umbrella

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Umbrellas in use
Umbrellas when not in use
Individual parts of a typical screen

An umbrella (seldom regionally French. Parapluie or Germanized Paraplü . In older dialectal terms also called Parasol, which actually means “parasol”) is a commodity that is supposed to protect against the weather. It consists initially of a plane of fabric (now usually made of nylon or other polyamides ) which is tensioned on keels (formerly were quills used as a material) and traditionally on a long and perpendicular is kept placed in the stem height. The classic umbrella has a handle to hold on to, which is usually either in the shape of a curved walking stick or a knob. Umbrellas protect against precipitation , but always carry the risk of being pulled over or turned over in stronger winds. Umbrellas are traditionally designed and manufactured by umbrella makers , but today industrial mass production dominates the market.

history

The first written mention of an umbrella in Europe dates back to the year 800. At that time the Abbot Alcuin of Tours sent one to Bishop Arno of Salzburg with the words: "I will send you a protective canopy to keep the rain off your venerable head."

Apart from such rare exceptions, there is no evidence until the late 17th century that umbrellas made of waterproof material were used as rain protection. The early history of the umbrella is therefore actually that of the parasol .

The Parisian merchant Jean Marius invented a lighter and collapsible umbrella, which soon became a fashionable accessory for women. In the rainier England, on the other hand, the umbrella did not catch on in the 18th century because it was considered "French" and was also used by men as a sign of "feminization". And even in the more rural areas of the German-speaking area, it took well into the 19th century for umbrellas to gain acceptance.

At the beginning of the 19th century, umbrellas were also in vogue that were to be used as lightning protection with the help of a metal earthing strap , but their protection promises were of a very dubious nature.

The first attempts at the collapsible umbrella, which takes up as little space as possible when not in use, were made in the late 17th century. Only one variant was able to prevail, the 1928 from the Bergassessor a. D. Hans Haupt from Breslau was invented. He patented the model in 1930 and named it Knirps . From 1932, Bremshey & Co. took over the series production of what would later become the most famous German umbrella brand, and later the brand was sold to the Doppler company in Austria . Production in Germany was stopped in 1999. After years of stagnation in sales , Doppler relied on innovative high-tech, design and lightweight materials and was able to achieve increasing sales figures again.

One of the most important umbrella manufacturers in the Federal Republic of Germany was Heinrich Zangenberg GmbH & Co. KG in Wallenhorst , which was founded in Osnabrück in 1876 . In 1962 the umbrella manufacturer's annual production was 1.1 million umbrellas. 450 employees produced the umbrellas on an assembly line.

In 2007, 25 million umbrellas were sold over the counter in Germany, only 50,000 of which came from local production, today mainly produced in the Far East . China supplies around 98% of all umbrellas offered. In China, umbrellas used to be made from bamboo poles and oil paper . Today umbrellas are made of impregnated cotton, plastic or nylon with extendable steel rods.

Types

Umbrellas made of straw at the Kemak in Atsabe / East Timor (1968/70)

Umbrellas can be differentiated according to the following aspects:

Number of segments

  • 8 segments are common, but 6, 7, 10, 12 or 16 segments can also be found. As the number of segments increases, the umbrella becomes more and more "round" and, as additional struts are installed, it becomes heavier and more stable.

Basic types

  • Long umbrella (also known as “long”): umbrella with rods that cannot be folded and whose pole cannot be telescoped.
  • Pocket umbrella: small foldable and telescopic umbrella. A mini pocket umbrella is a small pocket umbrella with a stick that can be telescoped several times and the rods can be folded or pushed together several times. A mini pocket umbrella that measures less than 8 inches when folded is called a piccolo umbrella.

Special umbrella types

  • All-weather umbrella (en-tout-Cas): Combinations of sun and umbrella are called en-tout-cas or all-weather umbrella. Particularly large all-weather umbrellas are also known as protective umbrellas and are particularly used in open-air catering.
  • Golf umbrella: large and sunproof umbrella with a straight handle - can be stuck directly into the lawn and is protected from damage to the covering in the golf bag
  • Fishing umbrella: permanent rainproof, very large, can be stuck in the ground
  • Stroller umbrella: mostly attached with a gooseneck , is used in particular to shade sunlight.
  • Trekking umbrella: light umbrella for hikes with special functions (e.g. hand-free use)
  • Luggage umbrella: Long umbrellas whose tip and handle can be unscrewed for storage (e.g. in the trunk or on air travel)
  • Self-defense umbrella: made sturdy so that it can be used as a punch or lever weapon
  • Bridal umbrella
  • Artist screen
  • Motif screen
  • Support umbrella (as a substitute for a stick )
  • Asymmetrical umbrella: extremely wind-stable thanks to the asymmetrical canopy

Special forms

  • Pagoda umbrella
  • Bell umbrella
  • Double cap visor
  • Heart screen

Special sizes

  • Children's umbrella: smaller diameter and in some cases special safety precautions (e.g. highly reflective colors)
  • Porter or guest umbrella: Large umbrellas for several people, for example to guide people to or from the car.

Opening systems

  • Easy hand opening that requires two hands. One hand holds the umbrella by the handle while the other hand pushes the slider up along the stick until the umbrella is stretched and the slider engages with the spring catch
  • Automatic umbrellas can be opened with one hand. A helical compression spring serves as an opening aid - when folded, the canopy mechanism is held with a hook that is released by pressing a button. Automatic umbrellas are available as long and pocket umbrellas.
  • Fully automatic umbrellas can be extended, opened and relaxed again at the push of a button. The tension springs are tensioned again when they are mechanically pushed together.

