FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to umbrellas, and, more particularly, to removably mountable umbrellas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An umbrella typically includes a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic shaft. It may be used to protect a person from rain or sunlight.

Nonetheless, despite their widespread usage, typical umbrellas suffer from several disadvantages. A user of an ordinary umbrella may, for example, be required to continuously hold the umbrella during its use, leaving only one hand free to perform other tasks. When loading packages into an automobile, for example, a user with a typical umbrella must use one hand to hold the umbrella while performing the loading with only the remaining hand.

There is, as a result, a need for improved umbrella designs that allow an umbrella to be supported independently of a user so that the user is free to perform tasks with both hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention address the above-identified needs by providing an umbrella system that is removably mountable to almost any reasonably flat surface.

Aspects of the invention are directed to an apparatus comprising a shaft, an umbrella canopy, a handle, an upper suction cup, and a lower suction cup. The umbrella canopy and the handle are attached to the shaft. The handle comprises a body, an upper projection, and a lower projection. The upper projection and the lower projection project from the body in the same direction and are in spaced relation to one another. The upper suction cup is attached to the upper projection, while the lower suction cup is attached to the lower projection.

Additional aspects of the invention are directed to a method for supporting an umbrella on a flat surface. The method comprises obtaining an apparatus like that described in the previous paragraph. Once obtained, the upper suction cup and the lower suction cup are adhered to the flat surface via suction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an illustrative apparatus, which includes features of the claimed invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show intact and exploded perspective views, respectively, of the portion of the FIG. 1 apparatus circled in FIG. 1 ; and

FIGS. 4A-4D show top perspective, bottom perspective, top elevational, and bottom elevational views, respectively, of just a handle portion of the FIG. 1 apparatus independent of other elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. For this reason, numerous modifications can be made to these embodiments and the results will still come within the scope of the invention. No limitations with respect to the specific embodiments described herein are intended or should be inferred.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an illustrative apparatus 100, which includes features of the claimed invention. The apparatus 100 comprises a shaft 105, an umbrella canopy 110, a handle 115, an upper suction cup 120, and a lower suction cup 125. The umbrella canopy 110 is attached to one end of the shaft 105, while the handle 115 is attached to another end of the shaft 105. At the same time, the upper and the lower suction cups 120, 125 are attached to the handle 115. Configured in this manner, the apparatus 100 may serve as an umbrella that is removably mountable to almost any flat surface. The apparatus 100 may, for example, be mounted to a window of an automobile while loading the automobile with packages. The user is thereby free to use both hands while remaining protected from the elements.

Additional details of the apparatus 100 are provided in FIGS. 2-4D. FIG. 2 and 3 show intact and exploded perspective views, respectively, of the portion of the apparatus 100 circled in FIG. 1. FIGS. 4A-4D show top perspective, bottom perspective, top elevational, and bottom elevational views, respectively, of just a handle portion of the apparatus 100 independent of other elements.

The handle 115 comprises a body 130, an upper projection 135, and a lower projection 140. Both the upper and the lower projection 135, 140 project from the body 130 in the same direction and are arranged in spaced relation to one another. The upper suction cup 120 is attached to the upper projection 135 by means of an upper threaded shaft 145 that forms part of the upper suction cup 120, in combination with an upper threaded receiving hole 150 in the upper projection 135. The upper threaded shaft 145 threadably engages the upper threaded receiving hole 150. The lower suction cup 125, in contrast, is attached to the lower projection 140 via a lower receiving hole 155 built into the lower suction cup 125 that engages a lower shaft 160 defined by the lower projection 140. An adhesive may be placed between the lower receiving hole 155 and the lower shaft 160 to aid with attachment if a compressive attachment is not deemed adequate.

While the apparatus 100 has the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 attached to the handle 115 in a particular manner, that particular arrangement is merely illustrative. In alternative embodiments also falling within the claims, the attachment means of the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 may be reversed from that described above. For example, the upper suction cup 120 may define a threaded receiving hole while the upper projection 135 defines a threaded shaft. Independently or additionally, the lower suction cup 125 may define a lower shaft that engages a lower receiving hole in the lower projection 140.

