LINEAR UMBRELLA

Abstract

The present invention relates to a linear umbrella, comprising a central rod, a top cover, an umbrella hub and umbrella ribs connected to the top cover and umbrella hub, further comprising: a deployment rope fixed to the umbrella hub so as to pull the umbrella hub towards the top cover to deploy the umbrella; a folding rope fixed to the umbrella hub so as to pull the umbrella hub downwards to the lower part of the central rod to fold the umbrella; a releaser disposed at a side of the lower part of the central rod and fixing end parts of the deployment rope and folding rope to allow for mutual release and retraction the deployment rope and folding rope upon rotation; and a tension component to keep the deployment rope and folding rope in tension during the release and retraction.

Claims

1. A linear umbrella, comprising a central rod, a top cover located at an upper part of said central rod, an umbrella hub slidably connected to said central rod, and umbrella ribs connected to said top cover and said umbrella hub, characterized by further comprising: a deployment rope fixed to said umbrella hub so as to pull said umbrella hub towards said top cover to deploy the umbrella; a folding rope fixed to said umbrella hub so as to pull said umbrella hub downwards to a lower part of the central rod to fold the umbrella; a releaser, disposed at a side of a lower part of the central rod, which fixes end parts of said deployment rope and folding rope to allow for mutual release and retraction of the deployment rope and folding rope upon rotation; and a tension component to keep said deployment rope and folding rope in tension during the release and retraction.

2. The linear umbrella according to claim 1, characterized in that: said tension component is an elastic component, disposed between an end part of either or both of said deployment rope and said folding rope and an anchor point of said umbrella hub.

3. The linear umbrella according to claim 1, characterized in that: said tension component is an elastic component disposed at a side not winding on the releaser outside of either or both of said deployment rope and said folding rope.

4. The linear umbrella according to claim 1, characterized in that: a handle component is also included at a lower end of said central rod, said releaser is located inside said handle component, and said tension component is located between said releaser and the lower end of said central rod.

5. The linear umbrella according to claim 4, characterized in that: a guide pin located inside the handle component and extending from the releaser is also included for guiding either or both of said deployment rope and folding rope to the lower end of said central rod, said tension component is located between said guide pin and either or both of said deployment rope and said folding rope.

6. The linear umbrella according to claim 1, characterized in that: said releaser is configured as two separate components corresponding to the deployment rope and the folding rope respectively, or as a dual releaser winding the deployment rope and the folding rope in opposite directions and achieve deployment and retraction of the deployment rope and the folding rope with the direction of rotation, respectively.

7. The linear umbrella according to claim 1, characterized in that: a handle component is also included at a lower end of said central rod, a driving unit for driving rotation of said releaser and an operating unit for operating said driving unit are provided inside said handle component.

8. The linear umbrella according to claim 7, characterized in that: when no power is input to said driving unit, said driving unit does not restrict rotation of said releaser, so as to manually push and pull said umbrella hub to deploy and fold the umbrella.

9. The linear umbrella according to claim 1, characterized in that: a deployment fixing part for fixing deployment of the umbrella is also included.

10. The linear umbrella according to claim 9, characterized in that: said umbrella hub comprises an inner hub and an outer hub disposed outside said inner hub and vertically movable relative to said inner hub to provide a distance; one end of said deployment rope and said folding rope are respectively fixed to a side of said outer hub; said deployment fixing part comprises an inserting hole and an elastic protrusion, said inserting hole is provided at a side of said central rod corresponding to a position of said outer hub when the umbrella is deployed, said elastic protrusion is provided on said inner hub and insertable into said inserting hole, said elastic protrusion is inserted into said inserting hole by said deployment rope lifting said outer hub when the umbrella is deployed to be pressed in the inserting hole to fix the deployed state of the umbrella, and said elastic protrusion is withdrawn from said inserting hole by said folding rope lowering said outer hub to release fixing when the umbrella is folded.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing deployment of the linear umbrella of the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing folding of the linear umbrella of the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 3 is a side view of the umbrella hub of the linear umbrella of the present invention;

[0031] FIG. 4 is a side view of the handle component of the linear umbrella of the present invention;

[0032] FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial view of the tension component of the linear umbrella of the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 6 is a conceptual working diagram of the deployment fixing component of the linear umbrella of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

[0034] 1. Linear umbrella; 10. Central rod; 11. Top cover; 13. Umbrella rib; 15. Upper routing point; 16. Rope guiding piece; 20. Umbrella hub; 20a. Inner hub; 20b. Outer hub; 21. Anchor point; 21a. Anchor point; 21b. Anchor point; 23. Pulley; 31. Deployment rope; 33. Folding rope; 40. Releaser; 50. Tension component 60. Handle component; 61. Guide pin; 63. Driving unit; 65. Operating unit; 71. Elastic protrusion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] The advantages, features, and implementation methods of the present invention will be described in detail in the following embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments described are provided only for clear and complete understanding of the technical concept of the present invention, and the present invention is not confined to the provided embodiments and can take various other forms.

