Ground Anchoring Umbrella Stand

Abstract

The present disclosure provides for a novel ground anchoring umbrella stand comprising a sleeve and a plurality of opposing pairs of forked anchor legs having horizontal sections extending radially from the sleeve and transitioning downwardly to vertical sections such that the umbrella stand may be freestanding and may be thrust into the ground for anchoring of the umbrella stand and an umbrella by a user's foot, on dry land or in a submerged environment. In a preferred embodiment, the horizontal sections of the anchor legs are adapted to torsionally strain between the sleeve and the vertical sections of the anchor legs such that, in an anchored position, the umbrella stand can self-return to an upright position upon the exertion and release of external forces acting upon the stand. The sleeve is preferably configured to securely receive a pole such as for a beach umbrella, a tent, a volleyball net, and a fishing pole. The sleeve further includes an aperture and a threaded locking bolt perpendicular to the sleeve such that the locking bolt extends through the aperture of the sleeve to engage a pole. The sleeve also includes a cup holder handle for holding a drinking cup of user and for removal of the stand from the ground.

The claimed invention is: 
     
         1 . A ground anchoring umbrella stand comprising:
 a hollow cylindrical sleeve adapted to receive and support an umbrella pole, said sleeve having an upper section extending downwardly to a lower section thereof, the lower section centrally disposed between and connected to a first opposing pair of elongated forked anchor legs and a second opposing pair of elongated forked anchor legs, each forked anchor leg having a horizontal section extending radially from the sleeve for the placement of a user's foot and transitioning downwardly to a vertical section disposed perpendicular to said horizontal section, each horizontal section adapted to torsionally strain between the sleeve and the vertical section, said vertical section ending with a spiked tip for anchoring the umbrella stand into the surface of the earth.   
     
     
         2 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the radially extending horizontal section is characterized as having a sufficient length and modulus of elasticity to self-return the sleeve of the umbrella stand to an original anchored position from a strained anchored position upon release of a force exerted by a wind or gust upon an umbrella when supported by the sleeve. 
     
     
         3 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein said ground anchoring umbrella stand is a unitary construction, said sleeve forged with said first and second pairs of forked anchor legs, wherein the vertical section of each anchor leg is characterized as having a length relative to the length of the other anchor legs such that the umbrella stand achieves an unanchored position freestanding upright atop the surface of the ground and an anchored position upon substantially synchronous submersion of the forked anchor legs into the surface of the ground upon the placement of the user's foot atop at least one of the anchor legs. 
     
     
         4 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the horizontal axis of the elongated horizontal sections of the first pair of forked anchor legs is configured coplanar with and intersects the horizontal axis of the elongated horizontal sections of the second pair of forked anchor legs, such that when the first and second pairs of anchor legs are anchored into the surface of the ground said horizontal sections of the first pair of forked anchor legs exhibit torsional strain upon exertion of a horizontal force applied to the sleeve in a direction substantially orthogonal to said horizontal sections of said first pair of anchor legs. 
     
     
         5 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the horizontal section of the forked anchor leg is characterized as having a length shorter than the length of the vertical section of the forked anchor leg. 
     
     
         6 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the vertical sections of the first pair of forked anchor legs are characterized as having a length greater than the length of the vertical sections of the second pair of forked anchor legs. 
     
     
         7 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical sleeve comprises a cup holder handle connected to the upper section thereof, said cup holder handle adapted to receive a hand grasp of the user for upward movement of the umbrella stand from an anchored position for removal from the ground while conveniently holding a drinking cup of a user and for carrying of the umbrella stand and cup upon said removal. 
     
     
         8 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical sleeve comprises a slender elongated handle member connected to the upper section thereof, said handle member adapted to receive a hand grasp of the user for upward movement of the umbrella stand from an anchored position for removal from the ground and for carrying of the umbrella stand upon said removal. 
     
     
         9 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , further comprising a square-shaped or rectangular-shaped elongated rod member, wherein each corner of said rod member is rigidly connected to one forked anchor leg. 
     
     
         10 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve further comprises at least one aperture having internal threads and a threaded bolt disposed substantially perpendicular to the sleeve, the threaded bolt configured to screw through said aperture for engaging the umbrella pole when extended through said sleeve to prevent vertical movement of the umbrella pole relative to the stand optionally before or after the umbrella pole is driven into the surface of the ground. 
     
     
         11 . A ground anchoring stand comprising:
 a hollow sleeve having a central vertical axis, said sleeve configured to closely surround and securely receive a pole of a user of the anchor stand;   a plurality of slender elongated right-angle shaped anchor legs enabling hands-free thrusting of the anchor stand into the surface of the ground, the anchor leg having a substantially horizontal section rigidly connected to said sleeve and extended outward from said sleeve, said horizontal section configured for engagement by a foot of the user optionally before or after the pole of the user is optionally embedded into the surface of the ground, and a substantially vertical section with a pointed end adapted to securely anchor into the surface of the ground, said vertical section of the right-angle shaped anchor leg disposed at the outward distal end of the horizontal section such that an external force applied the sleeve imparts torsional stress upon the horizontal section disposed between the sleeve and the vertical section of the anchor leg for elastic deformation ground retention of the stand in an anchored position.   
     
