Molded chandelier listels and chandeliers incorporating same

Details Molded chandelier listels and chandeliers incorporating same Molded chandelier listels and chandeliers incorporating same

1999-07-12

2001-06-05

O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)

Illumination

Supports

Ceiling-suspended support

C362S404000, C362S405000, C362S406000, CD26S072000, CD26S080000, CD26S152000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06241370

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to chandeliers and, more particularly, to Maria Theresa style chandeliers.
RELATED ART
A chandelier is typically formed of a frame member from which a plurality of glass or crystal ornaments are suspended to form an overall ornamental appearance. One type of conventional chandelier is known as the “Maria Theresa” style chandelier. The Maria Theresa style (sometimes referred to as the “Maria Therese” style) is one of the most well-known chandelier styles. Originally manufactured by the Josef Palme Company in 1746 for the Austrian Empress, this style of chandelier continues to be popular today and is manufactured by many companies worldwide.
The Maria Theresa style chandelier is characterized in part by a frame assembly having one or more rigid frame members that are bent into various shapes to create the shape of the chandelier. Maria Theresa chandeliers are further characterized by glass parts, referred to as “listels” or “baguettes” attached to the frame members. Listels typically have a narrow rectangular profile and are attached to opposing sides of the frame members. The relative dimensions of the listels and frame members are such that the surrounding glass listels obscure the underlying frame member from view, giving the appearance of a chandelier that is constructed entirely of glass.
FIGS. 1A and 1B
are top and side cross-sectional views, respectively, of a portion
100
of an exemplary conventional Maria Theresa style chandelier. The illustrated portion
100
includes hollow glass listels
111
A-
111
D attached to opposing sides
103
and
104
of a metal frame member
112
. Frame member
112
is one of many interconnected frame members that form the frame assembly of the chandelier. Each glass listel
111
A-
111
D has a channel
114
A-
114
D, respectively, formed therein. Each channel
114
runs parallel to the axis of its corresponding listel
111
.
FIGS. 1C and 1D
are side and top views, respectively, of a single listel
111
A in isolation illustrating channel
114
A running therethrough. Generally, listels
111
are considerably shorter than the frame member
112
to which they are attached. Thus, oftentimes, multiple listels
111
are attached to the same side of each frame member
112
in a linearly adjacent relationship. This is shown in
FIGS. 1A and 1B
by listels
111
C and
111
D attached to frame member side
103
and listels
111
B and
111
A attached to frame member side
104
. Thus, each pair of listels
111
A,
111
D and
111
B,
111
C form a listel pair
102
A,
102
B that surrounds a section of frame member
112
. Between neighboring listel pairs
102
are intermediate regions referred to herein as listel junction
106
. Since the illustrative example has listels
111
arranged in a linear adjacent relationship, a listel junction
106
B is formed between listel pairs
102
A and
102
B. In the illustrative embodiment, each frame member
112
also has bores or passageways
118
running crosswise through frame member
112
between or connecting opposing sides
103
and
104
of frame member
112
. As shown in
FIGS. 1A and 1B
, bores
118
of frame member
112
are aligned generally with listel junctions
106
.
Listels
111
are attached to frame member
112
via threading wires
113
and fasteners
115
. Threading wires
113
are threaded through listel channel
114
of each listel
111
to be attached to one side of frame member
112
and, after exiting a first listel
111
, passes through bore
118
to continue running through a second listel
111
to be attached to an opposing side of frame member
112
of an adjacent listel pair
102
. Listels
111
on the opposing side of frame member
112
are attached in the same manner. Thus, two threading wires
113
A,
113
B are passed through each frame member bore or passageway
118
as the threading wires travel along alternating sides of frame member
112
.
Rosettes
115
A-
115
L are attached to frame member
112
via pigtails
116
. Rosettes
115
are attached to all four sides of frame member
112
at each listel junction
106
. Thus, fasteners
115
provide a decorative covering for each listel junction
106
and further secure listels
111
A-
111
D to frame member
112
. In such conventional Maria Theresa designs, pigtails
116
are sometimes used as suspension points for crystal trimmings or other decorative ornaments on the chandelier. Electrical wires that provide power to electrical sockets (not shown) run along frame member
112
and are secured thereto with fasteners
115
alone or in combination with other known conventional techniques.
FIGS. 2A and 2B
are top views of large glass tubes from which listels
111
are formed. Production of listels
111
begin typically by blowing and manually bending a large curved glass tube
200
. Glass tube
200
may be formed in any desired shape such as a circle as shown in
FIG. 2A
, a
FIG. 8
as shown in
FIG. 2B
, or some other configuration. Glass tubes
200
are extruded with channel
114
running lengthwise through the approximate center of glass tubes
200
to later accommodate threading wire
113
. Glass tubes
200
are subsequently cut into individual listels
111
, each such listel being formed from predetermined sections of glass tube
200
. Thus, sections of glass tube
200
correspond to the sizes and shapes of listels
111
subsequently attached to used frame members
112
of the Maria Theresa chandelier.
Manufacturing and construction of a conventional Maria Theresa chandelier is a very time consuming and labor-intensive process. The blowing and extrusion process is performed manually and is often a tedious and error-prone process. In addition, it is difficult to manually produce numerous glass tubes
200
which all have the same dimensions. It is not uncommon, for example, for a glass tube
200
to have a non-uniform thickness along its lengths if it is not manufactured by skilled craftsman. The labor-intensive process to extrude, hand-bend and hand-cut tubular glass listels also results in a considerable part failure rate and waste produced.
Once the listels are manufactured, the painstaking process of wiring the listels to the frame members is extremely labor intensive and time consuming. For example, the threading wire
113
must be passed through each listel
111
, through passageway
118
to the opposing side of the frame member, threaded through the listel on the opposing side of the frame member, and so on. All listels must be secured in this manner before the threading wires are secured with the pigtails
116
and fasteners
115
. Thus, virtually every step and the manufacturing and assembly of a conventional Maria Theresa style chandelier is performed manually. As a result labor accounts for a significant portion of the costs of a conventional Maria Theresa chandelier.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a lighting fixture such as a chandelier or lighting fixture component (“lighting fixture”) and methods for making the same. The lighting fixture includes a supporting frame member assembly defining a shape of the fixture and a plurality of molded listels or baguettes (referred to herein as “listels”) attached to opposing sides of frame member sections so as to surround and obscure significantly the underlying frame member from view. The use of solid molded listels eliminates the labor-intensive operations currently employed to extrude, hand bend, and hand cut tubular listels. The listels of the present invention may be produced using commonly available mass production or automated manufacturing techniques, thereby reducing the manufacturing time and associated labor costs as compared to convention manufacturing processes. In addition, the use of solid listels reduces the part failure rate and waste produced. Furthermore, the resulting listels have more accurate dimensions, ensuring the quality and appearance of the resulting lighting fixture. A lighting fixture having a construction of a frame member assembly, typically metal, surrounded by

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