Patent ID: 8099886

Claim:
In an illuminated airport guidance sign for the type that includes a pair of rectangular translucent or transparent legend panels each formed of a generally rectangular sheet of a sturdy rigid translucent or transparent material; a sign frame supporting the pair of legend panels in symmetric oppositely facing orientations, the frame having a base closing off a bottom of the sign; a top cover that closes off a top of the sign; end portions that close off ends of the sign; a plurality of lamps supported within the sign between said pair of legend panels, each said lamp having a generally horizontal lamp axis; support means within said sign frame on which said lamps are mounted, each said lamp being mounted on said support means such that its axis is horizontal and disposed towards each of said pair of legend panels; electrical power means for providing electrical power to said lamps so as to produce even illumination from said lamps; support legs supporting the base of said sign upon a support surface alongside a runway or taxiway; and the improvement in which each of said lamps is formed as an array of white LEDs supported on a cylindrical turret, the turret having its axis disposed on said lamp axis with all of the LEDs all being disposed in a radial direction only relative to said lamp axis to emit respectively in directions that are radial only in respect to the axis of the cylindrical turret, and with no LEDs emitting in a direction towards either of said legend panels, such that substantially all the LEDs emit beams of light in directions that are generally parallel to said legend panels, so that the all the light from said LEDs reflects off at least one interior surface of the frame of the sign before being incident upon either of said legend panels, and none of the LEDs of said lamp have their beams oriented directly at either of said legend panels.