Portable lighting fixture

Claim 1

A portable lighting fixture for use with a patio umbrella and the like in which the umbrella is supported by a center pole having struts extending outwardly therefrom to the underside of the umbrella when the umbrella is in a raised position comprising: a generally planar base of rigid material having a slot therein extending inwardly from an edge of the base toward and slightly beyond the center thereof, said slot having a relatively constant width approximately equal to but greater than that of the center pole for receiving the pole to removably install the base below the underside of the umbrella about the pole, the latter being at the inward end of the slot and said base being supported by the struts in a generally horizontal plane; said base having a maximum outside dimension less than the length of one of the umbrella struts for enabling the base to be installed on and removed from the umbrella by passing it between two adjacent struts when the umbrella is in its raised position; a plurality of electric light sources mounted on the underside of the base; and power means adapted for connection to a source of electrical energy for supplying power to the light source thereby to illuminate the area beneath the umbrella, said power means including manually-operable switch means for selectively controlling the flow of electricity to the light sources thereby allowing the latter to be selectively energized and deenergized.