US3446953A - Electrical window decoration - Google Patents

Description

May 27, 1969 T. MYLoNAs 3,446,953

ELECTRICAL wINDow DECORATION Filed Feb. 11. 1966 WMM United States Patent O 3,446,953 ELECTRICAL WINDOW DECORATION Thomas Mylonas, 2409 28th St., Astoria, N.Y. 11102 Filed Feb. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 526,763 1m. Cl. F21p 1/02 U.S. Cl. 240- 3 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A window decoration comprised of transparent plastic sheets divided into sections shaped to tit around the inner perimeter of a window. Each section comprises a printed wiring circuit having a plurality of sockets thereon to accommodate light bulbs. Snap fasteners electrically and mechanically connect the separate sections.

This invention relates to window decorations suitable for use in windows of different sizes and including electrical components as part of the decoration.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a window decoration suitable for use on holidays or other festive occasions and including electrical circuits and light bulb sockets as part of the decoration. The decoration may be entirely abstract in design or it may include representations of known things such as Christmas trees, outlines of animals, pictures of people, wreaths, and the like. Letters, Words, numerals and the like may also be included as part of the decoration and either outlined or illuminated by built-in electric lights.

Other objects will become apparent from the following specication together with the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a window decoration particularly suitable for use at Christmas time and constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged View of a fragment of the decoration of FIG. l; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the fragment of FIG. 2.

The window decoration of FIG. 1 includes a flat member 11 shaped to t .a typical window outline and having, built into, or attached to, its surface, a design which, in the present embodiment, includes a number of abstract outlines 12. Since windows are not all the same size, the decoration 11 may be divided into several different sections joined together along seams 13 and 14 at the top and bottom and seams 16, 17, 18 and 19 along the sides. This may be useful when, for example, the window is longer than usual and requires additional sections such as sections 21 and 22 to be added in order to extend the full length of the window.

Preferably the material of which the decoration 11 is made is a at plastic insulating material capable of supporting a printed wiring circuit which includes, on the side facing upward in FIG. 1, a printed conductor 23. Attached to or built into the material 11 are sockets 24 for small light bulbs, and the conductor segments 23 are placed so that they go from one of the light bulb sockets 24 to the next. A complete circuit may be made either by placing all of the light bulb sockets 24 in series or by providing a second set of conductor segments 23a insulated from the segments 23 but going to the same light bulb sockets 24. For the sake of convenience, the segments 23a may be located directly behind the segments 23 on the other side of the plastic material 11. A two-wire arrangement is prefer-able because the light bulbs can then all be placed in parallel instead of having to be connected in series. One of the advantages is that `this permits a different number of light bulbs to be used in the event that the window is either larger or smaller than the size for which the decoration material 11 is shaped.

In order to join the segments 23 of the circuits of the various sections 11a-11g together, connectors must be supplied at the contiguous ends of the sections. At the junction between segments 11e and 11f for example, which is indicated by the seam 14, there is shown a connector 26 which is provided with two conductors, one behind the other, to accommodate the segments 23 and 23a, the latter of which is not shown at it enters a connector 26 since it is directly behind the section 23 at that point. A similar connector 27 is shown at the lower end of the section 11g connecting that section to the additional section 22 and a further similar connector 28 is show at the lower end of the section 22 where it joins the section 11f.

An alternative, and an even simpler form of electrical connection is shown at the upper end of the section 11g where it joins the upper end of the section 11a. As shown, the wiring segments 23 and 23a may be separated at the edge of the section 11g and 11a so that the segment 23a is not directly behind the segment 23. Instead, segment 23 in section 11g is brought to a snap fastener 29 while the segment 23a is brought to another snap fastener 29a. Matching snap fasteners are placed in the section 11a t0 provide both mechanical and electrical connection between the sections 11a and 11g of the decorating material. Similar snap fasteners may be used at each of the junctions between sections of the decorating material with the placement and spacing of each of the snap fasteners the same for each section so that only a minimum number of separate parts need be suplied in order to make up a window decoration for any size window. This also makes it possible to replace sections that have been torn or lost without necessitating the replacement of the entire decoration, and it permits the same basic decoration to be used for different occasions. For example, the main outer sections 11a through 11g, with such additional extension 21 and 22 as may be necessary to t a particular window, may be used with a central unit 31 'or with letters making up a childs name for birthday celebrations or other pictorial displays taking the place of the additional section 31 for other holidays.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged View of a fragment of the material 11 of FIG. 1 and illustrates the Way that the printed wiring is placed on the surface of the material 11 so that each of the segments 23 goes from one of the light bulb sockets 24 to the next. The wiring segments 23a also go to the same light bulb sockets. These wiring segments and sockets lare illustrated in cross-sectional form in FIG. 3, which also shows one of the small light bulbs 34 suitable for use in this decoration.

Although the wiring sections 23 have been deliberately made visible in FIG. l, it may well be that the material 11 will be opaque or sufliciently dark so that the wiring will not be at all noticeable. In the case of printed Wiring formed by photographic techniques, the segments 23 and 23a, except where they diverge at the ends of the sections, such as at seam 18, may be formed by the same photographic exposure.

While this invention 4has been described in terms of a specific embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made therein within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A window decoration comprising: a sheet of nonconductive transparent plastic material divided into sections shaped to t around the inner perimeter of a window, each sections comprising printed wiring segments, a plurality of sockets thereon for light bulbs connected to said segments to be energized therefrom, .at least two snap fastener connectors on adjoining edges of said sections electrically connected to said wiring segments, said fasteners mechanically connecting said sections together and electrically connecting said wiring segments in adjacent said sections together, said wiring segments being on opposite surfaces of said Sections to be rnutually insulated by Said plastic material.

2. The decoration of claim 1 in which said sheet of material comprises: a main section outlining the perimeter of said window land a separate decoration display section spaced from said main section and within the boundary thereof and having wiring electrically connected to Said wiring segments of said main section.

3. The decoration of claim 2 comprising, in addition: a separate electric link connecting said separate decoration display section to Said main section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Brown 240-10 Peak et al. 240-8.l6 Esch 240-10 Connell 24U-10 McKenzie 24U-8.3 Campbell 240--10 1() NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES B. FUNK, Assistant Examiner.

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