Patent Publication Number: US-2005128756-A1

Title: Outdoor decorative lighting housing

Description:
PRIORITY  
      This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/528,863 filed Dec. 11, 2003. Application Ser. No. 60/528,863 is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present invention relates to a housing unit, particularly a modular housing unit, for use in association with outdoor decorative lighting. The invention finds particular use in association with outdoor holiday lighting, as is commonly used at Christmas and, more commonly in recent years, Halloween.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE ART  
      It has become a tradition in many communities to celebrate holidays, such as Christmas and Halloween, by stringing outdoor decorative lighting. In some cases, the lighting has individual bulbs of a various colors, and in other cases, the lighting has individual bulbs of a single color or of colors particular to the holiday, such as red and green at Christmas or orange at Halloween.  
      In colder climates, the lights are strung around the eaves of the house before the holiday season actually starts, so that the lights are in place prior to the onset of snow and freezing temperatures. Afterward, the winter conditions in many locales prevent the lighting from being removed immediately after the holiday.  
      In other climates, it may be desirable to protect the lighting from other weather, such as wind and rain.  
      When lighting is used for multiple seasons, it is generally necessary to either re-string different lighting or to replace the individual bulbs if the same wiring is used.  
      It is an object of the invention to provide a housing system for the outdoor decorative lighting, so that the lighting can be more permanently mounted on the house, but can be moved from a lowered or operative position to a stowed or protective position when desired.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The modular outdoor holiday lighting device, as described in more detail below, achieves this and other objects of the present invention.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The present invention will be better understood when reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein identical parts are identified with identical reference numerals, and wherein:  
       FIG. 1  shows the box-like body of the housing unit of the present invention in perspective view.  
       FIG. 2  shows a front elevation view of the housing unit of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  shows a side elevation view of the housing unit of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  shows a plurality of the housing units of the present invention in front elevation view.  
       FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b  show, in side elevation view, an embodiment of the present invention in operative and stowed positions, respectively.  
       FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  show, in side elevation view, an embodiment of the present invention in operative and stowed positions, respectively.  
       FIG. 7   a  thru  7   d  show, in front and side elevation views, a further embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  shows a top view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Shown in perspective view in  FIG. 1  is a box-like body  12  of the housing unit  10  of the present invention with a rear wall  14 , left and right side walls  16 ,  18 , and top and bottom walls  20 ,  22 . In the embodiment shown, the top and bottom walls  20 ,  22  are preferably adapted to allow a removable front wall  24  (not shown in this view) to be positioned onto the housing unit  10 , effectively providing a closed unit, preferably having a water-tight seal. In other cases, it is possible to make the rear wall  14  removable, to allow access to a body  12  in which the front wall  24  is integral with the sidewalls  16 ,  18  and top and bottom walls  20 ,  22 . In either case, access to the interior of the body  12  is provided through the rear or front wall  14 ,  24 . While the box-like body  12  is preferably constructed from a plastic material, it may be formed from any sheet metal, typically of a light gauge, or other suitable material. The removable front wall  24  will almost inevitably be plastic, particularly a translucent plastic, such as a polymethyl methacrylate, such as is sold commercially as PLEXIGLAS. In some circumstances the front wall  24  may be glass.  
      In the preferred embodiment, the box-like body  12  has rectangular walls  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24  that define an interior cavity or chamber  26  in which conventional holiday decorative lighting may be positioned. The body  12  has a length L, extending from the left to the right side wall, a height H, extending from the top to the bottom wall and a depth D, extending from the front to the rear wall. In the preferred embodiments, the length will be several times larger than the height and the height will be larger than the depth.  
      As shown in front elevation view in  FIG. 2 , the housing unit  10  may accommodate one, two, or multiple strings of holiday lights  100 . Such a string of holiday lights  100  will extend from near one sidewall to near the other sidewall. The string of holiday lights  100  may be particular to the invention or the intention may allow use of commercially available holiday light strings. The strings of holiday lights may also comprise one or more rows of light emitting diodes (LEDs).  
      To be compatible with the invention as anticipated, a string of holiday lights  100  should have a first and a second end  102 ,  104 , with a plurality of lights  106  connected in a closable electrical circuit (either in series or in parallel) along a length of the string as shown in  FIG. 2 . Each of the ends  102 ,  104  should have a plug or connector  108  for electrically communicating the string of lights  100  to another such string. The connectors may be standard or may be of a proprietary design, such as the “quick connect” mating, two-pronged plug and receptacle connectors available from Sunbeam Corporation in its string lighting products. These lights have a two-pronged plug at one end with a receptacle on top of the plug. The string of lights also has a receptacle at the opposite end. This arrangement allows a plurality of holiday light strings  100  within housing units  10  to be electrically connected together.  
