Patent Abstract:
An accent light adapter mount can receive accent lights (such as outdoor solar lights) and securely hold them in place without requiring the use of ground stakes. The accent light adapter mount can be attached to items such as railings, decks, fences, buildings, picnic tables, etc. and allows the normally limited-location, ground-stake accent lights to be used in many more locations. The accent light adapter mount has a containment plate, a mounting plate, a base plate, and a mounting cone. A mounting port in the containment plate receives the support column of a light and allows the column to be slid down over the mounting cone. Together, the two components hold the accent light in place in the adapter mount. Once the mount is attached to an item, the accent light is then held in place against the item without the use of a ground stake.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the field of accent lighting; and more specifically, to outdoor solar powered accent lights; and more specifically still, to an accent light adapter mount. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    There are a wide variety of outdoor accent lights available today. Many do not require any external wiring to operate as they utilize solar cells and light sensors instead. The solar cells charge up the lights during the day while the lights are off; and then when darkness falls, the light sensor switches on the accent light which is then powered by the stored solar energy. 
         [0003]    Although there are a variety of accent lights available, many utilize a standard tubular support column that fits over a ground spike. The ground spike is designed to easily pierce the ground and then remain upright therein. An accent light support column can then be placed over the upright ground spike. The accent light is thereby held in the proper upright orientation and is ready to begin functioning. Although this installation system works well when an accent light is to be located on the ground, it fails miserably when a user wishes to place an accent light on a railing, deck, picnic table, wooden walkway, and other such locations where a ground spike can not simply be driven into the ground. Although there are other lighting solutions that can be employed in such instances, they often are expensive, fail to match with other ground-mounted accent lights already in use at a particular location, are not easily replaced or moved, and otherwise lack many of the benefits of standard ground-mounted access lights. 
         [0004]    What is needed is an accent light adapter mount apparatus that can be mounted on railings, decks, picnic tables, walkways, sides of buildings, and other such locations where a ground spike can not be employed. Such an accent light adapter mount should easily receive and securely hold an accent light and yet allow for removal and replacement, as needed. Furthermore, an accent light adapter mount can have a decorative cover that conceals at least a portion of the tubular support column of an accent light and the internal components of an accent light adapter mount. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    One embodiment of the present invention comprises a containment plate and a base plate, said plates held together and supported by a mounting plate. Together, the three plates form the main body of the accent light adapter mount. Extending through the containment plate is a mounting port in which the tubular support column of an accent light is inserted. The column is then pushed downwards over top of an accent light mounting cone that extends upwards from the base plate. The cone is sized so as to accommodate support columns having various diameters/sizes. The mounting plate can have a plurality of mounting holes which allow a user to screw, nail, or otherwise attach the accent light adapter mount to a surface. Additionally, an accent light adapter mount can have a decorative cover that removably attaches to the mount in order to enhance the visual appearance of the mount and/or help the mount to blend-in/match the look of its mounting location. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The aforementioned and other features and objects of the present invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptions of a preferred embodiment and other embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a front elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates a rear elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  illustrates a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates a bottom plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount with a decorative cover; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount with a decorative cover and holding an accent light; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount holding an accent light and having corner plate supports. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10 . The primary components illustrated in  FIG. 1  include a base plate  20 , a containment plate  30 , a mounting plate  40 , a mounting port  36 , and an accent light mounting cone  50 . Additionally, an accent light adapter mount  10  can include a plurality of mounting holes  44 ,  48  and  49  that allow the adapter mount to be easily attached to various surfaces using screws, nails, or other types of attachments. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment, the containment plate  30  has a mounting port  36  extending through the containment plate  30  and adapted to receive therethrough the tubular support column of an accent light (not shown in  FIG. 1 , see item  102  in  FIG. 7 ). As many accent lights utilize support columns that resemble a cylinder (and so have a circular cross-section), the mounting port  36  can be shaped so as to match, and is therefore often a circle. However, in other embodiments, the mounting port  36  can be a triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, oval, or any other useful shape that receives the accent light support column and holds it in place. 
         [0017]    The containment plate  30  can be attached to a mounting plate  40 . The mounting plate supports the containment plate  30  and holds it rigidly in place. Opposite the containment plate  30  is the base plate  20 . It can be attached to the mounting plate  40  such that the mounting plate supports the base plate  20  and holds it rigidly in place. In another embodiment, the containment plate  30 , the base plate  20 , and the mounting plate  40  can be formed together as a single component (or two components) without departing from the scope of the invention. Together, the three plates  20 ,  30  and  40  form the main body of the accent light adapter mount. 
