An opening and closing mechanism for a parasol and the parasol itself.

Abstract

An opening and closing mechanism for a parasol includes an umbrella column, a rotating shaft, a reel, a friction plate, a rotating wheel, and a limiting member. The umbrella column is vertically arranged; the rotating shaft is horizontally inserted into the umbrella column; the reel has an outer peripheral wall on which the parasol rope is wound, and the reel is sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft and rotates with the rotating shaft under the action of an external force; the friction plate has opposing first and second surfaces and is sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft, with the first surface of the friction plate in frictional contact with the end face of the reel; the rotating wheel is sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft in a manner that allows it to rotate relative to the rotating shaft, and its end face is in frictional contact with the second surface of the friction plate, thereby enabling the rotating wheel to drive the reel to rotate and wind up the parasol rope through the friction plate; the limiting member acts on the rotating wheel to constrain the rotating wheel to the state of winding up the parasol rope. This application also discloses a parasol with the above-described opening and closing mechanism. Compared with the prior art, this application reduces the risk of damage to consumers in the event of accidental operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of sunshade technology, specifically relating to an opening and closing mechanism for a sunshade and a sunshade. Background Technology

[0002] Sun umbrellas are leisure and household products, mainly used in squares, beaches, parks, and courtyards to provide shade, shelter from wind and rain. Most existing foldable sun umbrellas use a crank to wind the umbrella cord, driving the frame to open and close. For example, the invention patent application CN200810120659.5, entitled "A Crank-Type Handcrank Device for a Sun Umbrella" (application publication number CN101669706A), discloses a crank-type handcrank device for a sun umbrella. This device includes a crank, a cord winding shaft, a housing, an upper central rod, a shaft sleeve, a washer, a spring, a snap pin, a rivet, a ball bearing device, and a lower central rod. The crank has a boss that locks and positions the cord. The housing has a groove that mates with the crank's boss. The crank's boss engages or disengages from the housing groove to control the rotation of the cord winding shaft, thereby achieving the winding and unwinding of the umbrella cord and its positioning.

[0003] For example, the invention patent application CN200810120660.8 entitled "Automatic Clutch Hand Crank Device for Sun Umbrella" (application publication number CN101669707A) discloses an automatic clutch hand crank device for a sun umbrella. It includes a hand crank, a housing, a shaft sleeve, a pad, a spring, a buckle pin, an upper middle rod, a lower middle rod, and a ball bearing device. The hand crank is equipped with a rope winding shaft and a toothed disc. The housing also has a toothed disc inside its baffle that can mesh with the toothed disc of the hand crank. The spring force causes the toothed disc of the hand crank to automatically engage and disengage with the toothed disc of the housing to control the rotation of the rope winding shaft, thereby achieving rope winding, rope unwinding, and umbrella rope positioning.

[0004] The existing opening and closing mechanism of sun umbrellas has the following technical problems: 1. When the umbrella frame is fully opened, the crank is jammed by the umbrella cord and cannot continue to rotate. If the consumer forcibly turns the crank, it may damage the crank or the umbrella cord; 2. If the sun umbrella is not closed in time on a windy day, it is very likely to be damaged or overturned. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The first technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an opening and closing mechanism for a sun umbrella that reduces the risk of damage to the consumer in the event of accidental operation, in light of the current state of the prior art.

[0006] The second technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an opening and closing mechanism for a parasol that can automatically retract on windy days.

[0007] The third technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a sunshade having the above-mentioned opening and closing mechanism.

[0008] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the first and second technical problems mentioned above is: an opening and closing mechanism for a sunshade umbrella, comprising:

[0009] Umbrella-shaped columns, installed vertically;

[0010] The pivot is inserted horizontally inside the umbrella column;

[0011] A reel has an outer peripheral wall on which paracord is wound. The reel is fitted around the outer periphery of the aforementioned rotating shaft and rotates with the rotating shaft under the action of external force.

