Illumination – Light source or light source support and luminescent material
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-01
2003-03-04
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light source or light source support and luminescent material
C362S229000, C362S311040, C362S095000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527400
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to supplementary lighting devices, specifically electroluminescent supplementary lighting devices which have a non-planar “three-dimensional” configuration. The configuration of the present invention permits substantially the entire front face of the device to emit light.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of supplementary lighting devices, particularly as night lights, has been well known for a considerable period of time. Typically, supplementary lighting devices are employed so as to provide illumination in a darkened hallway, illumination in bathrooms, or in children's and infants' bedrooms and the like, without the necessity to turn on the primary lighting. While other purposes for the present invention may be found in aisles of public conveyances and venues such as airplanes, buses, theatres, and the like, the present discussion is particularly directed to night lights, because that is the most common embodiment.
Night lights, as their name suggests, find their usefulness when it is dark. They typically plug into an AC wall receptacle, where they will reside for a lengthy period of time. Prior art devices such as night lights are typically found in one of several categories.
One category utilizes incandescent lamp technology, which is relatively bright, and is economical to manufacture. Typically these kinds of night lights need an “on/off” switch; often an automatic one which functions under control of a light sensing device such as a light sensitive resistor or diode. The cost of replacement of incandescent bulbs in the socket of such night lights is relatively low, as is their initial cost.
However, incandescents have several other disadvantages. For instance, they tend to have a short life with a relatively-high power consumption and a low efficiency of about 10%. Also, incandescent night lights tend to be a bright point-source light, so that their light output is relatively obtrusive. Moreover, since they generate light via heat by having a filament temperature of about 2500° C., and since in small-format bulbs that filament is extremely close to the glass envelope, incandescent-style night-lights have dangerously hot bulb surfaces. Indeed, the inadvertent placement of such as a blanket or paper over the night light could result either in melting of the plastic housing of the night light or, worse, fire.
Another category of night light uses neon bulb technology, which has relatively low initial cost and very low power consumption, but which has a very low, typically red-coloured light and a rapid decay in their light output. Such weak light output as there is also tends to be seen as a point source, but provides little significant illumination of even the closely-adjacent area.
Fluorescent lighting devices are also used as night lights, but they tend to be expensive, requiring special circuitry to initiate their illumination and to then maintain their operation economically. They are very bright, but often too bright for many applications.
Finally, electroluminescent night lights have become popular because of several significant advantages. One advantage is that they have a broad light output area, so that they are not a point source and therefore less obtrusive. Also, they are very energy-efficient devices, so economical that they can be plugged in and essentially forgotten for their working life. Also, because of their light-generating technology they are cool to the touch. Furthermore, electroluminescent lighting devices have a reasonably long life.
A particular embodiment of night light is described hereafter with reference to a patent and design patent which defines that night light. However, for purposes of the present discussion, it can simply be stated that a typical electroluminescent night light has an appearance which is not unlike the front face of a television set in some respects, in that comprises a window which is set into a planar front face, with a significant frame around and particularly below the window. The window is set into the front face, and an electroluminescent panel resides behind that window. Typically, the electroluminescent panel has a green glow. A pair of electrical prongs extends from the back surface of the panel, in a region below the window and on the opposite face—the back face—of the night light housing.
Prior art electroluminescent night lights have some disadvantages. For instance, because they typically comprise a flat panel, their illumination is primarily directed perpendicularly from their face. The electroluminescent panel may illuminate somewhat to the sides, but it is limited illumination because the electroluminescent panel set well back behind the front face window.
Furthermore, the amount of light which can be generated through the window is not great, since they do not provide a large surface area for an electroluminescent panel, being limited by mechanical interference from the electrical blades and often by the need to restrict the size to one-half of a wall outlet. Since this restricts the window size to a fraction of the overall lamp size, their decor may not be optimal.
Another disadvantage is that despite the considerable child-safety benefit of cool electroluminescent light, there exist some additional child-safety drawbacks in the current art. Since night lights are very frequently used in nursery environments, these deficiencies are of special concern. For example, flat panel electroluminescent lighting devices may present a safety or electrical shock hazard because the electrical prongs of the device are exposed behind the device. But also, since some infants, particularly crawlers and toddlers, may well put anything they find into their mouth, there is a risk that saliva from the infant's mouth may run down the front of the window and into the panel structure where it may contact the inner ends of the electrical prongs or the electrical wires which connect them to the opposed sides of the electroluminescent panel, causing a significant electrical shock hazard to the infant, as well as blowing a fuse or tripping a circuit interrupter.
All of the advantages, but none of the disadvantages, of prior art electroluminescent supplementary lighting devices, as discussed above, are found in electroluminescent supplementary lighting device of the present invention.
In particular, the present invention provides an electroluminescent supplementary lighting device which has a multi-planar “three-dimensional configuration”, as compared to the primarily mono-planar prior art. The three-dimensional configuration gives further several advantages. They include:
Firstly, an important part of the electrical shock hazard of the prior art devices is overcome because the electroluminescent panel is completely enclosed behind a large lens piece which can be completely attached in a water-proof manner. This eliminates an important source of electrical shock hazard to infants. Also, the increased cavity area around the prongs allows special child-safety electrical-prong shields to be incorporated, which eliminates the other important source of concern.
Furthermore, electroluminescent supplementary lighting devices in keeping with the present invention are more easily adapted to provide certain international AC-blade forms which have a greater need for body depth.
In addition, electroluminescent supplementary lighting devices in keeping with the present invention have better dispersion of light in directions other than more or less perpendicular to the AC wall outlet. This is because the multi-planar front face plate emits light in many more directions.
Further, since substantially the entire front face of the present invention is light emitting. They are much more visible, and provide considerably greater illumination to the immediately surrounding area. There are also some decor advantages which evidence themselves from a fully-lit design style, since electroluminescent supplementary lighting devices, in keeping with the present invention are effectively both “fram
Dickie Robert G.
Tierney Kirkwood
Lee Guiyoung
Tierney, Kirkwood
LandOfFree
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