Beach Umbrella Anchor Stand

Abstract

A beach umbrella anchor stand employing a flexible bag finable with sand at the site of use, the bag constructed to contain a length of tubing between the top and bottom into which an umbrella pole is placed and extended through the bottom into the bag's supporting surface, the bag further containing one or more ports for filling and removing the sand.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on a provisional application Ser. No. 61/990,962 filed May 9, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention resides in the field of support stands and more particularly relates to an anchor stand for beach umbrellas.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Umbrellas are widely employed to ward off the sun by those who frequent beaches covered by sand at the shoreline. These umbrellas usually have a pointed end pole or shaft which is thrust into the sand to provide upright support. This approach has limitations in preventing tipping over or blowing away due to the small diameter of the shaft and the depth it can be pushed into the sand due to underlying hard pack and/or rocks.

Many devices and configurations for providing additional support and anchoring capabilities for umbrellas are known in the prior art. These include means to extend and secure an umbrella poll holder into the ground which use, for example, augers, and foot pedal or hammerable extension spikes. Other approaches include partially buried large surface platforms and propeller shaped below ground retainer devices. Also disclosed are various fillable containers to which beach sand, pebbles, and rocks may be added to provide the desired additional weight.

As best known to the applicant, none of the prior art devices of any kind are available in any form in the market today. The invention presented herein discloses apparatus designed to provide an umbrella holder having features which in combination will overcome difficulties of use, expense, and portability that exist in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a means to strengthen the support of an umbrella against tipping from lack of depth of beach sand and wind gusts. The device consists of a flexible bag fillable with beach sand and a means to secure the umbrella pole to the bag.

The various embodiments contemplated within the scope of the invention include a flexible substantially symmetrical cone shaped bag having a tube disposed in the center thereof, both ends of which communicate with the exterior of the bag to allow the umbrella shaft to pass through and down into the supporting surface, primarily beach sand, and providing specific ports for filing and emptying beach sand while preventing leakage from the sand fill back onto the beach.

Another embodiment consists of a tube or two or more spaced apart ring clamps fastened to the side of the bag either inside or outside into which the pole may be inserted down into the supporting surface. A tube or ring clamps may be fixed to or through the bag by mechanical means such as screws or bolts, or by liquid adhesives or adhesive tapes.

A further embodiment employs a seam sewn lengthwise into the side of the bag creating a sleeve into which the pole may be inserted again, down into the supporting surface.

All of the above take advantage of the on site availability of an ideal filler to provide the anchoring weight, the beach sand itself. This provides for a relatively light, collapsible, easily transportable umbrella anchor unit which may be folded up, taken to the place of use, filled with beach sand, and then emptied putting the sand back from whence it came before leaving the beach spot of choice

It will be appreciated that the invention as described is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to transport, set up and use, and due to its collapsible nature, stow away when not in use or at the end of the beach going season.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be come more clear from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken with the drawings which follows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective end view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an additional embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 5a and 5b are alternative top views of the embodiment of FIG. 4;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of the invention is illustrated in which conically shaped sand fillable flexible bag 10 is arranged to hold tube 12 disposed between the top 14 and the bottom 16 of the bag. Top 14 is sized for a close fit with the outside diameter of the tube which extends just above top 14 when bag 10 is substantially filled to support the conical parameter.

Ring 18 having an inside diameter suitable for receiving tube 12 is attached to bottom 16 over port 20 which allows, when tube 12 is installed in bag 10, umbrella support pole 22 to extend through tube 12 into the top layer of the beach constituting the support surface of the holder.

Two covered sand fill ports 24 and 26 are positioned on opposite sides of bag 10 near top 14 such that sand may be more or less equally distributed throughout the bag during filling. At least one spill port 28 for emptying the holder is positioned on the side of the bag between the two fill ports to provide for the removal of fill at the end of the day's use.

Port covers 30, 32, and 34 may be held in place by one or more methods such as sewing one side to create a hinge, mating Velcro strips disposed along the mutual edges of the bag and the ports, snaps, or buckles such as buckle 36 as illustrated or other means to close the ports to retain the fill.

A double-sided Velcro strap 38 may be used to seal top 14 against spillage by wrapping it around the upper exposed portion 40 of the tube. Finally, a twist knob 42 is disposed in tube 12 at top 14 to secure umbrella pole 22 when the stand is in use.

The size and dimension of the stand are important considerations when fabricating articles within the scope of the disclosure. A stand too large is unnecessarily cumbersome and one too small or disproportional will not support the umbrella properly. The following is an example of a specification of materials and dimensions which have been found to work well in practice.

Ten-ounce vinyl is a suitable material for the bag which has a diameter of eighteen inches at the bottom and one and one-half inches at the open top and a height of thirteen inches to form the conically shaped unit. A one and one-half inch diameter PVC tube fourteen inches in length extends one inch outside the top when inserted when inserted into the three and one-half inch ring positioned at the bottom. The fill ports may be two by three inches and the spill port three by seven inches.

Referring next to FIG. 4, an additional embodiment is shown wherein a tube 44 or two or more ring clamps 46 or both in combination are fastened to the side 48 of fillable bag 50, composed of a flexible material such as, for example, a composite or canvas. The tube or clamps are sized to receive an umbrella pole 52, afterwards secured to the tube by clamp 54, and provide for insertion down into the supported surface. Attachment by mechanical means such as screws and or bolts 56 may be accomplished by the additional use of a supporting strip 58 on the opposite side of the bag from that of the tubes or clamps whereby the side of the bag is secured between the two. Adhesive attachment of the tube to the side of the bag may also be employed. Sand or other fill is deposited in and removed from the bag through the top 60 and held in place by drawstring 62 having sliding closure elements 64.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b, a sleeve 66,68 disposed in the side of the bag for attaching the tube, by adhesive for example, may be created either inside or outside the bag by a seam 70 as shown in FIG. 4.

The invention is accordingly defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A beach umbrella anchor stand, said umbrella having a supporting pole, said stand fillable with sand, said stand comprising in combination:

A. a flexible bag for disposing a quantity of sand therein, said bag having a top and a bottom, said top having a port and said bottom having a port, said bag further having a port for disposing a quantity of sand therein;

B. a tube for receiving said pole, said tube having a top end and a bottom end said tube disposed between said bag top port and said bag bottom port, said tube arranged to provide for the extension of said pole thru said bottom end of said bag; and

C. clamp means to secure said pole within said tube to attach said pole and said umbrella to said stand.