Patent Publication Number: US-2015062884-A1

Title: Bracket System for Solar-Powered Lanterns and Method for Using Same

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to wall-mountable brackets for holding implements in particular to a system for providing portable hand-held lighting which includes resilient amounting brackets for holding the stalk of a solar-powered solar-rechargeable lantern of the kind conventionally provided for mounting into the ground in gardens or alongside pathways, and to the method of using in the system the combination of such mounting brackets and lanterns. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Applicant is aware of U.S. design Pat. No. 177,955 which is issued Jun. 12, 1956 to Arbogast for a Bracket for a Flashlight or the Like which discloses an ornamental design for a bracket for a flashlight. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,777 which issued. Feb. 20, 2007 to Banker for an Adjustable Tension Clip and Method of Use, wherein Banker discloses an adjustable tension clip assembly used for retaining a tool such as a welding torch. The tension clip assembly is engaged with a clamp which is able to be removably mounted onto a surface, wherein the clamp maybe a common c-clamp. The tension clip assembly has a pair of mirror-image resilient clip members positioned in spaced-apart parallel alignment. The tool is held within the resilient clip members. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,903, 929 which issued Feb. 27, 1990 to Hoffman for a Portable Apparatus for Holding Objects wherein Hoffman describes a holding device which clamps onto fixtures such as furniture, counter tops trees, fences, etc. and holds pole-shaped objects. An open, curved, resilient member holds the pole-shaped object. A c-clamp mounts the resilient member to the fixture. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,329 which issued Jan. 23, 1992 Sloan for a Flashlight Clamp, wherein Sloan teaches a clamp for holding a flashlight in position while removably securing the flashlight to a support. The clamp includes a u-shaped retaining member and a threaded connector cooperative with the retaining member to enable adjustment of gripping tension on the flashlight body. Tension in u-shaped arms that retain the flashlight by a clamping action is adjustable without need for manual manipulation through bending or otherwise, wherein the threaded connector maybe a bolt or screw whereby a turning movement results in tension adjustment of the retaining arms. As the threaded connector is turned the retaining arms are brought closer together increasing the tension on the body of the flashlight being held. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,948 which issued Sep. 30, 1975 to Hawthorne for an Adjustable Container Support wherein Hawthorne discloses a bracket for removably hanging items on a wall for use with association with peg-board type storage units. A pair of spaced ears at the top of a bracket support member secure to a peg-board wall. The bracket includes a hanger member having a pair of spaced, article clamping arms to support a container. 
     Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,896 which issued Jul. 28, 1959 Revzin for an Accessory Clamp wherein Revzin teaches a portable clamp assembly for attaching lamps and other accessories to fixed objects such as work benches, tables etc. a c-clamp is provided wherein the upper portion of the c-clamp pivots relative to the lower portion of the c-clamp upon adjustment of a screw by rotation of its associated control knob, and wherein a clamping ring is mounted to the upper portion of the c-clamp for clamping therein a tubular accessory support. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The mounting bracket according to one aspect of the present invention holds lanterns which are commercially sold as solar-powered garden and pathway lighting which use light emitting diodes (LEDs). Such lanterns are often designed to be stuck into the ground on spikes which extend downwardly from the stalk of the lantern. These lanterns typically have quite wide “heads”, i.e. the upper part which contains the LEDs or other light elements, which heads may be in the order of two to eight inches across and are mounted on the upper end of the elongate stalks The stalks may have having diameters in the range of ⅜ inch to 1 inch approximately. An example of such a lantern is the NOMA™ Eco-Bright Metal LED Garden Light supplied by NOMA Lites Ltd of Weybridge, United Kingdom. According to the present invention these ground lanterns also make useful hand held lighting if they are releasably mounted where they will get sunshine for charging and where a user will often need to use a lantern. They may be mounted for example beside doors or on fence or gate posts, or on walls such as the outside walls of buildings or enclosures such as storage sheds, metal storage containers, etc. The lanterns also decorative when elevated and mounted at, for example, eye level, on a releasable holder bracket. 
