CA2000612A1

CA2000612A1 - Decorative light holder

Info

Publication number: CA2000612A1
Application number: CA002000612A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Lonnie F. Gary
Original assignee: Lonnie F. Gary; Gary Products Group, Inc.
Current assignee: Gary Products Group Inc
Priority date: 1988-10-13
Filing date: 1989-10-13
Publication date: 1990-04-13
Also published as: US4901960A; EP0364265A2; EP0364265A3

Abstract

DECORATIVE LIGHT HOLDER

Abstract of the Disclosure A decorative light holder comprising a base member, socket support members projecting substantially perpendicularly away from the base member, and an adhesive member adapted to secure the base member to a substantially planar support surface. The socket support member further comprises a plurality of spaced apart socket support arms comprising facing surfaces adapted to provide frictional engagement with the outside surface of a decorative light socket.

Description

GARY-17,920 2000612 IN THB UNI~D ~TATES PATBNT AND TRADEMAR~ OFPICE
i DECORATrYE LIGHT HOLD~R

1' Technlcal Field This invention relate~ to decorative lighting, and more particularly, to apparatus ~or ~uppo~t~ng and maintainIng decorative lights on a substantially planar surface. One aspect o~ the lnvention relates to a decorative light holder havinq a ~elf-adhesive backing.
Another a~pect of the invention relate~ to a decorative light holder structurally adapted to maintain its dimensional ~tability durln~ prolonged use.

Back~round of the In-ent~on The use of ornamental lighting for holiday ~-~ decorating i5 well known. Str~ngs of decorative lights ~ ~
;; comprising, for example, twenty-f$ve, fifty, or one hundred individual sockets a~e typ~cally wired together ~; in either ~e~le~ or parallel c$rcuits with strand6 of insulated, ~mall-diameter wire to which a plug or plu~8 are attached at one or both ends to facllitate connection with an electrical energy 60urce or another 6trand of light6. CleAr or colored bulbfi are inserted into the ~ock~ts to provlde ~he de~ired lighting effect.

The 6 wX~ts utlli2ed with such light ~trings so~etlme~ employ a m~tal or plastic clip ror USQ ln attachlng the individual ~oc~ets to an elongated ~upport ~ember suc~ a6 a Christmas tree l$~b, or the l~ke.
Probl~ms have been çncountered, howe~er, where t~e deslred decorative lighting scheme requires the . . ~ .
F~:

~:
5, ~

-` Z000612 attachment or decoratlve light ~trinqo to a sub~tantlally planar ~upport our~ac-. Those or ordlnary ~klll ln the art have prevlou~ly 60ught to ov-rcom- thl~ problem by provldlng docorative llght holders adapt-d to be malntained on a ~ubstantially planar underlying support ~ur~ace by 6crew-type rastener~, nalls, or the lik~.
One such light holder i~ di6clo~ed in U.S. 3,189,310.
The holder disclo6ed ln ~.S. 3,189,310 comprises a base portion and a substantlally cyllndrical wall having two oppositely dlsposed hortzontal 610t6. A hole through the base is adapted to recelve ~ screw ~or ~ecuring the holder to a wlndow moldlng or the f~cla or eave~ of a house. The ~lots are designed to accommodate the wires extending in either directlon from the ba~e o~ a llght socket, and th~ inside 6urface of the cylindrical wall is said to taper inwardly at lts open end to grip a d~coratlve light 60ck~t. -, ~ ,, .
Several di~advan~ages are experienced through use of a decorative ligbt holder as di~closed ln U.S. 3,189,310. Fir6t, the nec~ssity for u6in~ a screw .
fastener to attach the dec~rative holder to an underlying support surface is both di~f~cult and time consuming, and leave~ a hole in the ~upport surface once the screw is removed. Second, screw~ are undesirable for use in -,.~............ ........................................................... ... ... ............ -., ~. -attaching decorati~e lights to support ~urface~ made of ~- glass. Third, the cyl~ndrical wall ~ections disclosed in ..
U.S. 3,189,310 reguire a ~ubstantially thlck wall in order to provlde the required ~upport and maintain their d~mensional stab~lity during prolonged u~e. Fourth, a `~-30 decorative llght holder havinq an ln~ide wall tapered as - ~-requlred by U.S. 3,189,310 permit~ exces6ive wobble when . utillzed with conventional, co~mercially available light ~
60cket~ as depicted ln Flgure 4 herein. ~ ; -A decoratl~e light holder i5 therefore needed that 3S i~ ~dapted to ~upport ~nd ~aintain an lndi~idual 80~c~et ~ -. -` 2000~12 o~ a deco~ative light 6tring on a ~ub~tantially plan~r6upport ~urface without peirmanently da~ging or de~aclng t~e 6~pport ~urface. Furthermor-, a decoxAtl~o light holder is needed that can be gulokly ~nd convenlently applled to A gla86 or pla~tic 6upport 6ur~Ace and therea~ter re~oved for ~ub~equ~nt reu~e. A decorative light holder ls al60 needed that can provide adequate lateral support ~or a decorative bulb 60cket after prolonged use, without the need for sub6tant~ally thicX
i6idewalls. Such a decorative llght holdor is provided hereln.

