Patent Application
20120129420
The present invention relates to an inflatable balloon, more particularly to a light-emitting inflatable balloon, which uses a holder to secure a light-emitting element inside a strip-like gas inlet of the inflatable balloon, so as to enable light emitted by the light-emitting element to pass through the strip-like gas inlet, penetrate outer surface of the inflatable balloon, and make the inflatable balloon glowing.
People participate in or organize all kinds of parties (e.g., wedding banquets, birthday parties, class reunions, etc.) to celebrate special occasions, maintain social connections, or expand social networks. In order to create a festive atmosphere and set the guests in high spirits, party organizers (hereinafter referred to as “users”) would often decorate the party venues with various decorative props. As balloons are available in a variety of shapes and colors, they are the favorite choice among users. In addition to simple balloon arrangements, some users would like to install light-emitting elements in balloons to provide further variations and increase the fun.
To satisfy the foregoing needs, light-emitting balloons were designed and developed. For example, there is a light-emitting balloon already existing in the market, whose principle and structure are described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to
The bottom surface of the support frame 13 has four tenons 131 which correspond in position to the engagement hole 120 and allow the support frame 13 to be securely engaged with the support base 12. The support frame 13 is further used to clamp and hold a button battery 132. In addition, the LED 14 is connected to the top end of the support frame 13 and receives electric power from the button battery 132 so as to emit visible light. As the visible light shines on and penetrates the surface of the inflatable ball 10, the inflatable ball 10 is turned into a light-emitting balloon. To assemble the aforesaid elements, the button battery 132 is mounted in the support frame 13, before the support frame 13, the support base 12, and the inflation valve 11 are sequentially assembled. The resultant assembly is placed into the inflation hole 101 of the inflatable ball 10. After that, the inflatable ball 10 is inflated with gas (such as helium) through the inflation hole 101 until the inflatable ball 10 is expanded to a predetermined volume. Thus, the light-emitting balloon is completed and ready for use in decoration.
However, the light-emitting balloon described above still has its disadvantages. First of all, as the inflation valve 11, the support base 12, the support frame 13, and the LED 14 are all placed in the inflatable ball 10, if there is insufficient helium gas in the inflatable ball 10, the buoyancy of the inflatable ball 10 will be smaller than the total weight of the foregoing elements, thereby preventing the inflatable ball 10 from floating in the air. Instead, the inflatable ball 10 will drop to the ground, resulting in a poor decoration effect. Secondly, when the power of the button battery 132 is exhausted, the user must take the foregoing elements out of the inflatable ball 10, remove the button battery 132 from the support frame 13 for replacement, re-assemble the foregoing elements sequentially, this time with the new button battery, and then place the assembly back into the inflatable ball 10, which is truly a laborious and time-consuming process. Furthermore, as a party venue is usually decorated with a plurality of light-emitting balloons, if the power of several of the light-emitting balloons goes out at the same time, it must take the user a lot of time to replace all the dead button batteries in the inflatable balls, which is rather inconvenient. Last but not least, due to their structural complexity, the foregoing elements of the light-emitting balloon are costly to make and require complicated processing procedures. As a result, not only is production efficiency lowered, but also the manufacturing cost is considerably increased, thus reducing the manufacturer's profitability.
Therefore, the issue to be addressed by the present invention is to overcome the aforesaid problems of the traditional light-emitting balloons and reduce the weight and complexity of their components, with a view to enhancing manufacturing efficiency and lowering production costs.
In view of the aforementioned problems, the inventor of the present invention conducted extensive research and repeated trials and finally succeeded in developing a light-emitting inflatable balloon which features structural simplicity, light weight, and hence high manufacturing efficiency.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting inflatable balloon which comprises an inflatable balloon, a strip-like gas inlet, a light-emitting element, two wires, a holder, and a power module. The inflatable balloon is constructed by two first films, wherein the peripheries of the first films are sealed together in an airtight manner to define an inflatable space in the inflatable balloon and pre-form a through hole at corresponding positions of the corresponding side edges of the two first films. The strip-like gas inlet is constructed by two strip-like transparent second films, wherein a pair of side edges of one of the two second films are sealed to the corresponding pair of side edges of the other second film in an airtight manner to define an air input channel. The strip-like gas inlet has a first end extended into the inflatable balloon to form a free end. The strip-like gas inlet also has an outer surface which is adjacent to a second end of the strip-like gas inlet and sealed to the inner surface of the through hole in an airtight manner. After the inflatable balloon is inflated and expanded, the compressed gas in the inflatable space presses on the outer surface of the strip-like gas inlet; consequently, the air input channel is tightly closed due to gas pressure and surface electrostatic interaction. Then, the light-emitting element is inserted into the air input channel of the strip-like gas inlet from outside the inflatable balloon and is electrically connected to first ends of the wires. The holder is configured to hold the light-emitting element or the wires while covering a part of the outer surface of the inflatable balloon that corresponds in position to the through hole, so