Universal Bulb Holder

This invention relates to devices useful in supporting and displaying decorative lighting, and more particularly, to a device adapted to support a decorative light, such as a Christmas light. One aspect of the invention relates to a plastic or metal bracket that will support a decorative light and can be installed without screws, nails or other hardware which may pierce or otherwise impair gutters or roofs. Another aspect of invention relates to a mounting bracket or a device for decorative lighting and is in itself supported by frictional engagement with a support structure such as gutters or roof shingles and provides mechanism by which the decorative light may be positioned at different angles with respect to a roof or gutter or other support surface. Another aspect of the invention is a bulb holder for use with the mounting bracket which accommodates bulbs of various sizes.

The use of decorative lighting for both commercial purposes and for residential purposes is well known. A major portion of exterior decorative lighting is seasonal in nature, such lighting being installed primarily during holiday periods and then removed after the holiday period has passed. Decorative lights are typically purchased as "strings" in which a large number of individual sockets are wired together, and bulbs, frequently colored, are inserted into each socket. Plugs are provided at one or both ends for connection to other light strings or to an electrical power source. Typically, at the Christmas season, there are bulbs which are of various sizes, for instance, mini bulbs, C-7 bulbs and C-9 bulbs. The C-9 bulbs are larger than the C-7 bulbs which are larger than the mini bulbs.

The present invention is directed to deficiencies that have been encountered with devices previously used to install and display exterior decorative lighting including the necessity of using a variety of bulb holders to accommodate bulbs of various sizes. In the past, exterior decorative lights have sometimes been installed by stapling light strings onto the eaves of fascia of a building. Stapling often leaves unattractive holes in the support surface when the decorative lighting and staples are removed. Moreover, the use of staples or the like also runs the risk of damaging the exterior coating on the power cords thereby possibly rendering the strings unsafe. Threaded hooks have also been used to support light strings in the past, but the hooks themselves are difficult to install, and did not secure the bulb sockets in a preferred orientation. One light bracket which does not mutilate or otherwise impair roofs, gutters or facia is disclosed Gary U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,977 issued Jul. 25, 1989. The device there disclosed installs between shingles on a roof and works for its intended purpose but lacks the versatility of the subject invention. Another device particularly adapted for gutters is illustrated in Adams U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,192, issued Aug. 25, 1992.

According to the present invention, a universal bulb holder is mounted on a clip useful that does not require the use of nails, threaded fasteners, or magnets in order to install such lighting on the exteriors of residences or commercial buildings.

Accordingly, an important object of the invention is a universal bulb holder mounted on a two piece light clip which can be installed under the shingles of a roof without impairing the integrity of the shingles while permitting the bulbs to be angularly oriented with respect to the roof line at predetermined locations and at select angular positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a universal bulb holder mounted on a two piece light clip which can be installed on gutters of various sizes and shapes attached to a roof without impairing the integrity of the gutters while permitting bulbs to be angularly oriented with respect to the roof line at predetermined locations and at selected annular positions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a two piece clip of the type set forth wherein light bulbs of various sizes and dimensions are easily accommodated.

The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the two piece clip and bulb holder of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the attachment portion of the two piece clip illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is right end elevational view of the attachment portion of the two piece clip illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is the top elevational view of the bulb holder portion of the two piece clip illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 5 is a left side elevational view of the bulb holder portion of the two piece light clip shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the bulb holder portion of the two piece bulb holder illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 7 is a right side elevational view of the bulb holder illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a two piece clip of the present invention adapted to fit over a gutter;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the attachment portion of the two piece clip illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a right side elevational view of the attachment portion of the two piece clip illustrated in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the attachment portion of a clip illustrated in FIG. 9; and

FIGS. 12-15 are side elevational views of the attachment portion of the clip illustrated in FIG. 8, shown mounted on a variety of commonly shaped gutters.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1, a two piece light clip 20 including an attachment portion 25 and a bulb holder portion 45. The attachment portion 25 includes a body 26 which includes a flat portion 27 shown to extend horizontally as illustrated having a distal chamfered end 28 and a curved portion 29. The curved portion 29 integrally connects a vertical portion 31 with the flat portion 27. A sloping portion 32 is preferably integral with the vertical portion 31 and extends downwardly, to a vertically extending terminal portion 33 which ends just above the flat portion 27 near the chamfered end 28 thereof forming a space 34 between the end of the portion 33 and the top of the flat portion 27.

A positioning mechanism 35 is preferably but not necessarily integrally connected to the body 26 and includes a cylinder 36 having a longitudinal axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the vertical axis of portion 31. The cylinder 36 has internal surfaces 37 thereof forming a polygon in the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (the dotted line in FIG. 1) of the cylinder 36. In FIG. 1, there is illustrated a hexagon such that there are six distinct internal surfaces 37, one of which has a slot 38 extending therethrough so as to provide resilience or flexibility to the cylinder 36.

