Umbrella stand

1. An umbrella stand, comprising:

a base comprising a plurality of generally upright, interconnected walls and defining a cavity therewithin;

mast receiving means operatively associated with said base;

a bladder received within said cavity and comprised of a material which will retain ballast;

ballast contained within said bladder;

a brace assembly mounted within said cavity and coupled to said generally upright walls, said mast-receiving means being mounted to said brace assembly;

whereby when a mast of an umbrella is inserted into said mast receiving means and said umbrella is raised, said ballast weighs down said base so as to maintain said umbrella in a generally upright condition.

2. The umbrella stand of claim 1 , wherein said bladder is comprised of a material which will retain water, and wherein said ballast comprises water.

3. The umbrella stand of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of panels disposed on said means defining a cavity and above said bladder so as to form an upper surface of said umbrella stand.

4. The umbrella stand of claim 3 , further comprising hinge means for joining an adjacent two of said plurality of panels.

5. The umbrella stand of claim 1 , further comprising a base strap operatively associated with said brace assembly and said generally upright walls, said base strap being operative to support a lower portion of said bladder.

6. The umbrella stand of claim 5 , wherein said generally upright walls include means defining a channel for receiving a portion of an end portion of said brace strap.

7. The umbrella stand of claim 6 ,

wherein said generally upright walls comprise an inwardly extending flange at a lower end thereof, and wherein inwardly extending flange defines a portion of said channel for receiving said end portion of said brace strap.

8. The umbrella stand of claim 1 , wherein said generally upright walls comprise an inwardly extending flange at a lower end thereof.

9. The umbrella stand of claim 1 , wherein said generally upright walls include means defining a channel for receiving a portion of an end portion of said brace assembly.

10. The umbrella stand of claim 9 ,

wherein said generally upright walls comprise an inwardly extending flange at a lower end thereof, and wherein inwardly extending flange defines a portion of said channel for receiving said end portion of said brace assembly.

11. The umbrella stand of claim 1 , wherein said bladder comprises a hole therethrough, and wherein said mast receiving means extends upward through said hole in said bladder.

12. An umbrella stand, comprising:

a base defining a cavity therewithin, said base comprising

a predetermined number of corner members; and

a corresponding predetermined number of side panels, each of said side panels having first and second ends releasably connected to a different first and second ones of said corner members;

whereby said side panels and said corner members are releasably connected to define a cavity;

mast receiving means operatively associated with said base;

a bladder received within said cavity and comprised of a material which will retain ballast; and

ballast contained within said bladder;

whereby when a mast of an umbrella is inserted into said mast receiving means and said umbrella is raised, said ballast weighs down said base so as to maintain said umbrella in a generally upright condition.

13. The umbrella stand of claim 12 , wherein said predetermined number of corner members and side panels is four.

14. The umbrella stand of claim 13 , wherein said releasably connected side panels and corner members define a rectangle.