US2737576A - Decorative lamp - Google Patents

Description

March 6, 1956 E. c. FASSON 2,737,576

DEC ORAT IVE LAM P Filed Dec. 6, 1951 EM/L 6. FA SSON,

1N VEN TOR.

By if w A 7 TORNEY- United States DECURATIVE LAMP Emil C. Fasson, Inglewood, Calif.

Application December 6, 1951, Serial No. zsarss 8 Claims. (Cl. 24il10.1)

This invention relates to ornamental devices for use with lamps, referring more particularly to ornaments having rotary parts propelled by heated air currents generated by lamp bulbs. By way of example and disclosure, the invention will be described herein as embodied in an ornamental device especially suited for use in decorating Christmas trees. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same principles maybe applied to other specific purposes including the purpose of attracting attention in advertising and in merchandise display.

An ornamental device of the type to which the invention pertains comprises essentially an ornamental hood of translucent material in combination with suitable bearing means for supporting the hood in a freely rotatable manner above a lamp bulb, the hood being provided with suitable vanes for propulsion by the air currents.

Since such a device is designed for use in large numbers to decorate Christmas trees it must be of relatively inexpensive construction and, from the nature of its purpose and function, it is necessarily of light weight and therefore is usually of a fragile construction that is easily damaged. The decorative hood must be delicately poised on a relatively sharp bearing point for minimum rotational friction in order to respond to the relatively slight propelling force of heated air currents. Naturally such a bearing arrangement is highly vulnerable to damage. The bearing usually comprises an upright pointed pin that is received in a socket incorporated in the construction of the rotary hood. The pin is easily blunted and bent and both the pin and socket becomes dust-laden in the long storage periods between Christmas seasons. The vanes for propelling the hood may also be damaged by rough handling and the colored surfaces of the rotary hood are usually fragile coatings of paint that are easily scratched, gouged and otherwise marred even when handled with extreme care.

The present invention avoids these various causes of damage and deterioration by means of various features to provide an ornamental device that is immune to ordinary damage both in use and in storage. The resulting device, therefore, has a long service life both with respect to its mechanical operation and with respect to the freshness of its decorative efiect.

The invention attains these ends in part by providing stop or guard means to keep the pointed pin from escaping from the complementary bearing socket in the rotary hood and thereby prevents exposure to damage of either the pin point or the socket. Preferably the stopmeans is a second stationary hood, one of the two hoods enclosing the other. In the preferred form of the invention, the stationary hood is the outer of the two hoods and serves as a housing to protect the inner rotary hood, with special reference to the vanes and the colored surfaces of the rotary hood.

The stationary hood of the device also completely encloses the lamp bulb with which the device is func- 2,737,576 Fatented Mar. 6, 1956 tionally associated and thus prevents direct light from the lamp bulb from detracting from the decorative effect of the ornamental device itself. A further advantage of the preferred embodiment of the invention is that the stationary hood protects the lamp bulb while the ornamental device is in use and may be used as a storage container for the lamp bulb to afford complete protection for the bulb against damage between seasons. In this regard, a feature of the invention is the function of the lamp bulb itself as a closure for the stationary hood to make the interior thereof substantially dust-proof during the storage period.

The invention is further characterized by a closed construction that may be readily opened for access to its interior and, moreover, is adapted in a simple and advantageous manner for mounting on a lamp bulb to be supported therefrom. The stationary hood is further adapted for cooperation With the bearing that supports the rotary hood and makes possible the use of a simple pointed wire to support the rotary hood.

In a second embodiment of the invention the hoods are reversed in that the outer hoodrotates and the inner hood is stationary, but nevertheless the stationary hood serves as stop means in the same general manner as in the first form of the invention.

The various features and advantages of the invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, which are to be regarded as merely illustrative.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken as indicated by the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragment of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom view of the device;

Figure 5 is a sectional detail taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing in a reduced scale a modified form of the invention.

