A Compact Umbrella (K.U.D)

This umbrella design is very unique because it was designed to cover the customer as they get out and in of a vehicle on a rainy day. It's a modified umbrella that can help anyone, especially business people who are in need to get to their destination dry and presentable.

The way the umbrella works is that if you are inside the car, trying to get out, you would open the top canopy by pulling up. There is no need to open the car door, since it will be made to fit inside your car. When you open the top canopy and it's fully open, it will be covering you once you open the door. Once the top canopy has been opened, that's when you can open your car door without being worried of getting wet, since it will be covering you as you step out. As you are half way out of your vehicle, that's when you will open the bottom canopy as you would open a normal umbrella. Once you have opened the second canopy, you can fully get out because it would have formed the shape and size of a regular umbrella.

When getting back inside the vehicle, both canopies would be open, in order to get inside your car without getting wet, you will open your car, close the bottom canopy FIRST, leaving the top open, get in your vehicle and once securely inside you will be able to close the top without getting wet.

Materials Needed:

- Two Umbrella's (manual)

- Scissors

- Sewing Kit

- Hammer

- Pliers

- Super Glue

Remove the material of both umbrellas from the corners. Do this but also assure to not ruin the material as much, since it will be needed in the future steps. There will be a screwed top that will have to be screwed out, just turn it to the side, DO NOT cut the material from the middle. Once the material has been removed, set the material aside as well as the screwed cap.

Starting with one umbrella, remove half of the ribs. By doing this, you will need to undo the wrapped wire around the top cap. Do not cut, as the wire will be needed when trying to secure the ribs that are left around the cap.

Get the pliers and around the top cap where the wire of the ribs are, is a small pin inserted. That pin will either have to be hammered out of taken out with the pliers. This will help insert the second canopy inside.

Repeat this step for the second umbrella.

By doing this to the second umbrella, you will be able to remove the full canopy off the shaft.

For one of the umbrellas, remove the top cap with the ribs from the shaft. This will slide the whole canopy out. By sliding out the full canopy, this will help make it easier to remove a part of the shaft for the next step, without harming the canopy itself.

From the shaft that the canopy was taken off, cut off one part of the shaft, if possible get the top or the bottom of it. This step might require some tough scissors in order to cut through the metal. When choosing a piece of shaft to cut from the rest, make sure you get the one with the spring, that will help keep open and close the top canopy.

Once you have successfully taken out a part of the shaft, hopefully you were able to get the one with the spring, now you will place the canopy taken out of the shaft completely back into that small one. The canopy will have to be inserted upside down, this means the cap first, and then the runner. If the shaft is too long, you might have to cut it to shorten it. However, when trying to shorten it, keep in mind that a good amount will have to be left alone as the runner will need space to open and close. Once that is done, you can add the screwed top to the side closer to the runner.

Getting the small shaft with the canopy, the side of the shaft closes to the cap will be inserted to the place where the screwed cap and pin were removed. The size will vary, therefore if the shaft fits perfectly, make sure to insert it tightly to the point the pin can be inserted through both the shaft inserted and back to it's original place. This might require make a new hole, but only if necessary. If the shaft does not fit into the small space provided, you might have to hammer the small end of the shaft, to fit the size required. If this is the case, be careful to not flatten the end, instead rotate the shaft as you hammer it evenly. This will help the shaft keep a semi-circle shape and fit in.

Since the size of the ribs are the same size as the ones in the bottom, the top ones will have to be cut in size in order to make them smaller and meet our objective.

The four top ribs will have to be cut equally, leaving the ribs to be the size of 16.5 cm.

As you finish connecting the canopies, you must test the opening and closing of both before continuing.

The top canopy should be opened by pulling upwards, this canopy should stay open, maybe a little push to the spring can help. The bottom canopy should open as any other umbrella. By testing both canopies, you are able to view if by opening one canopy the other will stay or if it will close. Something that may worry you will be the movement of the ribs on the top of the canopy, that is normal into the final step has been made.

If both canopies work as they should. Then you can continue to the final step.

This step may seem easy but it might be a little confusing to do. You will get the material that you had initially removed at the beginning, and insert it to both canopies in order to close the gap and stop any movement from the top canopy.

Starting with the bottom canopy, you will sew on as if it was a regular umbrella, you will insert the opened middle of the material through the top of the first canopy. If you must take off the screwed cap, then do so, but don't forget to put it back on. Make sure the hole of the material reached the part where the canopies are connected. The material should be on the top of the ribs of the second canopy. You will follow the lines the umbrella has and only tie the ends, and one in the middle of the inside connecting the rib with the material. There will be a small hole in which you can wrap the material through. As you are doing so, also make sure to have the material holding tight. As you want to sew it back on as if it's open. Once the bottom canopy has been sewed on, you will then do the same to the top canopy, however, the material should be under the ribs this time.

Given that the ribs are shorter, you will follow the lines of the material and sew them to the ends of the shorter ribs, this will leave a huge amount of material hanging but we can worry about it later, Since the ribs had been cut off, you will need to make a tight knot using all your strength in order to be able to keep the material from sliding, however you will add super glue to it in order for it to officially stay. Keep in mind that the glue must be the strongest you can get as you wouldn't want your umbrella to undo so fast and easily. You will also sew the material to the middle section of the rib, find the nearest small hole to tie it with the material.

This requires patience and there will be times will you will have to start over, but just keep trying.

As for the left over material, you can cut it, folded to the top as an extra force, or leave it as is. There will be no problems with any of the choices you make.

And that's how you create the compact umbrella. Enjoy.