The bulb holder portion 45 includes part circular or trapping portions 46 which terminate into two outwardly extending portions 47 and are connected to a substantially straight stem portion 48 extending away from the circular or trapping portions 46. A connecting mechanism 51 is mounted at an end 52 of the stem 48 and has a pair of fingers 53 extending angularly outwardly from the stem 48, each of the fingers 53 ending in an outwardly extending locking mechanism 54 and having flat portions 55. Preferably, the connecting mechanism 51 is flexible so that the fingers 53 can be compressed together to fit within the cylinder 36 of the positioning mechanism 35 such that the flat portions 55 of the fingers 53 fit snugly against the flat inner surfaces 37 of the cylinder 36 to position the bulb holder portion 45 angularly with respect to the flat portion 27. Intermediate the circular or trapping portions 46 and the end 52 of the stem 48 is a gripping mechanism or notch 49 consisting of a portion 48a which is an extension of stem portion 48, a perpendicular portion 48b, and a portion 48c which is parallel to portion 48a and interconnected thereto by the portion 48b, all as best seen in FIG. 6. The portions 48a, b and c are dimensioned to grip the socket base 90 of a mini bulb 91, while the trapping portions 46 grip a C-7 socket base 95 for a C-7 bulb 96. Because the bulb holder 45 has some resilience, the trapping portions 46 also accommodate C-9 bulb sockets and bulbs.

It can be seen the bulb holder portion 45 may be moved in angular increments of 60 degrees that is 360 degrees divided by 6. If the cylinder 36 had the internal surfaces forming a octagon rather than a hexagon, then each incremental movement of the bulb holder portion 45 would be 45 degrees or 360 degrees divided by 8.

In use, the flat portion 27 of the attachment portion 25 is slid underneath a shingle of a roof thereby fictionally to mount the two piece light clip 20 to a roof. A bulb which may be a C-7 bulb or a C-9 bulb or a mini bulb can be inserted into the bulb holder portion 45 and fictionally fit into the cylinder 36 by compression of the fingers 53 as previously described. Because the bulb holder 45 is universally usable with the three most popular bulb sizes, the entire invention is commercially advantageous. When the compression on the fingers 53 is released, the material springs back to the position illustrated wherein the fingers 53 extend slightly away from each other and are wider than the distance between two flat interior surfaces 37 which are contacted by the fingers 53, thereby positioning the bulb holder 45 in the preferred angular position with respect to the roof.

Preferably, the material from which the two piece light clip 20 is constructed is a synthetic organic resin having some flexibility such as an acrylic or a polycarbonate, a polyvinyl chloride or a nylon. Flexibility is preferred both in the attachment portion 25 and in the bulb holder portion 45. In the attachment portion 25, the sloping portion 32 needs to be flexible and formed to urge the terminal end portion 33 towards the chamfered end 28 of the flat portion 27 thereby to engage the roof shingle firmly securing the two piece light clip 20 to the roof. The bulb holder portion 45 needs to be flexible or resilient not only so that the connecting mechanism 51 operates as indicated to contact the cylinder 36 and fixedly mount the bulb holder portion 45 in a desired angular configuration position but also to permit the various portions previously described to operate to hold the bulbs as indicated.

Because the invention accommodates Christmas bulbs of various sizes, such as C-7 or C-9 bulbs as well as miniature light bulbs or for that matter bulbs of any particular size, the invention is a significant improvement over those such as disclosed in the Gary '977 patent previously referenced which cannot accommodate more than one or two size bulbs, whereas the present invention can accommodate a large number of different dimensioned bulbs all without structurally weakening the light clip 20 or any portion thereof or requiring any change other than in the light bulbs used.

Referring to FIGS. 8-15 there is disclosed another embodiment of the invention in the form of a two piece clip 60 having an attachment portion 65 in cooperation with the bulb holder portion 45 previously described. Because the bulb holder portion 45 in the two piece clip 60 is identical to and operates the same as the previously described bulb holder portion 45 in the two piece light clip 20, it will not be described again for purposes brevity.

The attachment portion 65 is preferably a synthetic organic resin and it is a one piece construction, the resin which may be an acrylic, a polycarbonate, a nylon, a polyethylene or polypropylene or mixtures thereof is formed into a body portion 66 having a resilient finger 67 which is generally curved and has a distal end 68 and an inner contacting surface 69 near the distal end 68. Another inner contacting surface 71 is above the contacting surface 69 as seen in FIG. 9 and leads to a part arcuate inner surface 72. A nib 75 terminates the inner arcuate surfaces of the resilient finger 67.

Another resilient finger 77 is part of the body 66 and it has a distal end 78. The resilient finger 77 had an inner arcuate part circular surface 81 beginning at the nib 75 and extending along the inner surface of the resilient finger 77 until it flattens out as at 82 and leads to a reverse curved portion 84. It should be understood that there is no necessarily clear distinction between the beginnings and ends of the inner surfaces 69, 71, 72, 81 and 82. The inner surfaces are all part of the same general one piece construction 65 but are conveniently described for purposes hereinafter set forth.

It is important that the two piece clip 60 is constructed to fit on a variety of different shaped gutters. Gutters as shown in FIGS. 8-15 come in a variety of configurations, all of which are illustrated with the exception of FIG. 8 in transverse cross section. It is important that the clip 60 and particularly the attachment portion 65 provide no less than 3 but preferably 5 and perhaps as many as 6 different contact areas between the associated gutter and the inside surface of the resilient fingers 67 and 77. The various inner contact surfaces previously described serve to provide a snug fit for the attachment portion 65 of the clip 60 on each of the various gutter configurations illustrated in the drawings particularly as shown in drawing FIGS. 12-15, inclusive. In each case, there are at least three distinct contact points.

While there has been disclosed what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.