Parts of a Patio Umbrella – Labeled Diagram

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Center-pole umbrella 10

Canopy Let it dry fully open before it is stored.
Finial It screws onto the top of the frame.
Wind vent Most useful on a large umbrella or in an open, windy place.
Ribs Each rib's tip sits in a pocket at the canopy's edge. The rib is the part that breaks most often.
Stretchers As the hub goes up the pole they push the ribs out.
Hub (runner) Up opens the umbrella, down closes it. On a hand umbrella it is called the runner.
Tilt joint This kind tilts while you press its button. Others tilt by twisting a collar or by cranking further.
Crank handle It winds a cord that runs up inside the pole.
Pole It runs through the middle of the canopy. It stands in a table or a base.
Base Too light a base is a common cause of tipping.

Cantilever umbrella 1

Arm That leaves the shade clear, with no pole in the middle.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where two sources use it: a patio umbrella maker's assembly manuals for a crank-and-tilt market umbrella and an offset umbrella, read as archive.org full text (https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5808855 and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5896599: canopy, finial, pole, crank handle, tilt button, base, rib, hub, arm), an umbrella seller's frame repair and restringing guides and a second seller's buying guide (rib, finial, upper and lower hub, rib tips and pockets, crank handle, cord and pulley, pole, base, wind vent, tilt, cantilever arm), Wikipedia, Umbrella (text only: canopy, ribs, pole, stretchers, runner) and How Products Are Made, Umbrella (https://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Umbrella.html: ribs, stretchers, runner). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's umbrella, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A center-pole patio umbrella from the side, with half the canopy taken away to show the frame that opens it. Below it is a cantilever umbrella, whose pole stands to one side.

Read the full guide

From the finial down

Numbers 1 to 5 are the top: the canopy, the finial and wind vent above it, and the ribs and stretchers under it. Numbers 6 to 10 go down the pole: the hub that slides to open the umbrella, the tilt joint, the crank handle, the pole itself and the base. Number 11 is the arm of the cantilever umbrella.

Take the umbrella down in high wind and whenever it is not in use.
A larger canopy, an open patio or a cantilever umbrella needs a heavier base.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a patio umbrella called?

From the top: the finial, the wind vent and the canopy, held out by ribs and stretchers from a hub on the pole. Lower on the pole are the tilt joint and the crank handle, and the pole stands in a weighted base.

What is the top of a patio umbrella called?

The knob at the very top is the finial; it screws onto the top of the frame. Just under it many canopies have a wind vent, an opening near the top that lets air pass through.

How does a patio umbrella crank work?

The crank handle winds a cord that runs up inside the pole and over pulleys to the hubs. Turning it one way opens the canopy; turning it the other way closes it.

What is a cantilever umbrella?

An umbrella whose pole stands to one side. An arm holds the canopy out from the pole, so there is no pole in the middle of the shade. It is also called an offset umbrella.