     Thus, according to another aspect of the present invention, the lanterns lend a decorative appearance to the front of the building or enclosure or gate, or along the fence line demarking a user&#39;s property, etc. A user has no trouble locating the closest lantern after dark as the lanterns automatically turn their LEDs or other light elements on when it gets dark. The user may then merely pull the lantern by its stalk, which now serves as the lantern handle, and the mounting bracket releases the lantern because the pinchers or tongs on the distal end of the bracket, that is, the end farthest from the vertical mounting surface on which the bracket is mounted, is resilient, for example being made of resilient polyurethane. The base of the mounting bracket is also resilient so that for example the bracket may be mounted on a tree and will not crack if mounted over a knot, etc. 
     For over-size diameter lantern stalks, the ends of the tongs are flared outwardly so that a rubber band or other tether may be looped over the distal ends of the tongs to mechanically close over the opening into the tongs. Because the head of the lantern is relatively wide, advantageously the throat of the tongs angles the stalk of the lantern upwardly and outwardly so that the head of the lantern clears the vertical mounting surface on which the bracket and lantern are mounted. 
     In summary, the present invention may be characterized in one aspect as both a system and a method for providing portable hand-held lighting. 
     The system includes a mounting bracket having a base at a base end of the bracket and a pair of resiliently operable tongs at an opposite distal end of the bracket, distal from the base end. A shank extends between the base and distal ends of the bracket. The base lies substantially in a base plane. The pair of tongs define a throat having an opening between ends of the pair of tongs. The throat opening opens and closes as the pair of resiliently operable tongs resiliently open and close to expand and contract a cross-sectional area of the throat as the stalk of a lantern is mounted onto or removed from the throat of the bracket. The throat has a bore axis passing substantially centroidally there through. The bore axis is inclined relative to the base plane, for example at ten to fifteen degrees from the vertical. 
     When in use, the system also includes a solar-powered hand-held lantern having a solar powered lighting head at an upper end of the lantern and a rigid elongate stalk at a lower end of the lantern, wherein the lantern stalk is mounted under the lantern head so as to extend substantially linearly downwardly from the head and wherein the head has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the stalk. The diameter of the stalk may be substantially in the range of ⅜ inch to one inch. The stalk has a longitudinal axis extending substantially centroidally along and through the stalk and the head of the lantern. 
     The stalk is releasably mountable into the throat of the mounting bracket through the opening into a mounted position wherein the longitudinal axis of the lantern is substantially co-linear with the bore axis of the throat so as to position the lantern. The stalk is manually removable from the throat by pulling of the stalk through the opening as the throat opening said resiliently opens and closes. 
     The base is adapted for mounting to a rigid substantially vertical mounting surface so as to dispose said bore axis upwardly and outwardly inclined from the base plane. That is, when the base is mounted to the vertical mounting surface so that the base plane is adjacent and substantially parallel to the vertical mounting surface, the bore axis is inclined upwardly and outwardly. 
     Advantageously the system includes a plurality of the mounting brackets and a corresponding plurality of the lanterns. The plurality of the mounting brackets are adapted for mounting to vertical mounting surfaces chosen from the group of locations comprising: a tree, a post, a pole, a door, a gate, a door frame, a railing, a wall. 
     Further advantageously the vertical mounting surfaces are at an elevated location for ease of grasping of the stalks by the user and for ease of pulling of the stalks by the user. 
     The pairs of tongs or the shank, or the base, or all of those components may be made of resilient material such as 90 A durometer polyurethane. 
     A method for providing portable hand-held lighting includes:
         (a) Providing a mounting bracket as described above for use in the system, Providing a solar powered lantern as described above for use in the system,   (b) releasably mounting the stalk into the throat through the opening into a mounted position wherein the longitudinal axis of the stalk is substantially co-linear with the bore axis of the throat, and wherein the stalk is manually removable from the throat by pulling of the stalk away from the mounting bracket and through the opening in the pair of tongs as the opening the resiliently opens and closes,   (c) Mounting the base of the bracket to a rigid substantially vertical mounting surface so as to dispose the bore axis upwardly and outwardly the inclined from the base plane and so that the base plane is adjacent and substantially parallel to the vertical mounting surface.       

     Preferably a plurality of the mounting brackets and a corresponding plurality of the lanterns are provided, and the plurality of the mounting brackets mounted to vertical mounting surfaces, where surfaces are chosen from the group of locations comprising: a tree, a post, a pole, a door, a gate, a door frame, a railing, a wall, and wherein the mounting locations are exterior locations chosen to position upper ends of the heads of the plurality of the lanterns so that they are exposed to sunlight on a sunny day. 
     Further advantageously the base&#39;s of the plurality of the mounting brackets are mounted at elevated locations for ease of grasping of the stalks by the user and for ease of pulling of the stalks by the user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is, in front elevation view, a prior art garden and pathway solar-powered lantern. 
         FIG. 1   a  is, in side elevation view, a solar-powered hand held-lantern mounted into a mounting bracket which is mounted to a rigid vertical surface, wherein the lantern has a relatively narrow diameter head as compared to the diameter of the stalk of the lantern. 
         FIG. 1   b  is, in side elevation view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 1   a  with a solar-powered hand-held lantern mounted therein which has a much wider diameter head as compared to the lantern of  FIG. 1   a.    
         FIG. 2  is, in partial cutaway perspective view, a fence around a residential property showing the use of the system according to one embodiment of the present invention to provide portable hand-held lighting at useful locations around the property. 
         FIG. 3  is, in perspective to view, a shed showing the solar-powered hand-held lighting system according to one aspect of the present invention installed in the front opening of a shed. 
         FIG. 4   a  is, in perspective view, the resilient mounting bracket according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 4   b  is, in side elevation view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 4   a.    
         FIG. 4   c  is, in plan view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 4   a.    
         FIG. 4   d  is, in end elevation view, the tong end of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 4   a.    
         FIG. 5  is, in side elevation view, one solar-powered hand-held lantern releasably mounted into the mounting bracket according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is, in partially cut away perspective view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 5  mounted to the stalk of a lantern. 
         FIG. 7  is, in partially cut away end elevation view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8   a  is, in rear perspective view, a mounting bracket according to an alternative embodiment shown partially closed such as for holding a small diameter lantern stalk. 
         FIG. 8   b  is, in side elevation view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 8   a.    
         FIG. 8   c  is the mounting bracket of  FIG. 8   a , in the open position for holding a medium or large diameter lantern stalk. 
         FIG. 8   d  is, in front perspective view, an alternative embodiment of the mounting bracket of  FIG. 8   a , in the partially closed position. 
         FIG. 9   a  is, in front perspective view, a further alternative of the mounting bracket with the tongs resilient open wide to clamp a large diameter lantern stalk. 
         FIG. 9   b  is the view of  FIG. 9   a  with the tongs resiliently closed to clamp a small diameter lantern stalk. 
         FIG. 9   c  is, in side elevation view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 9   b.    
       FIG.  FIG. 9   d  is, in rear perspective view, the mounting bracket of  FIG. 9   a.    
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     As stated above, solar-powered rechargeable garden lights which, are intended for mounting into the ground for decorative use in gardens and for illumination of pathways, are commercially available. One example sold by NOMA™ lights ltd is the Eco-Bright™ metal LED garden light such as seen in  FIG. 1 , referred to herein generically as lantern  10 . Such solar powered garden and pathway lanterns are designed to be stuck into the ground, typically on a spike  10   a.  They typically have a head  10   b  which contains LED lights. The head  10   b  is mounted on top of an elongate stalk  10   c.  The stalk  10   c  is of significantly smaller diameter than the lantern head  10   b.  As an example, the lantern head of conventional solar-powered pathway lighting lanterns may have a diameter in the order of 4-8 inches, and the stalk may have a diameter of substantially ⅜ of an inch to 1 ¼ inches. The lanterns solar panel  10   d  is typically mounted across the top of the lantern head. 
