Abstract:
A balloon with a lighting/sounding device includes a balloon body and a lighting/sounding device secured onto a wall of the balloon body, wherein the lighting/sounding device is secured onto the balloon wall via an external cover. The lighting/sounding device is secured via the external cover, which facilitates setting and installation of the lighting/sounding device and simplifies a configuration structure thereof so as to reduce manufacturing costs, and such a structure will not affect the inflation and use of the balloon but provides more convenient decoration and entertainment.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a U.S. National Stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 of the International Application PCT/CN2012/070043, filed Jan. 4, 2012, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a-d) to CN 201110311576.6, filed Oct. 14, 2011. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a balloon, particularly to a balloon with a lighting/sounding device. 
     Description of Related Arts 
     As people&#39;s living standards continue to improve, because of its unique decorativeness, balloon has become a choice of life. Typically, people decorate with a single inflated balloon or a combination of multiple balloons. 
     However, this usage is too monotonous to meet diversified needs. So balloons with various effects have been created, such as the luminous balloon disclosed by the Chinese patent application CN200610122541.7. The luminous balloon has a lighting effect and is characterized in that an LED lamp is taken as a light source and a light circuit device which supplies power to a silicon photocell is arranged in a plastic shell with an air hole. It has a simple frame, and is convenient to use and suitable not only for being held in hand after being sleeve jointed with a plastic pipe but also for being tied and dragged by a rope to float in the air or ornament the night scene. 
     Nevertheless, although such a balloon structure is capable of emitting light, its illuminant and inflating structure are located at the inlet of the balloon, which makes the balloon difficult to inflate; the balloon is relatively heavy and difficult to launch; there are also problems in production and costs, so the balloon has not been widely used. 
     The British patent application GB20070004575 has disclosed a structure where a lighting device is fixed to the inner wall of a balloon, wherein the lighting device is provided with an LED lamp at the lower part and a projecting mushroom head at the upper part, an O-ring is tied to the lower part of the mushroom head so that the balloon is closely attached to the lighting device to fix the lighting device to the balloon, a protruding arrow head shape enlargement is provided at the inlet, which is connected to a contact piece on the lighting device, and the LED lamp is turned on by pulling out the arrow head shape enlargement to close the lighting circuit. This structure avoids providing a lighting device at the inlet of a balloon, thereby facilitating inflation of the balloon, and the lighting device may have a small size and be installed within the balloon. But yet it is limited in that: the provision of the mushroom head and the O-ring makes the fixation structure between the balloon and the lighting device monotonous, as the O-ring needs to be provided at the reduced neck portion of the mushroom head in order to fix the balloon to the lighting device; the mushroom head has no other functions than being part of the fixation structure; the reduced neck of the mushroom head requires much more complicated processes and procedures, which increases the manufacture costs; despite its easy control, the arrow head shape enlargement wastes resources and is not conducive to environmental protection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     On the basis of the above problems, a first object of the present invention is to provide a balloon with a lighting/sounding device, which is provided with a lighting/sounding device inside and is easy to control and inflate at lower costs. 
     A second object of the present invention is to provide a balloon with a lighting/sounding device which is easy to control without affecting inflation of the balloon or producing environmentally unfriendly wastes. 
     A third object of the present invention is to provide a balloon with a lighting/sounding device, wherein the turn-on and turn-off of the lighting/sounding device is controlled from outside of the balloon so as to conserve resources. 
     A last but not least object of the invention is to provide a balloon with a lighting/sounding device, wherein a protective structure is provided where the lighting/sounding device contacts the balloon wall, and the protective structure interferes with a motion direction of the lighting/sounding device and lowers a motion speed when the balloon explodes to make sure the lighting/sounding device would cause no harm to human bodies. 
     To achieve these objects, the present invention is carried out through following technical solutions. 
     A balloon with a lighting/sounding device comprises a balloon body and a lighting/sounding device secured onto a wall of the balloon body, wherein the lighting/sounding device is secured onto the balloon wall via an external cover. 
     The balloon is made of latex, aluminum film or other materials. 
