WO1996018319A1

WO1996018319A1 - Asymmetric umbrella

Info

Publication number: WO1996018319A1
Application number: PCT/AU1995/000842
Authority: WO
Inventors: Behtash Goudarzi
Original assignee: Behtash Goudarzi
Priority date: 1994-12-15
Filing date: 1995-12-15
Publication date: 1996-06-20
Also published as: AUPN007894A0

Abstract

An umbrella comprises an asymmetrical shape by forming at least one rib (84) longer than, for example twice the length of, the remaining ribs (80). Ribs (80, 84) are pivoted about handle or shaft (62). The rib (84) comprises a number of articulated segments (86, 88, 90 and 92) which allow the rib (84) to be folded. Linkages (68 and 72) are attached to the respective runners (64 and 66) and to an intermediate point of the associated rib (84, 80). Movement of the runners (64, 66) towards the apex (74) of the shaft (62) forces the rib (80 and 84) to be curved making the covering (100) taut against and between the ribs (80, 84). To allow more covering to the rear of the shaft (62) there can be from (1) to half of the ribs of the type of rib (84), with the remainder of the ribs being ribs (80). Alternatively, in place of the articulated linkages (86, 88, 90 and 92), telescoping sections may be used so that when the umbrella is folded the ribs are of substantially equal length for stowage.

Description

Asymmetric Umbrella

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to umbrellas, and in particular to a foldable asymmetrical umbrella.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While umbrellas have been known for some time certain defects have persisted. For example, compact umbrellas while easing portability do not provide adequate coverage of an individual. The small symmetrically supported envelope is insufficient to extend equally to the front or rear of an individual and in particular does not protect a large part of the back of an individual since grasping of the handle normally results in an umbrella being more to the front of the individual (resulting in wasted coverage) than to the person's rear. Compact umbrellas are also not of great versatility in protecting two individuals.

Umbrellas have been constructed for a long time using ribs to support the covering. The ribs are pivoted from and spaced about one end of a shaft, which shaft, at its other end, acts as a handle. The ribs are of equal length and the handle thus provides a symmetrical support. In some umbrellas the ribs are substantially inflexible and the covering so provided is conical in shape. Other forms employ flexible or hinged ribs which become curved when the umbrella is deployed forming a curved surface. The ribs are connected at an intermediate point thereof by linkages to a runner which can slide along the shaft between releasable stops or catches holding the structure in a folded or deployed form as required. The linkages may pivot at the runner and/or the immediate point of attachment to the rib. Much larger umbrellas such as used when playing golf, while providing a large envelope, are heavy to carry and large items to store and often provide coverage which is under utilised.

The present invention seeks to ameliorate the disadvantages in these prior art umbrellas or at least to provide an alternative.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

According to a broad aspect of the invention there is provided an umbrella having a handle with an envelope supported and extending asymmetrically about one end of said handle, the envelope when extended being of a positive curvature and supported by a plurality of ribs, pivotally attached about said one end of said handle wherein said envelope of the umbrella is of a substantially asymmetrical form.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an umbrella including a shaft acting at one end as a handle, a plurality of ribs pivotally attached about the other end of said shaft, a covering extending between and secured to each of said ribs and to said other end of said shaft which forms the apex of said covering, first and second runner means slidable along said shaft and attached to each of which is a plurality of pivotable linkage means connected pivotally to an intermediate point of respective said rib means, wherein at least one of said ribs is substantially longer than the remainder such that when the runner means are moved towards said other end said linkage means force said rib means to shape said covering into a positively curved substantially asymmetrical form, said substantially longer rib or ribs being joined by their associated linkage means to said first runner means and said remainder of said ribs being joined by their associated linkage means to said second runner means.

According to yet a further aspect of the invention there is provided an umbrella including a shaft, a covering supported at one end of said shaft asymmetrically thereof, said covering being supported by a plurality of ribs pivotally attached to said one end of said shaft and angularly spaced about said shaft, wherein at least a pair of said ribs are of a second length and the remainder of said ribs are of a first length, said second length being greater than said first length, each of said ribs having supporting linkages attached to runner means with at least separate runner means for the ribs of said one length and for said ribs of said second length.

