Generally, lampshades are manufactured in a pre- formed or assembled condition prior to being shipped to the consumer. Typically, lampshades comprise a frame formed of welded components covered with material such as fabric, paper, plastic, glass etc. As such, these lampshades require a considerable amount of storage and shipping space when compared to the weight of the component materials. This is particularly evident in the case of cylindrical or box shape shades. Whilst tapered or frusto-conical shaped lampshades may be nested or stacked, the resulting nest or stack still requires a considerable amount of space. Furthermore, assembled lampshades are often relatively fragile structures and may be subject to damage during the chain of distribution from manufacturer to consumer resulting in considerable wastage. Modern merchandising practice requires that items, such as lampshades, be shipped or stored in individual packages for convenient delivery to the consumer. Pre- assembled lampshades cannot be economically stored or shipped in individual containers. To overcome the problems associated with the pre¬ formed lampshades, a number of collapsible lampshades have been proposed. Collapsible lampshades are disclosed in WO92/04578, DE-A-3227737 and GB-A-16839. These lampshades comprise a frame having upper and lower supports with a number of peripherally spaced rib members extending between the supports. The rib members are hinged between their ends. A spider member is provided

with a central hub with a number of radially extending struts. A shaped cover of fabric is fitted over the frame. The construction allows the peripherally spaced rib members to fold about their hinges bringing the upper and lower support members together thus providing a reasonably flat frame for shipping.

The collapsible lampshades comprise a number of interconnecting components and are reasonably complex. Additionally, the fabric cover must be cut to fit the frame precisely since the upper and lower support members will be in a fixed distance relationship to each other once the frame has been assembled. If too much material is provided, it will sag when the frame is opened up. Alternatively, where too little fabric is provided, it will not be possible to fully extend the frame. In order to allow some degree of stretching the fabric must be cut on the cross to facilitate fitting to the frame. There is some restriction on the geometrical shapes and sizes of lampshade which can be provided because of the need to allow the rib members to fold inwards about their hinges. The present invention seeks to provide a lampshade frame which may be stored in a relatively flat configuration and which may be readily assembled in a manner allowing the position of the frame components to be adjusted to tension and secure the fabric.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a separable lampshade frame comprising an upper support member and a lower support member and a spacer member interconnecting the upper and lower support members, the spacer member comprising means for adjusting the distance between the upper and lower supports within a range and means to secure the upper and lower supports at any desired distance with respect to each other within said range.

A fabric cover is fitted over the upper and lower support members and the spacer member is used to adjust

the distance between the upper and lower support members until the fabric is under the desired tension and secure the upper and lower support members in the correct position. This allows for the fabric to be cut on the straight rather than on the cross. The spacer member compensates for inaccuracies in the cut of the material by increasing or decreasing the distance between the upper and lower support members as necessary. Cutting the fabric on the straight allows the seams of the fabric to be used to give the shade its shape.

In preferred embodiments, the upper and lower support members typically comprise an endless member such as a ring although other shapes such as ovals and hexagons may also be used. A number of ribs extend from the periphery of the support member inwards to meet a central hub. The lower end of the spacer member co¬ operates and fits over the central hub of the lower support member. The upper end of the spacer member co¬ operates with the central hub of the upper support member to push the support members away from each other.

The invention is hereinafter described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

Figure 1 shows a front view partly cut away of a lampshade of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the spacer member of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a front view partly cut away of an alternative embodiment of a lampshade of the present invention.

A lampshade (1) comprises an upper circular support (2) and a larger lower circular support (3) . The circular shape support here provide a frusto-conical shaped lampshade although other shade shapes such as hexagonal or oval may be adopted or equally sized support members may be provided to produce a desired configuration of lampshade.

The upper support member (2) has a number of radial arms (4) . The radial arms may be integrally moulded with the outer circular ring of the support or may be welded to the outer ring. In the embodiment shown, three radial arms are provided which terminate in a central hub (5) . The lower support member (3) also has three radial arms (6) which terminate in central hub (7) . Spacer member (8) is provided to interconnect the upper (2) and lower (3) support members. The lower end (9) of the spacer member (8) co-operates with hub (7) of the lower support and the upper end (10) co-operates with hub (5) of the upper support. A number of rigid arms (11, 12) are provided between the ends of the spacer and are shaped to accommodate a light fitting and bulb therebetween. In the embodiment shown, two such arms are provided to allow the spaced spacer member to lie in a substantially flat condition for packaging and transport.

