Beach umbrella anchoring system

Abstract

A beach umbrella anchoring system comprising a restraining device or container for preventing the beach umbrella from being blown about by unexpected, sudden gusts of wind comprising a container, i.e., a beach bag for containing ballast or a weighting medium such as sand, dirt, small rocks and the like therein to anchor the umbrella, a beach umbrella having easily accessible storage areas in the form of at least one pocket attached to at least one seam found on the interior of the umbrella. The beach umbrella is provided with a support shaft having a tapered end so as to facilitate insertion of the shaft into beach bag and/or the sand on the beach to provide the sole support for the umbrella. If a container or beach bag containing sand or dirt is provided, the support shaft will pass through the same and into the sand on the beach.

Claims

1. A beach umbrella anchoring system comprising (1) an anchor member comprising a beach bag for containing a weighting medium and (2) a beach umbrella comprising: (a) a vertical central support shaft; (b) a closeable umbrella member mounted adjacent an upper end of said support shaft, said umbrella member having an open position and a closed position; (c) a lower end of said shaft having a suitable shape to pierce soft earth or sand; (d) said beach bag containing a weighting medium, the lower end of said shaft being insertable into said weighting medium, said beach bag further comprising (i) a rigid central ballast container structure having a bottom panel having a generally concentric opening to an interior of the central ballast container structure, wherein said generally concentric opening is adapted to permit the lower end of said support shaft to protrude therefrom for placement upon and for penetrating into a sand or earth base; (ii) an upper opening panel securely attached or integral to the central ballast container structure, the upper opening panel is configured to receive the support shaft and having a closure configured to enclose the support shaft deployed through the upper opening panel and, (iii) a drawstring at a top of said beach bag which can be pulled tight cinching the upper opening panel of said ballast container structure around the support shaft; and (e) a first interiorly accessible pocket member made of a mesh-like material for holding small personal items, wherein the first pocket member is affixed to a first interior seam of said closeable umbrella member so that the first pocket member hangs downwards from said first interior seam when the umbrella member is in the open position, thereby allowing air to flow freely through the mesh-like material.

2. A beach umbrella anchoring system according to claim 1 wherein said lower end of said shaft is insertable into the sand or soft ground subsequent to insertion and passage of said shaft through said beach bag.

3. A beach umbrella anchoring system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one pocket member serves as a drying area.

4. A beach umbrella anchoring system according to claim 1 wherein said first interiorly accessible pocket member is affixed to said first interior seam of said closeable umbrella member by sewing, gluing or Velcro®.

5. A beach umbrella anchoring system according to claim 1 wherein the lower end of said beach bag has a generally concentric smaller opening to an exterior adapted to permit the lower end of said shaft to protrude through said opening for placement upon and for penetrating a sand or earth base.

6. The beach umbrella anchoring system of claim 1, further comprising a second interiorly accessible pocket member made of a mesh-like material for holding small personal items, wherein the second pocket member is affixed to a second interior seam of the closeable umbrella member so that the second pocket member hangs downwards from said second interior seam when the umbrella member is in the open position, thereby allowing air to flow freely through the mesh-like material.

7. The beach umbrella anchoring system of claim 6, further comprising: a third interiorly accessible pocket member made of a mesh-like material for holding small personal items, wherein the third pocket member is affixed to a third interior seam of the closeable umbrella member so that the third pocket member hangs downwards from said third interior seam when the umbrella member is in the open position, thereby allowing air to flow freely through the mesh-like material; and a fourth interiorly accessible pocket member made of a mesh-like material for holding small personal items, wherein the fourth pocket member is affixed to a fourth interior seam of the closeable umbrella member so that the fourth pocket member hangs downwards from said fourth interior seam when the umbrella member is in the open position, thereby allowing air to flow freely through the mesh-like material.

8. A beach umbrella for upright positioning in soft earth or sand and for storing personal articles such as wallets, car keys, money, jewelry, glasses, sun screen, and clothing, and for drying wet articles of clothing, the beach umbrella comprising: (a) a vertical central support shaft, wherein a lower end of said support shaft has a suitable shape to pierce the soft earth or sand; (b) a closeable umbrella member mounted adjacent an upper end of said support shaft, said umbrella member having a first interior seam, an open position and a closed position; and (c) a first pocket member made of a flexible, lightweight, mesh-like material having a pocket edge which is affixed to said first interior seam, so that when the umbrella member is in said open position said first pocket member hangs downward and away from said first interior seam to allow air to flow freely through said mesh-like material, (d) whereby said first pocket member is suitable for housing the personal articles, and for drying the articles of clothing through the passage of air through said mesh-like material.

