Inverse umbrella

Abstract

An inverse umbrella having a double canopy structure and an inverse opening system is disclosed. The double canopy structure comprises an outer canopy and an inner canopy. The inverse opening system comprises a network of ribs and mechanism for moving the ribs so that the inner canopy is on the outside when the umbrella is in the collapsed position. When the inverse umbrella is closed after exposure to rain, the dry inner canopy is on the outside, thereby preventing undesirable dripping. The inverse umbrella also includes a unique sleeve and water collection system that encloses the rain dampened umbrella so that water adhering to the canopy can be properly collected in a unidirectional water-retaining device without making the surroundings wet when the user carries around the rain dampened umbrella. The water collection system comprises a one-way flow check valve that directs water droplets from the wet outer canopy toward a water reservoir while preventing the collected water from flowing out of the reservoir.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an umbrella, and more particularly to an inverse umbrella that shelters the user from the rain.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Arts

[0004] The umbrella is a common device used to shelter the user from rainwater and is made available in various designs and features. Many of the conventional umbrellas have wide opening arc that hinders the closing and opening of the umbrella within a limited space such as the door opening of an automobile or the doorway of a building. In addition, upon closing an unsheathed wet conventional umbrella, water droplets will start falling off the canopy onto the floor or get transferred to the surface where the umbrella is resting on.

[0005] Reversible umbrellas have been proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,746 issued to Doster and Japan Patent No. 11-16471 issued to Makato. Doster discloses an umbrella with a cover, preferably square or rectangular, supported on a telescopic shaft by articulated ribs that extend from the shaft beneath the cover. The articulated ribs are controlled by guides and stabilizers extending radially from a reciprocable transfer sleeve on the telescopic shaft to fold the cover inside out as the shaft is shortened and the umbrella is closed. The rib and shaft assembly of Doster's umbrella requires uncommon and expensive mechanical parts. Dosier's umbrella is also provided with a water collection cup at the handle but it is still possible for the water adhered to the cover to trickle out when the umbrella is being held with the handle pointing upwards. Dosier's umbrella is not sufficient in concealing the wet umbrella and to collect the water dripping from the wet cover.

[0006] Makato discloses an umbrella capable of being closed in a reversed mode so that the wet surface of the umbrella is on the inside. This umbrella is difficult to operate because the user has to manually push the rib pedestal up the shaft to open the umbrella. In addition, Makato's reversible umbrella does not have an effective means for collecting the water droplets from the wet canopy when the umbrella is closed.

[0007] In both of the above reversible umbrellas, the ribs and the threads for securing the ribs to the cover are exposed to wear and tear from regular use when the cover is folded inside out and are also unsightly.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0008] The present invention provides an inverse umbrella that is easy to manipulate and can be economically produced.

[0009] The inverse umbrella has a double canopy structure and an inverse opening system. The double canopy structure comprises an outer canopy and an inner canopy. The inverse opening system comprises a network of ribs and mechanism for moving the ribs so that the inner canopy is on the outside when the umbrella is in the collapsed position.

[0010] This inverse opening system requires minimal opening and closing space, thereby reducing the exposure of the user and his surrounding to raindrops prior to the full extension or closure of the canopy when getting into and out of the rain from a sheltered area; e.g. the doorway of an automobile. When the inverse umbrella is closed after exposure to rain, the dry inner canopy is on the outside, thereby preventing undesirable dripping.

[0011] The umbrella of the present invention also includes a unique sleeve and water collection system that encloses the rain dampened umbrella so that water adhering to the canopy can be properly collected in a unidirectional water-retaining device without making the surroundings wet when the user carries around the rain dampened umbrella. The water collection system comprises a one-way flow check valve that directs water droplets from the wet outer canopy toward a water reservoir while preventing the collected water from flowing out of the reservoir.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional perspective view, with sectional cutouts, of the inverse umbrella in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional side view of the umbrella of the present invention in its fully opened position.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows the cross-sectional side view of the umbrella at a transitional stage between the fully opened position and the collapsed position.

[0015] FIG. 4 shows the exploded view of the area labeled as X in FIG. 2.

[0016] FIG. 5 shows the side view of the umbrella in the collapsed position and being enclosed by a sleeve.

[0017] FIG. 6 shows the cross-sectional side view of the unidirectional water-retaining chamber.

