Abstract:
A lighted display device which may be of either the EL or LED type. In the EL embodiment, an EL sheet may be positioned on an upper surface of a driver, and removably secured thereto with an outer snap ring. This configuration would permit changing out of an EL sheet, while still retaining the other device components. In one embodiment, the device utilizes a touch switch, so that illumination will occur when a user touches the EL sheet in proximity to the switch. In another embodiment, the device utilizes a motion sensor, so that movement in proximity to the device will cause illumination.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to Ser. No. 10/835,206, filed Apr. 29, 2004 μl the name of the same inventor entitled “MODULAR LIGHTED DISPLAY AND METHOD THEREFOR,” and to Ser. No. 10/835,199, filed Apr. 29, 2004 in the name of the same inventor, entitled “MOUNTABLE ILLUMINABLE DISPLAY.” 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates generally to illuminable displays, and more particularly, to illuminable displays having one or more advantages as compared to the prior art in terms of attachability, flexibility in changing the image of the display, and/or with respect to other features.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Lighted displays; which provide an illuminated design on an otherwise un-illuminated surface have become increasingly popular. Because of the attention attracted by an illuminated sign or design, illuminated displays have found uses in safety equipment, commercial advertisements, personal fashion, and many other applications. Frequently, such devices provide colorful designs and feature additional effects such as a flashing behavior to attract additional attention.  
         [0004]     Typically, lighted displays are of an electroluminescence (EL) type or of a light emitting diode (LED) type. EL technology provides the benefits of high efficiency, flexible materials, and providing a plane solid light source. LED displays typically use a colorful surface having one or more LEDs positioned on the surface to attract additional attention, or have one or more LEDs under a translucent film having a design for a back-lighting effect as the LED emits light through the translucent film.  
         [0005]     Lighted displays have been mounted on or built into items such as headwear, shoes, jewelry, and promotional-type materials such as coffee mugs and memo pad holders that are typically given away to consumers to promote a product or service. However, items manufactured with displays are limited by only having the capacity for use with the display provided, and manufacturers incur significant costs in designing and manufacturing such displays into each item to be manufactured.  
         [0006]     Additionally, lighted displays that are mounted on or built into items by the manufacturer suffer the drawback that the lighted display is not easily removable by the consumer. As a result, the consumer must spend much time or effort to remove or replace the lighted display, such as when it malfunctions. Similarly, articles of clothing having an attached lighted display are not easily washed, as typically the lighted displays are stitched into place and are not waterproof.  
         [0007]     Still further, lighted displays are not changeable by a user, in a manner that would change the appearance of the display without requiring a changing out of the entire display hardware.  
         [0008]     A need therefore exists to provide a lighted display that overcomes these limitations and disadvantages of present lighted displays. The present invention satisfies these needs, and provides other, related, advantages.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a lighted display device is disclosed. The device comprises: a driver having, an upper surface and a bottom surface and a source of power; an EL sheet adapted to be positioned on the upper Surface of the driver; wherein the EL sheet is in electrical contact with the driver; and an outer snapping ring adapted to be positioned around a peripheral area of the EL sheet and to removably secure the EL sheet to the driver.  
         [0010]     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a lighted display device is disclosed. The device comprises: a driver having an upper surface and a bottom surface and a source of power; an EL sheet adapted to be positioned on the upper surface of the driver; wherein the EL sheet is in electrical contact with the driver; and a switch controlling transmission of an electrical signal from the source of power to the EL sheet; wherein the switch is a touch switch.  
         [0011]     In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, a method for altering the appearance of a lighted display device is disclosed. The method comprises: utilizing a lighted display comprising: a driver having an tipper surface and a bottom surface and a source of power; an EL sheet adapted to be positioned on the upper surface of the driver; wherein the EL sheet is in electrical contact with the driver; and an outer snapping ring adapted to be positioned around a peripheral area of the EL sheet and to removably secure the EL sheet to the driver; positioning a first EL sheet having a first appearance on the tipper surface of the driver; snapping the outer snapping ring in position around a peripheral area of the first EL sheet and the driver; supplying an electrical signal from the source of power to the first EL sheet; removing the outer snapping ring; removing the first EL sheet; positioning a second EL sheet having a second appearance on the upper surface of the driver; snapping the outer snapping ring in position around a peripheral area of the second EL sheet and the driver; and supplying an electrical signal from the source of power to the first EL sheet. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top view of an outer snap ring component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a top view of an EL sheet component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a top view of a back attaching ring component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3A  is a side view of the back attaching ring of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a top view of a driver component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a bottom view of a driver component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a partial exploded view, illustrating coupling to an object of two components of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a top view of an assembled lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8A  is a bottom view of an assembled lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a top view of an EL sheet component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 9A  is a bottom view of an EL sheet component of a lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an assembled lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention, attached to an article of clothing, with the top portion of the device being visible.  
