Umbrella handle

Abstract

Provided is an umbrella handle comprising a tube, a hollow upper enlargement secured to one end of the tube and being in communication with a bore of the tube, a lower enlargement secured to and concealed the other end of the tube, and a flexible gripping member shaped to be easily gripped by hand and formed around the tube and between the upper and the lower enlargements such that a shank is adapted to have its lower portion inserted through the upper enlargement into the bore of the tube to engage the lower enlargement and secure thereto. The invention has advantages of increased gripping comfort, mass production, and low manufacturing cost.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention generally relates to umbrella components and more particularly an on umbrella handle with improved characteristics (e.g., increased gripping comfort, mass production, and low manufacturing cost).

2. Description of Related Art

One type of conventional umbrella handle is formed of thermoplastic for the sake of lowering manufacturing cost. However, its gripping comfort is poor.

Another type of conventional umbrella handle is formed of wood for the sake of increasing value and gripping comfort. However, its manufacturing cost is very high because many complicated manufacturing processes including cutting, polishing, forming, and painting are involved. Also, the cost of wood is increasing gradually due to environmental protection concern. Still another type of conventional umbrella handle is formed by gluing wood chips and molding. However, it has the drawback of poor gripping comfort similar to one formed of thermoplastic.

A further type of conventional umbrella handle 1 is formed by performing the following steps as illustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1D. A short inner tube 11 formed of thermoplastic is provided. An upper enlargement 12 is secured to one end of the inner tube 11 by gluing. A short outer tube 13 of nonrigid material is formed on the upper enlargement 12 and around the inner tube 11 so as to define an annular space therebetween. A gelatinous substance 14 is filled in the space. Finally, a lower enlargement 15 is secured to the other ends of the tubes 11 and 13 to conceal the gelatinous substance 14 by gluing. A user may feel a degree of comfort while gripping the flexible handle 1.

However, the further type of prior umbrella handle 1 has one drawback. In detail, cracks may occur after a period time of use due to poor gluing or other reasons, such as, gluing contacting relationship in among of the inner tube 11, the lower enlargement 15, the upper enlargement 12 and the short outer tube 13 will be varied due to different materials having been encountered to expand when hot and to shrink when cold. Thus, the gelatinous substance 14 may leak from the cracks. A user may feel uncomfortable by touching the leaked gelatinous substance 14 while gripping the handle 1. Further, washing the gelatinous substance 14 stuck on the hand or a personal article (e.g., clothes, bags or the like) is not easy. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an umbrella handle having advantages of increased gripping comfort, mass production, and low manufacturing cost.

To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a handle of an umbrella comprising a tube; a hollow upper enlargement secured to one end of the tube and being in communication with a bore of the tube; a lower enlargement secured to and concealed the other end of the tube; and a flexible gripping member shaped to be easily gripped by hand and formed around the tube and between the upper and the lower enlargements such that a shank is adapted to have its lower portion inserted through the upper enlargement into the bore of the tube to engage the lower enlargement and secure thereto.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1D are sectional views illustrating steps of manufacturing a conventional umbrella handle;

FIGS. 2A to 2C are sectional views illustrating steps of manufacturing a first preferred embodiment of umbrella handle according to the invention;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are sectional views illustrating steps of manufacturing a second preferred embodiment of umbrella handle according to the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a plane view of an umbrella handle constructed in accordance with either preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 2A to 2C, a process of manufacturing an umbrella handle in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. First, a short tube 2 of thermoplastic is formed by injection molding. The tube 2 may be formed of a material such as metal or fiberglass in other embodiments. A hollow upper enlargement 3 is secured to one end 21 of the tube 2 by for example gluing or heating or molding and a through hole 31 of the upper enlargement 3 is in communication with the bore of the tube 2. A lower enlargement 4 is secured to and concealed the other end 22 of the tube 2 by for example gluing or heating or molding. Thus, a gripping member 20 is formed around the tube 2. Finally, a thermoplastic (e.g., silicon rubber) is molded around the gripping member 20 between the upper enlargement 3 and the lower enlargement 4 to form a flexible gripping portion 5 and which preferably, is shaped to be easily gripped by hand. Moreover, a smooth projection 51 is formed on the gripping portion 5. The provision of the projection 51 can increase comfort of gripping the handle by hand (i.e., an ergonomic design).

Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3C, an umbrella handle constructed in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The second embodiment is identical to the first embodiment, except that a protrusion 23 is formed on an outer surface of the tube 2 and is disposed corresponding to the projection 51. The protrusion 23 is provided to prevent the gripping portion 5 from being rotated with respect to the outer surface of the tube 2 during a long time period of use.

Referring to FIG. 4, an umbrella handle constructed in accordance with either preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. A shank 6 has its lower portion snugly inserted through the hole 31 of the upper enlargement 3 into the bore of the tube 2 to engage the lower enlargement 4 and is secured thereto by for example gluing or heating or molding.

The umbrella handle thus has the following advantages including increased gripping comfort, mass production, and low manufacturing cost.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A handle of an umbrella comprising:

a tube;

a hollow upper enlargement secured to one end of the tube and being in communication with a bore of the tube;

a lower enlargement secured to and concealed the other end of the tube; and

a flexible gripping member shaped to be easily gripped by hand and formed around an outer surface of the tube and between the upper and the lower enlargements such that a shank is adapted to have a lower portion thereof inserted through the upper enlargement into the bore of the tube to engage the lower enlargement and secure thereto.

2. The handle of claim 1, wherein the gripping member is of thermoplastic and is formed by injection molding.

3. The handle of claim 1, wherein the gripping portion further comprises a projection formed on its outer surface.

4. The handle of claim 3, wherein the tube further comprises a protrusion formed on an outer surface thereof, and a position of the protrusion is disposed corresponding to that of the projection.