Spring-Assisted Umbrella Ribs Wind Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional umbrellas often have moving parts that are damaged by high winds, making them unusable, and can be difficult to expand or retract, lacking ease of conversion between use and storage positions.
Innovation Solution
An improved umbrella assembly featuring a frame with a spring mechanism and ribs that do not require restraining lines, allowing for manual or spring-assisted opening and closing, with a design that includes a handle and a body portion housing components like a spring, seat, and support rod, enabling easy retraction and deployment without strings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional umbrella materials and structure are used to ensure portability and light weight, then ease of transportation is improved, but the umbrella's moving parts are destroyed by high winds making it unusable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials in the frame construction, combining flexible materials with reinforcing elements. The ribs are made of flexible material that can bend without breaking, while the frame incorporates reinforcing structures at critical points to maintain integrity during high wind conditions, thus achieving both light weight and wind resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The umbrella frame is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing the ribs and frame components to flex and move adaptively in response to wind forces rather than rigidly resisting them. This dynamic design enables the frame to absorb wind energy through controlled deformation, preventing destruction while maintaining structural integrity
2Ease of operation
If conventional umbrella mechanisms are used, then basic opening and closing function is achieved, but the umbrella is difficult to expand into in-use position and retract into non-use position
Solution Approach 1:
The umbrella mechanism is designed to be self-acting through the interaction of spring-loaded ribs and corresponding compressors. When the user initiates opening or closing, the spring mechanism automatically completes the action by expanding or compressing the ribs in sequence, reducing the effort required and simplifying the operation without requiring complex control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The umbrella frame is segmented into multiple independent ribs, each equipped with its own compressor and spring mechanism. This segmentation allows each rib to be independently controlled during expansion and retraction, enabling smooth sequential movement that simplifies the overall mechanism while improving ease of operation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances frame integrity and simplifies the conversion process, ensuring the umbrella can withstand high winds and is easier to use, with the spring mechanism allowing for automatic retraction and a non-slip handle for user convenience.
Implementation Method 1
a spring (122) having a first end disposed opposite a second end, where the second end is affixed to the base proximate the second end of the frame
Data Source
AI summary
An umbrella assembly is described in which a spring assisted movement of a knob away from or toward an umbrella handle respectively deploys or retracts a canopy and a plurality of support ribs. In the deployed position, each rib curves and keeps the canopy under tension. Elastic potential energy of a spring located within a body interior space deploys or retracts the ribs and canopy out of or into the body interior space, respectively.