Patent Application
20060054760
The present invention is generally directed to storage devices, and more particularly to a device for holding, protecting, storing, and/or shipping string lights commonly used in the adornment of trees and buildings.
Decorative lights typically adorn trees and buildings during the winter holiday season and are then removed and stored until the next year or next occasion of use. Original packaging is generally not reusable or not easy to reuse. Storing lights often leads to tangling, twisting and bending. Bulbs may become dislodged or break. Lights may be exposed to atmospheric contaminants, such as dust, and prone to damage from bugs and water, or they may be bumped, dropped, or crushed during storing and moving.
Traditionally, lights were only popularly formed in linear strings. However, newer forms of lights, including icicle lights, net lights, and rope lights, although provide the users with more decorative options, they have added to the problems. For instance, icicle lights and net lights more easily become entangled and lose their natural form, and rope lights can twist, bend, and break, making their storage after use more difficult. In addition, since these lights are folded or coiled into compact boxes for shipping, their use is very difficult as the user must first spread or stretch the lights into more manageable natural forms. Often the lights retain their folded or coiled shape due to memory, making the task of decorating, for example, a bush or tree, cumbersome.
Conventional devices for holding lights suffer from various drawbacks. The devices are not suitable for holding icicle lights, net lights, and/or rope lights, lack simplicity in design or use, and are not designed for holding, protecting, storing, and/or shipping of lights without entangling, twisting, bending, or breaking. Many of the devices are only designed for holding the traditional linear-string lights. Examples of devices for holding lights are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,641,075; 5,676,250; 5,695,148; 5,762,311; 5,868,334; 5,924,570; 5,957,401; 6,237,769 B1; 6,431,489 B1; and 6,467,623 B1.
In view of the drawbacks associated with conventional devices, there is a need in the industry for a simple, versatile device for holding, protecting, storing, and/or shipping of lights, including linear-string lights, icicle lights, net lights, and rope lights, without entangling, twisting, bending, or breaking.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device which overcomes the drawbacks associated with conventional devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is versatile in that it can hold linear-string lights, icicle lights, net lights, and rope lights, individually or collectively in various combinations thereof.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device which holds lights, protects lights, and facilitates the storing and shipping of lights, without entangling, twisting, bending, and/or breaking.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a device which is simple in design and easy to use. In particular, the device can be easily carried up a ladder and the lights unwound therefrom by simply rotating while holding in one hand to decorate, for example, a home with icicle lights.
Yet an additional object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows for easy and convenient storage of decorative lights, particularly the icicle lights, rope lights, and/or net lights, after their use. The lights can be easily stored for later use without entangling, breaking, or twisting. The lights so stored can be very easily taken out from the device in substantially straight, untangled form for immediate use.
One of the above objects is met, in part, by the present invention, which in one aspect includes a device for holding a string-like member, including a housing with an inside member for winding a string-like member thereabout, and a plurality of hangers extending outwardly from the housing.
Another aspect of the present invention includes a device for holding a light string, which includes a generally cylindrical housing with a side opening for guiding a first light string thereinto. The housing includes an inside bottom projection for winding the first light string thereabout for storage. A plurality of angularly equilaterally spaced hangers extend outwardly from the exterior of the housing for holding a second light string. The second light string includes a plurality of icicle-light strands connected to a common strand. The second light string can be wound about the housing in a manner that the common strand is supported on the hangers and the icicle-light strands hang freely therefrom.
Another aspect of the present invention includes a containment unit for shipping and storing a light string, which includes a device for holding a light string, and an enclosure for housing the device. The enclosure includes an inside member for immobilizing the device within the enclosure.
One of the above and other objects, novel features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s) of invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
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Preferably six hangers 16, each of four inches in length, extend outwardly from the housing 10, and are generally angularly equilaterally spaced from one another (
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A linear-light such as a rope light RL, may easily be guided into the housing 10 through the side opening 34, to be wound or wrapped around the projection 36 for storage. In this manner, the rope-light RL retains its natural form and is kept protected inside the housing 10.
The dimensions of the enclosure E are large enough to enclose the holding device HD and the lights therein. Preferably, the enclosure E is twenty inches in length, twenty inches in width, and twenty-four inches tall. The enclosure E includes an inside male projection 42, which may be integrally formed with the enclosure E, or may be separately formed and then disposed or attached to the bottom 44 thereof (
From the above, it can be observed that the holding device HD can be easily used to, for example, i) store the rope light RL inside the housing 10 by winding around the female projection 36, and ii) support the icicle light string IL on the hangers 16 by winding about the top end portion 20 of the housing. The housing 10 may then be immobilized inside the enclosure E, in the manner discussed above, to be ready for shipping. As noted above, during shipping both the icicle and rope lights would remain in their natural, untangled form.
In order to gain access, a user simple lifts the holding device HD out by grasping the handle 12. Since the lights remain untangled, the user can simple immediately start to decorate a structure, such as the roof of a home, by hoisting the holding device HD up a ladder by a Bungee cord, and unwind the icicle light string IL by gently rotating the housing 10 and laying atop the roof. In this manner, the user simply unwinds the icicle light IL as it is being placed on the roof. Once one or more of the icicle light strings IL are completely removed from the housing 10, the user can gently pull out the rope light RL from inside and through the opening 34 therein to further decorate the same or another structure.
After use, the icicle light string IL and rope light RL can be stored in the housing 10 that can be placed back inside the enclosure E for future use. As can be seen, the holding device HD of the present invention makes it fast and easy to store various decorative lights, keeps the lights protected and in untangled, untwisted form, and allows for easy decoration of a structure.
While this invention has been described as having preferred sequences, ranges, steps, materials, structures, components, features, and/or designs, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following in general the principle of the invention, and including such departures from the present disclosure as those come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the central features hereinbeforesefforth and fall within the scope of the invention and of the limits of the appended claims.
