Abstract:
A lighting fixture includes a support, a plurality of objects such as crystal ornaments, and a plurality of quick-disconnect connectors connected to the support for hanging the plurality of objects from the support. The plurality of quick-disconnect connectors include a first self-locking position for connecting the plurality of objects to the support and a second releasable position for disconnecting the plurality of objects from the support. The plurality of quick-disconnect connectors may include a plurality of cable grips for suspending the plurality of objects. A method for trimming lighting fixture with objects such as ornaments, and a method for forming a lighting fixture are also disclosed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to lighting fixtures, and more particularly, to lighting fixtures having releasably attachable objects and methods for trimming lighting fixtures.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Lighting fixtures such as chandeliers typically include a central member with outwardly-extending arms which support crystal ornaments. Typically, each crystal ornament is separately attached to an arm with a wire. For example, a crystal ornament is typically attached to a wire and an upper end of the wire is wrapped or hooked onto one of the arms.  
           [0003]    Various attempts have been made to provide lighting fixtures having releasably attachable ornaments. For examples, U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,584 issued to Fossati discloses a chandelier having coupling features whereby decorative elements may be easily added, removed or mounted in many alternative positions. The decorative elements may be inserted and locked into position by appropriate coupling fittings acting through interference or friction fits. One set of coupling fittings include a plurality of horizontal mounting apertures and the decorative elements include arms having a slotted pin which is received in the horizontal mounting apertures. Fossati also discloses slotted connector rings having a plurality of vertical openings for receiving, from above, an end of an arm of a decorative element.  
           [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,082 issued to Bayer discloses a chandelier hook for hanging chandelier ornaments. The hook has a pair of bends, one of which is adapted for engagement with an opening in a chandelier frame, and the other of which is adapted to resist accidental displacement of the ornaments from the chandelier frame.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,777 issued to Segill et al. discloses a lighting fixture such as a ceiling fixture adapted to surround a source of illumination. A set of translucent members are replacably assembled by a set of attachment members each of which has a hooked, upper end portion that is received on an associated one of a plurality of recesses in a bracket of the lighting fixture.  
           [0006]    There is a need for further lighting fixtures having releasably attachable objects and methods for trimming lighting fixtures.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention provides in a first aspect, a lighting fixture which includes a support, a plurality of objects, and a plurality of quick-disconnect connectors connected to the support for hanging the plurality of objects from the support. The plurality of quick-disconnect connectors have a first self-locking position for connecting the plurality of objects to the support and a second releasable position for disconnecting the plurality of objects from the support.  
           [0008]    The present invention provides in a second aspect, a lighting fixture which includes a support having a horizontal bottom member, a plurality of objects each of which having an elongated pin, and a plurality of cable grips attached to the bottom member of the support for suspending the plurality of objects by the elongated pins from the support. The plurality of cable grips have a first self-locking position for connecting the plurality of objects to the support and a second releasable position for disconnecting the plurality of objects from the support.  
           [0009]    The present invention provides in a third aspect, a method for trimming a lighting fixture which the method includes connecting a plurality of objects to a support with a plurality of quick-disconnect connectors.  
           [0010]    The present invention provides in a fourth aspect, a method for forming a light fixture in which the method includes providing a support, and attaching a plurality of quick-disconnect connectors to the support for connecting to a plurality of objects. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of various embodiments and accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture having a plurality of releasably attachable objects in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the lighting fixture of FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the lighting fixture taken along line  3 - 3  in FIG. 1 illustrating the support and the plurality of quick-disconnect connectors;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is an enlarged, elevation view, in part cross-section, taken along line  4 - 4  in FIG. 1 illustrating a portion of the support, one of the plurality of quick-disconnect connectors, and one of the plurality of releasably attachable objects;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is an enlarged, exploded, side elevational view of the quick-disconnect connector and the upper portion of the releasably attachable object of FIG. 4;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the releasably attachable object initially connected to the quick-disconnect connector of FIG. 5;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is an enlarged, side elevational view, in part cross-section, of the releasably attachable object initially connected to the quick-disconnect connector of FIG. 6;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a side elevational view, in part cross-section, of the releasably attachable object connected to the quick-disconnect connector of FIG. 6 with the knurled nut secured in place;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of the releasalby attachable object and the quick-disconnect connector of FIG. 6 illustrating removal of the releasably attachable object from the quick-disconnect connector;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 10 is an enlarged, side elevation view, in part cross-section, of the releasably attachable object and the quick-disconnect connector of FIG. 9;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 11 is an alternative embodiment of a lighting fixture having a plurality of releasably attachable objects in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the lighting fixture of FIG. 11. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]    [0024]FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a lighting fixture  10  in accordance with the present invention. Illustrated lighting fixture  10  includes a frame or support  20 , a plurality of quick-disconnect connectors  40  (FIG. 1) attached to support  20 , and a plurality of releasably attachable objects  80  (only some of which are shown in FIG. 1), each of the objects being attached to one of the plurality of quick-disconnect connectors  40  (FIG. 1).  
