Invertible umbrella with canopy sections having blade structures

Abstract

An umbrella system is provided, including an elongated handle having an upper section, a canopy section disposed at the upper section of the handle, and a canopy operating mechanism connected the handle to the canopy section and configured to switch the umbrella system between an open mode and a closed mode. The canopy section includes an edge section formed with a plurality of blades, each of the plurality of blades being disposed to side-contact or partially overlap adjacent blades of the plurality of blades. The blades come into close contact with the adjacent blades to form an enclosure to seal the interior cavity such that raindrops, snowflakes, water, or other moisture on upper surfaces of the canopy section is sealed within the interior cavity to inhibit the raindrops, snowflakes, water, or other moisture from leaking out of the interior cavity, when the umbrella is in the closed mode.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An umbrella system, comprising:
 an elongated handle having an upper section;   a canopy section disposed at the upper section of the handle; and   a canopy operating mechanism connected the handle to the canopy section and configured to switch the umbrella system between an open mode and a closed mode;   wherein the canopy section comprises an edge section comprising a plurality of blades, each of the plurality of blades being disposed to side-contact or partially overlap adjacent blades of the plurality of blades.   
     
     
         2 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the canopy operating mechanism is configured to make the canopy section to collapse to form an interior cavity with the upper section of the handle being disposed in a central area of the interior cavity, when the umbrella is switched to the closed mode. 
     
     
         3 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the canopy section comprises a canopy surface and a frame attached to the canopy surface. 
     
     
         4 . The umbrella system of  claim 3 , wherein the frame is configured to peripherally support the canopy surface to provide a protective cover, when the umbrella is in the open mode. 
     
     
         5 . The umbrella system of  claim 3 , wherein the canopy surface is collapsed to minimize a size of the umbrella system, when the umbrella system is switched to the closed mode. 
     
     
         6 . The umbrella system of  claim 2 , wherein when the umbrella system is in the closed mode, the blades come into close contact with the adjacent blades to form a bowl-like structure. 
     
     
         7 . The umbrella system of  claim 2 , wherein the blades come into close contact with the adjacent blades to form an enclosure to seal the interior cavity such that raindrops, snowflakes, water, or other moisture on upper surfaces of the canopy section is sealed within the interior cavity to be inhibited from leaking out of the interior cavity, when the umbrella is in the closed mode. 
     
     
         8 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of blades is made of an elastic material or a semi-rigid material to be elastically bendable when the umbrella system is switched between the open mode and the closed mode. 
     
     
         9 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of blades is made of a water-resistant material. 
     
     
         10 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of blades each is formed with a curvature surface. 
     
     
         11 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein a tangent of the curvature surface of the blade forms an angle with the tangent of an upper surface of the canopy section in the closed mode, and wherein the angle is in a range of 5° to 75°. 
     
     
         12 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the blades has a convex surface. 
     
     
         13 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the blades are symmetrically arranged on a circumference of the canopy section. 
     
     
         14 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the blades form a spiral swirl shape when viewed from top. 
     
     
         15 . The umbrella system of  claim 1 , wherein the blades form a helical swirl shape when viewed from top. 
     
     
         16 . An umbrella system, comprising:
 an elongated handle having an upper section;   a canopy section disposed at the upper section of the handle;   a canopy operating mechanism connected the handle to the canopy section and configured to switch the umbrella system between an open mode and a closed mode; and   a cover member attached to the handle or the canopy section;   wherein the canopy section comprises an edge section comprising a plurality of blades, each of the plurality of blades being disposed to side-contact or partially overlap adjacent blades of the plurality of blades,   wherein the canopy operating mechanism is configured to make the canopy section to collapse to form an interior cavity with the upper section of the handle being disposed in a central area of the interior cavity, when the umbrella is switched to the closed mode,   wherein when the umbrella system is in the closed mode, the blades come into close contact with the adjacent blades to form a bowl-like structure having an opening at a center of the bowl- like structure, and   wherein the cover member is configured to cover the opening such that raindrops, snowflakes, water, or other moisture on upper surfaces of the canopy section is sealed within the interior cavity to be inhibited from leaking out of the interior cavity.   
     
     
         17 . The umbrella system of  claim 16 , wherein the cover is a plug or a cap. 
     
     
         18 . An umbrella system, comprising:
 an elongated handle having an upper section;   a canopy section disposed at the upper section of the handle; and   a canopy operating mechanism connected the handle to the canopy section and configured to switch the umbrella system between an open mode and a closed mode;   wherein the canopy section comprises an edge section comprising a plurality of blades, each of the plurality of blades being disposed to side-contact or partially overlap adjacent blades of the plurality of blades,   wherein the canopy operating mechanism is configured to make the canopy section to collapse to form an interior cavity with the upper section of the handle being disposed in a central area of the interior cavity, when the umbrella is switched to the closed mode, and   wherein the blades come into close contact with surfaces of the upper section of handle to form an enclosure to seal the interior cavity such that raindrops, snowflakes, water, or other moisture on upper surfaces of the canopy section is sealed within the interior cavity to be inhibited from leaking out of the interior cavity, when the umbrella is in the closed mode.   
     
     
         19 . The umbrella system of  claim 18 , wherein the upper section of the handle comprises at least one recess. 
     
     
         20 . The umbrella system of  claim 19 , when the umbrella system is in the closed mode, some or all of the blades are inserted into the at least one recess such that the interior cavity is sealed to inhibit the raindrops, snowflakes, water, or other moisture from leaking out of the interior cavity.