Luminant sign

• US 5,842,297 A
• Filed: 02/04/1997
• Issued: 12/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Flying Dragons Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Flying Dragons Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tung, Ching-Yung
• Primary Examiner(s): GREEN, BRIAN
• Application Number:
  US08/795,304
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 40/546, 40/547, 362/31, 362/812
• US Class Current: 40/546
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0038 Linear indentations or grooves, e.g. arc-shaped grooves or meandering grooves, extending over the full length or width of the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/006 to produce indicia, symbols, texts or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0083 Details of electrical connections of light sources to drivers, circuit boards, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0091 of the light source relative to the light guide G02B6/0021 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/0422 Reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/14 Arrangements of reflectors therein
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2013/145 curved reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/812 Signs

Abstract

A luminant sign comprises a base including a pair of opposed casings and a image plate made of transparent acrylic resin and engaged with the base. The base has a circuit board with a plurality of illuminators disposed therein. A front face and a rear face of the image plate have a number of display areas defined thereon by peripheral grooves of pictures or words. Each display area has a plurality of reflective surfaces formed therein in directions non-parallel to the beam directions of the illuminators. With this arrangement, each display area of the image plate will achieve a uniform intensity.

Claims

1. A luminant sign comprising:

a base having a pair of U-shaped opposed casings;

an image plate made of transparent material and engaged with said base;

said base having a circuit board with at least one illuminator mounted thereon, each said illuminator projecting light in a first direction, and each of said casings having a cutout defined in a top edge thereof to receive said image plate and board retaining means integrally extending from an inner face of at least one of said casings for receiving and retaining said circuit board;

a front face and a rear face of said image plate having a plurality of display areas defined by peripheral grooves having the shape of pictures or words, each said display area having a plurality of reflective surfaces defined therein, said reflective surfaces being formed by a plurality of parallel recesses, said peripheral grooves having groove portions which extend in a direction parallel to said recesses and other groove portions which extend in a direction which is nonparallel to said recesses, said surfaces being disposed on said plate to project in directions non-parallel to said light direction of said at least one illuminator.

2. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein said board retaining means includes each casing having two ridges integrally extending from an inner face thereof, said two ridges defining a channel therebetween to receive the circuit board.

3. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 2, wherein said illuminators are light-emitting diodes (LED).

4. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said pair of opposed casings further has two ledges integrally extending from a top and a bottom inner face thereof, each of said ledges being hook-like and a pair of enclosure covers respectively engageable with two ends of said pair of opposed casings by means of two pairs of bosses integrally formed on said enclosure covers being respectively received in said ledges.

5. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one of said enclosure covers defines at least one through hole therein for wires electrically connected with said circuit board to be extended therethrough.

6. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said pair of opposed casings further has an inner face, and two protrusions integrally formed at an appropriate position of said inner face, each protrusion defining a screw hole therein, and wherein said image plate defines two holes respectively aligned with the screw holes of the protrusions such that the image plate can be engaged with the casing by means of fasteners extending through the holes and screw holes.

7. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein a depth of the reflective surfaces is smaller than that of the peripheral grooves.

8. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein a depth of the reflective surfaces is larger than that of the peripheral grooves.

9. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein a depth of the reflective surfaces is equal to that of the peripheral grooves.

10. The luminant sign as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transparent material is acrylic resin.

11. A luminant sign comprising:

a base having a pair of U-shaped opposed casings, said base having a circuit board with a plurality of illuminators and each of said casings having a cutout defined in a top edge thereof;

an image plate made of transparent material and engaged with said base in which a front face and a rear face of the image plate having a number of display areas thereon defined by peripheral grooves of pictures or words, each display area having a plurality of reflective surfaces formed therein in directions non-parallel to beam directions of the illuminators;

each of said pair of opposed casings further has two ledges integrally extending from a top and a bottom inner face thereof, each of said ledges being hook-like, and a pair of enclosure covers respectively engaged with two ends of said pair of opposed casings by means of two pairs of bosses integrally formed on said enclosure covers being respectively received in said ledges.

12. A luminant sign comprising:

a base having a pair of U-shaped opposed casings, each said casing having two ridges internally extending from an inner face thereof, said two ridges defining a channel therebetween to receive the circuit board, each of said pair of opposed casings further having two ledges integrally extending from a top and a bottom inner face thereof, each of said ledges being hook-like, and a pair of enclosure covers respectively engageable with two ends of said pair of opposed casings by means of two pairs of bosses integrally formed on said enclosure covers being respectively received in said ledges;

an image plate made of transparent material and engaged with said base;

said base having a circuit board with at least one illuminator mounted thereon, each said illuminator projecting light in a first direction, and each of said casings having a cutout defined in a top edge thereof to receive said image plate and board retaining means integrally extending from an inner face of at least one of said casings for receiving and retaining said circuit board;

a front face and a rear face of said image plate having a plurality of display areas defined by peripheral grooves having the shape of pictures or words, each said display area having a plurality of reflective surfaces defined therein, said reflective surfaces being formed by a plurality of parallel recesses, said peripheral grooves having groove portions which extend in a direction parallel to said recesses and other groove portions which extend in a direction which is nonparallel to said recesses, said surfaces being disposed on said plate to project in directions non-parallel to said light direction of said at least one illuminator.