     The lighting/sounding device has a lighting lamp or a sounder, and a battery electrically connected with the lighting lamp or the sounder in various manners, and an outer end of the lighting/sounding device is a fixing portion covered by the balloon, with the external cover being fastened onto the balloon and the fixing portion. Further, the lighting/sounding device is provided with the lighting lamp or the sounder at a front end, at a middle part is provided with button batteries connected to the lighting lamp or the sounder via a contact piece, and at an end portion is provided with the fixing portion covered by the balloon body, with the external cover being fastened onto the fixing portion. 
     The lighting lamp is one member selected from a group consisting of an incandescent lamp, a neon lamp, and an LED lamp; the sounder, as in the usual sense, is a device capable of playing music or sound, such as a speaker; a capacity, size and number of the button batteries can be preset as needed, and under normal circumstances, 2˜4 button batteries are necessary for lighting or sounding needs. 
     Further, a control switch that controls to turn on or off the lighting/sounding device is provided on the external cover. 
     Further, the control switch is fixed on a top of the external cover. 
     Further, the external cover has at least one press portion corresponding to a control switch installed within the lighting/sounding device for closing an electrical connection of the lighting/sounding device to start the lighting/sounding device, the control switch being controlled by pressing of the press portion. 
     The external cover has a balloon wall inside and the balloon wall has the control switch corresponding to the lighting/sounding device inside; or the balloon wall is positioned below the control switch. 
     Further, the external cover is covered with a switch base, and the control switch is provided on the switch base and protrudes into the balloon to contact a circuit of the lighting/sounding device, so as to control to turn on or off the lighting/sounding device. 
     The control switch is one member selected from a group consisting of a touch-pressure switch, a push switch, and a toggle switch. 
     In a preferred mode, the switch base has a press portion thereon, and the control switch is a trigger mechanism; a lower part of the press portion corresponds to the trigger mechanism, and the trigger mechanism protrudes into the fixing portion of the lighting/sounding device; the contact piece extends to the fixing portion and corresponds to the trigger mechanism, and the contact piece is connected to the button batteries or disconnected from the electrical connection with the button batteries through the trigger mechanism. 
     Further, the contact piece extends to the fixing portion to form a bent portion projecting in correspondence to the trigger mechanism, and the back of the button batteries is hollow, allowing the bent portion to contact the button batteries to form an electrical connection and start the lighting/sounding device. 
     The press portion and the trigger mechanism are normally made of non-conductive materials like plastic cement, plastic or rubber, while the contact piece is made of conductive metal materials like nickel-plated sheet metal. 
     The lighting device is provided within a housing which, for the purpose of enforcing the safety and liability of the lighting device, comprises an upper housing and a lower housing which are secured to each other in order to contain the lighting device and expose the lighting lamp; the upper and lower housings together compose an end portion fitted into the external cover so that the lighting device is tightly fixed to the wall of the balloon body by the external cover. 
     Considering balloons are apt to explode when inflated, for the sake of safety, a flexible protective membrane is attached to the wall of the balloon body at a position where the lighting/sounding device is fixed on the balloon body, so that, when the balloon explodes, the lighting/sounding device would not scatter at high speed and cause bodily injury. 
     The protective membrane is generally provided at an interior of the balloon wall, namely inside the balloon. In another embodiment, an exterior of the balloon wall is attached with an additional protective membrane. 
     The protective membrane is one member selected from a group consisting of paper sheet, adhesive sticker/paper, preservative film, flexible plastic film, bubble gum, and cloth. 
     The protective membrane covers an area larger than an area occupied by the lighting/sounding device to achieve better protection. 
     In the case where the protective membrane is to be provided outside of the balloon wall, a preferred mode is to enclose an adhesive sticker/paper for a user to attach to the balloon wall surrounding the lighting/sounding device after inflating the balloon for enhanced protection. 
     The protective membrane can be provided inside and outside the balloon wall at the same time. 
     On condition that a balloon of the prior art is not affected, the present invention fixes the lighting/sounding device via the external cover, which facilitates the setting and installation of the lighting/sounding device and simplifies the configuration structure thereof so as to reduce the manufacturing costs, and such a structure doesn&#39;t affect the inflation and use of the balloon but provides more convenient decoration and entertainment. 
