Patent Publication Number: US-2019191533-A1

Title: Wireless light board

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/265,972 filed on Apr. 30, 2014, which claims the priority of Taiwanese patent application Nos. 103202685 and 103105049 both filed on Feb. 14, 2014. The contents of all of the above are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a light board, particularly to a wireless light board. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In some of the automotive vehicles, usually is embedded a light-emitting board on the threshold of the floor in order to form a visual effects pedal. In general, the light-emitting comprises a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) or a lamp as an illuminant disposed behind the shielding sheet openings to produce the visual effect, and these openings are usually designed for the automobile brand recognition including text or graphics. 
     In conventional lighting welcome pedals, infrared switches or ultrasonic switches are used to turn on/off the lights. These kinds of switches consume much power, hence they need to be powered by electricity of the vehicle. However, the cables for powering the infrared switches or the ultrasonic switches are hard to install. Besides, the infrared switches or the ultrasonic switches normally have shorter life cycle due to high power consumption. 
     Therefore, the manufacturers are eager to develop new types of light boards to solve the abovementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One objective of the present invention is to provide a wireless light board, which is slim, waterproof, power-efficient, easy to install and convenient to replace batteries. 
     To achieve the abovementioned objective, one embodiment of the present invention proposes a wireless light board, which comprises a baseplate, a backlight module, a power module, a proximity sensor module, a control module, at least one bottom cover, and a top cover. The baseplate has an upper surface and a lower surface. The upper surface has at least one recess and a power source accommodation hole is arranged on at least one side of the recess. A positioning portion is defined on at least one side of the baseplate. The backlight module is accommodated by the recess and the backlight module has at least one circuit board. The power module includes at least one battery and at least one conductive strip, wherein the battery is arranged inside the power source accommodation hole; and the conductive strip is used to electrically connect with the battery and the circuit board. The proximity sensor module is arranged on the circuit board and used to sense an induction signal. The control module is arranged on the circuit board, electrically connected with the backlight module and the proximity sensor module, and used to turn on/off the backlight module according to the induction signal. The bottom cover removably covers the power source accommodation hole from the lower surface of the baseplate. The top cover is arranged on the upper surface of the baseplate and covers at least the backlight module and the power module, wherein at least one light-permeable region is formed on the top cover and positioned above the backlight module. 
     Below, the embodiments are described in detail in cooperation with the attached drawings to make easily understood the objectives, technical contents, characteristics and accomplishments of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram schematically the system of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a local sectional view schematically showing the snap-fit structure of a power module according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram schematically showing the assemblage of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a local sectional view schematically showing the structure of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective exploded view of another embodiment of a wireless light board of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross section of the wireless light board of  FIG. 6 ; and 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of the wireless light board of  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will be described in detail with embodiments below. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are only to exemplify the present invention but not to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     The present invention discloses a wireless light board whose novel design can realize waterproofness, compactness, easy installation, convenient battery replacement, and high power efficiency. Some embodiments will be described in detail in cooperation with the attached drawings to exemplify the present invention. In addition to these embodiments, the present invention also widely applies to various other embodiments. Any substitution, modification or variation easily derived from the embodiments described in the specification is to be also included within the scope of the present invention, which is mainly according to the claims stated below. Many specified details are provided in the specification to enable the readers to more clearly understand the present invention. The present invention can still practice though some or all of these specified details are omitted. The well-known procedures or elements would not be mentioned in the description of the details lest the present invention be limited unnecessarily. Like or identical elements in the drawings would be denoted with like or identical symbols. The drawings are not used to indicate the practical dimensions or quantities but only used to illustrate the embodiments schematically. In order to simplify the drawings, the matterless details are not necessarily shown in the drawings. 
     Refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention; and  FIG. 2  is a block diagram schematically the system of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the wireless light board  1  of the present invention comprises a baseplate,  2  a backlight module  3  (shown in  FIG. 2 ), a power module  4 , a proximity sensor module  5  (shown in  FIG. 2 ), a control module  6  (shown in  FIG. 2 ), at least one bottom cover  7 , a top cover  8  and a protecting module  10 . The detailed structure thereof is described below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the baseplate  2  has an upper surface  21  and a lower surface  22  opposite to the upper surface  21 , wherein the upper surface  21  has at least one recess  211 ; a power source accommodation hole  23  is formed on at least one side of the recess  211 ; and at least one side of the baseplate  2  has a positioning portion  24 . In one embodiment, the positioning portions  24  are fabricated on two sides of the baseplate  2 . However, the positioning portions  24  are not limited to be fabricated only on two sides of the baseplate  2 . The backlight module  3  is accommodated by the recess  211  and has at least one circuit board  31 . In one embodiment, the backlight module  3  includes a light-guide plate  32  and a plurality of light-emitting elements  33 , wherein the light-guide plate  32  is arranged above the circuit board  31 , and the light-emitting elements  32  are arranged on the circuit board  31  and at two sides of the light-guide plate  32 . The light-emitting elements  33  may be but are not limited to be edge-lit LEDs. The light-guide plate  32  makes the light distributed uniformly. It can be understood that a plurality of dot patterns is utilized to form inside the light-guide plate  32  to effectively diffuse light. The power module  4  includes at least one battery  41  and at least one conductive strip  42 , wherein the battery  41  is arranged inside the battery accommodation hole  23 ; and the conductive strip  42  electrically connects to the battery  41  and the circuit board  31 . In this embodiment, the circuit board  31  includes an anti-electromagnetic interference structure which is formed by net copper layout. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the proximity sensor module  5  is arranged on the circuit board  31  to sense an induction signal. In this embodiment, the proximity sensor module  5  is a touch sensor module, which is configured to detect variation of physical properties of it. For example, the touch sensor may include capacitors, and contact or proximity to the capacitors varies the capacitance value of them. When the wireless light board of the present invention is applied to a vehicle and mounted in a pedal under a door, the open or close of the door causes different capacitance value of the capacitor due to the proximity or separation of the door. When the door is opened or closed, the touch sensor module detects different capacitance values for the control module  6  to turn on or off the backlight module  3  accordingly. 
     The control module  6  is arranged on the circuit board  31  and electrically connected with the backlight module  4  and the proximity sensor module  5 . The control module  6  turns on/off the backlight module  3  according to the induction signal sensed by the proximity sensor module  5 . In one embodiment, the backlight module  3  is on neither normally-on nor normally-off status. The control module  6  can intelligently adjust the time interval of the turn-on or turn-off state according to the induction signal. In this embodiment, the protecting module  10  is connected to said battery and said control module. The protecting module protects said control module from short circuit caused by inverse mounting of the battery. The control module  6  further includes a median filter  61  and a slew rate limiter  62  configure to receive the induction signal from the touch sensor module  5  and filter noises of the induction signal. The control module  6  further includes an average value determining module  63  configured to receive the noise-filtered induction signal and shift the average value of the inductance signal by comparison of the noise-filtered induction signal with a previously determined average value of the inductance signal. When the noise-filtered induction signal is larger than the previously determined average value, the average value is added by a preset value, such as 1. When the noise-filtered induction signal is smaller than the previously determined average value, the average value is subtracted by a preset value, such as 1. Since the average value may depend on some environmental factors, such as temperature or humidity, the shifting of the average value provides control precision in consideration of the environmental factors. In this embodiment, a guard ring  41  is formed on the circuit board  31  to prevent current leakage. 
     The bottom cover  7  removably covers the power source accommodation hole  23  from the lower surface  22  of the baseplate  2  to seal the power module  4  inside. The top cover  8  is arranged on the upper surface  21  of the baseplate  2  and covers at least the backlight module  3  and the power module  4 . The top cover  8  has at least one first light-permeable region  81  arranged above the backlight module  3  and allowing light to emit out. In one embodiment, the top cover  8  is stuck to a portion of baseplate  2  with a waterproof glue so as to enhance the waterproof effect. In another embodiment, the top cover  8  includes, but not limited to, a digitally-printed inscription plate. 
     Continuing the above description and referring still to  FIG. 1 , the positioning portion  24  of the baseplate  2  has at least one snap-fit hole  241 . In order to enhance the convenience of changing the wireless light board, a light board fixing component  9  is arranged below the snap-fit hole  241  and fixed to the snap-fit hole  241  detachably. In one embodiment, at least one snap-fit hook  91  protrudes from the upper surface of the light board fixing component  9 , snap-fitting into the snap-fit hole  241  and fastening the light board fixing component  9  and the baseplate  2  together. The light board fixing component  9  may be installed on an appropriate position in the vehicle or other place with an appropriate method, such as with a double-side adhesive tape. 
     In another embodiment, refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a local sectional view schematically showing the snap-fit structure of a power module according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , in order to enhance the airtightness and waterproofness of the power module  4 , a flange  231  is arranged along the rim of the power source accommodation hole  23  of the lower surface  22  and protrudes downward. The bottom cover  7  utilized to seal the power module  4  has a sealing groove  71  to be snap-fitted to the flange  231 . The sealing groove  71  elongates the path along which humidity enters the power module  4  and achieves a waterproof rating of IPX6. Thereby, the interior of the wireless light board  1  would not be wetted by the flush of water or rain. 