         [0025]    As will become apparent from the description below, the lighting fixtures of the present invention may be readily and securely trimmed with the plurality of releasably attachable objects reducing the costs to assemble and produce the lighting fixtures of the present invention compared to lighting fixtures where a wire is wrapping to connect each of the objects to the support. The plurality of releasably attachable objects may also be readily manufactured with simply configured upper ends having an elongated pin to reduce fabrication costs of the objects compared to the cost of fabricating lighting fixtures with objects having complicated hook configurations for attaching the objects to the support. The various lighting fixtures of the present invention also allow a customer to assemble or attach the objects at home, as well as allow the customer to readily disconnect the objects for cleaning or replacement with a new or different object.  
         [0026]    As shown in FIG. 1, lighting fixture  10  includes support  20  which in one example, may be elliptical in shape and formed from a horizontal planar top member  22 , a spaced-apart horizontal planar bottom member  24 , and a sidewall  26  disposed between the top member and the bottom member. The top member may be suitably attached directly to a ceiling or suspended from a ceiling. Bottom member  24  may include a plurality of openings  25  therein. Inside support  20  may be suitable light bulb receptacles  27  (FIGS. 2 and 3) for receiving and supporting a light bulb in each of the plurality of openings for projecting light between the objects. Various floodlights and spotlights may be received in the receptacles. For example, the ends of the lighting fixture may include floodlights and the middle of the lighting fixture may include spotlights. The lighting fixture may use one or more light bulbs. Bottom member  24  may be modular and formed from a plurality of subsections which are connected to top member  22  with suitable bolts  23  as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. As also shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of quick-disconnect connectors  40  may be attached to bottom member  24  in a suitable pattern for supporting the hanging or suspended objects.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged, side elevation view of a portion of support  20 , one of the plurality of quick-disconnect connectors  40 , and one of the pluralities of objects  80 . For example, bottom member  24  may include a plurality of holes (only one shown in FIG. 4) through which quick-disconnect connector  40  may be attached using a threaded nut  42 . Object  80  may include a string of relatively small round crystals  82 , and a lower relatively large crystal  84 . The crystals may have a bore therein and be connected using a plurality of wire links  86 .  
         [0028]    As best shown in FIG. 5, quick-disconnect connector  40  may include a housing  50 , a slidable catch  60 , and a knurled locking nut  70 . The upper portion of object  80  may include an elongated generally straight pin  88  which is received in slidable catch  60  to suspend object  80  from support  20  as explained in greater detail below.  
         [0029]    When initially attaching object  80  to quick-disconnect connector  40 , as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, pin  88  is inserted in a vertically-extending passageway (only a portion of which is shown in FIG. 7) in slidable catch  60  which self-locks pin  88  to quick-disconnect connector  60 . As best shown in FIG. 7, housing  50  includes a tapered conical passageway  52  therein. Slidable catch  60  may include a lower threaded portion  62  and an upper tapered or conical portion  64 . Upper portion  64  may include a plurality of holes  66 , such as three equally spaced holes around upper conical portion  64 . A plurality of ball bearings  68 , such as three ball bearings, may be disposed in holes  66 . The self-locking action of the connector is accomplished by a spring  65  which forces slidable catch  60  downwardly.  