      In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the box-like body  12  will be adapted at or near the left and right side walls  16 ,  18  to receive a connection unit  30 , particularly a modular connection unit that may be “plugged into” the body  12  to provide means for connecting strings of holiday lights  100  in a particular body to either an external power source  110  or another string of holiday lights in an adjacent body. For that reason, the connection unit  30  will provide a plurality of connectors  32 , each connector  32  being capable of receiving an end connector  108  of a string of holiday lights. The connectors  32  may be either a two-pronged plug or a two-slot receptacle for receiving an end of the holiday light strings  100 . A corresponding number of connectors  32  should be available at each side  16 ,  18  of the body  12 . A typical number of connectors  32  with each connection unit  30  will be four. By way of illustration only, this would allow up to 4 strings of lights to be connected in the unit shown in  FIG. 2 . In an embodiment of the connection unit  30 , each connector  32  will be directly communicated to an external connector  34  that is located in one of the sidewalls  16 ,  18  or the rear wall  14 .  
      The connection unit  30  may also contain a switching means  36  in the communication between connector  32  and external connector  34 , so that the number of external connectors  34  can be less than the number of connectors  32 . External connector  34 , mounted on right side wall  18 , is shown in side elevation view in  FIG. 3 . Such switching means  36  is well within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in this art. By this means, it is possible to direct external power, from a single conventional alternating current source, for example, to any of a number of holiday light strings  100  arrayed in a given body  12 . The switch  36  could allow the user to select the string of holiday lights  100  available for viewing. For example, the user could switch from orange Halloween lights to green and red Christmas lights, between seasons. Other strings of lights could be used for other occasions.  
      The switching means  36  may also have other features. For example, it may have an infrared or radio frequency receiver such that a handheld remote control device  37  can operate the lights within the housing unit  10 . Such remote operation means are well known in the art such as the device taught by Xydis et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,358. The switching means  36  may also contain solid state circuitry that would allow it to detect when one string of holiday lights  100  is not functional, allowing the second string of holiday lights to be switched on. The circuitry could also be used generate decorative patterns among the strings of lights positioned with in the housing unit  10 . Switching means  36  could also sequence the lighting patterns among lights within multiple connected housing units  10 . The switching means may comprise a master switch  36 , disposed within one of said housing units  10  for controlling all other switching means  36  within the housing units  10 . Such light sequencing devices are well known in the art such as the device taught by Puleo, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,797. Finally, the switching means may contain solid-state circuitry to drive one or more rows of LEDs. The circuitry could have the ability to select the colors of the LEDs to be display for the appropriate holiday season.  
      In most embodiments of the invention, it is expected that at least two units  10  will be connected together to form the complete lighting unit. In such an embodiment, as shown in front view in  FIG. 4 , there will be a first end unit  10   a , a second end unit  10   b , and there may be at least one intermediate unit  10   c . In such an arrangement, the first end unit  10   a  will connect at a first side at one of the external connectors  34 , shown positioned on the bottom wall  22 , to the external power source  110  and at a second side to an adjacent unit,  10   b  or  10   c . At the other end of the arrangement, the second end unit  10   b  will be connected at a first end through the external adjacent unit. Because of this, it may be necessary that the second end of the second end unit  10   b  to plug an end connector  112  into external connector  34  in order to complete the electrical circuit. In other situations, the absence of a connection to the external connector  34  in one of the connection units  30  may serve to provide a default completion of the circuit, which is over-ridden by the insertion of a connection. As with the other electrical circuitry in this invention, those of ordinary skill in electrical wiring will understand how to make the appropriate connections.  
      In a further feature of the invention, illustrated in FIGS.  5  thru  7 , each housing unit  10  will be provided with means for moving the housing unit from a lowered or operative position to a stowed or protective position when desired. When the housing unit is in a stowed position, the front wall  24  does not face outward and thus, the lights are not visible. While in the stowed position, the wall that is outward facing can be designed or painted to match the exterior of the house or building so that it blends in.  
       FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate how a hinge means  40  can attach to each housing unit  10 . The hinge means is also attached to the mounting structure  200 , such as the lower surface of the eaves or over hangs of a house. By way of illustration in  FIG. 5 , the hinge means  40  is positioned along the line of intersection of the top and rear walls  20 ,  14 . In such an embodiment, the top wall  20  faces outwardly and the front wall  24  faces down when the unit  10  is in the stowed position and held in place by the latch  42 . A pole or broom handle may be used to abut and slightly push upwards on the housing unit  10 , activating a spring loaded quick release or compression latch  42 . When the unit  10  is rotated 90° clockwise about the hinge means, the top wall will face upwardly and the front wall will face outwardly in the operative position, such that the lights can be seen.  
