Portable and Collapsible Canopy Structure

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/208,552, filed Jun. 12, 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,404,696, issuing on Sep. 2, 2025 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/351,011, filed Jun. 10, 2022, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The present invention generally relates to canopy structures and collapsible support structures, and more particularly relates to improvements in a portable and collapsible canopy structure that is foldable and unfoldable between a set-up condition for use and a substantially collapsed condition for transportation and/or storage, and even more particularly, relates to a lever system facilitating set-up and break-down of the canopy structure.

Popularity of the minivan, the sport utility vehicle and the recreational vehicle has resulted in increased demand for improved collapsible furniture and particularly collapsible portable furniture of the outdoor type which may be readily stowed in a vehicle and conveniently manually transported to a beach, a picnic area or the site of a spectator event, such as, for example, an outdoor concert, a sporting event, a tailgate, a golf tournament, an air show, or a flea market, where the general rule is to bring and set-up your own accommodations.

Considerable attention has been directed to the provision of improved collapsible furniture for the picnicker, beachgoer, sportsman, tailgater, camper, hunter, fisherman, hiker, biker and the like. Canopy structures and portable tent canopy structures have become popular because of designs with increased collapsibility and transportability. Notably, canopy structures of 8×8, 10×10 and 12×12 footprints have become popular for a variety of uses in a variety of locations, including at the beach, park, campsites, sporting fields, parking lots, tailgates and the like, where the canopy structure can be set-up for use, but also collapsed to a bundled condition suitable for transport in the user's car or truck without occupying too much storage space.

In traditional prior art embodiments such as illustrated in, a canopy structuregenerally comprises a top fabric coverconfigured to cover a framecomprising a plurality of vertical support membersinterconnected by a plurality of horizontal support members, with a plurality of rib linkagesconnected between the vertical support membersto define a central peakfor the coverof the canopy structure. In such a prior art canopy structure, the support members,and rib linkagesare generally pivotally interconnected so that the structurecan be readily collapsed to a bundled condition for transport and storage. Optimally, the collapsed canopy structure will occupy the smallest volume without compromising the set-up area of the canopy structure. In this regard, such structures generally use telescoping vertical support membersthat can readily be extended to increase the height of the set-up canopy structure. Additionally, the horizontal support membersand the rib linkagescommonly utilize pivotally connected elongated members that pivot out to an extended length to maximize set-up size while maintaining a minimal collapsed size. For example, as illustrated in, the horizontal support memberscommonly use scissors-style X-member linkages to facilitate the set-up and collapsing capabilities of the frame. In such a design, elongated members are pivotally connected at an intermediate location to form an individual X, and then pivotally linked at the terminal portions of each elongated member with the elongated members of one or more additional Xs to create a linkage that will form the horizontal support member. Each linkage can move between an extended condition and a collapsed condition. In the extended condition, the connected Xs are extended in series to maximum length for the horizontal support memberor rib linkage. In the collapsed condition, the connected Xs are pivoted together to all be generally adjacent and parallelly disposed relative to one another. Utilizing multiple connected X-frames can increase the set-up length and overall footprint of the framewhile allowing for a more compact bundle when the frameis collapsed.illustrates a collapsed bundle for the canopy structureillustrated in.

The difficulty with such canopy structures has generally come from the set-up and collapsing functionality. Traditional canopy structures have been difficult for one person to set-up by themselves in a time efficient manner, especially as the size of the canopy structure increases. For example, when setting up the canopy structure from the bundled condition, the user must spread out the four vertical supports or legs (at each corner of the canopy) to extend the scissors-style X-members of the horizontal members and the rib linkages from their collapsed condition, where all the constituent members are adjacently collected, to their extended condition, where said constituent members are spread out end to end to define and maximize the length for the member linkage. As a result, a user setting up the canopy structure will need to go from corner to corner, often many times, to spread out the structure until each horizontal support member and rib linkage is at its full extended condition. Typically, the extension of the horizontal support members and the rib linkages go hand-in-hand. That is, as the horizontal support members are extending, the rib linkages will likewise be moving to their respective extended conditions, and vice versa. Moreover, the horizontal support members do collectively move as well, in that, when pulling out each of the corner vertical support members from each other, each of the horizontal support members will collectively stretch out to their extended conditions. The rib linkages likewise move in a collective manner, in that, when extending one rib linkage, the others will extend at the same rate. Nevertheless, this action is cumbersome and can be quite time-consuming, especially for one user.