~L~ , ,-, Accordlng to the present invention, decoratlve light holders are provlded that can be quickly and easily ~ttached to 6ub~tantially plan~r underlylng 6upport sur~ace~ wit~out the need for screw~, nails, i6taples, or other fastener~ that mu6t be in6er~ed i~to or embedded wlthin the underlying support surface. The subject fasteners can be attached to 6urfaces ~uch a6 wood, masonry, gla~s or plastic, and thereafter removed as de~red wlthout permanently in~urlng or defacing the underlying sur~ce.

According to a preferred e~bodiment of the invention, a decorative light holder is provided that 25 comprl6es a base member, mean6 projecting 6ubstantially --perpend~cularly ~ro~ 6aid base member to frictionally engage the 60cket of a decorative ll~ht, ~nd an adhesive pad adapted to 6ecure the rearwardly facing sur~ace of the base member to a 6ubstantlally planar underlying support i~urface.

According to another e~bodlment of the lnvention, a decorative light holder $g provided ln which at lea~t a portion of the means projectlng ~ubstantially perpendicula~ly from the base member further de~ines a ~ . .: -. . . .
, ~, ~ ~, .. .

200~612 plurallty of wall sections havlng vo~ds therebotween that ar~ adapted to frlctlona~ly ~ngag~ the outslde w~ll of decorative l~ght ~oc~et.

According to anoth~r embod'ment o~ the lnvention, a S decorative light holder 1~ provlded that comprises at lea~t one brace member sub~tant'ally perpendicular to the ba~e member oE the decorat~ve l~ght holder and also substantlally perpendlcular to the outside surface o~ the dlv~ded ~ocket support member, ~hich pro~ect~ ~ -perpendiculaxly from the base ~ember.

Acco~ding to another embodlment o~ the invention, a decorative light holder i~ provided ln whlch the lnwardly -~ -~
facing surfaces of the 6 wket support member are 6ubstantially flat.

Accordlng to another embodiment ~f the invention, a d~corative light holder i~ provided in whlch the inwardly facing Qur~aces of the ~ocket support member -~ -are arcuate.

According to another preferred embodi~ent of the lnvention, a decoratlve light holder i8 prov'ded 'n which one major ~urface of the adheQive member i6 : :.
adhe~vely secured to the rearwardly facing surface of ---~ -the ba~e member, and in whlch the other major sur~ace of ~-the adhesive member i9 co~ered by a relatively thinner sh~et material adapted to be peeled off prior to lnstalling the decorative light holder on a ~ubstantially planar 8uppo~t surface.
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The apparatus of th- invention i~ further descri~ed ~-and explained in relation to the ~ollowing drawings in which:

. . .
,,, . -- .

