TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the iUumination of items of display and in particular imitation plants, such as synthetic flowers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Imitation plants such as flowers are manufactured from synthetic materials in order that many different shapes, sizes and colours may be reproduced that will not only look attractive the day they are made, but remain so after considerable periods of time.

Imitation plants are now widely displayed at events such as exhibitions, as well as in office and hotel reception areas and increasingly so in the domestic home.

To improve the aesthetic appearance or to enhance certain more attractive features of an item of display such as an imitation flower, the display may be illuminated by spotlights or a similar lighting source directed at the display.

In the case of imitation shrubs or trees, for example, an alternative form of more direct illumination may be effected by hanging lights from their branches, the lights being interconnected by wires connected to an external power sources as is well known.

Hitherto the illumination of a display composed of small imitation plants and particularly flowers by the aforementioned methods has presented some practical difficulties due to the size of the actual displays. Moreover, when ordinary lights are to be positioned on, say, the leaves of the flowers, the lead wires to the Lighting points are unacceptable from an aesthetic point of view, to say nothing of the intrusive effect the actual lights may have on the attractiveness of the display as a whole.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide means for lighting or iUuminating items of display, such as imitation plants and flowers which obviates the problems of the prior art and does not detract from the visual attractiveness of the display, but on the contrary, enhances it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an item of display such as an imitation plant, an article of clothing or a picture and the like wherein the item is provided with optical means forming part of the structure thereof, said optical means being capable of activation at chosen locations on the display item by means of an external activating source thereby to illuminate the display item at said chosen locations.

Preferably the optical means are in the form of optical fibres leading to the chosen locations on the display item for transmitting light along the optical fibres to the chosen locations to be iUuminated.

The item of display may be an imitation flower, the flower being formed of a synthetic or silk material provided with a spatial array of optical fibres leading to specific locations on the flower petals and/or around the petal peripheries.

Advantageously, the petals of the flowers are formed of laminations of two sheets of synthetic or silk material, the fibres being embedded between the laminations.

Preferably the petals are provided with a semi-rigid spine to provide petal support.

By incorporating the semi-rigid spine the petals, or one or more of them, may be held in a predetermined folded attitude so that the fractured optical fibres provide point source illumination along the fold-line so formed in the petals.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a plant or plant part such as a leaf or flower for use in an imitation plant display wherein the plant or plant part is formed of a synmetic material with optical fibres located on or within laminations of the synthetic material to transmit light to chosen locations thereon.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment or embodiments of the invention taken with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrates in a non-limiting way how the invention may be put into practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a general perspective view of an imitation flower illuminated in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a general perspective exploded view of an imitation flower petal including an array of optical fibres for illuminating the petal in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a general perspective view of the imitation petal of Figure 2 in assembly;

Figure 4 is a general perspective view of an imitation petal illuminated in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5a is a perspective view illustrating the use of optical fibres for forming an illuminated imitation flower stamen;

Figure 5b is a side view of the stamens of a flower formed form bundles of optical fibres;

Figure 5c is a top view of the stamen arrangement shown in Figure 5b; and

Figure 6 is a sectional side view of a motor driven lighting source for use with an imitation plant display formed in accordance with the invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In the drawings Figure 1 shows an imitation flower 1 for use in a floral display having petals 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, manufactured from synthetic material. Each of the petals 2 to 7 are formed of two sheets of synthetic material 14, see Figure 2, between which are sandwiched a number of optical fibres 8.

In the example shown, the petals 2 to 7 have ten embedded optical fibres 8 arranged in spatial array thereby to terminate at selected points on their shaped peripheries.

The individual petals 2 to 7, together with the optical fibres 8 embedded therein, are bound together by wrapping 9 to form a stem portion 9'. The optical fibres 8 extend from the stem portion 9 ¹ at 10 as shown in Figure 1.

Located at the centre of the imitation flower 1 are a number of imitation stamens 11 formed from a bundle of optical fibres 13 as will be described later with reference to Figure 5. The optical fibres 13 forming the stamens 11 may be held within the wrapping 9 or separately wrapped together at 12 as shown, so that the stamens 11 may be lit with a light of contrasting colour to that of the petals 2 to 7.

