Bexel Corporation

Baldwin, Stoddard & Company

Other

Blair F Baldwin

William C Lamson

Deborah Stoddard

Arthur L Arledge

Russell G Dobrowski

John J Grenga

Donald Gorgas

Harold M Miller

W Barton Baldwin

An umbrella canopy includes a single sheet of web material formed in a closed configuration and having a periphery, said single sheet of web material having a bowed configuration, said single sheet of web material having at least one radially oriented tuck therein which applies a circumferential force on said single sheet of web material to form said single sheet of web material into said bowed configuration, each said tuck extending radially outwardly to said periphery.

Umbrella canopy and method of forming same

An umbrella includes a hollow tubular handle extending in an axial direction, the handle having an upper edge and a lower portion; an elongated rod having an upper end and a lower end, the elongated rod movable in the axial direction within the hollow tubular handle; a plurality of struts pivotally mounted to the upper end of the elongated rod for movement in a range between a storage position substantially parallel to the axial direction and adjacent to the elongated rod, and an open position substantially perpendicular to the axial direction; a web of flexible, water-resistant material connected to the struts; and a locking mechanism connected to a lower end of the elongated rod for engaging with a lower portion of the tubular handle to releasably lock the struts in either the open position in which the struts rest on the upper edge of the tubular handle, and the closed position in which the struts are positioned within the tubular handle, the locking mechanism including two diametrically opposite spring fingers mounted to the lower end of the elongated rod, each spring finger having a first step for engaging with the lower portion of the tubular handle to releasably lock the struts in the open position, and a second step for engaging with the lower portion of the tubular handle to releasably lock the struts in the closed position, the first outer step being positioned below and radially outward of the second outer step on each spring finger.

Emergency umbrella

An umbrella includes a hollow tubular handle, a hub slidably contained in the handle between an upper extended position and a lower stored position; a spider hinge mounted on the hub and including radially extending spider arms; a plurality of flexible struts, each having a fixed end and a free end, with each strut having a width which tapers from the fixed end to the fre end and with the fixed end being secured on each spider arm; a retainer bushing and plug which fixedly secures the spider hinge onto the hub; each strut further having a block thereon with an outwardly radially extending opening; a cord extending peripherally about the umbrella and connected within the openings of the blocks and thereby to the struts for applying a pre-loading tensioning force to the struts so as to bend the struts into a bowed configuration; and a one-piece web of flexible, water-resistant material connected to the ends of the tensioned struts.

An emergency umbrella includes a hollow, tubular handle; a hub formed of an inverted cup-like section slidably contained in the handle between an open position at the upper end of the handle and a stored position at the lower end of the handle, the hub also including a piston secured to the inverted cup-like section; a sleeve slidably mounted on the hub between an upper position and a lower position, the sleeve including a central section slidably mounted on the hub and radially directed strut locking sections hingedly connected to the central section; a plurality of struts connected to the strut locking sections, each strut movable between an upright position substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle and a radial position substantially radially outward from the longitudinal axis; and a web of flexible, water-resistant material connected to the struts, such that opening and closing of the struts is accomplished by a snap action of the handle, whereupon the sleeve slides on the piston of the hub.

An umbrella includes a hollow tubular handle having an open end and an opposite closed end with an umbrella mounting aperture; a hub having a central section connected between an enlarged flange section with a dimension greater than the opening in the first end, and a cylindrical, reduced diameter shaft insertable within the umbrella mounting aperture; four ribs hingedly secured to the hub by living hinges to permit pivotal movement of the ribs only between an opened position in which the ribs are substantially positioned in a plane perpendicular to the shaft and a closed position in which the ribs are substantially coaxial with and adjacent to the shaft, the central section providing a limit on the pivotal movement of the ribs to prevent inversion thereof; a web of flexible, water-resistant material connected to the hub and the ribs; a key secured to the shaft; four key receiving slots in communication with the umbrella mounting aperture for matingly engaging with the key to permit locking of the hub to the handle when the shaft is inserted and rotated within the umbrella mounting aperture, whereby the closed end of the handle biases the ribs to the opened position; and the hub, ribs and web being insertable into the handle through the open end thereof so as to fit entirely within the handle with only the enlarged end of the hub protruding therefrom.

Emergency umbrella with head mountable to handle's other end

A base member has a plurality of upwardly facing openings for receiving arithmetic value blocks such as addition or subtraction blocks, a first upwardly facing end opening for receiving positive answer blocks and a second upwardly facing opposite end opening for receiving negative answer blocks. A summing rack including transverse gear teeth is slidably mounted in a longitudinal slot in the base member communicating with each of the recesses. One end of the summing rack has an encoded pattern of holes defining the numerical values of possible positive answers; and the other end of the summing rack has a similar series of holes defining the numerical values of possible negative answers. Each of the recesses which receives an arithmetic value block has a sector gear therein which engages the summing rack teeth and moves the rack a proportionate distance when an addition or subtraction block is inserted into the corresponding recess. When one or more addition and/or subtraction blocks are inserted into corresponding recesses in the base member, the gear rack is moved by a distance corresponding to the algebraic sum of the arithmetic values associated with the inserted blocks, so that the hole pattern in the summing rack at the bottom of the corresponding answer block receiving recess is in such a position that only an answer block having an associated arithmetic value equal to said algebraic sum can be inserted therein.

System for utilizing interactive blocks to teach arithmetic

A system of children's blocks for teaching arithmetic, comprising various types of arithmetic operation blocks, and a number of answer blocks. Each block is dimensioned in accordance with a predetermined numerical value. Addition blocks contain a linearly slidable rod having a portion protruding from the block a distance corresponding to a numerical value printed on the block. When two or more addition blocks are aligned, the rods of said blocks push against each other, to cause the rod of one of the end blocks to protrude a distance corresponding to the sum of the values of the mutually engaged blocks. An answer block contains an internal flag member and a visible indicator positioned so that an indication of correct result is displayed only when the protruding portion of the rod of an engaged addition block corresponds to a value associated with the answer block utilized. Thus the child can successfully engage addition blocks with an answer block only when the value of the answer block corresponds to the sum of the values of the addition blocks. Subtraction is taught by the use of minuend blocks having non-movable rods of lengths corresponding to numerical values printed on the blocks extending therefrom, and subtrahend blocks having holes therein of predetermined length (corresponding to values to be subtracted) between opposed parallel surfaces thereof. A minuend block can be engaged with one or more subtrahend blocks and an answer block only when the values of said blocks correspond to a correct arithmetic statement. Multiplication and division blocks are of the same form as addition and subtraction blocks respectively, but have dimensions logarithmically proportional to the corresponding numerical values. The same answer blocks are used for all four arithmetic processes.

System of interactive blocks

A system of children's blocks for teaching arithmetic, comprising various types of arithmetic operation blocks, and a number of answer blocks. Each block has a rod dimensioned in accordance with a predetermined numerical value. Addition blocks contain a linearly slidable rod having a portion protruding from the block a distance corresponding to a numerical value printed on the block. When two or more addition blocks are aligned, the rods of said blocks push against each other, to cause the rod of one of the end blocks to protrude a distance corresponding to the sum of the values of the mutually engaged blocks. An answer block contains a 'Yes' light and/or an audible bell chime coupled to electrical sensing switches which are positioned so that an indication of correct result is displayed only when the protruding portion of the rod of an engaged addition block corresponds to a value associated with the answer block utilized. Thus the child can successfully engage addition blocks with an answer block only when the value of the answer block corresponds to the sum of the values of the addition blocks. Subtraction is taught by the use of negative value addition blocks. Multiplication and division blocks are of the same form as addition and subtraction blocks respectively, but have dimensions logarithmically proportional to the corresponding numerical values. The same answer blocks are used for all four arithmetic processes, and may also be employed for chain calculations.

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New York, NY, United States of America

Blair F Baldwin