Illumination – Light source or light source support and luminescent material
Utility Patent
1997-10-28
2001-01-02
Sember, Thomas M. (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light source or light source support and luminescent material
C362S259000, C362S229000, C362S228000, C362S806000
Utility Patent
active
06168282
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lighting apparatus of the type which includes a light socket or lamp holder, and in particular to a lighting apparatus which includes illumination elements in addition to the lighting element with which the light socket or lamp holder is normally used. The additional illumination elements are electro-luminescent panels, strips, or fibers, and may either be built-in to the lighting apparatus or provided as an adapter kit for a lighting apparatus.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Electro-luminescent lighting arrangements have been proposed for use in a variety of specific contexts, including illumination of footwear, headwear, backpacks, safety guides, moving objects, flying objects, containers, timepieces, and audio equipment, because of their flexibility and low power consumption, and their relative brightness, color choice, and wide viewing angle in comparison with other low power consumption devices such as LEDs.
The characteristic of low power consumption is particularly useful in the context of night lights. While the quality of light emitted by an electro-luminescent element is not well adapted for general illumination purposes, it is ideal for providing background illumination. Examples of night lights utilizing electro-luminescent elements are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,408 and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/910,202, filed Aug. 13, 1997.
The purpose of such night lights is to provide low intensity illumination sufficient to enable a person to distinguish objects so as to be able to move about in a room or find items such as glasses, a refrigerator door, a light switch, or the snooze button on an alarm clock, or to comfort young children, while permitting sleeping and minimizing power consumption. Because of the quality of light emitted by electro-luminescent elements, their negligible power consumption in comparison with incandescent lights, their relative thinness and flexibility, wide viewing angle and color selection, and their ability to be cut into a variety of shapes, character, indicia, and logos, electro-luminescent elements offer significant advantages over incandescent lights for such purposes.
The problem addressed by the present invention is that the location at which conventional night lights can be placed is limited by their design. It is conventional to design night lights with prongs that can be plugged directly into a standard outlet, thereby providing a convenient design at minimal cost. As a result, however, the night lights can only be installed at the location of the outlet. This location is often not the best location for illumination purposes, or may be better utilized for a general purpose lighting fixture and not available for a night light without some sort of multiple outlet adapter. If the location of the night light is to be varied, then it is necessary to add an electric cord and mounting elements, which increases the cost of the night light and is unacceptable in the marketplace.
This problem is addressed in the present invention by adding electro-luminescent elements to a conventional light socket in order to eliminate the need for a separate night light housing and wiring, thereby freeing an electric socket while placing the light in a location where its effect can best be utilized.
An example of a conventional light socket
1
is shown in FIG.
1
. It includes a contact, switch, and termination assembly
2
which includes a pair of contacts
3
and
4
. Contact
3
includes a vertically extending portion
5
, the lower end of which is provided with a screw terminal
6
for connecting the conductor
7
of a wire
8
, and a horizontal upper end
9
which is connected by a screw
10
to an internally threaded contact
11
into which the base portion
12
of a light bulb
13
is screwed. Contact
4
also has a vertically extending portion
14
provided with a screw terminal
15
for connecting the conductor
16
of a wire
17
, and a horizontal upper portion
18
arranged to engage a switch contact
19
when the switch handle
20
is turned to an “on” position, at which time the switch contact
19
is also arranged to engage a contact
21
positioned within the cylindrical internally threaded contact
11
but insulated therefrom, so as to complete the electrical circuit which supplies power to the light when the light bulb
13
is threaded into contact
11
by engaging a center contact
22
in base
12
of the light bulb. The light socket is completed by a cylindrical housing member
23
surrounding the contact, switch, and termination assembly
2
and a base member
24
through which wires
8
and
16
are passed and which is secured to the housing member
23
following termination of wires
8
and
16
to terminals
6
and
15
.
Lighting apparatus having socket sets of the illustrated type can be in the form of table or desk lamps, wall or ceiling fixtures, chandeliers, garden or outdoor lighting, track lights, and so forth, and can come in a variety of configurations other than the illustrated configuration, include screw or wedge type, pin or bayonet type, insert, snap, and plug-in arrangements, for accommodating different types of lighting elements, such as incandescent light bulbs, gas-filled tubes or bulbs, fluorescent lights, PL lighting elements, HID lighting elements, mercury vapor lamps, phosphor coated lighting elements, and halogen lighting elements. For example, instead of the rotatable switch handle
20
shown in
FIG. 1
, and also in
FIG. 2B
, a pull chain
25
may be included, as in the socket
26
of
FIG. 2A
, or the switch may be eliminated in a favor of a switch elsewhere in the power supply, as in the socket
27
of FIG.
2
C. Different light bulbs
28
-
31
which may be used with any of the sockets illustrated in FIGS.
2
A-
2
C are shown in FIGS.
3
A-
3
D, though numerous other bulb configurations are known.
Thus, the invention involves the combination of two known elements, namely an electro-luminescent lighting arrangement and a conventional lighting apparatus which includes a light socket. Furthermore, it turns out that modification of the lighting apparatus to accommodate an electro-luminescent lighting arrangement can be accomplished in a simple fashion, as will be described below, thereby lowering the cost involved in providing the items separately. Nevertheless, despite the simplicity of the combination proposed by the present invention, because night lights are generally used only when the lighting elements in conventional lighting apparatus of the illustrated type are turned off, night lights and conventional lighting apparatus have heretofore been considered to be separate and mutually exclusive items, with related but different purposes, and no one has proposed or attempted to combine the two different types of lights.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an objective of the invention to provide an electro-luminescent lighting arrangement which can serve as a night light but which can be placed at locations other than at the location of an electrical outlet without the need for complex wiring or a separate housing arrangement.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a lighting apparatus which includes a light socket and that can also serve as a night light without unduly increasing the cost or complexity of the electrical connection, presenting safety hazards, or significantly increasing power consumption.
It is a further objective of the invention to combine a lighting apparatus including a light socket and electro-luminescent element in a way which simplifies assembly, minimizes costs, and yet does not increase the risk of short circuits or electric shocks.
It is yet another objective of the invention to provide a combined light socket and electro-luminescent lighting arrangement which provides a variety of decorative lighting effects in addition to general purpose lighting, including decorative lighting shapes and lighting effects such as flashing, chasing, etc., at minimal cost.
These o
LandOfFree
Electro-luminescent lighting arrangement for a lighting... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Electro-luminescent lighting arrangement for a lighting..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Electro-luminescent lighting arrangement for a lighting... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2468886