         [0018]    The mounting plate  40  can have a plurality of mounting holes  44  and  48  extending therethrough (mounting holes  49  may also be included in this plurality, but they are located in the base plate  20  instead of the mounting plate  40 ). The mounting holes  44  and  48  can be used to attach the accent light adapter mount to a surface, for example, a deck railing. The user can deploy nails, screws, or other attachments through the plurality of mounting holes  44  and  48  to secure the accent light adapter mount. Although  FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment having four mounting holes  44  and  48  in the mounting plate  40 , the location and number of the plurality of mounting holes can vary. For example, additional mounting holes  49  can be located in the base plate  20 . 
         [0019]    Extending generally upwards from the base plate  20  is a mounting cone  50 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the mounting cone  50  appears as a conical shape with a truncated tip (where the base of the cone is larger than the tip or top of the cone). In another embodiment, the tip is not truncated. In yet other embodiments, the cone employs a plurality of graduated steps such as a stepped pyramid. Additionally, instead of employing a full cone  50 , some embodiments may use a cone section (forming a “−” minus sign when viewed from above), or two cone sections (together forming a “+” plus sign when viewed from above). Regardless, the mounting cone  50  can be sized so as to accommodate support columns having various diameters and/or sizes. For example, the outside diameter of the mounting cone  50  at the point at which it attaches to the base plate  20  may be three quarters of an inch (0.75″) and the top may truncate at a diameter of one tenth of an inch (0.10″). In other embodiments, smaller and larger mounting cones are contemplated. All of the mounting cone embodiments described above constitute cones and cone-shapes. A mounting cone  50  can be made from any of a number of different materials. For example, a rubber-like material may be used in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the mounting cone  50  can be plastic. In yet another embodiment, metal can be used as the material of choice. 
         [0020]    Although the vast majority of accent light tubular support columns have a circular cross-section, it is contemplated that some may have square, triangular, or other shapes. Therefore, the mounting cone  50  may be a three-sided pyramid to match a triangular support column, or a four-sided pyramid to match a square support column. Similarly, other shapes may be needed to match support columns that utilize other shapes. It is contemplated that the mounting cone  50  can be removed and replaced with other shapes/sizes to accommodate as many accent lights as possible. 
         [0021]    Regardless of the shape of the mounting cone  50 , it functions as a mount upon which a support column for an accent light is placed. Such support columns are hollow and so fit directly over the mounting cone  50 . The column can then be pushed downwards, tightly fitting over the mounting cone and held in place by a friction fit (a slight deformation of one or both of the column and the cone so that they grip one another and are thus removably locked together). 
         [0022]    An accent light adapter mount  10  can have a decorative cover that removably attaches to the mount in order to enhance the visual appearance of the mount and/or help the mount to blend-in/match the look of its mounting location. Although such a decorative cover is not shown in  FIG. 1 , an exemplary decorative cover  90  is illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 .  FIG. 1  does include a plurality of cover snap clips  60  that are adapted to removably attach a decorative cover to the main body of the accent light adapter mount. Although  FIG. 1  shows these snap clips  60  as being attached to the mounting plate  40 , they could be additionally or alternatively located on the containment plate  30  and/or the base plate  20 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates a front elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10 . Since the containment plate  30  and the base plate  20  are oriented horizontally here, the majority of this view is displaying the mounting plate  40 . Additionally, in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 , four of the plurality of decorative cover snap clips  60  are shown, in other embodiments, the number of snap clips may be smaller or larger. The illustrated snap clips  60  are designed to bow inwards as the cover is slid over them and then they snap back outwards into snap slots on the decorative cover, locking it in place. In other embodiments, other types of snap clips  60  can be utilized to hold the cover in place. In yet other embodiments, screw(s), pin(s), or other attachment devices are contemplated. 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  illustrates a rear elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10 . Note the inclusion of a wiring port  45  in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 . This port serves as an access point into the interior of the accent light adapter mount  10  and can be used for any number of functions. For example, if a user would like to provide a permanent source of external power (such as low-voltage wiring, AC wiring, etc.), electrical wires could be strung through the wiring port  45  and connected to the accent light inside the adapter mount  10 . As another example, an override remote switch could be wired through the wiring port  45  to allow a user to turn the lights on or off regardless of the setting provided by the automated sensors on the accent lights. 
