US20030070699A1

US20030070699A1 - Umbrella with wooden ribs

Info

Publication number: US20030070699A1
Application number: US10/038,598
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-10-11
Filing date: 2002-01-02
Publication date: 2003-04-17
Also published as: GB2380669A; GB0124430D0

Abstract

An umbrella includes a plurality of wooden ribs for supporting a canopy. Each rib has a groove for insertion of a first portion of a corresponding tightening member. A sleeve member is sleeved on each rib and is formed with a through hole registered with the groove. The tightening member further includes a second portion with a shaft which passes through the through holes in the canopy and the sleeve member and which is formed with an externally threaded surface that engages threadedly an internally threaded surface of the first portion to secure the canopy and the sleeve member on the respective rib.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an umbrella, more particularly to an umbrella with a plurality of wooden ribs which are connected securely with a canopy and a plurality of sleeve members by means of threaded tightening members.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional large umbrella, such as a garden umbrella, is shown to include a wooden

elongate stem

10, a canopy 12 which is mounted on a top end of the stem 10, a plurality of wooden ribs 101 which are disposed on the top end of the stem 10 at an underside of the canopy 12, and a plurality of sleeves 13 which are secured on a periphery of the canopy 12 and which are sleeved on ends of the ribs 101 respectively so as to secure the canopy 12 to the ribs 101.

Another conventional way of securing a

canopy

22 to ribs 21 of an umbrella is shown in FIG. 2. A plate member 20 includes a connecting portion 203 which is mounted on each rib 21, and an abutting portion 204 which abuts against an endwall 212 of the rib 21. A screw fastener 202 passes through

holes

201, 221 in the connecting portion 203 and the canopy 22, and engages threadedly a screw hole 211 in the rib 21 to secure the plate member 20 and the canopy 22 to the rib 21. In addition, the abutting portion 204 is secured to the end wall 212 by means of a screw fastener 205. In this way, since the screw hole 211 is formed directly in the wooden rib 21, it may weaken the structural strength of the rib 21 and the threads therein are easily susceptible to wearing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an umbrella which can overcome the aforementioned problem of the prior art.

According to this invention, the umbrella includes a wooden elongate stem extending along an axis, and having an upper end provided with a ferrule. A canopy includes an annular central portion which is mounted on the ferrule, and a surrounding portion which surrounds the central portion and which has a plurality of first through holes displaced angularly from one another. A plurality of ribs are made of wooden material, and are disposed on the ferrule at an underside of the canopy. The ribs are displaced angularly from one another about the axis. Each rib includes a proximate end portion which is pivotally mounted on the ferrule, and a distal end portion which extends from the proximate end portion in a first direction radial to the axis. The distal end portion has an inner rib surface which abuts against the canopy, an outer rib surface opposite to the inner rib surface, and an annular inner peripheral wall which extends from the outer rib surface through the inner rib surface and which defines a groove that is registered with a respective one of the first through holes in a second direction transverse to the first direction. A plurality of sleeve members have inner peripheral wall surfaces confining accommodating chambers for sleeving on the distal end portions of the ribs, respectively. Each rib has an outer surrounding wall surface surrounding the inner peripheral wall surface. The outer surrounding wall surface includes an upper portion which defines a second through hole that extends through the inner peripheral wall surface to communicate with the accommodating chamber and that is arranged at such a position so as to register with and be disposed between the respective first through hole and the groove in the second direction when the respective sleeve member is sleeved on the distal end portion. A plurality of tightening members are made of a material different from that of the ribs. Each tightening member includes a first portion with a shank which is retained in the groove of the respective rib and which is formed with an internally threaded surface extending along the groove, and a second portion having a shaft formed with an externally threaded surface which passes through a pair of the first and second through holes, and which engages threadedly the internally threaded surface of the first portion so as to secure the canopy and the upper portion of the respective sleeve member to the distal end portion of the respective rib.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0008]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional garden umbrella; [0009]
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of another conventional umbrella; [0010]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of an umbrella according to this invention; [0011]
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the first preferred embodiment; and [0012]
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of a second preferred embodiment of this invention.[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote like elements throughout the specification. [0014]
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment of the umbrella according to the present invention is shown to comprise a wooden [0015] elongate stem 36 which extends along an axis and which has an upper end provided with a ferrule 31. A canopy 34 includes an annular central portion which is mounted on the ferrule 31, and a surrounding portion which surrounds the central portion and which has a plurality of first through holes 341 that are displaced angularly from one another. A plurality of ribs 33 are made of wooden material, and are disposed on the ferrule 31 at an underside of the canopy 34 to support the latter. The ribs 33 are displaced angularly from one another about the axis. Each rib 33 includes a proximate end portion 331 which is pivotally mounted on the ferrule 31, and a distal end portion 332 which extends from the proximate end portion 331 in a first direction radial to the axis of the stem 36. The distal end portion 332 has an inner rib surface 3321 which abuts against the canopy 34, an outer rib surface 3322 which is disposed opposite to the inner rib surface 3321, and an annular inner peripheral wall which extends from the outer rib surface 3322 through the inner rib surface 3321 and which defines a groove 331 that is registered with a respective one of the first through holes 341 in the canopy 34 in a second direction transverse to the first direction. Preferably, the groove 331 is in the form of a counterbore.
A plurality of [0016] sleeve members 30 are disposed on the distal end portions 332 of the ribs 33, respectively. Each sleeve member 30 has an open end 304 and a closed end 301 opposite to each other in the first direction, an inner peripheral wall surface 306 which confines an accommodating chamber 303 for insertion of the distal end portion 332 of the respective rib 33 from the open end 304 in the first direction, and an outer surrounding wall surface 302 which surrounds the inner peripheral wall surface 306. The outer surrounding wall surface 302 includes an upper portion 307 which defines a second through hole 305 that extends through the inner peripheral wall surface 306 to communicate with the accommodating chamber 303 and that is arranged at such a position so as to register with and be disposed between the respective first through hole 341 and the groove 331 in the second direction when the sleeve member 30 is sleeved on the distal end portion 332 of the respective rib 33.
A plurality of tightening members are made of a material different from that of the [0017] ribs 33. Each tightening member includes first and second portions 31, 32 which are in the form of a tubular insert 31 and a screw fastener 32, respectively. The tubular insert 31 is inserted into the groove 331, and includes an enlarged head 312 and a shank 311 formed with an internally threaded surface 313 which extends along the groove 331. The screw fastener 32 includes an enlarged head 322 and a shaft 323 formed with an externally threaded surface 321. In assembly, when the sleeve member 30 is sleeved on the distal end portion 332 of the respective rib 33 to retain the tubular insert 31 in the groove 331, the screw fastener 32 passes through a respective pair of the first through hole 341 and the second through hole 305, and then engages threadedly the internally threaded surface 313 of the tubular insert 31 so as to secure the canopy 34 and the upper portion 307 of the sleeve member 30 to the distal end portion 332 of the respective rib 33.
As illustrated, since each tightening member is divided into first and [0018] second portions 31, 32 which are made of a material different from that of the ribs 33, wearing of the thread surfaces 313, 321 can be avoided during assembly of the umbrella.
Referring to FIG. 5, the second preferred embodiment of the umbrella of this invention is shown to have a construction similar to that of the first preferred embodiment. However, in this embodiment, each [0019] sleeve member 40 is made from a flexible material. The upper portion 41 of the sleeve member 40 is formed with a slit 42 which is communicated with the accommodating chamber 403 and which extends to surround the second through hole 413 to form a clip 412 on the upper portion 41. As such, the canopy 34 can be inserted into the slit 42 to be held between the clip 412 and the distal end portion 332 of the respective rib 33. Further, each screw fastener 32 passes through the second through hole 413 and the first through hole 341, and engages threadedly the tubular insert 31 retained in the groove 331 of the distal end portion 332 so as to clamp securely the canopy 34 between the clip 412 and the respective rib 33.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements. [0020]