[0036] The terms used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit the invention. For example, the singular forms used in this specification include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, terms such as comprise or have in this specification indicate that the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, or parts described in the specification are present, and do not preclude the presence of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, or parts, or combinations thereof, unless otherwise specified.

[0037] The terms used in this specification are solely for describing embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Therefore, when referring to a component connecting to another component, unless expressly specified as a direct connection, it should be understood that, in addition to the possibility of direct connection to another component, there may also exist intermediate components. Furthermore, in this specification, unless specifically stated otherwise, the singular form also includes the plural form.

[0038] In this specification, and/or indicates that the components listed before and after can be included all or only one. For example, Component 3 disposed on the side of Component 1 and/or Component 2 indicates that Component 3 can be disposed on either or both of Component 1 and Component 2.

[0039] Furthermore, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have substantially the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise defined. However, the definitions of the terms herein are determined according to the functions in the present invention's embodiments, so explicit definitions should be determined primarily by the contents of this specification and may vary depending on the user's or operator's intentions or practices.

EMBODIMENTS

[0040] The following describes embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the linear umbrella 1 includes a central rod 10, a top cover 11 disposed at an upper part of the central rod 10, an umbrella hub 20 slidably connectable to the central rod 10, and umbrella ribs 13 connecting the top cover 11 and the umbrella hub 20. The umbrella further includes a deployment rope 31, a folding rope 33, a releaser 40, and a tension component 50 keeping each deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 in tension and releasing and retracting them on the releaser 40.

[0042] The deployment rope 31 is fixed to the umbrella hub 20 to pull the umbrella hub 20 toward the top cover 11 to deploy the umbrella.

[0043] As an embodiment, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the deployment rope 31 is fixed to the umbrella hub 20 with one end passing an upper routing point 15 at one side of the upper part of the central rod 10 to enter inside the central rod 10 and be fixed to the releaser 40. Thus, in the folded state, as the releaser 40 rotates and retracts the deployment rope 31, the umbrella hub 20 fixed to one end of the deployment rope 31 is pulled towards the top cover 11, deploying the umbrella as shown in FIG. 1.

[0044] Here, according to the present invention, the two ends of the deployment rope 31 are fixed to the umbrella hub 20 and the releaser 40, respectively, and various routing points or additional components can be used to implement various routing methods as long as the umbrella hub 20 can be pulled up, with such variations being within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0045] As an embodiment, the deployment rope 31 may be exposed outside the central rod 10 between the umbrella hub 20 and the upper routing point 15, in which case a rope guiding piece 16 can be provided outside the central rod 10 as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, various configurations can be added to prevent the deployment rope 31 from being severed due to interference from other components in the exposed area, or to prevent compromised appearance.

[0046] In the present invention, the materials of the deployment rope 31 and the folding rope 33 mentioned below can be various types suitable for winding around or releasing from the releaser 40. Materials without stretching along the length direction are commonly used, but the possibility of using stretchable materials is not excluded (depending on the degree of stretchability, etc.).

[0047] One end of the folding rope 33 is fixed to the umbrella hub 20 to pull the umbrella hub 20 down to the lower part of the central rod 10 to fold the umbrella. As an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one end of the folding rope 33 is fixed to the umbrella hub 20 with the other end extending downwards and fixed to the releaser 40. Thus, as the releaser 40 rotates to wind up and retract the folding rope 33, the umbrella hub 20 is pulled down to the lower part of the central rod 10.

[0048] According to the folding rope 33 of the present invention, like the aforementioned deployment rope 31, various routing methods can be used without limitation as long as both ends can be fixed at positions and the umbrella hub 20 can be pulled down. For example, the folding rope 33 may extend into the interior of the central rod 10, exposed outside the central rod 10 after passing one or more routing points, and fixed to the umbrella hub 20.

[0049] Or, as shown in FIG. 1, the folding rope 33 may directly extend from the outside of the central rod 10 without passing through the interior of the central rod 10, and be fixed to the umbrella hub 20. In this case, with the folding rope 33 exposed outside the central rod 10, there is a risk of breakage, interference with other components potentially causing malfunction, and compromised appearance. To address this, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a rope guiding piece 16 can be provided to house the folding rope 33 outside the central rod 10. Thus, the folding rope 33 extending from the releaser 40 at the lower part of the central rod 10 is guided by a pulley 23 on the umbrella hub 20 to extend to the outside of the umbrella hub 20 and be fixed to the anchor point 21b. Note that the rope guiding piece 16 can be modified in various ways as needed, not limited to the example in FIG. 3. Furthermore, the aforementioned rope guiding piece 16 can also be applied to areas where the deployment rope 31 is exposed outside the central rod 10.

