Pole lamp

Jan. 8, 1963

3,072,784

Z. W. MANN

POLE LAMP

Filed Dec. 14, 1959

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United States Patent Office

3,072,784

Patented Jan. 8, 1963

3,072,784 POLE LAMP

Zelvern W. Mann, 8301 Shoup Ave., Canoga Park, Calif. Filed Dec. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 859,181

Claims. (Cl. 240—81)

This invention relates to a lamp capable of being readily moved from place to place and held supported between floor and ceiling in a room in order to provide area and decorative lighting, and more particularly to a pole lamp in which a fluorescent lamp forms a part of the pole intermediate its ends.

Generally speaking, the earlier pole-type lamps have been made and used to provide spotlight effects in various parts of a room. Usually they have had three pivotable brackets extending outwardly from a central pole for the mounting of incandescent lamps and their shades. The lamps must be adjusted individually so as not to disturb persons sitting in the room and have the objectionable characteristics that if one. lamp is directed for the benefit of a person reading in one chair, it may at the same time be positioned so as to shine into the eyes of another person.

Pole lamps, according to the prior art, are generally spring-loaded so as to be engageable between the floor and ceiling. Spring-loaded lamps have a disadvantage in that over a period of time the springs weaken and the lamps must be adjusted to stay in place. In addition, if the spring is strong enough to be effective, it makes the pole difficult to handle during installation.

The present invention eliminates the prior art difficulties through the elimination of plural incandescent lamps mounted on brackets, and through the elimination of spring means to hold it in place between the floor and ceiling.

It is a primary purpose of the invention to provide a pole-type lamp having an axially aligned fluorescent lamp in the central section of the pole which may serve to light a portion of a room directly, with or without the use of a translucent shade, or to light a room indirectly by means of a reflector.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved pole-type lamp suitable for both utility and decorative lighting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a poletype lamp having shading means which eliminates glare and at the same time provides sufficient lighting for the room.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a pole-type lamp having a non-translucent reflector to direct light to a portion of a room and to indirectly light other portions of the room.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fluorescent or other type of elongated lamp in a pole lamp to illuminate living spaces, the pole lamp being readily movable from place to place, and when positioned being held supported between the floor and the ceiling.

The invention with its features and advantages will be further understood from the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, which are to be regarded as illustrative:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the invention with part of the shade cut away;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the lamp supported between a floor and a ceiling showing the struture in greater detail;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse section on the line 3—3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse section on the line 4—4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse section on the line 5—5 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is a view of the lamp similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the use of a reflector.

Referring again to the drawings and to the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 to 5, inclusive, in particular, in FIGURES 1 and 2, the pole lamp is shown supported between a ceiling 1 and a floor 2, the entire lamp being in effect a single elongated rigid pole. The pole struc10 ture is formed by an upper tubular section 3; two central or intermeidate, spaced, tube sections 4 connected at their upper ends to section 3; a lower tube section 5 comprising a lower counterpart of upper section 3 but adjustably connected to intermediate sections 4 and having a reduced 15 diameter upper end 5a; and a small diameter lowermost foot section 6 adjustably connected to section 5. The spaced tubes 4, 4 are fixedly connected at their upper ends at diametrically spaced points to the exterior of a sleeve 11 and at their lower, ends are similarly connected to a 20 sleeve 12. The former telescopically and fixedly seats the upper tube 3 and the latter telescopically and adjustably seats the lower tube 6. At the upper end of upper section 3 and at the lower end of section 6 feet 7, including thick pads Ία of felt or similar resilient material, are positioned, 25 the feet being connected for angular adjustment relative to the pole through ball and socket joints 9 and connector cups or sleeves 1® which seat the pole ends.

As may be best seen in FIGURE 2, a longitudinal adjustment means is provided by which lowermost tube 6 30 is slidably seated in lower tube 5. In order to clamp tubes 5 and 6 in selected longitudinal adjustment, tube 5 is provided at its extremity with circumferentially-spaced longitudinal slots 15 and is exteriorly tapered. A tapered sleeve 14 slidably engages exteriorly the extremity of 35 shorter tube 5, its internal diameter decreasing at 18 in the direction of tube 6. The upper portion of sleeve 14 has internal threads 17 engaged with external threads 16 on tube 5. Thus, when sleeve 14 is rotated to move upwardly on the threads 16, the internal tapered surface 18 40 tightens on the tapered slotted end of tube 5 compressing the latter and forcing it to grip tube 6 securely. To aid in rotating sleeve 14 it is provided with an external knurled surface 19 so that it may be gripped more securely.