Uses

  • Advertising space: Umbrellas are used as advertising material and promotional gifts. If given away, they function as mobile outdoor advertising.
  • Decoration and architecture: Umbrellas are used, for example, for architectural installations or to decorate shop windows in a creative way.
  • Art, dance and theater: umbrellas are also used in some art installations, as well as theater and dance performances.
  • Demonstrations: Umbrellas are sometimes used at demonstrations to either spread messages or to protect against the effects of violence (e.g. pepper spray). He is known for this, among other things, through the protests in Hong Kong in 2014 .
  • Construction sites: Construction workers protect themselves in shafts or building pits, for example when splicing telephone cables , power cables or pipes, from rain that can damage the workmanship.

Weak points

When umbrellas wear out, they need to be repaired particularly frequently in the following areas:

  • Renew spokes approx. 30%
  • Renew slider approx. 25%
  • Replace rivets approx. 20% (hollow rivets against solid rivets, for a better hold)
  • Renew ball points and other sewing work approx. 15%
  • other minor repairs, renew top, change center spring, replace fork hook, etc. approx. 10%
Upside down umbrella during Hurricane Sandy in New York City .

In particular, filigree umbrellas can turn inside out when a strong wind catches in the concave bay of the underside of the umbrella, which can sometimes lead to total failure due to kinks in the spokes. Such an inverted umbrella has been a graphic symbol for strong winds since Struwwelpeter at the latest . Umbrellas are so cheap in the metropolises of the west that after a stormy rain in the centers of western cities, numerous broken umbrellas are stuck in the rubbish bins.

Position and orientation

If the person wearing the umbrella is moving or if the raindrops do not fall vertically, but rather at an angle, it is advisable to hold the umbrella with its center of gravity slightly at an angle in front of (and above) the body in order to keep the areas to be protected dry (e.g. Hair, face, hands, clothing, cargo or a mobile phone ). This position achieves the largest possible effective area in terms of preventing raindrops, since the screen surface is held at right angles to the streamlines of the drops.

An umbrella can be held comfortably and with little effort if the vector sum of wind force and gravity can be supported in the holding hand without a tilting moment having to be compensated for by the holding hand. The curvature of the canopy surface creates a lift due to the wind blowing from the side. The resulting buoyancy makes it easier to carry as it directly counteracts gravity.

The shape of the handle is also relevant for the stability. A typical variant for the handle is a rod that either runs straight axially or, typically 180-200 °, extends in a circular shape. Another widespread alternative is the classic knob. Some handles also have a hand strap that can also be used to hold them. The haptics of the handle should improve the good adhesion. High friction values ​​are achieved through the use of a specific material (e.g. rubber) or a specific surface structure (e.g. grain or transverse grooves). Longitudinal grooves (or seams of a cover made of leather or plastic) also support the swinging, low-friction swinging of the umbrella, which oscillates in the walking direction. This swinging movement occurs especially when walking briskly or when using the umbrella as a walking stick.

If a screen is used against wetting by drifting fog, it is advisable to keep the screen surface approximately in a vertical plane in order to keep away from the user the fog drops arriving approximately horizontally with the wind. Shepherds in the Pyrenees use quite large umbrellas for this, which are placed on the shoulder with a stick or placed on the ground with an umbrella and stick. Anglers are also exposed to incoming dew as fog, especially at night.

Umbrellas can also be tucked into the ground to provide protection from horizontal precipitation

Illustrations

Details

Ball points

Choice of different spoke / ball tips With B and D the spoke tips can be bundled and closed with a slide cap

The connection of the umbrella cover with the spoke ends is done with a seam in the spoke tips. Different types of tips are used for this. The material ranges from simple wire via injection - sleeves and plastic and wood.

  • A: An example of a "cheap product" is the hole in the spoke
  • B: chrome ball point
  • C: blackened ball point
  • D: plastic tip (holds 2 spoke ends each)
  • E: enlarged plastic ball tips (safety tips) on a children's umbrella

Umbrella art

360 ° panorama under an open umbrella Show
as spherical panorama

Others

"Parapluie" occurs in some Austrian place names: Parapluieberg can be found in Bairisch-Kölldorf , Perchtoldsdorf and Retz . In Vienna there is a Parapluie pond, in Lilienfeld there is a mountain mugel called Parapluie .

The use of umbrellas was seen as incompatible with the appearance of "tough men". The Prussian State Railways expressly forbade the use of umbrellas when officials were in uniform. The same was true of the military.

Individual evidence

  1. a b Cf. Christoph Landolt : Why the German-speaking Swiss are out and about with a parasol in rainy weather . In: Wortgeschichten from November 16, 2016, ed. from the editors of the Swiss Idiotikon .
  2. Alcuin letter no. 207 from the year 800. The relevant passage is in the last paragraph: "Misi caritati tuae tria munuscula: tentorium, quod venerandum caput tuum defendat ab imbribus;" The letter is kept in the Harleian Collection in London. Information from Dr. Max Theseberger, 2012.
  3. a b The history of the umbrella and its social consequences
  4. Johann Conrad Gütle : General safety rules for everyone during thunderstorms, in the absence of a lightning rod to avoid the dangers of lightning. 1805.
  5. Brands of the Century ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. tot @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.marken-des-jahrhunderts.de
  6. A classic rebirth
  7. Manager magazine: Whenever it rains
  8. ↑ Practical test of the hiking magazine ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 676 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wandermagazin.de
  9. real self-defense screen
  10. Voluntary self- disclosure (e-mail; as of September 28, 2010) from the Schirmhaus-Doppler specialist trade ( memento of the original from March 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. without claim of completeness @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / schirmhaus-doppler.de
  11. Kyo Wagasa page engl.
  12. ^ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Journal of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of March 31, 1906, No. 17. Announcement No. 154, p. 152.

Web links

Wiktionary: umbrella  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : (rain) umbrellas  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Exotic