Card or book involving luminescence

• US 4,286,399 A
• Filed: 03/19/1980
• Issued: 09/01/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kyokuto Electric Co., Ltd. (KAGA Electronics Company Limited), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kyokuto Electric Co., Ltd. (KAGA Electronics Company Limited), Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Maeda, Shigeru, Funahashi, Masao
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancene, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Contreras, Wenceslao J.
• Application Number:
  US06/131,802
• Time in Patent Office: 531 Days
• Field of Search: 40/124.1, 40/152.1, 40/442, 40/152.2
• US Class Current: 40/124.02
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 1/007 Sheets or sheet blocks combined with other articles
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 15/022 combined with permanently fastened sound-producing or light-emitting means or carrying sound records
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 3/123 incorporating sound producing or light emitting means or carrying sound records
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 1/00 Cardboard or like show-cards of foldable or flexible material

Abstract

At least one of two openable leaves is provided with at least one light-emitting diode, a thin battery for lighting the diode and a switch assembly. On opening the leaves, the diode emits light, which is extinguished when the leaves are closed to provide an indication of unique interest.

Claims

1. A card or book involving luminescence and comprising:

at least two openable leaves;

a thin battery provided in one of the leaves and having on one side thereof electrodes to be brought into conduction with each other;

at least one light-emitting diode lit by the battery and having its light-emitting portion exposed to outside on an inner surface of said one leaf;

a switch assembly comprising a slide plate which has one end attached to the inner surface of the other leaf and a free end provided with a conductor piece, the free end being superposed slidably on the electrode bearing side of the battery in said one leaf and the conductor piece being engageable with the battery electrodes in response to opening movement of the two leaves.

2. A card or book as defined in claim 1 wherein the diode is provided with a lighting circuit incorporating therein an automatic switching circuit comprising a flip-flop circuit.

3. A card or book as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said one leaf is composed of a plurality of laminated sheets comprising a front sheet, a back sheet and at least one intermediate sheet, a cutout formed in the intermediate sheet for accomodating the battery, and the switch assembly slide plate is slidably positioned between the battery and one of the front and back sheets.

4. A card or book as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein said one leaf is composed of a plurality of laminated sheets comprising a front sheet, a back sheet and two intermediate sheets, a cutout formed in one of the intermediate sheets for accomodating the battery, contact elements mounted on the other intermediate sheet for engagement with electrodes on one side of the battery, said contact elements being electrically connected to the light-emitting diode, and the switch assembly slide plate is slidably positioned between the other side of the battery and one of the front and back sheets.

5. A card or book as defined in claim 4 wherein the light-emitting diode is mounted within apertures formed in the front and intermediate sheets, said one intermediate sheet is adjacent to the front sheet, and said other intermediate sheet is adjacent to the back sheet.