US2200897A - Umbrella - Google Patents

Description

- May '14, 1940. RONKlN 2,200,897

UMBRELLA Filed Oct. 14, 1959 Patented May 14, 1940 PATENT OFFICE I UMBRELLA Nathan Ronkin, Elizabeth, N. J.

Application October 14,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in umbrellas and parasols, and more particularly to the tips which are sewed upon the peripheral edge of the umbrella fabric for the purpose of retaining the free ends of the umbrella ribs.

The present invention proceeds upon the principle of the provision of umbrella rib tips which may be secured by sewing to the circumferential edge of an umbrella fabric expeditiously by means 1 of a conventional button sewing machine, the attachment of which is executed with tightness and stability in order to provide a sufficiently rigid anchoring medium for the umbrella ribs which are inserted into such tips upon the assembly of the umbrella. Thereby complicated sewing operations requiring special machines which are useful only for the sewing of umbrella tips and which consequently are costly and require special operating experience, are unnecessary. According to the present invention, the rib tips are provided with a pair of spaced holes having a. displacement corresponding to that normally encountered in the holes in buttons which may be sewn, and the needle of a conventional button sewing machine is oscillated to and fro to pierce these holes and to tightly attach the tips to the umbrella fabric. In addition, the tip is provided with flattened faces in order to render the attachment of the tip to the umbrella fabric stable both in the course of the sewing operation as well as in the course of the use of the umbrella. Thereby, a neat and finished appearance of the sewing stitches incidental to the attachment of the rib tips to the umbrella fabric is obtained and in addition, no complicated sewing steps requiring the reversal of the fabric material and other complex operations incidental to the attachment of rib tips of general usage, particularly those having a single hole, are necessary.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a rib tip, preferably of molded plastic material, such as Celluloid, Bakelite, resins, or other well known plastics, which may be manufactured in great quantities at low cost, and which may be conditioned for sewing to an umbrella fabric with a minimum number of .manufacturing steps.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rib tip which may be conveniently handled by a sewing attachment for sewing machines used in connection with sewing of buttons with the least amount of effort and operating skill.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an umbrella having the rib tips for the reception of the free ends of ribs sewed to the umbrella fabric tightly and neatly without in- 1939, Serial No. 299,544

volvement of complex manufacturing steps in the course of the sewing operations. The stitching extends smoothly along the line of the tip and the rib therefor, and is not tangled with respect to the fabric whereat the tip is sewn.

Other objects and purposes. will appear from the more detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a portion of umbrella showing the mode of attachment of the rib tips to the under-side thereof;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view along line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan View of a rib tip in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 is a front elevation of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a right end view of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a plan view showing the rib, tip in position in the sewing, machine attachment.

In Figure 1 is shown the umbrella fabric I which may be of cloth, silk, oil silk, or any other waterproof fabric having the ribs 4 extending radially at the under-side thereof, terminating in the tips T which are attached to the marginal periphery 2 of the umbrella fabric by stitching S extending through a pair of holes in each umbrella tip T.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the umbrella tip is preferably formed of a molded plastic material having a rounded portion 3 which may be cylindrical or any other configuration, and which may terminate in a rounded end 6. This portion protrudes beyond the edge of the umbrella fabric and may have any desired configuration to enhance the ornamental effect of the umbrella. Flattened faces 8 and 9 adjoin the portion 3 and extend to the other end 1 of the tip. Holes I and I I having a displacement corresponding tothatnormally encountered in buttons extend through the tip in a direction normal to the plane of the faces 8 and 9. These holes receive the stitching executed by a conventional button sewing machine to attach the rib tip to the umbrella fabric, which attachment is stabilized both in the course of sewing operation and in the course of use by the planar configuration of faces 8 and 9. A hole I2 extends centrally of the rib tip from the end 'I, and is designed to receive the free end I4 of the umbrella rib 4 (Figure 2). This hole extends at least as far as the stitching hole II.

In Figure 6 is shown the placement of the rib tip in the course of the sewing operation. The sewing machine attachment I is provided with a holding arm I8 for clamping the fabric which also cooperates with the opposed jaws I6 and I1 of the attachment to retain the tip in position adjacent to the fabric for the sewing operation which is executed by an oscillating needle moving above the holes provided in the tip. The oscillating needle executes a stitching of the thread in holes in and l I to attach the rib tip to the umbrella fabric as shown in Figures 1 and 2 preparatory to the insertion of the rib terminals l4 in the longitudinally extending bore l2 of the rib tip.

The attachment of the rib tips as disclosed herein results in an article of neat appearance, without a bunching of the threads at the edge of the fabric by virtue of the passage of stitching through a single hole in the rib tips in common use.

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in a specific manner for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that I do not limit'my invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A tip for an umbrella rib comprising a rounded portion with a closed end and another. portion with flat faces on the opposite sides thereof and having an open bore for the reception of the end of an umbrella rib, and a plurality of holes extending diametrically through said tip and approximately normal to the planes of said flat faces.

2. A tip for an umbrella rib comprising a portion formed as a surface of revolution with a closed end and another portion with flat faces on opposite sides thereof and having an open bore for the reception of the end of an umbrella rib, and a pair of .holes extending diametrically through said tip and substantially normal to the planes of said fiat faces.

3. A tip of molded plastic material for an umbrella rib comprising a rounded portion formed as a surface of revolution with a closed end and another portion with a pair of parallel flat .faces on opposite sides thereof and having an open bore for the reception of the end of an umbrella rib, and a pair of holes extending diametrically through said tip, normal to the planes of said fiat faces and between the ends of said tip, one of said holes piercing the rounded portion and the other of said holes piercing said fiat faces near the inner ends thereof.

4. A tip of molded plastic material for an umbrella rib comprising a cylindrical portion with a closed end and another portion With flat faces on opposite sides thereof and having an open bore for the reception of the end of an umbrella rib and a pair of holes extending diametrically through said tip normal to the planes of said flat faces between the ends' of said tip and serving as an attachment medium by sewing of the tip to the umbrella fabric at said holes.

NATHAN RO'NKIN.

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