US3446221A - Paper umbrella - Google Patents

Description

M. l. TRUITT I PAPER UMBRELLA May 27, 1969 Sheet Filed March 11 1968 INVENTOR MARTHA 1'. TRUITT MM W ATTORNEY y 27, 1969 M. 1. TRUITT 3,446,221

I PAPER UMBRELLA Filed March 11, 1968 sheet 3 or s M. I. TRUITT May 27, 1969 PAPER UMBRELLA Sheet Filed March 11, 1968 INVENTOR MARTHA I. TRU ITT ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,446,221 Patented May 27, 1969 3,446,221 PAPER UMBRELLA Martha I. Truitt, 1622 Abingdon Drive, Alexandria, Va. 22314 Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 711,978 Int. Cl. A45b 13/00, 23/00 U.S. Cl. 135-195 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE tural elements.

Background of the invention This invention relates to umbrellas, and more particularly, to disposable, relatively inexpensive umbrellas made of paper and paper products.

Conventional umbrellas are formed of a mast made of steel or wood provided with a metal sleeve slidable therealong and metal struts extending from the sleeve to metal ribs which extend radially from the upper end of the mast. Umbrellas of this type are of suflicient strength to withstand strong Winds and heavy rainfalls, but are relatively expensive to manufacture due to the cost of the durable metal parts.

There is, however, a need for a relatively inexpensive, disposable umbrella to serve in emergencies and to be discarded after use. Such umbrellas could be given away, if sufiiciently inexpensive, as advertising favors or the like.

To meet this need, a number of umbrellas formed of paper and cardboard, or the like, have been proposed in the prior art. While such prior art umbrellas have met the criteria of low cost, they have suffered from the drawback that they are not sufliciently strong to withstand climatic conditions ordinarily associated with a rain storm. For example, such prior art umbrellas do not have sufiicient strength and rigidity to resist strong winds or heavy downpours and are, thus, not satisfactory under the very conditions for which they are most needed.

Summary of the invention Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved disposable umbrella which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which, nevertheless, provides sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand wind conditions ordinarily associated with rain storms. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an umbrella of this character formed of paper and cardboard.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an umbrella formed of hollow structural elements which are polygonal in cross-section and which are formed of folded cardboard.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide an umbrella having ribs formed of folded hollow cardboard elements, struts formed of such elements, and a mast formed of such elements.

Briefly, the invention contemplates the provision of an umbrella having a mast, a sleeve slidable along the mast, a plurality of ribs secured to the upper end of the mast and extending radially outwardly therefrom, a corresponding plurality of struts secured at one end to the sleeve and secured at the opposite end to a corresponding rib, and an umbrella cover secured on the ribs. Each of the ribs is formed of a pair of hollow triangular structural elements in a unitary structure of folded cardboard with a V-shaped groove therebetween. Each of the struts is formed of a single hollow triangular structural element of folded cardboard and includes, at one end, an end extension bent therefrom and fitted in the V-shaped groove provided by a corresponding rib and, at the other end, a tab extension secured Within the slidable sleeve. In addition, the mast is formed of a plurality of hollow triangular elements of folded paperboard and a pair of fixed sleeves to secure these elements in a polygonal configuration forming the mast.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the invention and the manner in which the same are accomplished will become more readily apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction witht the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred and exemplary embodiment.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of the umbrella in its open position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the umbrella in its closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a partial bottom view of the umbrella in its open position;

FIGURE 4 is a partial top plan view of the umbrella in its open position;

FIGURE 5 is a partial portion of the rib structure;

FIGURE 6 is a partial elevation view, partly in section, showing the manner in which the ribs are secured to the mast;

FIGURE 7 is a partial elevation view, partly in section, showing the manner in which the struts are secured to the sleeve;

FIGURE 8 is a partial perspective view showing a detail at one end of the strut structure;

FIGURE 9 is a partial perspective view showing a detail at the other end of the strut structure;

FIGURE 10 is a partial perspective view showing how the struts engage with the ribs; and

FIGURE 11 is an end view of a structural element of the mast.

perspective view showing a Description of the preferred embodiment From FIGURE 1, it will be seen that an umbrella of the invention comprises a mast 10, a plurality of ribs 12 secured to the upper end of mast 10 and extending radially outwardly therefrom, a plurality of struts 14 corresponding to each of the ribs 12 and extending from an intermediate point on the ribs to a sleeve 16 which is slidable along shaft 10. An umbrella cover 18 is secured upon ribs 12. In the extended, or open, position as shown in FIGURE 1, sleeve 16 is positioned toward the top end of the mast 10 causing struts 14 to extend outwardly and extend ribs 12 in the manner which is well known with respect to conventional umbrellas.

When the umbrella is in its closed position, as shown in FIGURE 2, sleeve 16 is moved toward the free, or handle, end of mast 10 causing struts 14 to bring ribs 12 down to a position adjacent mast 10 in a manner familiar in the umbrella art. As will be seen from FIGURE 2, the cover 18 may be swirled in the closed position to provide a neat appearance.

An important structural feature of the invention is the manner in which mast '10, ribs 12, and struts 14 are constructed. In each case, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, hollow, or tubular, structural members, which are triangular in cross-section and made of folded cardboard, are employed. With reference to FIGURE 5, ribs 12 are formed of a pair of triangular structural elements 20 and 22 which project from a common base wall and provide a V-shaped groove 26 therebetween. As will be evident from FIGURE 5, the triangular structural elements 20 and 22 are formed as a unitary structure from a single piece of folded cardboard. Thus, a first fold 28 forms an inside base wall of triangular element 22, and a second fold 30 forms one side Wall of element 22. A second side wall 32 is formed by a third fold, and a common base wall 34, extending below fold 28, is formed by a fourth fold. A fifth fold 36 forms one side wall of structural element 20, while a sixth fold 38 forms a second side wall of element 20. Finally, a seventh fold 40 forms the inside base wall of element 20.