Claims

I claim:

1. An umbrella comprising:

a wooden elongate stem extending along an axis, and having an upper end provided with a ferrule;

a canopy including an annular central portion mounted on said ferrule, and a surrounding portion surrounding said central portion and having a plurality of first through holes which are displaced angularly from one another;

a plurality of ribs made of wooden material, and disposed on said ferrule at an underside of said canopy, said ribs being displaced angularly from one another about the axis, each of said ribs including a proximate end portion pivotally mounted on said ferrule, and a distal end portion extending from said proximate end portion in a first direction radial to the axis, said distal end portion having an inner rib surface abutting against said canopy, an outer rib surface disposed opposite to said inner rib surface, and an annular inner peripheral wall extending from said outer rib surface through said inner rib surface and defining a groove which is registered with a respective one of said first through holes in said canopy in a second direction transverse to the first direction;

a plurality of sleeve members, each having an inner peripheral wall surface which confines an accommodating chamber of such a dimension for mating with said distal end portion of a respective one of said ribs and for sleeving on said distal end portion in the first direction, and an outer surrounding wall surface surrounding said inner peripheral wall surface, said outer surrounding wall surface including an upper portion which defines a second through hole that extends through said inner peripheral wall surface to communicate with said accommodating chamber and that is arranged at such a position so as to register with and be disposed between the respective one of said first through holes and said groove in the second direction when the respective one of said sleeve members is sleeved on said distal end portion; and

a plurality of tightening members made of a material different from that of said ribs, each of said tightening members including

a first portion having a shank retained in said groove of a respective one of said ribs, and having an internally threaded surface extending along said groove, and

a second portion having a shaft formed with an externally threaded surface which passes through a respective pair of said first through holes and said second through holes, and which engages threadedly said internally threaded surface of said first portion so as to secure said surrounding portion of said canopy and said upper portion of said outer surrounding wall surface of the respective one of said sleeve members to said distal end portion of the respective one of said ribs.

2. The umbrella of claim 1, wherein said second portion of each of said tightening members is a screw fastener.

3. The umbrella of claim 1, wherein each of said sleeve members is made from a flexible material, and said upper portion of each of said sleeve members is formed with a slit which is communicated with said accommodating chamber and which extends to surround said second through hole to form a clip on said upper portion such that said surrounding portion of said canopy is insertable into said slit so as to be held between said clip and said distal end portion of the respective one of said ribs.