Illumination – Light modifier – Reflector
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-13
2004-09-21
Tso, Laura K. (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light modifier
Reflector
C362S352000, C362S356000, C362S357000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06793377
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a lampshade, especially to a lampshade with improved support structure and reducible package volume.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
At present, lampshades in use are mounted beforehand with fixed structures and cannot b e dismantled willfully, occupying thus a large volume and being liable to damages during transportation. Therefore, foldable or dismountable lampshades were patented as early as in 1960's. An invention disclosed in Chinese patent ZL. 97 2 15059.5 as shown in
FIG. 1
has a plurality of eyes on two supporting rings of the lampshade, and a plurality of top hooks are arranged on the ends of each single-cylindrical supporting pole for hooking up said eyes, so that the supporting poles can be removed during transportation to reduce the whole package volume. However, the combination of the supporting poles, the top hooks and the eyes is of a type of the so-called two-terminal hinge-supported lanky cylinder according to the principles of mechanics of materials. Its reactive force doesn't go through the pole's cross-sectional area, therefore the whole framework is unstable in that the supporting pole can rotate freely about its axis and the upper and lower supporting rings can have relative movements with each other in their own planes, making thus the lampshade structure complex and unable to easily dismantle or mount. Also, the upper and lower supporting rings are monotonous in style, limited only to either a circular or an elliptical ring.
A lampshade with a reducible package volume is also known from the U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,307 as shown in
FIG. 2
, which utilizes a U-shaped snap fastener
101
to realize the connections between the mounting frames and the supporting rings and between the supporting rings and the supporting poles for supporting the whole lampshade, the mounting frames and the supporting poles being able to be dismantled during the transportation to reduce the package volume. Although the hinge support problem was solved by doing so, the structure of the manufactured lampshade and the procedures for its assembly became complicated because of the complexity in manufacturing the U-shaped snap fasteners of the lampshade. Moreover, the vulnerability of the connection of the U-shaped snap fastener with the mounting frame and the supporting pole made the lampshade more vulnerable.
Another disadvantage of said prior art lampshades lies in that their structural designs violated scientific principles, e.g. in said Chinese patent, the reactive force doesn't go through the pole's cross-sectional area when the two-terminal hinge-supported lanky cylinder is used as a supporting pole. In said U.S. patent, although a two-terminal fixedly supported supporting pole is used, it should be made as a curved one to suit to an inwardly curved lampshade, this directly going counter to the principles of the mechanics of materials and decreasing greatly the supporting force of the lanky pole.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One objective of the present invention is to provide a lampshade with a reducible package volume, wherein the improved mounting frame structure lies in that the fixed end of the mounting frame leg and the supporting ring has a lampshade-inward curved part, and the U-shaped supporting pole has a curled edge part on its closed supporting end, which is clipped in between the curved part of said mounting frame leg and the lampshade enclosure, and the assembly of the lampshade can be realized simply by hooking up the two hooks of the U-shaped supporting pole into the eyes of the supporting ring at the other side.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a lampshade, wherein straight cylindrical supporting arms are used as force undertaking components to support lamp shades with a straight line profile and an inwardly curved profile based on the principle of a cylindrical surface formation according to geometry so that the reactive force goes through the supporting cross-sectional area to conform with the requirement of principles of mechanics of materials, wherein U-shaped components are used instead of single-cylindrical supporting poles to increase the number of the contact points between the supporting components and the two supporting rings from 2 to more than 3, decrease the degrees of freedom of the movement between the supporting components and the two supporting rings, and increase thus the strength of the whole structure, and wherein the supporting components can be used as the supporting components for a bulged lampshade based on the principle of an arch.
The objectives are realized according to the present invention by providing a lampshade with reducible package volume, including a lamp enclosure, on its upper and lower sides are arranged a supporting ring respectively, wherein a first mounting frame is provided on said supporting ring at one side, at least two ends connected therewith are arranged with a curved part turning toward the interior of the lampshade, and
at least a supporting pole, having
at least a curled edge part which is clipped in between said curved part of the mounting frame and said lamp enclosure, and
at least a supporting arm part, its ends being movably fixed with said supporting ring at the other side.
Said lampshade, wherein eyes are provided on corresponding positions on said another supporting ring, and the ends of said supporting arm part are curved to form hooks to hook up with said eyes.
Said lampshade, wherein the ends of said supporting arm part are formed as forks fixed on said supporting ring at the other side.
Said lampshade, wherein said supporting pole has two U-shaped supporting arm parts, and the distance there between is larger than the distance between two eyes.
Said lampshade, wherein said first mounting frame has at least two ends and a mounting ring at its center.
Said lampshade, wherein the ends of said supporting arm part has a second curled edge part, and a second mounting frame is fixed on said supporting ring at the other side, at least two ends connected with said supporting ring at the other side are provided with lampshade-inward curved parts to clip said second curled edge part in between the curved part of said second mounting and the lamp enclosure.
Said lampshade, wherein said second mounting frame has at least two ends and a mounting ring at its center.
Said lampshade, wherein said lower supporting ring is larger than the upper supporting ring.
Said lampshade, wherein said lamp enclosure has elasticity.
The lampshade according to the present invention has a simple structure, a fixed lampshade form after its assembling, a lampshade outlook which can be changed according to the form of the supporting ring, and is therefore rich in style since a lampshade-inward curved part is provided between the supporting legs of the mounting frame and the connection ends of the supporting ring, and a curled edge part is provided accordingly at the closed supporting ends of the U-shaped supporting pole so that, when in assembly, said curled edge part is clipped in between the curved part of the supporting leg and the lamp enclosure, and the two hooks of the U-shaped pole are hooked up into the eyes of the supporting ring at the other side.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2516286 (1950-07-01), Yeidel
patent: 2713632 (1955-07-01), Fine
patent: 6386739 (2002-05-01), Wu
patent: 6439747 (2002-08-01), Liu et al.
patent: 6443599 (2002-09-01), Wu
patent: 6443600 (2002-09-01), Wu
Greer Burns & Crain Ltd.
Tso Laura K.
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