Umbrella frame

This invention relates to an umbrella or umbrella frame having a shaft which can be tilted such that, in use, the head covering will have an inclination relative to the shaft. Such a construction is used, for example, in garden and fishing hats.

A known type of tiltable hat has a shaft, at the upper end of which is called the notch, where the rods supporting the cover are hinged. The rods, in turn, are held upwards in the assembled position of the hat by a corresponding number of turnbuckles hingedly attached at one end of the rods and at the other, also hingedly, to a sliding slide. along the shaft to close and open the hat. With the hat open and the slide in the upper position, the slide is held in place by a latch. In order to provide the necessary tilting of the hat, a shaft joint is provided in a hat below the upper slide position.

While this arrangement allows the head of the hat to tilt with respect to the shaft, it has a number of disadvantages, especially that during opening and closing of the hat, the slide tends to lock into the joint. The presence of a tilt shaft on the shaft also allows clearance in the hat and the fact that the entire top of the hat from the upward tilt shaft is tilted when the tilt shaft is used means that the center of The severity of the hat shifts somewhat from the shaft axis, leading to instability and handling difficulties, especially in windy conditions. In addition, the joint itself must fit within the limits of the shaft diameter as the slide must pass over it to open and close the hat. This limits both strength and joint configuration.

To overcome some of these difficulties, it has been proposed in British Patent Specification 1 352 689 and 1 353 895 to use a support rod (shaft) formed by two

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-3sections, one of which carries the top of the hat (notch, rods, turnbuckles and slide), adapted to have the second section connected thereto in alternate ways. In the first case, the stem may be used as a conventional straight stem or used as a windbreak, with the second (lower) section attached to a joint in the first section just below the notch within the cover and inclined to the first section. 0 The second case is similar except for the windbreak, that is, the inclined mode, the second section of the stem being connected on the outside of the cover to a portion of the first section which is arranged to project beyond the top of the notch.

In both cases, detachable coupling components must be provided in the rod sections, and placement in the inclined position is a somewhat annoying task and, particularly with the outer fastening, it is not easy even in light wind.

According to the invention there is provided a sunshade or umbrella hat having a shaft, rods extending radially from the top of the shaft and extending from a locating body mounted on the shaft to the attachment points on the rods, means being provided for locating the locating body at an established position on the shaft to maintain an open hat cover, wherein the shaft comprises first and second portions connected by inclination means to enable the axis of one part of the shaft to be inclined to the axis of the other part of the shaft, characterized in that the inclination means are located in a position between the top of the shaft and the established position of the locating body.

In practice the invention is applicable to a foldable hat in which the locating body is a sliding slide on the shaft down from the established position where it is held in place by a tongue in the shaft thereby enabling the hat to be closed. The rods are mounted on the notch by hinges and the turnbuckles are mounted on the slide by hinges. In theory, however, the invention could be used in a permanent or semi-permanent awning hat where the locating body for the turnbuckles

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It is not necessarily sliding up and down along the rod.

Surprisingly, the top of a hat according to the invention can be tilted around the tilt means without difficulty or damage to the frame, with the slight change in shape of the cover and the angle of the turnbuckles accommodated by the inherent flexibility of the cover and by the articulated and flexible connection of the turnbuckles.

The invention allows a variety of inclination means to be used as they are not limited in that they have to allow the passage of the slide: a flexible or foldable portion of the shaft, ball, hinge or universal joints may all be used. The coupling may also include a locking arrangement that is also not limited by the shaft diameter. The top when tilted is close to the shaft, which is a more stable configuration than the conventional tilting construction and leaving more clear space under the cover.

