The present invention concerns a lamp shade comprising a shade wall and a frame supporting the shade wall.

The invention particularly relates to lamp shades with a shade wall which is so rigid that there is no need for longitudinal stiffeners in the supporting frame, but where the shade wall on the other hand is flexible. It is possible to pack such a type of lamp shade very compactly, as the shade wall can be almost flattened.

German public disclosure No. 1 902 341 describes a lamp shade which may also be furnished in compact form in that the lamp shade is made as a building set. It is a disadvantage of this known technique that the lamp shade produced bears the mark of being a home-made pro¬ duct, which furthermore is based on a technique that ^' cannot be used if the shade is to have a markedly coni¬ cal shape or if the annular stiffeners known from such a shape are to have a small radius of curvature.

It is the object of the invention to provide a lamp shade which can be packed very compactly and which, when as- sembled, presents itself as a high-quality factory-made product.

According to the invention, the object is achieved by designing the shade as stated in the characterizing part of claim 1, the coupling means being positioned in spaced relationship so that the shade exhibits only negligent resistance to relatively strong folding at some point between the coupling means. As a result it is possible to produce a high-quality finished shade wall and pack the shade in a relatively flattened state. After unpack- ing the consumer only has to connect the shade wall and the ring by the coupling means. Preferably, a support ring is provided along the upper edge as well as along the lower edge of the shade, and one of the rings may

cohere with a frame for mounting the shade on a lamp socket.

The invention also entails significantly improved export possibilities for high-quality lamp shades. Until now transport conditions and cost have been unfavourable and impaired the possibilities of a first rate product standing the competitio , as such a product initially is costly to produce.

According to one embodiment, and as stated in claim 2, the coupling means cohere with the shade wall. The claw- shaped protrusion may e.g. be secured by ultrasonic weld¬ ing, whereby it is possible to prepare long lengths having such protrusions. The lamp shade may advantageously com¬ prise an outer shade of varying appearance, and a stan- dard inner shade, e.g. of the kind stated in claim 2.

Alternatively the coupling means may be separate as stated in claim 4. The supplier may either supply the separate coupling means mounted on the shade wall, on the stiffe¬ ning ring or in a separate bag. In all cases the coupling means are movable along the stiffening ring to avoid foldings in the shade wall as a consequence of inaccura¬ cies in connection with shade wall preparation.

The coupling means are preferably constructed as stated in claim 5, wherein the end of the pin has a diameter somewhat larger than that of the holes in the shade wall. Consequently, the coupling means can be pressure die-cast in one operation and e.g. be produced in various colours, either matching the colours of the shade wall or being a contrasting colour thereto.

In the following the invention is explained in more de¬ tail by way of examples of embodiments, reference being made to the drawing in which

Figs. 1 and 2 show a stiffening ring and a shade wall, respectively, of an embodiment of the lamp shade accord¬ ing to the invention,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of coupling means of the em- bodiment shown in fig. 1 and 2,

Fig. 4 is a section through another embodiment of the lamp shade according to the invention, while

Figs. 5 and 6 schematically show the packing of the lamp shade in a flat state.

The embodiment shown in figs. 1 and 2 comprises a shade wall 2 and a pair of stiffening rings, of which the stif¬ fening ring 1 is shown in fig. 1. Along its upper edge the shade wall is provided with three holes 3, and along its lower edge there are provided similar holes 6. These holes are adapted for co-operating with the coupling means 5 in fig. 1, and which can also be seen in fig. 3.

As appears from fig. 3 each coupling means consists of a longitudinally slotted bush cohering with a knob 4 via a recession. Due to the flexibility of the shade wall the knob 4 can be pressed through the holes in the wall so as to fixate the coupling means 5 relatively to the shade wall 2. As appears from fig. 3, the coup¬ ling means 5 can be squeezed over the stiffening ring, which is consequently fixated relatively to the shade wall. As previously mentioned the coupling means can be supplied alone or mounted either on the shade wall or on the stiffening ring. Preferably, there are two stiffening rings, as can be seen from fig. 1, and in case of large shades three rings may possibly be neces¬ sary. Consequently, it is significant that as a result of the shade wall being self-supporting it is possible

to avoid longitudinal stiffeners and thus allow the sup¬ port frame to be packed in a completely flat state. As the coupling means between the stiffening rings and the shade wall are provided locally the flexible shade wall can also be packed in a relatively flattened state without permanent deformation of the shade.

Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of the lamp shade accord¬ ing to the invention. In this embodiment the coupling means between the shade wall and the stiffening ring cohere with the shade wall. The claw-shaped protrusions 7, 8 shown in fig. 4 may e.g. be attached to the inner side of the shade wall 9 by ultrasonic welding, glueing or other means. This offers the possibility of more ex¬ tensively mass producing the shade. However, as the pre- sent invention, as previously mentioned, particularly relates to high quality-shades, such an inner shade is suitable for supporting a beautifully prepared outer shade, indicated by 10 in fig. 4. The finished shade wall may easily be substantially flattened as the coup- ling means only occur very locally. Nor does the very local impact of the coupling means, when the latter have been attached to the shade before folding the shade wall, hinder smooth folding of the surface.

Fig. 5 schematically shows packaging of a lamp shade e.g. one of the above two types. The figure shows a flat box 11, at the bottom of which two stiffening rings 12, 13 have been placed. The shade wall 14 has been substan¬ tially flattened to fit into the flat box 11. The figure further shows coupling means 15, being slightly over- size for reasons of distinctness.

Fig. 6 shows a more compact folding of the shade with a larger number of shade wall foldings. In this case it is particularly decisive that the local impact of the coupling means only negligentl ^" affects the flexi-

bility of the shade wall