The composition of each petal 2 to 7 of the imitation flower 1 shown in Figure 1 is best illustrated with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Each petal 2 to 7 is formed of two sheets 14 of appropriately shaped synthetic material laminated together around the optical fibres 8 which themselves are in a spatial

arrangement somewhat akin to the veins of a leaf and in any event so as to impart a desired visual effect.

A semi-rigid support wire 15 is also laminated between the sheets 14 centrally of the petal pattern made by the optical fibres 8. The support wire 15, as well as providing strength, also allows any particular petal to be shaped in a desired aesthetically pleasing conformation or to simulate other naturally occurring phenomena such as plant age.

As shown in Figure 3, an additional spaced array of optical fibres 15 extend, within the laminations 14, to points along the length of each imitation flower petal 2 to 7 to provide point light sources intermediate the base of the petal and its periphery.

To create an alternative visually pleasing effect, the body of one or more of the imitation petals 2 to 7 may be held in a partially folded position as shown by petal 7 in Figure 1 and generally in Figure 4, along a lateral fold line 8a. The optical fibres 8 provide pin point sources of light along the fold line 8a where they are fracture by the folding before the remainder of the light travels along the fibres to the periphery of the petals.

An example of how to form the imitation stamens 11 of the imitation flower as shown in Figure 1 is illustrated in Figures 5a, 5b and 5c. Each stamen is formed of a bundle of optical fibres first laid side by side as at 16 in Figure 5a and progressively wound together as through positions 17 to 18.

In order that the wound optical fibres should resemble natural stamens as far as is feasibly possible, the ends 19 are moulded together chemically thus firstly foπning a bud effect, and secondly to ensure that the fibres are held together.

Figure 5b is a side view of a completed set of interwound imitation stamens 11 and Figure 5c, a top view thereof.

The fibre optics used to illuminate the imitation flower 1 is powered by a motorised lighting source 20 shown in Figure 6. The source comprises a light source 21 which may be an ordinary light bulb, fluorescent tube or similar. The light source 21 is mounted in a housing 22 and surrounded by a rotatable barrel 25.

The barrel 25 is driven, through gears 24, by an electric motor 23.

The barrel 25 is provided with a series of strips of varying colours 26. The housing 22 is provided with a series of ports 27 for receiving the fibre optic bundles 10, 13 from the imitation flower 1 shown in Figure 1 thereby to effect the illumination required.

In use, as the motor 23 rotates the barrel 25, varying light colours are presented to the base of the fibre optic bundles 10, 13. The coloured light then travels up the fibre optic strands to their tips along the periphery of each petal and extremities of the stamen 11. The coloured strips on the barrel 25 may be so arranged that the overall coloured light presentation from the flower alters as the barrel 25 rotates.

The barrel 25 may also be provided with black stripes (not shown) of varying thickness and disposition such as in zig-zag form along its length. This will intermittently block light transmission to the optical fibres and produce a twinkling effect to the illuminated display.

Although the above preferred embodiment of the invention has been described with reference to an imitation flower arrangement, it will be appreciated that it has applications to other synthetic plant displays so mat the petals 2 to 7 of Figure 1 could equally well be the leaves of a shrub or miniature tree. In this case, of course, the stamens 11 would not be present.

A complete floral arrangement using imitation flowers of the form as described above in conjunction with the motorised light source as part of the display is possible by covering the motorised light source 20 with the box-like structure (not shown) made of ecofoam. Passageways can be punched through the ecofoam to receive the bundles of optical fibres 10, 13 from the imitation flowers for presentation to the primary light source 21 with the stems 9' of the imitation flowers being supported in the passageways so formed.

Instead of using optical fibres to effect the illumination described above, other non-intrusive optical illumination techniques which may be made to form part of the structure of the flower or other item of display may be envisaged.

Thus a luminescent material may be applied to the petals of the imitation flowers which can then be activated by external means to effect the iUurnination desired.

Further, the invention may be applied to other items of display to enhance their attractiveness, and in some cases their selling potential, such as fashion clothes, wedding dresses, framed pictures, and floral buttonholes and bouquets.