Abstract:
A window display in which illumination from a candlestick lines shines through an opening in a frame selected in correlation with a decorative display in providing an illumination presentation consistent with a holiday season of the year, or a secular or religious event or occasion in accordance with user preference, and of a composition and configuration to be detachable for folding flat for storage.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     NONE 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     NOT APPLICABLE 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to window displays, in general, and to an illuminated window display to reflect a time of year or to celebrate an occurrence or happening, in particular. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As is well known and understood, window displays—and specifically illuminated window displays—profligate around Christmas time and to the 1-2 months thereafter, and then continue at a lesser rate during the remainder of the year. With the illumination frequently being provided by candlestick light, it is not unusual to see decorations of such type in many windows facing the street. By and large, however, such displays usually are of the candlestick light itself—typically colored white, blue or green—without much else. As will become clear from the following description, the illuminated window display of the present invention allows for a selected type of window presentation which affords more than just the candlestick light, but one which can be tailored to correlate with a holiday season of the year, with a secular or religious event, or with almost any other occasion one might think of, e.g. the birth of a newborn. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     As will be seen below, the illuminated window display of the preferred embodiment incorporates a candlestick light, as before, together with a substantially vertical panel having a rearwardly extending shelf on which the candlestick light rests and a pre-cut configured opening for transmitting the illumination therethrough. One of a plurality of selectively interchangeable frames are included, coupled with the panel, with each of the frames having its own window opening in alignment with that of the pre-cut panel opening. One of a plurality of selectively interchangeable decorative displays of predetermined design are additionally included, insertably securable between the candlestick light and the one frame then in position in providing the illuminated presentation via the window opening. In accordance with the invention, the one selected frame and the one selected decorative display are selected in correlation consistent to provide an overall theme to the illuminated presentation afforded thereby. Thus, for example, the frame selected might be in the form of a trimmed blue spruce for a December-January showing, with a decorative display of Christmas Tree ornamentations shining through. For a St. Patrick&#39;s Day presentation in March, alternatively, the frame may be one of Leprechauns and Shillelaghs, with a decorative display of Shamrocks shining through. 
     With the candlestick light preferably providing an illumination of the order of 10 watts or less, the decorative display to shine through may be insertably secured between the candlestick light and the panel, on the one hand, or between he panel and the one selected frame, on the other hand. 
     In these preferred constructions, the substantially vertical panel, the individual decorative displays and the individual frames may each be attachable and foldably openable for use—while at the same time, detachable and foldably flattenable for storage. When opened, the decorative display selected for illumination may be secured by sliding within a holder on one of front and rear sides of the substantially vertical plane—which, in turn, could be secured with the panel by a hook-and-loop adhesive. Fabricating the substantially vertical panel and the selected frames of a plastic composition in this manner, or of a corrugated plastic or of a stiff cardboard composition as an alternative, allows the design of the decorative panel to shine through and to stand supported for use. Employing the candlestick light of this relative wattage affords the illumination needed to highlight the design when in a window placement, without their becoming too hot to manually turn off by a counter-clockwise rotation, for example, of the bulb being employed. Because of the plastic or stiff cardboard composition of the components of the display, and because of the relatively low wattage of the candlestick light, such an illuminated window display could be manufactured at a low enough cost to permit retail sales at such an affordable price as to allow for multiple purchases for placements simultaneously in a multitude of windows. 
     As will be appreciated, the decorative display selected could be translucent to the illumination from the candlestick light—or opaque to it, but with cut-outs to pass portions of the illumination, only. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other features of the present invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying Drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the substantially vertical panel and decorative display components of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the surrounding frame component with its window opening for the illuminated presentation; and 
     FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of a type of candlestick light providing the desired illumination required. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the Drawings, the illuminated window display of the invention includes a candlestick light  10  preferably providing an illumination of the order of 10 watts or less—for example, 7 watts. A substantially vertical panel  12  is provided, having a rearwardly extending shelf  14  on which the candlestick light rests, and a pre-cut configured opening  16  for transmitting illumination from the light  10 . Such shelf  14  may fold flat for storage along the fold-line  18 , while a pair of wing sections  20  may be bent rearwardly along the fold-lines  22  to couple in any appropriate manner atop the shelf  14  (as at the slots  24 ) to be held in place in providing support to the candlestick light  10 . 
