ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 7 -- United States Patent no. 12,595,677, issued on April 7.
"Portable wind-resistant shade structure" was invented by Andrea Lynn Brouwers (Forestville, Calif.) and Robert Brouwers (Forestville, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The invention provides a portable, free-standing shade structure that is resistant to wind. The inventive shade structure can comprise a frame and a sheet, or canopy, that is connected to the frame under tension at two or more different heights to create an uneven, hypar conformation in the sheet. The uneven, hypar conformation of the sheet transfers wind force to the frame so as to press the frame against the surface upon which the shade s...