Advantageously, the pivot arrangement is such that the shaft comprises a first and a second part joined by a ball joint and a recess cavity, the ball being fixed to the first part of the shaft by a neck and the recess cavity attached to the second part. wherein the locking cavity is in the shape of an open cup in a direction away from the second part, with means for retaining the sphere within the locking cavity, and wherein one of the components wants the sphere, either the socket has a tab that projects in height from its spherical surface and the other component, the socket or the ball, as the case may be, has a first recess large enough to accommodate the tab, the tab and the first recess arranged so that when engaged with each other, the two shaft parts are axially aligned, the first recess being surrounded by another annular recess or several other recesses capable of accommodating the flap so as to retain the two parts in a relative position such that the axis of the first part forms a given angle with respect to the second shaft part while allows the first

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LMS / CQG / HL 37101/003 part adapts different angular positions around the axis of the second part, the ball and / or socket being adapted to enable the ball to rotate teeth of the socket to move the tab from a recess to the other to hold the parts in an established position with the flap engaged in a recess.

Preferably, the flap is provided, for example, integrally with the ball and the recesses are provided with the socket. In a symmetrical arrangement, the flap and first recess will rest on the shaft axis of the first and second parts, respectively, although it is conceivable for rotationally non-symmetrical arrangements that the flap and first recess may be offset from the axis.

It may be conceived that the socket is provided in two parts or with independent means for holding the sphere in place, but in a preferred construction, the socket is sized so that at its mouth it is able to resiliently receive the sphere. by a snap action such that the joint can be readily assembled and the ball is retained for normal use, but can be removed and accurate.

Other intermediate recesses or another intermediate annular recess may be provided to allow one or more angular positions of placement at a less inclined angle if necessary.

In this embodiment, the shaft has a secure and sturdy, easily maneuverable joint, satisfactorily searches for position in the axially aligned position and at the set angle or angles of inclination, easily manufactures and mounts easily and does not require tight tolerances. 0 special ball and socket cavity design with the tab on the ball means that once the joint is assembled, it is virtually impossible to inadvertently displace, with vulnerability to displacement being a common fault in ball joints. Thus, even if the first part with the ball is tensioned to make an angle of

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-6 ”Larger tilt, the effect of the tab is to retain the ball inside the socket.

Advantageously, the two parts of the joint may be made of plastic materials especially nylon for the ball and acetal for the bowl, the latter having a suitable combination of stiffness and resilience such that the joint can be assembled without great difficulty, but the The sphere will then remain trapped in the bowl.

Such a joint is especially advantageous because, in this case, the design constraints of the joint are much less rigid since, at no time does the slide have to pass through the joint, which may therefore be locally larger in diameter than the came.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a conventional tilt hat;

Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of the invention in an upright position;

Figure 3 shows the embodiment of Figure 2 with the top slanted;

Figure 4 diagrammatically shows the two parts of a joint assembled according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 shows the joint of Figure 4, inclined;

Figure 6 shows the frame of a hat including the union of Figure 4;

Figure 7 shows another embodiment with two joints including a joint as shown in Figure 4;

Figure 8 shows a different arrangement from the embodiment of Figure 7; and Figure 9 shows a known type of joint for the hat shaft.

Figure 1 shows a known type of tilt hat.

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which has a shaft 5 having a tiltable upper part 4, rods 7 and a corresponding number of struts or turnbuckles 6 extending from a sliding slide 2 on the rod shaft. In the full hat the rods would, of course, be covered with an unseen covering, giving rise to the shape of the covering and the connection of the turnbuckles, the curvature of the sticks as seen in the drawing, the sticks being usually described when not under tension. . The rods are hinged to the top of the shaft in a notch 3 and the tensioners are hingedly attached to both the rods and the slide.

In the prior art tilting hat, the upper part 4 of the shaft 5 pivots around the lower part by means of a gasket 8 which, in the configuration of the hat when opened, is situated a short distance below the slide 2. A typical pivot joint will allow an inclination of about 45S in one direction. To close the hat, the upper shaft 4 must be in an upright (not inclined) position and then the slide is detached from the tongue and slides down the shaft 5 through the right joint 8. The diameter of the entire joint 8 when not inclined it should therefore not exceed that of the shaft. In addition, the gasket 8 is relatively far from the top of the shaft, so that when the top of the hat is tilted, the center of gravity of the whole is considerably displaced from the shaft axis, making the hat unstable at the base of the shaft and likely to rotate around the shaft axis.