2~10(~6~

s Figure 1 16 an exploded per~pectlva vlew depicting the deaoratl~e llght hold~r ot the inventlon ln combinatlon wlth a sheet materlal adapted to cover the rearwardly ~cing ~rf~ce o~ tHe adhesive member until the tlme of uses Flgure 2 i~ a ~ront elevatlon view of the combination of Flgure 1 in which the base ~ember of the decorative ~ight holder ~s partially broken away to .
r~veal the adh~ive member, and the adhe~ive member 1 partially broken away to reveal the coverlng sheet matexlal a~ shown ln Fig~r~
Flgure 3 i8 a oide elevation view depictlng the combination of ~lgur~ 1 in a66emb1ed rather than exploded ~orm, w~th one corner of the cover~ng ~heet material peeled back from the rearwardly facing major ~urface of 'cho ~dheol~e ~embor ~ .
F~gure 4 1~ a plan view depicting the decorative ..
light holder of Figure~ 1, 2 and 3 with the cover~ng :
sheet material re~oved and lnstalled on a ~ubstant$ally planar underlying surface, wlth one bulb/socket/conductor unlt of a decoratlve light string ~hown in phantom in the ~:~ posltion in which the 6W~et would be inse~ted into the decorative light holder;
Flgu~e 5 i~ an exploded per~pective view o another ~ -embodiment of the ~ubject decorative light holder in which the adhe~ive momber i8 ~hown as being spaced apart from the rearwardly extending ~urface o~ the base member;
Figure 6 i~ A ~ide elevatlon v~ew of the decoratl~e llght holder chown ln Figure S wherein the adhe~ive member is no longer dep~cted a~ belng exploded away from the rearwardly f~cing ~urface of the ba~e ~emb~r, but in whlch the sheet mate~i~l ov-rlylng the ~earwardly ~acing major ~urfnce o~ the adheslve ~ember has been partially peeled bac~ away f~o~ tho ~dhe~lve ~e~ber~ .
~igure 7 i~ ~n exploded per~pective view of another embodiment o~ the inventlon ~n which the adheslve membcr and it~ overlying ~heet material ~e ~hown a~ belng 2~00612 exploded away Srom the rearwardly f~cing sur~ace o~ the baso member~ and Flgure 8 ls a side elev~tlon view deplotlng the apparatuR o~ F~gure 7 whereln the adheslvQ memb-r i~ no longer exploded away from the rearwardly facing surrace o~ the ~ase member, but in whlch a portlon of the overlying sheet material ha~ been peeled back ~rom the rearwardly facing 6urface o~ the ~dheslve member.
Like numerals are used to indlcato ll~e parts ~n all flgure~ of the drawing~
:" -,:, ', ',''"~ . ,' " ' ~ ,.' Referring to Figures 1 through 4, decoratlve ll~ht holder 10 preferably compri~es base member 12, opposed ~ocket 6upport ~embers 14, 16, adheslve ~e~ber ~2 and - -~
overly~ng sheet material 28. Ba~e member 12 and dlvlded socket support ~embers 14, 16 are de~irably in~ectlon -~
~olded from any suitable moldable polymeric material. A
preferred material for use ln ~aklng the decorative l~ght holders of the ~nventlon comprise~ a major portlon o~ a moldable acryllc resin.
, ~, -Decoratlve light holder 10 16 prefèrably made by ln~ection molding, and adhesive me~ber 22 i~ thereafter applied to rearwardly facing surface 18 of base ~-~ember 12. Adhesive ~e~ber 22 1~ preterably a pad of 25 polymeric foam material e~ther coated or saturated with a -~
conventional contact adhesi~e capable o~ releasably ` adherlng to plastic, glass, wood or masonry 6urfaces. -~
Such "6tlcX-on" p~d6 are commercially a~ailable, and -~
pads approximately 0.16 centlmeter thlck and made of porous foamed or woven Paterlal s~ould functlon 6atlsfactorlly wlthln the scope of the invention.
Adhesive member 22 can be applled to rearwardly ~acing ~ -sur~ace 18 of base member 12 at th- site o~ ~anufactur~
or at the ~te of use. If adhe~ive membe~ 22 is applied to base member 12 at the site of manufacture, ov-rlying -~