Preferably, at least a pair of ribs are used twice the length of the remainder of the ribs and the longer ribs are segmented so as to be foldable, or are able to be telescoped, to a length substantially equal to the length of the said remainder of the ribs for storage. It is also contemplated that there may be a single longer rib forming the asymmetrical envelope or covering or that the lengths of the longer ribs may be dissimilar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described with respect to the following drawings in which:

Figures 1 (a)-(c) show respectively side elevation schematic views of the umbrella according to one embodiment of the invention partly closed, half-open and fully extended; and Figure 2 shows a side elevation schematic view of the umbrella according to a second embodiment of the invention in a half-open position.

PREFERRED MODES FOR PERFORMING THE INVENTION

As shown in Figure 1 the umbrella comprises an envelope 10 supported by ribs 12, 13 and having a handle or shaft 14. The envelope 10 is made of a piece or pieces of material, such as nylon fabric, which is secured to the ribs 12, 13 in a manner well known in the art, for example by sewing, and crimping to the rib ends 15 and at the apex 16 of the handle 14.

The ribs 12, 13 are attached pivotally to and angularly spaced about apex 16. The linkages 18,20,22 are attached pivotally to and angularly spaced about respective runners 24,26,28. The linkages 18,20,22 are also attached to intermediate points of ribs 12,13 which are arranged in such a manner that the envelope 10 may be extended to the required shape or collapsed to a compact, more stowable form. Runners 24,26,28 are slidable along the shaft 14. The ribs 12,13 define the shape of the envelope 10, which, as shown, extends more to the rear (to the right as shown in the drawing) of the handle 14 than to the front thereof. The envelope 10 when extended curves from the apex 16 downwardly and about the person supporting the umbrella by the handle 14.

Most umbrellas have eight ribs of equal length between which the fabric cover 10 extends. The shape of the cover 10 according to the invention can be formed by lengthening from 2 to 4 of these ribs. The length of the longer ribs 13 is preferably double that of the shorter ones 12 but this may be varied. Hence there will be from 2 to 4 linkages 18, 22 attached to respective runners 24,28 with the remaining ribs 12 (that is from 6 to 4) attached by linkages 20 to runner 26, which is intermediate runners 24,28.

The longer ribs 13, are made longer by employing a telescoping action (see exploded view of Figure 1 (c)) with the rear portion 30 sliding within slotted hollow forward tubular portion 32 of the rib 13 as indicated by arrow 34. Linkage 18 is pivotally attached at 19 to a tubular bracket 33, which is also attached to rear portion 30 through the slot in portion 32. Bracket 33 is slidable along the outside of forward tubular portion 32 drawing therewith portion 30 as seen in the exploded partial view of Figure 1 (c). As bracket 33 slides this action telescopes portions 30,32 to lengthen or shorten the rib 13 when the umbrella is moved towards its open or closed position.

To deploy the umbrella, the catch 40 holding the runner 24 in place at rest is released (Figure 1 (a)) and runner 24 is moved towards apex 16 so engaging runner 26 directly and runner 28 indirectly via hinged linkages 18,22. Once runner 28 reaches apex 16 further such movement of runner 24 forces pivoted linkages 20, 18, 22 to curve ribs 12,13 to a positive curvature. Runner 24 at this point can be held by a catch (not shown) of a type well known in the art. Reversing this sequence of steps folds the umbrella to its compact form. Runner 26 at this time will fall of its own accord or, if held by friction, upon being engaged by runner 28 which will be moved by reason of its connections to the runner 24.

By having the handle 14 asymmetrically placed more to the front of the available envelope 10 adequate coverage of the back of the individual is provided. As shown in Figure 2, a second embodiment 60 includes a shaft 62 bearing two runners 64, 66. Runner 64 has at least two linkages of the form 68 pivotally attached thereto as at 70. Runner 66 has a number of linkages 72 pivotally attached thereto to complete the shape of the cover. For example, as stated above for an 8 rib structure as used in conventional umbrellas at least two of the ribs would be longer than the remainder and of the form 84 and supported by linkages of the form 68 with the remaining 6 ribs pivotally supported about the runner 66 and of the form 80.

Figure 2 shows the umbrella in a partially deployed position. As runner 64 is moved along the shaft 62 towards apex 74, engaging runner 66 at the same time, the ribs 80, 84 are pivoted at 81, 85 upwardly and outwardly with respect to the shaft 62 as shown by arrows 77. Rib 80 is pivotally supported at intermediate point 82 by the link 72 which is pivotally fixed at 73 to the runner 66. The choice of point 82 will define the required curvature of the rib 80 in its fully extended form.

Rib 84 is composed of segments 86,88,90,92 which form a foldable rib element, enabling the rib 84 to be unfolded from one half to full length and vice versa. The full length of the rib 84 is approximately twice the length of rib 80. Segments 86,88,90,92 are pivotally connected together to form a foldable articulatable structure for the rib 84. Segment 86 is pivotally attached to apex 74 at 85, to segment 88 at 87 and to linkage 68 at 69. Segment 88 is pivotally attached to segment 90 at 89. Segment 90 is shaped to allow folding of segment 88 onto that part of linkage 68 between pivot points 69 and 91 in the extended form of the rib 84. Segment 92 is fixed to segment 90. Linkage 68 is pivotally connected to runner 64 and to rib 84 at point 91 of segment 90.

A cover 100 is fixed in the usual manner to the ribs 80, 84, and to the apex 74 of the shaft 62. As stated above for the first embodiment, there may be from 2 to 4 of the longer, and in this case foldable, ribs 84 and thus from 6 to 4 of the ribs 80 for an 8 rib structure. Each rib 80,84 is pivotally attached to respective runner 64, 66 about the shaft 62.

Catches 110, 112 (of conventional type) on the shaft 60 act respectively to releasably retain the structure of the umbrella in its folded or deployed configuration. A shaped handle 114 at end 76 of shaft 62 allows the umbrella to be held comfortably.

The arrangement of ribs, runners and linkages is preferably such that the umbrella can be stowed with the envelope (of whatever asymmetrical shape) folded into a size not substantially larger than that of prior art compact umbrellas. Thus the ribs 12 or 84 to the rear (the right as viewed in Figures 1 or 2) of the handle 14 or shaft 62 may fold up to this end (as in the embodiment of Figure 2) or may telescope (as in the embodiment of Figure 1). Though this is not necessary. The handle 14 may also be of a telescopic construction as well known in the art.

A variety of shapes are possible for the envelope including an ellipsoidal shape, an aerofoil shape or a prolate shape. The shape of the envelope may also be designed to reduce the forces experienced by the carrier under various wind conditions. For example an aerofoil shape may be used so that by varying the angle of attack of the envelope of the umbrella to the prevailing wind direction the centre of pressure may be adjusted to control the forces experienced. For these different envelope shapes the length of the ribs may be varied to suit the application rather than having only two rib sizes with some ribs twice the length of the others as described above.

As shown in the figures the shape of the envelope 10 is curved and can be shaped to assist the diversion of wind and entrained rain around the person carrying the umbrella.

With the handle 14 and the point of maximum height, apex 16, of the envelope 10 being forward of the area of the envelope 10, the strength of the ribs 12 in the rear portion of the umbrella must be adequate to support the additional lengths to the envelope edge and the wind pressure experienced in use by this larger surface area of the umbrella.

The umbrella can also be used more adequately to protect two persons either in tandem or side by side. In the latter situation the umbrella can be turned such that the long axis of the envelope is aligned parallel with the shoulders of the two persons concerned.

Though the invention has been described above with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof other variations are contemplated within the knowledge of a person skilled in the art. For example, the materials employed in the construction of the umbrella would be chosen from any suitable materials such as wood, plastics material including glass fibre or carbon fibre reinforced plastics material or metal for the handle 14, and a suitable fabric such as nylon or gortex (trade mark) for the envelope 10 while the ribs 12 would normally be of metallic construction or of glass fibre or carbon fibre reinforced plastics material, provided the material was sufficiently flexible to accommodate being curved to shape the envelope 10 to the required form.

