyelets 50 in the cover lie with their fiat sides against the sides of the ribs very near the extremities of the ribs (see Fig. 13)'. I then bendoutwardly the end 52 of each rib and force the extreme end of the rib into the eyelct 50 so 'that at the end of each rib an eye 53 is formed engaging the corresponding eyelet. Ir desired, uiding means such as loops 54 may be provided on the under side of the cover (see Fig. 10) which have sliding engagemcnt with the ribs.

After the cover has been applied, I may provide a cap sleeve or outer sleeve 55 of larger diameter than the sleeve 31 and this cap sleeve hasa reduced neck 56 which lits on the stick like a ferrule, and the lower portion of the-cap sleeve may be'expanded outwardly toform a bell mouth or apron 57 wbichextends over the ltied point the cover.,

0n the stick, of the umbrella, tliere ma be provided a runner 58 to which the stretc ers 28 of the mnbrella attach, the outer ends of the said stretchers being,- attached to the aforesaideyes 27 of the ri Y A If desired, the corners of the umbrella sections 43 may -be provided with reinforcements 60 preferably in the form of triangular shaped gussets of cloth or feature and other mechanical. eatures dis'- closed in this application are'covered in my (so-pending application Ser. No. 29,790filed Ma 22, 1915, entitled Umbrell-a. 'yhe handle end ofthe stick 34 is prefaper. ,This

erablg.T provided with a handle in the form ,i

of a knob l In forming the umbrella with a pa er cover according to my method, it is desira le to form creases such asthe creases 62 inFig. 8,. and disposed midway between the posins ef-the ribs. ylhese creases should be Lrxned while the paper is still. pliable, that is, while it is still under the eect of the' softening treatment to which we subject it.-

If the umbrella is rolled up tightly and the paper is still. under the influence of this treatment, the cover is capable of being rolled very tightly at a point such as the point 63 near the umbrella crown, without inJurmg the paper, and the rolled up cover" produces a very' neat and tight ta eri roll very similar in appearance to t at o `an ordinary umbrella.

While I prefer to soften the paper Aforming the cover also because this has the effect of making the paper soft like cloth and adapting the paper more readily to the operation of sewing, it is more important however that the softening should occur near the crown of the umbrella. Evidently, if

forming the cover could be dispensed with and the cover after being attached to the umbrella frame could. be moistened or wet lin Athe vicinity of the crown.

The completed umbrella may be opened like an ordinary umbrella because the flat parts of the ribs will flex readily to permit the ribs. to swing. out or in.

The umbrella may be held normally rolled-l up by means of a suitable tying cord '43h and button 43c and after having been rolled the cover tends to resume this position.

While I do not limit myself to any certain kind of water-proof paper,-I prefer to use an asphaltum paper or collodion paper` more sensitive' and is more quickly in# fluenced by the softening treatment. With collodion paperit is not` necessary to meisten Y it to any1 great extent, but it may suffice simply to work the Ipaper where the paper is exposed to a damp atmosphere. With v4desired, the softening of the paper before The asphalftum paper is preferably moistened by placing the sheets in a pack as described above.

i n If desired, the sheets of damp clothmay be omitted and a plurality vof the sheets ofl paper simply sprayed with water or rubbed with a damp cloth on dipped in water, and then placed in a pack.

The asphaltuin paper absorbs moisture very' slowly and it may take hours or days to get the paper to the propel' condition. This dependsl somewhat on atmospheric conditions. keepingV the palper stored and working` it in a moist atmosphere. I prefer to use a paper known as molding paper because it stretches Somewhat'r'nore than other papers. g

. Although these water-proof papers may take up moisture rapidly, the softening effeet seems to remain in the paper for a conp, siderable time.

' c l e `the invention set forth herem 1s only one f It is understood that the embodiment of of the many embodiments or forms the in-v `ven't'ion may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention nor in my claims to the particular embodiment set forth.

v What I claim is:

1. The method herein described of making an umbrella which consists in attaching ribs to the stick together with a crown sleeve 'having an enlarged end disposed toward the handle end of .the stick, making an umbrella cover with eyelets in its edges corresponding to the umbrella ribs and with a central crown opening, ltying the edge of vthe central opening to the sleeve adjacent the enlarged end thereof with the umbrella 'cover wrong side out, then turning the um- ,'45 l gg the eyelets at the edge of the cover` b rella cover right side out, and bending the ends of the ribs outwardly to form eyes en-v he method herein described of making an umbrella frame which consists in Supporting a tubular crown sleeve, support- .ing a plurality of ribs having flat ends so that the fiat ends of thev ribs extend longitudinall within the sleeve with the at l-sides* o the ribs lying againstthe inner The best results are attained byV supporting a tubular crown sleeve, supporting a plurality of ribs having flat ends so that the flat endsl of the ribs extend longitudinally within the sleeve with the flat sides of the ribs lying against the inner face of the wall ofv the sleeve, and forcing a tightly fitting stick through said crown sleeve to crush the face of the stick by said flattened portions and thereby secure said ribs to the stick, and then offsetting the sleeve to secure the same against longitudinal movement on the stick.

4. The'method herein described of making an umbrella frameV which consists in -supporting a tubular crown sleeve, supporting a plurality of ribshaving flat ends with recesses in the sides so that the flat ends of the ribs extend longitudinally within the' sleeve with the flat recessed sides of the ribs lying against the inner face of the wallfoff ing a plurality ofl ribs so that the ends ofV the ribs extend longitudinally within the sleeve and lie against the inner face of the wall of the sleeve, and forcing a tightly fitting stick through said crown sleeve to crush the face of the stick with the ends of said ribs and thereby secure said ribs to the stick. A,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto l set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

p FRANK W. HOWARD.

Witnesses: 1F. D. AMMEN,

A. DE Morir.

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