[0012] Its characteristic is that it also includes:

[0013] The friction plate has a first surface and a second surface that are opposite to each other, and is sleeved on the outer periphery of the aforementioned rotating shaft. The first surface of the friction plate is in frictional contact with the end face of the aforementioned spool.

[0014] A rotating wheel is fitted around the outer periphery of the aforementioned rotating shaft in a manner that allows it to rotate relative to the rotating shaft, and its end face is in frictional contact with the second surface of the aforementioned friction plate, thereby enabling the rotating wheel to drive the spool to rotate through the friction plate and wind up the paracord.

[0015] A limiting element acts on the aforementioned rotating wheel to constrain the rotating wheel to the state of winding up the paracord.

[0016] Preferably, the rotating wheel includes a driven wheel sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft and a driving wheel sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft for driving the driven wheel to rotate. The driven wheel is located between the driving wheel and the second surface of the friction plate, and the first end face of the driven wheel is in frictional contact with the second surface of the friction plate.

[0017] Preferably, a limiting block is provided on the second end face of the driven wheel opposite to the driving wheel, and the driving wheel has a limiting structure that can contact the limiting block. When the driving wheel is rotating, the limiting structure drives the limiting block and the driven wheel to rotate.

[0018] Preferably, the limiting block is a fan-shaped boss extending circumferentially along the second end face of the driven wheel, the fan-shaped boss having a first limiting surface and a second limiting surface arranged opposite each other in the circumferential direction; the driving wheel has a limiting surface one and a limiting surface two corresponding to the first limiting surface and the second limiting surface, respectively, as the aforementioned limiting structure.

[0019] Furthermore, the limiting member acts on the driving wheel and the driven wheel to restrict the driven wheel from driving the driving wheel to rotate.

[0020] Preferably, the limiting member is a torsion spring, which has a central helical body and extension arms at both ends. The central helical body of the torsion spring is sleeved on the outer periphery of the driving wheel. The end of the first extension arm of the torsion spring is constrained between a first limiting surface and a first limiting surface, and the end of the second extension arm of the torsion spring is constrained between a second limiting surface and a second limiting surface. Simultaneously, the outer peripheral wall of the central helical body of the torsion spring is constrained within the umbrella column in a manner that allows circumferential rotation. Thus, when the driving wheel rotates first, it drives the driven wheel to rotate via the extension arms of the torsion spring; when the driven wheel rotates first, the torsion spring restricts further rotation of the driven wheel. The limiting member can also be an overrunning clutch.

[0021] In the above embodiments, to facilitate the rotation of the drive wheel, preferably, the drive wheel is located inside the umbrella column and has a through hole into which the end of the rotating shaft extends, and also has a polygonal hole arranged coaxially with the through hole. The side wall of the umbrella column has an opening corresponding to the polygonal hole, and the diameter of the opening is larger than the diameter of the polygonal hole.

[0022] In the above embodiments, preferably, it further includes an elastic washer and a nut, the rotating shaft is a screw with an external thread on the rod, the rod of the screw passes through the elastic washer, the driven wheel, the friction plate, and the spool in sequence and is connected to the nut, and the head of the screw is inserted into the driving wheel.

[0023] Furthermore, the cross-sectional shape of the screw shank is non-circular, the through-hole shape of the spool for the screw to pass through matches the cross-sectional shape of the screw shank, and the insertion hole of the driven spool for the screw to pass through is circular. Preferably, the cross-sectional shape of the screw shank is D-shaped.

[0024] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the third technical problem mentioned above is: a sunshade umbrella having the opening and closing mechanism described above.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this invention are as follows: By adding a friction plate, a rotating wheel, and a limiting member, and with the first and second surfaces of the friction plate in frictional contact with the end faces of the spool and the rotating wheel, respectively, the rotating wheel can drive the spool to rotate via the friction plate. Furthermore, when the spool reaches its limit position, even if the rotating wheel continues to rotate, the spool can overcome friction and remain stationary. This reduces the risk of damage in case of consumer misoperation. Simultaneously, in strong winds, the spool can overcome the friction of the friction plate and rotate in the opposite direction to the rotating wheel, thereby automatically unwinding the umbrella cord and automatically closing the parasol in windy conditions, further reducing the risk of damage. Moreover, this invention has a simple structure and is easy to implement. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the opening and closing mechanism in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is an exploded perspective view of the opening and closing mechanism in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the opening and closing mechanism in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sunshade umbrella in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Enlarged view of section A in the middle;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sunshade umbrella in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Enlarged view of section B in the middle. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0034] Example 1:

[0035] like Figures 1-5 As shown, this is a preferred embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism for a sunshade umbrella according to the present invention. The sunshade umbrella is a side-post sunshade umbrella, which includes a pillar 100, an umbrella surface 200 disposed on the top of the pillar 100 and capable of being opened or closed, and an opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the umbrella surface.

[0036] The opening and closing mechanism includes an umbrella column 1, a rotating shaft 2, a thread wheel 3, a friction plate 4, a rotating wheel 5, a limiting component 6, an elastic washer 7, and a nut 8.

[0037] The umbrella column 1 is vertically mounted on the pillar 100 of the sunshade umbrella, and the interior of the umbrella column 1 is hollow, with a box base 11 inside the umbrella column 1.

[0038] The aforementioned pivot 2 is horizontally inserted into the housing 11 of the umbrella column 1. In this embodiment, the pivot 2 is a screw with external threads on its shaft, and the cross-sectional shape of the screw shaft is D-shaped.

[0039] The aforementioned reel 3 has an outer peripheral wall on which the paracord 31 is wound. The reel 3 is fitted around the outer periphery of the shaft 2 and rotates with the shaft 2 under external force. Specifically, the through hole 30 of the reel 3 through which the shaft 2 passes matches the cross-sectional shape of the shaft 2, being a D-shaped hole. Thus, the rotation of the reel 3 enables the opening and closing of the paracord 31, which is connected to the umbrella surface 200, thereby opening or closing the umbrella surface 200. The connection structure between the paracord 31 and the umbrella surface 200 is mature existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0040] The friction plate 4 has a first surface 41 and a second surface 42 that are opposite each other, and is sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 2. The first surface 41 of the friction plate 4 is in frictional contact with the end face of the wheel 3.

[0041] The aforementioned rotating wheel 5 is sleeved on the outer periphery of the aforementioned rotating shaft 2 in a manner that allows it to rotate relative to the rotating shaft 2, and its end face is in frictional contact with the second surface 42 of the aforementioned friction plate 4, thereby enabling the rotating wheel 5 to drive the reel 3 to rotate through the friction plate 4 and wind up the paracord 31. In this embodiment, the rotating wheel 5 includes a driven wheel 5a sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 2 and a driving wheel 5b sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 2 for driving the driven wheel 5a to rotate. The driven wheel 5a is located between the driving wheel 5b and the second surface 42 of the friction plate 4, and the first end face of the driven wheel 5a is in frictional contact with the second surface 42 of the friction plate 4. Furthermore, a limiting block 51 is provided on the second end face of the driven wheel 5a opposite to the driving wheel 5b, and the driving wheel 5b has a limiting structure that can contact the limiting block 51. When the driving wheel 5b is rotating, the limiting structure drives the limiting block 51 and the driven wheel 5a to rotate. Specifically, the limiting block 51 is a fan-shaped boss extending circumferentially along the second end face of the driven wheel 5a. The fan-shaped boss has a first limiting surface 511 and a second limiting surface 512 arranged opposite to each other in the circumferential direction. The driving wheel 5b has a limiting surface 52 and a limiting surface 53 corresponding to the first limiting surface 511 and the second limiting surface 512, respectively, as the aforementioned limiting structure. In this embodiment, the connection between the rotating wheel 5 and the rotating shaft 2 is as follows: the driving wheel 5b is located inside the umbrella column 1 and has a circular through hole 54 into which the head of the screw of the rotating shaft 2 extends, and also has a polygonal hole 55 arranged coaxially with the through hole 54. The side wall of the umbrella column 1 has an opening 10 corresponding to the polygonal hole 55. The diameter of the opening 10 is larger than the diameter of the polygonal hole 55. At the same time, the side of the housing 11 opposite to the opening 10 is an open structure. Thus, tools such as crank 300 and wrench can be inserted into opening 10 and act on polygonal hole 55, thereby driving drive wheel 5b to rotate. The insertion hole 50 of driven wheel 5a through which the screw shank passes is a circular hole, so that driven wheel 5a can rotate relative to screw shank under the action of external force.