Claims

1. An umbrella including an envelope which can be folded to a compact form or can be extended to an operative form, said envelope being supported asymmetrically by one end of a shaft acting as a handle for the umbrella to which said one end a plurality of ribs are pivotally attached, said envelope being of a positive curvature when in said extended form and being supported by said plurality of pivotable ribs, whereby said extended form of said envelope is substantially asymmetrical in shape.

2. An umbrella as claimed in claim 1 wherein said asymmetrical form is generated by having the area of the envelope divided by said ribs into sections and wherein there is at least one section in which the ribs are substantially longer than the ribs of the remaining sections of the envelope.

3. An umbrella as claimed in claim 1 wherein the envelope is supported by 8 ribs and wherein said asymmetrical form is generated by having from 2 to 4 of said ribs of substantially double the length of the remaining ribs of the 8.

4. An umbrella including a shaft, a covering supported at one end of said shaft asymmetrically thereof, said covering being supported by a plurality of ribs pivotally attached to said one end of said shaft and angularly spaced about said shaft, wherein at least a pair of said ribs are of a second length and the remainder of said ribs are of a first length, said second length being greater than said first length, each of said ribs having supporting linkages attached to runner means movable along said shaft with at least separate runner means for the ribs of said one length and for said ribs of said second length.

5. An umbrella as claimed in claim 4 wherein there are 8 ribs of which 2 to 4 are of said second length, with said second length being substantially twice the length of said first length.

6. An umbrella as claimed in claim 4 wherein each of said ribs of said second length are comprised of a plurality of articulatable segments which can be pivoted relative to one another to move the rib between a first position and a second position, in said first position said segments extend said rib to said second length and in said second position said segments form a folded rib of length substantially said first length.

7. An umbrella as claimed in claim 6, wherein said second length is substantially twice said first length.

8. An umbrella as claimed in claim 4 wherein each of said ribs of said second length include at least a pair of tubes slidably engagable one inside the other in a telescoping action with the inner tube attached to its associated supporting linkage so as to effect said sliding telescoping action when said associated supporting linkage is moved by its runner means.

9. An umbrella as claimed in claim 4 wherein there are three runner means, a first runner means having pivotable linkages extending therefrom to an intermediate point of each of said ribs of said second length, a second runner means having pivotable linkages attached to an intermediate point of said linkages extending from said first runner means and third runner means located between said first and second runner means having pivotable linkages attached from said third runner means to an intermediate point of each of said ribs of said first length.

10. An umbrella as claimed in claim 4 wherein each of said ribs of said first length is connected at an intermediate point thereof to a first runner means by a pivotable linkage and each of said ribs of said second length includes an articulated linkage with a pivotable linkage connected between a second runner means and an intermediate point of each of said ribs of said second length.

11. An umbrella as claimed in claim 10 wherein said articulated linkage of each of said ribs of said second length includes four segments which form a foldable rib element, enabling the rib to be unfolded from one half to full length and vice versa, a first segment at one end being pivotally attached to said one end of said shaft and, at its other end, to said pivotable linkage at an intermediate point thereof, and, at an intermediate point of said first segment near said other end, to a second segment at one end thereof; said second segment being pivotally attached at its other end to a third segment at one end thereof, said third segment being shaped to allow folding of said second segment onto part of said pivotable linkage between its pivot points to said second and third segments in its full length form, and a fourth segment fixed rigidly to said third segment at its other end; each said pivotable linkage of said ribs of said second length being pivotally attached to an intermediate point of said third segment.

12. An umbrella including a shaft acting at one end as a handle, a plurality of ribs pivotally attached about the other end of said shaft, a covering extending between and secured to each of said ribs and to said other end of said shaft which forms the apex of said covering, first and second runner means slidable along said shaft and attached to each of which is a plurality of pivotable linkage means connected pivotally to an intermediate point of respective said rib means, wherein at least one of said ribs is substantially longer than the remainder such that when the runner means are moved towards said other end said linkage means force said rib means to shape said covering into a positively curved substantially asymmetrical form, said substantially longer rib or ribs being joined by their associated linkage means to said first runner means and said remainder of said ribs being joined by their associated linkage means to said second runner means.