Figures 2 and 3 show a first embodiment of the invention which is similar to the prior art hat illustrated in figure 1 except that there is a joint 1 on the shaft located between the slide 2 which forms the locating body of the turnbuckles and notch 3 and not under slide 2. It has been found that the joint 1 at this location, despite being above the support points of the turnbuckles, allows the top to tilt, with the slight change in the rotationally symmetrical shape of the rods and the cover compensated for by the flexibility of the cover and allowed by the articulated fixation of the tensioners.

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For coupling 1, a flap joint may be used, that is, which is within the cross section of the shaft when straight, as used in the embodiment of figure 1, allowing approximately 452 one-way rotation. 9 is shown schematically in Figure 9 and it can be seen that it consists of an arrangement of parallel plates 20 in one part of the shaft and interleaving a single plate 21 in the other part. The two can articulate with respect to each other, in its plane on a pin 22. A slide sleeve 23 may be raised to allow pivoting or lowered to maintain the straight shaft configuration.

This embodiment has several advantages as follows: the sloped top is close to the shaft leaving more space under the unobstructed hat by the shaft while still maintaining the center of gravity of the hat near the shaft axis; the slide does not move through the joint during opening and closing; and there is virtually no slack in the assembly as a simple joint is held tight by the tension of the cover.

However, additional advantages may be obtained in the construction according to the invention, because other types of joints may be used for joining 1, since there are no constraints on the need to allow the slide to pass therethrough. Thus, a sturdier and thicker joint of the same type as the previous one or, in another variation, a universal joint may be used, as may a cone-ball joint also be used. This type of coupling allows the user to change both direction and tilt angle without changing the angular position of the hat shaft. This has the advantage that if the cover is asymmetrical, ie oval or rectangular in shape, the hat can be adjusted in place so that the edge or edges of the cover are as low as possible. the shaft simply has a standard pivot joint (pivotable in one plane) the cover will need to be aligned during manufacture with the joint inclination plane which is a laborious operation.

that the size of the joint is not limited by the diameter

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The shaft means that it may be provided with a locking mechanism which may also be wider than the shaft. Thus, a mechanism can be used that can lock the upper shaft at any angle, not only in the straight position, as before, when using a locking sleeve.

Because the above restrictions of the pivot joint are avoided, there is a greater range of possibilities with regard to the design and conception of the pivot joint, especially with regard to the choice of materials to be used.

A fitting suitable for use in a hat frame in accordance with the invention is illustrated in Fig. 4.

Shown here are two parts of an embodiment of a joint 1 when assembled. The ball 10 is fixed by a neck 13 to a first part 4 of a shaft, and the cup 11 is fixed to the other part 5 of the shaft by any suitable method, such as adhesive fastening or flapping.

Ball 10 and bowl 11 are made of semi-rigid material such as nylon and acetal, respectively, so that they can be easily assembled by simply pressing ball 10 into the socket formed within cup 11 with a snap action. This is achieved by an edge 9 formed from the outside inwards around the cup nozzle slightly smaller in diameter than that of the ball 10. This edge 9 then serves to retain the seated ball.

The ball 10 has, in front of the neck 13, a generally conical flap or nozzle 12 thinning from the center of the ball. The bowl 11 has a socket with an internal spherical contour that roughly corresponds to that of the sphere 10 except for a recess 14 corresponding to the mouthpiece 12 and another annular recess 15 coaxial with the shaft and subtending an angle of about 45 °. in the center of the socket.

