Patent Publication Number: US-6901688-B1

Title: Illuminated house address sign

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the general art of signs, and to the particular field of illuminated signs. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   House addresses may be difficult to read from a street. Nearly everyone has experienced the difficulty and annoyance of trying to find a particular address when house addresses were not readily visible. This is especially so in rural areas where houses may be set far back from a road or where addresses may be hidden behind bushes or the like. 
   While this is an annoyance in many situations, it can be dangerous and possibly life-threatening in an emergency situation. If a rescue vehicle has difficulty finding a particular house, valuable time may be lost while the vehicle searches for the house. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a house address sign that can be easily seen from the street. 
   The art contains several examples of house address signs that are illuminated to be more easily seen. However, many of these signs do not have sufficient illumination or proper illumination to be easily and quickly viewed and read from the street. 
   Therefore, there is a need for an illuminated house address sign that can be easily seen from the street. 
   The problems associated with viewing a house address, even an illuminated house address, are often exacerbated by light conditions. That is, at pre-dawn or at dusk for example, the light may be at such an angle that a driver on the street may not be able to easily see a house address, even if that address is illuminated. 
   Therefore, there is a need for an illuminated house address sign that can be easily seen from the street under a wide variety of light conditions. 
   PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide a house address sign that can be easily seen from the street. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an illuminated house address sign that can be easily seen from the street. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide an illuminated house address sign that can be easily seen from the street under a wide variety of light conditions. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These, and other, objects are achieved by a house address sign that is illuminated by lights located on at least two sides of the house address numerals as well as being backlit. The backlighting is designed to be automatically actuated when ambient light falls below a certain level. The side-lighting is manually activated during an emergency or when special attention should be given to the house address numbers and/or their location. The side-lighting is used in addition to the backlighting. The side-lighting can be further emphasized by including a flasher element in the circuit used to connect the side lights to a power source. 
   Using the illuminated house address sign embodying the present invention will permit the house address to be easily and readily viewed from the street under a wide variety of lighting conditions. If the address sign is hidden from the street or road, a caller can simply tell someone to look for an amber sign and the exact house numbers need not be read as the amber sign will be readily visible and readily and easily identified. The address sign will stand out due to its colored light sources on either side of the house address, especially if those side lights are flashing. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illuminated house address sign embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a view taken along line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a detailed view showing a portion of the rear of the housing included in the illuminated house address sign embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram that will automatically connect a fluorescent light to a power source to be activated when the level of ambient light drops below a preset limit. 
       FIG. 5  is a circuit showing the electrical connection between two side light sources and a power source via a manual switch. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in an illuminated house address sign  10 . 
   House address sign  10  comprises a hollow housing  12  which includes a first face  14  which is a front face when the housing  12  is in a use orientation as shown in  FIG. 1 . The first face  14  has an interior surface  16 . 
   A second face  18  is a rear face when the housing  12  is in the use orientation. The second face  18  has an interior surface  20 . 
   A thickness dimension  22  extends between the first face  14  and the second face  18 . 
   The housing  12  further includes a first side edge  24  which has an interior surface  26 , a second side edge  28  which has an interior surface  30 , and a longitudinal dimension  34  which extends between the first side edge  24  and the second side edge  28 . 
   The housing  12  further includes a first end edge  40  which is a top end edge when the housing  12  is in the use orientation shown in  FIG. 1 . The first end edge  40  has an interior surface  42 . 
   A second end edge  44  of the housing  12  is a bottom end edge when the housing  12  is in the use orientation. The second end edge  44  has an interior surface  48 . 
   A height dimension  50  of the housing  12  extends between the first end edge  40  and the second end edge  44 . 
   An interior volume  52  of the housing  12  is defined by the interior surfaces of the first face  14 , the second face  18 , the first and second end edges  40 ,  44  and the first and second side edges  24 ,  28 . 
   A support-accommodating hole  54  is defined through the second face  18  of the housing  12  near the first end edge  40  of the housing  12  and is used to mount the housing  12  in a convenient location so the sign  10  can be easily viewed from a street. 
   A manually operated on/off switch button  60  is located in the first side edge  24  of the housing  12  near the first end edge  40  of the housing  12 . 
   A first translucent pane  64  is mounted on the housing  12  on the first face  14  of the housing  12  near the first side edge  24  of the housing  12 , and the first translucent pane  64  is amber in color. 
   A second translucent pane  66  is mounted on the housing  12  on the first face  14  of the housing  12  near the second side edge  28  of the housing  12 . The second translucent pane  66  is amber in color. 
   A translucent number-supporting pane  68  is mounted on the housing  12  on the first face  14  of the housing  12  and is located between the first translucent pane  64  and the second translucent pane  66 . Indicia, such a house address number  70 , are on the second translucent pane  68 . 
   A flourescent light source  80  is mounted on the interior surface  20  of the second face  18  of the housing  12  adjacent to the number-supporting pane  68  to shine light on and through the number-supporting pane  68  when the flourescent light source  80  is activated. This will make the numbers on pane  68  visible at night or in low light conditions. 
   A first light source  82  is mounted on the interior surface  20  of the second face  18  of the housing  12  adjacent to the first translucent pane  64 , and a second light source  84  is mounted on the interior surface  20  of the second face  18  of the housing  12  adjacent to the second translucent pane  66 . When the first and second light sources  82 ,  84  are activated, the first and second translucent panes  64 ,  66  are illuminated and show amber colors on either side of the address number-supporting pane  68 . This will call attention to the house address number sign  10 . 
   A first power source, such as a battery  86  is located in the housing  12 , and a second power source, such as a battery  88  is also located in the housing  12 . 
   An ambient light-activated switch circuit  90  electrically connects the flourescent light source  80  to first power source  86  when ambient light level drops below a preset level. One form of ambient light-activated switch circuit  90  is shown in  FIG. 4 . During daylight hours, the L14B photo-Darlington shunts all gate current to ground. At night, the L14B effectively provides a high resistance, diverting the current into the gate of the C106B thereby turning on the lamp  80 . Other forms of the switch circuit can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as will occur to those skilled in the art based on the teaching of this disclosure. 
   An activating circuit  92  electrically connects the first and second light sources  82 ,  84  to on/off switch  60  of the housing and to second power source  88  via the on/off switch  60  when the on/off switch  60  is in an “on” condition. The on/off switch  60  is normally in the “off” condition, but is moved into the “on” condition when special attention is desired for the address numbers on house sign  10 , such as when an emergency vehicle has been called. A flasher element  94  can be included to cause lights  82  and  84  to flash when switch  60  is moved to the “on” position. This will make the house address sign  10  more noticeable. 
   A light sensor  100  is located on the translucent number supporting pane  68  and is part of circuit  92  to activate the fluorescent light  80  when ambient light drops below a preset level, such as at dusk, and to turn off the flourescent light  80  when ambient light level exceeds the preset level, such as at dawn. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.