     Applicant has discovered that. such solar-powered garden and pathway lighting lanterns make useful hand held lanterns, and especially so if the lanterns are releasably mounted adjacent to locations where a user will often need to use a hand held lantern, and wherein they are releasably mounted for example using the resilient mounting bracket  12  better described below, and where the lanterns will be positioned with their solar panels, for recharging their solar-powered rechargeable batteries, directed at the sun for at least part of the day on a sunny day. In this way, the lanterns will, as they are designed to do, keep themselves recharged during the day and then automatically turn on when it becomes dark. 
     Consequently, as seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , when lanterns  10  are releasably mounted in mounting bracket  12 , for example to or adjacent to exterior doors  14   a  to a house  14 , or to or adjacent to the exterior vertical supports  16   a  (such as poles, posts, frame members, etc) of a barn or shed (or to the fences  18  or gate  20  themselves), or when the lanterns are mounted to or adjacent to fence posts  18   a  or gate posts  20   a,  in the dark a user will be able to locate a lantern which is lit up and which is positioned to cast it&#39;s light where needed, for example on a latch or locking mechanism of a door  14   a  or gate  20 . Because the lantern  10  is releasably mounted, it may be held by the user grasping the stalk  10   c  and removed from the resilient mounting bracket  12  so the lantern  10  may be carried into a dark enclosure, or carried while the user is moving across dark terrain. When the user has finished with the lantern  10 , the lantern  10  may be simply returned to the resilient bracket  12  and left there until needed the next time. 
     In  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b , other examples of conventional solar powered garden and pathway lights are shown mounted in a resilient holder  12  which is mounted to a rigid vertical surface  22 . Examples are mentioned above of useful vertical surfaces  22  to which the mounting bracket  12  may be mounted, although these are not intended to be limiting. Thus as stated above, resilient brackets  12  may be mounted to posts which include fence posts  18   a , gate posts  20   a,  and support beams or members  16   a  which define the opening to a shed  16 . Mounting brackets  12 , although shown mounted adjacent the door  14   a  to house  14  may also be mounted to or adjacent to doors on other forms of buildings such as garages, shops, sheds, barns, or on fixed mobile temporary shelters such as steel containers, campers, or on larger vehicles or vessels, etc, or on trees or other substantional fixtures. Because mounting bracket  12  is made of resilient material better described below, the base  12   a  of mounting bracket  12  may be mounted to irregular surfaces such as tree trunks. Base  12   a  is mounted to vertical surfaces by means of threaded fasteners such as screws (not shown) mounted through corresponding apertures in base  12   a.  Because the base  12   a  is resilient, mounting of the base to an irregular vertical surface  22  such as a tree trunk will not typically crack base  12   a  and will allow the mounting bracket  12  to be used in association with, when mounted on, surfaces also having different curvatures such as fence posts having a narrow diameter. 
     Mounting bracket  12  includes base  12   a,  shank  12   b,  and tongs  12   c . Advantageously, the entirety of mounting bracket  12  is made from a resilient material having rubber-like properties so that not only does the base conform to a vertical surface which is irregular, but the tongs  12   c  resiliently open to accept into the throat  12   d  of the tongs the stalk  10   a  of lantern  10 , where stalk  10   c  may have a diameter in range between for example ¼ inch to 1 inch and still be accommodated resilient tongs  12   c.    
     Throat  12   d  maybe circular. The opening  12   e  into throat  12   d  maybe an opening along the circumference of a circle defined by the throat. Advantageously, however, and as illustrated throat  12   d  is non-circular. Throat  12   d  has along axis L1 which is longer than its lateral axis L2. Tongs  12   c  will accommodate a somewhat wider range of stalk diameters if the throat is non-circular as described below; that is, will accommodate wider diameters than if the throat is merely circular in horizontal cross-section. As seen in  FIGS. 4   a - 4   c  the shape of the cross section of throat  12   d  may be described as an ogive, although other non-circular shapes such as ovals, ellipses, parabolas may also work. The use of the illustrated ogive for the cross sectional shape of throat  12   d  provides gripping surfaces  12   g  which are in opposed facing relation laterally spaced across from one another across the width of the throat. The stalk  10   c  of the lantern  10  when mounted in the tongs  12   c  is primarily gripped by the opposed facing interior side surfaces  12   g  of the tongs. The interior vertex  12   h  of the throat is at the vertex of the ogive and is typically not in contact with the stalk of the lantern when the stalk is held by the tongs so as to be mounted within the throat  12   d.  The vertex  12   h  allows the individual pair of tone arms  12   i  to separate further in direction A from one another than, in the applicant&#39;s experience, is possible where the throat is merely circular in cross section. This allows the throat to accommodate the widest diameter lantern stalk of which applicant is aware, and in particular an approximately 1 inch diameter lantern stalk, when the dimensions of mounting bracket  12  are in the order of:
     Height (h): approximately ¾ inches   Length (l): approximately 3 inches   Depth (d): approximately ¾ inch   Throat width (w) (axis L2): approximately ⅝ inch   Throat opening diameter (o): approximately ¼ inch   Base thickness t1: approximately 1 inch   Shank thickness t2 approximately ½ inches   Individual tong thickness t3: approximately ¼ inch   Mounting inclination angle B: approximately 10-15 degrees   

     In one embodiment, mounting bracket  12  may be made of 90 A durometer polyurethane. 
     Conventional garden and pathway lighting lanterns typically have a lantern head  10   b  which is wider in diameter than the diameter of the corresponding stalk  10   c.  For example, to applicant&#39;s knowledge the above mentioned NOMA™ lantern  10  has an 8 inch diameter lantern head  10   b  and an approximately ¼ inch diameter stalk  10   c.  Inclining the angle B at which the stalk  10   c  is held in the mounting bracket tongs  12   c,  apart from lending a decorative look to the lanterns held in the mounting brackets, also inclines the head  10   b  of the lantern outwardly from the vertical surface  22  to which the base  12   a  of the mounting bracket is mounted. For a length l of approximately three inches, a stalk inclination angle B of approximately 12 degrees is sufficient to provide clearance for the wider diameter head so it doesn&#39;t contact the vertical mounting surface  22  of the post, building. If the stalk is insufficiently long, or the mounting bracket shank is in insufficiently long, or the inclination angle from the vertical is insufficiently small, the lantern head  10   b  may interfere with the vertical mounting surface  22  when the stalk  10   c  is mounted into the tongs  12   c  of the mounting bracket. Thus for example, where the length l is approximately 3 inches, the stalk may be in the order of 8-12 inches in length, not including the ground spike  10   d  typically provided for driving the stalk into the ground, and the inclination angle B may be in the order of  12  degrees. 
     If length l is longer than 3 inches, then the base  12   a  may have to be thicker or otherwise more rugged so as to support the increased torque on the base due to the longer moment arm of the shank (given that lanterns 10 may weigh in the order of a pound or two each). 
     The conventional garden and pathway lighting lanterns of which the applicant is aware have the solar panel  10   d  for recharging the lantern mounted in the uppermost surface of the top of the lantern head  10   b  so as to expose the solar panel  10   d  upwardly to sunlight when the lantern is installed with the stalk  10   c  vertically in the ground. To the applicants knowledge the solar panel is mounted on top of the lantern head to maximize the sunlight intensity on the solar panel. to thereby most quickly recharge the lantern&#39;s battery when the sun is shining. The problem with mounting lanterns  10  to, for example, the walls of buildings or other vertical surfaces  22  which are underneath the eaves of a roof, is that the eaves or roof overhang will cast a shadow down the wall. When the sun is directly overhead the eaves of roof overhang will prevent sunlight from shining directly down the length of the wall. Thus if the lantern is mounted vertically and closely adjacent to the wall, the solar panel on the top of the lantern will often be in shadow under the eaves and especially will be in shadow when the sun is most intense, i.e. directly above the building. Inclining the head  10   b  of the lantern outwardly from the wall  22  orients the solar panel  12   d  of the lantern more directly towards the sun the sun will be in its position to shining directly onto the lantern That is from the obstruction of the eaves and overhang. This then provides for most efficient charging of the lantern&#39;s batteries, that is, when the solar panels  12   d  are at approximately right angles to the incoming sunlight angling in to strike the lantern under the eaves. The solar panels are at right angles to the sunlight when the stalks are inclined outwardly and approximately angle B, or at least are brought more closely to such right angles. 
