Light Emitting Road Boundary Stone Using Solar Cell

• US 20080286043A1
• Filed: 12/19/2005
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Boo-Kyung Yun
• Original Assignee: Boo-Kyung Yun
• Inventors: Seo, Jong-young
• Application Number:
  US11/571,628
• Publication Number:
  US 20080286043A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 404/12
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 11/223 Kerb-and-gutter structures; Kerbs with drainage openings channel or conduits, e.g. with out- or inlets, with integral gutter or with channel formed into the kerb gutters, subsurface channels per se E01C11/227; gullies adapted to be used with kerbs, gully gratings E03F5/04, E03F5/06; Kerbs adapted to house cables or pipes, or to form conduits
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/547 illuminated

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a light emitting road boundary stone using a solar cell. More particularly, the light emitting road boundary stone includes a body, a solar cell unit mounted in an upper surface of the body and having a solar cell plate, a battery, and a circuit unit, and one or more light emitting units mounted in one or more lateral surfaces of the body and having lights to be turned on/off based on electricity supplied from the solar cell unit and other control conditions. The solar cell unit includes a lower fixing case embedded in the body of the boundary stone and an upper fixing case separably assembled to the lower fixing case. The light emitting road boundary stone has advertisement and propaganda functions, in addition to its essential delimitation function, via displaying images at any time of day or night.

Claims

1. A light emitting road boundary stone using a solar cell, comprising:

a body;

a solar cell unit mounted in an upper surface of the body and having a solar cell plate, and a battery and circuit unit; and

one or more light emitting units mounted in one or more lateral surfaces of the body and having lights to be turned on/off based on electricity supplied from the solar cell unit and other control conditions,

wherein the solar cell unit includes;

an upper fixing case provided at an outer upper surface thereof with the solar cell plate, a lower end of the upper fixing case being formed with an outer wall having a predetermined height to define a space along an inner circumference of the outer wall, fixing protrusions being arranged at an outer circumference of the outer wall; and

a lower fixing case having an interior space for receiving the battery and circuit unit, which is connected to the solar cell plate, the outer wall of the upper fixing case being fitted and coupled along an inner circumference of the lower fixing case, separation prevention protrusions being arranged at the inner circumference of the lower fixing case to be caught by the fixing protrusions, to fix the upper fixing case,

whereby the upper fixing case is separably assembled to the lower case embedded in the body of the boundary stone.

2. The boundary stone as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the body has a circular or rectangular column shape having a predetermined height, the light emitting units being embedded in opposite lateral vertical or inclined surfaces of the body to be exposed to the outside at their outer surfaces, a high-brightness reflective sheet being attached in an attachment groove, which is dented throughout an outer periphery of the body to a predetermined depth, and

wherein each of the light emitting units includes:

a metal rim fitted around an outermost rim portion of the light emitting unit;

a transparent acryl plate having a predetermined thickness so as to have a sufficient strength to resist external shock and provided at the rear surface thereof with intaglio patterns representing various images, a plurality of light mounting holes being bored at opposite positions of the outer circumference of the transparent acryl plate to a predetermined depth to receive lights, respectively, which are connected to the battery and circuit unit;

a printed matter printed with the same images as those of the intaglio pattern proved at the rear surface of the transparent acryl plate, the printed matter being located behind the transparent acryl plate; and

a translucent acryl plate located behind the printed matter, the metal rim, transparent acryl plate, printed matter, and translucent acryl plate being assembled to one another in this order.

3. The boundary stone as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the body has a horizontally elongated rectangular column shape having a length that is multiple times of a height thereof, an edge of a horizontally elongated rectangular upper surface of the body being chamfered to have an inclined surface to prevent damage to the body due to external shock, the inclined surface being centrally formed with a light emitting unit mounting recess dented into the body to a predetermined depth, such that one of the light emitting units is mounted therein to have a predetermined inclination,

wherein the light emitting unit includes:

a transparent acryl plate forming an outermost surface of the light emitting unit and having a predetermined thickness so as to have a sufficient strength to resist external shock, the transparent acryl plate being provided at a rear surface thereof with intaglio patterns representing orientation display images, a plurality of light mounting holes being bored inward from opposite positions of an outer circumference of the transparent acryl plate to a predetermined depth, to receive lights, respectively, which are connected to the battery and the circuit unit; and

a translucent acryl plate located behind the transparent acryl plate and having a high-brightness reflective sheet attached to a front surface thereof, the high brightness reflective sheet having the same images as those of the intaglio patterns provided at the rear surface of the transparent acryl plate.

4. The boundary stone as set forth in claim 1,

wherein a lower end of the upper fixing case of the solar cell unit has a double wall structure including the outer wall and an inner wall spaced apart inward from the outer wall by a predetermined distance, the inner wall being slightly shorter than the outer wall,

wherein a specific location of a bottom surface of the lower fixing case, on which the inner wall of the upper fixing case is located when the upper fixing case is coupled to the lower fixing case, is formed with an upwardly protruding inner wall having a predetermined height, which is spaced apart inward from an outer wall of the lower fixing case by a predetermined distance, which that the outer wall of the upper fixing case is fitted into a gap between the outer and inner walls of the lower fixing case and a lower end of the inner wall of the upper fixing case comes into close contact with an upper end of the inner wall of the lower fixing case, to prevent infiltration of moisture from the outside.

5. The boundary stone as set forth in claim 4, wherein the upper fixing case is formed at the upper surface thereof with a plurality of release holes the facilitate separation and exchange of parts, and pair of O-rings having suitable elasticity are coupled between the outer and inner walls of the upper fixing case and interior bottom locations of the lower fixing case.

6. An apparatus comprising:

a solid housing comprising at least one solar cell recess, and at least one light emitting element recess, and at least one wiring bore connecting said at least one solar cell recess and said at least one light emitting recess;

at least one solar cell fitted in said at least one solar cell recess;

at least one light emitting element fitted in said at least one light emitting element recess configured to illuminate at least one pattern; and

wiring that electrically connects said at least one solar cell and said at least one light emitting element through said at least one wiring bore.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus is a boundary stone.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the solid housing is formed out of at least one of:

stone;

marble; and

cement.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said at least one solar cell, said at least one light emitting element, and the wiring substantially consume said at least one solar cell recess, said at least one light emitting element recess, and said at least one wiring bore.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein:

said at least one light emitting element comprises at least one light source; and

said at least one light source is arrange on the periphery of said at least one light emitting element.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said at least one light source is at least one of:

a light bulb; and

a light emitting diode.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said at least one pattern is illuminated by light from said at least one light source being refracted by said at least one light emitting element.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said at least one light emitting element comprises:

a printed pattern comprising said at least one pattern; and

a refraction plate, wherein the refraction plate refracts light from said at least one light source onto said printed pattern to illuminate said at least one pattern.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the refraction plate is a transparent acryl plate.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the refraction plate is molding to complement said at least one pattern.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said printed pattern comprises reflective material.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the background of the printed pattern is a translucent material.

18. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of said at least one solar cell and said at least one light emitting element are at least one of:

removable; and

substantially sealed from external moisture.

19. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the width of the solid housing is greater than the height of the solid housing.

20. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the height of the solid housing is greater than the width of the solid housing.