[0018] FIGS. 7 and 7A-7C illustrate the opening instruction in operating the inverse umbrella.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1, the umbrella of the present invention includes a handle 18, a main shaft 19, an outer canopy 20, and an inner canopy 21, a unidirectional water-retaining device 1. The canopies are folded in a reversible manner as shown in FIG. 2 by the movement of lower inverse ribs 11, upper inverse ribs 12, upper ribs 13 and inner ribs 14. A plurality of lower inverse ribs 11 are attached to the inner canopy 21, and a plurality of upper inverse ribs 11, upper ribs 13 are attached to the outer canopy 20. The lower inverse ribs 11, upper ribs 13 and inner ribs 14 radially extend from the main shaft 19. Each upper inverse rib 12 is connected to the distal end of a corresponding upper rib 13 so that they form a continuous rib when the outer canopy is fully extended. One end of each rib 14 is connected to an upper annular connector 22 while the other end is connected to a corresponding upper rib 13 at joint 3. A plurality of push up ribs 15 are arranged between the lower inverse ribs 11 and the inner ribs 14. Each push up rib 15 is connected at one end to a lower annular connector 23 and radially extends from the shaft to the inner rib 14. A plurality of inner rib guides 24 are provided for guiding lower inverse ribs 11. Each inner rib guide 24 extends from the lower inverse rib 11 to the joint between upper inverse rib 12 and upper rib 13. The inverse umbrella preferably has either 6 or 8 sets of these ribs.

[0020] Located on the main shaft 19 near the handle 18 are catch 16 and catch release knob 17. A sleeve cap assembly 7 is slidably mounted to the main shaft 19 so that it can slide up and down the shaft 19 between the lower connector 23 and catch 16. A catch holder 10 is slidably mounted to the main shaft 19 and connected to the sleeve cap assembly 7 so that it is movable with sleeve cap assembly 7. The catch holder 10 is adapted to engage the catch 16 when the umbrella is in its closed position.

[0021] A push-up compression spring assembly 8 is slidably mounted to the shaft 19 between the upper annular connector 22 and the lower annular connector 23. A limit stopper 2 is mounted to the shaft between the upper ribs 13 and inner ribs 14. When the umbrella is fully opened as shown in FIG. 3, the limit stopper 2 separates the upper ribs 13 from the inner ribs 14 by a desirable distance. A snap-up spring 4 is provided at the joint between the upper rib 13 and the upper inverse rib 12. A lower rib stopper 9 is provided on upper inverse rib 12 for halting the movement of the lower inverse rib 11 when the umbrella is fully opened as shown in FIG. 3.

[0022] FIG. 4 shows the exploded view of area X where the snap-up spring 4 is located. The snap-up spring 4 is secured to upper rib 13 at one end 4a while the other end 4b is free to glide along upper rib 12. The lower inverse rib 11 has a C-channel and a snap-up spring holder 6 is provided in the C-channel to prevent the lateral movements of the snap-up spring 4. The snap-up spring holder 6 is a coiled wire that has a large enough hole for snap-up spring 4 to thread through it. The free gliding end 4b of snap-up spring 4 is threaded through the snap-up spring holder 6 as shown in FIG. 4.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 5, the collapsed inverse umbrella is enclosed in a sleeve covering 27. The sleeve covering 27 is part of the sleeve cap assembly 7. The sleeve cap assembly 7 further includes an outer sleeve collar 25 and an inner sleeve collar 26. The sleeve covering 27 is attached to the outer sleeve collar 25 at one end and to the inner sleeve collar 26 at the other end. It is preferred that the sleeve covering is made of a thin fabric. While the outer sleeve collar 25 is free to move, inner sleeve collar 26 is secured to bottom of push-up compression spring assembly 8. The outer sleeve collar 25 is connectable to the unidirectional water-retaining chamber 1 by twist-locking the former into the latter as shown in FIG. 6.