~ 20906~2 ~heet material 28 having a forward ~clng surrA¢e 30 ~ubstantially co-extenslve wlth rearward ~aclng 6urrace 26 of ~dheslve member 22 desirably remalna .~.
attached to adhe51ve member 22 untll the time of use.
Overlylng 6heet material 28 preferably comprises ~ coated paper or a polymeric materlal adapted to releasably adhere to the 6ur~ace ot adheslve ~ember 20.

Accord~ng to ~not~er embodiment of the lnvention, a plurality of decorative light holder~ 10 are made 10 avallable in packages co~prising a plural~ty of molded -pla~t~c dev~ces further comprislng a base member 12 and .-~.
opposed socket support members 14, 16, ln comblnstlon with A plurallty of adhesive members 22 hav~ng overlying sheet material 28 disposed on both forwardly facing surfaces 24 and rearwardly ~acing surface 2h of adhesive me~ber 22. At t~e use sight, overly~ng 6heet material 28 ~ ls fir~t peeled from forwardly facing ~urtace 24 which is -~ then pre~sed into contact w~th rearwardly tacing -~
. .
~ surtace 18 of base member 12.
.
~: 20 To apply decorative light holder 10 to a 6upport -~ surface 42 as shown in Figure 4, overlylng 6heet :~ material 2~ is peeled away fro~ rearwardly facing surface 26 of adhes~ve mem~er 22, ~nd base member 12 is then pressed again~t substantially planar 6upport . .
6urface 42 so that adhesive member 22 establishe~ a bond therebetween. Ad~eslve member 22 i~ desirably 6elected i 6 0 that the bond e~tablished between base me~ber 12 and planar ~upport member 42 can be ~roken ~henever base membe~ 12 16 grasped and pulled away trom suppo~t ~urface 42 by manual rOrce.

As shown in Fiqure-~ 1 through 4, ~ocXet ~upport members 14, 16 compri~e sub~tantially planar 6urfacQs 34, 36, respectively, which are 6paced apart on torwardly facing 6urface 20 of ba~e ~ember 12 so as to provide - ' ` :

, ~:`` :`

~ ~; 2~00612 frlctlonal engage~ent with the soc~et portlon o~ bulb/
soc~et/conductor unlt 40 when lnserted therebetween. A6 shown ~n Flgur~ ur~aces 34, 36 Or socket eupport members 14, 16 are 6ub~t~ntlally porpendlcular to ~orwardly ~acinq surface 20 o~ base ~ember 12, but taper slightly in toward each other ne~r base member 12 (oppo~ite to the direction of taper di wlo~ed ln ~ ~:
U.S. 3,189,310). .

According to a particularly preferred embodiment or the invention, socket 6upport members 14, 16 are eized so as to ~rict~onally engage sockets ad~pted for use with ~onventlonally ~ized 3.5 volt CH659 bulbe. ~ -~ lthough base me~ber 12 1~ 6hown a~ being round and adhesive ~ember 2~ ls 6hown as belng square ln Figures 1 15 through 4, it wlll be apparent tha~ other geometrie~ can - -also be us~ effectlvely wlthln the wope of the ~:
invention provided that base me~ber 12 has a .-~
6ubstantially planar rearwardly faclng ~ur~ace 18 and -~
that adhe~ive member 22 has 6ubstantially planar 20 forwardly and rear~ardly racing 6urfaces 24, 2S that do ~:-not extend outwardly beyond edge 19 of base member 12. -;

Referring to Figuree 5 and 6, another preferred embodiment of the ln~entlon, decorative ll~ht holder 50 :
16 ~hown which comprises base ~ember S2, ~ocket cupport member 54, comprislng socket 6upport arms 56, 5B, ~race -~ .
members 70, 71 and adheslve member 62. In thls embod~ent of the lnventlon, ad~es~ve member 62 ~s :.
6ubstantially co-extensive with rearwardly ~acing &urface 53 of ba~e ~ember 52. Overlying sheet 30 - material 68 is shown ln ~lgure 5 in co-exten~iv~ and contactlng relatlon with rearwardly faclng surrac~ 66 o~ adhesive member 62. In ~gure 6, overlying ~heet material 68 16 shown as being partially peeled away from ~e~rwardly facing ~ur~ace 66 o~ adhe3ive ~ember ~2.

