DUAL-CROWN UMBRELLA

A dual-crown umbrella includes a first central post, an outer crown, a second central post, an inner crown, a third central post, a retainer, a plurality of ribs, a plurality of first stretchers, a plurality of second stretchers, and a covering fabric. The outer crown is fixed to an upper end of the first central post. The inner crown is fixed to an upper end of the second central post. The retainer is fixed to an upper end of the third central post. The first central post is telescopically movable within an upper end opening of the second central post. The second central post is telescopically movable in an upper end of the third central post. Each rib has an upper end pivoted to the outer crown. Each first stretcher has an end pivoted to the retainer and an opposite end pivoted to a first joint of the respective rib. Each second stretcher has an end pivoted to the inner crown and an opposite end pivoted to a second joint of the respective rib. The ribs support the covering. Thus, a dual-crown umbrella featuring excellent stability of support and effort saved opening operation is realized.

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Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dual-crown umbrella, and in particular to a dual-crown umbrella that comprises a multiple-sectioned telescopic central post on which an outer crown, an inner crown, and a retainer are mounted to couple with a plurality of ribs, a plurality of first stretchers, and a plurality of second stretchers for supporting a covering so as to realize excellent and stable support and effort saved opening/closing operations.

2. The Related Arts

A large-sized umbrella or parasol, such as a garden parasol and a beach parasol, often comprises a long central post to carry long ribs for supporting a covering fabric of large surface area so that when the covering is expanded, a large area of sun shelter can be formed.

The conventional large-sized umbrella has an essential structure comprising a crown to serve a support center for the ribs and the covering and a runner that slidable to drive the ribs for expanding the covering. In such a conventional umbrella structure, since the crown is fixed to the topmost end of the central post, making it a stationary support point, when the umbrella is being opened, the fixed crown and the upward moving runner show a long stroke of movement therebetween. Further, the support is exclusively carried by the crown and the runner mounted to the central post, which leads to instability of the covering after the umbrella is opened and also makes the operation of opening umbrella very labor consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the above problem, the present invention aims to provide a dual-crown umbrella, which allows the operation of opening umbrella to be conducted in an effort saved manner.

In other words, an objective of the present invention is to provide a dual-crown umbrella that comprises a three-sectioned telescopic central post on which a movable outer crown, a movable inner crown, and a fixed retainer are mounted to couple with a plurality of ribs, a plurality of first stretchers, and a plurality of second stretchers for sharing the support to the umbrella, operating with downward sliding the inner crown for opening the umbrella, and thus achieving saving of effort in opening the umbrella.

Another objective of the present invention is to a dual-crown umbrella, which comprises a large area covering that is collectively supported by a plurality of ribs, a plurality of first stretchers, and a plurality of second stretchers, wherein opposite ends of each first stretcher are respectively coupled to a retainer and a first joint of a respective rib and opposite ends of each second stretcher are respectively coupled to an inner crown and a second joint of a respective rib to form a crossing configuration of umbrella skeleton arrangement, so as to provide the best support stability to the covering in an opened condition and make the surface of the covering flat and beautiful.

To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution.

The present invention provides a dual-crown umbrella, which, after completely assembled, shows an outside configuration as shown in FIG. 1 and has a skeleton structure as shown in FIG. 2, comprising a first central post, an outer crown, a second central post, an inner crown, a third central post, a retainer, a plurality of ribs, a plurality of first stretchers, a plurality of second stretchers, and a covering fabric.

The outer crown is fixed to an upper end of the first central post.

The inner crown is fixed to an upper end of the second central post.

The retainer is fixed to an upper end of the third central post.

The second central post is tubular and has an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the first central post for telescopically receiving the first central post therein through an upper end opening so that the first central post is telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the second central post.

The third central post is tubular and has an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the second central post for telescopically receiving the second central post therein through an upper end opening so that the second central post is telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the third central post.

Each rib has an upper end pivoted to the outer crown. Each rib forms a first joint and a second joint serving as pivotal joints with the stretchers.

Each first stretcher has an end pivoted to the retainer and an opposite end pivoted to the first joint of the respective rib.

Each second stretcher has an end pivoted to the inner crown and an opposite end pivoted to the second joint of the respective rib.

Each first stretcher and the respective second stretcher form a crossing configuration of umbrella skeleton arrangement.

The covering is supported by the plurality of ribs and can be driven by the ribs to expand and collapse.

In accordance with the dual-crown umbrella of the present invention, the first central post is telescopically movable within the upper end of the second central post and the second central post is telescopically movable within the upper end of the third central post to thereby form a three-sectioned telescopic central post.

