An apparatus and method can be configured to adjustably block natural light and/or overhead lighting to provide a use desired amount of light within a particular work space. Embodiments can help permit a user to adjust the light affecting that user's work space so a common lighting arrangement affecting many different work spaces' within a common area (e.g. an office floor or large office room within a building, etc.) so that the illumination provided by one or more light sources to illuminate the common area can be adjusted to meet a particular user's preferences within a particular work space within that common work area.

A sunshade for an outdoor public space, having a pane made from an at least partially opaque material and a pivotal mount adapted to be fixed to the ground and pivotally supporting the pane for rotation about a vertical axis of rotation. The pane is of elongate shape, extending longitudinally, parallel to the axis of rotation, between a lower end and an upper free end. The pane has a width and a thickness smaller than the width.

An umbrella holder including a holder assembly, an arm assembly and a vehicle assembly is disclosed. The holder assembly includes an arm slot that extends the length of the holder. Mounted within the arm slot is an arm from the arm assembly. The arm swivels within the arm slot to permit desired positioning thereof. The arm includes a channel that houses a retractable arm within. The retractable arm extends and retracts from the channel. The retractable arm includes a claw mounted to a distal end thereof. The claw opens and closes to grip an umbrella in an open configuration. The umbrella provides cover to either of the front or rear door entrances of the vehicle. Thereby allowing a user to load items into the vehicle, while being covered and protected by the open umbrella from weather elements. The user is protected even while both hands are preoccupied by other items.

A device is disclosed for facilitating the anchoring and release of a structure to a medium, such as sand. The device is operable to inject a liquefying fluid into a medium upon a down stroke so as to facilitate liquefication within an area of the medium. The structure is simultaneously inserted into the area of the medium where liquefication has occurred by creating a vacuum within the structure, upon an upstroke, which facilitates the insertion operation. The distal end of the structure to be anchored is fitted with at least one protrusion for increasing the holding force of the medium. If desired, the distal end of the structure is also fitted with at least one fin operable under selective control of a user for reducing the holding force on the structure. In one embodiment, the user, when desiring to release the structure, rotates the structure, thereby rotating the fin. The fin, rotating within the liquefied medium, serves to reduce the holding force of the medium with respect to the structure, thereby allowing for easier removal of the structure by a user.

An apparatus for removably receiving a container is disclosed. The apparatus has a structural assembly having a cavity configured to removably receive the container, a renewable power source supported by the structural assembly, an electrical component including a power storage supported by the structural assembly, a thermal assembly disposed at the cavity and configured to heat or cool the container when the container is received in the cavity, and an elongated support member attached to the structural assembly and configured to be inserted into the ground.

An apparatus and method can be configured to adjustably block natural light and/or overhead lighting to provide a use desired amount of light within a particular work space. Embodiments can help permit a user to adjust the light affecting that user's work space so a common lighting arrangement affecting many different work spaces' within a common area (e.g. an office floor or large office room within a building, etc.) so that the illumination provided by one or more light sources to illuminate the common area can be adjusted to meet a particular user's preferences within a particular work space within that common work area.

A shade device includes an awning and a light string having a plurality of lights suspended therefrom below a level of the awning

An improved umbrella holder. The improved umbrella member has a cylindrical member with an upper end and a bottom end. The upper end has a pair of arms extending from the rear surface of the cylindrical member to form a ring clamp. The ring clamp can be tightened to secure an umbrella inside of the cylindrical member. A slot is defined between the ring clamp and the cylindrical member to allow adjustment of the ring clamp independently from the cylindrical member.

A device is disclosed for facilitating the anchoring and release of a structure to a medium, such as sand. The device is operable to inject a liquefying fluid into a medium upon a down stroke so as to facilitate liquefication within an area of the medium. The structure is simultaneously inserted into the area of the medium where liquefication has occurred by creating a vacuum within the structure, upon an upstroke, which facilitates the insertion operation. The distal end of the structure to be anchored is fitted with at least one protrusion for increasing the holding force of the medium. If desired, the distal end of the structure is also fitted with at least one fin operable under selective control of a user for reducing the holding force on the structure. In one embodiment, the user, when desiring to release the structure, rotates the structure, thereby rotating the fin. The fin, rotating within the liquefied medium, serves to reduce the holding force of the medium with respect to the structure, thereby allowing for easier removal of the structure by a user.

A wind-lift-eliminating self-adjusting self-stabilizing arthritic-aiding umbrella comprises: a flow-directing chapeau attached to a chapeau crown, an upper cone rotatably attached to a cable conduit for preventing the umbrella from radially twisting clockwise and counterclockwise out of shape, a lower tube for centering the upper cone, a stanchion, an intersector bolted to the stanchion, a supporting-arm intersector, a top-hub, a canopy-height-and-tilt-adjusting arthritic-hand-aiding handle slidably connected to the stanchion, a height-adjusting arthritic-hand-aiding trigger springably and pivotably attached to the handle for providing aid to arthritic hands to operate the handle without discomfort and for providing means to slidably lower and raise the handle to adjust the umbrella, a supporting arm pivotably attached to the lifting-arm intersector and the supporting-arm intersector, a lifting arm pivotably attached to the handle and the top-hub intersector, the supporting-arm intersector pivotably attached to the lifting arm, a deploying cable, a cable spool molded into the handle and attached to the cable, an arthritic-hand-aiding crank, an arthritic-hand-aiding-crank paddle rotatably connected to the crank for providing aid to arthritic hands to operate the crank providing means to deploy and retract the umbrella without discomfort, a reversible wind-pressure-releasing and cooling-funnel canopy for providing a cover to protect users from weather elements and for releasing air pressure below the umbrella, an opening is cut into the canopy, a top-hub-ring, the cable conduit rotatably attached to the top-hub-ring, the top-hub intersector pivotably attached to the top-hub-ring, a bottom-shuttle-hub-ring, the lower cone rotatably attached to the bottom-shuttle-hub-ring, the cable connected to the bottom hub-ring, upper-ribs, wind-lift-eliminating self-adjusting funnel-and-canopy-tension-adjusting springs for adjustably tensioning the canopy and for customizingly relieving air pressure below the umbrella to stabilize and to eliminate lift and vibration from wind gusts, adjustable-tension-canopy-spring brackets springably securing the wind-lift-eliminating self-adjusting funnel-and-canopy-tension-adjusting springs to the upper-ribs, lower-ribs pivotably screwed to the bottom-shuttle-hub-ring and the upper-ribs, a stanchion base-mounting plate attached to the stanchion, and base-stabilizing feet bolted to the base-mounting-plate.