The set-up process also involves locking the frame once it is fully set-up. Otherwise, the horizontal support members and rib linkages can easily start to collapse on their own under the influence of gravity, especially if the vertical support members (i.e., the corners of the canopy structure) are not sufficiently secured on the ground surface on which the canopy structure is set-up, or if there is a heavy wind pushing on the frame and canopy cover that can caused the frame members to collapse on their own. The horizontal support members and rib linkages can also start to collapse if objects are hung from the frame, such as towels, lanterns or other weighted objects. In this regard, traditional prior art canopy structures have utilized locks on each of the vertical support members at each corner to lock the horizontal support members in their extended conditions until the lock is released. For example, such designs have utilized spring-biased push buttons in each corner that lock into place (e.g., project through a detent or hole in the vertical support members) when the horizontal support members are in their fully extended condition. However, this design further adds to the difficulty in the set-up and break-down of the canopy structure. For example, during set-up of the canopy structure, the user must go to each corner separately to ensure that each push button is properly engaged to lock the frame at that corner location. To collapse the canopy structure, the user must release each push-button to begin collapsing the horizontal support members to their collapsed conditions. Again, however, each individual button, in each separate corner must be engaged and released separately, which requires the user to walk to each corner to fully set-up and collapse the prior art canopy structure. In general, this design is best for multiple people to work together to set-up and collapse the canopy structure. While a single person can achieve both set-up and collapse of the structure, it is difficult, time-consuming and requires some exertion of effort.

The current market-leading canopy technology no longer involves the four-corner buttons. For example, a prior art design for a canopy structure has evolved to a one-person, one-location setup using a “one-push” center hub lock. This center hub lock is located in the center of the canopy structure, generally where the four rib linkages extending inward from each corner of the structure meet. By pressing up on the center hub, the rib linkages will be locked into their extended over-center condition, which, as noted, coincides with the fully extended condition of each of the horizontal support members. Thus, with the rib linkages locked in this extended condition, the corners of the canopy structure cannot be pushed together to collapse the structure until the center lock is released. Disengaging the center hub lock allows the frame to be collapsed. Indeed, once the center hub lock is released, the entire frame begins to collapse under the influence of gravity. This design provides a significant upgrade from the four-corner button approach—facilitating one-person set-up and collapse—but still has a distinct disadvantage of requiring the user to crawl under and inside the canopy to push up and lock the frame in its set-up condition. The same disadvantage applies to closing the canopy wherein the user must be under the canopy to disengage the center hub lock. In this regard, the entire canopy can collapse on the user at it begins to collapse under the influence of gravity. Additionally, this approach does not provide for a convenient or comfortable usage, often requiring the user to crawl on the ground to get in and out from under the canopy, which is especially difficult and undesirable on wet ground. Additionally, set-up of this canopy design still requires the user to move from corner to corner to extend the frame from its collapsed condition and ensure that each horizontal support member and each rib linkage is extended to its full extent before locking the frame in the set-up condition.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a canopy structure that can be easily set-up and collapsed, especially by a single user, without requiring the user to lock in each corner of the canopy frame individually or climb under the canopy frame during set-up or collapse. Further, there is a need for such a canopy structure that can be set-up and locked and then unlocked and collapsed with minimal effort, again especially by a single user, without limiting or compromising the structural features of the canopy structure. Further, there is a need for a canopy structure that can optimally be set-up and collapsed from a single spot, and that doesn't require a user to go from corner to corner to extend or collapse the frame of the canopy structure. Still further, there is a need for a canopy structure that can be easily set-up without compromising or affecting the safety and structural integrity of the canopy structure, especially on all types of surfaces, including soft ground and sand. Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a portable and collapsible canopy structure that overcomes the problems and drawbacks associated with prior art canopy structures, and therefore significantly improves the utility of such a canopy while permitting easy transportation and/or storage in a collapsed condition.