By controlling upward or downward sliding movement of the inner crown and the second central post, the covering can be expanded or collapsed by driving the ribs through the first and second stretchers.

To facilitate a user's operation of the upward or downward sliding movement of the inner crown and the second central post, a collar is slidably fit over an outer circumference of the third central post and two link bars are mounted to opposite side portions of the collar in such a way that upper ends of the link bars respectively extend through through-holes defined in the retainer to connect to the inner crown.

A user only need to grip and make upward pushing or downward pulling of the collar, the inner crown and the second central post are driven to perform upward and downward sliding movement of through the two link bars.

Since opening the umbrella is done by pulling downward movement of the inner crow and since the outer crown and the first central post are telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the second central post, the umbrella can be opened with less effort.

After the umbrella is opened, the first stretchers mounted to the outer circumference of the retainer function to support the ribs through the first joints, while the second stretchers mounted to the outer circumference of the inner crown function to support the ribs through the second joints. Thus, a stable support to the covering can be obtained and the surface of the expanded covering can be made flat and smooth.

Since each rib is supported by a first stretcher and a second stretcher that are arranged in a crossing configuration, it is possible to use ribs of a greater length to carry a covering of a greater area, and still maintains a stable and sound support to the covering, making it possible to provide a lager shelter area against scorching sun light and also offer a greater shelter space with the umbrella.

To close the umbrella, the operation is made in a reversed sequence by pushing the collar upward to drive the inner crown and the second central post upward through the two link bars so as to collapse the umbrella covering as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The dual-crown umbrella of the present invention offers the efficacies of effort saved umbrella opening operation and excellent support of covering and is most suitable for large-sized umbrellas and parasols, such as garden parasols and beach parasols, and is also applicable to large-sized umbrellas that use a square or rectangular covering fabric and requires extra long ribs. Apparently, this arrangement of the telescopic central post in accordance with the present invention is also applicable to small-sized personal umbrellas.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a dual-crown umbrella in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 a schematic view illustrating a skeleton structure of the umbrella of the present invention, in which the umbrella is shown in an expanded condition with a covering removed;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the umbrella skeleton structure of umbrella in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a closing operation of the umbrella of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a subsequent condition of the umbrella closing operation of FIG. 4, wherein the umbrella is collapsed to a condition of smallest volume.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A dual-crown umbrella is provided in the present invention. FIG. 1 of the attached drawings shows a perspective view of the umbrella of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a skeleton structure of the umbrella of the present invention, in which the umbrella is shown in an expanded condition with a covering removed. FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the umbrella skeleton structure of the present invention.

The dual-crown umbrella provided by the present invention, after completely assembled, shows an outside configuration as shown in FIG. 1 and has a skeleton structure as shown in FIG. 2, comprising a first central post 10, an outer crown 11, a second central post 12, an inner crown 13, a third central post 14, a retainer 15, a plurality of ribs 20, a plurality of first stretchers 23, a plurality of second stretchers 24, and a covering fabric 30.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer crown 11 is fixed to an upper end of the first central post 10.

The inner crown 13 is fixed to an upper end of the second central post 12.

The retainer 15 is fixed to an upper end of the third central post 14.

The second central post 12 is tubular and has an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the first central post 10 for telescopically receiving the first central post 10 therein through an upper end opening so that the first central post 10 is telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the second central post 12.

The third central post 14 is tubular and has an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the second central post 12 for telescopically receiving the second central post 12 therein through an upper end opening so that the second central post 12 is telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the third central post 14.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the second central post 12 is provided with a device for controlling vertical movement of the inner crown 13 and the second central post 12. The device comprises a collar 16 slidably fit over an outer circumference of the third central post 15. Link bars 17 are mounted to opposite side portions of the collar in such a way that upper ends of the link bars 17 respectively extend through through-holes 18 defined in the retainer 15 to connect to the inner crown 13.

A user may hand grip the collar 16 to do upward pushing or downward pulling so that the inner crown 13 and the second central post 12 are driven by the two link bars 17 to perform upward or downward sliding movement.

As shown in FIG. 2, each rib 20 has an upper end pivoted to the outer crown 11. Each rib 20 forms a first joint 21 and a second joint 22 serving as pivotal joints with the stretchers.

Each first stretcher 23 has an end pivoted to the retainer 15 and an opposite end pivoted to the first joint 21 of the respective rib 20.

Each second stretcher 24 has an end pivoted to the inner crown 13 and an opposite end pivoted to the second joint 22 of the respective rib 20.

The covering 30, as shown in FIG. 1, is supported by the plurality of ribs 20 and can be driven by the ribs 20 to expand and collapse.

