Patent Grant
12038143
The present invention is related to a light strip, and in particular, to a light strip structure facilitated for shape forming and a characteristic shaped light ornament formed from the use of the light strip.
For a currently available flexible silicone light strip, it mainly consists of a light transmissive flexible silicone, an opaque flexible silicone, LED modules and a metal wire. The LED modules and metal wires are installed on the opaque flexible silicone and then concealed inside the light transmissive flexible silicone. The LED modules emit light via the light transmissive flexible silicone with light guiding effect. The metal wire with plastic deformation capability is able to provide the plastic deformation for the light strip.
Although the currently available flexible silicone light strip is equipped with the plastic deformation capability and can be used for field laying and installation with simple bending plastic deformation, nevertheless, when it is used to construct a complicated pattern light ornament, since the metal wire used for plastic deformation is loosely installed inside the flexible wrapping material, the bending and curve precision cannot be ensured during the automated plastic deformation operation, such that it is difficult to form shapes that are relatively complicated or exquisite lighting patterns. If manual method is adopted to form complicated shapes, the work load becomes too great and the repetitive adjustments is also time consuming. In view of such drawbacks, currently available products are found to have limitations in the shape forming and styling such that they cannot be used to create a characteristic shaped light ornament easily.
In view of the above, the inventor seeks to improve and to provide an innovative design capable of overcoming the drawbacks of the currently available products by providing a light strip facilitated for shape forming that can be easily installed and secured on a light stand formed by a metal wire, in order to achieve an exquisite characteristic shaped light ornament.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a light strip facilitated for installation and positioning in order to form a characteristic shaped light ornament, such that it is able to reduce the shape formation operation difficulty significantly and to construct exquisite and complicated shape easily.
Accordingly, the light strip facilitated for shape forming of the present invention mainly adopts the technical means and structural features that the light strip main body comprises a flexible member and a light emitting assembly. The flexible member has an elongated shape and comprises a light transmissive portion and a cavity formed inside the light transmissive portion, and the cavity extends toward an extension direction of the flexible member. The light emitting assembly comprises a plurality of light emitting elements arranged spaced apart from each other inside the cavity. In addition, the flexible member further comprises a slot arranged at one side thereof and configured for clamping securement, the slot is formed between two protrusions with an recovery elasticity, and an opening of the slot is formed at one side of the slot away from the cavity; and the slot, the two protrusions and the opening extend along the extension direction of the flexible member.
Furthermore, another objective of the present invention is to allow a light strip facilitated for shape forming to be attached to a characteristic stand in order to form an exquisite shaped light ornament.
The technical means and structural features adopted by the shaped light ornament comprises a light strip facilitated for shape forming of the present invention and a stand portion. The stand portion is formed by at least one flexible shaping metal wires. In addition, the light strip uses the slot for clamping and securing to the metal wire, such that the light strip is installed and fixed to the stand portion, thereby forming a planar or three-dimensional shaped light ornament.
According to the aforementioned structure, wherein a projection of the slot in the extension direction has an arc shape, and a width of the opening of the slot is between a radius and a diameter of the slot. With such structure, the slot having an inner surface of an arc shape is able to fit to most of metal wires normally in order to establish firm clamping securement, thereby increasing the overall adaptability of the product.
According to the aforementioned structure, wherein a central angle corresponding to the opening of the slot is preferably between 60˜100 degree. With such structure, the slot can be securely clamped to the metal wire in order to prevent disengagement.
According to the aforementioned structure, wherein the flexible member further includes an appropriate light shielding portion depending upon the characteristic needs, in order to allow the light strip to emit light based on the predefined direction, such that the light strip or the shaped light ornament formed from the light strip is able to achieve diverse lighting effect. In addition, the light shielding portion may be any one of a first light shielding portion, a second light shielding portion and a third light shielding portion described in the following. The first light shielding portion is attached to one side of the light transmissive portion, and the slot is formed at the first light shielding portion. The second light shielding portion is attached to another side of the light transmissive portion opposite from the first light shielding portion. Furthermore, the third light shielding portion is attached to one side of the light transmissive portion adjacent to the first light shielding portion, and the third shielding portion is connected to the first light shielding portion and the second light shielding portion respectively.
