Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
  • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
  • G09F13/00—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising
  • G09F13/20—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts
  • G09F13/22—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts electroluminescent
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21V—FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F21V19/00—Fastening of light sources or lamp holders
  • F21V19/001—Fastening of light sources or lamp holders the light sources being semiconductors devices, e.g. LEDs
  • F21V19/0015—Fastening arrangements intended to retain light sources
  • F21V19/002—Fastening arrangements intended to retain light sources the fastening means engaging the encapsulation or the packaging of the semiconductor device
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
  • F21W2111/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21W—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS
  • F21W2111/00—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00
  • F21W2111/02—Use or application of lighting devices or systems for signalling, marking or indicating, not provided for in codes F21W2102/00 – F21W2107/00 for roads, paths or the like
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F21—LIGHTING
  • F21Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO THE FORM OR THE KIND OF THE LIGHT SOURCES OR OF THE COLOUR OF THE LIGHT EMITTED
  • F21Y2115/00—Light-generating elements of semiconductor light sources
  • F21Y2115/10—Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
  • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
  • G09F13/00—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising
  • G09F13/20—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts
  • G09F13/22—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts electroluminescent
  • G09F2013/222—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts electroluminescent with LEDs

Definitions

• a device for use with an illuminated surface preferably an electric sign.
• the present invention relates to a device for use with an illuminated surface, preferably an electric sign.
• light-emission diodes instead of fluorescent tubes as light sources in connection with the type of illuminated surfaces which constitute electric signs for advertising and other purposes.
• the use of light-emission diodes for this purpose offers many and substantial advantages.
• the light-emission diodes provide for a substantially improved reliability and substantially reduced energy consumption.
• the light-emission diode has a life of a couple of hundred thousands of hours which is several times more than the life of fluorescent tubes.
• the strength of the light-emission diode is quite superior to the strength of conventional light sources.
• a further advantage is that the light-emission diodes offer substantially larger possibilities of designing an electric sign in the desired way. In this respect the use of fluorescent tubes provide substantial restrictions.
• each l ight-emission diode in a separate reflector element comprisi ng a semi -spherical depression and to mount the units consisti ng of l ight-emission diodes and reflector elements in an opening in a surface formed by a plate or a wal l in a desi red pattern to provide the intended electric sign. It is a drawback of the lastmentioned type of device that the units consisting of reflector elements and light-emission diodes constitute complicated and expensive devices .
• a common drawback of the previously known devices both comprising reflectors in the form of semi -spherical depressions is that there is col lected dirt, snow and ice in said depressions preventing the desired scattering of the l ight of the l ight-emission diodes .
• the object of the invention is to provide an improved device -for use with an illuminated surface, preferably an electric sign.
• each light-emission diode is enclosed in a light scattering lense which is connected with a mounting element by means of which the unit comprising the light- emission diode and the lense is connected with said surface.
• the device according to the invention does not require any reflector for scattering the light of the light-emission diodes, the above drawbacks of reflectors described above being thereby obviated.
• the units comprising light-emission diodes and light scattering lenses can be connected with the desired surface by means of their mounting elements in an extremely simple, rapid and reliable way.
• the lense and the mounting element constitute one unit and the mounting element is adapted to be introduced in and fastened in an opening in the surface to be illuminated.
• the surface is constituted by one side of a board or plate and that the opening extends through said board or plate.
• the mounting element is formed so as extend through and project from the board or plate at the side thereof opposite from the illuminated side of the board or piate_ the mounting element being thereby retained in a simple way by means of a locking element engaging the side of the board or plate opposite from the illuminated side thereof.
• the invention it is possible to provide electric signs without any special machinery or special knowledge by obtaining the desired number of the units comprising light-emission diodes, lenses and mounting elements and mounting the units in openings formed in a sign plate.
• the openings of the sign plate can of course be provided by means of conventional drilling equipment.
• the light-emission diodes are protected by the lenses enclosing the light-emission d ' iodes for which reason the device according to the invention have an extraordinary strength.
• the lenses treat the light of the light-emission diodes in a more efficient way than the reflectors used according to the previously known technique which together with the fact that the lenses less easily get dirty than the previously known reflectors provide that the light yield of a device according to the invention is substantial ⁇ ly higher than the light yield of the previously known devices.
• Fig. 1 shows a device according to the invention in the form of an e.ectric sign shown in plan view.
• Fig. 2 - is a section on line 11—11 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale.
• Fig. 3 is a detail of an element of the device according to the invention.
• Fig. 1 there is shown an electric sign comprising a plate 2 having an illuminated surface 4 within the areas of the letters T and L.
• the illumination of the surface 4 is provided by means of several luminous units 6 positioned within the area of said letters.
• each luminous unit 6 consists of a light-emission diode 8, a lens 10 enclosing the light-emission diode and a mounting element 12 formed in one unit with the lense 10.
• the mounting element 12 of each luminous unit 6 extends through a through opening 14 provided in the plate 2.
• the mounting element 12 has such a length that it extends through its corresponding opening 14 and projects at the side 16 of the plate 2 opposite from the surface 4 thereof.
• the mounting elements 12 are provided with circumferencial grooves for receiving a locking element 18 preferably consisting of a locking ring.
• the light-emission diodes 8 are positioned in recesses 20 provided in the units consisting of the lenses 10 and the mounting element 12.
• the recesses 20 are sealed by means of a suitable sealing mass 22.
• the terminals 24 of the light-emission diodes 8 project through the sealing mass 22 and are according to conventional, desired principles connected with a suitable power source.
• each luminous unit 6 provides a scattering of the light from the light emission diode of the unit so that each luminous unit 6 forms a luminous point having a diameter corresponding the outer diameter of the lense 10. At a distance the luminous units 6 are regarded as a continuous luminous surface.
• the light-emitting chips 26 of the light- emission diodes 8 are preferably positioned in the plane of the surface 4 of the plate 2.
• the device according to the invention offers great advantages with regard to the manufacturing, mounting and utilization.
• the luminous units 6 are manufactured in a simple way by manufacturing the lenses 10 and the mounting elements 12 as shown in Fig. 3 from a plastic material and by positioning and fixing the light-emission diodes 10 in the recesses 20.
• the mounting of the luminous units 6 on a plate for forming for example an electric sign is conducted in a simple way by formi g in the plate 2 openings having a suitable diameter with regard to the outer diameter of the mounting element 12 by means of conventional drilling equipment and by connecting the luminous units 6 to the plate by introducing the mounting elements 12 in the opening and securing the mounting elements therein by means of the locking elements 18.
• the device according to the invention is advantageous with regard to the fact that the light-emission diodes 8 have a completely protected position within the lenses 10 and by the fact that the lenses 10 are less subjected to the collection " of dirt than the reflectors of the previously known devices.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Illuminated Signs And Luminous Advertising (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20359395

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (6)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1985
  • 1985-03-07 SE SE8501110A patent/SE8501110L/xx unknown
• 1986
  • 1986-03-07 EP EP86902062A patent/EP0221912A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1986-03-07 WO PCT/SE1986/000098 patent/WO1986005256A1/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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