As best shown in Figure 2, the presently preferred embodiment of the invention includes a rotary decorative hood, generally designated it), that is at least in part translucent and is rotatably supported by a suitable hearing comprising two bearing means, namely a pivot pin and a suitable complementary socket for the pin. Either of the two bearing means may be incorporated in the construction of the rotary hood 10 but in this instance the rotary hood includes a bearing means in the form of a socket member 11 and the rotary hood is supported by a second bearing means in the form of a pointed pivot pin 12 that extends into the socket member.

Considered with respect to the purpose of maintaining the pivot pin 12 and the socket member 11 in mutual cooperative relationship, the invention provides a stop means generally designated 15 that is supported from the lamp bulb L and extends around the rotary hood 10 to overhang the hood at its axis of rotation in such manner as to prevent withdrawal of the pin from the socket member to any extent that may make the device inoperative. The stop means 15 is in the form of a housing or second stationary hood as shown that completely encloses the rotary hood it) and also encloses and supports the bearing on which the rotary hood is mounted for rotation. As may be seen in Figure 2 the stationary hood 15 also encloses the body portion 'of the lamp bulb L.

In the present construction the stationary hood 15 comprises a base plate 16 of circular configuration together with a conical shell 17. The base plate 16 which may be either translucent or opaque is made of flexible material and is centrally cut away to form a plurality of inwardly directed flexible tongues 20 adapted to embrace the lamp bulb L near its threaded metal base 21 in the manner shown in Figure 2. By virtue of this construction it is merely necessary to thrust the lamp bulb L downward through the center of the base plate 16 to have the flexible tongues 20 engage the lamp bulb with sufficient effectiveness to support the housing in the manner shown. The ends of the tongues may abut the upper edge of the threaded base 21 of the lamp L as shown in Figure 2 but instead the tongue ends may abut the rim of the lamp socket member in which the lamp bulb L is mounted, such a lamp socket member being indicated in dotted lines at 22 in Figure 2.

The base plate 16 and the conical shell 17 of the stationary hood 15 are adapted for mutual engagement preferably in a manner that readily permits their disengagement for access to the interior of the stationary hood. For this purpose the base plate 16 may be formed with an upturned rim flange 25 to form a seat for the conical shell 17 and may be provided with relatively short slots 26 at spaced points near its periphery to receive corresponding tongues 27 that extend downward from the bottom edge of the conical shell. As best shown in Figure 5 the end of each tongue 27 is split and formed with two divergent tabs 28 so that the outer end of the tongue is enlarged in width for secure engagement with the slot 26 but may be contracted for movement of the tongue into or out of the slot.

The conical shell 17 of the stationary hood 15 is preferably molded in one piece from translucent plastic material having the properties required for the described cooperation of the tongues 27 with the slots 26. To serve its purpose as a stop means or guard for the bearing means that supports the rotary hood 10, the conical shell 17 is formed with a solid apex body 29 that provides a downwardly presented stop surface 30 overhanging the upper end of the rotary hood.

Preferably at least one surface of the conical shell 17 is of broken configuration to provide reflection faces at various angles for refraction of light projected from inside the stationary hood. For this purpose the outer surface of the conical shell 17 may, for example, be broken by a series of concentric grooves 34 and the inner surface of the conical shell may be broken by a series of longitudinal grooves 35 aligned radially with respect to the apex of the shell. The conical shell 17 is also provided with suitable vent holes 36 to permit the escape of heated air from the interior of the stationary hood 15 and to cause the air to move in upwardly directed currents through the rotary hood 10. The vent holes 36 may be located in the uppermost concentric groove 34 as best shown in Figures 1 and 3.

The pivot pin 12, which has a sharp upwardly extending point as shown, is part of a wire member generally designated 37 that has an offset 38 conforming to the configuration of the lamp bulb L. The wire member 37 is formed with a ring 40 that serves as a base to rest on the base plate 16 of the stationary hood 15 in the manner shown in Figure 2. It is contemplated that the unrestrained diameter of the ring 40, shown in Figure 2, will be somewhat larger than the restrained diameter of the ring when the wire member 37 is mounted in the fully assembled device as shown in Figure 2. As a consequence the wire ring 40 is confined under sutficient stress in the completely assembled device to provide a stable and efiicient supporting base for the bearing pin 12.

