Decorative lamp strip

• US 5,672,000 A
• Filed: 09/14/1994
• Issued: 09/30/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tayeh Lin
• Original Assignee: Tayeh Lin
• Inventors: Lin, Tayeh
• Primary Examiner(s): CARIASO, ALAN B
• Application Number:
  US08/305,723
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• Field of Search: 439/414, 439/419, 362/226, 362/227, 362/241, 362/247, 362/249, 362/391, 362/800, 362/806
• US Class Current: 362/249.06
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 4/10 with light sources attached to loose electric cables, e.g. Christmas tree lights
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 4/28 rigid, e.g. LED bars
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 21/002 making direct electrical contact, e.g. by piercing F21V21/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 25/142 Their counterparts
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 33/09 for baseless lamp bulb
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/2404 the contact members having teeth, prongs, pins or needles penetrating the insulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/806 Ornamental or decorative

Abstract

An improved decorative lamp strip comprising a three-strand flat electric wire, some main sets, some fixing plates, some sets of series connected conductive piece, some sets of a first parallel connected conductive piece, some sets of a second parallel connected conductive piece, some lamp seats and some bulbs with tungsten filament in general or some LED bulbs, wherein the falt electric wire comprises a middle strand series connected conductor and an upper and a lower strand parallel connected conductors, a plurality of holes are punched on the electric wire body, and each punched hole breaks the middle strand conductor, each main seat is installed in the position of each punched hole on the flat electric wire to engage with a fixing plate, and to let any one set of conductive piece installed on the main seat thrust into the middle, upper or lower strand conductor of the flat electric wire so as to combine a decorative lamp strip.

Claims

1. A decorative lamp strip, comprising:

a. a flat electric wire, comprising;

i. a middle strand conductor for series connection,

ii. an upper strand conductor for parallel connection, and

iii. a lower strand conductor, also for parallel connection;

a plurality of square holes on an electric wire body for installing each main seat;

b. each of the main seat having a L-shaped seat body thereof for installing a main seat in the position of each square hole on the flat electric wire, each main seat comprising;

i. a cylindrical pit at the center on the upper side of main seat,

ii. two lateral U-shaped concave edges on the inner wall on the two sides of the cylindrical pit and along the length of said inner walls,

iii. a dovetail slot on the front bottom side of the main seat, and

iv. a set of "arrowhead" shaped snap pillar at the center of vertical plate on the lower side of the main seat body;

c. each fixing plate for installing the main seat on the flat electric wire, each fixing plate comprising;

i. a plate body with an upward dovetail tenon, and

ii. a square hole at the center of the plate body;

to insert the dovetail tenon into the dovetail slot and to insert a set of "arrowhead" shaped snap pillar into the square holes so as to fix the main seat in the position of square holes on the flat electric wire;

d. a set of series connected conductive piece or a set of a first and a second parallel connected conductive pieces, each set thereof comprising;

i. a left conductive piece as a lateral Z-shaped plate body of which the lower end is folded into a vertical positioning piece toward left side and then folded into two horizontal sharp teeth toward front side, and the upper end is inserted into a lateral U-shaped concave edge on the left side of cylindrical pit on the main seat, and

ii. a right conductive piece as a lateral Z-shaped plate body of which the lower end is folded into a vertical positioning piece toward right side and then folded into two horizontal sharp teeth toward front side, and the upper end is inserted into a lateral U-shaped concave edge on the right side of cylindrical pit on the main seat;

e. each lamp seat as a seat body in the shape of a reverse top hat, comprising;

i. a central cylindrical pit for installing a bulb, and

ii. two openings on the two sides at the bottom of seat body and leading to the cylindrical pit;

to insert a bulb into the cylindrical pit on the lamp seat which is then inserted into the cylindrical pit on the main seat; and

f. each bulb with two conductive legs at lower end to be inserted into the cylindrical pit on the lamp seat, wherein these two conductive legs respectively pass through the two openings at the bottom of lamp seat body and then to be folded upward to contact the two outer side walls of the lamp seat body;

therefore, to install each main seat in the position of each square hole on the flat electric wire, to insert a set of "arrowhead" shaped snap pillar on the main seat into the square hole, to install a fixing plate on the said set of "arrowhead" shaped snap pillar, to thrust the two horizontal sharp teeth of each set of series connected or parallel connected conductive piece into the middle or upper and lower strand conductors of the flat electric wire, and to insert the lamp seat with a bulb into the cylindrical pit on each main seat, then the said decorative lamp strip is well combined.

2. A decorative lamp strip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main seat further comprises two small recesses on the front and rear outer walls in the upper part of main seat body, and a reflecting cover with a pair of reverse L-shaped hooky pieces on the two sides on the lower edge of the reflecting cover body to be inserted into the small recesses.

3. A decorative lamp strip as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

two longitudinal recesses on a vertical plate on the lower side of each main seat and leading to the lateral U-shaped concave edges on the two sides of each main seat body; and

two or three lateral recesses and one or two lateral flanges on the vertical plate on the lower side of each main seat for positioning and installing two series connected conductive pieces or parallel connected conductive pieces.

4. A decorative lamp strip as claimed in claim 1 further comprises a F-shaped fixing piece on the lower edge of the fixing plate to be used as a lug for installation.

5. A decorative lamp strip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the left and right condtuctive pieces of each set of series connected conductive pieces are designed to have a middle length;

the left and right conductive pieces of the first parallel connected conductive piece are designed to have a short length and a middle length, and the left and right conductive pieces of the second parallel connected conductive piece are designed to have a middle length and a longer length.