[0042] In summary, in this embodiment, the shank of the screw passes through the elastic washer 7, the driven wheel 5a, the friction plate 4, and the spool 3 in sequence before being connected to the nut 8, and the head of the screw is inserted into the driving wheel 5b.

[0043] Meanwhile, a gasket 9 is provided between the end face of the drive wheel 5b and the inner wall of the umbrella column 1 to prevent wear between the drive wheel 5b and the umbrella column 1 when the drive wheel 5b rotates.

[0044] The aforementioned limiting member 6 acts on the driving wheel 5b and the driven wheel 5a to restrict the driven wheel 5a from driving the driving wheel 5b to rotate. Specifically, the limiting member 6 is a torsion spring, which has a central helical body 61 and extension arms at both ends. The central helical body 61 of the torsion spring is sleeved on the outer periphery of the driving wheel 5b. The end of the first extension arm 62 of the torsion spring is constrained between the first limiting surface 511 and the first limiting surface 52, and the end of the second extension arm 63 of the torsion spring is constrained between the second limiting surface 512 and the second limiting surface 53. At the same time, the outer peripheral wall of the central helical body 61 of the torsion spring is constrained on the inner peripheral wall of the box base 11 of the umbrella column 1 in a circumferentially rotatable manner. Thus, when the driving wheel 5b rotates first, the driving wheel 5b drives the driven wheel 5a to rotate through the extension arms of the torsion spring. When the driven wheel 5a rotates first, the torsion spring restricts the driven wheel 5a from rotating further.

[0045] When the canopy of the parasol needs to be opened, the crank 300 is inserted into the polygonal hole 55 of the drive wheel 5b and rotated. The rotation of the drive wheel 5b forces the outer diameter of the torsion spring to shrink, causing it to rotate relative to the inner circumferential wall of the housing 11, which in turn drives the driven wheel 5a to start rotating. Since the friction plate 4 is pressed between the driven wheel 5a and the spool 3, the spool 3 also rotates under the transmission of friction, thereby winding the parasol rope 31 into the housing 11 until the canopy of the parasol is fully opened.

[0046] When the parasol is fully open, if the crank 300 is forcibly turned to drive the drive wheel 5b to rotate, the friction between the driven wheel 5a and the friction plate 4 and the spool 3 is overcome. The drive wheel 5b, the torsion spring 8, and the driven wheel 5a rotate under the drive of the crank 300, while the spool 3 remains stationary, thus avoiding damage to the crank 300 and the parasol rope 31.

[0047] When the umbrella surface 200 applies excessive tension to the umbrella rope 31 in windy weather, the umbrella rope 31 drives the spool 3 to rotate over the friction between it and the friction plate 4 and the driven wheel 5a. At this time, the driven wheel 5a and the driving wheel 5b are tensioned in the housing 11 by the torque of the torsion spring and cannot rotate. The spool 3 is driven to rotate by the umbrella rope 31 to realize automatic umbrella closing.

[0048] Example 2:

[0049] like Figure 6 , 7As shown, this is a preferred embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism for a sunshade umbrella and the sunshade umbrella of the present invention. This embodiment is basically the same as the first embodiment, except that the sunshade umbrella in this embodiment is a center-column sunshade umbrella.