         [0025]      FIG. 10A  is a perspective view of an assembled lighted device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention, attached to an article of clothing, with the bottom portion of the device being visible.  
         [0026]      FIG. 11  is a front view of an assembled lighted display device consistent with an embodiment of the present invention, configured as a commercial display.  
         [0027]      FIG. 11A  is a rear view of the assembled lighted display device of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]     In general, this invention is a lighted device that may be configured as a commercial display ( FIGS. 11-11A ) or that may be placed on a variety of different objects, including for example a coat (see  FIGS. 10-10A ), backpack, daytime, cookie jar, lunch box, tote bag, picture frame, stuffed animals, door hangars, book covers, or one or more of the objects disclosed in either or both of the parent applications to this application. Except as specifically described herein, the lighted display device may be of either the EL or LED type.  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , components of a lighted device  10  consistent with an embodiment of the present invention are shown.  FIGS. 1-5  illustrate individual components of the device  10 , and  FIG. 6  discloses how the components of  FIGS. 1-5  are combined with each other to form the device  10 . The main components, as shown in these figures, include an outer snap ring  12  ( FIG. 1 ), an EL sheet  14  ( FIG. 2 ), a driver  16  ( FIGS. 4-5 ) and a back attaching ring  18  ( FIG. 3 ).  
         [0030]     The driver  16  contains the power source for the lighted device  10 , and provides an electrical signal to the device. The power source may be batteries, which in this embodiment would be positioned within a battery case  20  located on an underside of the driver  16 . See  FIG. 5 . The electrical signal may be communicated to output contacts  22  located on an upper surface of the driver  16 . Corresponding input contacts  23  on the bottom surface of the EL sheet  14  (see  FIG. 9A ) receive the electrical signal from the driver  16  when input contacts  23  and output contacts  22  are brought into contact with each other.  
         [0031]     The driver  16  may be activated by a switch  24  which, in this embodiment, is located on an upper surface of the driver  16 . The switch  24 , in one embodiment, may be a touch switch, which would be activated by a person touching the EL sheet  14  in the general area of the switch  24 . In another embodiment, the switch  24  may be coupled with a light detector, so as to be activated when the ambient light reaches a predetermined level. (It should be noted that it may be desired to provide a switch  24  that may alternately be activated either by touch or by ambient light.) In another embodiment, the switch  24  may be coupled with a motion sensor, so as to be activated by movement in proximity to the device  10 . The motion sensor embodiment would be particularly useful with respect to the commercial display embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 11 and 11 A, discussed in more detail below.  
         [0032]     Referring specifically to  FIG. 5 , which illustrates the bottom surface/underside of the driver  16 , attention is directed to alignment pins  26  located above and below the battery case  20 , and to tabs  28  located on both sides of the battery case  20 . As will hereinafter be described, the pins  26  and tabs  28  facilitate removable coupling between the driver  16  and back attaching ring  18 .  
         [0033]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 3 A, attention is directed to the back attaching ring  18 . In this embodiment, the back attaching ring includes a battery case passage  30  in a central area thereof. Above and below the battery case passage  30  are springs  32 . Above and below the springs  32  are alignment pin openings  34 . On both sides of the battery case passage  30  are tab receivers  36 .  
         [0034]     During assembly of the device  10 , the underside of the driver  16  is positioned over the back attaching ring  18 . The two components are aligned so that the battery case  20  passes through the battery case passage  30 , so that the alignment pins  26  enter the alignment pin openings  34 , and so that tabs  28  snap into place within tab receivers  36 . As the tabs  28  are being snapped into position, the springs  32  will flex sufficiently to permit such snapping to occur. (To de-couple the driver  16  and back attaching ring  18 , the user would grasp the tabs  28 , bend them from their locked position, and separate the driver  16  and back attaching ring  18 .)  