The present invention addresses these issues and provides a means to circumvent the associated drawbacks of such prior art collapsible canopy structure designs.

The present invention is directed to a portable and collapsible canopy structure design especially suitable for use at a beach, park, tailgate, sporting event and the like, where the canopy structure can be set-up to a set-up condition, and locked in said set-up condition, and likewise unlocked and collapsed from the set-up condition to a collapsed condition for transportation and/or storage by a single user from a single location. The present invention improves upon the four-corner buttons approach and the one-push center hub technology of the prior art by providing a lever system for a canopy structure allowing for single-user operation for set-up and break-down, wherein the user remains comfortably standing outside the unit, preferably at a single corner of the canopy frame, thus avoiding the crawl in-and-out headache (especially with bad knees, wet ground, etc.). Still further, the lever system of the present invention provides a means for locking the frame in the set-up condition for safe use, and likewise unlocking the frame for collapsing the canopy structure for transport and/or storage.

The lever system of the present invention can be utilized on the traditional canopy frame set-up-namely, a frame having four vertical supports at each corner connected by scissors-style horizontal supports adapted to move between extended and collapsed conditions. The frame further includes four rib linkages each extending inwardly from a respective corner vertical member and connected one to each other at a central hub defining a central peak for the canopy structure. A top fabric cover, configured to cover the frame, is also provided and designed to remain on the frame during set-up and collapse of the canopy structure. It is understood that “cover the frame” encompasses designs that are configured to “at least partially cover the frame assembly,” such that the top of the canopy is covered while the sides of the frame are open for people to walk under and out from the canopy. However, the present invention also covers canopy designs where a cover encompasses the entirety of the frame, for example, providing walls to protect the user from the elements (such as wind and sun) as desired.

In this regard, in an embodiment of the present invention, a portable and collapsible canopy structure comprises a frame assembly being movable between a set-up condition and a collapsed condition; a fabric cover, configured to cover at least a portion of the frame assembly; and a lever member operatively connected to the frame assembly for assisting a user in moving the frame assembly to its set-up condition and locking the frame assembly once in said set-up condition. In preferred embodiments, the lever member facilitates set-up of the canopy structure, locks the canopy structure in its set-up condition, unlock the canopy structure from its locked condition, and assists in break-down of the canopy structure to its collapsed condition. More preferably, a single user can accomplish each of these actions from a single position outside the footprint of the canopy structure and need not go under the canopy for set-up or break-down.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a portable and collapsible canopy structure comprises a frame assembly being movable between a set-up condition and a collapsed condition, and a fabric cover, configured to cover at least a portion of the frame assembly. The frame assembly comprises a plurality of vertical supports defining a perimeter for the frame assembly in the set-up condition; a plurality of scissoring horizontal supports each pivotally connected to and extending between an adjacent pair of vertical supports around the perimeter of the frame assembly and adapted for movement between an extended condition corresponding to the set-up condition of the frame assembly and a retracted condition corresponding to the collapsed condition of the frame assembly; and a plurality of rib linkages, each pivotally connected to a respective vertical support and extending from said vertical support towards a central hub where the plurality of rib linkages meet, each said rib linkage being adapted for movement between an extended condition corresponding to the set-up condition of the frame assembly and a retracted condition corresponding to the collapsed condition of the frame assembly. The canopy structure further includes a lever member pivotally connected to one of the plurality of rib linkages for facilitating movement of said rib linkage between the extended and retracted conditions.

In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, a locking lever member is positioned at one corner of the canopy structure and engages with a rib linkage associated with that corner of the frame to extend said rib linkage to an extended condition. The extension of the rib linkage coordinates extension of the other rib linkages at the same time, as well as extension of the horizontal supports to respective extended conditions between the corners of the canopy frame. When the rib linkage is at its full extended condition, the other rib linkages are likewise at their full extended conditions, and a center hub connecting the rib linkages together is moved into over-center condition to lock the frame in the set-up condition. Likewise, the locking lever member is used to disengage the center hub from its over-center condition to unlock the frame and facilitate collapsing of the frame under the influence of gravity.