Accordingly to the aforementioned structure, wherein the flexible member further comprises a hollow channel arranged at the light transmissive portion, in order to assist the light diffusion and to increase the buffer capability, thereby allowing the light strip to generate gentle light emitting effect and to achieve enhanced impact resistance effect for the internal light emitting assembly. In addition, the hollow channel can be arranged at another side of the cavity opposite from the slot or at another side of the cavity opposite from the third light shielding portion.
According to the aforementioned structure, wherein the light emitting assembly further comprises a conductor connected to the light emitting elements, the conductor is formed by at least one flexible conductive wire or a flexible conductive board, and the conductor penetrates into the cavity along the extension direction of the flexible member.
The present invention is able to utilize automated processing to form the metal wire with precise bending and curving in position, in order to construct a precise base stand. The entirety of the light strip is of the flexible characteristic such that it can be easily secured to the metal wire with the slot in order to complete installation and securement, thereby achieving the exquisite shaped light ornament that cannot be formed easily by existing products. In view above, it can be understood that the present invention is able to significantly reduce the shaping difficulty and has a simple structure with convenient installation, such that it can be widely applied to the formation of a characteristic shaped light ornament of complicated shape and exquisite appearance.
To further illustrate the aforementioned objectives, effects and technical features of the present invention, the following describes preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanied drawings:
Please refer to
In such basic type of structure, the flexible member 10 is formed by a light transmissive portion 11. The light transmissive portion 11 is made of a light transmissive and flexible material, such as a silicone material that is transparent and colorless or semi-transparent with a color, in order to form a flexible silicone strip/belt with elasticity and recovery capability. The internal of the light transmissive portion 11 includes a cavity 12, and the cavity 12 has an elongated shape identical to the extension direction of the flexible member 10. In addition, the flexible member 10 includes a slot 14 formed at one side thereof. The slot 14 is formed between two protrusions 141 with an recovery elasticity and used for clamping and securing to a metal wire 30. In addition, the opening 142 of the slot 14 is formed at one side of the slot 14 away from the cavity 12.
In addition, the slot 14, the two protrusions 141 and the opening 142 extend along the extension direction of the flexible member 10.
The light emitting assembly 20 comprises a plurality of light emitting elements 21 arranged spaced apart from each other inside the cavity 12 and a conductor for connecting the light emitting elements 21. The light emitting elements 21 mainly refer to small size LED modules. In this embodiment, the conductor can be a flexible conductive wire 22, and the conductive wire 22 penetrates into the cavity 12 along the extension direction of the flexible member 10.
Please refer to
In a feasible embodiment of the present invention, for the conductor of the light emitting assembly 20, any type of flexible conductive wire 22 or flexible conductive board 23 can be selected for use freely without limitation in order to connect the light emitting elements 21 arranged spaced apart from each other, and both are able to achieve the effect of cooperating with the flexible movement of the flexible member 10. For the embodiments described in the following, a single type of the conductor will be used for illustration; however, it shall be understood that the present invention is not limited to such single type of embodiment only.
In the preceding two embodiments, the light emitted from the light emitting assembly 20 at the center is able to scatter out from the light transmissive portion 11, in order to achieve the effect of natural light output except for the directions of the conductive board 23 and the metal wire 30 (both in the same direction).
Please refer to
The light strip 4 comprises a flexible member 40 having an elongated shape and a light emitting assembly 20 arranged inside the flexible member 40. In this variant structure, the flexible member 40 is formed by a light transmissive portion 41, a first light shielding portion 45 and a second light shielding portion 46, and all these three parts extend along the extension direction of the flexible member 40. In addition, the first light shielding portion 45 and the second light shielding portion 46 are attached to the two lower and upper outer sides of the light transmissive portion 41 opposite from each other, in order to shield or block light from the corresponding directions. The light transmissive portion 41 is the same as the previous embodiment and is made of a light transmissive flexible material, such as a silicone material that is transparent and colorless or semi-transparent with a color, and the first light shielding portion 45 and the second light shielding portion 46 are made of opaque flexible silicone material, allowing the overall flexible member 40 to form a flexible silicone strip/belt equipped with the elastic and recovery capabilities.
The internal of the light transmissive portion 41 includes a cavity 42, and the cavity 42 has an elongated shape identical to the extension direction of the flexible member 40. The light emitting assembly 20 is arranged inside the cavity 42, and comprises a plurality of light emitting elements 21 arranged spaced apart from each other and a conductor for connecting the light emitting elements 21. The light emitting elements 21 are the same as the previous embodiment and refer to small size LED modules. The conductor can be a flexible conductor board 23, and the conductor board 23 penetrates into the cavity 42 along the extension direction of the flexible member 40.
