Patent ID: 7174664
Filing Date: 2007-02-13
Classification: G09F

Abstract:
1. A hand-held, illuminated signaling device comprising: a housing having a front portion and a rear portion, said front portion incorporating a display area, said rear portion including a handle; said display area including a plurality of light emitting devices for selectively producing illuminated messages consisting of words, said light emitting devices including red and yellow light emitting devices mounted in a grid pattern; a power source electrically connected to said light emitting devices; a manual control switch for selectively supplying power from said power source to a user selected set of said light emitting devices, said manual control switch capable of being manually actuated between, first, second, and third positions, said first position electrically configuring the device to a power off mode, said second position electrically configuring the device for continuous illumination of selected light emitting devices, said third position electrically configuring the device for intermittent illumination of selected light emitting devices; a manual selection means for scrolling through and selecting one of a plurality of preprogrammed and stored messages, including a first message and a second message, each of said messages comprising at least one multi-letter word, for display by said light emitting devices, whereby manual selection of said first message activates a corresponding first group of said light emitting devices to display the first message, and selection of said second message activates a corresponding second group of said light emitting devices to display the second message; message confirmation means, disposed on said housing rear portion, for confirming that one of said plurality of messages has been selected and displayed, said message confirmation means providing a visual indication of the message that has been selected; and a hood movably connected to said housing, said hood deployable from a retracted configuration to a forwardly projecting extended configuration to enhance visibility of the displayed message.