In preferred embodiments, the rib linkage associated with the lever member comprises a first upright arm pivotally connected to the vertical support associated with said rib linkage; a second upright arm pivotally connected to the first upright arm, wherein a center hub cap is mounted at a distal end of said second upright arm; a first lift tube pivotally connected to the first upright arm; a second lift tube pivotally connected to the first lift tube and to the second upright arm; and a center support tube pivotally connected between the second upright arm and the second lift tube, wherein a center hub support is mounted at a distal end of said center support tube. The lever member is pivotally connected to the rib linkage such that pivoting movement of the lever member influences movement of the first upright arm and first lift tube, which influences movement of the second upright arm and second lift tube, which influences movement of the center support tube, all of which move the center hub cap and the center hub support between an engaged condition corresponding to the set-up condition of the canopy frame assembly and a disengaged condition whereby the frame assembly can be moved to its collapsed condition.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a portable and collapsible canopy frame adapted for movement between a set-up condition and a collapsed condition comprises a plurality of vertical supports defining a perimeter for the frame assembly in the set-up condition; a plurality of rib linkages, each pivotally connected to a respective vertical support and extending from said vertical support towards a central hub where the plurality of rib linkages meet, each said rib linkage being adapted for movement between an extended condition corresponding to the set-up condition of the frame assembly and a retracted condition corresponding to the collapsed condition of the frame assembly; and a lever member operatively connected to one of the plurality of rib linkages for assisting a user in moving the frame assembly to its set-up condition and locking the frame assembly once in said set-up condition. In use, a user can access and use the lever member to assist with set-up and collapsing of the canopy structure from a position outside the canopy frame.

These and other features of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings of preferred embodiments of a portable and collapsible canopy structure. The illustrated embodiments of features of the present invention are intended to illustrate, but not limit the invention.

A portable and collapsible canopy structure design in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated inand generally designated as reference numeral. The canopy structure is especially suitable for use at a beach, park, tailgate, sporting event and the like, where the canopy structurecan be set-up to a set-up condition, and locked in said set-up condition, and likewise unlocked and collapsed from the set-up condition to a collapsed condition for transportation and/or storage by a single user from a single location.

The figures illustrate a portion of a canopy frame—more particularly, including a lever system for the canopy structureallowing for single-user operation for set-up and break-down, wherein the user remains comfortably standing outside the unit, preferably at a single corner of the canopy frame, thus avoiding the crawl in-and-out headache associated with prior art canopy designs (especially with bad knees, wet ground, etc.). The lever system interacts with a rib linkageextending from a vertical supportat one corner of the canopy frame. The rib linkagecomprises interconnected longitudinal members extending to a center hubconnecting all the rib linkagesof the entire frametogether at a central location of the canopy structure.

The lever system of the present invention can be utilized on and with the traditional canopy frame set-up, such as illustrated in—namely, a framehaving four vertical supportsat each corner connected by scissors-style horizontal supportsadapted to move between extended and collapsed conditions. The framefurther includes four rib linkageseach extending inwardly from a respective corner vertical supportand connected one to each other at the center hubdefining a central peak for the canopy structure. A top fabric cover, configured to cover the frame, is also provided and designed to remain on the frameduring set-up and collapse of the canopy structure. It is understood that “cover the frame” encompasses design that are configured to “at least partially cover the frame assembly,” such that the top of the canopy is covered while the sides of the frame are open for people to walk under and out from the canopy. However, the present invention also covers canopy designs where a cover encompasses the entirety of the frame, for example, providing walls to protect the user from the elements (such as wind and sun) as desired.

As illustrated, the lever system interacts with the rib linkageat one corner of the framesuch that a single user can set-up the frameby extending the single rib linkage, which coordinates simultaneous movement of the other rib linkages, as well as the horizontal supportsextending between the vertical supportsat each corner of the canopy frame. The user can likewise lock the framein its set-up condition using the lever system, and thereafter, unlock the framefor collapsing under the influence of gravity. Again, the set-up, locking, unlocking, and collapsing action for the canopy structurecan all be accomplished by a single user from a single location (e.g., at one corner of the canopy structure).