The flexible member 40 includes a slot 44 arranged at the first light shielding portion 45 away from the cavity 42. The slot 44 is formed between the two protrusions 441 with recovery elasticity and used for clamping and securing to a metal wire 30. In addition, the opening 442 of the slot 44 is formed at one side of the slot 44 away from the cavity 42. In addition, the slot 44, the two protrusions 441 and the opening 442 extend along the extension direction of the flexible member 40. The inner side of the slot 44 is of a circular arc shape (extension projection plane or cross sectional area), the cut-out portion of the slot 44 is the opening 442, and its width is between its radius and diameter, and a width corresponding to the central angle of 60˜100 degree is preferred. Accordingly, with the recovery elasticity of the material, it is able to achieve the effect of facilitated installation and stable clamping securement without disengagement.
In this embodiment, the upper and lower sides of the light transmissive portion 41 are shielded by the second and first light shielding portions 46, 45 respectively. In addition, the two left and right sides include the light output portions, allowing the light emitted from the light emitting assembly 20 at the center to exit from the light output portions centralized at the two left and right sides, thereby achieving a lighting effect with freely scattered light that is different from the two embodiments previously disclosed.
During the actual application of the present invention, as shown in
Please refer to
In addition, the internal of the light transmissive portion 51 includes a cavity 52, and the cavity 52 has an elongated shape identical to the extension direction of the flexible member 50. The light emitting assembly 20 is arranged inside the cavity 52, and comprises a plurality of light emitting elements 21 arranged spaced apart from each other and a conductor for connecting the light emitting elements 21. The light emitting elements 21 are the same as the previous embodiment and refer to small size LED modules. The conductor can be a flexible conductor board 23, and the conductor board 23 penetrates into the cavity 52 along the extension direction of the flexible member 50.
The flexible member 50 includes a slot 54 formed at one side thereof. The slot 54 is formed between two protrusions 541 with recovery elasticity and used for clamping and securing to a metal wire 30. In addition, the opening 542 of the slot 54 is formed at one side of the slot 54 away from the cavity 52. The slot 54, the two protrusions 541 and the opening 542 extend along the extension direction of the flexible member 50. The inner side of the slot 54 is of a circular arc shape (extension projection plane or cross sectional area), the cut-out portion of the slot 54 is the opening 542, and its width is between its radius and diameter, and a width corresponding to the central angle of 60˜100 degree is preferred. Accordingly, with the recovery elasticity of the material, it is able to achieve the effect of facilitated installation and stable clamping securement without disengagement.
In this embodiment, the flexible member 50 further includes a hollow channel 53 arranged at the light transmissive portion 51, and the hollow channel 53 is following located at another side of the cavity 52 opposite from the slot 54. The hollow channel 53 is mainly to assist the light diffusion and to enhance the buffering effect, in order to diffuse the light passing therethrough and to allow the light strip 5 to achieve an overall gentle lighting effect, as well as to provide buffer capable of resisting impact in case of external impact, thereby enhancing the protection effect for the inner side of the light emitting assembly 20.
In this embodiment, the light strip 5 is not installed with the light shielding portion to block light such that light can be scattered out from the light transmissive portion 51 freely (except for the directions of the conductive board 23 and the metal wire 30), and for the direction where the hollow channel 53 is installed, it is able to achieve light diffusion and gentle lighting effect. As a result, the central portion of the light strip 5 generates gentle lighting while the two sides have relatively more intense light output effect at the light spot locations.
Please refer to
In addition, the internal of the light transmissive portion 61 includes a cavity 62, and the cavity 62 has an elongated shape identical to the extension direction of the flexible member 60. The light emitting assembly 20 is arranged inside the cavity 62, and comprises a plurality of light emitting elements 21 arranged spaced apart from each other and a conductor for connecting the light emitting elements 21. The light emitting elements 21 are the same as the previous embodiment and refer to small size LED modules. The conductor can be a flexible conductor board 23, and the conductor board 23 penetrates into the cavity 62 along the extension direction of the flexible member 60.