The decorative rotary hood 10 is at least in part translucent and preferably is made in one piece of suitable transparent plastic material with the socket member 11 unitary therewith. A feature of the invention is that the socket member 11 may be in the form of a hollow rivet as shown, such a rivet being a common article of commerce. It will be noted in Figure 3 that in my preferred construction the clearance between the top surface 41 of the socket member 11 and the stop surface 30 provided by the stationary hood 15 is less than the depth of the recess or socket provided by the socket member 11. It is apparent, therefore, that the stop surface 30 will positively prevent retraction of the socket member 11 from the bearing pin 12. Even if the stationary hood 15 is turned upside down to cause the decorative hood 10 to drop away from the bearing pin 12 the point of the bearing pin will still be within the confines of the socket member 11. In this aspect of the invention what is required in all instances is that the rotary hood 10 provide suitable conical surfaces to lead the point of the bearing pin 12 back to its effective control position in the socket member 11 regardless of the extent to which the bearing pin may be displaced from that position in the handling and storage of the device. It is apparent, therefore, that the conical inner surface of the rotary hood 10 as well as the conical interior surfaces of the socket member 11 may serve this purpose.

The upper portion of the rotary hood 10 is suitably slit and deformed to provide suitably inclined vanes 45 so that air heated by the lamp L will flow upward past the vanes 45 to the previously mentioned vent holes 36 in the stationary hood 15 and in doing so will exert propelling force to cause rotation of the hood. Figure 2 shows the vanes 45 as well as the openings 46 through the rotary hood formed by the vanes.

The rotary hood 10 is preferably varicolored so that light transmitted outward therethrough will project a varicolored pattern of light onto the inner surface of the surrounding stationary hood 15. The required coloring may be incorporated in the plastic material of the rotary hood 10 or may be provided by suitable paint of translucent character applied to the rotary hood. In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings the outer surface of the rotary hood 10 is divided into numerous areas 47 by intersecting grooves 48 and the areas 47 are variously colored by paint coatings. One advantage of employing grooves 48 is that they provide relatively bright lines of light bounding the various colored areas 47 and such an effect is desirable in some practices of the invention.

When the described device is assembled for service as indicated in Figure 2, air entering the outer stationary hood in the slits between the tongues 20 is heated by the lamp L and flows upward through the openings 46 in the hood 10 to escape outward through the vent holes 36 in the stationary hood 15. Thus, air currents continually act on the vanes 45 to cause the delicately poised rotary hood 10 to rotate on the sharp point provided by the hearing pin 12. As the hood 10 rotates the varicolored pattern of light projected therefrom onto the inner surface of the stationary hood 15 produces a pleasing decorative effect in which each separate colored portion of the projected light moves along and across various grooves 34 and 35 in the statinary hood 15 with consequent refraction of the light by the grooves. It will be noted that the grooves 34 and 35 in effect divide the area of the stationary hood 15 into numerous segments and apart from the pleasing refractive effect of the grooves, there is a certain pleasing effect in the movement of the varicolored light pattern across the segmentally divided surface.

If it is necessary to replace a lamp bulb L or, on rare occasions, to adjust the wire member 37 with respect to alignment of the bearing pin 12, it is a simple matter to lift the conical shell 17 of the stationary hood away from the base plate 16, the tongues 27 being withdrawn through the slots 26 in the process. The configuration and flexibility of the tongues 27 is such that they may be readily reinserted in the slots 26 for reassembling the device.

