GB2357830A

GB2357830A - Illuminated liquid-containing ornament

Info

Publication number: GB2357830A
Application number: GB9930632A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rich Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-12-24
Filing date: 1999-12-24
Publication date: 2001-07-04
Also published as: DE10005670A1; GB9930632D0

Abstract

A color-changeable liquid ornament including a top vessel 10, a middle liquid container 20, and a bottom base 30 is provided. The top vessel is used to hold different kinds of things and not limited to any fixed shape; the middle liquid container is a transparent container disposed below the top vessel for receiving a dual-liquid ornament 70 or a plurality of colored blocks (60, fig 1) and a certain suitable type of liquid therein; and the bottom base is connected to a bottom of the middle liquid container and defines an inner space for mounting a rotatable color disk 31, light emitting means 32 and driving means 34 therein. Whereby when the color disk is driven to rotate by the driving means while the light emitting means projecting light upward, the middle liquid container and/or the top vessel would show changeful colors. Magnets (33, fig 4) may be mounted on the color disk to attract magnetically susceptible floaters 73 in the dual-liquid ornament in the liquid container for the floater to move along with the rotating color disk.

Description

2357830 A COLOR-CHANGEABLE LIQUID ORNAMENT The present invention relates

to a color- changeable liquid ornament, and more particularly to a liquid ornament that includes a top vessel of any shapes disposed on a transparent liquid container having suitable liquid and floaters received therein and a base connected to a bottom of the liquid container for accommodating lighting means, driving means, and a rotatable color disk optionally provided with magnets thereon, so that when the color disk is driven to rotate by the driving means while the lighting means shines, the liquid container and the vessel show changeful colors and the floaters are magnetically attracted to move around in the liquid container.

A liquid ornament means an article that has a certain type of liquid contained therein for ornamental purpose. There are a lot of differently designed and/or shaped liquid ornaments, including US Patent No. 5, 272, 604 entitled "Cyclonic Liquid Ornament" and US Patent No. 5,678,918 entitled "Lamp Stand" both granted to the same inventor of the present invention. However, up to now, no one has ever tried to associate the liquid ornaments with a vessel to 2 give the ornament added value and usage and the vessel special decorative effect. It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a liquid ornament that associates with a vessel and includes means to show changeful colors on the vessel and movable floating articles in a liquid container of the liquid ornament.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a colorchangeable liquid ornament that associates a transparent liquid container with a vessel disposed on the liquid container. The liquid ornament also includes a base connected to a bottom of the liquid container. A certain type of liquid and colored blocks or a dual-liquid ornament including two different liquids and some floaters can be received in the liquid container. Light means, driving means and a rotatable color disk are mounted in the base. When the driving means drives the color disk to rotate and the lighting means shines, the vessel and the liquid container would show changeful colors to provide enhanced decorative effect.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the 25 abovedescribed color-changeable liquid ornament in which 3 the color disk has magnets attached to its upper surface and the floaters in the dualliquid ornament have magnetically susceptible weights attached to their bottom, such that when the color disk rotates, the floaters are magnetically attracted by the magnets on the color disk to move around in the liquid container, enabling the whole ornament to show not only changeful colors but also dynamic and interesting views.

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a color-changeable liquid ornament according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an example of the ornament of Fig. 1 in use; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of another example of 4 the ornament of Fig. 1 in use; Fig. 4 is a perspective showing light-emitting means and a color disc provided in a base of the ornament of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective of a color-changeable liquid ornament according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a perspective of a colorchangeable liquid ornament according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 7 is a perspective showing another manner of using the liquid ornament of Fig. 6.

Please refer to Figs. 1 and 2 that are perspective and sectional views, respectively, of a color-changeable liquid ornament according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The liquid ornament generally includes three major components, namely, a top vessel 10, a middle liquid container 2 0, and a bottom base 30. It is preferable these three components are made of plastic material through injection molding to have different shapes. Plastic components could also be more easily connected to one another by means of supersonic welding.

The top vessel 10 can be used to hold various kinds of things, such as small-sized fruit 40, flower 50 or any other decorative items.

