Covering System with Canopeum Deployment

Abstract

A system is provided for protective elements including, but not limited to, a patio umbrella with complete double canopy, medially expanding frame, a system for deploying its integrated canopeum of insect netting, and a two segment mitigation vessel. The frame's rounded outer edges provide enhanced safety. When retracted around the umbrella's stick, the frame and canopy assume the form of a three dimensional envelope tapered vertically from its midsection, concentrated at top and bottom. Dedicated mechanisms are also provided for deploying an insect interdicting canopeum. Furthermore, a mitigation vessel provides protective storage for frame, canopy, and canopeum elements. With an internal liner of wicking material and multiple surface apertures; the system encourages controlled release of evaporated moisture from stowed elements. The invention's combination of features including capability for expedient transport from place to place, plus seasonal storage practicality, makes this product an appealing enhancement to outdoor living experiences.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An umbrella system comprising a stick, canopy, and frame, wherein improvements include: a complete double canopy having an upper canopy segment, and a lower canopy segment, each segment being of substantially equal dimensions and providing means for expanding when urged between a retracted and a deployed extent; said canopy segments substantially separated from each other except at their mutual distal periphery thereby providing means for substantially encompassing and cooperating with a frame to which said complete double canopy is attached, said complete double canopy providing means for enhanced structural integrity of said cooperating frame. 
     
     
         2 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , further comprising: a medially expanding frame comprising a plurality of individual linkage sets, each set having means for connecting to a notch and slider A in cooperation with said stick, each linkage set also comprising a plurality of elongated elements mutually and rotationally connected, thereby forming a structure providing means for extending the circumference of the complete double canopy in an akimbo manner from a retracted configuration substantially proximate and medially adjacent to the stick and ranging outward from said stick to a fully extended deployed configuration, said complete double canopy, supported by structural means of said frame, thereby assuming a downwardly concave configuration, distal elements of said medially expanding frame when fully extended being located on a plane perpendicular to the umbrella stick substantially lower than the position of an umbrella runner A when said runner A is fixed at its deployed location along said stick; the outermost ends of the distal pair of links in said medially expanding frame being pivotally connected thereby forming a pair of cooperating frame distal shields, said shield elements being substantially curved and enlarged in diameter compared to the maximum diameter of frame links, thereby said distal shields provide means for improved safety, as a result of their wider distribution of forces relative to conventional umbrella frame tips, during circumstances involving unwanted contact with conventional tips. 
     
     
         3 . The umbrella system of  claim 2 , further comprising: a mitigation vessel consisting of a segment A and a segment B, which in combination provide means for substantially encompassing other cooperating elements of said umbrella, said mitigation vessel elements additionally providing means for structurally cooperating with conventional umbrella support elements comprising a table, attachment elements, and cooperating structural elements said stick, medially expanding frame and complete double canopy, thereby providing physical support and stability to cooperating umbrella elements. 
     
     
         4 . The umbrella of  claim 3 , further comprising: elements within said mitigation vessel segments providing means for absorption, transport, and dispersal of moisture released by encompassed embodiment elements via a plurality of apertures perforating walls of said vessel whereby water vapor may be vented to the ambient environment. 
     
