Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
  • H05B33/00—Electroluminescent light sources
  • H05B33/12—Light sources with substantially two-dimensional [2D] radiating surfaces
• • 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
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
  • H05B33/00—Electroluminescent light sources
  • H05B33/10—Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of electroluminescent light sources

Definitions

• the present invention accordingly provides an electroluminescent device comprising: a printed dielectric layer comprising a binder having a finely divided solid of high dielectric constant dispersed therein; a printed light generator layer adjacent to said dielectric layer and comprising a binder having a finely divided solid phosphor dispersed therein; and two electrically conductive outer layers of which at least the layer adjacent to the light generator layer is transparent or translucent.
• the device also includes a support layer which may be either adjacent to the opaque electrically conductive outer layer, in which case the substrate may be opaque also, or (usually less desirably) adjacent to the transparent or translucent electrically conductive outer layer in which case the substrate must be transparent or translucent also.
• the electrically conductive layers used in the devices of the present invention may be the same as those used in known devices.
• the opaque layer which may also act as support may be made of aluminium foil or another conductive metallic sheet material.
• the transparent or translucent electrically conductive layer is usually an indium/tin oxide layer as in the known devices, as this material provides the necessary combination of conductivity and transparency.
• Other transparent conductors, e.g. a vacuum deposited gold/aluminium/silver/indium layer could in principle be used but are likely to be more expensive.
• Suitable silver conductors are applied to the indium/tin oxide layer.
• this device When this device is energized by application of an electric current, e.g. 200 milliamps at 110 volts and 400 Hz, the phosphor is caused to emit light which is visible through the indium/tin oxide layer.
• an electric current e.g. 200 milliamps at 110 volts and 400 Hz
• the phosphor is caused to emit light which is visible through the indium/tin oxide layer.
• all the layers in this device apart from the support layer itself can easily be applied using ordinary printing techniques and the UV-curable varnish binders can be very rapidly cured (within 2-3 seconds) using banks of ultra-violet lamps in the usual way.
• the device is thus exceptionally rapid to make.
• the shape and configuration of the device can be in any desired form compatible with use of the chosen printing method.
• the card support may be replaced by a transparent plastics sheet support in which case the layers may, if required be applied in the reverse order.
• a final layer of overlacquer may be printed on to the outside or one or both of the support sheet and the conductive indium-tin layer in order to provide improved moisture resistance. This is especially desirable when the printed layers are formed using binders which are moisture sensitive.
• Such overlacquers may be made of the same UV-curable varnishes as those which can be used in making the layers of the lamp, e.g. those sold under the trade names Uviplast, Uvispeed and Uvibond (Sericol), Viospeed (Coates), and Solascan varnish (Danes).
• the final structure may if desired be overprinted, e.g. with the desired message for the point of sale device.
• Any such overprinting, like the support itself and any overlacquer layer should be electrically non-conductive and preferably non-arcing.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Electroluminescent Light Sources (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=10643051

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (10)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 1988
  • 1988-09-02 GB GB888820732A patent/GB8820732D0/en active Pending
• 1989
  • 1989-09-01 GB GB8919848A patent/GB2222484A/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1989-09-01 EP EP19890308860 patent/EP0357443A3/fr not_active Withdrawn

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