2~0Q61~

In F~gure 5, adhes~e me~ber 62 ls deplcted in exploded fa6hlon so ~js to better illu~trato the appearance of ~orwardly ~acing sur~ace 64 although lt is undersitood that ln application, forwardly ~acing surface 64 of adhe~ive membe~ 62 15 in substant~ally co-ex~ens~ve and contactlng relation with rearwardly facing ~urfac~ 53 of base member S2 as sho~n ln Flgur~ 56.

~race msmbers 70, 71 are preferably unitarily ~olded with 6ccket support member 5~ and base member 52 so as to provide structural support to 6ecket support arms 56, 58. Inwardly facing 6urface 60 of socket support member S4 ls a generally U-shaped 6urface that tapers ~nwardly near ~orwardly facl~g ~ur~ace 51 of ~ase ~ember 52 in order to provlde better frictional engagement with the simllarly tapered surf~ce~ of a convent~onal "mini-light" socket as depicted in bulb~
60cXet~conductor unit 40 in Figure 4. A major portion of brace member 70 pre~erably lie~ ~n a plane substantlally perpendicular to the plane o~ forwardly faclng surface 51 of base member 52, and alqo substantlally perpendicular to the outwardly ~acing surface o~ ~ocket cupport arm 56, which ~ in turn ~ubstantially perpendicular to ~ur~ace 51. Inter6ection ilne 72 between brace member 70 and ~orwardly facing surface 51 o~ base me~ber 52 is preferably substantlally perpend~cular to 60cket ~upport arm 56; line o~ inter~ection 74 between brace member 70 and 60cket 6upport arm 56 ls desirably pe~pendlcular to 6urface 51 and llnes o~ intersect~on 72, 74 are desirably perpendicular to each other. As shown in Figure~ 5 and 6, inwardly ~acing siurface 60 of socket support arms 56, 58 of ~ocket 6upport ~ember 54 i5 substant~ally flat, except ~or the curved portlon near base member 52.

Re~erring to Figures 7 and 8, a particularly pre~erred embod~ment of the subject apparatu~ hown - ..
.

