The present invention relates to a light set arrangement simulating lighted icicles. In this invention, the lights are arranged on downwardly dangling wires to simulate icicles where the lights are generally parallel to the wires. One such arrangement employs improved light connectors with retaining clips designed to reduce damage to the insulation surrounding the electrical wires.
Christmas lights, as well as other decorative lights, have gained increasing popularity in recent years. Such lights are used as indoor and outdoor decorations, and are typically provided as assemblies having electrical wires or segments thereof to which light sockets and bulbs are attached. These assemblies are placed on building structures, trees, or other forms to provide lighted shapes particularly in the shape of icicles.
In the past, simulated icicles formed from electrical wires with light bulbs attached failed to fully reflect the linearity of an icicle. This was because the light bulbs and sockets were spaced along the electrical wires at intervals but were haphazardly attached to the wires so that the bulbs were displayed in a random arrangement with respect to the electrical wires and generally not parallel to the wires. Typically, the bulbs were displayed on opposite sides of or extending at angles from the wires. This problem was further exacerbated by the failure of the sockets holding the light bulbs to be attached to the electrical wires so that they remain fixed and generally parallel to the wires. Often the light sockets and attached electrical wires were twisted and bent around straight-edged clips causing abrasion and other damage to the insulation surrounding the electrical wires.
There is a need for a light set arrangement and light set connectors that provide a fixed arrangement of lights to more realistically or linearly simulate icicles. There is also a need for a light socket arrangement that reduces damage to the insulation of the electrical wires. The present invention satisfies these needs.