Patent Application
20120320606
©2011 Aria Enterprises, Inc. A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR §1.71(d).
This disclosure relates to lamp shades and, in particular, to a lamp shade made of multiple sheets joined to envelop a lamp assembly and provided with a two-sided aperture through which sections of opposite surfaces of the glass enclosure portion of the lamp assembly protrude to hold it in place within the envelope.
Conventional lamp shades are typically made of metal or cloth in cylindroid shapes and are configured with mounting hardware to conceal a light bulb without completely covering or contacting it. Concealing the light bulb is often accomplished by insertion of the free ends of a metal harp into a harp bottom mounted on a lamp base. A lamp shade having a spider provided with a center hole receives a mounting post located at the apex of the harp and, with use of a mounting screw, is secured to the harp and thereby to the lamp base to encompass the light bulb without touching it.
Lamp covers, such as a lamp cover of a type described in U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2008/0030138, fully enclose but do not hold a lamp assembly within an interior region of the lamp cover.
A lamp shade envelops and holds a lamp assembly that includes a light bulb having an enclosure portion and a connector portion connected to a lamp socket. The lamp shade includes first and second sheets joined at opposite side margins to form an envelope with separable top and bottom side margins. Each of the first and second sheets is characterized by a rigidity property exhibiting an elastic restorative force that urges together the top and the bottom side margins of the joined first and second sheets in the absence of a lamp assembly positioned between them. First and second spatially aligned openings in the respective first and second sheets form a two-sided lamp shade aperture from which sections of the enclosure portion protrude when the lamp assembly is positioned within an interior space between and is enveloped by the joined first and second sheets. The two-sided lamp aperture has an aperture size that contributes to sizes of the protruding sections and encompasses the enclosure portion with the result that the first and second sheets bend around the enclosure portion to expand the envelope to a convex shape and the elastic restorative force holds the enclosure portion in place within the interior space. The first and second sheets have exterior surfaces on which user-customized decorative artistic patterns can be placed.
Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
Sheets 12 and 14 are made of material that is characterized by a rigidity property exhibiting an elastic restorative force that urges top side margins 24 and 26 together and bottom side margins 28 and 30 together to a relaxed operational state (
Lamp assembly 44 includes a light bulb 60 that has a spherical glass enclosure portion 62 and a connector portion 64. In the embodiments shown, glass enclosure portion 62 is of spherical shape but can be of any uniform shape. Light bulb 60 is of a low-heat emitting type because lamp shade 10 is in direct contact with glass enclosure portion 62. High-heat emitting bulbs may cause melting, discoloration, or burning of certain materials of which sheets 12 and 14 are made. Preferred low-heat emitting bulbs include low voltage (decorative) incandescent, compact fluorescent, or light-emitting diode bulbs.
A light bulb socket 66 receives connector portion 64 of light bulb 60 and 120 VAC power cord 68. Lamp assembly 44 can be inserted into space 50 of lamp shade 10 through either its top side or bottom side and positioned to seat glass enclosure portion 62 in openings 36 and 38 of the respective sheets 12 and 14. Opposite side surface sections 62s36 and 62s38 of enclosure portion 62 protrude through the respective openings 36 and 38 of two-sided lamp shade aperture 40, as shown in
The purpose of interior layers 12i and 14i of the respective first and second sheets 12 and 14 is to diffuse light evenly and provide a safe contact point to low-heat light bulbs. Interior layers 12i and 14i are made of material exhibiting light diffusion, semi-stiffness, and heat resistance properties. Interior layers 12i and 14i are translucent so that light emitted from light bulb 60 transmits through sheets 12 and 14 in a substantially even diffused glow while connector portion 64 and light bulb socket 66 remain invisible to observers viewing exterior layers 12e and 14e of lamp shade 10. The semi-stiffness properties provide the interior layer material with sufficient flexibility to bend around the enclosure portion and sufficient stiffness to maintain the convex shape and hold the weight of lamp assembly 44. The interior layer material includes one of styrene plastic (preferably with pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to the surfaces confronting exterior layers 12e and 14e), fiberglass (preferably vinyl coated), Duratrans™ (typically polyethylene terephthalete (PET)) sheet, or any other material providing the above-noted properties. Interior layers 12i and 14i exhibit low flammability and heat resistance properties. Low flammability (certified or tested by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL)) protects against one or both of fire caused by extremely prolonged use and sparking caused by faulty electrical wiring, and heat resistance prevents melting or discoloration after prolonged contact with low-wattage incandescent light bulbs (15-25 W) or compact fluorescent light bulbs (10-20 W). A preferred thickness range of interior layers 12i and 14i is between about 0.4 mm and about 1.25 mm.