The shaft 105 also attaches to the handle 115 via insertion into a corresponding hole, in this case, via insertion into a body receiving hole 165 in the body 130. Here again, an adhesive may be utilized if a compressive attachment is deemed too weak.

The shaft 105 includes an actuation button 170, which is clearly visible in FIGS. 1-3. This actuation button 170 may control the expansion and folding of the umbrella canopy 110 in the manner of many conventional umbrellas. When folded, pressing the actuation button 170 causes the umbrella canopy 110 to automatically expand in response to one or more springs built into the apparatus 100. When expanded, the actuation button 170 allows the umbrella canopy 110 to be manually folded against the springs so that the apparatus 100 takes on a more compact form.

Once configured as indicated above, the apparatus 100 may be attached to almost any reasonably flat surface with which the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 may adhere via suction. The window pane of a car is one example, which was mentioned earlier. Notably, the position of the upper suction cup 120 with respect to the upper projection 135 may be easily changed by more fully or less fully threadably engaging the upper threaded shaft 145 into the upper threaded receiving hole 150. Doing so changes the tilt of the shaft 105 of the apparatus 100 and thereby provides a means of customizing the positioning of the umbrella canopy 110 relative to the object to which the apparatus 100 is attached. The additional tilt may help to further shade the user from rain, compensate for wind, and so forth.

Reference to FIGS. 1-3 will indicate that the illustrative apparatus 100 further includes a unique release strip 175 that spans between the upper suction cup 120 and the lower suction cup 125. To aid with attachment of this release strip 175, the upper suction cup 120 defines an upper loop 180 at one of its edges, while the lower suction cup 125 defines a lower loop 185 at one of its edges. The release strip 175 includes two spear-headed pins 190 located at opposing ends of the release strip 175. These spear-headed pins 190 engage the upper and lower loops 180, 185, thereby attaching the release strip 175 to the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125. The spear-headed pin 190 associated with the upper loop 180 may temporarily be disengaged from the upper loop 180 when the upper suction cup 120 is rotated so as to adjust tilt.

With the release strip 175 so placed, removing the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 from whatever flat surface they are adhered is a matter of simply lifting upward on the release strip 175 towards the body 130 of the handle 115. Curvature in the release strip 175 allows a user to curl one or two fingers around the release strip 175. The lifting action lifts the edges of the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125, and allows air to fill in the vacuum responsible for holding the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 in place. Stated another way, actuating the release strip 175 breaks the suction holding the upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 to the surface to which they are adhered.

The particular apparatus 100 detailed above, and, more generally, apparatus 100 in accordance with aspects of the invention, thereby provide umbrella systems that may be removably mounted to almost any reasonably flat surface, such as a wall or car window. Once so mounted, such an umbrella system can protect the user from the elements while leaving the user’s hands free to accomplish other tasks. Features such as the adjustable upper suction cup 120 may allow the tilt of the umbrella system to be customized. At the same time, the release strip 175 may allow the umbrella system to be readily removed from a surface so that the umbrella system can be moved.

Once understood from the description provided herein, the apparatus 100 may be manufactured using ordinary manufacturing techniques that will already be familiar to one having ordinary skill in the relevant manufacturing arts. To aid with robustness, the body 130 and the upper and lower projections 135, 140 of the handle 115 may, for example, form one integral element (meaning that they cannot be separated without cutting or breaking the handle 115), and may comprise wood, metal, rubber, or plastic. If formed of plastic, the handle 115 may be formed by injection molding. The upper and lower suction cups 120, 125 may be available commercially or may also be injection molded. They may be formed of, for example, an elastomeric material such as, but not limited to, nitrile or silicone. The remainder of the apparatus 100 (e.g., the shaft 105, the umbrella canopy 110, the supporting ribs, and other umbrella-specific hardware) may be obtained commercially. It should again be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only. Other embodiments can use different types and arrangements of elements for implementing the described functionality. These numerous alternative embodiments within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

All the features disclosed herein may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purposes, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state“means for” performing a specified function or“step for” performing a specified function is not to be interpreted as a“means for” or “step for” clause as specified in AIA 35 U.S.C. §112(f). In particular, the use of“steps of’ in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of AIA 35 U.S.C. §112(f).