     A further advantage of inclining the lantern&#39;s stalks from the vertical so as to expose the lantern&#39;s head&#39;s outwardly from the vertical support surface  22 , is that the lower-most end of the stalk, whether or not the ground mounting spike  10   a  is installed into the base of the stalk, is brought into closer proximity to the vertical support surface  22 . This is advantageous where the lantern is of a larger size and therefore heavier and in particular when the lantern head  10   b  is larger and heavier than that of other smaller lanterns  10 . For such larger lanterns, when the head  10   b  is inclined for more efficient battery charging as stated above, an increased rotational moment is exerted by the lantern  10  on the tongs  12   c,  and an increased rotational moment is also exerted on the mounting bracket because of the moment arm of the shank. In the event that the stalk  10   c  begins to rotate out from between the grip of the tongs  12   c  of the mounting bracket, the lower end of the stalk will rotate inwardly towards the vertical support  22  and engage against the vertical support  22  thereby preventing further rotation of the lantern stalk in the tongs of the mounting bracket. This may prevent the lantern head from rotating any further outwardly from the tongs of the mounting bracket and thus may prevent the lantern from falling. 
     In a further embodiment, the distal ends of the mounting bracket tongs each have an outwardly flared flange  12   j.  A tether  24  for example a ring or loop of material such as for example an o-ring or elastic band may be wrapped around the flanges  12   j  so as to close over the opening  12   e  into the tongs  12   c  and thereby to retain the lantern stalk  10   e  within the tongs  12   c.  This is useful to safeguard against the falling of a lantern  10  when the lantern stalk  10   c  is of the maximum diameter which may be accommodated between the tongs  12   c  such as for example seen in  FIGS. 5-7 . 
     In an alternative embodiment, the mounting bracket is made of materials other than, or in combination with, polyurethane. For example, the tongs on the mounting bracket may be of rigid material such as rigid plastic or metal, and the tongs mounted for spring-biased pivoting relative to one another so that one or both arms of the tongs pivots against the return biasing force of a spring to open the tongs to accept a lantern stalk, and then is biased closed to hold the stalk in the tongs. The shank and base of the mounting bracket may also be made of rigid material. Further alternatively, the arms of the tings may be rigid and the base ends of the arms mounted in a resilient base so that the arms may be pivoted open relative to one another and are biased closed by the resilient base. 
     Examples of the alternative embodiments, which are not intended to be limiting, are seen in  FIGS. 8   a - 8   d  and  FIGS. 9   a ,  9   b  and  9   c.    
     In  FIGS. 8   a - 8   d,  the tongs  26  have a fixed. arm  26   a  and a hinged arm  26   b . Hinged arm  26   b  may have a protruding trigger  26   c.  A coiled spring (not shown) is mounted on hinge pin  30 , between the hinged and fixed arms. The tongs  26  are mounted on one end of shank  32 . Base  34  is mounted on the other end. The arms of tongs  26  adjust against the return biasing force of the spring to hold lantern stalks  10   c.    
     In  FIGS. 9   a - 9   d  tongs  36  may be rigid or resilient and combined with a rigid or resilient split-shank  38  for example made of more rigid plastic such as from Nylon or fibre-glass-filled Nylon. Each tong arm  36   a  and  36   b  are formed as a unitary extension of its corresponding shank half  38   a  and  38   b.  The base ends of shank halves  38   a  and  38   b  are mounted in a rigid or resilient base  40 . The materials are adapted so that the tongs are resiliently biased towards their closed position so as to clamp larger diameter lantern stalks when opened widely as seen in  FIG. 9   a , and to clamp narrower diameter lantern stalks as seen in  FIG. 9   b.    
     As before, in the alternative embodiments, the tongs hold the lantern stalk inclined at angle B. 
     As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.