The purpose of exterior layers 12e and 14e is to provide a aesthetic patterns, graphics, color, or texture on the exterior surfaces. Exterior layers 12e and 14e are made of material exhibiting light diffusion properties and decoration suitability. Exterior sheets 12e and 14e are made of translucent material that allows transmission of diffused light and have outer surfaces that add color, texture, decorative patterning, or increased light diffusion. Exterior layers 12e and 14e are thin, within a thickness range of about 0.07 mm and about 0.1 mm.
Layers 12i and 12e of sheet 12m and layers 14i and 14e of sheet 14m can be joined in any one of several ways. An adhesive material certified for low flammability may be applied to the confronting surfaces of layers 12i and 12e and the confronting surfaces of layers 14i and 14e. A pressure-sensitive adhesive material would normally be applied to the exterior sheet-confronting surfaces of layers 12i and 14i. A thermo-set adhesive material could also be used. Depending on the type of material, heat welding may be used to join the layers of sheets 12m and 14m. Exterior layers 12e and 14e are made of decorative translucent material and include one of graphic-printed vellum; synthetic papers; wood veneer certified for lighting; polyethylene (PE) foam sheet; rigidized textiles; colored, translucent PET film; bark-cloth; muslin; silk; or any other material providing the above-noted properties.
The following are three examples of numerous possible embodiments of light shade 10.
Two sheets of 0.8 mm-thick resin-impregnated fiberglass, such as Synskin or FRP fiberglass, are fastened together at the two side margins by minimal sewn stitching (straight-line, white thread). The random glass fiber pattern creates a pleasing aesthetic pattern similar to that of Asian ‘Shoji’ screens and lanterns, while the milky white sheets allow transmission of some amount of light through them and give an overall even diffusion of light. The resin or adhesive used to impregnate/bind/stiffen the fiberglass sheets is certified flame-resistant. The stiffness of the sheets can be controlled by the type and amount of binding resin used.
Two thin (interior layer) sheets of 0.4-mm thick polystyrene with pressure-sensitive adhesive are pressed and adhered to different ones of separate (exterior layer) sheets of ultra-thin (0.5 mm) wood veneer. The two two-layer sheets are then fastened together at the two side margins with six rivets on each side. The wood veneer gives an aesthetically pleasing texture and diffused light pattern through the variation in wood grain. The polystyrene layer of each two-layer sheet helps increase stiffness, diffuse light, and provide a bulb-contact surface other than the wood. The inside surface of the wood veneer may need to be covered with a flame-resistant coating to pass UL testing.
Two (interior layer) sheets of 0.8-mm thick polystyrene with pressure-sensitive adhesive are pressed and adhered to the backs of different ones of separate (exterior layer) sheets of vellum paper. The vellum paper has graphic prints applied to the exterior surfaces through a printing process. The two two-layer sheets are then fastened together at the two side margins with decorative sewn stitching (zig-zag or x's in colored thread) on each side. The graphic print on vellum provides an aesthetically pleasing pattern and color variation but continues to allow transmission of diffused light through the lamp shade. The polystyrene layer provides all the stiffness and diffuses the light.
It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.