     This structure further enables control of the lighting/sounding device, because what is needed to turn on or off the lighting/sounding device is a simple press, instead of control by an additional component attached at the inlet of the balloon. Also, it helps to conserve more resources and avoid pollution and adverse effects on the environment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a lighting device and an external cover according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a sketch view of a balloon with a lighting/sounding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a sketch view of the lighting device of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a sketch view of the balloon with the lighting/sounding device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a sketch view of the lighting device of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sketch view of the balloon with the lighting/sounding device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a sketch view of the lighting device of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a sketch view of the balloon with the lighting/sounding device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a sketch view of the lighting device of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a sketch view of the balloon with the lighting/sounding device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a sketch view of the lighting device of  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is a sketch view of the balloon with the lighting/sounding device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     To explain the objects, technical solutions and advantages of this invention in a clearer way, here is a detailed description with reference to the drawings and the embodiments. It is to be understood that any embodiment described herein is intended to be illustrative, without any limitation to the present invention. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , in a first embodiment, an exploded diagram is used to show the structure wherein a lighting device is integrated with an external cover; though a depiction of the balloon is thus left out, the balloon is still an integral part of the invention. Since the balloon has the same structure as in the prior art, we will only describe the lighting device and the external cover to explain their structural characteristics. 
     The lighting device comprises an LED lamp  1 , a contact piece  2 , an upper housing  3  and a lower housing  4 , wherein turn-on of the LED lamp is controlled by a trigger mechanism  5 . In this lighting device, upper and lower housings  3  and  4  are fixed to each other. In particular, the upper housing  3  has a projecting block  32  and a projecting post  33  at one side, the lower housing  4  has a clamping slot  45  and a clamping hole  46  respectively corresponding to positions of the projecting block  32  and the projecting post  33 , and the projecting block  32  and the projecting post  33  can be nested into the clamping slot  45  and the clamping hole  46  to fix the upper and lower housings  3  and  4 ; likewise, the lower housing  4  has a projecting block and a projecting post at the other side, the upper housing  3  has a clamping slot and a clamping hole at corresponding positions, and the upper and lower housings  3  and  4  are firmly fixed together as the two buckle at both sides. In this way, the front portion  31  of the upper housing  3  and the front portion  41  of the lower housing  4  form an opening large enough for the LED lamp  1  to come out for lighting. 
     The LED lamp  1  has two contact pieces  2  and  22  protruding backwards, wherein the contact piece  22  is directly connected to the front of button batteries  8 , the contact piece  2  protrudes backwards to the back of the button batteries  8  and forms a bent portion  21 , and the bent portion  21  formed by the protruding rear end of the contact piece  2  completes a circuit with the button batteries  8  to supply power to the LED lamp  1 . 
     The button batteries  8  are installed within a central cavity  42  formed between the upper housing  3  and the lower housing  4 , the central cavity  42  communicates with a rear cavity  43  formed by the back of the upper and lower housings  3  and  4 , and thereby a circuit is completed by a trigger mechanism  5  pressing the bent portion  21  of the contact piece  2  to control turn on and off of the LED lamp  1 . 
     The trigger mechanism  5  has a pivot sleeve  52  at the middle part, the pivot sleeve  52  being sleeved on a projecting shaft  47  within the rear cavity  43  in such a way that the trigger mechanism  5  is able to swing around the projecting shaft  47 ; a contact pressure portion  51  extends from each side of the trigger mechanism  5 , and a protruding top holding portion  53  is provided at the lower part of the trigger mechanism  5 ; pressing one of the contact pressure portions  51  of the trigger mechanism  5  causes the top holding portion  53  to push the bent portion  21  or to release the bent portion  21  from depression so as to control to turn on or off the LED lamp. 
     The lower housing  4  has a buckling portion at the end portion  44 , and the upper housing also has a buckling portion  34  at the end portion; an external cover  6  is nested into the buckling portion  34  via a buckling slot  62  to tightly integrate the lighting device with the balloon body. To facilitate assembly of the external cover  6 , a gap  61  is usually provided at one side thereof. 