     Refer to  FIG. 4  a diagram schematically showing the assemblage of a wireless light board according to one embodiment of the present invention. The assembled wireless light board  1  looks like a light strip. In one embodiment, the wireless light board  1  further comprises a stainless steel board  8 ′ hoods and seals the baseplate  2  and the top cover  8 . In one embodiment, the wireless light board  1  further comprises a laser-optical plastic board  82  arranged between the top cover  8  and the stainless steel board  8 ′, wherein the stainless steel board  8 ′ is fastened to the baseplate  2  and has a second light-permeable region  81 ′ to expose a portion of the laser-optical plastic board  82 . In one embodiment, the second light-permeable region  81 ′ is a hollow region. The laser-optical plastic board  82  can be customized to have any desired letter, character, word, phrase or pattern. The laser-optical plastic board  82  can also be customized to have any letter, character, word, phrase or pattern with any desired color. In the present invention, the overall thickness of the wireless light board  1  is controlled to be within 3-5 mm to meet the requirement of slimness and compactness. In one embodiment, refer to  FIG. 5 . In order to realize the abovementioned configuration in a limited space, there is a level difference x between the lower surface  22  of the body of the baseplate  2  and the lower surface  2111  of the recess  211 , wherein the recess  211  is used to accommodate the backlight module  3 , including the circuit board  31  and the light-guide plate  32 . In one embodiment, the circuit board  31  is a membrane circuit board. The level difference x is sufficient to tolerate the thickness of the bottom cover  7  (only one side thereof is shown in  FIG. 5 ), which covers the power module  4 . Thereby, the wireless light board  1  can accommodate all the abovementioned components although the wireless light board  1  is slimmed to have a limited thickness. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , another embodiment of the wireless light board is disclosed. In this embodiment, the touch sensor module is replaced by a magnetic sensor and a magnet  34 . The magnet  34  is received in a depression  2112  formed on the bottom of the recess  211 , and the magnetic sensor is mounted on the circuit board  31 . The magnetic sensor module detects the magnetic field intensity of the magnet  34  and generate an induction signal. When the door is opened or closed, the door made by metal affects the magnetic field of the magnet  34  and the intensity of magnetic field near the magnetic sensor varies. The variation of the intensity of magnetic field is detected by the magnetic sensor module. The magnet  34  is spaced from the magnetic sensor by a distance, which enhances the variation of the magnetic field intensity between the opening and the closing of the door so that the difference in the magnetic field intensity between the door opening condition and door close condition becomes obvious, which promotes the control precision. The distance between the magnet  34  and the magnetic sensor module  5  is defined by the formula: D=0+k(Gm−G), wherein D represents said distance, k represents a coefficient determined by experiments, Gm represents a maximum of Gauss value and G represents a Gauss value of the magnet  34 . The maximum of Gauss value Gm can be set as a value of 65535 for calculation of a computer program which can be loaded by the control module  6 . The coefficient can be obtained by several experiments of interaction between different magnetic sensor module and magnets. The magnetic sensor module  5  can be a hall sensor or the reed switch. 
     In this embodiment, the control module  6  also includes the median filter  61 , the slew rate limiter  62  and the average value determining module  63  as the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, the wireless light board also includes the protecting module  10  as the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, the wireless light board a power management module  11  connected to the battery  41  and the magnetic sensor module  5 , wherein the control module  6  controls the power management module  11  to turn on and off the magnet sensor module  5  for reducing power consumption. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the wireless light board of this embodiment further includes a magnetic inductance metal member  35  disposed on the lower surface  22  of the base plate  2  and corresponding to the magnet  34 . The magnetic inductance metal member  35  can be an iron plate. The magnetic inductance metal member  35  can be inducted by the magnet  34  to enhance the intensity of the magnetic field and thus increase the detecting distance of the magnetic sensor module  5 . 
     In this embodiment, the top cover  8  is non-magnetic and thus does not affect the magnetic field of the magnet  34 . 
     The present invention is characterized in replacing the conventional sensor with a proximity sensor or a contactless touch sensor; using the proximity sensor or the contactless touch sensor to sense whether the door of the vehicle or the house is open or not and enable the control module to turn on or turn off the lights or control the time of the persistence of lighting whether a magnet is used or not; using a fast detachable battery cover to enable users to replace batteries easily; and adopting an ultra thin light-diffusing backlight module to decrease the overall thickness. The present invention also has the features: the top cover and the laser-optical plastic board can be customized and fast changed according to the requirement of customers; the wireless light board can be easily detached from the main body for cleaning, battery replacement or even being used in a different main body (such a different vehicle); the sealing of the top cover and bottom cover achieves a IPX6 waterproof rating; and the intelligent power management can prolong the life cycle of the wireless light board. 
     In conclusion, the present invention proposes a novel wireless light board, which is slim, waterproof, power-saving, easy to install, convenient for battery replacement and can solve the problem of misalignment. 
     The embodiments have been described above to demonstrate the technical contents and characteristics of the present invention and enable the persons skilled in the art to understand, make, and use the present invention. However, these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Contrarily, any equivalent modification or variation according to the spirit of the present invention would be also included within the scope of the claims of the present invention. The claims of the present invention should be interpreted in the broadest sense to cover all the equivalent modifications and variations.