WO2000047076A1

WO2000047076A1 - An umbrella and container for an umbrella

Info

Publication number: WO2000047076A1
Application number: PCT/GB2000/000512
Authority: WO
Inventors: Greg Louis Guye; Terrence Mark Loh; Nicholas Adrian Moyes
Original assignee: Gnt Concepts Limited
Priority date: 1999-02-15
Filing date: 2000-02-15
Publication date: 2000-08-17
Also published as: GB2346555A; AU2559100A; GB9903395D0; GB2346555B

Abstract

An umbrella (1) having a shaft (15) and a canopy (17) which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the umbrella (1) being of the foldable type with an extendible shaft (15), the umbrella (1) further comprising a container (3) for enclosing the canopy (7) which is attached around the shaft (15), wherein said container is substantially waterproof and is capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when said canopy is closed, wherein the container (13) remains attached to the umbrella (1) during opening and closing of the canopy (17), wherein when the canopy (17) is open, the container (3) is moveable along the shaft (15) towards the open canopy (17) and fixable at a predetermined position along the shaft (15) such that the container (3) is substantially shielded by the open canopy (17).

Description

An Umbrella and Container for an Umbrella

The present invention relates to the field of umbrellas. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of containers for umbrellas.

Conventional umbrellas are supplied both with and without covers. During use, the umbrella becomes wet, this is inconvenient for the user as he has to carry around the soaking wet object for the rest of the day. Also, a wet umbrella can be a safety hazard as the umbrella may drip over floors and surfaces causing them to become slippery.

Umbrellas have previously been provided with completely removable covers. However, these covers are generally only intended to keep the canopy of the umbrella neat so that it can be easily stored away. These covers do not provide any serious waterproofing to the umbrella and hence the user still has to carry around a wet object all day.

The present invention addresses the above problems and, in a first aspect provides an umbrella having a shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the umbrella being of the foldable type with an extendible shaft, the umbrella further comprising a container for the canopy which is attached around the shaft, wherein said container is substantially waterproof and is capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when said canopy is closed, the container remaining attached to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy, the container being moveable along the shaft towards the canopy when the canopy is open and being fixable at a predetermined position along the shaft such that the container is substantially shielded by the open canopy. Hence, the umbrella container stays dry when the canopy is open as it is shielded by the canopy. When the wet canopy is enclosed or sealed in the substantially waterproof container, the canopy cannot drip. Hence, the user can confidently store the umbrella in a bag or case etc., without the risk of getting the contents of the bag or the case wet.

The umbrella in question is of the so-called folding variety where the shaft of the umbrella is extendible (preferably telescopic).

Preferably, the container is attached around the shaft of the umbrella. More preferably, the container has an aperture for receiving the shaft of the umbrella, the shaft of the umbrella being slidable through the aperture of the container.

It is preferable if the canopy of the umbrella is removed from the container by moving the container and the canopy apart along the shaft of the umbrella.

Folding umbrellas usually have a telescopic shaft. To open a folding umbrella, the shaft needs to be extended. According to a preferred arrangement of the present invention, the canopy is removed from the container by moving the canopy and the container apart along the direction of the shaft.

In one arrangement, the shaft is extendible when the container encloses the canopy. To fully open the umbrella, the container is then slid down the shaft away from the canopy and the canopy is opened. The container is then preferably slid along the shaft towards the canopy and fixed in position under the canopy.

In an alternative arrangement, the container is moved away from the canopy as the shaft is extended. When the shaft is fully extended, the container is at the opposite end of the shaft to the canopy. The canopy is then opened and the container is preferably moved up the shaft towards the canopy and fixed in position under the canopy. The container preferably has catch means to fix it at the handle end of the shaft or the canopy end of the shaft. Two catches may be provided, one for fixing the container at the handle end of the shaft and one for fixing the container under the canopy.

The catch means may be provided in or on the container. More preferably, the catch means provided in or on the container comprises a resiliently biased member, which is biased against said shaft. The friction between the member and the shaft allows the container to be fixed at any point along the shaft. The container may be moved along the shaft by providing sufficient force to the container in the desired direction, i.e. up or down the shaft.

Further, the member may be capable of moving between a rest position where the member is not in contact with the shaft and an operational position where the member is in contact with the shaft. Actuation means may be provided to move the member between the rest position and the operation position. Such actuation means may be a button, lever or the like.

Alternatively, the catch means may be provided on or within the shaft. To achieve such a purpose, the shaft may comprise a resiliently biased member, which is capable of engaging with the container to fix the container in the desired position. A typical folding umbrella shaft is usually supplied with one or more resilient members which are used to hold the telescopic sections of the shaft into place. In a preferred arrangement, the container will be capable of being fixed at an appropriate position along the shaft by a resilient member which also fixes one of the telescopic shafts in position.

In the above arrangements, the container is moved up the shaft and fixed directly under the open canopy. This is because optimum shielding of the container is achieved when the container is located directly below the canopy. However, it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that at least partial shielding of the container will be achieved if the container is placed anywhere along an upper section of the shaft. Typically, a folding umbrella shaft has a plurality of telescopic sections, the lower section being the section which is located permanently furthest from the canopy when the shaft is extended, an upper section being anyone of the sections which is not this lower section.

Preferably, the shaft is provided with a handle on the opposing end of the shaft to the canopy.

Preferably, the container has a container body and a lid which is opened to allow the canopy to emerge from the container. The lid is preferably permanently attached to the container body to stop it becoming lost. Preferably, sealing means are provided either on one of or both of the lid and container body such that a water tight seal can be formed between the lid and the container body. Such a seal may be formed by a lip on the container body and a co-operating lip on the lid.

The lip of said lid may extend around the whole edge of said lid. The lid or the body may further be provided with means to keep the lid and body connected when said lid is in the open position. Preferably, these means are provided by a flexible member such as a loop which is attached to both the lid and the container body.

The present invention has been discussed in the context of an umbrella which is of the manual variety, where, for example, the canopy has a sliding member which fits around and is slidable along the shaft. Opening of the canopy is manually effected by pushing the sliding member along the shaft way from the handle.

The present invention can also be used with automatic umbrellas where the canopy is openable by an automatic deployment mechanism operable by the user. Such a mechanism is usually operated by means of a button or lever on the handle of the umbrella. Preferably, an automatic deployment mechanism can be used to remove the canopy from the container as well as opening the canopy itself. The mechanism could be operated by a button or lever on the handle or even on the container itself.

Preferably, the container is rigid to allow easy insertion of the canopy into the container. More preferably, the container tapers in shape towards the base of the container, to further aid easy insertion of the canopy into the container.

If the container is provided with a container body and cap or a lid, the provision of a rigid container allows a good seal to be made between the body and the cap or lid. The container is preferably made from plastics material and is more preferably a moulded container. The container may be made from any waterproof material be it woven or non- woven.

More preferably, the container is substantially transparent so that it does not block the view of the user carrying the open umbrella.

It will be appreciated by a man skilled in the art that the container could be supplied to fit on to standard existing umbrellas. Therefore, in a second aspect, there is provided a container for a foldable umbrella having an extendible shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the container being waterproof and being capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when the canopy is closed, the container being moveable along the shaft towards the canopy when it is open and being fixable at a predetermined position along the shaft such that the container is substantially shielded by the open canopy, wherein the container remains attached to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the preferred non- limiting embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an umbrella and container in accordance with the present invention, with the canopy enclosed in the container;

Figure 2 shows the umbrella of Figure 1 with the shaft of the umbrella extended;

Figure 3 shows the umbrella of Figures 1 and 2 with the canopy being opened;

Figure 4 shows the umbrella of Figures 1 to 3 with the canopy open and the container fixed in place;

Figure 5 shows an umbrella with its canopy closed, located in the container of the present invention;

Figure 6 shows a cross-section of an umbrella and container shown in Figure 5, with the cap of the container closed;

Figure 7 shows the umbrella and container of Figure 6 with the cap of the container open;

Figure 8 shows the umbrella container (without umbrella canopy) and the umbrella handle;

Figure 9 shows the umbrella container with catch mechanism;

Figure 10 shows a detail of the catch mechanism of Figure 9;

Figure 11 shows an alternative catch mechanism;

Figure 12 shows a further alternative catch mechanism;

Figure 13 shows a detail of the cap of the container for the umbrella; Figure 14 shows a variation of the cap of Figure 13;

Figure 15 shows the cap of Figure 14 partially engaged with the body of the container; and

Figure 16 shows the cap of Figure 14 fully engaged with the body of the container.

Figure 1 shows an umbrella and container assembly 1. The umbrella container 3 has a body 5 to which is hingeably connected cap 7. Cap 7 can be opened by applying pressure to finger grip 9 which causes cap 7 to move about hinge 11.

In this closed position, the umbrella canopy is housed within the container 3. The base of the container 3 is received in umbrella handle 13. The interaction between the base of the container 3 and the umbrella handle 13 will be described in greater detail with reference to Figure 6. The umbrella canopy (not shown) is enclosed within container 3.

The first stage of opening the umbrella is shown in Figure 2. In this figure, the telescopic shaft 15 of the umbrella is extended by pulling handle 13 away from the container 3. The cap 7 of the container 3 is then opened by applying pressure to finger grip 9 to expose the top of the umbrella canopy 17.

The container body 5 has a base 19 which is visible when the shaft 15 and handle 13 are extended away from the container 3. (In the arrangement shown in Figure 1, the base of the container 3 is located within umbrella handle 13.)

To further open the umbrella, the canopy 17 is removed from the remainder of the container body 5 by moving container body 5 down the shaft 15 towards umbrella handle 13. The base 19 of the container 3 fits into handle 13. The umbrella canopy 17 can then be opened in the standard way by pushing grip 21 (Figure 3) of the canopy 17 along the shaft 15 away from the handle end of the shaft 13.

The final opening stage of the umbrella is shown in Figure 4. The umbrella canopy 17 is fully extended and the container 3 is moved up the shaft 15 towards the canopy 17 until the container 3 is located directly below the canopy 17. The container 3 is fixed in this position. The umbrella is now ready for use.

Due to the position of the container 3 under the canopy 17, the container 3 is shielded from the rain by the canopy 17 and thus stays dry throughout use of the umbrella.

To lower the umbrella, the reverse of the process described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 is performed. The container 3 is slid down the shaft 15 towards the handle 13 (as shown in Figure 3) to allow closure of the canopy 17.

Once the canopy 17 is closed, the container 3 is slid up the shaft 15 towards the canopy to partially enclose the canopy. The lid of the container 3 is then closed to seal the wet umbrella inside the waterproof container 3. The shaft 15 is then retracted into the container and the base of the container 19 is fitted into handle 13.

The above opening of the umbrella 1 has been described with reference to extending the shaft 15 of the umbrella and then sliding the container 3 along the shaft. However, the umbrella may be opened by releasing cap 7 of the container 3 without first extending the shaft 15 and pulling the handle 13 with the container 3 away from the canopy 17 to release the canopy 17 from the container 3. The container 3 can then be slid up the shaft towards the canopy 15 as previously explained. Figure 5 shows a further detail of the container 3 with the umbrella canopy 17 within the container 3. The cap 7 of the container 3 is open. The cap hingeably moves about hinge 11. This figure shows details of the cap 11 sealing to container body 5. In order to maintain a waterproof container, the cap 11 should form a waterproof seal with container 5. The cap 7 is preferably formed of rubber. The body 5 of container 3 is rigid and is provided with a lip 23 provided at the top of the container body, the rubber moulded cap 7 is capable of fitting over said lip 23 to form a watertight connection.

Figures 6 and 7 show a cross-section of the umbrella when enclosed in container 3. The cap 7 is in the closed position in Figure 6 and the open position in Figure 7. In Figures 6 and 7, the base 19 of container 3 is fitted into umbrella handle 13. Umbrella handle 13 abuts against container body 5 at notches 25 and 27. These notches provide a secondary watertight sealing action.

The base 19 of container 3 is provided with a central aperture 29 through which the umbrella shaft 15 is inserted. The aperture 29 allows the container 3 to be slid along the shaft 15. Also, the aperture 29 is provided with a catch action (not shown) which allows the container 3 to be fixed either within the handle of the umbrella 13 or directly underneath the canopy 17 as shown in Figure 4. Generally, two catches will be provided, one to fix the container 3 within the handle of umbrella 13 and the other to fix the container 3, directly under the canopy as shown in Figure 4.

The position of the container body 5 with respect to umbrella handle 13 is identical in Figures 5, 6 and 7. The arrangement of the body of container 5 located in handle 13 allows the bottom of the container to be properly watertight.

In Figure 6, the cap 7 is in the closed position. The body 5 is provided with a sealing lip 23 with which the cap 7 engages. The inside 31 of lip 23 is curved so that when the canopy 17 is slid back into the container body 5, there is no sharp surface for the canopy 17 on which the canopy can be caught. Further, the underside 33 of lip 23 is also curved to aid release of the canopy 17 from the container body 5. Figure 7 shows a detail of hinge 11. The rubber cap 7 is provided with a flap 35 and lug 37 which engages in a pocket 39 of the body 5 of container 3. The flap 35 is flexible to allow the hinge movement of the cap 7 about hinge 11.

Figure 8 shows further constructional details of the umbrella handle and the body 5 of container 3. The container is rigid and tapers towards the base 19 to allow easy insertion of the canopy (17 in Figures 6 and 7) to the container body 5. The container body is rigid and is substantially transparent so that it does not hinder the view of the user. In this specific example, the container body 5 is made from single reversible injection motion and made from translucent ABS.

Figure 9A shows a cross section of the container body 5. The container body 5 has a catch mechanism 51, located within the base 53, of container body 5. The catch mechanism 51 is located adjacent the aperture 55 of the container 5. The aperture 55 is provided for movement of the umbrella shaft (reference numeral 15 of Figure 2) therethrough.

Figure 9A shows a cross section where catch mechanism 51 is shown in plan view. Figure 9B shows a cross section along the line Y-Y of Figure 9A. A side view of the catch 51 is shown in Figure 9B. The catch mechanism is completely enclosed by container body 5. The catch mechanism protrudes into the wall of container body 5.

Figure 10 shows in detail the catch member 51 of Figure 9. Figure 10A is a side view of the base 53 of the container 5. The catch member 51 comprises a member 57 which is resiliently biased towards the position of the umbrella shaft by spring 59. The umbrella shaft being located through aperture 55. The member 57 has an engagement surface 61. Engagement surface 61 is pushed into contact with the shaft by spring 59. Engagement surface 61 is coated with a material which has a relatively high coefficient of fπction with the material of the shaft. For example, the engagement surface 61 may be rubber or the like. Engagement surface 61 is located on solid member 63. Member 63 is either attached to or integral with elongate support member 65. Member 65 is located partially within a recess 66 of the wall of body 5. This is to ensure straight movement of catch member 51 with respect to the shaft.

Figure 1 OB shows a plan view of the catch member 51. The engagement surface 61 of said catch member 51 is shaped so as to engage with the shaft 67. As the umbrella is of the foldable type, the shaft is extendible. The shaft will be in two or more telescopic sections. These sections generally have different diameters. Ideally, the surface 61 should be capable of engaging with any part of the shaft. Typically, the widest diameter section of the shaft is the lower section of the shaft, closest to the handle.

It is required to fix the container 3 at the top of the shaft. The top part of the shaft is generally the thinnest part of the shaft. When the umbrella is in the closed position, or, when the container is located close to the handle, the container is located on the wide part of the shaft. The container must be capable of moving over the wide part of the shaft and still engaging on the narrow or upper part of the shaft.

Therefore, the catch member must be capable of engaging with the top section of the shaft while also being able to move over the lower and wider section or sections of the shaft. Typically, the tension of spring 59 will be configured so that the container can be fixed at any position along the shaft, i.e. both anywhere in the narrow section or the wide section. The container being moveable up or down along the shaft by application of a sufficient force, to overcome the friction between the engagement surface 61 and the shaft.