     The panel  12 , in this preferred embodiment, includes a holder  26  secured, for example, at its lower end  28 , to receive one of a plurality of selectively interchangeable decorative displays  30  inserted via its upper end  32 , or by either of the side openings of the holder, shown at  34 . When translucent, the displays  30  transmit light through the panel opening  16  directly —or if opaque, by means of cut-outs in the display  30  which are in alignment with the opening  16 . Such translucent display, or opaque cut-outs may be in the form of “heart shapes” (for a Valentine&#39;s Day presentation), “4-leaf clovers” (for a St. Patrick&#39;s Day presentation), “pumpkins” (for Halloween), “turkeys” (for Thanksgiving), “angels” (for Christmas), etc. As will be appreciated, the panel  12  could be constructed of a plastic or stiff cardboard composition so as to support the weight of the candlestick light  10 . 
     Correlated with the decorative display  30  fitted within the holder  26  is one of a plurality of selectively interchangeable frames  36 , also of a plastic or stiff cardboard composition, provided with its own window opening  38  aligned with the panel opening  16  and with the inserted decorative display  30 . Such correlation would comport with the display—as a frame pattern of flowers for Valentine&#39;s Day, as a frame of Leprechauns, pots of gold and Shillelaghs for St. Patrick&#39;s Day, as a frame of goblins and ghosts for Halloween, and as a frame of Pilgrims and Native Americans for Thanksgiving. While such interchangeable frames may be imprinted with the correlated pattern, in other instances they may themselves be configured to provide the same desired effect—as by configuring a frame in the shape of a Christmas Tree to associate with a decorative display of Christmas Tree ornamentations, or in the configuration of alternating red and while colored stripes to join with a decorative blue display of stars for an Independence Day motif, or in the configuration of a Stork with a blue or pink window surround for a baby cut-out birth announcement decorative display. In any event, the particular decorative display is selected to go with the interchangeable frame decided upon in providing the correlated presentation which is afforded by the combination of the candlestick light illumination showing through the display  30 , the configured pre-cut panel opening  16  and the provided window frame opening  38 . 
     In this respect, it will be understood that the holder  26  receiving the decorative display  30  could be positioned on the candlestick light side of the substantially vertical panel  12  (in which case the display  30  is insertably securable between the candlestick light  10  and the panel  12 ) or on the interchangeable frame side of the panel  12  (in which event the display  30  is insertably securable between the panel  12  and the selected frame  36 ). In these regards, furthermore, the manner of securing the holder  26  on either side of the panel  12  can be selected from a variety of choices—such as by a hook-and-loop adhesive, by clips between components, by snaps between the two, by a slotting of one within the other, and by a myriad of other methods of temporary attachment. By having these components detachable, one-from-another, the substantially vertical panel  12  of the combination, the selectively interchangeable frame  36 , and the interchangeable decorative display  30  could all be folded substantially flat for purposes of storage when not needed. 
     For certain installations, namely those where an adequate window sill is available for a candlestick light of this type to rest upon, the illuminated window display of the invention could sit there as well, with the light  10  resting atop the shelf  14 . In those instances where an inadequate window sill support is available, the illuminated display of the invention may still be supported simply by providing an aperture through the frame  36  and panel  12  for a hook to be suspended in the hanging of the display itself. Such apertures are shown at  40  and  42  in the Drawings. Where added support for the candlestick light  10  is desired, the frame  36  could be provided with a further shelf  50 , bendable along the fold line  52 , to rest upon the window sill, for example, in receiving the shelf  14  of the substantially vertical panel  12  and the light  10  resting upon it. Other projections (as  53 ) may be bent and slots (as  54 ) provided, as needed in affording support—but with the overall result continuing to be the having of an illuminated window display with interchangeable designs through correlating selection of decorative displays and surrounding frames in providing the presentation desired to coincide with a holiday or occasion to be commemorated. 
     While there have been described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. Thus, as long as there continues an axial alignment of panel and window openings with the decorative and visual display intended, any manners of support, mounting, attachment and detachment may be utilized. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of the invention.