ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,317,977, issued on June 3.

"Tilt mechanisms and actuators for umbrellas" was invented by Zhun-An Ma (Ningbo, China).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A patio umbrella that includes a tilt mechanism for adjusting a shade angle of the umbrella canopy. The umbrella canopy can be opened and closed by a crank and spool mechanism. The tilt mechanism can be controlled by an actuator that operates independently of the crank and spool mechanism. The actuator can be mounted on the upright pole of the patio umbrella."

The patent was filed on Dec. 27, 2021, under Application No. 17/646,132.

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