Radio Equipped Umbrella

This invention relates to umbrellas, and more particularly to umbrellas housing an audio signal source with speaker assemblies secured in the inside of the canopy of the umbrella.

Many prior art devices have a radio built into them, such as U.S. Pat. No. 1,750,032 to M. V. Timtiman which is a pen with a radio. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 2,927,995 to J. A. Francis discloses a fishing rod with a radio in the handle. However, none of the devices disclose a separate, but attached, speaker assembly system. In the case of the '995 reference, one must use the private earphone for listening to the radio. Carrying a portable radio or cassette player in one's pocket or attached to one's body is well known in the art. However, to listen many times earphones or ear jacks must be utilized to fully enjoy the sound of the radio or tape player.

Those concerned with these and other problems recognize the need for an improved umbrella with the speaker assembly contained in the canopy of the umbrella and the audio signal source attached to the shaft of the umbrella.

The present invention provides an umbrella with a hollow interior shaft with a canopy attached at the top portion of said shaft. An audio signal source is attached to the shaft of the umbrella and speaker assemblies are attached to the inside of the canopy of the umbrella. The speaker assemblies are alectronically coupled to the audio signal source by wires that are run through the hollow interior of the shaft and exit at the top portion of the shaft and run along the flexible support ribs of the umbrella canopy.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved umbrella for listening to an audio signal source.

Another object is to provide an umbrella for listening to an audio signal source that leaves your hands free to hold the umbrella.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an umbrella for listening to an audio signal source that is easy to tune with just one hand, leaving the other hand free to hold the umbrella.

Still another object is to provide an umbrella for listening to an audio signal source that houses the speaker assemblies in the canopy.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of an umbrella for listening to an audio signal source that is easy to use, inexpensive to manufacture, and has a pleasing eye appeal.

These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the umbrella of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, exploded side elevational view of the handle grip of the umbrella showing the audio signal source integrally formed therein, showing the battery compartment in the bottom end of the handle grip, and having a portion cut away showing the speaker wires and the antenna wire in the hollow shaft of the umbrella;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the inside of the canopy of the umbrella showing the preferred placement of multiple speaker assemblies on the canopy;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a speaker assembly secured to the inside of the canopy taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the umbrella in an open position showing placement of the speaker assemblies on the inside of the canopy and showing the wires exiting the grommets in the upper end of the shaft of the umbrella;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the umbrella adapted for use on the beach;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the umbrella adapted for use on a patio table;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the umbrella with a conventional audio signal source attached to the side of the umbrella shaft, and the apeaker wires running on the outside of the shaft to the canopy of the umbrella;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side elevational view of the audio signal source attached to the shaft of the umbrella showing the plug in connector which couples the audio signal source to the speaker assemblies; and

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the shaft taken along line 10--10 in FIG. 9 showing the Velcro straps around the shaft and a screw securing the audio signal source to the straps.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows the umbrella generally at 10. The umbrella (10) comprises a canopy outerside (12), an inside (14) (FIG. 3), a shaft (16) and handle grip (18).

Referring now to FIG. 2, the audio signal source (20) shown is a radio formed as part of the grip (18) of the umbrella (10). Tuning control (22) and volume control (24) are disposed around the circumference of the handle grip (18) for selectively tuning and controlling the volume of the audio signal source (20). The frequency of the station selected is shown in the indicator window (26). The power supply (28) is inserted from the bottom to supply power to the radio (20). An end cap (30) secures the power supply (28) in place. Four conducting wires (32, 34, 36, 38) run up through the hollow shaft (16) and exit through grommets (42) in the upper end of shaft (16). The remaining wire is the antenna wire (40) and it connects the audio signal source (20) to the antenna (44) at the top portion of the shaft (16).

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, speaker assemblies (46, 48, 50, 52) are shown attached to the canopy inside (14) of the umbrella (10) by stitching or gluing them in place. The conducting wires (32, 34, 36, 38) exit the appropriate grommets (42) and run along the flexible support ribs (54) and connect to the appropriate speaker assembly (46, 48, 50, 52).

FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment, such as a beach umbrella, with the power supply (28) located inside the hollow shaft (16) which is connected to the umbrella (10). Audio signal source (20) is located midway up the handle grip (18) and tuning control (22) and volume control (24) are disposed around the circumference of the grip (18).

FIG. 7 is an alternate embodiment, such as a patio umbrella supported on a patio table (70). The audio signal source (20) is located on the shaft (16) of the umbrella (10) above the table (70).

Referring now to FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, it is seen that the audio signal source (20) is attached to the shaft (16) of the umbrella (10) by means of a Velcro fasteners (56, 58). A screw (62) connects the Velcro fasteners (56, 58) to the audio signal source (20). It is to be understood that the audio signal source (20) could be a radio, a tape player, a compact disc player, or another conventionally available device. The conducting wires (32, 34, 36, 38) connect to the audio signal source (20) by connector (60) and run along the outside of the shaft (16) up to the top portion of the shaft (16) where they connect to the appropriate speaker assembly (46, 48, 50, 52).

In use, the umbrella (10) is raised to its open position. A power supply (28) having been previously inserted into the handle grip (18) is secured by shaft end cover (30). The on/off volume control (24) is turned on and the appropriate station selected by use of the tuning control (22). The user is thus fully enclosed in a canopy of sound. One simply reverses all of the above steps upon completion of use of the umbrella (10).

Thus, it can be seen that at least all of the stated objectives have been achieved.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practised otherwise than as specifically described.