BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a tiltable sunshade, and more particularly to a sunshade that can be adjusted to be retained in one of a plurality of tilt positions.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 8

of the drawings illustrates a tilt device for a sunshade. The tilt device includes a lower sleeve

7

having a lower end engaged with a lower support tube (not shown) of a sunshade (not shown) and an upper sleeve

6

having an upper end engaged with an upper support tube (not shown) of the sunshade. A canopy (not shown) is attached to the upper support frame. The lower sleeve

7

includes two longitudinal wings

74

extending upward from an upper end thereof, thereby defining a space

74

a

allowing pivotal movement of a lower end of the upper sleeve

6

. The lower sleeve

7

further includes a transverse hole

86

having a countersink

82

in an end thereof. A push member

78

extends through the transverse hole

86

with an enlarged head

88

resting in the countersink

82

. The upper sleeve

6

includes a pin hole

62

, and a pin

76

is extended through pin holes

72

in the longitudinal wings

74

and the pin hole

62

of the upper sleeve

6

, thereby allowing pivotal movement of the upper sleeve

6

relative to the lower sleeve

7

. Three positioning grooves

64

a,

64

b,

and

64

c

are defined in a side of the lower end of the upper sleeve

6

. A spring

80

is mounted in the lower sleeve

7

to bias the push member

78

outward, thereby urging an engaging portion

84

on the push member

78

to selectively engage with one of the positioning grooves

64

a,

64

b,

and

64

c.

The upper sleeve

6

and the canopy are thus retained in an upright position or a tilt position relative to the lower sleeve

7

. When the enlarged head

88

of the push member

78

is pushed inward, the spring

80

is compressed and the engaging portion

84

of the push member

78

is disengaged from the positioning grooves

64

a,

64

b,

and

64

c.

The upper sleeve

6

may be pivoted to another position and the push member

78

is then released to engage the engaging portion

84

with another positioning groove under the action of the spring

80

. Thus, the canopy can be retained in another tilt position relative to the lower post of the sunshade.

Nevertheless, the engagement between the engaging portion

84

and the positioning groove

64

a,

64

b,

64

c

is not strong, since the positioning groove

64

a,

64

b,

64

c

is shallow and faces outward not downward. As a result, the engaging portion

84

or a separation wall between each two adjacent positioning grooves tends to break when the canopy is subjected to strong wing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved sunshade that can be adjusted to be reliably retained in one of a plurality of tilt positions.

A tilt device for a sunshade in accordance with the present invention comprises:

an upper sleeve having an upper end adapted to be securely connected to an upper end of an upper support tube of a sunshade and a lower end, the lower end of the upper sleeve comprising a plurality of positioning grooves;

a lower sleeve having a lower end adapted to be securely connected to a lower end of a lower support tube of the sunshade, two spaced longitudinal wings extending upward from the upper end of the lower sleeve, the lower end of the upper sleeve being pivotally connected between the longitudinal wings, a first opening being defined in the lower sleeve, a second opening being defined in the lower sleeve and opposite to the first opening;

a push member including a stem having a first end located in the first opening and a second end located in the second opening, the stem being biased to selectively engage with one of the positioning grooves of the upper sleeve;

wherein a peripheral wall defining the first opening and the first end of the stem are so configured that the stem moves downward and inward when the first end of the stem is pushed inward.

In an embodiment of the invention, the first end of the stem includes an enlarged head formed thereon. The first opening is located below one of the longitudinal walls and the second opening is located below the other longitudinal wall. The peripheral wall defining the first opening includes an outwardly facing first inclined surface. The enlarged head includes an inwardly facing second inclined surface in sliding engagement with the outwardly facing first inclined surface, such that the stem is moved inward and downward when the enlarged head is pushed inward. The outwardly facing first inclined surface is above first opening and faces downward. A peripheral wall defining the second opening includes an inwardly facing third inclined surface and the second end of the stem includes a fourth inclined surface in sliding engagement with the inwardly facing third inclined surface. Two transverse walls are connected between two opposite inner wall portions of the lower sleeve, the transverse walls defining a track for receiving the stem of the push member and guiding transverse movement of the push member relative to the lower sleeve. One of the positioning grooves of the upper sleeve that engages with the stem faces downward when the former is engaged with the latter. The stem comprises a stop formed thereon to prevent disengagement of the push member from the lower sleeve.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a sunshade with a tilt device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2

is an exploded perspective view of the tilt device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3

is a side view, partly sectioned, of a portion of the sunshade in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4

is a sectional view, taken along line

4

—

4

in

FIG. 5

, of the portion of the sunshade in FIG.

3

.

FIG. 5

is a sectional view taken along line

5

—

5

in FIG.

4

.

FIG. 6

is a sectional view similar to

FIG. 5

, wherein a push member is pushed.

FIG. 7

is a sectional view similar to

FIG. 4

, illustrating adjustment in tilt angle of the tilt device.

FIG. 8

is an exploded perspective view of a conventional tilt device of a sunshade.

FIG. 9

is a perspective view of an upper sleeve of the tilt device in

FIG. 8

, illustrating structure of the other side of the upper sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to

FIGS. 1 through 7

and initially to

FIG. 1

, a sunshade in accordance with the present invention generally includes a base

2

, a lower support tube

1

extending upright from the base

2

, an upper support tube

3

, a canopy

5

mounted to the upper support tube

3

, and a tilt device

4

mounted between a lower end of the upper support tube

3

and an upper end of the lower support tube

1

.

Referring to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, the tilt device

4

comprises a lower sleeve

10

having a lower end securely connected to the upper end of the lower support tube

1

and an upper sleeve

30

having an upper end securely connected to the lower end of the upper support tube

3

. The upper sleeve

30

further includes a pin hole

32

and an engaging portion

34

having a plurality of positioning grooves

34

a,

34

b,

and

34

c.

The lower sleeve

10

includes two longitudinal wings

11

and

13

extending upward from an upper end thereof The longitudinal wings

11

and

13

have a space

13

b

therebetween to allow pivotal movement of the lower end of the upper sleeve

30

relative to the lower sleeve

10

. In this embodiment, a pin

14

is extended through pin holes

13

a

and

11

a

in the longitudinal wings

11

and

13

and the pin hole

32

of the upper sleeve

30

. A first opening

24

is defined in the upper end of the lower sleeve

10

and located below the longitudinal wing

11

. A peripheral wall

28

defining the first opening

24

includes an inclined surface

28

a

that faces outside. In this embodiment, the inclined surface

28

a

is above the first opening

24

and inclines downward. A second opening

22

is defined in the upper end of the lower sleeve

10

and located below the longitudinal wing

13

. A peripheral wall

22

b

defining the second opening

22

has an inclined surface

22

a

that faces inward. In this embodiment, the inclined surface

22

a

is above the second opening

22

and faces downward.

Two transverse walls

27

are connected between two opposite inner wall portions of the upper end of the lower sleeve

10

, thereby defining a track

29

for guiding transverse movement of a push member

12

relative to the lower sleeve

10

. The push member

12

includes a stem

121

that extends through and guided by the track

29

defined between the transverse walls

27

. An enlarged head

122

is formed on a first end of the stem

121

. The enlarged head

122

includes an inclined surface

125

(

FIG. 5

) for sliding engagement with the inclined surface

28

a

of the lower sleeve

10

. A second end of the stem

121

includes an inclined surface

126

for sliding engagement with the inclined surface

22

a

of the lower sleeve

10

. As illustrated in

FIG. 5

, the enlarged head

122

of the push member

12

is located in the first opening

24

and the second end of the stem

121

is in the second opening

22

. A stop

124

(e.g., in the form of a pin engaged in a hole

123

of the stem

121

) is provided on the stem

121

for preventing disengagement of the push member

12

from the lower sleeve

10

.

A receiving tube

25

extends downward from lower ends of the transverse walls

27

to define a compartment

20

for receiving an elastic element, such as a spring

18

. A bottom end of the receiving tube

25

is enclosed by, e.g., a pin

16

that extends through a pin hole (not labeled) in the lower sleeve

10

. Thus, a lower end of the spring

18

rests on the pin

16

and an upper end of the spring

18

is attached to an underside of the stem

121

for biasing an upper side of the stem

121

to selectively engage with one of the positioning grooves

34

a,

34

b,

and

34

c

which faces downward.

Referring to

FIGS. 4 and 5

, when the upper side of the stem

121

of the push member

12

is engaged in the positioning groove

34

b

of the upper sleeve

30

, the upper sleeve

30

and the upper support tube

3

are retained in an upright position relative to the lower support tube

10

. It is noted that the upper side of the stem

121

extends through the positioning groove

34

b

which faces downward and thus provides a reliable engagement such that the position of the canopy attached to the upper support tube

3

will not be affected even though the canopy

5

is subjected to strong wing.

Referring to

FIG. 6

, when the user pushes the enlarged head

122

of the push member

12

inward, the stem

121

also slides downward and thus compresses the spring

18

during its inward movement due to provision of the inclined surfaces

125

and

28

a

and the inclined surfaces

22

a

and

126

. The stem

121

disengages from the positioning groove

34

b

and thus allows pivotal movement of the upper sleeve

30

relative to the lower sleeve

10

. It is noted that the first opening

24

and the second opening

22

are longer enough to allow vertical movements of the enlarged head

122

of the push member

12

and the second end of the stem

121

, respectively.

Referring to

FIG. 7

, the user may pivot the upper sleeve

30

to a desired tilt position (see the phantom lines) relative to the lower sleeve

10

and then releases the push member

12

. The upper side of the stem

121

is biased upward by the spring

19

to engage with another positioning groove (e.g., groove

34

a

) that faces downward now. During the upward movement of the push member

12

, the push member

12

also moves outward due to provision of the inclined surfaces

125

and

28

a

and the inclined surfaces

22

a

and

126

. Namely, the inclined surfaces

125

and

28

a

and the inclined surfaces

22

a

and

126

assure stable and smooth movement of the push member

12

. Thus, the upper sleeve

30

and the upper support tube

3

are retained in a tilt position relative to the lower support tube

1

.

It is appreciated that the user may use only one finger (e.g., the thumb) to push the push member inward to achieve the tilt adjustment. It is noted that the number of the positioning grooves

34

a

-

34

c

can be varied according to design. In addition, the engaging strength between the push member and the associated positioning groove is stronger, as the associated positioning groove of the upper sleeve that engages with the push member faces downward for secure engagement.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.