The present design (playfully called “LevrUP”) surpasses the one-push technology of prior art canopy structures in that while it is also a single-user operation, the user remains comfortably standing outside the canopy structure, thus avoiding the crawl in-and-out headache (especially with bad knees, wet ground, etc.) or the dangers of being under the canopy when it is collapsing, as generally associated with prior art canopy designs.

As noted, the lever system of the present invention provides a means for locking the framein the set-up condition for safe use, and likewise unlocking the framefor collapsing the canopy structure for transport and/or storage.

Referring to, the rib linkageis shown attached to a vertical support. A locking lever system, generally designated as reference numeral, generally comprises a longitudinal member or tubewith an end handleto facilitate movement and manipulation of the lever memberby a user. The lever memberis connected to the rib linkageand anchored to the vertical supportusing a pivoting D-link. The rib linkagecomprises a first upright armpivotally connected to a second upright arm. An outsert tubeis provided over the first upright armto provide structural reinforcement. The lever memberis slidably positioned in a handle ringwhich is pivotally connected to a slide collarmounted on the first upright armand outsert tubefor sliding movement thereon. The lever memberincludes two stops that can engage the handle ringas the lever memberis moved in either direction. These stops limit the extent of movement for the lever member, and when either engages the handle ring, it will impart movement to the slide collarto manipulate the first upright arm, as needed, in accordance with the present invention.

The first upright armis pivotally connected to an under leg pivot tubevia a pivot bracket. The under leg pivot tubeis mounted at the other end to the upright supportvia a sliding collar. The first upright armis also pivotally connected to a first lift tubethrough the slide collar. The first lift tubeis pivotally connected to a second lift tubewhich is pivotally connected to the second upright armat a bracket. The second lift tubeis also connected to a center support tubevia a center support slide collar. The center support tubeis also pivotally connected to the second upright armat the bracket. A center hub capis mounted at the end of the second upright arm. A corresponding center hub supportis mounted at the end of the center support tube. The center hub capincludes a locator pin. In use, when the rib linkageis moved to its fully extended condition, the center hub capand the center hub supportmove together to a locked position, wherein the locator pinis received in the center hub support.

In operation, movement of the lever memberwill influence movement of the first upright armand the first lift tubevia the slide collar. Movement of the first upright armwill influence movement of the under leg pivot tubeand the second upright arm. Movement of the first lift tubewill influence movement of the second lift tube, which is also influenced, in part, by movement of the second upright armin effect by a scissoring action between the paired upright arms,and the paired lift tubes,. Movement of the second upright armand the second lift tubeinfluence movement of the center support tube. The collective movement of the members of the rib linkagecauses the center hub capand the center hub supportto move together into locked engagement, which corresponds to the set-up and locked condition of the canopy structure.

The process for opening the canopy framefrom its collapsed and bundled condition to a set-up condition is successively illustrated in, withillustrating the frame members in the collapsed condition of the canopy structure.illustrates the frame members in the fully set-up condition of the canopy structure. The process steps for opening and setting up the canopy structureare illustrated in.

Referring to, a user stands the collapsed canopy frameupright on a level surface and gently pulls outwardly, expanding the frameuntil it is about two-thirds open. As the frameis expanding, it will generally go from the condition illustrated into the condition in. Referring now to, the user grabs the lever memberand extend it outward from the frame. More particularly, the user pulls the lever memberupward and outward until the stop at the terminal end of the lever memberengages the handle ring. In preferred embodiments, the lever memberextends past the anchor of the D-linkon the upright supportby about 18 inches. Then, the user pushes downward on the lever member. More particularly, the user presses downward on the lever memberto move it in a counterclockwise manner about the pivot point at the D-link. This movement will impart a force on the slide collarwhich influences a counterclockwise upward lifting force onto the first upright armand a clockwise upward lifting force on the first lift tube. A scissoring action is created by the paired upright arms,and the paired lift tubes,, as illustrated in. Notably, as the first upright armmoves upward in a counterclockwise manner, the second upright armmoves upward in a clockwise manner. Likewise, as the first lift tubemoves upward in a clockwise manner, the second lift tubemoves upward in a counterclockwise manner.

