US2876974A - Beach umbrella anchor - Google Patents

Description

March 10, 1959 D. LIFTMAN BEACH UMBRELLA ANCHOR Filed May' 22, 1956 INVENTOR.

DAVID LIFTMAN ATTORN'EY.

, 3 2 4 BEACH UMBRELLA ANCHOR new man,- Lynn, Mass. Application May 22, 1956,;Serlal No. 586,537

' 2 Claims. crew- 44 This invention relates to anchoring devices and more particularly to those for temporarily anchoring vertical staffs in sand.

Previously described anchoring devices cover locking, earth or ground anchors driven into solid ground or inserted into excavated holes and then expanded mechanically.

A primary object of my invention is to provide a device for quickly and easily anchoring a beach umbrella or the like in sand so that it may resist wind pressure blowing in any direction.

A further object is to provide a sand anchor which is designed to be normally inserted into or extracted from the sand at a given angle and resists being laterally forced out of the sand at a different angle.

Another object of my invention is to produce an anchor that is portable and collapsible. It can be permanently attached to the umbrella staff or be a removable attachment thereto. It is easily placed in operation and readily removed. It is preferably made of strong lightweight metal.

The arms of my anchor resting on the surface of the sand, extending in a multiplicity of directions and anchored by its novel hinged claws inserted into the sand, combine to resist the wind by pulling on the claws and pushing on the opposing arms regardless of the direction of the wind or changes in the directions of the wind.

The radius of the arms for the manual insertion and removal of the claws from the sand is the straight line distance between the open ends of the legs of each arm while the radius for the forcible removal of said claws from the sand is the length of the long leg with an cifective center at the ground line, the longitudinal curvature of the claw coinciding with an arc of a circle described bya radius equal in length to the straight line distance between the open ends of the legs.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment illustrative of the invention and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of the anchor in place on a staff inserted in the sand, showing only one anchor arm and claw;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side view of anchor showing one anchor arm and claw;

Figure 3 is a top view of anchor showing relative position and attachment of two additional arms.

The device consists of a collar adapted to slide over the staff of an umbrella and is removably attached thereto. Pivoted to this collar are a number of L shaped arms, to the ends of the long legs of which are hinged concave claws with arcuate cross sections. When not in use the pivoted arms and the hinged claws may be folded up for convenient transportation.

Referring to the drawings the device therein shown removably attached to an umbrella staff 10, is a collar 11 adapted to slide over the staff 10. Extending laterally from collar 11, are lugs 12 perforated as shown to receive i t S P tm O pivot studs 13 holding radially extending L shaped angle arms with vertical short legs 14 andhorizontal long legs '15. Depending concave claws 16 which are relatively wide with concave arcuate cross sections are connected by hinges 17 to the open ends of the long legs 15. Hinges 17 are limited in motion so that when opened out as far as possible they longitudinally coincide with the arc of a circle whose center is the stud 13 and whose radius is the straight line distance between 13 and 17.'

Lateral protuberances 19 on the arms at the junction of the long and short arms pass through openings 18 on the collar 11. These openings 18 are adapted to register with a circumferential groove 20 on the staff 10 into which said protuberances pass. This automatically locks the collar to the staff and prevents it from sliding vertically. The opening 18 in the collar, the protuberance 19 and the groove 20 on the staff may be eliminated and the collar 11 permanently or temporarily fastened to the statf 10 by conventional means.

In operation, the collar 11 is slipped on the umbrella staff 10 which is then forced into the sand up to a point just below the holes 18. The arms are opened up and wings spread as far as possible. The points of the wings are placed on the sand and are individually inserted into the sand until the bottom of the long arms 15 rest horizontally on the surface of the sand. The path of the claws, as they are manually inserted into the sand, also follow the arc of a circle whose center is the stud 13 and whose radius is the straight line distance between 13 and 17.

When manually extracting the claws from the sand, they readily retract along the same arcuate path.

However, when lateral pressure is applied, the center of rotation of the arm 15 is shifted from pivot 13 to the ground line, the coaction of the arms and claws being adapted to resist external forces applied in all directions.

Referring to Figure 1, when lateral pressure is applied in a direction from the staif towards the claw, bending is at the ground line and resistance is offered by the bottom of arm 15 resting on the surface of the sand. The tendency is to push the claw farther into the sand. When the pressure is applied in the opposite direction with bending at the ground line, the tendency is to attempt to pull over the claw with all the sand above it. With three or more arms and claws positioned around the staff, lateral pressure in any direction is therefore resisted by the cumulative push and pull reactions of the various arms and claws.

While the preferred embodiment of my invention has been described in detail, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction set forth, since various changes in the form, material, proportions and arrangements of parts, and in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or destroying any of the advantages contained in the same, heretofore described and defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a beach umbrella, a portable and collapsible temporary sand anchor for anchoring the staff of said beach umbrella in sand, comprising a sliding removable collar receiving and locking in place the staff of said umbrella, a multiplicity of axially and radially extending L shaped arms and depending curved claws;

big and greovc registering with each other and ed'a'ia'ted i6 ?ec"'i*&' 'siaid ifii-fiffibiiiee's passing shid 6pm ings into said groove, the lbngitudinal axes of said staff and collar and center lines of each of said arms and claws being in the same plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED PATENTS 412,341 L'ehfifiet Oct. 8, 1889 1,140,156 Hinamarsh May 18, 1915 2,505,784 Millel May 2, 1950 2,607,648 Metealf Aug. '19, 1952 2,612,695 Schneider et a1. Oct. 7, 1952

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