For the purpose of storing the ornamental device between seasons the lamp bulbs L may be left in position as shown in Figure 2 so that the stationary hood 15 serves, in effect, as a protective container for the bulb L. The stationary hood 15 not only protects the bulb L during the storage period but also completely protects the rotary hood with special reference to its painted surfaces and to the vanes 45. While the device is in storage the stationary hood also prevents retraction of the bearing pin 12 from the socket member 11 to any inoperative extent so that it is merely necessary to place the stationary hood in upright position to cause the socket member 11 and the bearing pin 12 to move into their normal cooperative relationship. While the device is in storage the outer stationary hood 15 serves as a dust-proof protector and any dust that settled thereon may be readily wiped away. It will be noted that the outer stationaryhood 15 is of relatively rugged construction and does not have any surfaces such as colored painted surfaces that are vulnerable to damage by ordinary handling.

In the second form of the invention shown in Figure 6 there is the same general combination of an inner hood 60 and an outer hood 61 but in this construction the outer hood rotates and the inner hood is stationary.

The inner hood 60 comprises a conical shell 62 closed at the bottom by a base plate 63. The base plate 63 has a central aperture with inwardly directed tongues 64 to engage the lamp bulb L as before described. The inner hood has upper vent holes 65 to release heated air from its interior and has a pointed pivot or bearing pin 66 embedded in its apex to support the outer rotary hood 61. For access to the interior, the shell 62 is releasably mounted on the base plate 63 by contractile tongues 68 extending through suitable slots, as heretofore described. Preferably the outer surface of the shell 62 is divided into various colored areas 70.

The outer rotary hood 61 has a conical shell 71 carrying a hollow bearing member 72 in its apex to receive the pointed bearing pin 66 so that outer hood may rotate freely. To cause such rotation the outer shell 71 is formed with suitable vanes 73. The outer shell 71 may be frosted, or varicolored and may have a smooth surface or surfaces broken by grooves as heretofore described.

At the bottom of the outer shell 71 is mounted a releasable guard ring 75, the shell having contractile tongues 76 engaged in suitable slots in the guard ring. It will be noted that the inner diameter of the guard ring 75 is smaller than the diameter of the base plate 63 of the inner stationary hood 60. Thus the inner stationary hood 60 serves as a stop to limit upward movement of the hollow bearing member 72 away from the bearing pin 66, and it can be seen that the two bearing means 66 and 72 can not be separated to the extent of making the device inoperative.

One advantage of this second form of the invention is that the heating of air to actuate the rotary hood occurs not only inside the inner hood, but also in the extensive space between the inner shell 62 and the outer shell 71.

My specific description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention will suggest to those skilled in the art various substitutions and changes that depart from my disclosure but lie within the spirit and scope of my appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ornament for use with an upright lamp bulb, comprising: a conical stationary hood of translucent material having a bottom wall formed with tongues to embrace the base of said lamp; a wire member inside said hood having a circular base portion resting on the bottom wall of the hood, said wire having a pointed end extending upward towards the apex of the hood; and a conical rotary hood of translucent material inside said stationary hood having a downwardly presented bearing socket receiving said pointed end of the wire member for rotary support, said rotary hood having vanes for propulsion by air currents generated by the heat of the lamp.

2. An ornament as set forth in claim 1 in which said stationary hood provides a stop to prevent axial movement of said rotary hood sufiicient to separate said socket from said pointed end.

3. An ornament as set forth in claim 1 in which said hood has a varicolored pattern of translucent portions and reased said housing has grooves to provide surfaces for retracting light from the hood.

4. An ornament for use with an incandescent lamp bulb having a threaded base, comprising: a disc having a centrally located aperture therein for passing the base of the incandescent lamp; mea'ns carried adjacent said opening for engaging said lamp 'for rigidly mounting said disc thereto after the base of said bulb is threaded into a socket; a conical hood of translucent material; means carried'by said hood interlockingly engaged with said disc for detachably mounting said hood thereto whereby the latter extends upwardly from said disc and is normally held against removal from said bulb; a second hood; bearing means for supporting said second hood for rotation about an axis coincident with the axis of said first hood whereby light rays from said lamp pass through the Walls of both said hoods; and means carried by one of said hoods and engageable with means carried by the other of said hoods for holding said hoods against separation and accidental displacement sufficient to disengage the rotary hood from said bearing means.