     
         12 . The ground anchoring stand of  claim 11 , the anchor stand comprising an arrangement of at least three or more slender elongated right-angle shaped anchor legs configured to achieve an unattended upright freestanding balanced position and a first anchored position capable of elastic deformation ground retention through elastic torsional deformation of at least one horizontal section of a slender elongated right-angle shaped anchor leg capable of returning the stand to the first anchored position from a strained anchored second position upon release of a horizontal force exerted thereupon the pole by a wind or gust. 
     
     
         13 . The ground anchoring umbrella stand of  claim 11 , wherein the horizontal section of the forked anchor leg is characterized as having a length extending sufficiently outward from said sleeve such that the vertical axis of the foot of the user may be positioned directly atop and in coaxial alignment with the vertical axis of the vertical section of the anchor leg, for thrusting said anchor leg into the ground. 
     
     
         14 . The ground anchoring stand of  claim 11 , the stand further comprising a cup holder connected to said sleeve or to said anchor leg for receiving and holding a cup of a user. 
     
     
         15 . The ground anchoring stand of  claim 11 , wherein the sleeve further comprises an aperture having internal threads and a threaded locking bolt disposed substantially perpendicular to the sleeve and configured to rotate through said aperture for engaging a side of the pole after said pole is extended through said sleeve to prevent vertical movement of the pole relative to the stand optionally before or after the anchor legs are thrusted into the surface of ground. 
     
     
         16 . The ground anchoring stand of  claim 11 , wherein the sleeve further comprises a transverse base bar connected to and disposed within the bottom of said sleeve, the transverse base bar sized to prevent downward extension of the pole through the bottom of the sleeve. 
     
     
         17 . The ground anchoring stand of  claim 11 , wherein the pole is selected from a group consisting of a beach umbrella pole, a patio umbrella pole, a tent support pole, a volleyball net supporting pole, a flagpole, a basketball goal supporting pole, and a handle end of a fishing pole. 
     
     
         18 . The ground anchoring stand of  claim 11 , wherein said ground anchoring stand is a unitary construction forged from a material selected from a group consisting of steel, plastic, resin, and rubber. 
     
     
         19 . A method for setting up a ground anchoring umbrella stand comprising the steps of:
 providing a ground anchoring umbrella stand having a hollow cylindrical sleeve sized for an umbrella pole to extend therethrough with a pole locking bolt to optionally prevent vertical movement of the pole relative to the sleeve, the sleeve having an upper section extending downwardly to a lower section thereof, the lower section centrally disposed between and connected to a first opposing pair of forked anchor legs and a second opposing pair of forked anchor legs, each forked anchor leg having a horizontal section extending radially from the sleeve for the placement of a user's foot and transitioning downwardly to a vertical section having a vertical axis disposed perpendicular to said horizontal section, said vertical section ending with a spiked tip for anchoring the stand upon the surface of the earth;   placing the umbrella stand upon the ground in a first upright unattended and free-standing position;   placing the first foot of the user atop the first forked anchor leg of the first opposing pair of forked anchor legs;   placing the second foot of the user atop the second forked anchor leg of the first opposing pair of forked anchor legs;   thrusting the ground anchoring umbrella stand downwardly into the ground by vertically maneuvering the user's body from a first elevated position to a second elevated position through the user's sagittal plane.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising the step of supporting a substantial entirety of the user's body weight in a substantially upright standing position frontally balanced by the second pair of forked anchor legs. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , the step of thrusting the ground anchoring umbrella stand downwardly into the ground includes submerging the entirety of the two pairs of forked anchor legs beneath the surface of the ground. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of placing the first foot of the user atop the first forked anchor leg includes coaxially aligning the first foot with the vertical axis of the vertical section of the first forked anchor leg. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of placing the second foot of the user atop the second forked anchor leg includes coaxially aligning the second foot with the vertical axis of the vertical section of the second forked anchor leg. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising inserting an umbrella pole through the sleeve and allowing the umbrella pole to freely slide through the sleeve during the step of thrusting the ground anchoring umbrella stand downwardly into the ground. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising inserting an umbrella pole through the sleeve and downwardly thrusting the umbrella pole into the ground after the step of thrusting the ground anchoring umbrella stand downwardly into the ground. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising inserting an umbrella pole through the sleeve, engaging the pole to prevent vertical movement of the umbrella pole relative to the stand, and downwardly thrusting the umbrella pole and umbrella stand downwardly into the ground during the step of thrusting the ground anchoring umbrella stand downwardly into the ground.