[0050] The releaser 40 is disposed at a side of the lower part of the central rod 10 to fix the other end of each deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 so that upon rotation, the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 are respectively released and retracted in opposite directions.

[0051] In this case, if a handle component 60 is installed at the bottom of the central rod 10, the releaser 40 may be located inside the handle component 60. However, the position of the releaser 40 is not limited to the interior of handle component 60, and can be installed outside or at different positions of the handle component 60. Meanwhile, for the deployment rope 31 or folding rope 33, the one corresponding to the releaser 40 can be installed inside the handle component 60, and the other one can be installed outside the handle component 60, with the specific positions adjustable as needed.

[0052] The releaser 40 can be installed in various types. For example, in one embodiment, the releaser 40 can correspond to the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 respectively, so two releasers 40 can be installed. In this case, two driving units 63 for driving rotation of each releaser 40 can be provided.

[0053] Or, in another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the releaser 40 may be designed as a dual releaser 40, owing to the opposite winding directions of the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 resulting in opposite deployment and folding methods. In this case, the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 form a closed loop curve at both ends with the umbrella hub 20 and the releaser 40, and according to the rotation of the releaser 40, the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 lift or lower the umbrella hub 20 during mutual deployment and retraction, enabling the umbrella to be opened or folded. Thus, according to the present invention, by implementing the opening and closing mechanism of the umbrella using two deployment and folding ropes, the structure is simplified to save manufacturing costs, and lightweight and miniaturization can be achieved owing to the characteristics of the ropes.

[0054] At the same time, according to embodiments of the present invention, the linear umbrella 1 can be implemented as an automatic umbrella driven by the driving unit 63 to rotate the releaser 40. As an embodiment, the driving unit 63 may comprise a driving motor for driving rotation of the releaser 40, power components, and an operating unit 65 for operating the driving motor. In this case, if a handle component 60 is installed at the bottom of central rod 10, the releaser 40 and driving unit 63 can be installed inside the handle component 60, and the operating unit 65 can be installed outside the handle component 60. Furthermore, the aforementioned power components can be provided with terminals for external charging, or separated from the handle component 60 for removable charging.

[0055] In this case, if the driving motor cannot obtain power from the aforementioned power components, or the power is depleted, the driving unit 63 may not restrict rotation of the releaser 40. In this case, the user can push or pull the umbrella hub as with a manual umbrella to open or close the umbrella, so the linear umbrella of the present invention can function as both an automatic umbrella and a manual umbrella, maximizing user convenience.

[0056] Moreover, according to the linear umbrella of the present invention, when applied to automatic umbrellas implemented using a driving motor, etc., only rotational force needs to be provided to the ropes, making implementation of automatic umbrellas very easy, especially for the case of using double ropes, which can be operated by a single driving unit, thus saving manufacturing costs and reducing weight and size, minimizing the power required for opening and closing the umbrella to maximize service life.

[0057] Additionally, a deployment fixing part for fixing the deployed state of umbrella 1 can be provided. The deployment fixing part prevents the umbrella hub 20 from being pushed down towards the lower part of central rod 10 by the weight of umbrella ribs 13 and canopy.

[0058] The deployment fixing part can be designed in various types without limitation. For example, an elastic protrusion 71 can be provided on the side of the umbrella hub 20 pointing toward the central rod 10, which can elastically protrude and withdraw, along with an inserting hole (not shown) provided at a side of the central rod 10 corresponding to the position of umbrella hub 20 when the umbrella is deployed.

[0059] As an embodiment, referring to FIG. 6, the umbrella hub 20 may comprise an inner hub 20a and an outer hub 20b, with the inner hub 20a slidably mountable outside the central rod 10 and the outer hub 20b disposed outside the inner hub 20a and vertically movable relative to the inner hub 20a.

[0060] Additionally, as shown in FIG. 6, one end of each of the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 is fixed to a side of the outer hub 20b.

[0061] Here, the movement of the inner hub 20a and outer hub 20b of the linear umbrella 1 during umbrella deployment and folding is described. First, in the folded state, as shown in (b) of FIG. 6, the inner hub 20a and outer hub 20b are separated. Thus, when the umbrella is deployed, the outer hub 20b is first pushed up by the deployment rope 31, and when the outer hub 20b and inner hub 20a contact as shown in (a) of FIG. 6, the outer hub 20b and inner hub 20a rise together along the central rod 10. In contrast, when the umbrella is folded, the folding rope 33 first lowers the outer hub 20b, then after a set interval distance, the inner hub 20a and outer hub 20b descend together along the central rod 10.

