US20070211450A1

US20070211450A1 - Patio umbrella with the light

Info

Publication number: US20070211450A1
Application number: US11/452,893
Authority: US
Inventors: Ching-Chuan You
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-03-10
Filing date: 2006-06-15
Publication date: 2007-09-13

Abstract

A light mounted in a top hub of a center shank of a patio umbrella is disclosed. The light includes a transparent cap; a seat secured to the shank and including radial grooves extended from the shank with one ends of ribs pivotably provided therein, and peripheral compartments each formed between two adjacent grooves; light emitting units provided in the compartments; a shade secured to the shank and the seat, the shade including transparent casings equally spaced around the shank, the casings being secured to the compartments for enclosing the light emitting units; and a power source provided in the cap and electrically connected to the light emitting units. Preferably, the light emitting element is one or more LEDs and the power source is a solar battery.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to patio umbrellas and more particularly to such a patio umbrella having a light (e.g., lamp) mounted in a top hub of a shank and powered by a solar battery or a rechargeable battery.
2. Description of Related Art
A portion of the frame 8 of a conventional patio umbrella is shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a center shank 81 having a top fixed hub 82, a lower sliding sleeve 83, a plurality of ribs 84 extended radially from the hub 82, and a plurality of spreaders 85 extended radially from the sliding sleeve 83 to join intermediate points of the ribs 84; a canopy 80 in covering relationship to the ribs 84; and a plurality of lights 9 hanged from the ribs 84 above and powered by one or more cells. This prior art, however, suffered from several- disadvantages. For example, the umbrella is relatively bulky even in a closed condition. The lights 9 may be broken if a sufficient care is not taken in closing the umbrella. Further, drilling holes in the ribs 84 and wiring are required. This is a labor intensive task and future maintenance also is not easy. Furthermore, rain may fall under the canopy 80 through holes in the ribs 84. Moreover, a current leaking may be occurred. In addition, power supplied by the cell(s) is limited (i.e., limited operating time).
The lights 9 may be arranged in another conventional configuration. In detail, the light is formed as a transparent case with a light emitting member, a power source, and wiring enclosed therein. The case is mounted in a top fixed hub of a center shank. However, this prior art still suffered from several disadvantages. For example, a plurality of lights are required. Further, space for accommodating these lights is increased significantly. In a worst condition, a full closing of the umbrella is not possible. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a light mounted in a top hub of a center shank of a patio umbrella, the light comprising a transparent cap; a seat secured to the shank and including a plurality of radial grooves extended from the shank with one ends of a plurality of ribs pivotably provided therein, and a plurality of peripheral compartments each formed between two adjacent ones of the grooves; a plurality of light emitting units each provided in the compartment; a shade secured to the shank and the seat, the shade including a plurality of transparent casings equally spaced around the shank, the casings being secured to the compartments for enclosing the light emitting units; and a power source provided in the cap and electrically connected to the light emitting units.
In one aspect of the present invention the light emitting element is an LED (light emitting diode), a plurality of LEDs, or a bulb.
In another aspect of the present invention the casing comprises a wrinkled inner surface.
In yet another aspect of the present invention the power source is either a solar battery or a rechargeable battery.
In a further aspect of the present invention the cap comprises a lower case member and a transparent convex top member provided on the case member.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the frame of a conventional patio umbrella with light;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of light mounted in a patio umbrella according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the light mounted in a top hub of an umbrella shank;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of an umbrella frame mounted with the light of the invention in its top hub; and

FIG. 6 is an environmental view of the light mounted in a patio umbrella.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, a light (e.g., lamp) 2 mounted in a patio umbrella 1 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The umbrella 1 comprises a frame 12 and a canopy 11 in covering relationship to the frame 12. The frame 12 comprises a center shank 13 having a top fixed hub with the light 2 mounted therein, a lower sliding sleeve, a plurality of ribs 14 extended radially from the hub, and a plurality of spreaders 15 extended radially from the sliding sleeve to join intermediate points of the ribs 14.
The light 2 comprises a cap 25 including a lower case member 251 and a convex top member 252 made of transparent material and provided on the case member 251 to form a waterproof means and protect other components of the light 2; and a seat 21 including a central, hollow cylinder 211, a plurality of radial grooves 212 extended from the cylinder 211 with one ends of the ribs 14 pivotably provided therein, a circular mount 213 provided around the cylinder 211, and a plurality of compartments 214 of pie section provided on the mount 213 and each formed between two adjacent grooves 212.
The light 2 further comprises a plurality of light emitting units 22 each including a plurality of legs mounted on a hole of the compartment 214, a dish shaped reflector 221 (note that the reflector 221 may be shaped as a concave member having a plurality of oblique inner surfaces), and a light emitting element 222 mounted on the reflector 221, the light emitting element 222 implemented as a single LED (light emitting diode) as shown, three LEDs arranged as a triangle in other embodiment, or a bulb in other embodiment. Also, the reflector 221 is adapted to focus light rays emitted by the light emitting element 222 toward a predetermined direction.
The light 2 further comprises a truncated conic shade 23 including a central tubelike member 231 having a lower end threadedly secured to the shank 13 and an upper end snugly secured to the cylinder 211, a plurality of separated transparent casings 232 equally spaced around the tubelike member 231 with the light emitting unit 22 provided on a bottom of the transparent casing 232, and a wrinkled member 233 formed on an inner surface of the casing 232 for increasing intensity of light rays emitted by the light emitting unit 22.
The light 2 further comprises a central power source 24 provided on a joining portion of the case member 251 and the top member 252; a mounting member 26 fixedly provided on a bottom of the case member 251; and a wire assembly 27 interconnected the power source 24 and the light emitting units 22 through the mounting member 26. Preferably, the power source 24 is implemented as a solar battery. Still preferably, the power source 24 is implemented as a rechargeable battery. Further, the power source 24 is enclosed in the cap 25 so as to be waterproof. Furthermore, the transparent top member 252 is adapted to collect sun rays and focus same on the light emitting units 22.
Referring to FIG. 6, the open umbrella 1 of the invention is mounted on a table and the light 2 is mounted on the top fixed hub of the shank 13. In this embodiment, the power source 24 is powered by solar energy. Also, the light 2 does not hinder a closing of the umbrella 1. Thus, a minimum storage space of the umbrella 1 after closing is made possible.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A light mounted in a top hub of a center shank of a patio umbrella, the light comprising:

a transparent cap;

a seat secured to the shank and including a plurality of radial grooves extended from the shank with one ends of a plurality of ribs pivotably provided therein, and a plurality of peripheral compartments each formed between two adjacent ones of the grooves;

a plurality of light emitting units each provided in the compartment;

a shade secured to the shank and the seat, the shade including a plurality of transparent casings equally spaced around the shank, the casings being secured to the compartments for enclosing the light emitting units; and

a power source provided in the cap and electrically connected to the light emitting units.

2. The light of claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit comprises a reflector and a light emitting element mounted on the reflector.

3. The light of claim 2, wherein the reflector is either shaped as a dish or shaped as a concave member having a plurality of oblique inner surfaces.

4. The light of claim 2, wherein the light emitting element is an LED, a plurality of LEDs, or a bulb.

5. The light of claim 1, wherein the casing comprises a wrinkled inner surface.

6. The light of claim 1, wherein the power source is a solar battery.

7. The light of claim 1, wherein the power source is a rechargeable battery.

8. The light of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises a lower case member and a transparent convex top member provided on the case member.

9. The light of claim 8, wherein the power source is provided on a center of a joining portion of the case member and the top member.