     
         5 . The umbrella of  claim 4 , further comprising: a mechanism providing means for extending, supporting, and retracting a canopeum of protective material, said mechanism comprising a plurality of elongated flexible canopeum extenders, a plurality of mechanical elements contained within the stick, said mechanical elements providing a multiplication of a linear range traversed by an element represented by a runner B external to said stick whose urgings are directly transmitted to said internal mechanism via a mutual connection element the runner B to pulley shuttle connector, extending from said runner B to cooperating internal urging elements by means of said connector's placement traversing an elongated slot perforating the exterior wall of said stick; a plurality of flexible elongated canopeum extender elements, said elements providing capability means for being urged by manipulation of runner B, said canopeum extenders having sufficient proportionality between necessary stiffness means for transmitting urging forces originating at said runner B in order to encourage deployment of said canopeum; a plurality of elongated spaces comprising a union compartment, a pulley shuttle bay, a plurality of radial tunnels, and a plurality of canopeum wall slots providing means for collimating said canopeum extender and cooperating moving elements thereby constraining their unwanted deformations, said constraints providing means for assisting in the alignment of canopeum urging forces relative to stick compartments, bays, radial tunnels, and canopeum wall niches, said elongated flexible canopeum extenders additionally providing necessary means for transmitting forces sufficient to effect retraction of said canopeum, canopeum extender elements additionally providing sufficient flexibility means for sufficiently bending around extender redirection elements contained within said umbrella stick; said embodiment additionally comprising a plurality of radial tunnel elements attached to said stick, thereby providing means for aligning the plurality of flexible elongated elements as said elongated elements in turn provide means for urging deployment, support, and retraction of said canopeum, a plurality of apertures in said stick providing means for ingress and egress, relative to the interior of said stick by the plurality of elongated flexible canopeum extender elements, a plurality of mechanical force transmission elements mounted on and contained within said stick, said plurality of elements providing mechanical advantage means for extension and retraction of said plurality of flexible elongated elements as they convey forces urging deployment, provide support, and promote retraction of cooperating canopeum elements; said runner B, accessible on the exterior of said stick and directly connected to elongated element, runner B to pulley shuttle connector, extending through an elongated aperture in the exterior wall of said stick, the shuttle bay slot, thereby providing means for urging an internal mobile element, the pulley shuttle within the elongated space of the shuttle bay, said pulley shuttle being a sub-assembly of a mechanical system comprising a plurality of pulleys supporting elongated flexible cords, which in combination produce an inverse mechanical advantage providing, via said plurality of elongated flexible cords, a multiplied linear variation of runner B's range and transmitting said improvement to another cooperating movable component, the union platform element, located within said elongated space of the union compartment; said union serving in cooperation with a extender redirection element containing a plurality of internal curved orifices, serves to provide means for inducing an additional inverse mechanical advantage with respect to movements of a plurality of elongated flexible elements, the canopeum extenders as said extenders are urged and redirected by passing through said curved orifices, the elongated flexible canopeum extender elements thereby being capable of transmitting linear urging means for extending, supporting, and retracting said canopeum, 
     
     
         6 . An umbrella system comprising a stick, frame, and canopy, wherein improvements comprise: a medially expanding frame, said frame providing means for extending the circumference of the canopy from a retracted position substantially proximate to said stick and expanding, to a fully deployed configuration wherein said canopy, supported by said medially expanding frame, assumes a downwardly concave configuration, distal elements of the medially expanding frame, when fully extended, being situated on a plane perpendicular to the umbrella stick situated substantially lower than the plane perpendicular to said stick located at a vertical elevation substantially equal to that of the umbrella runner A when said runner is fixed at its fully deployed upper location along said stick; said medially expanding frame comprising a plurality of linkage sets arrayed radially around a central axis coincident with the major axis of said umbrella stick, said linkage sets comprising a plurality of individual links arrayed in the manner of a lazy-tong, providing means for extending distal ends of its outermost pairs of links to fully deployed positions relative to said stick; each linkage set not comprising any individual elongated element projecting substantially beyond conjoined distal ends of said outmost pair of links; said distal pair of links having distal ends with curved surfaces whose radii are substantially greater than half the maximum cross-sectional dimension of elongated frame elements, thereby providing means for improved safety by minimizing potential for puncture wounds resulting from forcible contact with distal umbrella frame elements. 
     
     
         7 . The umbrella system of  claim 6 , further comprising: a complete double canopy substantially consisting of an upper and a lower canopy segment, each segment imbued with expanding means for substantially increasing its effective surface extent when said complete double canopy is urged between retracted and deployed configurations; upper and lower segments of said canopy being attached to said medially expanding frame and having a structure that when fully deployed maintains the upper and lower segments of said complete double canopy substantially separated from the other, except at their mutual periphery, and means are thereby provided for substantially encompassing said medially expanding frame, and also providing means for enhancing structural integrity of said medially expanding frame. 
     