Typically, a shaft of an umbrella is provided with detent means which allow various components of the umbrella to be held in place in either the collapsed or the open position. These detent means may also be used to help support the container at a particular point on the umbrella shaft. Alternatively, the shaft of the umbrella may be provided with a resiliently biased member which can be used to fix the container 3 in a position along the shaft 15. Figure 11 shows a section through umbrella shaft 15 with container 3 locked in position under the canopy 17. Container 3 is retained in position via member 101. Member 101 is longitudinal with a curved portion at its upper end and a tail 102 at its lower end. The curved portion is shaped so that it is fixable inside shaft 15 and is not moveable up and down within the shaft.

The member 101 is elastically deformable such that the tail 102 of the member acts as a leaf spring which is biased against side 103 of the shaft 15.

The curved portion serves as a fulcrum point for the member 101. Side 103 of shaft 15 is provided with an opening 105 through which the end 106 of the tail 102 partially extends. The end portion 106 of the tail 102 is capable of engaging within a recess 109 of container 3. Thus, fixing container 3 in position. As previously mentioned, tail 102 is essentially a leaf spring biased against the opening 105. The recess 109 and the end of tail 106 are shaped so that a sufficient downward force on container 3 pushes end 106 of tail 102 into the shaft and allows the container 103 to be slid downwards down the shaft. To achieve this, the end of the tail has inclined upper and lower edges. Such that an upwards or downwards force on the end 106 causes the end to be pushed into the shaft 15.

When the container 3 is not in position underneath the canopy 17, the end 106 protrudes through the opening 105 in the shaft 15. To place the container 3 in position underneath the canopy, the container 3 is slid up the umbrella until it reaches the opening 105 with the tail section extended. An inclined lower edge of tail section 106 allows the container 3 to be slid upwards pushing the tail member 102 back into the shaft. When the recess 109 passes over the opening 105, the tail member 102 springs back through the opening to engage the container 3 in position. Resilient member 101 has two functions. It serves to locate the container 3 in place. However, it also serves to maintain telescopic section 15b of the shaft 15 in position above telescopic section 15a.

The upper section 15b must be able to retract into the lower section 15a. Therefore, the resiliently biased member 101 must be able to retract back far enough into the shaft 15 to allow the umbrella to collapse when required.

Figure 12 shows a variation on the catch mechanism which is located within the shaft of Figure 11. Here, instead of elongate member 101, V-shaped member 121 is located inside the shaft above the first telescopic section 15a. The N-shaped member 121 is orientated such that its apex points upwards towards the canopy. The two arms of the V-section press against the inside of the shaft 15 such that they are resiliently biased against the shaft 15. Each of the arms is provided with a detent member 123, 125. The detent members are located adjacent openings in the shaft 15 such that the detent members extend through the openings. The base of container 3 is provided with recesses 127, 129 adapted to receive detent members 123, 125 respectively. The arms of V-shaped member 121 act as leaf springs such that sufficient pressure on detent members 123, 125 cause the detent members to be pushed inside the shaft 15.

The container can be removed from its position underneath the canopy by applying a sufficient downward force to the container 3. This downward force causes detent members 123, 125 to be pushed within shaft 15 and hence allow movement of the container 3. Once there is no force against detent members 123, 125, they spring out. In the same manner as described for the example of Figure 11 , the container 3 can be fixed in position under the canopy. The detent members are generally spherical or hemispherical so that the container 3 can be easily slid over them by applying a sufficient upward or downward force. The detent members 123 and 125 also serve to maintain the position of upper shaft section 15b above base shaft section 15a. Figure 13 shows details of the cap 7 of the container 3. The hinge flap 35 with lug 37 is shown to the left of the picture. On the opposing side of the cap 7, finger grip 9 is shown which is used to open container 3.

The cap has a lip 41 which is designed to co-operate with lip 23 of container body 5 to form a watertight seal between the cap 7 and the container body 5. The cap is formed by an injection moulding technique and the cap has a rubberised finish to allow easy grip of the cap with wet hands.

Figure 14 shows a variation on the cap or lid of the container. The lid 71 is provided with a hook or strap 73 which may be attached to the container body 5. On the opposing side of the lid 71 to the strap 73 is a finger grip 75 which allows easy removal of the lid 71 from the container body 5. The lid 71 has a rim 77. The rim 77 is provided with a projection 79 which extends around rim 77. Projection 79 is capable of engaging with a complimentary projection on the container body 5 not shown. Thus, the lid 71 can be snapped on or snapped off the container body.

