US956657A - Umbrella-runner. - Google Patents

Description

F. WBTIEROTH. UMBRELLA RUNNER. APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1909.

Patented May 3,1910.

O-UTNOGRAPNERS. WASH NGYON a c UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

FRANK WET'IEROTH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ZITTLOSEN MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY, OF LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

UMBRELLA-RUNNER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK WVETTERo'rH, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Runner for Umbrellas, of which the following is a specification.

My invention constitutes an improvement in that part of the construction of an umbrella known as the runner, such being the metal device surrounding and sliding upon the customary central rod and to which the stretchers or rib-braces, connecting with the ribs upon which the cover is fastened, are secured.

It is well known to manufacturers that the former general practice of using a rod or brace attenuate at its point of junction with a runner is very unsatisfactory, for strain coming constantly at such point the rod is apt to break there and render repair necessary. This defect does not occur in umbrellas having my runner, for no flattening or attenuation of the rod is necessary, and still another beneficial result is obtained for whereas umbrella frames as ordinarily constructed cannot be easily dismembered for repair or replacement of a part, my runner is most readily attached to and separable from the rib-braces which it normally retains. Such desideratums are held to be of great value by practical men in the trade, and I attain them and others by the construction illustrated in the several views forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of my runner; Fig. 2 atop plan view of the same, and Fig. 8 a perspective depicting the ribbraces in place within their sockets disposed in a part of said runner.

In these several views like numerals refer to like parts, and 1 denotes a cylinder of sheet steel, or other suitable metal, which surrounds and rides upon the central stick of an umbrella. Said cylinder is corrugated, as shown, in order to afford greater strength to the member; to afford several points of light contact (2) with the central stick 3, so obviating the constant shaking of the runner against said stick found in ordinary constructions; and to afford a hold for the fingers when raising or lowering heavy wagon umbrellas. At one of its extremities cylinder 1 retains, by means of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 1, 1909.

Patented May 3, 1910.

Serial No. 515,615.

an outstruck bead 4E and over lapping flange 5, a separate and distinct annular member 6 which may properly be called a hub, since from it radiate the rib-braces connecting with the ribs. Said hub is formed from a single piece of metal, preferably cold-rolled steel, and for purposes of description may be sub-divided into a body portion 7 which is interrupted at intervals by dependent socket-s 8 and prolonged between said sockets into gripping tongues 9. Referring to the drawings it will be noted that'in the preferred form of my invention sockets 8 are open eXteriorly but are inclosed beneath and laterally by the defining metal of said base or body portion 7, and at the proper time in the formation of said hub a ring 10 is placed upon the top 11 of said base portion and is secured in such position by simply bending tongues 9 inwardly thereover. Having devised a hub of the described peculiar construction, I insert in said sockets the hooked and un-attenuated end 12 of rib-braces 13, said brace preferably being a cylindrical rod of any suitable metal. It is obvious that from the engagement of the other extremity of said brace with a rib of the frame said hook 12 will normally be retained within its socket 8 and it is equally apparent that by detaching the ends of the ribs from the topnotcher of the umbrella said hooks may be readily withdrawn from said sockets of the runner. Here it is proper to point out that a further advantage lies in the fact that because of the before described and illustrated peculiar conformation of sockets 8 the en gagement therein with ring 10 of hooks 1.2 is very snug and lateral movement of braces 18, which is an undesirable feature, is prevented by the close contact of said hooks with side walls 14 of said sockets.

I am perfectly familiar with many patents which have been granted upon alleged improvements in umbrella runners but I am not aware that any of them anticipate either the construction of or the results attained by my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is 1. In combination with a cylinder surrounding and moving upon the central stick of an umbrella, an annular hub formed of a single piece of thin metal indented at intervals into a plurality of depending sockets and prolonged between said sockets into a plurality of tongues, said sockets closed in teriorly, laterally and beneath and open above and exteriorly, said tongues rebent and retaining a ring passing above each of said sockets, ope-n hooks upon an extremity of umbrella rods detachably retained in said sockets in engagement with said ring, and means afforded by the conformation of said sockets whereby lateral movement of said rods therein inserted is prevented.

2. An umbrella runner comprising a corrugated cylindrical member adapted to ride upon the customary central stick of such an article, and surmounted by an outstanding annular hub, said hub formed of a single piece of thin metal divisible into a base portion substantially at right angles to said cylindrical member, said base portion integral with and interrupted at intervals by depending sockets and prolonged at the intervals between said sockets into inwardly bent tongues gripping a ring disposed above said sockets, the conformation of said sockets affording means for the retention of open hooks, upon an extremity or umbrella rods in engagement with said ring, said con'- formation likewise aiiording means for the ready release of said hooks from said engagement, means to prevent the lateral movement of said umbrella rods and means for retaining said hub upon said cylindrical member.

FRANK XVETTEROTH.

\Vitnesses J ULIA M. LAURENT, A. M. GRIFFIN.

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