Claims

1. An opening and closing mechanism for a parasol, comprising: Umbrella column (1), set vertically; The pivot (2) is inserted horizontally into the umbrella column (1); The spool (3) has an outer peripheral wall on which the paracord (31) is wound. The spool (3) is sleeved on the outer periphery of the aforementioned shaft (2) and rotates with the shaft (2) under the action of external force. Its characteristic is that it also includes: The friction plate (4) has a first surface (41) and a second surface (42) opposite to each other, and is sleeved on the outer periphery of the above-mentioned rotating shaft (2). The first surface (41) of the friction plate (4) is in frictional contact with the end face of the above-mentioned thread wheel (3). The rotating wheel (5) is fitted around the outer periphery of the rotating shaft (2) in a manner that allows it to rotate relative to the rotating shaft (2), and its end face is in frictional contact with the second surface (42) of the friction plate (4), so that the rotating wheel (5) can drive the spool (3) to rotate through the friction plate (4) and wind up the paracord (31). The limiting member (6) acts on the rotating wheel (5) to constrain the rotating wheel (5) in the state of winding the paracord (31); The rotating wheel (5) includes a driven wheel (5a) sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft (2) and a driving wheel (5b) sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft (2) for driving the driven wheel (5a) to rotate. The driven wheel (5a) is located between the driving wheel (5b) and the second surface (42) of the friction plate (4), and the first end face of the driven wheel (5a) is in frictional contact with the second surface (42) of the friction plate (4). The limiting member (6) acts on the driving wheel (5b) and the driven wheel (5a) to restrict the driven wheel (5a) from driving the driving wheel (5b) to rotate.

2. The opening and closing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: A limiting block (51) is provided on the second end face of the driven wheel (5a) opposite to the driving wheel (5b). The driving wheel (5b) has a limiting structure that can contact the limiting block (51). When the driving wheel (5b) is rotating, the limiting structure drives the limiting block (51) and the driven wheel (5a) to rotate.

3. The opening and closing mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The limiting block (51) is a fan-shaped boss extending circumferentially along the second end face of the driven wheel (5a). The fan-shaped boss has a first limiting surface (511) and a second limiting surface (512) arranged opposite to each other in the circumferential direction. The driving wheel (5b) has a limiting surface one (52) and a limiting surface two (53) corresponding to the first limiting surface (511) and the second limiting surface (512) respectively as the limiting structure described above.

4. The opening and closing mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The limiting member (6) is a torsion spring, which has a middle helical body (61) and extension arms at both ends. The middle helical body (61) of the torsion spring is sleeved on the outer periphery of the driving wheel (5b). The end of the first extension arm (62) of the torsion spring is constrained between the first limiting surface (511) and the first limiting surface (52). The end of the second extension arm (63) of the torsion spring is constrained between the second limiting surface (512) and the second limiting surface (53). At the same time, the outer peripheral wall of the middle helical body (61) of the torsion spring is constrained in the umbrella column (1) in a circumferentially rotatable manner. Thus, when the driving wheel (5b) rotates first, the driving wheel (5b) drives the driven wheel (5a) to rotate through the extension arms of the torsion spring. When the driven wheel (5a) rotates first, the torsion spring restricts the driven wheel (5a) from rotating further.

5. The opening and closing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The drive wheel (5b) is located inside the umbrella column (1) and has a through hole (54) into which the end of the shaft (2) extends, and also has a polygonal hole (55) arranged coaxially with the through hole (54). The side wall of the umbrella column (1) has an opening (10) corresponding to the polygonal hole (55), and the diameter of the opening (10) is larger than the diameter of the polygonal hole (55).

6. The opening and closing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: It also includes an elastic washer (7) and a nut (8). The rotating shaft (2) is a screw with an external thread on its rod. The rod of the screw passes through the elastic washer (7), the driven wheel (5a), the friction plate (4), and the spool (3) in sequence and is connected to the nut (8). The head of the screw is inserted into the driving wheel (5b).

7. The opening and closing mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The cross-sectional shape of the screw shank is non-circular, the shape of the through hole (30) of the spool (3) for the screw to pass through matches the cross-sectional shape of the screw shank, and the insertion hole (50) of the driven wheel (5a) for the screw to pass through is a circular hole.

8. A sunshade having an opening and closing mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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