Lighting effects device

• US 3,958,113 A
• Filed: 08/12/1974
• Issued: 05/18/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Carol I. Termohlen
• Original Assignee: Carol I. Termohlen
• Inventors: Termohlen, Carol I.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheer, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US05/496,735
• Time in Patent Office: 645 Days
• Field of Search: 240/1 EL, 240/8.16, 240/10 R, 240/21, 84/464
• US Class Current: 362/231
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 10/005 using light guides light guides specially adapted for lighting devices G02B6/0001

Abstract

Solid transparent plastic material has frosted surfaces and contains lights the rays of which are diffused by the surfaces and viewed as a solid field of luminous light. Preferably, the lights are variously colored, for example, red, blue and green, and are energized by suitable switching means to produce color fields in each of the colors and in the pastel or sum colors thereof. This color field effect is incorporated in a plastic guitar, energization of the lights therein being responsive to tone frequencies as the guitar is played, to provide a spectacular display of light and whereby the guitar player sees his music in color fields that change hue.

Claims

1. A lighting effects device comprising:

a piece of solid transparent plastic material, a plurality of differently colored light emitting means positioned within said plastic material, said plastic material having a frosted rear surface for diffusing light from the light emitting means and glowing as a solid field of luminous light and a clear front surface providing an unobstructed view of the glowing frosted surface; and

means for variously energizing the light emitting means in one color and in a combination of colors for causing the frosted surface to glow and provide a field of light which changes hue with variations in the energization of the light emitting means.

2. The device of claim 1 further including means masking the light emitting means for hiding them from view.

3. The device of claim 1 further including a piece of abrasive particle material adjacent the frosted surface for enhancing light diffusion.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said plastic material piece is elongated and the light emitting means includes a longitudinal row of light bulbs therein, and further including a relatively narrow masking strip on said clear front face over the light bulbs for hiding them from view.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the masking strip has a reflective undersurface facing the light bulbs.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said plastic material piece is elongated and has a substantially trapezoidal cross sectional shape with frosted back surfaces acutely angled relative to the clear front face, said light emitting means is a row of lights in the central portion of the piece, and further including a relatively narrow masking strip over the row of lights for hiding them from view.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said plastic material piece has a row of perforations in the central portion thereof, and each light is a light bulb in each of the perforations.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein each perforation has a light diffusing frosted surface side wall for further hiding the light bulb from view.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein said plastic material piece is configured to the shape of a guitar body and has frosted back and side surfaces angled relative to the front face, said light emitting means is a longitudinal row of light bulbs positioned centrally in the plastic material, energization of the light bulbs causing the frosted surfaces to glow for viewing from the front and sides, and a masking strip over the light bulbs for hiding them from view.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the light bulbs are serially arranged in sets of three basic colors, red, blue and green, energization of the light bulbs providing fields of colored light in each of the basic colors and the sum colors thereof.