Patent Publication Number: US-7914185-B2

Title: Christmas light clips with magnets

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/006,522, filed Jan. 17, 2008. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to illumination and holiday decorations. In particular, the present invention is a Christmas light clip with magnets. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Many people typically use decorative lighting during festivals and holidays to show their spirit of an occasion. A popular type of decorative lighting is in a strip form and generally includes individual bulbs attached along an electrical conducting material, i.e. wire. It is common for people to attach these decorative lights outside their homes or business sometimes in shapes and designs reflective of a particular holiday, such as a tree during Christmas. 
     Typically, the light strips are attached to a structure using staples or nails that clamp the wire onto a wall or roof. This practice not only requires tools and is time consuming, but it also creates holes in the structure that can contribute to severe damage by causing leaks. Not all structures and surfaces are capable of supporting staples or slide-on plastic clips. Furthermore, high winds can cause a bulb to break either by agitation or by being forced by a gust into the attached rigid structure. 
     It would be desirable to attach Christmas lights in any desired place and at any desired angle, rather than being restricted to specific places and certain angles. It would be desirable to position Christmas lights pointing in any desired direction from any desired position on a roof or other support surface. There may also be less danger in securing Christmas lights midway down a gabled metal roof than along the edge. It would also be desirable to be able to attach Christmas lights to a support surface without having to search for a particular fastener that points the light in the desired direction at a given location, and without having to rearrange a string of lights to match socket fasteners to mounting locations on the support surface. Thus, a Christmas light clip with magnets solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The Christmas light clip with magnets has an elongated base, a post extending upward from the base, and a support arm extending from the post parallel to the base in cantilever manner. The support arm terminates in a resilient, C-shaped clamp adapted for gripping a Christmas light bulb socket. At least one magnet is attached to the bottom surface of the base, and is adapted for attaching the base to a metallic structure, such as a roof, a gutter, a window frame, etc. A plurality of the Christmas light clips with magnets may be used to attach a string of lights to a metallic structure. 
     In use, a plurality of Christmas light clips with magnets is releasably mounted to a metallic structure in a design/pattern, such as a Christmas tree. 
     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a Christmas light clip with magnets according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a Christmas light clip with magnets according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is perspective view of the Christmas light clip with magnets according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a Christmas light clip with magnets according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention relates to a Christmas light clip with magnets, designated generally as  40  in the drawings. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the light clip  40  may be used in conjunction with a string of lights to decorate the metallic roof M of a building or other structure. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the clip  40  has an elongated base  20  a post  25  extending upward from the base  20 , and a support arm  15  extending from the post  25  parallel to the base  20 . The support arm  15  terminates in a resilient, C-shaped yoke or clamp  30  adapted for resiliently gripping a Christmas light bulb socket  13 . The base  20  has a bottom surface and one or more magnets  45  attached to the bottom surface of the base  20 . The magnets  45  are adapted for attaching the clip  40  to a metallic or ferromagnetic support surface, such as a metal roof, a gutter, a window frame, a door frame, etc. 
     The clip  40  may be a single molded piece of material, or it may be three individual sides or parts attached at the ends. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the clip  40  is rigid plastic, yet has enough flexibility in order to allow it to bend when used outside and exposed to elements, such as high wind, and the furcations or jaws of the C-shaped clamp  30  are arcuate and resilient enough to retain the bulb socket  13 . Other materials, such as aluminum, that can be used to make the clip  40  should have similar properties. 
     The clip  40  may also be used to hold a string of lights or the like. 
       FIG. 4  shows an embodiment of a Christmas light clip with magnets, designated generally as  140  in the drawing, which is similar to  FIG. 2 . However, in this embodiment, the post  120  and support arm  115  have the same width as the base  125 . One or more magnets  145  are permanently attached to the bottom surface of the base  125 . The C-shaped yoke or clamp  130  may be made in one piece with the support arm  115  by casting, molding, forging, or other manufacturing processes, or may be a discrete component attached thereto in any suitable manner, e.g., adhesives, welding, etc. The base  125 , post  120 , and support arm  115  may be formed from a single strip of malleable thin metal bent into a U-shape, having sufficient flexibility at the joints to allow some bending under high winds or to position the socket  13  to achieve the desired decorative effect, but also sufficient rigidity and resilience to maintain the support arm  115  and socket  13  in a position supported above the base  125  and the metallic or ferromagnetic support surface. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.