Patent Publication Number: US-7210824-B2

Title: Collapsible lampshade structure

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention is related to a collapsible lamp shade structure and in particular to one comprising an upper fixing ring, a lower fixing ring, and a plurality of ribs which can be easily assembled to form a lamp shade and dismantled to reduce its volume, thereby facilitating its transporting, and making it easier for packaging purposes. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   The conventional lamp shade (see  FIG. 1 ) is composed of an upper fixing ring, a lower fixing ring, and a plurality of ribs which are welded between the upper and the lower fixing rings, and a cloth hood which is mounted on the outside of the frame and a lining is mounted inside the frame. However, this kind of lampshade cannot be dismantled or collapsed, and so it is bulky in volume, making it difficult for packaging and difficult for transportation. 
   Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved lampshade structure which can obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is related to a collapsible lamp shade structure comprising an upper fixing ring, a lower fixing ring, and a plurality of ribs which can be easily assembled to form a lampshade and dismantled to reduce its volume. 
   According to the present invention, there is provided a collapsible lampshade structure which includes an upper fixing ring provided with a plurality of engaging members, a lower fixing ring provided with a plurality of engaging seats and two pairs of tubular members, and a plurality of resilient ribs each having a projection at an upper end thereof and two pins at a lower end thereof, the ribs being detachably connected between the engaging members of the upper fixing ring and the engaging seats of the lower fixing rings, a first curved rod mounted between a pair of the tubular members and having a first recess, a second curved rod mounted between another pair of the tubular members and having a second recess, and a retainer formed with two hooks adapted to be engaged with the recesses of the curved rods, one of the hooks being provided with two protuberances for preventing the retainer from detaching from the second curved rod, whereby the lampshade can be easily collapsed into a flat shape so that the volume of the lamp shades can be reduced, thereby facilitating packaging and transportation. 
   The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 
   Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a conventional lampshade; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an improved lampshade according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the procedures to assemble the improved lampshade according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the procedures to engage the retainer with the supporting rods; 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate the engagement between the retainer and the supporting rods; 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the collapsible state of the improved collapsible lampshade according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  illustrates how an electrical socket is engaged with the present invention; 
       FIG. 8  illustrates the engagement of the improved collapsible lampshade with a lamp socket; and 
       FIG. 9  illustrates the procedures to assemble the improved lampshade according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the improved lampshade structure according to the present invention comprises an upper fixing ring  10 , a lower fixing ring  30 , a plurality of resilient ribs  20 , a first curved rod  50 , a second curved rod  51 , a retainer  60 , and a cloth hood  40 . 
   The upper fixing ring  10  is smaller than the lower fixing ring  30  in diameter. The upper fixing ring  10  is provided with a plurality of engaging member  11  which are inverted U-shaped members each formed with a trapezoid outwardly extending lug  12  having a hole. The lower fixing ring  30  is provided with a plurality of engaging seats  31 , each having two side flanges  32  each having a hole  33  for receiving a pin  21  provided at an upper end of the rib  20 . The other end of the rib  20  has a projection  22  adapted to engage with the hole of the trapezoid lug  13  of the engaging member  11 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  4 ,  5 A and  5 B, the lower fixing ring  30  is provided with two pairs of tubular members  32 . The tubular members  32  of the same pair are aligned with each other. Each of the curved rods  50  and  51  is mounted between a pair of the tubular members  32 . The curved rods  50  and  51  are formed with recesses  52  and  53 , respectively. The retainer  60  is formed with two hooks  61  and  62  adapted to be engaged with the recesses  52  and  53  of the curved rods  50  and  51 . The hook  62  is provided with two protuberances  63  for preventing the retainer  60  from detaching from the curved rod  51 . 
   When in assembly, the ribs  20  are mounted between the upper fixing ring  10  and the lower fixing ring  30 , so that the projection  22  of the ribs  20  is engaged with the hole of the trapezoid lug  13 , while the pins  21  at the other end of the rib are engaged with the engaging seat  31 . Then, the cloth hood and the inner lining are mounted on the outer and inner side of the lampshade structure by any suitable known means. Thereafter, the curved rods  50  and  51  are mounted between the tubular members  32  and the retainer  60  is engaged with the curved rods  50  and  51 . Finally, an electrical socket  70  is mounted on the retainer  60  by a nut  71  for engaging a light bulb  72  (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ). 
   When desired to collapse the lampshade for stowage or transportation, it is only necessary to apply force to the rib  20  so as to make the projection  22  to disengage from the hole of the trapezoid lug  13  of the engaging member  11 . Then, the upper fixing ring  10 , the lower fixing ring  30 , the retainer  60 , and the curved rods  50  and  51  are collapsed and the left hook  61  of the retainer  60  will be detached from the left curved rod  50 . Thereafter, the component parts may be collapsed together with the cloth hood to form a flat shape (see  FIG. 6 ), so that the volume of the lamp shades can be reduced, thereby facilitating packaging and transportation. 
     FIG. 9  illustrates a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the engaging member  11  of the upper fixing ring  10  is provided with a ball-shaped element  13 . The upper end of the rib  20  has a recess  23  which is narrow at the entrance, and the inner portion is dimensioned to receive the ball-shaped element  14 . 
   It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
   While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.