US20130284220A1

US20130284220A1 - Flexible Omni-Umbrella

Info

Publication number: US20130284220A1
Application number: US13/865,158
Authority: US
Inventors: Li-Hsiang Liu; Min-Wei Lin
Original assignee: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology NTUST
Current assignee: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology NTUST
Priority date: 2012-04-25
Filing date: 2013-04-17
Publication date: 2013-10-31

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flexible omni-umbrella, comprising: a rod, a flexible wire and an umbrella fabric, wherein two ends of the rod are provided with a through hole portion and a fixing portion, respectively. In the present invention, one point of the flexible wire is fixed on the fixing portion and two terminal ends of the flexible wire are connected to each other after being slidably passed through the through hole portion, therefore the flexible wire is formed to a stereoscopic framework, so as to make the umbrella fabric covering the stereoscopic framework capable of shielding rain comprehensively.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an umbrella structure, and more particularly to a flexible omni-umbrella having the advantages of comprehensive shielding, hard to be damaged and easy to be furled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a stereo view of a conventional umbrella. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional umbrella includes: a handle grip 1′, a first base 2′, a second base 3′, a plurality of first umbrella ribs 4′, a plurality of second umbrella ribs 5′, a plurality of beads 6′, an umbrella fabric 7′, and a plurality of clamping members 8′. There are having two procedures for spreading the conventional umbrella: First, in procedure (1), the second base 3′ is pushed to move toward the top end of the handle grip 1′; Next, in procedure (2), the second umbrella ribs 5′ are spread by the push of the second base 3′, therefore the first umbrella ribs 4′ are simultaneously spread due to the interlink of the second umbrella ribs 5′, and then the umbrella is completely spread. On the contrary, the flexible omni-umbrella can be furled by reversely operating the above-mentioned procedures (1) and (2).
The above-mentioned conventional umbrella includes the drawbacks and shortcomings as follows:
1. Because the main umbrella framework of the conventional umbrella is constructed by the first umbrella ribs 4′ and the second umbrella ribs 5′, there are many joint structures used for connecting the first umbrella ribs 4′ and the second umbrella ribs 5′; and usually, the structure strength of such umbrella framework is weak. Thus, when the conventional umbrella is hit by a strong wind in a fully spread condition, the main umbrella framework of the umbrella may be damaged or form some sharp structures, and the user could be hurt by the damaged umbrella or those formed sharp structures.
2. The conventional umbrella can merely used for shielding one directional plane, so that, if the rain brought by wind strikes the user multi-directionally, the conventional umbrella cannot protect the user from being wetted by rain.
3. Although the conventional umbrella can be furled to a long strip formation, the long strip umbrella is space-occupied and hard to be carried.
In view of the conventional have many drawbacks; the umbrella designers propose a flexible omni-umbrella. Please refer to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there are shown stereo views of the flexible omni-umbrella, in which the flexible omni-umbrella is disclosed by an R.O.C. patent with application number of 101207729, and includes: a rod 1 a, a flexible wire 2 a and an umbrella fabric 3 a. The rod 1 a has a through hole portion 11 a and a fixing portion 12 a provided on the two end thereof. The flexible wire 2 a is fixed on the fixing portion 12 a by one point thereof. In addition, two terminal ends of the flexible wire 2 a are slidably passed through the through hole portion 11 a of the rod 1 a oppositely, and are further connected to each other by a bridge member 21 a after being bent, so as to form a stereoscopic framework. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2A, the stereoscopic framework consisting of one water-drop-shaped coil and an ellipse-shaped coil is constructed, wherein the water-drop-shaped coil and the ellipse-shaped coil are fixed by disposing two joining members (A′, B′) on two cross points thereof. Eventually, as shown in FIG. 3B, the umbrella fabric 3 a is covered the stereoscopic framework.
Although the flexible omni-umbrella of FIGS. 2A and 2B proposed by the R.O.C. patent of 101207729 is able to solve the some shortcomings occurred in the conventional umbrella liking FIG. 1 shows, the flexible omni-umbrella still has the following drawbacks:
(1) Although the umbrella fabric 3 a covering the stereoscopic framework formed by the flexible wire 2 a is capable of shielding rain comprehensively, there are some crevices produced on the surface of the umbrella fabric 3 a when the flexible omni-umbrella are fully spread, and the crevices allows the external rain getting into the inside of the umbrella, so as to wet the user.
(2) Since the rod 1 a cannot be rotated, the user must directly compress the stretchy segments 111 a of the rod 1 a in order to furl the umbrella.
Accordingly, in view of the conventional umbrella and the flexible omni-umbrella disclosed by the R.O.C. patent with application number of 101207729 still have shortcomings and drawbacks, the inventor of the present application has made great efforts to make inventive research thereon and eventually provided a flexible omni-umbrella.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first objective of the present invention is to provide a flexible omni-umbrella consisting of a rod, a flexible wire and an umbrella fabric, wherein the flexible wire is fixed on a rod and bent to form a stereoscopic framework, and the umbrella fabric is covered the umbrella fabric for shielding rain comprehensively.
The second objective of the present invention is to provide a flexible omni-umbrella, wherein the primary umbrella framework of the flexible omni-umbrella is constructed by a flattened steel wire and a rod, without any umbrella joints; so that, even if the flexible omni-umbrella are repeatedly spread and furled, the primary umbrella framework of the flexible omni-umbrella would not be damaged or form sharp structures, therefore it can sure that the user would not be hurt by the damaged umbrella or the formed sharp structures.
The third objective of the present invention is to provide a flexible omni-umbrella, wherein the primary umbrella framework of the flexible omni-umbrella is constructed by a flattened steel wire and a rod, and the rod and a through hole portion thereof are all rotatable, therefore the user can furl the flexible omni-umbrella by way of rotating the rod and the through hole portion; such umbrella-furling way is effort-saving and convenient.
Accordingly, to achieve the primary objective of the present invention, the inventor of the present invention provides a flexible omni-umbrella, comprising:

- a rod having a through hole portion and a fixing portion respectively provided on two ends of the rod;
- a flexible wire fixed on the fixing portion, wherein two terminal ends of the flexible wire are slidably passed through the through hole portion of the rod oppositely and connected to each other so as to form a water-drop-shaped portion and an ellipse-shaped portion, and the ellipse-shaped portion is bent to form two cross points with the water-drop-shaped portion, so as to form a stereoscopic framework; and
- an umbrella fabric, covering the stereoscopic framework formed by the flexible wire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as a preferred mode of use and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a stereo view of a conventional umbrella;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are stereo view of the flexible omni-umbrella disclosed by an R.O.C. patent with application number of 101207729;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are stereo views of a flexible omni-umbrella according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for introducing how an umbrella fabric covering a stereoscopic framework formed by a flexible wire;

FIG. 5 is schematic umbrella-furling motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella;

FIG. 6 is schematic umbrella-furling motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella;

FIG. 7 is schematic umbrella-furling motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella;

FIG. 8 is schematic umbrella-furling motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella;

FIG. 9 is a stereo view of the flexible omni-umbrella been completely furled;

FIGS. 10A-10C are schematic umbrella-spreading motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

To more clearly describe a flexible omni-umbrella according to the present invention, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings hereinafter.
Referring to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, there are shown stereo views of a flexible omni-umbrella according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the flexible omni-umbrella includes: a rod 1, a flexible wire 2 and an umbrella fabric 3, wherein the rod 1 is a telescopic rod having a plurality of stretching segments 112, and any two adjacent stretching segments 112 are connected by an engaging member, therefore all stretching segments 112 can be fixed after they are fully extendedly stretched.
In the present invention, the rod 1 includes a handle portion 121, a through hole portion 11 and a fixing portion 12, wherein the through hole portion 11 and the fixing portion 12 are provided on two ends of the rod 1, respectively. The through hole portion 11 is a steel ring, which can be rotated by taking the connected rod 1 end as axis. In the rod 1, particularly, the handle portion 121 not only provides a user for holding, but is used for receiving and accommodating the stretching segments 112. Moreover, the handle portion 121 can be additionally disposed with an engaging button for engaging the stretching segments which are received and accommodated in the handle portion 121. Besides, the fixing portion 12 is adjacent to the handle portion 121 and connected with an elastic loop 111.
The flexible wire 2 is a flattened steel wire with directionality and good toughness and fixed on the fixing portion 12 by one point thereof; Moreover, two terminal ends of the flexible wire 2 are slidably passed through the through hole portion 12 of the rod 1 oppositely and connected to each other by a bridge member 21, so as to form a water-drop-shaped portion and an ellipse-shaped portion. As shown in FIG. 3A, the ellipse-shaped portion is bent to form two cross points (A, B) with the water-drop-shaped portion, so as to form a stereoscopic framework. In which, the water-drop-shaped portion and the ellipse-shaped portion are fixed by respectively disposing two joining members 22 on two cross points (A, B) of the flexible wire 2. The joining member 22 can be a cotton thread, an elastic cord, a nylon cord, a ring, two engaged-sleeves, a four-way sleeve, and a heat shrink tube.