The flexible member 60 includes a slot 64 formed at one side of the first light shielding portion 65 away from the cavity 62. The slot 64 is formed between two protrusions 641 with recovery elasticity and used for clamping and securing to a metal wire 30. In addition, the opening 642 of the slot 64 is formed at one side of the slot 64 away from the cavity 62. The slot 64, the two protrusions 641 and the opening 642 extend along the extension direction of the flexible member 60. The inner side of the slot 64 is of a circular arc shape (extension projection plane or cross sectional area), the cut-out portion of the slot 64 is the opening 642, and its width is between its radius and diameter, and a width corresponding to the central angle of 60˜100 degree is preferred. Accordingly, with the recovery elasticity of the material, it is able to achieve the effect of facilitated installation and stable clamping securement without disengagement.
In this embodiment, the flexible member 60, identical to the previous embodiment, further includes a hollow channel 63 arranged at the light transmissive portion 61, and the hollow channel 63 is gentler located at another side of the cavity 62 opposite from the slot 64. The hollow channel 63 is mainly to assist the light diffusion and to enhance the buffering effect, in order to diffuse the light passing therethrough and to allow the light strip 6 to achieve an overall gentle lighting effect, as well as to provide buffer capable of resisting impact in case of external impact, thereby enhancing the protection effect for the inner side of the light emitting assembly 20.
In this embodiment, one side of the light strip 6 facing toward the metal wire 30 is shield by the first light shielding portion 65, and the light emitting assembly 20 is arranged to indent inward at the first light shielding portion 65, such that most of the light can be centralized at the direction passing through the hollow channel 63, in order to allow the light strip 6 to achieve overall uniform and gentle lighting effect.
Please refer to
In addition, the internal of the light transmissive portion 71 includes a cavity 72, and the cavity 72 has an elongated shape identical to the extension direction of the flexible member 70. The light emitting assembly 20 is arranged inside the cavity 72, and comprises a plurality of light emitting elements 21 arranged spaced apart from each other and a conductor for connecting the light emitting elements 21. The light emitting elements 21 are the same as the previous embodiment and refer to small size LED modules. The conductor can be a flexible conductor board 23, and the conductor board 23 penetrates into the cavity 72 along the extension direction of the flexible member 70.
The flexible member 70 includes a slot 74 formed at one side of the first light shielding portion 75 away from the cavity 72. The slot 74 is formed between two protrusions 741 with recovery elasticity and used for clamping and securing to a metal wire 30. In addition, the opening 742 of the slot 74 is formed at one side of the slot 74 away from the cavity 72. The slot 74, the two protrusions 741 and the opening 742 extend along the extension direction of the flexible member 70. The inner side of the slot 74 is of a circular arc shape (extension projection plane or cross sectional area), the cut-out portion of the slot 74 is the opening 742, and its width is between its radius and diameter, and a width corresponding to the central angle of 60˜100 degree is preferred. Accordingly, with the recovery elasticity of the material, it is able to achieve the effect of facilitated installation and stable clamping securement without disengagement.
In this embodiment, the light strip 7 is blocked by the first, second and third light shielding portions 75, 76, 77 at three directions respectively, such that the light emitted from the light emitting assembly 20 is centralized at one side that is not blocked for light output. Accordingly, through the hollow channel 73 arranged at such side, the light strip 7 is able to achieve the uniform and gentle lighting effect at one side.
The above description is provided to explain the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and any extension, modification, mere change or equivalent replacement made according to the technical means of the present invention shall be considered to be within the claim scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202320683400.1 | Mar 2023 | CN | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6186645 | Camarota | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 8366291 | Hoffmann | Feb 2013 | B2 |
| 10520143 | Findlay | Dec 2019 | B1 |
| 11162654 | Walsh | Nov 2021 | B2 |
| 11655946 | Zhang | May 2023 | B1 |
| 20030193803 | Lin | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20050231947 | Sloan | Oct 2005 | A1 |
| 20160025278 | Camarota | Jan 2016 | A1 |
| 20230071594 | Chen | Mar 2023 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 101858527 | Oct 2010 | CN |
| 205716625 | Nov 2016 | CN |
| 206918736 | Jan 2018 | CN |
| 207230250 | Apr 2018 | CN |
| 202016106375 | Nov 2016 | DE |
| 2015157898 | Oct 2015 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2023/089166 | Apr 2023 | WO |
| Child | 18355069 | US |