~ ;; .. . - . ... ~. -20006~2 wherein decoratlve llght holder ~0 preterably compri~es ba~e m~mber 82, so~ket ~upport me~bQr 84, adhe~lve member 92 and bra¢e memb-rs 98, 99 Ba~e ~e~ber 82 pr~erably comprl-~ torwardly ~clng ~urfac- 81 ~nd S re~rwardly ~aclng surface 03 Socket cupport m~mb~r 84 prererably co~prisoc a ~lur~llty o~ ~paced ~part 90c~et 6upport ~rm6 86, 88 havlng arcuate inwardly ~aclnq surface~ 6ub~tantially perp~ndicùl~r to forwardly f~cing surface 81 of ba6e member 8~ as lllu~trated by surfaco go lo of socket support arm 88 ~dge6 91, 93 of ~ocket support ` ;~
arms ~6, 88 pre~rAbly deflne ~ ~ubstAntlally rect~ngulnr 810t adapted to accommodate the ~re6 o~ a conventlonal --"mini-ligllt" electrical ~oc~et ln~erted into frlctional ~-~
ergagement with the ~nwardly tacing 6urfaces of 6ecket -~-6upport member 84. Adhé~iv~ mQ~ber 92 i~ depicted ln Figure 7 a3 belng exploded away ~rom bas~ member 82, but - -~
in actual use i9 under6tood to be in contacting relation ~-; with rearwardly f~clng ~ur~ace 83 of ba6e member 82 as - --hown in Flgure 8 Ov~rlying material 97 shown ln co~
extenslve and cub~tantlally contactlng relatlon with rearwardly ~acing 6u~ace 96 o~ adhe61ve ~ember 92 in Figure 7 but is 6hown belng pe-led away ~rom surface 96 ln ~Igure 8 Brace member 98 i~ shown a6 belng substantlally perpendicular to both the plane ot torwardly facing surface 81 o~ base member 82 and the outwardly ~acing surface o~ ~ocket support aru 86 o~ 60cxet support ~ -~
ae~ber 84, ~9 demonstrated by lines of lntersectlon 100, 102, respectlvely, whlch ~r- d~o pre~erably 30 Bu~Btantlally perpendicular to ~ch other ` -~
. -- Brace ~ember~ 70, 71 ~nd g8, 99 a~ ~hown ln `
~- ~iqure~ S-8 ~re p~rticularly use~ul for malntaining the -` -dimen~ional ~tability o~ oc~et ~upport ~ember~ S4, 84 e~en ~fter decorativ- light holder~ 50, 8~ are 6ub~ected 3S to heating, or stretchlng through prolonged or repeated -~

. :

20006~12 u~e. ~dhesive me~be~s 62, 82 are ~esirably adapted to be re~oved ~rom ba6e member~ 52, 82 ~ollowlng use so that new ~dh~filve members can be applied to such b~se members at a later date ~or ~urther use. Once re~oved trom baee me~ber 52, 82, adhe6~ve me~ber6i 62, 92, re6pectlvely, can be disposed Of.

It is al~o ~een ~rom t~e flgures of the drawin~
t~at the geo~etry of the socket ~pport ~ember~ and so(:~et 6JppOrt ar~s can vary within the 6cope of the lnvention so long as adequate frlctlonal contact is e6~ablished ~etween the inwardly facln7 surface or surfaces ~e the sock~t support member and the outwardly faclng surSace of a conventlonal decoratlve light ~ocket, while ~l~o ~roviding space fox the w~res connected to lS the 60c~et whenever the socXet ~i inserted lnto ths decorativ~ light hold~r.

Other alteration~ and modifications of the subject :~ ~nventlon will become apparent to those o~ ordlnary ~ ~kill in the art upon reading this dlsclosure, and lt ls :~ 20 intended that the ~icope o~ Applic~nt'~i lnvention be :: limited only by the broadsst interpretation of the appende~ clalms to which the Inventor ~ay be legally entitled.

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Claims

1. A decorative light holder comprising a base member, a socket support member projecting substantially perpendicularly from said base member, and an adhesive member adapted to secure said base member to a substantially planar support surface.

2. The decorative light holder of Claim 1 wherein said socket support means is adapted to frictionally engage the outwardly-facing walls of a decorative light socket.

3. The decorative light holder of Claim 1 wherein said socket support member further comprises a plurality of opposed and spaced apart socket support arms adapted to frictionally engage the outwardly facing surface of a decorative light socket.

4. The decorative light holder of Claim 1 further comprising at least one brace member substantially perpendicular to said base member and to said socket support member.

5. The decorative light holder of Claim 3 wherein each socket support arm further comprises at least one inwardly facing, substantially flat surface.

6. The decorative light holder of Claim 3 wherein each socket support arm further comprises at least one inwardly facing, substantially arcuate surface.

7. The decorative light holder of Claim 1 wherein said base member further comprises a substantially planar rearwardly facing surface, said adhesive member is adhesively secured to the rearwardly facing surface of the base member, and in which the adhesive member further comprises an oppositely facing surface having adhered thereto a substantially co-extensive, relatively thinner layer of overlying sheet material.

8. The decorative light holder of Claim 7 wherein said overlying sheet material is releasable from said oppositely facing layer of said adhesive member.