     
         8 . The umbrella system of  claim 7 , further comprising: a mitigation vessel consisting of a segment A and a segment B, which in combination provide means for substantially encompassing other cooperating elements of said umbrella system, said mitigation vessel elements additionally providing means for structurally cooperating with conventional umbrella support elements including a table, as well as attachment elements, also facilitating cooperation with structural elements including said stick, thereby providing physical support and stability to cooperating umbrella elements. 
     
     
         9 . The umbrella of  claim 8 , further comprising: elements within said mitigation vessel segments providing means for absorption, transport, and dispersal of moisture released by encompassed embodiment elements via a plurality of apertures perforating walls of said vessel whereby water vapor may be vented to the ambient environment, said internal elements comprising material having appropriate properties so as to provide means for substantial absorption and transport of moisture from encapsulated covering and support elements to said apertures and thereby into space outside said embodiment. 
     
     
         10 . The umbrella of  claim 9 , also comprising a canopeum of covering material, wherein additional improvements comprise a plurality of flexible elongated canopeum extender elements, said elements when urged by manipulation of a runner B element thereby facilitate extension, support, and retraction of the canopeum, said canopeum extenders manifesting sufficient proportionality between necessary stiffness means for transmitting urging forces originating at runner B, so as to encourage deployment extension of said canopeum; a plurality of extended hollow elements comprising internal spaces of said stick defined by walls and internal wall partitions of said stick, a plurality of radial tunnels, a plurality of canopeum wall slots, and a plurality of canopeum curtain elements, each providing means for collimating said canopeum extender elements thereby constraining unwanted deformations of said extenders, and providing means for effectively aligning transmission vectors of canopeum urging forces, when said extender elements are present in, and move within said union compartment, extend through a plurality of elongated hollow radial tunnels, canopeum wall slots, canopeum curtain elements; the plurality of elongated flexible canopeum extenders additionally and concomitantly having required tensile strength means for transmitting forces effecting retraction of said canopeum, canopeum extender elements also having sufficient flexibility means in order for said extenders to have capability of assuming sufficient curvatures while being guided around extender redirection elements; said plurality of hollow radial tunnel elements attached to said stick providing additional means for aligning said flexible elongated canopeum extender elements as said elements in turn transmit force means for urging deployment, support, and retraction of the cooperating canopeum; a plurality of apertures in said stick providing means for ingress and egress, relative to interior walls of said stick, by the plurality of elongated flexible canopeum extender elements; a plurality of mechanical elements mounted on and contained within said stick providing mechanical advantage means for extension and retraction of said plurality of flexible elongated elements as they in turn transmit said forces urging deployment, provide support, and additionally urge retraction of canopeum elements; a plurality of elongated flexible union transporter cords that cooperate with a plurality of mechanical elements comprising components including a system of pulleys mounted in tandem on a shuttle element, a plurality of additional cooperating pulleys, said elements serving in cooperation with elements contained in a union compartment, thereby combining mechanical effects in order to provide means for producing inverse mechanical advantages with respect to linear displacements of a primary motive element, runner B accessible on the exterior of said stick, multiplicative displacement enhancement resulting from the pulley system primarily associated with induced movements of the pulley shuttle are applied to union transporter cords which in turn convey urging force means for moving a union element; elements within the union compartment then in turn provide additional inverse mechanical advantage means based on redirections of said canopeum extender elements, said displacements serving in the manner of a so-called gun pulley arraignment, similar in function to the pulley system comprising elements of said pulley shuttle, guide pulleys, and union transporter cords, thereby providing additional enhancement means for extending and retracting said canopeum. 
     
     
         11 . An umbrella system comprising stick, frame, securing elements, and covering elements, wherein improvements comprise: mechanisms providing means for transmitting urging forces to covering elements resulting from movements of input elements, thereby causing deployment of said cooperating covering elements between retracted and extended configurations; distances traversed by covering elements being related to corresponding displacements of said input elements; said displacements comprising distance of input to output ratios associated with mechanical connections between said input and output elements, mechanical properties of said connections thereby providing means for relating motion ranges of said input elements to those of said covering elements by a factor specific to absolute and relative sizes of embodiment components; this improvement being the result of mechanical advantages produced by cooperating elements of said deployment mechanisms; an elongated aperture perforating the wall of said stick providing means for maintaining direct physical connection between said input devices and cooperating elements of the mechanical deployment mechanism; compromised structural integrity of said stick resulting from the wall breach represented by said elongated aperture being substantially compensated for by the presence of an internal stick wall, said partition providing means for re-enforcing said stick, said internal wall additionally providing means for supporting elements of said mechanical deployment mechanism which in turn provide means for said displacement of said covering elements relative to causal displacement of said input elements; a plurality of elongated vertical spaces within said stick defined by internal and external walls of said stick, said spaces comprising a plurality of compartments and bays; each of said compartments and bays having individual, segmented, non-circular cross-sectional profiles thereby providing means for mitigating substantial rotation of plurality of moving elements encompassed within said spaces relative to major axes of said spaces and individual axes of displacement; said vertical spaces traversing sections of said umbrella stick thereby providing means for containing and guiding traverse of elements providing means for urging extension, support, and retraction of cooperating umbrella covering elements. 
     
     
         12 . The umbrella system of  claim 11 , further comprising: said internal wall elements of said stick providing means for separating elongated vertical spaces in said stick, and additionally providing structural reinforcement means for substantially strengthening said stick and thereby providing compensation means for compromised structural integrity of said stick due to presence of said elongated aperture in the wall of said stick, said aperture allowing a direct cooperative connections between urging system elements located outside and within said stick; a series of urging force transmission elements beginning with runner B, then following in sequence, runner B to pulley shuttle connector, pulley shuttle, upper and lower pulley shuttle moving pulleys, and continuing via interactive cooperation with union transporter cords A and B, upper and lower guide pulleys, and lower and upper inverter pulleys. 
     
     
         13 . The umbrella system of  claim 12  further comprising: an extension of said series of urging force transmission elements beginning with lower and upper inverter pulleys, and continuing by means of said union transporter cords A and B to, union  179 , extender redirection element, a plurality of redirection transition slots, a plurality of canopeum extenders, and a plurality of canopeum terminal elements. 
     
     
         14 . The umbrella system of  claim 13  comprising: transport means additionally comprising an elongated slotted shuttle bay within the cross-sectional compass of said umbrella stick, a portion of the vertical extent of said slotted shuttle bay containing a vertical slot aperture having sufficient dimensions so as to allow passage of elements capable of transmitting urging force between umbrella elements mounted on the exterior of said stick and cooperating elements, providing urging means for deployment of cooperating umbrella elements, said urging means contained within said slotted shuttle bay; an elongated internal wall segment of said slotted shuttle bay extending vertically within the interior of the stick, said wall in marginal contact with, but otherwise separated from, the external wall of the stick, said internal wall segment of said slotted shuttle bay providing means for reinforcing structural integrity of said stick, thereby substantially compensating for any diminishment in the structural integrity of said stick due to breaches in wall of said stick comprising the slotted shuttle bay slot, said slotted shuttle bay encompassing a plurality of pulleys, elongated flexible cord elements, and a pulley shuttle providing means for producing what is in effect an inverse mechanical advantage multiplying input displacements of primary external urging forces; a tandem set of pulleys, an upper and lower shuttle moving pulley, both mounted on said pulley shuttle contained within said slotted shuttle bay; said elements cooperating with upper and lower guide pulleys, and additionally cooperating with upper and lower inverter pulleys by means of said plurality of extended flexible cord elements, said cord elements additionally passing through said pulley shuttle by means of a plurality of shuttle cord apertures; the cooperating combination of said elements providing means for producing an inverse mechanical advantage thereby multiplying range of movement of an external element whose urging force is then transmitted to said internal elements within said stick by means of a physical connective element passing through the wall of said stick via said elongated aperture, said plurality of extended flexible cord elements each with a first end being attached to immobile sites within said stick, and after traversing said combination of pulley elements, said cord elements with their distal ends attached to either the top or bottom of a union element contained in an elongated space, a union compartment, within said stick, said union bay being partly separated from said slotted shuttle bay by said internal stick wall, said attachments providing means of facilitating a transmission of urging forces, originating at an external mobile runner B element, and affected by engagements between the elongated flexible cord elements and plurality of pulley elements to the union element, said union element being directly attached to an extender redirection element that in turn provides means for multiplying linear movements transmitted by the union and, as a result of redirecting a plurality of extender elements, whose first ends are affixed to inside walls of said stick, thereby structural configuration of orifices in said redirection element causing said redirection of individual second, distal ends of said canopeum extender elements, thereby encouraging said second distal ends to be extended from apertures of said stick and providing deployment means for extending, supporting, and retracting said covering elements. 
     