         [0025]      FIG. 4  illustrates a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10 . In this view, the top of the containment plate  30  can be seen. The mounting port  36  is visible as is the top of the mounting cone  50  (which is viewable through the mounting port  36 ). Also illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 4  is a plurality of pop-out resize rings  37  and  38 . The pop-out resize rings  37  and  38  are illustrated as larger diameter, broken line mounting ports. The broken lines represent pre-cut portions of the containment plate  30  such that if the user desires a larger mounting port  36 , he or she can simply pop-out one of the larger pop-out resize rings  37  or  38 . In an alternate embodiment, the plurality of pop-out resize rings  37  and  38  can number greater than or less than two. Similarly, the resize rings can utilize larger cut-out portions, having even as few as two non-cut portions holding the rings in place. 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  illustrates a bottom plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10 . The base plate  20  is visible from below as is the mounting cone connector  52 . In this embodiment, the mounting cone connector  52  is a simple rivet that attaches the mounting cone  50  to the base plate  20 . In other embodiments, other means of attaching the mounting cone  50  to the base plate  20  are contemplated. In yet another embodiment, the mounting cone  50  is built integrally into the base plate  20  (for example, they could comprise a single component formed in a plastic mold). Also shown in  FIG. 5  is a plurality of mounting holes  49 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 6  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10  with a decorative cover  90 . The decorative cover  90  is adapted to fit over the adapter mount  10  and lock in place thereon. The decorative cover  90  illustrated in  FIG. 6  has a top face  92 , a front face  93 , a right face  94 , a bottom face  95 , and a left face  96 . The top face  92  fits over the containment plate  30 . Similarly, the bottom face  95  fits over the base plate  20 . The decorative cover  90  can therefore add support and strength to the main body of the accent light adapter mount  10  by holding the plates  20 ,  30 , and  40  in place relative to one another. 
         [0028]    The top face  92  of the decorative cover  90  can incorporate a tubular support column slot  99 . The support column slot  99  allows the cover  90  to be applied and removed with the accent light secured within the accent light adapter mount  10 . Without the slot  99 , the accent light would need to be removed before the cover  90  could be opened or closed. 
         [0029]    As the cover  90  is slid onto the main body, the plurality of cover snap clips  60  are first bowed inwards and then are allowed to snap back into place as they enter the snap slots  62 . The snap clips  60  then engage the snap slots  62  and hold the decorative cover  90  in place. To remove the cover  90 , a user simply presses the snap clips  60  inwards, bowing them so that they disengage from the snap slots  62 , and the cover  90  can then be slid off of the main body. 
         [0030]    Also illustrated on the decorative cover  90  shown in  FIG. 6  is an ornamentation  98 . The ornamentation  98  illustrated is that of a sailboat. In other embodiments, other ornamentations  98  are contemplated. Similarly, the decorative covers  90  can be colored, covered with patterns, customized by users, etc. 
         [0031]      FIG. 7  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10  with a decorative cover  90  and holding an accent light  100 . The tubular support column  102  of the accent light  100  is shown in place extending upwards through the mounting port  36 . The accent light  104  is illustrated in position above the support column  102 . Atop the accent light  104  is a protective cap  106  and a solar cell  108  that powers the accent light  104 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 8  illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an accent light adapter mount  10  holding an accent light and having a plurality of corner plate supports  80 . This embodiment is illustrated with the decorative cover removed so that the engagement of the bottom of the accent light&#39;s tubular support column  102  with the mounting cone  50  can be more clearly seen. Since the mounting cone increases in size from the top of the cone to the point where it is attached to the base plate  20 , the hollow end of the support column  102  fits over the cone and can be pressed downwards. When the interior of the support column  102  engages the exterior of the mounting cone  50 , the cone and/or the support column slightly deform and hold fast to one another. 
         [0033]    A plurality of corner plate supports  80  are illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 8 . The corner plate supports  80  each function to strengthen the attachment between the plates. For example, the upper right corner plate support  80  shown just above mounting hole  44  functions to strengthen the attachment between the containment plate  30  and the mounting plate  40 . 
         [0034]    As can be seen in the illustration of  FIG. 8 , the accent light can be quickly and easily installed into and remove from the accent light adapter mount  10  simply by inserting the accent light&#39;s tubular support column  102  into the mounting port  36  and pressing it onto the mounting cone  50 . The containment plate  30  then holds the light in place on the upper end of the support column  102  and the firm connection at the mounting cone  50  holds the lower end. However, by simply twisting and pulling the support column  102  upwards, the column releases the mounting cone  50  and easily slides out of the accent light adapter mount  10 . In order to increase the weather resistance of the mount  10 , rubber seals, weather-stripping, and/or other types of seals, caulk, etc. may be used. 
         [0035]    While particular embodiments of the invention have been described and disclosed in the present application, it should be understood that any number of permutations, modifications, or embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Accordingly, it is not the intention of this application to limit this invention in any way except as by the appended claims. 
         [0036]    Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above “Detailed Description” section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention. 
         [0037]    The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiment or form disclosed herein or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. 
         [0038]    In light of the above “Detailed Description,” the Inventor may make changes to the invention. While the detailed description outlines possible embodiments of the invention and discloses the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention may be practiced in a myriad of ways. Thus, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the spirit of the invention as disclosed by the inventor. As discussed herein, specific terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. 
         [0039]    While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention. 
         [0040]    The above specification, examples and data provide a description of the structure and use of exemplary implementations of the described articles of manufacture and methods. It is important to note that many implementations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8