Anti-turning Umbrella Frame Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable umbrellas are prone to deformation and damage due to ribs being easily turned inside out by sudden wind gusts, which affects their service life and ability to protect users from heavy rain.
Innovation Solution
An anti-turning umbrella frame design featuring a positioning portion on the inner main rib and a corresponding locking portion on the inner connecting rib, which lock together to form a rigid body, preventing the middle main rib from turning over and ensuring stability during wind gusts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the umbrella frame uses a conventional rib connection structure, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the ribs are easily turned inside out by sudden wind gusts causing deformation and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The inner connecting rib is divided into multiple segments: a first connecting rib portion, a second connecting rib portion, and a rotating rib portion. This segmentation allows the structure to maintain simplicity while introducing controlled rotation capability to prevent turning inside out during wind gusts.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating rib portion is designed to rotate relative to the first and second connecting rib portions when subjected to external forces like wind gusts. This dynamic response allows the frame to adapt to external loads rather than rigidly resisting them, preventing deformation and damage while maintaining structural integrity.
2Reliability
If the ribs are rigidly connected to prevent turning, then the anti-turning capability is improved, but the ease of operation and automatic opening/closing function is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The rotating rib portion enables controlled rotation during opening and closing operations, allowing the umbrella to maintain its automatic operation functionality. The rotation is constrained to specific ranges that prevent turning inside out while permitting normal operational movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection structure allows for parameter changes in the rotation angle and position of the rotating rib portion. During normal operation, the rib rotates within a permitted range; during wind gusts, the rotation is limited to prevent turning inside out, thus balancing operational ease with anti-turning capability.
3Reliability
If the locking portion and positioning portion are locked together during opening, then the middle main rib is prevented from turning over, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking portion and positioning portion are integrated into the existing rib structure rather than being separate additional components. The locking mechanism is combined with the connecting rib structure, reducing the overall device complexity while providing the necessary stability during wind gusts.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking portion and positioning portion automatically engage and lock together during the opening process without requiring additional actuators or complex control mechanisms. The structural design itself provides the locking function, making the system self-servicing and minimizing added complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 2~2A
Figure 3
AI summary
An anti-turning umbrella frame is revealed. The anti-turning umbrella frame includes a plurality of inner main ribs, a plurality of inner connecting ribs, a plurality of middle main ribs, and a plurality of stretchers. An outer end of the inner main rib is riveted to an inner end of the middle main rib to form a first rivet point. The anti-turning umbrella frame features on that a positioning portion is disposed on an inner side of the first rivet point of the inner main rib while a locking portion corresponding to the positioning portion is arranged at or close to the outer end of the inner connecting rib. The locking portion is locked with the positioning portion while the umbrella frame is opened. Thereby the inner main rib and the middle main rib are connected to form a rigid body for preventing the middle main rib from turning over.