5. An ornament for use with an incandescent lamp bulb, comprising: a pair of hollow conical hoods of translucent material; means carried by one of said hoods for detachably mounting said one hood to said lamp whereby said one hood is releasably mounted to said lamp and held against accidental separation therefrom; a first bearing means mounted on the other of said hoods at its apex; a second bearing means supported by the hood detachably mountable to said lamp engaging said first bearing means to support said other hood for rotation, said first bearing means forming a recess to seat the other bearing means; stop means carried by one of said hoods and engageable with stop means carried by the other of said hoods to limit relative movement of said hoods in the direction of separation of said bearing means, the normal clearance between said stop means being less than the depth of the recess of said first bearing means, thereby to prevent displacement of the other of said bearing means from said recess and holding said hoods against separation, each of said hoods being formed with openings for passing thermal currents produced by the heat of said lamp; and vanes carried by said rotatably supported hood adjacent the openings therein, whereby said hood is rotatably driven by said thermal currents.

6. An ornament for use with an incandescent lamp bulb, comprising: a pair of hollow conical hoods of translucent material, one of said hoods enclosing the other; a disc of translucent material having a centrally located opening for releasably receiving the base of the incandescent lamp; means for detachably mounting said disc to the base of the outer hood, whereby said ornament is superimposed over said lamp; a first bearing means supported by said disc extending upwardly over said lamp; second bearing means carried by the inner hood and engaged by the first bearing means for supporting said inner hood for rotation about an axis coincident with the axes of said hoods; cooperating means carried by each of said hoods for holding said hoods against movement sufiicient to disengage said bearing means, each of said hoods being formed with openings for passing thermal currents produced by the heat of said lamp; and vanes carried by said inner hood adjacent the openings therein whereby said hood is rotatably driven by said thermal currents.

7. An ornament for use with an incandescent lamp bulb, comprising: a pair of hollow conical hoods of translucent material, one of said hoods enclosing the other; a disc of translucent material having a centrally located opening for releasably receiving the base of the incandescent lamp; means for detachably mounting asid disc to the base of the inner hood, whereby said inner hood is superimposed over said lamp; a first bearing means carried by the upper portion of said inner hood and extending upwardly therefrom; second bearing means carried by the outer hood and engaged by the first bearing means for supporting said outer hood for rotation about an axis coincident with the axes of said hoods; cooperating means carried by each of said hoods for holding said hoods against movement sufficient to disengage said bearing means, each of said hoods being formed with openings for passing thermal currents produced by the heat of said lamp; and vanes carried by said outer hood adjacent the openings therein whereby said hood is rotatably driven by said thermal currents.

8. An ornament to be mounted above an incandescent lamp, comprising: a stationary outer element having an upper conical wall element of translucent material formed with a plurality of apertures for passing thermal air currents produced by the heat of said incandescent lamp when energized and an apertured lower wall element; a wire member carried by said lower wall element and extending upwardly within said outer element to present a coaxially arranged bearing support; an inner element formed with a plurality of vanes for propulsion by the thermal air currents generated by the heat of said lamp; a downwardly presented bearing socket carried by said inner element at the axial center thereof, said bearing support extending upwardly into said bearing socket for rotatably supporting said inner element; and a stop member projecting axially downwardly from the apex of said conical wall element within said'outer element to limit axial movement of said inner element to a distance less than the depth of said bearing socket to thereby prevent axial movement of said inner element sufficient to separate said socket from said bearing support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,042,979 Seessle Oct. 29, 1912 1,178,764 Watanabe Apr. 11, 1916 2,248,117 Petry July 8, 1941 2,345,517 Weiss Mar. 28, 1944 2,398,974 Storm Apr. 23, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 281,552 Great Britain Dec. 8, 1927

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