Continuously referring to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, and please simultaneously refer to FIG. 4, which illustrates a schematic diagram for introducing how the umbrella fabric covering the stereoscopic framework formed by the flexible wire. As shown in FIG. 4, the umbrella fabric 3 covering the stereoscopic framework particularly consists of a plurality of primary cover portions and a plurality of auxiliary cover portions, wherein a first primary cover portion D, a second primary cover portion F, a third primary cover portion G, and a fourth primary cover portion H of the plurality primary cover portions are seamed to each other. Besides, a first auxiliary cover portion E of the plurality of auxiliary cover portions is seamed with the first primary cover portion D, the third primary cover portion G and the fourth primary cover portion H; a second auxiliary primary cover portion I of the plurality of auxiliary cover portions is seamed with the first primary cover portion D, the second primary cover portion F and the fourth primary cover portion H; and a third auxiliary cover portion J of the plurality of auxiliary cover portion is seamed with the first primary cover portion D, the second primary cover portion F and the third primary cover portion G. Therefore, such particular design of the umbrella fabric makes that the flexible omni-umbrella of the present invention can shield rain comprehensively.
Thus, through above descriptions, the framework and structure of the flexible omni-umbrella have been completely introduced; next, please refer to FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, there are shown schematic umbrella-furling motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella; moreover, please simultaneously refer to FIG. 9, which illustrates a stereo view of the flexible omni-umbrella been completely furled. By above-mentioned FIG. 3A, the assembling way of the flexible omni-umbrella includes the following procedures:
First, in assembling procedure (1), a flexible wire 2 is fixed on a fixing portion 12 on one end of the rod 1; Next, in procedure (2), it makes two terminal ends of the flexible wire 2 to slidably pass through a through hole portion 11 formed on the other end of the rod 1 oppositely, so as to form a water-drop-shaped portion between the fixing portion 12 and the through hole portion 11 of the rod 1. Subsequently, in procedure (3), the two terminal ends of the flexible wire 2 are connected to each other by a bridge member 21 and then form an ellipse-shaped portion corresponding to the water-drop-shaped portion. Next, in procedure (4), it bends the ellipse-shaped portion to form two cross points (A, B) with the water-drop-shaped portion so as to form a stereoscopic framework. Eventually, in procedure (5), disposing two joining members 22 on the cross points A and B of the flexible wire 2 for fixing the two water-drop-shaped portion and the ellipse-shaped portion, and then covering the stereoscopic framework with an umbrella fabric 3.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, the umbrella-furling way for the flexible omni-umbrella includes the following umbrella-furling operations:
(1) first umbrella-furling operation: as shown in FIG. 5, because the stretching segments 111 of the rod 1 is rotatable, the user can accommodate the stretching segments 111 in the handle portion 121 of the rod 1 by way of rotating the stretching segments 111; moreover, when receiving the stretching segments 111 into the handle portion 121, the through hole portion 11 would drive the flexible wire 2, so as to furl the flexible wire 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the flexible wire 2 is furled to three overlapping circular coils after three stretching segments 111 are received in the handle portion 121 of the rod 1.
(2) second umbrella-furling operation: as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the user clockwise rotates the through hole 11 by one hand thereof, and counter-clockwise rotates the rod 1 by using another hand to apply force to the fixing portion 12. Finally, as shown in FIG. 9, when all stretching segments 112 are accommodated in the handle portion 121, the furl of the flexible omni-umbrella can be finished after the flexible wire 2 is bent to form nine overlapping circular coils and the nine overlapping circular coils are then trussed by an elastic loop 111. However, on the contrary, the user can spread the flexible omni-umbrella by reversely operating the above-mentioned first and second umbrella-furling operations.