Referring to, the movement of the first upright armand the first lift tubeimpart movement to the second upright armand the second lift tube. As the second upright armand the second lift tubemove, they impart movement on the center support tubeuntil it goes over center, as illustrated in. More particularly, the pushing on the lever memberwill get the rib linkageto the condition illustrated in. At this point, the user pulls the lever memberout and away from the center of the canopy structureuntil the stop at the end engages the handle ringand pulls on the slide collar. The force applied to the slide collarpulls the end of the first lift tubeaway from the center of the canopy structure, which, in turn, pulls on the second lift tubeso that the first lift tubeand the second lift tubecollectively pivot closer to a flat condition adjacent to the upright arm pairing,. This movement manipulates the center support tubeto its over-center position and brings the center hub capand center hub supporttogether. As shown in over-center condition, the center support tubeis at a slight upwards angle, indicating a locked position for the rib linkage. This position of the center support tubecoincides with the center hub capengaging the center hub support, as also shown in.

At the fully extended condition of the rib linkage, the first upright armand the second upright armare essentially coextensive, as illustrated in. The first lift tubeand the second lift tube, have a slight angled relationship to ensure that the rib linkagecan be easily collapsed when the center hubis disengaged.

After the rib linkagehas been moved to its fully extended condition, as illustrated in, the lever memberis pushed inward toward the center of the canopy structureuntil it engages a catch or detent (not shown), which will hold the lever memberin position during use of the canopy structure.

During set-up, as the lever memberis influencing movement of the first upright arm, the under leg pivot tubewill also begin to pivot upward in a clockwise direction. As it so moves, the terminal end mounted to the vertical supportvia a slide collarwill slide up on the vertical support. In an alternate design of the present invention, a secondary locking mechanism (such as a spring-biased push button and detent) can be provided on the vertical supportto lock the slide collarin place once it reaches a desire height-wise location on said vertical support. This secondary locking mechanism can assist the user in situations, for example, where the user's grip on the lever memberslips so that the framedoes not fully collapse. At the same time, the user can use a free hand to guide the corresponding extension of the horizontal supportsextending from the vertical supportto help extending the canopy frameout to its set-up condition.

After the rib linkagesand horizontal supportshave been extended in this manner, the user can then adjust the vertical supportsto desired heights using known technology-namely telescoping members locked with spring-biased push buttons and detents.

With proper force and geometrical tweaks (such as a longer member hanging from the center of the ceiling), it is possible to use the first “lift” action of the lever memberduring set-up of the canopy frameto engage (and lock) the center hub supportto the center hub cap. This approach is similar to the “one push” technique of prior art devices, but instead capitalizes on the lever action from outside the canopy structureinstead of one's hand from inside and underneath the canopy structure. This technique would not lock the canopy frameusing anything “over-center”, as the “lever-lock” does this sufficiently, but like the one-push technique, an additional lock could be integrated into the center hub assembly so that when the frame members are lifted relative to one another to the set-up condition of the canopy frame, the framewould be locked into the opened and set-up condition. A downside here is that a user would still need to manually unlock the canopy framefrom underneath the canopy structure(a la the “one-push” prior art technique) to disengage the additional lock in order to collapse the canopy structure.

With the embodiments described herein, “locking” of the canopy frameis facilitated by an over-center linkage when the second “pull” operation is enacted on the lever—i.e., after the lift. (See, e.g.,). As such, the over-center linkage “lock” is not as positive and force pulling down on the linkage assembly may “unlock” it. This might occur, for example, by hanging wet towels, a lantern, or other weighted objects from the frame members, such as up near the center hub, which is not uncommon. As discussed, a single collar lock on the vertical frame supportthat includes the lever memberacts as a safety “lock” for the canopy structure. In alternate embodiments, an additional lock assembly can be provided with the lever linkage system, preferably within arm's reach from outside the canopy structure. Effectively, set-up of the canopy structurecomprises a 3-step operation: 1. Lift; 2. Lock; 3. then optionally “safety lock” if one wants to hang items from the hub area links. Referring to, an additional safety lock assembly is illustrated that will secure the canopy framefrom collapsing under weight applied to the frame members. As shown, a strapis attached to the end of the first lift tubeand in operation is used to pull the end of the first lift tubedown and into engagement with a hookmounted on the under leg pivot tubedirectly positioned below it. This secures the linkage mechanism from disengaging even when weight is hung from the center hub of the canopy frame(which would otherwise cause the canopy center to come dislodged from the over-center state).

