Backlit Decorative Pool Fixture With Integrated LED Illumination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional decorative fixtures for swimming pools, spas, and fountains are not visible at night without external lighting, limiting their enjoyment during evening hours.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a backlit decorative fixture assembly with a base, casing, and semi-transparent fixture that allows for integral lighting, enabling visibility during both daytime and nighttime through passageways and light sources, such as LEDs, within the fixtures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional decorative fixtures are used without integral lighting, then the fixtures maintain a realistic metallic appearance during daytime, but the fixtures become invisible at night without external lighting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the lighting function directly into the decorative fixture by integrating a light source within the fixture body itself. This merging of the illumination function with the decorative structure eliminates the need for separate external lighting systems while enabling nighttime visibility. The light source is positioned to illuminate the fixture from within, creating a self-contained illuminable decorative element.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a translucent or transparent material as an intermediary between the light source and the external environment. This intermediary material allows light to pass through while maintaining the aesthetic appearance of the fixture. The translucent material acts as a mediator that enables light transmission without compromising the decorative quality or realistic appearance of the fixture during daytime.
2Illumination intensity
If a light source is integrated within the fixture, then the fixture becomes visible during nighttime, but the fixture requires additional components (casing, socket, passageway)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fixture into functional zones: a base portion, a light-receiving portion, and a light-emitting portion. The base portion contains the light source, the light-receiving portion captures and directs light, and the light-emitting portion displays the illuminated effect. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while maintaining an integrated appearance. The passageway is segmented to allow light transmission from the interior to the exterior.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where the light source is positioned within a socket, which is in turn positioned within a casing, which is integrated into the fixture body. The socket is nested within the casing, and the light source is nested within the socket. This nested arrangement allows multiple functional elements to be contained within each other, reducing the overall spatial footprint and creating a compact integrated design.
3Illumination intensity
If the fixture material is made semi-transparent to allow light transmission, then the fixture glows at night, but the realistic metallic appearance may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different optical properties to different portions of the fixture. The light-receiving portion is made translucent or transparent to allow light transmission and create the glowing effect. The exterior portions that need to maintain realistic metallic appearance are made opaque or semi-transparent with metallic finishes. This local differentiation of material properties allows simultaneous achievement of nighttime visibility and daytime aesthetic quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material construction combining translucent/transparent materials with opaque metallic-finish materials. The fixture incorporates both light-transmitting materials (such as translucent resin or glass) and light-blocking materials (such as metal or metal-painted surfaces) in a single integrated structure. This composite approach enables different portions of the fixture to exhibit different optical properties, achieving both glowing effect at night and realistic appearance during daytime.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the decorative fixtures to be viewed and enjoyed during both day and night, maintaining an aesthetic appearance while transforming into a glowing feature at night, with options for synchronized lighting effects.
Implementation Method 1
a light source received in and mounted to hollow socket of the casing and being configured to emit light through the front opening at the front end of the hollow socket of the casing
Data Source
AI summary
A selectively-illuminable decorative water feature in the form of an assembly includes a base, casing, and a light source in communication with a semi-translucent or translucent fixture. The base may, for example, be a portion of a component/feature of a swimming pool, a spa or a fountain. The casing and light source may be mounted within the base and the fixture attached to a front surface of the base. The translucence or semi-translucence of the fixture creates an illumination effect due to limited transmission of light, emitted from the light source, through the feature. The water feature may take on a variety of forms, including, for example, decorative fixtures, receptacles, a bowl-shaped fixture, and a hand grip attached to a structural surface of a pool, spa or fountain.