The adjustment between tubes 5 and 6 secured by the clamping sleeve 14 may be viewed as a rough adjustment.

To exert the proper holding force between the pole and the floor and ceiling and to compress the resilient pads to just the right extent, additional adjustment means 50 are provided and is best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3. The presence of this second or fine adjustment and the resilient pads eliminates the need for the conventional spring used in prior art structures to hold the pole lamp in proper supporting relationship with the floor and ceiling. In this 55 so-called fine adjustment the small diameter portion 5a of the tube 5 is slidably and adjustably engaged within the spacer sleeve 12. Spacer sleeve 12 is provided with an inwardly projecting pin 24 sized to pass into a slot 21 in reduced end 5a of tube 5 in a bayonet and slot rela60 tionship, the inner end of slot 21 connecting to a sloping angular extension 22 formed along one of its sides with spaced seats 23 sized to seat pin 24. The relationship is such that with the pin 24 seated in slot 22 the rotation of the tube 5 relative to the sleeve 12 moves the pin 24 gg along the slot 22 which acts as a cam for the pin to lengthen or shorten the pole, depending upon direction of relative rotation. With the resilient pads 7a on the ends of the pole, the pole is easily elongated and tightened •between floor and ceiling, the pads 7a acting as resilient 7θ take-ups. Thus, the combination of the rough adjustment means, the fine adjustment means, and the resilient pads provides a pole which can be first approximately or

3,072,784 roughly adjusted between floor and ceiling and then finely adjusted by rotating one section through a small arc relative to another section slidably engaged therewith. This combination has all the advantages of the prior art structures in which a spring is used, but none of the disadvantages.

A typical fluorescent lamp socket 28 is secured in the inner end of each of the spacer sleeves 11 and 12 by means of a split rivet 29 carried by a transverse plate 30 welded into each of the spacer sleeves 11 and 12. A lamp 13 is typically secured for operation in the sockets 28.

Electrical current is supplied to lamp 13 by means of external electrical leads 35 which may be connected into a conventional wall socket by means of a plug. These leads 35 are connected to toggle switch 34 and extending from the switch, within the tubes, are the electrical leads 33, connected to the lower socket, and the electrical leads 32, connected to the upper socket.

The pole lamp may, of course, be used without any shading over the lamp. However, the bare lamp for certain uses would cause considerable glare. To prevent such glare and to add to the decorativeness of the lamp, an elongated translucent shade 40 may be provided on one or both sides of the lamp, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 5. The shade 40 is held in place by means of U-shaped shade supports 38 in the form of strong springs or brackets at its ends which are secured to the tubes 3 and 5 adjacent the ends of the lamp by screws 39.

If direct lighting is desired against a wall and indirect lighting is desired in other parts of the room, a nontranslucent reflector 42, as shown in FIGURE 6, may be provided. Reflector 42 is secured in a manner similar to shade 40 to tubes above and below the lamp by supports 43, held in place by the screws 39. In a preferred form, such a reflector would be curved and it would therefore be desirable that the outer portions of supports 43 be also curved, as shown in FIGURE 6.

An interesting feature of the invention is illustrated in phantom lines 44 in FIGURE 5. These converging lines indicate by the area they enclose the small amount of non-directly lightable area on each side of the lamp and also illustrate that the directly lightable area of the lamp is considerable in comparison to the non-directly lightable area. This great extent of direct lighting is not possible with other types of pole lamps unless the light source is elongated and in axial alignment with the pole. It should be understood that for 360° around the lamp 13 there is no completely unlighted area, but only directly lighted and indirectly lighted areas.

While the lamp constructed in accordance with the disclosed invention has been described as mounted between floor and ceiling it is to be understood that its use is not so limited. It is adapted to be positioned in a similar manner between any two spaced opposing surfaces including spaced vertical walls and posts.

It can be seen readily that the pole lamp embodying the present invention provides the utilitarian advantages of large additional lighting area, a combination of direct and indirect lighting, axial alignment of the lamp with the pole, the elimination of a supporting spring, and also is unusually decorative as a result of its physical structure.

While the particular pole lamp herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.