Patent Application
20180073719
The current disclosure relates generally to outdoor patio umbrellas such as patio, offset, and market umbrellas; and more particularly to a slim-lined, solar-powered light emitting diode (“LED”) lighting systems for those outdoor patio umbrellas.
Large patio-style umbrellas are useful on patios, decks, pools, beaches, and in other outdoor settings for providing protection from the sun and allowing users a convenient way to enjoy shade while participating in outdoor activities. Often such activities continue into the night, and it is desirable to have convenient outdoor lighting.
Outdoor patio umbrellas have featured such lighting to illuminate the area under and around the outdoor patio umbrellas for some time. Lighting systems add to the ambiance of outdoor patio umbrellas and allows users to enjoy the umbrellas in time of low or no light. One method for providing such outdoor lighting is to equip the umbrella with lights powered by either household current or a battery. In the case of a battery-powered lighting system, a solar panel can charge the battery during periods of sunlight.
Concerning the actual lighting, to save space, offer light, and use common manufacturing processes, outdoor patio umbrellas have used metal ribs that house LED lighting systems. Current LED systems feature two electrical conductors that attach the LED to an electrical conducting means that would run the length of an outdoor patio umbrellas rib. Wires are current examples of conducting means.
CONNECTION. This LED lighting system presents many problems. For example, the electrical conductors attached to an LED would frequently become damaged or break off. Later, after replacing the LEDs several times in a particular socket, the socket would not hold the LEDs as firmly, or the LEDs would simply fall out. Worse, an LED electrical conductor could break inside the socket preventing an LED replacement.
When shipping outdoor patio umbrellas with current LED lighting systems, often several of the LEDs would not function. This is primarily due to disturbances to the outdoor patio umbrellas during shipping. LED electrical conductors would either fall out or break off. Consequently, outdoor patio umbrella manufacturers would have to include additional LEDs as well as warranty claims.
Additionally, since the LED lighting system is featured on outdoor patio umbrellas, another set of problems is encountered. For example, when exposed to rain and moisture, exposed leads from the LEDs to the socket produce corrosion, rust, and disconnection. As another example, typical LEDs require more electricity than do more recent lighting developments. Therefore, when sunlight is not available, the solar panels do not produce enough energy to sustain typical LEDs.
COST. Typically LEDs protruding out of a rib require a plastic bulb. The plastic bulb acts as a prism to radiate the LED's light. It also acts as protection from the aforementioned elements. However, the downside to plastic bulbs is that they do not have an attractive appearance, do not fit securely, and distract from the overall beauty that the LEDs provide in the first place.
As mentioned before, including additional plastic bulbs increases the cost of the umbrella, the weight of the umbrella when shipping, and other manufacturing considerations.
Manufacturing the ribs included a step to drill holes along the umbrella ribs so that the LEDs and plastic bulbs could protrude from the ribs. The drilled holes have a detrimental effect to the ribs' ability to withstand adverse outdoor conditions such as wind, rain, and snow. The weakened ribs are also subject to deformity or breaking.
SATISFACTION. For any of the forgoing problems, not having a functioning outdoor patio umbrella at the time of purchase leads to a decrease in customer satisfaction. Protruding LEDs, and their plastic bulbs exposed through the rib, are aesthetically unpleasing.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS. Lighting systems that use traditional LEDs have form factor considerations. A rib containing such an LED must be at least as tall as the socket holding the LED. And, the LED that protrudes out of the rib requires additional space. Finally, plastic bulbs over the LEDs require even more space.
Inside the ribs, LEDs of this type require complex wiring to connect every LED in all of the ribs to the battery and on to the solar-power source. The wiring also adds to production time and cost.
In sum, patio umbrellas can provide a convenient housing for the solar panel, battery, LEDs, and wiring needed for such lighting. It is desirable though, that the battery, LEDs, and conducting means be housed in such a way as to maximize the aesthetic appeal of the umbrella, minimize damage due to weathering, increase safety and convenience, and do so in a cost effective way.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,408,444, issued Aug. 9, 2016, and titled “Lighting Umbrella” describes an improvement to umbrella lighting using surface mounted LEDs, teaches a completely different approach than the present disclosure. For example, the Lighting Umbrella's rib design requires two notches (ref. 101) inside a rib. This requires more internal area within a rib than the current disclosure. In the current disclosure, notches are optional, and even if used, require less area than the prior art. Moreover, manufacturing two notches in the Lighting Umbrella's rib is more complicated and expensive to manufacture than the rib of the current disclosure.
Additionally, each LED-bearing rib contains a limited number of LEDs (ref. 104) where the LEDs emit light along the rib similar to a fluorescent tube light that flows light longitudinally. The LED is mounted 90 degrees to the diffusing bar (ref. 106), which is not directed toward the ground. In the current disclosure, the LEDs face downward and provide better lighting.
Further, as seen by
Finally, the Lighting Umbrella still incorporates extraneous components to its LEDs (ref. 103), such as a fixed base (ref. 7) and a through hole (ref. 702) that must be mounted on the printed circuit board (“PBC”) light bar (105). The current disclosure does not have a removable PCB lamp panel (ref. 104) that could break off.
Embodiments of the current disclosure address the abovementioned and other unfulfilled shortcomings.
Embodiments of the current disclosure provide an attractive, safe, and convenient way of housing lights or other electrical appliances and wiring within a patio umbrella where ribs have a flat bottom wall, eliminating the need to drill a plurality of LED holes in the ribs, reducing wiring, and providing a compact, slim-lined design to the ribs. When compared to prior umbrellas with LEDs, the current disclosure provides for reduced and quicker manufacturing, easier setup, reduced LED failure, and an overall higher-strength umbrella.
Stated somewhat more specifically, one embodiment of the current disclosure comprises an outdoor patio umbrella featuring a solar-powered LED lighting system that eliminates the need for holes to house LEDs, for spare LEDs, for plastic bulbs, for extraneous wiring and reduces the area required to house all of the foregoing. The main aspects of the current disclosure, that differentiate it from the prior art, are use of surface mounted LEDs on a conducting means and an electronic circuit board that controls the LEDs and protects the rechargeable battery.
The umbrella features an umbrella pole attached to a lower pole, a plurality of long ribs connected at one end to a radial umbrella plate that traverses up and down the umbrella pole, an equal number of short ribs as long ribs where one end of short ribs is connected at one end to an intermediate position between the two ends of the long rib, the other end of the short ribs radially connects to a lower canopy slide, and the long ribs support a canopy. The umbrella opens and closes by turning a crank with a rope attached to move the lower canopy slide.
The solar-powered LED lighting system features a rechargeable battery to provide electricity to solar powered LEDs, a solar panel that converts optical energy to electrical energy that charges the rechargeable battery, a plurality of surface mounted LEDs that provide lighting, and a circuit board that controls the surface mounted LEDs and protects the rechargeable battery. A transparent cover attached to an LED-containing rib, slides into that rib opposite the LED and conducting means.
The slim-lined solar-powered LED lighting system as described eliminates the need to drill holes in any of the long or short ribs to house LEDs. Further, the solar powered LED lighting system reduces the area within any long or short rib that contains LEDs within. Further yet, the surface mounted LEDs, connected via conducting means, and the transparent cover, simplifies and reduces the cost of manufacturing.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the current disclosure and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the current disclosure. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein:
The current disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the current disclosure are shown. This current disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the current disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
In an exemplary embodiment, each of the long and short plurality of ribs, in cross section, contains a bottom wall, first and second upstanding side walls extending upward from the bottom wall, a top wall connected to each side wall, a transparent cover secured by the top walls and a set of upper grooves, a conducting means secured by the bottom wall and set of lower grooves, and at least one LED connected to the conducting means.
In other exemplary embodiments, not every rib will include an LED and transparent cover.
Embodiments of the current disclosure feature surface mounted LEDs. Surface mounted LEDs are low power, straightforward, thin, lightweight, highly resistant to shock and vibrations, and easy to work with. Surface mounted LEDs also feature an integrated heat sink to dissipate any heat. Surface mounted LEDs are preferred to traditional LEDs because they are simpler and less expensive to manufacture.
When securing the LEDs and conducting means to the plurality of ribs, they are slid into the ribs. The conducting means is typically a PCB. Similarly, when securing a transparent cover to the plurality of ribs, the transparent covers are slid into the ribs.
In embodiments that feature LEDs inside short ribs, each short rib LED is electrically connected to a center LED circuit board, which is then electrically connected via a connecting wire to a circuit board. In embodiments that feature LEDs inside long ribs, each long rib LED is connected to the circuit board. In either case, the circuit board is connected to at least one umbrella light control switch and to electrical power.
A single PCB, that contains a plurality of LEDs, connects to electrical power with a single set of wires.
In one aspect of the current disclosure, the electrical power is a battery housed within a solar-power source. A solar panel converts optical energy to electrical energy and charges the rechargeable battery. In another aspect, the electrical power is alternating current (“AC”) from an electrical outlet, which also charges the battery.
When an umbrella light control switch is closed, electricity flows to the LEDs, and they shine through the rib and transparent cover. In an alternative embodiment, a switch allows auto detection for an illumination sensor to automatically switch the LED lighting system on during periods of low or no light.
In certain embodiments, the umbrella comprises: a canopy, a lower pole and umbrella pole, a lower canopy slide to move up and down along the poles to open and close the umbrella, a crank with a cord or other means attached to the lower canopy slide to move the lower canopy slide up and down when a user turns the crank, a certain number of long ribs to support the canopy, and an equal number of short ribs. Each of the short ribs has a first end and a second end. A first end of the short rib is connected to the lower canopy slide and a second end is connected to one of the long ribs.
In one embodiment, the slim-lined, solar-powered LED lighting system is installed on a market umbrella. In another embodiment, the slim-lined, solar-powered LED lighting system is installed on an offset umbrella.
In one embodiment, the LEDs are installed on the long ribs of the umbrella. In another embodiment, the LEDs are installed on both the long and short ribs of the umbrella.
In certain embodiments, the LEDs include a first set of LEDs, and a second set of LEDs. The first set of LEDs is installed on the long ribs of the umbrella, and the second set of LEDs is installed on a lower canopy slide. In yet another embodiment, the LEDs are installed on long ribs, short ribs, and the lower canopy slide.
Any combination of the three LED placements may be used in another embodiment of the current disclosure.
A rechargeable battery is typically lithium ion. The circuit board contains a pair of metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (“MOSFET”) connected to an integrated circuit (“IC”), which protects the rechargeable lithium ion battery from damage or degrading due to overcharge, over-discharge, or overcurrent. Positive and negative voltages from the battery provide electricity to the LEDs turning them off and on, optionally with switches.
A common IC used for battery protection is a DW01-U1; however, DW01-P and similar ICs may be used.
In a preferred embodiment, an 8205 dual MOSFET is used.
The description will be made as to the embodiments of the current disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
A set of indentations 10 on its sidewalls 20, 22 are optional and serve as decoration.
The set of upper notches 24 and top wall 12 is unnecessary if the transparent cover 26 is fixed to the sidewalls 20, 22 with an attaching means. Such means include glue, epoxy, solder, and the like. Similarly, the set of lower notches 28 is unnecessary if the conducting means 30 is fixed to the bottom wall 18 with an attaching means.
While the height of the depicted LED 16 is exaggerated, the LEDs 16 are relatively thin. The LEDs 16 are preferably surface mounted devices, but are not limited to them.
The positive battery terminal provides positive voltage VBAT+ to switches S1 & S2 that turn the LEDs on and off. The positive battery terminal provides positive voltage VBAT+ to a resistor R1 and on to a voltage drain VDD of the battery protection IC DW01-U1.
A negative battery terminal provides negative voltage VBAT− to MOSFET Q1A and on to the IC's DW01-U1 MOSFET gate connection pin for discharge control OD and to MOSFET Q1B and on to the IC's DW01-U1 MOSFET gate connection pin for charge control OC. Additionally, the negative battery terminal provides negative voltage VBAT− to a resistor R2 and on to the IC's DW01-U1 input pin for current sense input, charger detect CSI. Finally, the negative battery terminal provides negative voltage VBAT− to the LEDs through resistors R3 and R4.
The circuit board does not use the IC's DW01-U1 test pin for reduce delay time TD.
The outdoor market patio umbrella 11 slim-lined, solar-powered, LED lights 2 connected to a solar panel 4. Long ribs 31 connect to a radial umbrella plate 35, which attaches to an umbrella pole 6, which attaches to a lower pole 8. Inside the umbrella pole 6 and lower pole 8 is a rope 3 to open and close the long and short ribs 31, 33. Tilt is also available using the outdoor market patio umbrella's 11 tilt feature.
A lower canopy slide 34, which contains the center LED 5, moves up and down along the poles 6, 8 to open and close the outdoor market patio umbrella 11. The outdoor market patio umbrella 11 has the same number of long ribs 31 and short ribs 33. Each of the short ribs 33 has a first end and a second end. The first end of the short rib 33 is connected to the lower canopy slide 34, and the second end is connected to one of the long ribs 31.
In one embodiment of the current disclosure, at least one of the ribs 31, 33 contain at least one umbrella light control switch 37. Additionally, at least one long rib 31 contains a long rib LED 32 and transparent cover 26.
The current disclosure provides for a rib with a flat bottom wall, ribs that accept a U-shaped cover for dispersion of light, and PCBs and LEDs. The current disclosure features a flat bottom wall without holes, rather with solid, longitudinal walls.