[0024] Referring to FIG. 6, the unidirectional water-retaining device 1 is composed of a water reservoir 28, a one-way flow check valve 29, and a drain cap 32. The unidirectional water-retaining chamber 1 is assembled onto one end of the shaft 19 by inserting the tip of the main shaft 19 into the orifice 30 in the one-way flow check valve 29. The one-way flow check valve 29 has a cylindrical extension 31 into which the outer sleeve collar 25 can be inserted in a locking position as shown in FIG. 6. A drain-cap 32 is screwed onto the discharging opening 33 of the water reservoir 28. The one-way flow check valve 29 has a funnel-shape portion with an orifice 30 at the center through which the tip of the shaft 19 can be inserted from one end. The tip of shaft 19 is hollow and has an opening 34 through which water can drip from the wet canopy into the reservoir 28. When the umbrella is held with the handle pointing upwards, water droplets adhering to surface of the wet canopy will trickle downward due to gravity. These water droplets will be directed to and collected in the water reservoir 28, but are prevented from flowing out of the reservoir 28 because of the funnel shape of the one-way check valve 29. It is preferred that the water reservoir 28 is made of a material that is substantially translucent or transparent, and is provided with a marking to indicate overflow level so that the user can see when it is required to drain out the collected water. The collected water can be discharged when the drain-cap 32 is unscrewed for drainage.

[0025] Opening and Closing the Inverse Umbrella.

[0026] FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate the beginning stages of opening up the inverse umbrella. Upon activation by pressing catch release knob 17, catch 16 will be liberated from catch holder 10, where push-up compression spring assembly 8 will set in motion the opening of the umbrella. Each set of ribs 11, 12, 13 and 14 will slide freely upwards along main shaft 19. As the ribs continue their journey, snap-up spring 4 will be set in action and this aids the opening up of upper inverse rib 12 and upper rib 13. This free gliding of the lower inverse rib 11 is halted by the lower rib stopper 9. This restriction acts in tandem with the leveling of inner rib 14 as the ribs continue to move upwards and hence create the arched shape of the fully extended outer canopy 20. The above explained upwards motion of the ribs and separation of the two canopies will continue until push-up compression spring assembly 8 reaches the open limit stopper 2, upon which time the full opening of the inverse umbrella is accomplished.

[0027] Retracting the ribs for closing is accomplished by pulling push-up compression spring assembly 8 downwards until catch 16 hooks onto catch holder 10. At this stage, the rain dampened upper canopy 20 will be inside while the dry inner canopy 21 will be outside. Upon full collapsing of the canopies, tag 28 is used to tie up the canopies as.

[0028] After the collapsed canopies are tied up by tie 35, the outer sleeve collar 25 moves up along the length of the umbrella. This will gradually unfold sleeve covering 27. It is preferred that the sleeve covering is made of a fabric. When outer sleeve collar 25 reaches unidirectional water-retaining chamber 1, it can be twist-locked to the latter. Once this accomplished, the umbrella will be enclosed within sleeve covering 27 and thus preventing any water trapped inside it from wetting the surrounding.

[0029] It should be understood that many modifications and variations of the described embodiment are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereafter.

Claims

1. An inverse umbrella, comprising:

a shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, and comprising a handle provided at said lower end portion;

a sleeve cap assembly slidably mounted at said shaft between said upper and lower end portions;

a plurality of upper ribs radially extended from said shaft, wherein each of said upper ribs is pivotally mounted at said upper end portion of said shaft;

a plurality of upper inverse ribs pivotally connected to distal ends of said upper ribs respectively such that said upper inverse ribs are radially extended from said shaft;

a plurality of lower inverse ribs radially extended from said shaft, wherein each of said lower inverse ribs has an inner end pivotally mounted at said sleeve cap assembly and an outer end coupled with said respective upper inverse rib; and

a double canopy structure comprising an outer canopy supported by said upper ribs and said upper inverse ribs, and an inner canopy supported by said lower inverse ribs such that said inverse umbrella is adapted to fold between an unfolded position and a folded position;

wherein at said unfolded position, said sleeve cap assembly is slid towards said upper end portion of said shaft to radially extend said lower inverse ribs with respect to said shaft such that said upper ribs and said upper inverse ribs are driven to form a plurality of continuous ribs to radially extend from said shaft so as to fully extend said outer canopy in an arched shape manner to shelter said inner canopy therebelow;

wherein at said folded position, said sleeve cap assembly is slid towards said lower end portion of said shaft to pivotally fold said lower inverse ribs to said shaft such that said upper inverse ribs are pivotally folded towards said upper ribs respectively while said outer canopy is overlapped folded up to be sheltered within said inner canopy.

2. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of inner ribs radially extended from said sleeve cap assembly to said upper ribs respectively in a pivotally movable manner and a plurality of push up ribs pivotally extended from said sleeve cap assembly to said inner ribs respectively such that when said sleeve cap assembly is slid towards said upper end portion of said shaft, said push up ribs are driven to push said inner ribs to radially extended from said shaft so as to force said upper ribs and said upper inverse ribs to form said continuous ribs respectively to support said outer canopy in a fully extending manner.

3. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 2, wherein said sleeve cap assembly comprises upper and lower annular connectors coaxially mounted on said shaft in a slidably movable manner and a push-up compression spring assembly coaxially mounted on said shaft between said upper and lower annular connectors, wherein said lower inverse ribs are pivotally connected to said lower annular connector while said inner ribs are pivotally connected to said upper annular connector, such that when said lower annular connector is slid upwardly along said shaft, said upper annular connector is pushed by said push-up compression spring assembly to drive said inner ribs to radially extend from said shaft.

4. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of snap-up springs each having an end coupled with said respective upper rib and an opposed end slidably coupled with said respective upper inverse rib, wherein said snap-up springs are substantially biased against said lower inverse ribs respectively in such a manner that when said lower inverse ribs are driven to radially extend from said shaft, said snap-up springs push said upper inverse ribs to pivotally extend from said upper ribs to form said continuous ribs respectively.

5. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 3, further comprising a plurality of snap-up springs each having an end coupled with said respective upper rib and an opposed end slidably coupled with said respective upper inverse rib, wherein said snap-up springs are substantially biased against said lower inverse ribs respectively in such a manner that when said lower inverse ribs are driven to radially extend from said shaft, said snap-up springs push said upper inverse ribs to pivotally extend from said upper ribs to form said continuous ribs respectively.

6. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 4, further comprising a plurality of snap-up spring holders provided on said lower inverse ribs respectively to hold said snap-up springs in position that said snap-up springs are normally biased against said lower inverse ribs respectively.

7. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 5, further comprising a plurality of snap-up spring holders provided on said lower inverse ribs respectively to hold said snap-up springs in position that said snap-up springs are normally biased against said lower inverse ribs respectively.

8. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said lower inverse ribs has a channel formed therealong to slidably receive a biasing portion of said respective snap-up spring in said channel so as to hold said snap-up springs in position.

9. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 5, wherein each of said lower inverse ribs has a channel formed therealong to slidably receive a biasing portion of said respective snap-up spring in said channel so as to hold said snap-up springs in position.

10. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 1, further comprising an open limit stopper mounted at said upper end portion of said shaft to block a further sliding movement of said sleeve cap assembly at said unfolded position, and a catch mounted at said lower end portion of said shaft to lock up said sleeve cap assembly at said unfolded position.

11. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 3, further comprising an open limit stopper mounted at said upper end portion of said shaft to block a further sliding movement of said sleeve cap assembly at said unfolded position, and a catch mounted at said lower end portion of said shaft to lock up said sleeve cap assembly at said unfolded position.

12. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 5, further comprising an open limit stopper mounted at said upper end portion of said shaft to block a further sliding movement of said sleeve cap assembly at said unfolded position, and a catch mounted at said lower end portion of said shaft to lock up said sleeve cap assembly at said unfolded position.

13. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a water-retaining device which comprises a one-way flow check valve coupled at an upper end of said shaft and a water reservoir mounted to said one-way flow check valve for collecting water dripping from said outer canopy through said one-way flow check valve at said folded position.

14. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 3, further comprising a water-retaining device which comprises a one-way flow check valve coupled at an upper end of said shaft and a water reservoir mounted to said one-way flow check valve for collecting water dripping from said outer canopy through said one-way flow check valve at said folded position.

15. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 5, further comprising a water-retaining device which comprises a one-way flow check valve coupled at an upper end of said shaft and a water reservoir mounted to said one-way flow check valve for collecting water dripping from said outer canopy through said one-way flow check valve at said folded position.

16. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 12, further comprising a water-retaining device which comprises a one-way flow check valve coupled at an upper end of said shaft and a water reservoir mounted to said one-way flow check valve for collecting water dripping from said outer canopy through said one-way flow check valve at said folded position.

17. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for enclosing said inner canopy at said folded position.

18. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 4, further comprising means for enclosing said inner canopy at said folded position.

19. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 12, further comprising means for enclosing said inner canopy at said folded position.

20. The inverse umbrella, as recited in claim 16, further comprising means for enclosing said inner canopy at said folded position.