[0062] In this embodiment, the deployment fixing part comprises an inserting hole (not shown) at a side of the central rod 10 corresponding to the position of outer hub 20b, and an elastic protrusion 71 provided on inner hub 20a insertable into the inserting hole.

[0063] The elastic protrusion 71 is within a set interval distance in the state of (b) of FIG. 6. In the state of (b) of FIG. 6, there is no interference between the elastic protrusion 71 and outer hub 20b. Additionally, in the state of (a) of FIG. 6, when the umbrella is deployed, the outer hub 20b is compressed by interference from the deployment rope 31 and inserted into the inserting hole. Thus, the deployed state of the umbrella is fixed.

[0064] Conversely, in the state of (b) of FIG. 6, when the umbrella is folded, the outer hub 20b first descends, and when the compressive interference on the elastic protrusion 71 is released, the elastic protrusion 71 is elastically ejected from the inserting hole, after which the inner hub 20a and outer hub 20b descend together to the bottom of the central rod 10.

[0065] Here, the relative displacement of the outer hub 20b causes interference (such as the aforementioned compression and release of the elastic protrusion 71 by the outer hub 20b) to fix the position of the outer hub 20b when the umbrella is deployed, with possible variations not limited to the above embodiment.

[0066] Therefore, in the case of a motorized automatic umbrella equipped with driving unit 63, the deployed state is supported by the elastic protrusion 71 when the umbrella is deployed, so no additional driving unit 63 is required to maintain the deployed state, minimizing power consumption and maximizing usage time. Additionally, for a manual umbrella without driving unit 63, the deployment fixing part keeps the umbrella deployed so the user does not need to support the umbrella hub 20.

[0067] The tension component 50 serves to ensure the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 maintain tension during release and take-up on the releaser 40. The function of tension component 50 is to compensate for changes in the initially set length of each rope according to stretching or contraction of the deployment rope 31 and/or folding rope 33 or position changes of other structures. For example, if the deployment rope 31 or folding rope 33 changes length due to use or other reasons, one rope may not be able to be fully released or further released from the releaser 40, preventing the umbrella hub 20 from being positioned at the specified deployed or folded position and making the opening and closing operation itself impossible. Or, even if the umbrella can open and close, the umbrella hub 20 cannot be fixed in the folded or deployed state and floats, compromising the commercial value of the product. Therefore, the tension component 50 applies tension to the deployment rope 31 and folding rope 33 to perform compensating correction.

[0068] The tension component 50 can employ various structures. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it can be implemented as an elastic component disposed between the end of the deployment rope 31 and/or folding rope 33 and the anchor point 21 of the umbrella hub 20. The tension component 50 stretches or contracts according to stretching or contraction of the ropes to maintain tension in each rope. Although FIG. 3 shows the tension component 50 at the end of folding rope 33, identical or similar structures can also clearly be applied to the end of deployment rope 31.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 5, the tension component 50 may be disposed on the side of deployment wire rope 31 and/or folding wire rope 33 not wound by releaser 40. For example, for the folding wire rope (33), the tension component 50 can be disposed between the anchor point on the umbrella hub 20 side and the section not wound by releaser 40.

[0070] Additionally, if the releaser 40 is disposed inside the handle component 60, the tension component 50 can be disposed between the releaser 40 and the bottom of the central rod 10.

[0071] For example, referring to FIG. 4, a guide pin 61 guiding the deployment rope 31 and/or folding rope 33 to the bottom of the central rod 10 can be provided inside the handle component 60. In this case, the tension component 50 may be configured as an elastic component between the guide pin 61 and the deployment rope 31 and/or folding rope 33. That is, one end of the elastic component 50 is fixed to the guide pin 61a, and the other end is connected to the folding rope 33 in an annular shape with the folding rope 33 movable, so that when the folding rope 33 is elongated, it can be pulled tight towards the guide pin 61a side to adjust its elasticity, and when the folding rope 33 is shortened, it can keep the folding rope 33 straight to adjust its length.

[0072] Therefore, according to the linear umbrella provided by the present invention, even if the deployment and/or folding rope changes length due to use or other reasons, compensation can be made through the tension component, avoiding misoperation of the umbrella and improving reliability and durability of the product.

[0073] In addition, the tension component 50 can absorb excessively high tensile forces applied to the wire material during sudden umbrella operation or local loads generated near routing points, preventing wire breakage and minimizing damage, thereby increasing durability.

[0074] Although the present invention has been described through limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and variations can be made to the technical idea and scope of the claims of the present invention by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered descriptive rather than limiting, the scope of the present invention should be that defined by the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within an equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the present invention.