     To make the control of turn-on and turn-off of the LED lamp  1  more convenient, a switch cover  7  is further provided. The switch cover  7  is buckled to the bottom edge  63  of the external cover  6  and firmly fixes the lighting device onto the wall of the balloon body together with the external cover  6 . A press portion  71  is provided on the top of the switch cover  7  for a user to control the trigger mechanism  5 . 
       FIG. 2  shows a simplified diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, an LED lamp  30  and button batteries  40  are installed within a housing of a lighting device, a contact piece  60  protrudes to the back of the button batteries  40 , the housing of the lighting device extends outward to form an end portion  20  of the lighting device, which further extends outward to form a switch base  90 , and a press portion  70  is positioned on the surface of the switch base  90 , pressing of which would push the trigger mechanism  80  to advance. 
     An external cover  50  fixes the lighting device onto the wall of a balloon body  10  and positions the LED lamp  30  inside the balloon. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the press portion  70  is contacted and pressed in the direction of the arrow to push the trigger mechanism  80  to move downward so that the contact piece  60  is held above the button batteries  40  to close the circuit and turn on the LED lamp  30 . 
     In the second embodiment, an integrated structure is formed by the switch base  90  and the end portion  20  of the lighting device, which may be further simplified in a third embodiment as showed in  FIGS. 4 and 5  by omitting the switch base. 
       FIG. 4  shows a simplified diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, an LED lamp  301  and button batteries  401  are installed within a housing of a lighting device, a contact piece  601  protrudes to the back of the button batteries  401 , and the housing of the lighting device extends outward to form an end portion  201  of the lighting device. 
     A press portion  701  is positioned on the surface of an external cover  501 , and pressing of the press portion  701  strikes a trigger mechanism  801  which is a toggle switch positioned inside the end portion  201 . The trigger mechanism  801 , when stricken in the direction of the arrow, brings the contact piece  601  into contact with the button batteries  401 . 
     An external cover  501  fixes the lighting device onto the wall of a balloon body  101  and positions the LED lamp  301  inside the balloon. 
     With reference to  FIG. 5 , the press portion  701  strikes in the direction of the arrow the trigger mechanism  801  to make it turn right, and the bottom of the trigger mechanism  801  presses the contact piece  601  so that the contact piece  601  is held above the button batteries  401  to close the circuit and turn on the LED lamp  301 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a simplified diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which has the same fundamental structure as showed in  FIG. 4  but differs in the configuration of press portion and trigger mechanism. In the fourth embodiment, an LED lamp  302  and button batteries  402  are installed within a housing of a lighting device, a contact piece  602  protrudes to the back of the button batteries  402  and forms a bent portion at the back of the button batteries  402  for pressing a trigger mechanism  802 ; the housing of the lighting device extends outward to form an end portion  202  of the lighting device. 
     Two of the left and right press portions  702  are positioned on the surface of an external cover  502 , which can press the trigger mechanism  802  from right and left, and the trigger mechanism  802  is positioned at the inner side of the end portion  202 , which can swing to bring the contact piece  602  into contact with the button batteries  402 . 
     An external cover  502  fixes the lighting device onto the wall of a balloon body  102  and positions the LED lamp  302  inside the balloon. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , one of the press portions  702  strikes the trigger mechanism  802  in the direction of the arrow to make it turn right, and the trigger mechanism  802  presses the contact piece  602  so that the contact piece  602  is held above the button batteries  402  to close the circuit and turn on the LED lamp  302 . 
       FIG. 8  shows a simplified diagram of a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the fifth embodiment, an LED lamp  303  and button batteries  403  are also installed within a housing of a lighting device, a contact piece  603  protrudes to the back of the button batteries  403 , and the housing of the lighting device extends outward to form an end portion  203  of the lighting device. 
     Two of the left and right press portions  703  are positioned on the surface of an external cover  503 , which can press a trigger mechanism  803  from right and left, and the trigger mechanism  803  is a toggle switch positioned inside of the end portion  203  that can be stricken to left or right to bring the contact piece  603  into contact with the button batteries  403 . 
     An external cover  503  fixes the lighting device onto the wall of a balloon body  103  and positions the LED lamp  303  inside the balloon. 
     With reference to  FIG. 9 , one of the press portions  703  is contacted and pressed in the direction of the arrow to press the trigger mechanism  803  to turn, and the bottom of the trigger mechanism  803  presses the contact piece  603  so that the contact piece  603  is held above the button batteries  403  to close the circuit and turn on the LED lamp  303 . To turn off the LED lamp  303 , the other press portion  703  needs to be contacted and pressed. 
       FIG. 10  shows a simplified diagram of a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the sixth embodiment, an LED lamp  304  that is always on once activated for use with disposable balloons and button batteries  404  are installed within a housing of a lighting device, a contact piece  604  protrudes to the back of the button batteries  404 , and the housing of the lighting device extends outward to form an end portion  204  of the lighting device. 
     A projecting clamping block  904  is provided corresponding to a position where the contact piece  604  closes the circuit; when the contact piece  604  is held on the button batteries  404  after pressed down by a trigger mechanism  804 , the clamping block clamps the contact piece  604  to make it stably close the circuit and stay in contact with the button batteries  404 . The trigger mechanism  804  has a plurality of barbs itself to stably advance when pressed. 
     A press portion  704  is positioned on the surface of an external cover  504 , by which the trigger mechanism  804  positioned inside an end portion  204  is contacted and pressed. 
     The external cover  504  fixes the lighting device onto the wall of a balloon body  104  and positions the LED lamp  304  inside the balloon. 
     With reference to  FIG. 11 , the press portions  704  is contacted and pressed in the direction of the arrow to press the trigger mechanism  804  to move downward, and the trigger mechanism  804  presses the contact piece  604  so that the contact piece  604  is held above the button batteries  404  to close the circuit and turn on the LED lamp  304 . Meanwhile, the clamping block  904  clamps the contact piece  604  to make it stably close the circuit and stay in contact with the button batteries  404 . 
       FIG. 12  shows a simplified diagram of a seventh embodiment of the present invention. In the seventh embodiment, an LED lamp  305  and button batteries  405  are installed within a housing of a lighting device, a contact piece  605  protrudes to the back of the button batteries  405 , and the housing of the lighting device extends outward to form an end portion  205  of the lighting device. 
     Two of the left and right press portions  705  are positioned on the surface of an external cover  505 , which can press a trigger mechanism  805  from right and left, and the trigger mechanism  805  is a toggle switch positioned inside of the end portion  205  that can be stricken to left or right to hold the contact piece  605  into contact with the button batteries  405 . 
     The external cover  505  fixes the lighting device onto the wall of a balloon body  105  and positions the LED lamp  305  inside the balloon. The external cover  505  has a thread  5051  projecting inward at the inner side, and the end portion  205  has a thread groove  2051  at a corresponding position; the thread  5051  can be nested into the thread groove  2051 , and thereby the external cover  505  can be firmly integrated with the end portion  205  by rotating the external cover  505  for installation. 
     One of the press portions  705  is contacted and pressed to press the trigger mechanism  805  to turn, and the bottom of the trigger mechanism  805  presses the contact piece  605  so that the contact piece  603  is held above the button batteries  405  to close the circuit and turn on the LED lamp  305 . To turn off the LED lamp  305 , the other press portion  7053  needs to be contacted and pressed. 
     To conclude, a primary structural improvement of the present invention is to provide an external cover via which a balloon is directly secured onto a lighting device (or other devices like a sounding device), so that the wall of the balloon body is positioned between the external cover and the lighting device and the process of necking is no longer needed for the lighting device. The external cover and the lighting device can be fixed together by buckling (e.g. buttoning), screwing, welding (e.g. ultrasonic welding), interference fit and the like. Further, the external cover may make use of an attached control switch to control the lighting device. 
     The foregoing is only a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the invention in any way. Any modification, equivalent replacement or improvement made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention is covered under the protection scope claimed therein.