Figure 15 shows the lid 71 engaged with the container body 5. The strap 73 of said lid 71 is capable of being attached to the container body 5 via aperture 81. The container body 5 is provided with a projection 83 about its rim. Projection 83 is capable of engaging with projection 77 on rim 71 to fix the lid 71 in place on container body 5.

Figure 16 shows the lid 71 engaged in place on the container body. The figure is a cross sectional view of the lid 71 and body 5 taken through line X-X' of Figure 15.

Once in place on container body 5, the cap can be removed from the container body 5 by applying upward pressure to finger grip 75.

In the locked position, the rim is completely sealed and watertight. When the container lid 71 is removed from the container body 5, the strap 73 serves to prevent the container lid 71 from being lost.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An umbrella having a shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the umbrella being of the foldable type with an extendible shaft, the umbrella further comprising a container for the canopy which is attached around the shaft, wherein said container is substantially waterproof and is capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when said canopy is closed, the container remaining attached to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy, the container being moveable along the shaft towards the canopy when the canopy is open and being fixable at a predetermined position along the shaft such that the container is substantially shielded by the open canopy.

2. An umbrella according to claim 1, wherein the container has an aperture for receiving the shaft of the umbrella, and the shaft of the umbrella is slidable through the aperture of the container.

3. An umbrella according to either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the top of the container is openable to allow removal of the canopy from the container, the top end of the container being defined as the end of the container closest to the canopy after the canopy has been removed from the container.

4. An umbrella according to claim 3, wherein the container has a body and a lid provided at the top end of the container, the lid being openable to allow release of the umbrella canopy.

5. An umbrella according to claim 4, wherein the lid and/or the container body are provided with sealing means to form a watertight seal between the lid and the container body.

6. An umbrella according to claim 5, wherein the lid and container body are connected by a flexible member such as a strap.

7. An umbrella according to either of claims 5 or 6, wherein said lid is provided with a rim, and a projection is provided about said rim, said container body being provided with a projection for engaging with the projection of said lid to seal the container.

8. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the extendible shaft of the umbrella is extendible when the container encloses the canopy.

9. An umbrella according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the umbrella further comprises a handle at an opposing end of the shaft to the canopy and said container remains at the handle end of the shaft during the removal of the canopy from the container.

10. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises resiliently biased member, the member being biased against said shaft to fix the container at said pre-determined position along said shaft.

11. An umbrella according to claim 10, wherein the member is capable of fixing the umbrella at any point along said shaft.

12. An umbrella according to either of claims 10 or 11, wherein said member is moveable between a rest position where said member is not in contact with said shaft and an operating position, where said member is in contact with said shaft, wherein actuation means are provided to effect movement of the member between said rest position and said operating position.

13. An umbrella according to either of claims 10 or 11, wherein movement between said member is continually biased against said shaft during movement of the container along said shaft.

14. An umbrella according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the umbrella shaft comprises a resiliently biased member configured to fix said container in position at an upper end of the shaft.

15. An umbrella according to claim 14, wherein the said resiliently biased member also serves to keep the shaft of the umbrella extended.

16. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the canopy is openable by an automatic deployment mechanism operable by the user of the umbrella.

17. An umbrella according to claim 16, wherein the automatic deployment mechanism causes the canopy to be released from the container.

18. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is substantially rigid.

19. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is substantially transparent.

20. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container is a moulded container.

21. An umbrella according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises plastics material.

22. A container for a foldable umbrella having an extendible shaft and a canopy which collapses from an open position to a closed position, the container being waterproof and being capable of enclosing the umbrella canopy when the canopy is closed, the container being moveable along the shaft towards the canopy when it is open and being fixable at a predetermined position along the shaft such that the container is substantially shielded by the open canopy, wherein the container remains attached to the umbrella during opening and closing of the canopy.

23. An umbrella and container as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.

24. A container for an umbrella as substantially hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.