9. A breach umbrella according to claim 8, further comprising second and third pocket members made of said flexible, lightweight, mesh-like material, respectively affixed to a second and third interior seam in said umbrella member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, thus, are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a beach umbrella according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a storage pocket shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a front perspective view according to a second preferred embodiment of the storage pocket of the invention;

(5) FIG. 4A shows the interior of the portable umbrella with the pockets attached;

(6) FIG. 4B shows the interior of an alternate embodiment of the portable umbrella with the pockets attached;

(7) FIG. 5A is a front perspective view of the anchoring system of the present invention attached to a beach umbrella;

(8) FIG. 5B is a bottom view of the anchoring system of FIG. 5A; and

(9) FIG. 6 illustrates the method of using the beach umbrella anchoring system of the invention.

(10) Referring to FIG. 1, there is generally shown a portable beach umbrella 10. The beach umbrella 10 includes an umbrella or shade member 12 which may be canvas, plastic or any other suitable, flexible shading material and is openable and closable by a conventional closure member 13 fixed to a central support shaft 14.

(11) Central support shaft 14 should be made of a lightweight, yet sturdy material such as aluminum, PVC or other suitable plastic. The shaft 14 has an upper end at which the umbrella or shade member 12 is mounted and a base end 11 of a suitable shape to pierce soft ground or sand. The shaft 14 is substantially uniform in cross section and preferably has a sharply tapered end 18 so as to allow easy penetration of the sand and or ground so that the support shaft 14 may be inserted into the ground or sand. In the case where the beach bag or container (anchor member) is provided, the shaft 14 can be inserted into an opening provided at the top of the container, pass through the sand, earth or other ballast provided therein, and penetrate into the underlying sand or ground. At least one pocket 15 made of a suitable, lightweight material, preferably plastic which is durable any may contain openings to provide a mesh-like appearance, is attached to at least one interior seam of the umbrella.

(12) As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pocket(s) 15 are provided with an opening closable by a zipper 16 or flap 17 for gaining access to the interior of the pocket 15. Any conceivable use may be made of this pocket, including storage of keys, money, cassettes, suntan lotion, reading materials, glasses or the like.

(13) In order to provide stability and prevent unexpected gusts of wind or gusts of wind of greater force than expected from causing the umbrella 10 to topple, or even more dangerously, allow the umbrella to topple with the tapered end of the support shaft 14 flailing about, the umbrella 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is fitted with an anchoring member (beach bag or container).

(14) FIGS. 4A and 5A illustrate the portable umbrella and an anchor member respectively for utilization in the present anchoring system, which comprises a container or bag for receiving a weighting medium. The anchor member is preferably provided in the form of a conventional beach bag except that is closed at the top other than for an opening to allow introduction of the tapered end of the shaft, its passage therethrough and out through an opening in the bottom of the container.

(15) In FIG. 4A, an embodiment of the interior portable umbrella showing a plurality of pockets 15 as attached at the interior seams of the umbrella. The umbrella is in its open position.

(16) FIG. 5A shows the anchoring apparatus 20 in accordance with the invention. Here, the drawstring 24 has been pulled tight thereby cinching the top opening 60 of the anchoring apparatus. When the top 60 is cinched around the umbrella pole or shaft 14, pleats or gussets 66 and 64 are formed, folding in toward the pole. Not shown in this figure is optional cinching barrel clasp 26 which may be used to keep the drawstring 24 cinched closed around the umbrella pole 14. FIG. 5B is a bottom view of the anchoring apparatus 20 showing the concentric opening 102 in the bottom 100 of the anchoring apparatus.

(17) In FIG. 6, a series of steps are shown illustrating how to use the anchoring apparatus. In Step 1, as shown in FIG. 6, the umbrella pole is passed through the anchoring apparatus, and embedded about 6 to 8 inches into the sand below. In step 2, the anchoring apparatus is filled with sand to support the umbrella pole and act as ballast for the umbrella. Any suitable amount of sand may be used, relative to the environmental conditions. A day with high winds will require more sand to anchor the umbrella than a calm day with no wind. In step 3, the umbrella is secured with a latch to the pole, thereby anchoring the umbrella to the weight of the sand in the anchoring apparatus.

(18) The beach bag as illustrated, when filled with sand, will provide a suitable anchor for the anchoring system of the present invention. In this regard, it would be noted that one cubic foot of sand weighs between about 90 and 110 pounds. Thus, a beach bag of one or two cubic foot capacity should be adequate to provide anchoring for even the largest umbrellas.