Both the recess 14 and the annular recess 15 are adapted to receive the mouth 12 of the ball 10 when the ball is fully inserted into the bowl (figure 4c) and

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-10 appropriate angular orientation. Figure 4c shows the coupling mounted with the two axially aligned shaft parts. When moderate pressure is applied to bend the shaft near the joint, the mouthpiece 12 easily slides into recess 14 and maintains the joint at any desired angle due to the resilience of the bowl 11 (and ball) material. When the joint is bent at its maximum angle, as shown in Figure 5, the mouthpiece 12 quickly engages with the annular recess 15, providing a firm location for the bent shaft. In this embodiment, the upper portion 4 of the shaft can of course be rotated to any desired angular position about the axis of the lower shaft 5 by moving the nozzle 12 simply around the annular recess 15. However, in other embodiments instead of an annular recess an individual amount of recess arranged in a circle around the recess 14 may be provided,

It is virtually impossible to dislodge the ball 10 from bowl 11 by excessive bending pressure, as the mouthpiece 12 engages the annular groove 15 and would simply lean more firmly against the recess flank and the neck 13 would press against the rim of the bowl. . The union is thus very stable.

Figure 6 shows a tilt hat including a coupling 1 as seen in Figure 4, located between a tiltable upper portion 4 and a lower shaft portion 5 and having rods 7 and a corresponding number of struts or turnbuckles 6 extending from each other. a sliding slide 2 mounted on the shaft to the rods. In the full hat, the rods 7 would, of course, be surrounded by an unseen cover, causing the curvature of the rods as shown in the drawing. The rods are hinged to the top of the shaft in a notch 3.

In Figure 6, the hat frame having the joint 1 located above the slide 2 is illustrated with the folded configuration. The joint 1 will allow an inclination of about 452 in either direction. As described above, the flexibility of the rods and turnbuckles compensates for the deformation caused by shaft bending. In this construction, the slide does not have to pass through union 1 on the shaft so that there is considerable freedom to

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-11designing the union 1.

In an alternative embodiment it would be possible to have another joint located below the slide in the right configuration of the hat, provided that the joint was sized so that the slide could pass over it (or if the hat did not have to be lockable, the joint 20 could be of superior cross section to the shaft).

Figure 8 shows a new embodiment of the invention wherein, in addition to the joint 1 in a higher position on the shaft, the hat also has a standard sleeve and a pin-like joint 8 below the slide 2. The advantage of this embodiment is that if both If the joints are capable of 452 folding, a full 902 tilt is possible by bringing the lower edge of the cover all the way down to the shaft, as shown approximately in the figure.

7 This is desirable for many applications such as fishing hats. Alternatively the two joints 1 and 8 may be folded in opposite directions resulting in an inclined or cantilever arrangement as illustrated in figure 7. This provides more space under the unobstructed hat by the shaft.

Although the embodiments show a slide 2 allowing the hat to be closed, the invention also applies to a hat or awning of the fixed construction, i.e. the turnbuckles are fixed to the shaft with a hinge between that point on the shaft and the notch. . In alternative embodiments, instead of the universal joint or joint described above, the ease of bending at the top of the shaft may be provided by making it flexible.

The tilt or folding hinge at the top 4 of the shaft may be located anywhere between the top of the shaft below the notch 3 © the slide 2, in the extreme case at the top of the slide 2 (or other tensioner locating body). ). However, it is provided that the pivot joint 1 is normally located approximately midway between the notch 3 and the slide 2. This provides easy access.

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-12e operation and an effective angle of inclination relative to the cover, however, in a stable state of inclination. If pivot joint 1 is higher, closer to notch 3, there will be less angle of inclination relative to the cover, but a more stable incline assembly; whereas if the pivot joint is lower, closer to the slide 2, a greater tilt angle is possible, but a little less stable as the center of gravity would be more deviated from the shaft axis, though not as much as in the known tilting arrangement.

The frame according to the invention could have as many or fewer rods as the known frames like four, six, eight or ten; or a larger number of rods or an odd number of rods such as 9. In addition, the rods could have the hull or solid cross-sectional shape as is known in the art.

It will be understood that the present invention provides a novel tilt principle that allows the tilt arrangement to be employed easily by simple operation without separation and reassembly of the parts and always with hat control. It could even have application for other hats, such as the ordinary, possibly self-operating umbrella, or for other types of hat frames of another construction. It would even be possible to use a shaft with a permanent bend or curve in the upper section so that the cover is mounted directly in the inclined configuration.

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