Referring to FIG. 6 again, and please refer to FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B and FIG. 10C, there are shown schematic umbrella-spreading motion diagrams of the flexible omni-umbrella. As shown in FIG. 10A, the flexible wire 2 is bent to form three overlapping circular coils, and the two joining members 22 on the two cross points (A, B) and a circle center of the three overlapping circular coils form an isosceles triangle having a top angle of 70°. However, for the flexible omni-umbrella of the present invention, the flexible wire 2 could not be bent and entirely spread to form the complete stereoscopic framework because of the small top angle of 70°, and such non-complete stereoscopic framework may tend to collapse and fails to provide a comprehensive shielding area due to the weak structure strength thereof.
Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10B, the flexible wire 2 is bent to form three overlapping circular coils, and the two joining members 22 on the two cross points (A, B) and the circle center of the three overlapping circular coils form an isosceles triangle having a top angle of 90°. The flexible wire 2 of FIG. 10B can be bent and entirely spread to form a complete stereoscopic framework, and this complete stereoscopic framework has strong structure strength for providing a comprehensive shielding area. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10C, the flexible wire 2 is bent to form three overlapping circular coils, and the two joining members 22 on the two cross points (A, B) and the circle center of the three overlapping circular coils form an isosceles triangle having a top angle of 120°. By FIG. 10, the flexible wire 2 would be bent and excessively spread to form a non-complete stereoscopic framework because of the large top angle of 120°, and such non-complete stereoscopic framework may still tend to collapse and fails to provide a comprehensive shielding area due to the weak structure strength thereof.
Therefore, through FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B and FIG. 10C, it is able to know that, when bending the flexible wire 2 to form three overlapping circular coils, the top angle of the isosceles triangle formed by the two joining members 22 on the two cross points (A, B) and the circle center of the three overlapping circular coils must be limited between 70° and 120°, such that the three overlapping circular coils can be bent and entirely spread to form the complete stereoscopic framework having strong structure strength for providing the comprehensive shielding area. For the flexible omni-umbrella of the present invention, preferably, the top angle is ranged from 80° and 100°.
Thus, through the descriptions, the framework, structure and the best embodiment of the flexible omni-umbrella according to the present invention have been clearly described and introduced; in summary, the present invention has the following advantages:
1. In the present invention, the primary umbrella framework is constructed by a flattened steel wire and a rod, without any umbrella joints; So that, even if the flexible omni-umbrella are repeatedly spread and furled, the primary umbrella framework of the flexible omni-umbrella would not be damaged or form sharp structure, therefore it can sure that the user would not be hurt by the damaged umbrella or the formed sharp structure from the damaged umbrella.
2. Moreover, in the present invention, because the stereoscopic framework formed by the flexible wire is a comprehensive arc umbrella framework, the umbrella fabric covering the stereoscopic framework can effectively shield rain; in addition, the umbrella fabric is consisted of a plurality of primary cover portions and a plurality of auxiliary cover portions, and such particular design of the umbrella fabric makes that the flexible omni-umbrella of the present invention can shield rain comprehensively.
3. Furthermore, for the rod and the through hole portion thereof are all rotatable, the user can furl the flexible omni-umbrella by way of rotating the rod and the through hole portion; such umbrella-furling way is effort-saving and convenient.
The above description is made on embodiments of the present invention. However, the embodiments are not intended to limit scope of the present invention, and all equivalent implementations or alterations within the spirit of the present invention still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A flexible omni-umbrella, comprising:

a rod having a through hole portion and a fixing portion respectively provided on two ends of the rod;

a flexible wire fixed on the fixing portion, wherein two terminal ends of the flexible wire are slidably passed through the through hole portion of the rod oppositely and connected to each other so as to form a water-drop-shaped portion and an ellipse-shaped portion, and the ellipse-shaped portion is bent to form two cross points with the water-drop-shaped portion, so as to form a stereoscopic framework; and

an umbrella fabric, covering the stereoscopic framework formed by the flexible wire.

2. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, wherein the water-drop-shaped portion and the ellipse-shaped portion being fixed by disposing two joining members on two cross points of the flexible wire.

3. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 2, wherein the flexible wire is bent to form three overlapping circular coils when the flexible omni-umbrella is furled, and the three overlapping circular coils being fixed by the two joining members.

4. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 3 wherein the joining member is selected from the group consisting of: cotton thread, elastic cord, nylon cord, ring, two engaged-sleeves, four-way sleeve, and heat shrink tube.

5. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 3, wherein the two joining members on the two cross points and a circle center of the three overlapping circular coils form an isosceles triangle having a top angle, and the top angle being ranged from 70° to 120°.

6. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, wherein the rod is a telescopic rod comprising a plurality of stretching segments, and the telescopic rod further having a handle portion adjacent to the fixing portion, wherein the handle portion is used for receiving and accommodating the stretching segments of the rod.

7. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 6, wherein a engaging button is further disposed on handle portion for engaging the stretching segments which are received and accommodated in the handle portion.

8. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, wherein the fixing member is a steel ring.

9. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, wherein the flexible wire is a flattened steel wire with directionality and good toughness.

10. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, further comprises an elastic loop connected to the fixing portion.

11. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, wherein the two terminal ends of the flexible wire are connected to each other by a bridge member.

12. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 1, wherein umbrella fabric comprises a plurality of primary cover portions and a plurality of auxiliary cover portions.

13. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 12, wherein the plurality of primary cover portions consists of a first primary cover portion, a second primary cover portion, a third primary cover portion, and a fourth primary cover portion, and the first primary cover portion, the second primary cover portion, the third primary cover portion, and the fourth primary cover portion are seamed to each other.

14. The flexible omni-umbrella of claim 13, wherein the plurality of auxiliary cover portions comprises:

a first auxiliary cover portion, being seamed with the first primary cover portion, the third primary cover portion and the fourth primary cover portion;

a second auxiliary primary cover portion, being seamed with the first primary cover portion, the second primary cover portion and the fourth primary cover portion; and

a third auxiliary cover portion, being seamed with the first primary cover portion, the second primary cover portion and the third primary cover portion.

15. A assembling and furling method for flexible omni-umbrella, comprises the steps of:

(1) fixing a flexible wire on a fixing portion on one end of the rod;

(2) making two terminal ends of the flexible wire to slidably pass through a through hole portion formed on the other end of the rod oppositely, so as to form a water-drop-shaped portion between the fixing portion and the through hole portion of the rod;

(3) connecting the two terminal ends of the flexible wire to form an ellipse-shaped portion corresponding to the water-drop-shaped portion;

(4) bending the ellipse-shaped portion to form two cross points with the water-drop-shaped portion so as to form a stereoscopic framework; and

(5) covering the stereoscopic framework with an umbrella fabric.

16. The assembling method for flexible omni-umbrella of claim 15, wherein the two terminal ends of the flexible wire are connected by a bridge member, and the water-drop-shaped portion and the ellipse-shaped portion are fixed by disposing two joining members on two cross points of the flexible wire.

17. The assembling method for flexible omni-umbrella of claim 15, wherein the umbrella fabric comprises a plurality of primary cover portions and a plurality of auxiliary cover portions.

18. The assembling method for flexible omni-umbrella of claim 16, wherein the plurality of primary cover portions consists of a first primary cover portion, a second primary cover portion, a third primary cover portion, and a fourth primary cover portion, and the first primary cover portion, the second primary cover portion, the third primary cover portion, and the fourth primary cover portion are seamed to each other.

19. The assembling method for flexible omni-umbrella of claim 16, wherein the two joining members on the two cross points and a circle center of the three overlapping circular coils form an isosceles triangle having a top angle, and the top angle being ranged from 70° to 120°.