Canopy for umbrellas

Abstract

A canopy system for increasing the coverage of multiple umbrellas has been disclosed. The canopy system includes a canopy portion and at least one fastener for removeably attaching the canopy portion to a first and second umbrella. The fastener can attach to unmodified portions of an umbrella so that the canopy system may be used with existing umbrellas and umbrellas not especially manufactured to couple with a canopy. The canopy system may advantageously include a support structure for supporting the canopy portion in a desired shape. The length of the canopy system can be adjustable and the system can be easily collapsed for storage and portability.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority to provisional application no. 61 / 324674 filed Apr. 15, 2010.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The field of the invention is umbrellas and coverings.BACKGROUND[0003]Umbrellas have been used for centuries as a portable means for protecting a user from the sun and rain. A major problem with existing umbrellas is the limited coverage area, especially when multiple users are contemplated. Most umbrellas are too small for more than one person. While there are bigger umbrellas that provide coverage for two or maybe even three people, these umbrellas are usually heavy and bulky. In a situation where groups of people need coverage, such as children, the bigger umbrellas often fail to provide sufficient coverage. It would be advantageous to provide a portable means for covering large groups of people.[0004]U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,289 to Anderson and U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,080 to Ma both describe umbrellas that can be expanded to accommodate multiple people. In Ma, t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention is a canopy that can be attached to existing umbrellas using a fastener. The canopy can be adjusted in length and provides coverage for one or more people. It can also be attached to multiple umbrellas to create a larger coverage area. The canopy can be used with drapes to provide side coverage and can utilize the full width of the umbrellas for support. The technical effect of this invention is that it allows for easy customization and versatility in creating a canopy system that can be used with existing umbrellas."

Problems solved by technology

A major problem with existing umbrellas is the limited coverage area, especially when multiple users are contemplated.

Most umbrellas are too small for more than one person.

While there are bigger umbrellas that provide coverage for two or maybe even three people, these umbrellas are usually heavy and bulky.

In a situation where groups of people need coverage, such as children, the bigger umbrellas often fail to provide sufficient coverage.

In this manner, Ma provides an umbrella that can be used for one person, or alternatively, the umbrella can be expanded to accommodate several people, While Ma does provide a useful improvement on umbrellas and addresses the problem of covering multiple people, Ma suffers from several drawbacks: (i) the umbrella must be specially manufactured with unique features that allow for expanding and retracting, (ii) the umbrella coverage area is still fairly limited and can only comfortably accommodate two or three people, (iii) the central flap portion is permanently attached to the umbrella, making the umbrella, unnecessarily heavy when used in a retracted mode for a single-person, and (iv) the umbrella is not capable of joining with a second distinct umbrella.

Although Yu contemplates joining two umbrellas, Yu fails to provide a connecting canopy that can comfortably accommodate more than two people.

However, like Yu, the connecting flap / canopy in DeMars and CN201299185Y are not configured to comfortably accommodate more than two people.

In sum, the prior art fails to disclose a canopy for connecting multiple existing umbrellas, wherein the canopy is completely removeable from the umbrellas and is sized and dimensioned to provide a coverage area large enough to comfortably accommodate multiple people.

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