     
         15 . The umbrella system of  claim 14  comprising: elements including an initial external urging device represented by a runner B providing means for urging deployment of covering elements via its connection to an internal moveable pulley shuttle by means of a runner B to pulley shuttle connector operating between the exterior and interior of said stick via its passage through an elongated aperture providing thereby direct motive communication between said external urging source and said pulley shuttle; an elongated flexible cord being attached at a first end to the frame of an upper guide pulley mounted on the interior of said stick with said pulley's axis of rotation aligned in a parallel direction relative to, and horizontally displaced from the rotational axis of an upper shuttle pulley mounted on said shuttle, said flexible extended cord passing downward from its anchorage at said guide pulley, to and then passing around said upper shuttle pulley, thereafter said cord extending back up to, and passing around the upper guide pulley in a manner such that said cord's direction is again reversed in order for it to extend downward, aligned with, and passing through, an aperture in said pulley shuttle; said cord subsequently continuing its downward extension toward the lower end of said stick where it engages and partially passes around an inverter pulley mounted at an angle sufficient so as to provide means for facilitating another reversal of cord extension, thereby providing means for presenting the extended cord with such an orientation as to provide means for providing enhanced linear mobility of covering elements of said umbrella; the afore described pulley mechanism serving in cooperation with a second, and complementary, set of similar pulley elements mounted and functioning in opposite directions from the first, thereby providing means for transmitting urging forces that are opposite in direction from those provided by cooperating first set; each of the pulley systems introduce an inverse mechanical advantage linear multiplication to the initial motive urging range of the input element which is moveably mounted on the outside of said stick and, by means of said pulley system construction, applies these enhancements via the respective cords to facilitate extension and retraction of said covering elements; construction arrangements of said pulley systems thereby function in the manner of a so-called gun pulley, providing mechanical means for multiplying the range of said input element by the nominal factor of two, and then applying this enhancement to urging movements of cooperating cords thereby providing enhancement means for the deployment of said covering elements alternately in both up and down directions in response to alternate respective urgings provided by the pulley systems described above. 
     
     
         16 . The umbrella system of  claim 15 , further comprising a canopeum providing means for encompassing a volume of space; wherein improvements comprise: a plurality of elongated vertical compartments, each having non-circular cross-sectional profiles providing means for mitigating rotation of contained elements around vertical axes of translation, said defined spaces traversing linear extents of the umbrella stick thereby providing means for constraining and guiding the traverse of elements providing means for urging extension, support, and retraction of a canopeum of covering material; a plurality of elongated flexible canopeum extender elements, when suitably urged by elements comprising said plurality of pulleys and cooperating plurality of elongated flexible cords, said canopeum extender elements attached at one end to interior surfaces of said stick, then extending downward to a plurality of apertures in a redirecting element mounted on a union element, after passing through said apertures then being redirected, extender elements subsequently pass on upward toward the top of said union compartment and, passing through a plurality of elements comprising stick crown apertures, radial tunnels, a plurality of canopeum wall slots, a plurality of canopeum curtain elements, and distally attached to a plurality of canopeum terminal elements; thereby said elongated extender elements provide means for facilitating the deployment, support, and retraction of said canopeum. 
     