that the light-emitting element is secured in the strip-like gas inlet and corresponds in position to the inflatable space. The power module is electrically connected to second ends of the wires. In short, after the inflatable space is inflated, and the air input channel is tightly shut due to gas pressure and surface electrostatic interaction, the user can insert the light-emitting element into the air input channel from outside the inflatable balloon and then use the holder to secure the light-emitting element or the wires in place. Thus, the light emitted by the light-emitting element can pass through the strip-like gas inlet, penetrate the outer surface of the inflatable balloon, and make the inflatable balloon glowing. The disclosed light-emitting inflatable balloon can be easily designed and fabricated without using complicated elements and/or processing procedures. In addition, compared with the prior art, the light-emitting inflatable balloon has more applications (e.g., to serve also as an emergency light at night), is more decorative (e.g., to provide nocturnal decoration), and provides more fun (e.g., to emit flickering light at night). Further, the manufacturing cost of the disclosed light-emitting inflatable balloon can be effectively lowered, and production efficiency substantially enhanced.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing light-emitting inflatable balloon, which further comprises a hollow sleeve. The hollow sleeve is received in the strip-like gas inlet such that the second ends of the two wires pass through a central hole of the hollow sleeve and extend out of the inflatable balloon. Moreover, the holder holds the hollow sleeve while covering a part of the outer surface of the inflatable balloon, thus securing the light-emitting element and the hollow sleeve in place. To prevent the light-emitting element from sliding into the hollow sleeve, the diameter of the central hole is smaller than the size of the light-emitting element.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide the foregoing light-emitting inflatable balloon, wherein the holder is constructed by two holding elements, each of which has one end adjacent to the inflatable balloon and extended with a bracket for supporting the inflatable balloon stably, preventing the inflatable balloon from shaking, and thereby enhancing the stability of the light-emitting inflatable balloon.
The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention provides a light-emitting inflatable balloon. Referring to
The light-emitting element 32 is a light-emitting diode (LED) and is received in the strip-like gas inlet 31. The outer periphery of the light-emitting element 32 is formed with a flange 321, and the two electrodes 322 of the light-emitting element 32 are respectively and electrically connected to the first ends of the two wires 33. The inner periphery of the holder 34 is formed with a groove 341 corresponding in position to the flange 321, so as for the holder 34 to hold the light-emitting element 32 while covering a part of the outer surface of the inflatable balloon 30 that corresponds in position to the through hole 302. Thus, by means of the holder 34, the light-emitting element 32 is stably mounted in the strip-like gas inlet 31 at a position corresponding to the inflatable space 301. In addition, the power module 35 is a handle installed with batteries 351, and the second ends of the two wires 33 are electrically connected to the power module 35 to supply electric power from the power module 35 to the light-emitting element 32.
To use the light-emitting inflatable balloon, the user firstly inserts a blowing tube (not shown) into the air input channel 311 and thereby inflates the inflatable space 301 with gas (such as helium). Once the inflatable space 301 is filled with gas and expanded to a predetermined shape or volume, the blowing tube is removed. At this time, the free end of the strip-like gas inlet 31 that is in the inflatable balloon 30 is subjected to gas pressure as well as surface electrostatic interaction and is therefore tightly sealed, as shown in
Referring again to
In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, referring to
In addition, the holder 54 is constructed by two holding elements 541, whose corresponding side surfaces are formed with two grooves 5410 respectively, wherein the grooves 5410 correspond in position to the flange 562 of the hollow sleeve 56. Besides, each holding element 541 has one end which is adjacent to the inflatable balloon 50 and extended with a bracket 5411. The holder 54 holds the hollow sleeve 56 while covering a part of the outer surface of the inflatable balloon 50; consequently, the light-emitting element 52 and the hollow sleeve 56 are stably and fixedly positioned adjacent to the second end of the strip-like gas inlet 51. The brackets 5411 are configured to support the inflatable balloon 50 stably and prevent the inflatable balloon 50 from shaking. A first end (i.e., the upper end as shown in
When it is desired to use the light-emitting inflatable balloon for decoration, the user inflates the inflatable space 501, inserts the light-emitting element 52 and the hollow sleeve 56 into the air input channel 511, and then secures the light-emitting element 52 and the hollow sleeve 56 in place with the holder 54. Once the power of the power module 55 is turned on, the light-emitting element 52 emits light which not only shines on the inner surface of the inflatable balloon 50 but also passes through the outer surface of the inflatable balloon 50 to make the light-emitting inflatable balloon glowing. Therefore, according to the design of the second preferred embodiment, the user can place a plurality of the light-emitting inflatable balloons in a party venue to decorate the place. Besides, the decorative features of the present invention will become more apparent at parties held at night. It should be noted that the power module 55 may be modified in terms of its power supply mode. For example, the power module 55 can be so configured that the light-emitting element 52 emits light in a flickering manner, thus adding to the fun of the present invention. Furthermore, the second preferred embodiment may have other applications, such as functioning as an emergency light or a sign for nighttime use.
While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