In accordance with the dual-crown umbrella of the present invention, to open the umbrella, the collar 16 is gripped and pulled downward to cause the downward sliding movement of the inner crown 13 and the second central post 12 so as to expand the ribs 20 to open the covering 30, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Since the umbrella opening operation is performed through pulling the inner crown 13 to move downward, and since the outer crown 11 and the first central post 10 are allowed to doe telescopic movement within the upper end portion of the second central post 12, opening the umbrella of the present invention is relatively effort saved as compared to the conventional large-sized umbrellas.

After the umbrella is opened, the first stretchers 23 mounted to the outer circumference of the retainer 15 function to support the ribs 20 through the first joints 21, while the second stretchers 24 mounted to the outer circumference of the inner crown 13 function to support the ribs 20 through the second joints 22. Since each first stretcher 23 and the respective second stretcher 24 form a crossing configuration of umbrella skeleton arrangement, a stable support to the covering can be obtained, leading to excellent effect of expansion of the covering.

As discussed above, each rib 20 is supported by two stretchers (a first stretcher 23 and a second stretcher 24) to bear together the covering 30, whereby the present invention allows for the use of ribs 20 of even greater length, which can carry a covering 30 of a greater area, but still maintains a stable and sound support to the covering, making it possible to provide a lager shelter area against scorching sun light with the umbrella of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a closing operation of the umbrella of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a subsequent condition of umbrella closing operation of FIG. 4, wherein the umbrella is collapsed to a condition of smallest volume.

As shown in FIG. 4, to close the umbrella, the collar 16 is pushed upward in a reversed direction, driving upward sliding movement of the inner crown 13 and the second central post 12 through the link bars 17, so as to have each rib 20 collapse inward to close the umbrella, as shown in FIG. 5.

To summarize, the present invention provides an umbrella comprising a first central post 10 and an outer crown 11, a second central post 12 and an inner crown 13, and a third central post 14 and a retainer 15, and further comprising first stretchers 23 and second stretchers 24 that are arranged in a crossing configuration to collectively support ribs 20 and a covering 30. The umbrella is opened by pulling the second central post 12 and the inner crown 13 downward so that the operation can be done is an effort saved manner, whereby the structure is most suitable for large-sized umbrellas and parasols, such as garden parasols and beach parasols, and is also applicable to large-sized umbrellas that use a square or rectangular covering fabric and requires extra long ribs.

If desired, the structure of dual crown and telescopic central post may also be adopted in small-sized personal umbrellas, and provides similar effects of effort-saved operation and stable covering support.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An umbrella, comprising:

a first central post;
an outer crown, which is fixed to an upper end of the first central post;
a second central post, which is tubular and has an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the first central post for telescopically receiving the first central post therein through an upper end opening so that the first central post is telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the second central post;
an inner crown, which is fixed to an upper end of the second central post;
a third central post, which is tubular and has an inside diameter greater than an outside diameter of the second central post for telescopically receiving the second central post therein through an upper end opening so that the second central post is telescopically movable within an upper end portion of the third central post;
a retainer fixedly disposed at an upper end of the third central post;
a plurality of ribs, each of which has an upper end pivoted to the outer crown, each rib forming a first joint and a second joint;
a plurality of first stretchers, each of which has an end pivoted to the retainer and an opposite end pivoted to the first joint of the respective rib;
a plurality of second stretchers, each of which has an end pivoted to the inner crown and an opposite end pivoted to the second joint of the respective rib, so that each second stretcher and the respective first stretcher form a crossing configuration of umbrella skeleton arrangement; and
a covering, which is supported by the plurality of ribs and is driven by the ribs to open/close the umbrella;
wherein to open the umbrella, the inner crown and the second central post are displaced longitudinally towards the retainer so as to expand the ribs to open the covering, and to close the umbrella, the inner crown and the second central post are displaced longitudinally away from the retainer so as to collapse the ribs inward to close the covering.

2. The umbrella as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second central post comprises a device for controlling longitudinal movement of the inner crown and the second central post, the device comprising a collar slidably fit over an outer circumference of the third central post for opening or closing the umbrella, two link bars being mounted to opposite side portions of the collar in such a way that upper ends of the link bars respectively extend through through-holes defined in the retainer to connect to the inner crown, wherein longitudinal displacement of the collar drives the inner crown and the second central post through the two link bars to close or open the umbrella.

Patent History
Publication number: 20110290289
Type: Application
Filed: May 28, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 1, 2011
Inventor: JOEN-SHEN MA (TAIPEI)
Application Number: 12/789,770
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Collapsible In Length (135/25.1)
International Classification: A45B 19/04 (20060101);