Abstract:
A controllable lighted ornament has a body member having a hollow interior section. An electroluminescent (EL) light panel is coupled to an outer surface of the body member. The EL light panel has a multi-color/sectional design. A control circuit is coupled to the EL light panel and housed in the hollow interior of the body member. The control circuit allows for individually controlling the lighting of each color/section of the multi-color/sectional design. A power supply is coupled to the control circuit.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to decorative lights and, more specifically, to an electroluminescent light ornament which allows for controlled lighting of a multi-color display on the ornament and further reduces the risk of electrical fires. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Ornamental lights such as Christmas string lights are strands of electric lights used to decorate homes, public/commercial buildings, Christmas trees, and the like during the holiday season. Christmas string lights generally come in many different configurations and colors. The types of lamps used in Christmas lighting sets may be based on a variety of technologies such as incandescent light bulbs, light emitting diodes (LEDs), and the like. 
         [0003]    Incandescent and LED-based light sets generally are comprised of a line-operated AC string with a male plug on one end and a female socket on the other end wherein each lamp is connected in series on the string. The female socket may be connected end-to-end with other similar strings. The gauge of wire used and the power consumption of each string will determine how many strings can be safely daisy-chained this way, or whether the end string will have diminished voltage and brightness 
         [0004]    While Christmas lighting has been used for many years, the technology used for them has not changed very significantly. Most Christmas lighting still uses incandescent or LED-based light bulbs. These types of lights generate a lot of heat which dry out live Christmas trees increasing the likelihood of a fire. Furthermore, lose or broken bulbs may also cause accidental fires to form. Another problem with current Christmas lighting is that there is very little ability to control the lighting. The only animation that one can perform with current Christmas lighting is the ability to have the lights blink. 
         [0005]    Therefore, a need existed to provide a device and method to overcome the above problem. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a controllable lighted ornament has a body member having a hollow interior section. An electroluminescent (EL) light panel is coupled to an outer surface of the body member. The EL light panel has a multi-color/sectional design. A control circuit is coupled to the EL light panel and housed in the hollow interior of the body member. The control circuit allows for individually controlling the lighting of each color/section of the multi-color/sectional design. A power supply is coupled to the control circuit. 
         [0007]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a controllable lighted ornament has a body member having a hollow interior section. A flat surface is formed on the body member. An electroluminescent (EL) light panel is coupled to the flat surface of the body member. The EL light panel has a multi-color/sectional design. A control circuit is coupled to the EL light panel and housed in the hollow interior of the body member. The control circuit allows for individually controlling the lighting of each color/section of the multi-color/sectional design. The control circuit has a plurality of pairs of conductors. Each pair of conductors is coupled to an individual color/section of the multi-color/sectional design. A controller is coupled to each of the plurality of pairs of conductors for individually controlling the lighting of each color/section of the multi-color/sectional design. A power supply is coupled to the control circuit. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming a controllable lighted ornament is disclosed. The method comprises: providing a body member having a hollow interior section; coupling an electroluminescent (EL) light panel to an outer surface of the body member, the EL light panel having a multi-color/sectional design; coupling a control circuit to the EL light panel; housing the control circuit in the hollow interior of the body member wherein the control circuit individually controlling the lighting of each color/section of the multi-color/sectional design; and coupling a power supply to the control circuit. 
         [0009]    The features, functions, and advantages can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the disclosure or may be combined in yet other embodiments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Embodiments of the disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a simplified functional block diagram of an Electroluminescent (EL) light used in the EL light ornament of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an elevated perspective view of an EL light ornament of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a back view of the EL light ornament of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the EL light ornament of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an elevated perspective view of the EL light ornament of the present invention with an alternative source of 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a simplified functional block diagram of the control unit of the EL light ornament of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    With reference now to the Figures, an electroluminescent (EL) light ornament  100  is shown. The EL light ornament  100  has a body member  102 . The body member  102  will have a hollow interior section  102 A. In the Figures, the body member  102  has a geometrical shape of a cylindrical ball having a flat front surface  104 . While a flat surface  104  is shown, the body member  102  may be a fully rounded cylindrical ball. The body member  102  may also have other geometrical configurations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0018]    The body member  102  is generally formed of a light weight material. The material used may be clear, semi-opaque, or non-transparent. Some examples of the materials that may be used include, but are not limited to: glass, plastic, a light weight metal such as tin or aluminum, or other similar materials. The listing of the above materials is given as an example and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention. 