The middle liquid container 20 is preferably a transparent and closed container and is suitably shaped for fitly matching and associating with a lower portion of the top vessel 10. A certain suitable type of liquid and a plurality of color blocks 60 may be disposed in the middle container 20 as shown in Fig. 2. The color blocks 60 are preferably made of a transparent plastic material and may be differently shaped. Alternatively, a dual-liquid ornament 70 may be contained in the middle liquid container 20 as shown in Fig. 3. The dual-liquid ornament 70 mainly includes an upper layer of clear oil 71, a lower layer of colored liquid 72, and one or more preferably three dimensional decorative articles 73 capable of floating on the colored liquid 72. For the article 73 to always float on the colored liquid 72 in an upright and balanced position, 6 a weight, such as a small steel ball, is provided at a bottom of the article 73. Both the colored blocks 60 and the dual-liquid ornament 70 are commercially available products.

The bottom base 30 is ponnected to a bottom of the middle liquid container 20 and defines an inner space large enough for accommodating a rotatable color disk 31, a light emitting means 32, and a motor 34 therein. The color disk 31 may be optionally provided on its upper surface with a plurality of magnets 33. When the motor 34 is turned on to rotate the color disk 31 while the light emitting means 32 projecting light upward, the middle liquid container 20 and/or the top vessel 10 would show changeful colors. The weight provided at the bottom of the floating article 73 may be replaced with a magnetically susceptible article, such as an iron ball. When the color disk 31 rotates, the magnets 33 thereon attract the magnetically susceptible articles 73 in the middle liquid container 20 to cause movement of the article 73 along with the rotating color disk 31, allowing the whole liquid ornament of the present invention to show dynamic decorative effect.

It is possible to have bubbles produced in the liquid 25 container 20 during a mass production of the latter, even 7 if very strict production and quality controls have been done in the course of production. These bubbles will move upward and cumulate at an upper part of the liquid container 20 to adversely affect the ornamental effect of the liquid container 20. To avoid cumulated bubbles in the middle liquid container 20, a bubble collector 21 is provided in the middle liquid container 20 at the bottom thereof. The bubble collector 21 is simple and includes a bent passage 211 that communicates an interior of the bubble collector 21 with an interior of the middle liquid container 20. By manually turning the middle liquid container 20 upside down and then turning the container 20 again to resume its correct upright position, bubbles in the container 20 will move into the bubble collector 21 and cumulate in a bubble-collecting zone 212 at an upper part of the bubble collector 21. A considerably large amount of bubbles can be collected in the bubble- collecting zone 212 and suitably restrained from moving out of the zone 212 into the upper part of the middle liquid container 20 again due to the bent passage211. The problem of bubbles in the liquid container 20 can therefore be effectively solved.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate other embodiments of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the top vessel 10 and the middle liquid container 20 have an 8 inclined contacting interface between them. In the embodiment of Fig. 6, the top vessel 10 is completely surrounded by the middle liquid container 20. In a variant of this embodiment, the top vessel 10 is omitted. In the embodiment of Fig. 7, the top vessel 10 has a wide top opening and can be conveniently rested on a top recess of the middle liquid container 20. All these embodiments or variants thereof generally include the top vessel 10, the middle liquid container 20, and the bottom base 30 to achieve the same function and effect intended for the present invention.

9

Claims

CLAIMS 1 A color-changeable liquid ornament, comprising a top vessel, a

middle liquid container, and a bottom base; 5 said top vessel being used to hold different kinds of things and not limited to any fixed shape; said middle liquid container being a transparent container disposed below said top vessel for receiving a dual-liquid ornament or a plurality of colored blocks 10 and a certain suitable type of liquid therein; and said bottom base being connected to a bottom of said middle liquid container and defining an inner space large enough for mounting a rotatable color disk, light emitting means and driving means therein; whereby when 15 said color disk is driven to rotate by said driving means while said light emitting means projecting light upward, said middle liquid container and/or said top vessel would show changeful colors.
2. A color-changeable liquid ornament as claimed in claim 1, wherein said color disk is provided on an upper surface with a plurality of magnets and said dual liquid ornament has magnetically susceptible articles attached to bottoms, of floating articles in said dual-liquid ornament, whereby when said color disk rotates, the magnets on said color disk magnetically attract said floating articles of said dual-liquid ornament in said liquid container, bringing said floating articles to move around in said middle liquid container.
3. A colorchangeable liquid ornament as claimed in claim 1, wherein said middle liquid container is provided at inner bottom with a bubble collector that comprises a bubble-collecting zone and a bent passage communicating said middle liquid container with said bubble collector; bubbles, if any, in said middle liquid container can be manually moved into said bubble-collecting zone and stopped by said bent passage from returning to said middle liquid container.
4. A colour-changeable liquid ornament substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any one of the accompanying drawings.