To collapse the set-up canopy structure, the user starts with the rib linkagesas shown in. Referring to, the user first pushes the lever membertowards the center hubof the canopy structureuntil a second stop located midway on the lever memberengages the handle ring, which moves the slide collar. The movement of the lever memberin this step is about 1-2 inches and generally comprises a “hard tap”. The movement of the slide collarmoves the first lift tubeto raise the pivot point between the first and second lift tubes,upwards, which pops the center hubout of over-center engagement. Then, under the influence of gravity, the rib linkage membersbegin to collapse and pivot together. At the same time, the user can pull the lever memberout and away from the center of the canopy structureand push upwards (clockwise) on the lever memberto aid and facilitate the collapsing process. This motion, along with gravity, will help brings the vertical supportsat the four corners of the canopy structuretogether. Referring to, the user, from a single corner of the canopy structure, can push the canopy frameinward to fully collapse the canopy structurefor storage. If the design utilizes the secondary locking mechanism, that should be disengaged before using the lever memberto pop the center hubout of engagement.

In testing, the present invention facilitates and speeds up the set-up process while eliminating the safety concerns associated with prior art designs. For example, the prior art one-push center hub design (current marketplace) takes about 20 seconds for each of the set-up and collapse operations and is decidedly more physically demanding and dangerous to undertake. By comparison, the locking lever design of the present invention takes about 9 seconds to set-up and about 7 seconds to collapse. (None of these measurements includes the step of adjusting the vertical supports or putting the collapsed canopy into a storage bag, and the like.)

A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in. This embodiment operates in a similar fashion in terms of how the various members of the rib linkageinfluence one another to move the rib linkagefrom the collapsed condition to the fully extended condition and locks the rib linkagein the set-up condition until the lever memberis used to disengage the center hubfor collapsing. In general, this second embodiment of the canopy structuremodifies aspects of the individual linkage members, as well as the pivotal and sliding connections of said linkage members.

Referring to, the first lift tube, second lift tube, and center support tubeare pivotally linked together in series, with the center support tubebeing pivotally connected to the second upright arm, the second lift tubebeing pivotally connected to the first upright arm, and the first lift tubebeing pivotally connected to the under leg pivot tubevia a slide collar(pivotally mounted on the under leg pivot tubeand through which the first lift armis adapted for sliding movement). The lever memberis also pivotally connected to the under leg pivot tubevia a slide collarsuch that downward motion on the lever memberwill lift the under leg pivot tubeupwards, with one end sliding up the vertical supportand the other side pushing upwards on the first upright armand the first lift arm. These motions impart a scissoring motion at the central end of the rib linkageso that the center hub capand the center hub supportmove together into engagement, as shown in.

Referring to, the lever memberis connected to the under leg pivot tubevia the slide collar, which can be a handle ring as in the first embodiment. The slide collaris mounted on a slide collar, which connects to the under leg pivot tubebetween the lever memberand the first lift tube. The end of the under leg pivot tubeis also pivotally connected to the first upright armvia a pivot bracket.

shows the rib linkagein a fully extended condition associated with the set-up condition of the canopy structure.also illustrates the canopy structurein its set-up condition, but with the lever memberpushed inwards to its storage position (held by a catch or detent (not shown)). When collapsing the canopy structure, the lever memberis pulled outwards to the position shown in, where pushing upward on the lever memberwill help disengage the center hubfor collapsing the framewith the assistance of gravity and continued upward pushing on the lever member.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the form disclosed. Obvious modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiments described were chosen to best illustrate the principles of the invention and practical applications thereof to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as suited to the particular use contemplated.