         [0030]    When pin  88  is inserted into catch  60 , the pin forces the ball bearing and the slidable catch upwardly to compress the spring. The slidable catch which moves upwardly relative to the housing provides a gap between the outer surface of the conical portion and the inner surface of the housing. This allows the pin to slide past the ball bearings. After removing the upward force on the pin, the spring forces the conical portion downwardly to its normal biased position to lock the pin in place by the action of the ball bearings being trapped and wedged between the outer surface of the pin and the inner tapered surface of the housing. The weight of the object also adds to the wedging effect of the ball bearings to hold the object in place. This results in reducing the likelihood of the objects disconnecting and falling from the support. Knurled nut  70  can then be threaded onto slidable catch  60  to securely lock pin  88  in place as shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0031]    To detach object  80  from the support, as shown in FIG. 9, knurled nut  70  is sufficiently unthreaded from slidable catch  60 . Thereafter, knurled nut  70  is pushed upwardly in the direction of arrow A so that lower portion of slidable catch may be pushed upwardly to a release position. As best shown in FIG. 10, pushing slidable catch  60  moves conical portion  64  upwardly and away from the inner conical surface  52  of housing  50 . This removes the wedging effect of ball bearings  68  on pin  88  so that the pin may be removed, in the direction of arrow B, from the passageway in slidable catch  60 , and thus allow detachment of the object from the quick-disconnect connector.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate an alternative embodiment of a lighting fixture  100  in accordance with the present invention. Illustrated lighting fixture  100  is generally similar to lighting fixture  10  with the exception that the support is round and the objects are disposed in a circular pattern.  
         [0033]    While the lighting fixtures described above and illustrated may have an elliptical or round configuration, it will be appreciated that lighting fixtures in accordance with the present invention may have a square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, irregular configuration, or combinations thereof. The support may be fabricated from a metal such as aluminum or any suitable material. The support may be unadorned, adorned (e.g., with a mesh material), or include any other decoration. In addition, a lighting fixture employing the features of the present invention may have a central portion with arms, and the quick-disconnect connectors may be attached to the arms. A lighting fixture in accordance with the present invention may also have any suitable configuration for supporting ornaments or objects therefrom using the quick-disconnect connectors. Further, lighting fixtures in accordance with the present invention may also be configured as table lamps, wall sconces, chandeliers, luminaires, and pendants.  
         [0034]    The quick-disconnect connectors may be suitable cable grips. Suitable cable grips such a GRIPLOCK gliders are available from GRIPLOCK Systems of Carpinteria, Calif., model Y4IP-KFts(25). Suitable cable grips are also available from Arakawa Hanging Systems of Portland, Oreg. Conventionally, cable grips are used to suspend a lighting fixture from a ceiling and allow level adjustment of the light fixture.  
         [0035]    In addition, other suitable quick-disconnect connectors such as quick-disconnect connectors typically used on key chains may also be suitably employed in the lighting fixtures in accordance with the present invention. Still other suitable quick-disconnect connectors may include quick-disconnect connectors having one or more ball bearings or spring biased detents, resilient materials having teeth or catches, or other configurations having a normal self-locking position and a second releasable position. It will also be appreciated that either the support or the object may include the quick-disconnect connector. If two portions form the quick-disconnect connector, the support or the object may have either of the two halves which form the quick-disconnect connector.  
         [0036]    The objects or ornaments supported from the quick-disconnect connectors may be round, faceted, or have any other shape, or combinations thereof. The objects or ornaments may also be fabricated from glass, crystal, plastic, metal, stone, or any other suitable material, and combinations thereof. The objects or ornaments may also be clear or translucent, opaque, solid, colored, or combinations thereof. The objects or ornaments may further be connected by a series of solid wires and linked together. The objects or ornaments may also be suitably strung on a solid wire or braided wire or cable, the upper end of which is received in or connectable to the quick-disconnect connectors. In addition, a lighting fixture in accordance with the present invention may include some of the objects or ornaments attached to the support by quick-disconnect connectors, and some of the objects or ornaments being permanently attached to the support (e.g., by wrapping a wire to attach the objects or ornaments to the support structure). The shape of the length of the various suspended objects may be varied to provide any configuration. The objects may also be replaced with one or more different objects to provide the lighting fixture with a different look. The quick-disconnect connectors may also be attached to the support in orientations other than that shown in the figures. For example, the passageway in the quick-disconnect may be disposed horizontally or at an angle.  
         [0037]    From the present description, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a lighting fixture and ornaments which may be readily and inexpensively assembled. For example, the support may be fabricated, the quick-disconnect connectors attached to the support, and the object connected to the quick-disconnect connectors. The objects may be connected by a manufacturer or by the purchaser or consumer.  
         [0038]    Thus, while various embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many further changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.