Decorative light

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a decorative light, and more particularly to a decorative light structure having a predetermined orientation for a light emitting diode (LED) illumination agent to be inserted therein, such that a short is prevented.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Decorative lights are widely used in all kinds of festivals all over the world. Normally, the decorative lights are strung together by wires, such that the user is able to hang the string of decorative lights on a Christmas tree, a doorframe, etc. to enhance the festive atmosphere.

[0006] The decorative light has a light bulb detachably inserted in the top of a socket and a base having the socket threadingly inserted therein. Therefore, the light bulb can be replaced if it is damaged or malfunctions. However, because this kind of decorative light requires 110V electricity, using this kind of decorative lights is not economically efficient. Furthermore, the bulb is not easy to color, which is another reason that this kind of decorative light is not popular any more. In order to overcome the these problems, another kind of decorative light using LEDs as the illumination agent was developed. Because the LED uses only 24V electricity and the plastic cover is made of epoxy resin that is quite easy for the manufacturer to form in the color required, the acceptance of this kind of decorative lights has increased dramatically since introduction to the market. However, during assembly, the proper polarity of the electrodes in this kind of decorative light is crucial. If the electrode of the light is not connected to the proper wire, the LED may be damaged. This often happens when customers are required to replace the bulbs. After a period oftime of using the string of decorative lights, one or more than one of the LEDs may burn out. When replacing the malfunctioned LED with a new one, the user might cause a short in the string of decorative lights by inserting the LED into the socket with the electrodes oriented wrong. That is, the orientation of the LED in the socket is very important.

[0007] To overcome this shortcoming, the present invention tends to provide an improved decorative light to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.

[0008] The main objective of the invention is to provide an improved decorative light, which has a LED as the illumination source, a socket for receiving the LED in a predetermined orientation and a base for receiving the socket in predetermined orientation, such that the electrode of the LED corresponds to the correct polarity of the wire and a short to the LED is able to be avoided.

[0009] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the decorative light in accordance with the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a top cross sectional view showing the engagement between the socket and the base in FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of alternative embodiment of the decorative light in accordance with the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a top cross sectional view showing the engagement between the socket and the base of FIG. 3;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a top cross sectional view showing the engagement between the connecting plates and the base as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3; and

[0015] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the decorative light in accordance with the invention.

[0016] With reference of FIG. 1, the decorative light has a cylindrical base (10), a socket (20) detachably received in the base (10) and a light emitting diode (LED) (30) detachably received in the socket (20). Furthermore, two connecting plates (40) are located in the base (10) to connect the LED (30) to the wire (not shown). The base (10) has a first passage (12) defined therethrough, a second passage (13) defined in the bottom of the first passage (12) and having a diameter smaller than that of the first passage (12), a lug (14) extending from the inner periphery defining the first passage (12), a first retaining device (16) formed on the outer periphery of the base and defining therein a cutout (161) and a pair of channels (18) defined on opposite sides in the inner periphery defining the second passage (13) and communicating with the first passage (12). The socket (20), which is partially and detachably received in the first passage (12) of the base (10), has a third passage (22) defined therethrough that communicates with the first passage (12), a flange (221) formed on an end face of the third passage (22) and has a diameter larger than that of the cylindrical base (10), a notch (222) defined in the inner periphery defining the third passage (22), a groove (23) defined to correspond to the lug (14) so as to enable the lug (14) to be slidably received in the groove (23) when the socket (20) is received in the base (10) and an extension (26) integrally formed outside the third passage (22) and provided with a sectorial head (261) formed on the distal end thereof. The LED (30) has a rib (32) formed to correspond to the notch (222) and two connecting wires (33) extending from the bottom of the LED (30).

[0017] During assembly, the two connecting plates (40) are inserted into the channel (18). In order to ensure the polarity of the connecting plates (40) with the electrical wire (not shown), the two connecting plates (40) may be made as a large connecting plate (41) and a small connecting plate (43) and of course the channels (18) must be a large channel (181) and a small channel (182) to correspond to the large connecting plate (41) and the small connecting plate (43), as shown in FIG. 5. After the socket (20) is inserted into the first passage (12) ofthe base (10), the correspondence between the groove (23) and the lug (14), as shown in FIG. 2, ensures the correct orientation feature between the socket (20) and the base (10). Thereafter, the rib (32) and the notch (222) of the socket (20) further ensures that the LED (30) is inserted correctly. After the LED (30) is inserted into the third passage (22), the two connecting wires (33) extends through the third passage (22) to connect with the two connecting plates (40 or 41,43). When the LED (30) is securely inserted into the third passage (22), the extension (26) is folded to clamp the first retaining device (16), and the sectorial head (261) abuts the bottom face of the cutout (161) so as to ensure the socket (20) and the base (10) remain connected.

[0018] With reference to FIG. 3, another embodiment shows that the LED (30) has a groove (34) and the socket (20) has a rib (224) formed on the inner periphery of the third passage (22) to correspond to the groove (34) of the LED (30). Furthennore, the socket (20) has a first flattened face (24) formed to correspond to a second flattened face (141) formed on the inner periphery defining the first passage (12), such that when the socket (20) is inserted into the base (10), the correspondence between the first flattened face (24) and the second flattened face (141), as shown in FIG. 4, will necessitate a single orientation during the insertion of the socket (20) into the base (10).

[0019] Still another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6, wherein the difference lies in that the LED (30) has a first flattened face (36) and the socket (20) has a second flattened face (226) formed on the inner periphery of the third passage (22) corresponding to the first flattened face (36) of the LED (30), such that when the LED (30) is inserted into the third passage (226) of the socket (20), the first and the second flattened faces (36, 226) will allow only the correct orientation during the insertion of the LED (30) into the socket (20).

[0020] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.