Light emitting alarm board

• US 4,908,603 A
• Filed: 04/11/1989
• Issued: 03/13/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hiroaki Nakaya, Koichi Tanaka, Masaru Yoshida, Satoshi Yamaue, Takuo Yamashita
• Original Assignee: Hiroaki Nakaya, Koichi Tanaka, Masaru Yoshida, Satoshi Yamaue, Takuo Yamashita
• Inventors: Tanaka, Koichi, Nakaya, Hiroaki, Yoshida, Masaru, Yamaue, Satoshi, Yamashita, Takuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L.
• Application Number:
  US07/338,410
• Time in Patent Office: 336 Days
• Field of Search: 340/525, 340/438, 340/461, 340/459, 340/781, 313/503, 313/506, 428/1, 428/690, 428/917
• US Class Current: 340/525
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/36 using visible light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/12 Light sources with substantially two-dimensional radiating surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/917 Electroluminescent

Abstract

A light-emitting alarm board uses thin-film EL elements which emit light of different colors individually or simultaneously, depending on the voltages applied thereon, thereby serving as display lamps for indicating the conditions of operation of a system being monitored.

Claims

1. A light-emitting alarm board comprising a board, and

a plurality of thin-film EL elements adapted to emit light of different colors according to voltages applied thereon, said EL elements being stacked on said board and one on top of another in the direction of light emission therefrom, each of said EL elements being provided with an electrode terminal such that one or more of said EL elements can be selectably caused to emit light of one of said different colors or an intermediate color of said different colors, said alarm board thereby serving as display lamps for indicating the condition of operation of a system being monitored.

2. The light-emitting alarm board of claim 1 wherein each of said thin-film EL elements comprises a light-emitting layer and insulating layers sandwiching said light-emitting layer.

3. The light-emitting alarm board of claim 1 wherein said plurality of thin-film EL elements are mutually separated by a transparent conductive layer serving as an electrode.

4. The light-emitting alarm board of claim 1 wherein each of said thin-film EL elements serves to display a pattern in a selected color.

5. The light-emitting alarm board of claim 1 comprising two thin-film EL elements.

6. The light-emitting alarm board of claim 5 wherein said different colors are red and green, said light-emitting alarm board being adapted to selectably emit light of red, green, yellowish orange, yellow and yellowish green.