Turning to FIGURE 6, it will be seen that the side walls of rib 12 are slit at 42 with the base wall 34 folded at 44 to provide an upper rib extension 48 which is retained by means of an end collar 50 about the upper end of mast 10.

Referring to the top view of FIGURE 4, it will be seen that-end collar 50 forms a hexagon and that six rib extensions 48 are retained therewithin, each one having its base wall abutting against a wall of collar 50. The triangular spaces provided between rib extensions 48 and the structure of mast (which will be described in more detail hereinafter) are filled by hollow triangular structural elements 52 which may be formed of four folds of cardboard.

Turning now to mast 10, it will be observed from FIG- URE 4, that it is comprised of three structural members 54. As shown in FIGURE 11, each of the structural members 54 is formed of a single folded piece of cardboard to form a diamond-shaped member having a pair of backto-back triangular elements. A first fold 56 forms a part of the common dividing wall. A second fold 58 forms a side wall of one of the triangular elements, while a third fold 60 forms a second side wall of this triangular element. A fourth fold forms a first side wall 62 of the second triangular element, and a fifth fold serves as a second side wall 64 of the second triangular element. Finally, a sixth fold forms a second portion 66 of the common wall.

As seen in FIGURE 6, a hexagonal upper mast sleeve 68 is provided just below collar 50 surrounding elements 54 to retain them in assembled position. Likewise, at the lower end of the shaft 10, as will be evident from FIG- URES 1 and 2, a hexagonal handle sleeve 70 serves the same function, surrounding an assembly of three elements 54.

The structure of struts 14 will be apparent from FIG- URE 8. Each strut is formed as a single hollow element, triangular in cross-section, from a single piece of folded cardboard. A first fold 72 forms an inside base wall; a second fold 74 forms one side wall; a third fold 76 forms a second side wall; and a fourth fold 78 forms an outside base wall. As shown in FIGURE 9, the side walls of member 14 are slit at 80 to form a strut extension 82 at an end of strut 14 by providing a fold line 83 in base wall 72. Referring to FIGURE 10, it will be seen that strut extension 82 fits into the V-shaped groove 26 provided between triangular elements and 22 of rib 12 and may be retained therein by glue or the like. The over-all cooperation between struts 14 and ribs 12 will be appreciated from FIGURE 3. It will be seen that each of the struts 14 extends to a corresponding rib 12 and that the strut extensions 82 are secured within the V-shaped grooves provided in the ribs 12.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the opposite end of strut 14 is provided with a tab extension 84 which, as will be evident from FIGURE 7, is secured within slidable sleeve 16. Sleeve 16 has an outer hexagonal collar 86 and an inner hexagonal collar 88 which form a sandwich with strut extensions 84 which are glued therebetween.

The umbrella cover 18, which may be formed of heavy kraft paper, is glued to the common base folds 34 of ribs 12. In order to better secure cover 18 to ribs 12, tabs (not shown) may be provided on cover 18 adjacent to the ends of ribs 12 and folded over base wall 34 and under folds 28 and 40 and secured thereto by means of glue. Likewise, as will be evident from FIGURE 6, an upper section 90 of cover 18 may be glued between the base walls of rib extensions 48 and end collar 50.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes can be made without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims. For example, while umbrella cover 18 has been described as being made of paper, it will be appreciated that other flexible materials such as vinyl resins, polyethylene, or the like, may be substituted. Likewise, materials other than cardboard may be employed for the hollow structural elements. Accordingly, the foregoing embodiment is to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive of the invention, and those modifications which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are to be included therein.

The invention claimed is:

1. An umbrella comprising a mast, a sleeve slidable along said mast, a plurality of ribs formed of a pair of triangular elements secured to the upper end of said mast and extending radially outwardly therefrom, said elements sharing a common flat base and providing a V- shaped groove therebetween, a corresponding plurality of struts secured at one end to said sleeve and secured at the opposite end to a corresponding rib, and an umbrella cover secured on said ribs, said mast formed of a plurality of elements, at least one of said mast elements and said struts being comprised of a folded tubular element triangular in cross-section.

2. An umbrella as recited in claim 1 wherein said umbrella cover is secured to said base opposite the side providing the V-shaped groove.

3. An umbrella as recited in claim 2, wherein said mast comprises a plurality of triangular elements, and at least one collar surrounding at least a portion of the length of said elements.

4. An umbrella as recited in claim 2, wherein the inner ends of said ribs comprise a cut through said triangular elements, said common base being bent at said cut, said ribs having upper triangular elements above said cut, and said umbrella further comprising an end collar, said upper triangular elements being secured between said end collar and said mast.

5. An umbrella as recited in claim 4, wherein additional triangular elements are secured within V-shaped grooves provided between said upper triangular elements.

6. An umbrella as recited in claim 3, wherein each of said struts is a folded tubular element triangular in crosssection and wherein said opposite end of said strut is cut to provide an upper triangular strut extension, said extension being secured in said V-shaped groove provided by the corresponding rib.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,924,426 8/1933 Williams l3520 1,924,427 8/ 1933 Williams l35--20 3,086,689 4/ 1963 Wiedenmeier.

PETER M. CA'UN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.-R. 20

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