RIB ASSEMBLY OF UMBRELLA
A rib assembly of umbrella having added safety to a user and longer service life is provided. The umbrella assembly structure has grooves of the outer and inner ribs faced away from the user. In other words, the sharp edges of the inner and outer ribs are turned away from the user to prevent hand cuts. Structurally, the use of grooved inner rib over a solid rib helps to reduce the weight of the rib assembly. In addition, the umbrella assembly structure has a secure portion of the outer rib removed to maintain the structural strength of the outer rib.
1. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to a rib assembly of umbrella; in particular, a rib assembly of umbrella with added safety to a user and longer service life.
2. Description of the Related Art
As society grows, higher living standards and product qualities are being demanded. Such demand includes the consumer product such as the umbrellas. With a large global market, umbrellas continue to be actively developed with different styles and improved qualities.
Umbrella products include folding umbrellas, straight umbrellas, and auto open & close umbrellas. The auto open & close umbrellas are most popular because of simplicity and easy to use.
As discussed above, the U-shaped groove 170 faces the inner rib 18, which means the sharp edges of the outer rib 17 faces the user. Consequently, the hand of the user is often cut by the sharp edges of the outer rib 17 while opening or closing the umbrella. Furthermore, the typical umbrella is defected structurally, where the secure portion 171 reduces the supporting strength of the outer rib 17. In turn, the outer rib 17 tends to become unstable and breaks the inner rib 18. Thereby, the rib assembly 1 has a relative short service life.
To resolve the above issue, the inventor provides an instant disclosure to overcome the shortcomings of the related art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe primary object of the instant disclosure is to provide a rib assembly of an umbrella with added safety to a user and longer service life.
To achieve the above object, the instant disclosure provides a rib assembly of an umbrella having a pole; a top notch fixed to the upper portion of the pole; a middle and bottom runner which are slidable about the pole; a flexible member having a first and second flexible member, such as a coil spring, wherein the first flexible member is disposed in between the top notch and the middle runner, and the second flexible member is disposed in between the middle and the bottom runner, wherein both flexible members work together operationally; a stretcher connected pivotally on one end to the top notch; an outer rib connected pivotally on one end to the stretcher and to the middle runner on the other end, wherein the outer rib is grooved with the opening toward the stretcher; and an inner rib having an insertion end and a fixing end extended therefrom, wherein the fixing end has a secure portion formed thereof and pivotally connected to the outer rib, and the insertion end is pivotally connected to the bottom runner, wherein the inner rib is grooved for accommodating the outer rib.
The instant disclosure has the following advantages. For safety, the grooves of the outer and inner ribs are faced away from the user, which means the sharp edges of the inner and outer ribs are turned away from the user to prevent hand cuts. Structurally, the use of grooved inner rib over a solid rib helps to reduce the weight of the rib assembly. In addition, the secure portion of the outer rib is removed to maintain the structural strength of the outer rib.
Furthermore, the grooves of the outer and inner ribs are U-shaped, which is easy to manufacture. Comparing to solid ribs, the U-shaped groove is stronger against bending and folding stress, which allows the rib assembly to have a longer service life.
For material selection, the stretcher may be manufactured from steel or plastic materials, and the outer and inner ribs may be made of aluminum or iron alloys.
In order to further appreciate the characteristics and technical contents of the instant disclosure, references are hereunder made to the detailed descriptions and appended drawings in connection with the instant disclosure. However, the appended drawings are merely shown for exemplary purposes, rather than being used to restrict the scope of the instant disclosure.
Referring now to
The outer rib 27 is arched in forming a U-shaped continuous groove 270 facing the stretcher 260. The grooved structure helps to reduce weight and increases the supporting strength. Similarly, the inner rib 28 is also grooved. The U-shaped continuous groove faces the outer rib 27 and receives the outer rib 27 therein when collapsing the rib assembly 2. The U-shaped continuous groove also reduces weight and increases the supporting strength of the inner rib 28. At the fixing end 28a, the opposed longitudinally extending channels of the U-shaped continuous groove form a secure portion 281, which is pivotally connected to the outer rib 27.
Alternatively,
In addition, the number of the stretcher 26, the outer rib 27, and the inner rib 28 are not restricted for the instant disclosure
Thereby, the instant disclosure has the following advantages. For the safety aspect, the U-shaped continuous groove 270 of the outer rib 27 and the U-shaped continuous groove of the inner rib 28 are faced away from the user, which means the sharp edges of the outer and inner ribs 27 and 28 are turned away from the user to prevent hand cuts. Compared to solid ribs, the grooved outer and inner ribs 27 and 28 reduce the weight of the rib assembly. In addition, the grooved rib assembly is stronger against bending and folding stress. Furthermore, the secure portion 281 defined by the fixing end 28a of the inner rib 28 removes the need to modify the outer rib 17 as shown in the related art. By maintaining the uniformity of the grooved structure, the outer rib 27 is stronger structurally in providing longer service life.
Still further, the U-shaped continuous groove 270 of the outer rib 27 and the U-shaped continuous groove of the inner rib 28 can be easily formed through the manufacturing process. For material selection, the stretcher 26 may be manufactured from steel or plastic materials, and the outer and inner ribs 27 and 28 may be made of aluminum or iron alloys.
The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics of the instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instant disclosure delineated by the following claims.
Claims
1. A rib assembly of umbrella, comprising:
- a pole;
- a top notch fixed to the pole;
- a middle runner slidably mounted on the pole;
- a bottom runner slidably mounted on the pole;
- at least one flexible member mounted on the pole;
- at least one stretcher connected pivotally on one end to the top notch;
- at least one outer rib connected pivotally on one end to each stretcher, each outer rib is pivotally connected on another end to the middle runner, a continuous groove is formed on each outer rib facing each stretcher; and
- at least one inner rib having an insertion end and a fixing end extended therefrom, the fixing end is further extended in forming a secure portion pivotally connecting to the outer rib, the insertion end is pivotally connected to the bottom runner, a continuous groove is formed on each inner rib facing each outer rib to accommodate each outer rib therein.
2. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, wherein the continuous groove of each outer and inner rib is U-shaped.
3. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, wherein each stretcher is steel or plastics.
4. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, wherein each outer rib and each inner rib is aluminum alloys or iron alloys.
5. The rib assembly of umbrella of claim 1, wherein each flexible member is a spring unit.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 8, 2010
Publication Date: May 10, 2012
Inventor: JAO-HUEI FANG (CHANGHUA COUNTY)
Application Number: 12/941,169
International Classification: A45B 25/02 (20060101); A45B 25/06 (20060101);