     
         17 . The umbrella system of  claim 16 , comprising: a union element to which are attached ends of a plurality of elongated flexible cord elements, said union capable of sliding vertically within the umbrella's stick, attached to said union are cord elements of a mechanical assembly providing means for urging transport of said union inside said stick thereby in turn providing means for urging the plurality elongated flexible extenders as they urge deployment, provide support, and effect subsequent retraction of a canopeum comprising covering means for enclosing a substantive majority of elements comprising the embodiment's covering system; elements of said mechanical assembly providing means for urging transport across the operational range of movement of said union when urged by means of said union's connections with, and activation, by vertical urging input movements of runner B, said mechanical elements producing a mechanical advantage of less than one, thereby providing means for multiplication of linear range distance of said runner B relative to said stick sufficient to urge an multiplicative increase in the vertical range of movement by said extender union and its cooperating elements, causing said plurality of elongated flexible extenders, being distally attached to a plurality of canopeum terminal elements, to in turn urge canopium elements as said elements are sufficiently extended, supported, and retracted; a plurality of pulley elements contained within said stick, said pulleys mounted in a way so as to provide means for producing said inverse mechanical advantage when applied to linear movements of an external runner, thereby providing means for urging a union element that in turn functions with cooperating elements also within said stick to provide means for multiplying linear movements of said union by means of cooperation with a plurality of elongated flexible elements that serve to transmit urging forces capable alternately extending and retracting said canopeum. 
     
     
         18 . The umbrella system of  claim 17 , further comprising a runner element with cooperating stick lock and lock release elements: wherein improvements comprise: a complete double canopy substantially consisting of an upper and a lower canopy segment, each segment having means for expansion comprising pleats and, or intrinsic, compositional ability for expanding in functional surface extent when said complete double canopy urged between retracted and deployed configurations; upper and lower segments of said canopy substantially separated from the other except at their mutual periphery when said canopy is at its fully deployed location relative to the umbrella stick, thereby having means for substantially encompassing, and providing means for structural reinforcing elements comprising a cooperating frame; said complete double canopy comprising material with composition providing substantial resistance to absorption of moisture; said umbrella covering system additionally comprising a medially expanding frame which provides means for urging extension of the circumference of the umbrella canopy from its retracted location substantially proximate to, and medially situated adjacent to said umbrella stick and then subsequently expanding in a substantially curvilinear, radial manner to a fully deployed configuration whereby said complete double canopy, supported by said medially expanding frame, assumes a downwardly concave shape, said distal elements of the medially expanding frame, when fully extended, being situated by a plane perpendicular to the umbrella stick and substantially lower relative to a second plane also perpendicular to said stick and located at an elevation substantially equal to that of umbrella runner A when said runner A is fixed at its fully deployed location along said stick; said medially expanding frame comprising a plurality of linkage sets arrayed radially around a central axis coincidental with the major axis of said umbrella stick, said sets each comprising a plurality of individual links in the form of a lazy-tong, providing means to extent the distal end of its outermost pair of links to a fully deployed position relative to said stick, each linkage set specifically lacking one or more extended elongated elements projecting substantially beyond conjoined distal ends of said outmost pair of links; distal termini of said frame elements having curved surfaces whose radii of curvature substantially exceed half the maximum cross-sectional dimension of elongated elements comprising said medially expanding frame, said distribution distal contact surfaces thereby providing means for offering enhanced safety. 
     
     
         19 . The umbrella system of  claim 18 , further comprising: a mitigation vessel, said vessel comprising a segment A and a segment B, providing means for encompassing the complete double canopy, medially expanding frame and cooperating elements, said mitigation vessel having means for structurally cooperation with conventional umbrella support elements comprising a handle and shoulder strap, attachment locking elements and securing elements; 
     
     
         20 . The umbrella of  claim 19 , further comprising: elements within said mitigation vessel segments providing means for the absorption, transport, and dispersal of moisture from encompassed embodiment elements; a plurality of apertures perforating walls of said vessel whereby water vapor may be vented to the ambient environment, said internal elements comprising material having appropriate properties so as to provide means for substantial absorption and transport of moisture from encapsulated covering and support elements including retaining elements providing means for securing said moisture absorbing and transmission material in place, and wall apertures providing means for venting said moisture to the ambient environment surrounding the embodiment.