Patent Application
20120206925
The present invention generally relates to an improved lampshade construction and, more particularly, to a collapsible lampshade kit for fabricating a lampshade from a plurality of ready-to-assembly parts without special tools wherein the parts can be stored or shipped in a compact or collapsed condition.
Structurally rigid cylindrical lampshades (or display structures) incur higher shipping and storage costs due to their large volume and inability to “nest” in the manner of conical type lampshades. Structurally rigid cylindrical lampshade structures require shipping containers equal to at least the volume of a fully assembled single lampshade structure itself. Typically, shipping containers are created with additional volume so as to absorb possible intrusion into the container without damaging or deforming the lampshade structure itself, which is a naturally lightweight and delicate structure. In addition to the greater material and warehousing costs in shipping, a significant amount of labor is involved with assembling large containers and securing the lampshade structure in the container cavity with packing material.
Additionally, retail stores and distributors incur extra cost in the space requirement necessary in stocking cylindrical lamp shades compared to nesting, conical type lampshades. The manufacture of conventional rigid cylindrical lampshades requires mechanically fastening sheet material to one or more rigid hoops by applying adhesive or other mechanical means before the product is complete and saleable.
Currently available collapsible tubular structures in use for displays and lampshades employ rigid infrastructures that require mechanical fastening to the flexible sheet material that forms the diffuser. In some products, the rigid infrastructures used in existing collapsible tubular structures are segmented and disassemblable, thereby requiring reassembly by the end user. Reassembly, heretofore requires manipulating multiple parts in constructing the infrastructure and followed by the mechanical fastening of the infrastructure to the flexible sheet material.
Other collapsible tubular structures dispense altogether with a supportive infrastructure and, instead, rely solely on the structure of the flexible sheet material. These types of tubular structures, however, are limited to small diameters or rely on necessarily thicker flexible sheet material to compensate for the lack of supporting infrastructure. Thicker sheet materials have an increased opacity and generally preclude its use as a light-diffusing lampshade.
The present invention is directed to a lampshade system containing collapsible parts that can be readily assembled into a tubular diffuser structure such as a lampshade. The invention is based in part on the development of a kit that includes a collapsible, semi-flexible sheet of material with pre-fastened magnetic strip that is adapted to magnetically adhered to one or more collapsible spring steel strip hoop(s). Upon to being secured to the hoop(s), the sheet of material forms the cover of a semi-rigid tubular structure such as a lampshade. Currently available collapsible tubular structures in use for displays and lampshades that employ support structure that is analogous to the skeletal infrastructure of the collapsible spring steel hoops used in conjunction with magnetic attachment of the present invention.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to a lampshade that includes:
a support hoop; and
a lamp cover made of a flexible material that forms a continuous, open-ended configuration having an edge that is secured to the support hoop by magnetic means.
In another aspect, the invention, the a lampshade that includes:
an upper support hoop;
a lower support hoop;
a lamp cover formed of flexible material and having a tubular-shaped structure with upper and lower perimeters, wherein the upper perimeter is secured to the upper support hoop by first magnetic means and the lower perimeter is secured to the lower support hoop by second magnetic means, such as a magnetic strip that is affixed to the lower perimeter, wherein the lamp cover is self-supporting; and
a mounting hub connected to the upper support hoop by a plurality of support members.
In a further aspect, the invention is directed to a kit for forming a collapsible lampshade that includes:
a lamp cover formed of a sufficiently rigid material that is stable on a longitudinal axis and has an expanded configuration in the form of a continuous, open-ended structure having an edge; and
a support hoop that is formed of a collapsible metal strip wherein the support hoop is dimensioned to be secured to the edge of the lamp cover by magnetic means.
The collapsible lampshade structure employs of a flexible spring metal strip hoop in conjunction with magnetic strips that are pre-fastened to the flexible sheet material as the means of both reducing shipping volume and providing a simple method of assembly for the end-user. In a preferred embodiment, the magnetic attraction by the pre-fastened magnetic strips is the sole means of fastening the shade to the support hoop and the diffuser structure in creating a semi-rigid hollow structure. Indeed, no longitudinally extending support member(s) connecting the upper and lower support hoops are required to maintain the lamp covers as self-supporting.
The components of the lampshade kit 2 in an expanded or unfolded configuration with the pre-assembled parts as shown in
Diffuser 10, which defines an aperture in the middle, is preferably made of a stretch fabric on the exterior that is supported by an internal inner spring steel support loop 12 and an internal outer spring steel support loop 14. Each of the inner and outer support loops is preferably constructed of sufficiently flexible material so that the diffuser is collapsible. The metal socket collar 40 has four threaded female holes that accommodate four corresponding machine thread on the proximal ends of spokes 20. Finally, spring steel support hoop 30 includes four sleeves 32 sized to accommodate the distal ends of spokes 20. The support loop is also fabricated of sufficiently flexible so as to be collapsible. As is apparent, both the internal outer spring support loop 14 of diffuser 10 and the support hoop 30 is made of a ferromagnetic material in order to engage the magnetic strips, which are commercially available from Adams Magnetic Products Co. (Irvine Calif.).
In assembling the lampshade from the kit, the end-user has merely to expand the spring steel hoop(s) by an un-twisting motion and wrap the flexible sheet 4 material with pre-fastened magnetic strips 6, 8 around the circumference of the upper and lower inner surface of hoop 30. No tools or fasteners are necessary to complete the assembly. As shown in
As shown in
The foregoing has described the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed. Thus, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and it should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