         [0019]    Coupled to the surface of the body member  102  is an electroluminescent (EL) display  106 . In the Figures, the EL display  106  is coupled to the flat front surface  104  of the body member  102 . By providing a flat front surface  102 , the EL display  106  is more visible. However, as stated above, the flat front surface  104  is not required and the EL display  106  may be could to a rounded surface of the body member  102 . 
         [0020]    The EL display  106  will have a multi-sectional and/or color design (hereinafter multi-color). The multi-color design can take on any form such as that of a college/professional sports team logo, cartoon character, holiday scene/character, corporate logos, tourist attractions, and the like. The listing of the above is given as an example and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention. Other types of multi-color designs may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0021]    The EL display  106  is an actually an EL lamp. The EL display  106  will emit light. However, unlike a traditional lamp, instead of creating light by heating a filament, the EL display  106  uses a phosphorescent material  108  which glow when exposed to a small electrical current. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the EL display  106  has a pair of electrodes  110 . The pair of electrodes  110  generally comprises a bottom electrode  110 A and a top electrode  110 B. At least one of the electrodes  110 A or  110 B will be transparent to allow the escape of the produced light. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the top electrode  110 B is transparent. In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the top electrode  110 B uses a transparent Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) conductive ITO film. Glass coated with indium oxide or tin oxide is may also be used as the transparent electrode, the top electrode  110 B. The bottom electrode  110 A is generally comprised of an insulator, such as glass coated with a reflective metal. 
         [0022]    A dielectric layer  112  is formed on top of the bottom electrode  110 A. A phosphorescent material  114  is then disposed on the dielectric layer  112 . The phosphorescent material  114  may be applied to form multi-color designs as described above. A protective film  116  may be placed on a surface  110 B′ of the top electrode  110 B opposite of the surface  110 B″ coupled to the phosphorescent material  108 . The protective film  116  may also be placed on a surface  110 A′ of the bottom electrode  110 A opposite of the surface  110 B″ coupled to the dielectric layer  112 . Conductors  116  are then coupled to the electrodes  110 A or  110 B. In general, the conductors  116  are copper or aluminum foil conductors. The conductors  116  are then coupled to a power supply  118 . The phosphorescent material  108  will glow when exposed to a small electrical current from the power supply  118 . 
         [0023]    Different sets of conductors  116  are coupled to different colors/sections of the multi-color design. This will allow individual control of the lighting of the multi-color design. In accordance with on embodiment of the present invention, a controller  120  is coupled to each of the sets of conductors  116  and to the power supply  118 . The controller  120  will control which colors/sections of the multi-color design will be illuminated. An activation device  122  may be coupled to the controller  120 . The activation device  122  will allow one to activate or deactivate the illumination of the EL light ornament  100 . The activation device may be a switch, a motion detector, or the like. The listing of the above is given as an example and should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention. 
         [0024]    As shown more clearly in  FIG. 4 , the power supply  118  and the controller  120  are stored within the body member  102 . The body member  102  may be formed of two haves that are removably coupled together to allow one to open the body member  102  to replace the power supply  118 . Alternatively, the body section  102  may have a replaceable cover  102 B to allow the power supply to be removed and replaced. In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 4 , the power supply  118  is a battery. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the EL light ornament  100  is coupled to a wire  124  having a connector  126  which may be coupled into a standard string of holiday lights. If an activation device  122  is provided, the activation device  122  is generally located on the back surface of the body member  102  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0025]    A hanging device  128  is coupled to a top area of the body member  102 . The hanging device  128  generally has a base unit  130  which attaches to the body member  102 . An arch unit  132  is coupled to the base unit  130 . The arch unit  132  allows for a hook or other device to be coupled to the body member  102  so that the EL light ornament  100  may be hung from a branch of a tree or other object. 
         [0026]    While embodiments of the disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims.