.conventional pre-assembled lampshade, but which may be readily assembled by the consumer without the need for tools.

Generally, lampshades are manufactured in a pre- formed or assembled condition prior to shipping and transportation to the retail outlet or warehouse and are stored in the same condition prior to retail to the consumer. Such lampshades tend to take up a great deal of space. This problem arises particularly with cylindrical or box-shaped lampshades, but even frusto- conical shades which may be stacked still require substantial space for transport and storage. Generally lampshades in an assembled form will be fragile and this results in much wastage and damage during transportation. It is therefore desirable to provide a lampshade which is collapsible to a certain extent to reduce the space taken up in transportation and storage and reduce the damage caused during transport. Additionally, the lampshade should be capable of ready assembly by the consumer without the need for tools.

Our pending PCT Application published under No. O92/04578 seeks to address some of the problems associated with conventional lampshades by providing a lampshade which can collapse. The frame for this lampshade comprises upper and lower circular supports having a number of rib members extending between the supports, the ends of each rib member being pivotally mounted on the supports and having a hinge located between the ends. A spider member has a central hub and radial struts, each of which extend from the hub to a slide mounted on one of the rib members. The spider

member may move in a direction perpendicular to the support members from a braced position where movement of the rib member about its hinge is prevented to a collapsed position, the rib members pivoting outwardly or inwardly about their respective hinges. A clip secures the spider member in position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative construction for a collapsible lampshade. Therefore according to the invention there is provided a frame for a collapsible lampshade comprising: upper and lower support members spaced in parallel planes; a plurality of peripherally spaced rib members extending between the support members, each rib member being pivotally mounted at one end to the upper support and at the other end to the lower support and having a hinge located intermediate said ends, and a spider member having a central hub and a plurality of radially extending struts, each strut being pivotally mounted at one end on the hub, the other end being pivotally mounted on one of said rib members at a fixed point, preferably adjacent the hinge thereof, the spider member being movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to said parallel planes, which movement renders the frame from a braced condition, in which movement of each rib member about its respective hinge is prevented to a collapsible condition in which each rib member is free to pivot about its respective hinge to collapse the frame. In a preferred embodiment, each strut is provided with a hinge between the ends thereof so that the strut members and hub may be collapsed to form a substantially flat arrangement.

The struts are formed so that as the spider member passes through a plane parallel to the upper and lower support members, the ribs are pushed out. The spider

member is then pulled further towards the upper support member to release this tensioning. The spider member is prevented ^' from further movement upwards Hy the struts lying against a stop mounted on the hub. the spider member is prevented from downward movement since this would require some force to tension the rib members, thus preventing unaided collapse of the lampshade.

The spider member may further comprise a locking mechanism so that the struts may be locked in position by a twisting movement of the hub, again preventing collapse of the lampshade except when desired.

The hinge region of the rib member is preferably formed by a three-way hinge. Providing a three-way hinge allows the two portions of the rib and the struts to fold on top of each other to ensure that the lampshade will flat pack. Additionally, the rib member as a whole when considered longitudinally will present a smooth outer edge about which the cover fits making the shade more aesthetically pleasing, mimicking a conventional lampshade structure.

The frame of the lampshade is fitted with material to provide the actual shade. The shade is either provided by fabric which is secured over the top and bottom supports e.g. by stitching, clips etc. Alternatively, the fabric is formed in panels, giving a faceted appearance to the assembled lampshade.

The rib members may be in the form of rods or similar extrusions having end connectors for forming the hinge and attachment means for the supports. in order to provide a uniform appearance the rods may be surrounded by a sleeve having the same outer dimensions as the connectors. Alternatively, the connections are formed integrally with the end portions of the ribs.

The lampshade may comprise auxiliary rib members in addition to those connected to the struts providing they

are pivoted to the supports and have an intermediate hinge allowing folding in the same manner as the outer ribs.

The lampshade can be any shape, the upper and lower support members being shaped accordingly. In a preferred embodiment they are endless, preferably circular. The lampshade may be made concave or convex by selection of the length of the rib members and struts.

The invention is hereinafter described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a part-sectional view of a lampshade according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the frame of Figure 1 when collapsed;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the frame of Figure 1 when partially assembled;

Figure 4 is a top view of a portion of the lampshade of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a partially assembled alternative embodiment of the frame of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the frame of Figure 5 when assembled, and Figure 7 is a sectional view of the frame of

Figure 5 when collapsed.

Referring to Figures 1 to 4 , lampshade 1 comprises a frame (2) covered with a shade cover (3) shown partially in Figures 1 and 4. The frame has an upper circular support member (4) and a lower circular support member (5) , although other shaped support members may be used. In the embodiment illustrated, the lower support member (5) is larger than the upper support member (4) to provide a frusto-conical lampshade. Between the support members (4 and 5) are a number

of ribs (6) , the lampshade shown in Figure 1 having eight such ribs (6) . The ends (7 and 8) of each rib (6) are pivotally attached to upper (4) and lower (5) support members respectively. Each rib (6) has a hinged region (9) located between the ends (7 and 8) defining upper (10) and lower (11) portions of each rib (6) .

The frame further comprises a spider member (12) having a central hub (13) and radially extending struts (14) . One end (15) of each strut (14) is pivotally attached to the hub (13) , while the other end (16) of each strut (14) is pivotally attached to the hinged region (9) of the ribs (6) .

The hub (13) has a frusto-conical portion (17) and an annular region (18) . The frusto-conical portion (17) slopes gently away from the central annular region (18) . The struts (14) are pivotally attached adjacent the annular region (18) , and when the frame is assembled the first portions (12) of the struts (14) lies flat against the frusto-conical portion (17) of the hub (13) . The struts (14) have a hinged region (20) between the ends (15 and 16) to allow the frame to be completely collapsed to form a flat pack.

As is shown in the Figures, hinged region (9) of the ribs (6) and pivotal attachment of end (16) of struts (14) is formed by a three-way hinge (21) .

As is shown in Figure 1, the three-way hinge (21) allows the upper (10) and lower (11) portions of each rib (6) to lie end to end to maintain a smooth outer edge along the whole length of the rib (6) . Figure 3 shows the frame when completely collapsed. The separation of the pivot points of the upper (10) and lower (11) portions of the ribs (6) , by the presence of hinge (21) in the frame shown, allows the upper and lower portions of the rib to lie adjacent one and other and allow the collapsed frame to be substantially flat. The

pivot point (16) of the strut (14) is also separated from the rib pivot points which allows the strut (14) to lie flat against the rib member portion when the frame is collapsed. Additionally, hinge (20) of strut (14) is formed to allow the two portions of the strut to lie flat against each other.

Figure 4 shows the frame after the first stage of assembly. Hub (13) is pulled up to straighten struts (14) ., If the struts are not provided with a hinged region (20) , this would be the fully collapsed form of the lampshade, which still results in a substantial saving of space taken up by the lampshade over non- collapsible frames.

The next stage in assembling the frame is to pull the upper support (4) up. Due to the three-way hinge, as the top ring is pulled up, the struts (14) pivot about the hub (13) and the lower ring (5) falls. The hub (13) is then pulled up. As the hub (13) is pulled up, the struts (14) push the hinge region (9) further out. The size of the spider member (12) results in the ribs (6) being flexed out as the hub (13) passes through the region where the spider (12) lies in a substantially horizontal plane tensioning the ribs (6) . Shortly after this point, as the hub (13) is being pulled up, the struts (14) lie flat against the frusto-conical hub portion (17) and prevent further movement of the hub (13) upwards. Since the rib members (6) would need to be flexed or tensioned to allow the structure to be collapsed, the frame (2) remains erected unless force is applied to the hub (13) to collapse the frame.

Frame 2 may be covered by any suitable material. The material may be sewn over the upper and lower supports as one piece where stretchy material is used or may be formed as individual panels corresponding to the panels formed by the ribs (6) for a facetted appearance.

Alternatively, the cover may be clipped over the upper and lower supports of the frame. the lampshade may be provided with a lining of e.g. silk and an additional cover, the lining being maintained on the frame at all times, and the additional cover being changed for example following redecoration. A lampshade cover or lining may be retained on the frame when the lampshade is collapsed.

The ribs (6) are provided by rods (22) having a sleeve (23) . This allows for the hinges and pivotal attachments to be formed as separate components and secured to the ends of the rods (22) . The outer sleeve (23) has the same exterior dimensions as these components creating a uniform outer surface to the ribs about which the lampshade cover fits, presenting a smooth outline to the lampshade. Alternatively, the hinge and pivotal regions of the ribs may be formed integrally with the respective end portions of the rib.

The pivotal attachments of the ends (15) of struts (14) may be arranged along a circumference of a circle, each end being provided with a notch which fits within a slot so that the hub (13) may be rotated once the frame has been assembled to fit the notches into corresponding slots, preventing struts (14) from pivoting about the hub and thereby locking the frame in the assembled position. Referring to Figures 5 to 7 , an alternative frame

(2') is shown. This frame (2') has upper and lower support members (4' and 5') with ribs (6') extending between the support members (4' and 5') . The ends (7' and 8') of each rib (6') are pivotally attached to the upper (4') and lower (5') support members, with a hinged region (9') located between the ends (7' and 8') of each rib (6') defining upper (10') and lower (11') portions of the rib.

The frame further comprises a spider member (12') having a central hub (13') and radially extending struts

(14') . One end (15') of each strut (14') is pivotally attached to the hub (13') while the other end (16') of each strut ^' (14') is pivotally attached to a fixed point (24) on the upper portion (10') of each rib (6') . The central hub (13') has a central annular region (18') .

The upper support member (4') of the frame (2') of Figures 5 to 7 has a support bar (25) , each end (26 and 27) being welded to diametrically opposed portions (28 and 29) of the upper support member (4') . The support bar ^" (25) has a central ring (30) for retaining the frame (2') on a light fitting (not shown) .

The frame (2') is shown in a fully collapsed position in Figure 7, with the spider member (12') lying above the upper and lower support members (4' and 5') . As the upper support member (4') is pulled up, the ribs move outwards. The spider member (12') moves downwards towards the support bar (25) , the struts (14') pushing out the fixed point (24) on the upper portion (10') of each rib (6') , tensioning the ribs (6') . The spider member (12') is limited in the downward movement when the central annular region (18') lies against the central ring (30) of the support bar (25) .