The spacer member (8) is provided with a screw thread (13) at the upper end (10) provided with an internally threaded adjustment disc (14) or nut which may rotate about the screw thread. The hub (5) of the upper support (3) lies against the disc (14) . A finial (15) which may form part of the central hub (5) of the upper support co-operates with the end of the screw thread (13) . The lower end of the spacer member comprises a recessed disc (16) which fits over the hub (7) of the lower support. Turning the disc (14) pushes the upper support towards or away from the lower support thus altering the distance between the upper and lower supports.

The frame as sold may be provided with a fabric shade (17) , or may be sold separately for the preparation of a shade by the buyer. In each case, panels of fabric are cut along the straight of the desired material to the desired shape and are subsequently attached to the upper and lower supports (2, 3) e.g. by sewing, glueing, clips etc. The spacer member is then adjusted to push the

upper and lower support members apart, tensioning the fabric between the upper and lower supports.

The radial arms (6) of the lower support member may be made of wire, the central hub (7) forming a continuous wire ring to which the radial arms (6) extend.

Alternatively, the hub may be in the form of an annular ring. In each case, the outer periphery of the ring or hub fits within the recess of the disc portion (16) at the lower end of spacer member (8) . In alternative arrangements, the lower end of the spacer fits around the hub or the hub is shaped as a recessed disc to hold the lower end of the spacer member.

The arms (11, 12) of the spacer member may be fixed to the disc (16) or alternatively may be formed to be able to pivot about the disc as shown at (18) of Figure 2 to allow the spacer member to lie in a substantially flat condition.

In an alternative arrangement the arms and lower end of the spacer member are made of strengthened wire. The arms are integral with the lower end which is formed as an annular ring. This annular ring fits over the hub of the lower support member which may also be in the form of an annular ring.

The central hub (5) of the upper support member may be shaped to allow the upper end of screw thread (13) to press fit or screw thread fit within it. Alternatively, additional ornaments could be provided to co-operate with the upper end of screw thread (13) , the hub (5) being in the form of an annular ring in order to pass over the upper end of the screw thread (13) .

Other adjustment means may be provided in place of the screw thread such as telescopic rods and means to secure the rods in a desired position allowing the distance of the upper support from the lower support to be altered and the upper support to be secured once the fabric has been tensioned. Alternatively, the upper end of the spacer is in the form of a tube having an

internally threaded wall which co-operates with a second rod. Additionally, the upper support may be provided with a threaded screw extending from the hub to co¬ operate with the internal wall of the upper end of the spacer member.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, a sleeve is welded or fits over the top of the spacer member (27) . The finial (19) may be provided with a screw thread (20) which cooperates with an internal surface of the sleeve, the sleeve tightly fitting within the hub of the upper support member, to allow spacing of the upper and lower supports by the spacer member. Alternatively, the central hub (21) of the upper support member (22) is provided with an internally threaded portion which cooperates with the screw thread (20) of the finial. As the finial is screwed into the screw thread of the hub it pushes down on the spacer member, cooperating either inside or outside of the sleeve at the top of the spacer member. This embodiment is shown in Figure 3 with an alternative arrangement of spacer member. In this embodiment the arms (23) of the spacer member cooperate with the outer edge of the lower support member (24) which is in the form of a single continuous ring either with or without radial arms and central hub. The cooperation may be in the form of brackets (25) on the lower ring with hooks (26) being provided on the end of the spacer member arms. The spacer member arms may be made of strengthened wire. The upper ends (27) of the spacer member arms join to form a hub or sleeve which cooperates with the finial (19) and upper support member (22) as previously described. This spacer member is particularly useful for hanging lampshades where a number of arms may be provided or two or more spacer members may cooperate with each other, one having a tube which fits inside a hollow rod having a threaded outer surface at the upper end so that the fabric is tensioned as before

but more shape can be given to the shade through the spacer member.

The radial arms (4 and 6) of the upper and lower support members may be angled to lie below and above the upper and lower support members respectively so that they are not visible in the completed lampshades.

The central hub (7) of the lower support member and annular disc (16) or central hub of the lower end of the spacer member are shaped so as to fit the shade onto a conventional lamp. The central hubs of the lower support member and lower end of the spacer member may then be held in place on the lamp using conventional means for fitting a shade onto a lamp, for example, by fitting the two hubs over the lampstand and holding them in place using a screw threaded sleeve. The lower end of the spacer member and the lower support member are thus held in place by the sleeve without the need for one of the hubs to fit over the other. The upper end of the spacer member cooperates with the upper support member to push the upper support member away from the lower support member to bring the fabric of the shade under tension.

Alternatively, the shade may be fixed to a lamp through additional means provided on the shade, connected to the spacer arms if necessary.