         [0035]     Also as part of the assembly process, the EL sheet  14  will be positioned on the upper surface of the driver  16 , with the input contacts  23  contacting the output contacts  22 . When properly aligned, the EL sheet  14  is then locked in place with the outer snap ring  12 , which snaps over the drivel  16 . The coupling between the snap ring  12  and the driver  16  should be sufficiently secure to maintain the EL sheet  14  in place, but should be a removable coupling, so that a user may remove the snap ring  12 , replace the EL sheet  14  with a different design, and then re-couple the snap ring  12  to the driver  16 .  
         [0036]     With respect to the replacability of the EL sheet  14 , this is considered to be a significant improvement over the prior art. Where the device  10  is being utilized as a commercial display, for example, it would be possible to replace the EL sheet  14  to advertise different products, different prices, and so forth. Where the device  10  is being used to display a logo for a sports team, for example, it would be possible to change the EL sheet  14  to present a different logo for the same team, a different team logo, or to otherwise change the image presented.  
         [0037]     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , coupling of the device  10  to an object  40  is shown. The object  40  could be essentially any object to which a user may wish to have attached a device  10 , including for example any of the products noted above. It should be noted additionally, that the material comprising the object  40  could be of different types and/or thicknesses, including for example, glass, metal, leather, plastic, textile, etc. In this embodiment, an opening  42  is created through the object  40 . The opening  40  should be large enough to permit the battery case  20 , alignment pins  26 , and tabs  28  to pass therethrough, so that the driver  16  may be coupled to the back attaching ring  18  as described above. On the other hand, the opening  42  should have a smaller circumference than the driver  16  and the back attaching ring  18 , so that the object  40  may be sandwiched between the driver  16  and the back attaching ring  18 .  
         [0038]     In one embodiment, the device  10  may be utilized with a variety of objects  40  of varying thicknesses and/or material types. The springs  32  are intended, at least in part, to act as a spacer, and to permit the device  10  to adapt to different thickness and material type objects  40 . Where the object  40  is relatively thinner, the springs  32  will flex a relatively larger amount to accommodate the object  40  and still permit coupling between the driver  16  and the back attaching ring  18 . Where the object  40  relatively thicker, the springs  32  will need to flex a relatively smaller amount to accommodate that thickness and still permit coupling between the driver  16  and the back attaching ring  18 .  
         [0039]     As shown in  FIGS. 10 and 10 A, the object  40  is a jacket. As can be seen from these figures, when in position through opening  42 , the battery case  20  passes through to the interior of the object  40 , which it may be accessed as needed. The EL sheet  14  is visible on the exterior of the object  40 , where it may be viewed.  
         [0040]     Referring now to  FIGS. 11 and 11 A, it can be seen that the device  10  can be combined with a second lighted device  50 . The second lighted device  50  may be constructed in like manner to the device  10 , and may simply be differently sized and shaped. The configuration shown in  FIGS. 11 and 11 A is a commercial display. Where the device  10  is to be used as part of a commercial display, whether in combination with a device  50  or by itself, it is preferred that the switch  24  (not shown) be coupled to a motion detector, so that motion in proximity to the device  10  activates it. As seen in these figures, it may be desired to configure the device  10  and second lighted device  50  as two-sided, so that there is a display of lighted text on both sides, to be visible to persons approaching from either side.  
         [0041]     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 11 and 11 A, it may be desired to utilize EL technology for purposes of being able to have the benefit of being able to readily change the EL sheet  14 , and the text appearing thereon. Alternatively, it may be desired to utilize LED technology.  
         [0042]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
         [0043]     For example, for certain embodiments, for example the embodiment of  FIGS. 11 and 11 A, it may be possible to dispense with the back attaching ring  18 . The configuration of the springs  32  could be altered in myriad ways, while still permitting variation in the distance between the back attaching ring  18  and driver  16  to accommodate different thickness objects  40 . The structure of the coupling means that permits removable coupling of the driver  16  and the back attaching ring  18  could be configured in different ways, as desired, and the means described herein are intended to be exemplary.