Umbrella mounting bracket

Claim 1

A mounting bracket intended for the mounting of an umbrella on a lawn chair and the like to protect an individual sitting in the chair from the direct rays of the sun, the mounting bracket comprising a clamp member including a top member and a bottom member each formed of an elongated rectangular strip of material curvingly bent intermediate its opposed opposite first and second end portions to define a longitudinally extending concave interior curved surface, the top and bottom members being placed with their interior surface in confronting relationship with each other, the first ends of the top and bottom members having a transversely extending slot in each of the ends and in general alignment with each other such that the slot in the top member end overlies the slot in the bottom member end, an elongated hollow cylindrical member extending in alignment with the axis of the slots normal to the longitudinal axis of the clamp, a side wall of the cylindrical member passing through the aligned slots to pivotally interconnect the top and bottom members together and permit swinging movement thereof about the axis of the cylindrical member toward and away from each other, fastening means associated with the second ends of each member for detachably attaching and detaching the ends together in a releasable manner, a cylindrical socket member disposed centrally on the exterior surface of the top member and projecting outwardly therefrom and terminating in an outermost top surface, a hemi-shperical recess disposed concentrically in the socket member and opening out of the top surface thereof, a spherical ball member of a size and configuration complementary to the diameter of the hemi-spherical recess and disposed therein and captured thereby for relative movement relative thereto, a portion of the spherical ball member projecting outwardly of the top surface of the socket member, a shaft connected to the projecting portion of the ball and extending radially outwardly therefrom, a support member having a top end and a bottom end, a bore disposed axially in the support member bottom end and extending thereinto of a diameter to receive the projecting end of the shaft from the ball member to mount the shaft therein with the ball member spaced a slight distance outwardly from the bottom end of the support member, an elongated cylindrical bore extending axially through the top portion of the support member and opening out of the top end thereof and adapted to receive the base end of an umbrella standard in a supporting manner therein, a threaded aperture extending through the side wall of the support member normal to the axis of the support member and communicating with the bore at one end and with the exterior surface of the side wall with the other end, a bolt like fastener including an elongated threaded shank having one end threadedly received in the threaded aperture, an enlarged head portion formed integrally with the opposite end of the bolt fastener in the form of a flattened head portion of a generally elongated rectangular shape extending normal to the axis of the shank and adapted to be readily grasped between the fingers of an individual''s hand to effect the rotaTion of the shank in opposite directions about its axis to move the innermost shank fastener end thereof into and out of engagement with an umbrella standard inserted into the cylindrical bore.