      In another possible mounting,  FIG. 6 , the hinge means  40  is positioned at the line of intersection of the top and front walls  20 ,  24 . In such an embodiment, the bottom wall  22  will face outwardly and the front wall  24  will face upwardly when the unit  10  is in the stowed position and held in place by the latch  42 . When the unit  10  is rotated 90° counterclockwise about the hinge means, the front wall will face outwardly and the bottom wall will face downwardly in the operative position.  
      It will be readily observed that the placement of the external connectors  34  on the housing unit  10  may be strongly influenced by the placement of the hinge means  40 , to facilitate access to the connectors  34 .  
      At least one stop or latch means  42  may be used to retain each unit  10  in either the stowed or operative position. The stop or latch may be a spring loaded, magnetic quick release or compression latch that is well known in the art. In other embodiments, the movement between the two positions may be achieved by a motor or rotation means  44 , in which case the motor may provide the stop means.  
      In still another version shown in  FIG. 7 , the external connector  34  is a protrusion at one side of the housing  10  and a complimentary, mating recess at the opposite side. The external connectors  34  have electrical contacts on their mating surfaces that connect with the switching means  36  and either an external power source  110 , a second housing unit  10  or both. The complimentary protruding and recess external connectors  34  allow a plurality of housing units  10  to be fixedly connected to one another as shown in  FIG. 7   a.    
      The external connector  34 , allows multiple housing units  10  to be rigidly connected together in a modular fashion such that they can be rotated simultaneously along the same axis of rotation as shown in  FIG. 7B . Alternatively, the external connector could be a rigid shaft extending between one or more housing units  10  and providing electrical connections therein. Multiple housing units  10  may attach together via the external connectors  34 , providing one continuous rigid body. Support means  41  may be attached to the mounting structure  200  to support the entire rigid body of connected housing units  10 . The support means  41  may allow rotation of the housing units  10  from stowed to operative positions and vice versa. The external connectors  34  allows multiple housing units  10  to be rotated simultaneously, so that the housing units can me moved from an operative to a stowed position and vice versa as shown in  FIGS. 7C and 7D . For example, when the housing units  10  mounted under the eaves of a house, the top wall  20  will face outward and the front wall  24  will face upward when the housing units  10  are in a stowed position as shown in  FIG. 7C . The housing units  10  can be rotated 90° counterclockwise about the support means  41  to reach the operative position,  FIG. 7D . In the operative position the front wall  24  will face outwardly and the top wall  20  will face downward.  
      A rotation means  44 , such as an electrical motor may be mounted on the mounting structure  200  and connected to an external connector  34  for rotating one or a plurality of housing units  10  about the axis. The switching means  36  may be in electrical connection to the rotation means  44 , to allow the housing units  10  to move from an operative to a stowed position and vice versa. A master switching means  36  may operate via the remote control device  37  to initiate movement of several connected housing units  10 .  
      The external connector  34  may be fixedly or rotatably attached to the housing units  10 . A rotation means  44  may be disposed within each housing unit  10 . This rotation means may allow each housing unit to rotate along its internal external connector tube shaft  34  individually. The remote control device  37  may be used to separately operate each individual housing unit  10 . This would allow each housing unit  10  to be individually moved from a stowed to operative position and vice versa.  
      It will be readily understood that each of these stowage positions has advantages and disadvantages. A primary advantage of the first stowage position is that the front wall is easily accessed, providing access to the interior chamber  26 , when the housing unit  10  is stowed. A primary advantage of the second stowage position is that the front wall is stowed upwardly, which provides an additional modicum of protection to it, particularly in embodiments when it is the only plastic or glass wall of the body  12 .  
      While  FIG. 2  shows the embodiment  10  where the connection units  30  are mounted inside the housing unit  12  and the front wall  24  covers the box-like housing unit, an alternate embodiment  210  of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 8 . In this version, the connection units  30  are mounted on a surface of the front wall  24  and the strings of holiday lights are strung from one connection unit to the other. Here, the lights are not sealed in a box and allowed to remain exposed to the elements. This less expensive design allows the lights to be quickly mounted and controlled via the remote controlled switching means.  
      While the preferred embodiments have been described above, it is understood that various modifications can be made to the exact form of the present invention without departing from the scope thereof. It is accordingly intended that the disclosure be take as illustrative only and not limiting in scope, and that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims: