Penguin loaded his with poison gas. The CIA is reputed to have issued ricin-tipped umbrellas to cold-war agents for use in assassination attempts. An umbrella can do more than just keep the water off your head. Could they be used for good, as well as evil?
Ok, if you search the halfbakery and you will find quite a few ideas for umbrellas loaded with functionality. Laser Umbrella and Radio Umbrella are two good examples. This idea is a little different in that I propose a line of accessories that are clipped, screwed, velcroed and tied on to your ordinary, everyday umbrella. Or, perhaps, to an inexpensive, ordinary-looking umbrella with a general purpose battery compartment in the handle.
Simple: * a flashlight / torch * a magnetic or gummy tip for picking up stuff * a hook * a mosquito net!
Advanced: * a small radio that uses the umbrella as an antenna (I like that one) * a small television: same
James Bond: * a clip-on microphone and plastic insert(s) for high power directional microphone spy-gear.
Ideas, halfbakers?-- EvilHomer, Apr 15 2003 Flashlight umbrella http://shop.innerci...ect/product171.htmlQuite common. [waugsqueke, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Autoretracting umbrella gadget - Standard umbrellas open quickly enough, but take a while to furl. My accessory idea is simple - pieces of string.
One piece is a grip loop on the slider. It's much easier to grip and pull back hard on a loop than a slider.
The second kind is a long elastic string that is attached at the center of each section at the perifery. The other end of the thin and very elastic loop is attached to the opposite side, deviating clockwise around the spike. There are therefore half as many strings as fabric sections. When the umbrella closes, the elastic retracts, automatically furling the fabric around the stem.
In short, a single action closes and furls the umbrella.-- FloridaManatee, Apr 15 2003 Backpack umbrella - I have often been caught out in a flash downpour while wearing a rucksack but not rain gear. The problem is if the rucksack is heavy, it is difficult to delve into the pack for waterproofs or an umbrella and difficult to run for cover.
My gadget is an impromptu covering built into top of the rucksack. The covering is trapezoid in shape. The smaller side is sewn onto the rucksack. The cover is then rolled up and tags at two remaining corners are clipped down with press studs. The tags are attached to the fabric by a swivel.
When the heavens open, you reach behind your shoulders to the tabs, pop them out and pull out the cover over your head. Not over and down, but outwards, as is natural for sheletering under a sheet of fabric.-- FloridaManatee, Apr 15 2003 Utility umbrella system - I own a cane handled silk covered Briggs Traveller, perhaps the finest example of the umbrella makers art. At 300 pounds sterling, it bl**dy well ought to be.
In order to pack into a suitcase, the tip and handle detach. There is also a compartment in the shaft for a long thin whisky flask.
I suggest using the shaft compartment for a custom fitted rechargeable 12V lithium battery, surrounded by a bundle of generic signal wires. The handle could contain switchgear and electronics and the tip an electrical/ electronic gadget of choice. By changing the handle and tip, any system could be accomodated.
This is essentially [EH]'s original concept in a formalized/ generic structure so that all clip-ons will fit the same shaft/ cover assembly.-- FloridaManatee, Apr 15 2003 If the underside of the umbrella had a reflective coating you might be able to have a battery operated heater.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Apr 15 2003 sp. accessories-- po, Apr 15 2003 Happiness is a warm umbrella-- thumbwax, Apr 15 2003 random, halfbakery