Body height adjustable electric bulb for illuminated signs

• US 6,343,871 B1
• Filed: 03/22/2000
• Issued: 02/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: William Yu
• Original Assignee: William Yu
• Inventors: Yu, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Sember, Thomas M.
• Application Number:
  US09/532,305
• Time in Patent Office: 685 Days
• Field of Search: 362/252, 362/800, 362/249, 362/812, 362/250, 362/287, 362/427, 362/418, 362/227, 405/44, 405/50, 405/70
• US Class Current: 362/249.03
• CPC Class Codes: F21K 9/232 specially adapted for generating an essentially omnidirectional light distribution, e.g. with a glass bulb
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2107/30 on the outer surface of cylindrical surfaces, e.g. rod-shaped supports having a circular or a polygonal cross section
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/04 Signs, boards or panels, illuminated from behind the insignia
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/812 Signs

Abstract

A body height adjustable electric bulb for illuminated sign wherein the bulb comprises a height adjusting unit inserted into an open end of a bulb body against friction between them such that the height of the bulb body can be adjusted by a force against such friction. A connector is fixed on a bulb head and connects to a joint end of the height adjusting unit such that the bulb body can be rotated by a proper torque.

Claims

1. A body height adjustable electric bulb for an illuminated signs lamp comprising;

a bulb body, a bulb head, a connector, a plurality of light emitting diodes set around at least a portion of periphery of said bulb body, and a power supply unit to power said light emitting diodes, a height adjusting unit inserted into an open end of said bulb body so as to create a frictional sliding engagement between said height adjusting unit and said bulb body such that the height of said bulb body can be adjusted relative to said bulb head by a force applied against the friction, said connector being fixed on said bulb head at one end and another end connected to a joint end of said height adjusting unit such that said bulb body can be rotated by an applied torque, and

said power supply unit being mounted within at least one of said bulb body and said height adjusting unit.

2. The body height adjustable electric bulb of claim 1, wherein said height adjusting unit is hollow and including a substantially rectangular main part having a cylindrical joint end with an outer ring slot therein having at least one lug;

one end of said connector being fixed on said bulb head, and at another end, inside a cavity of said connector, there is a concave ring having at least one boss whereby when said height adjusting unit is connected to said connector at said joint end, said concave ring of said connector seats with said ring slot such that said height adjusting unit can be rotated with respect to said connector by application of a torque, and said lug in said ring slot and said boss on said concave ring acting to stop rotation when the bulb is screwed on a socket with said bulb head.

3. The body height adjustable electric bulbs of claim 2 wherein said height adjusting unit includes guide slots extending;

along opposite sides of said main part, and said bulb body including portions slideably received in said guide slots, and hook means in said guide slots adjacent one end of said height adjusting unit oriented towards said bulb body.

4. The body height adjustable electric bulb of claim 3, wherein, said height adjusting unit consists of two parts dividing equally along a longitudinal axis.

5. The body height adjustable electric bulb of claim 4, including an opening in said one end of said height adjusting unit.

6. The body height adjustable electric bulb of claim 2 wherein said connector includes two substantially similar approximate half-cylindrical pieces which are joined together, wherein at one end of said connector there is a wiring slot communicating said with a hole to a cavity of said connector, whereby, when said connector is fixed on said bulb head, a first electrical power lead from said bulb body and extending through said main part will extend into said wiring slot through said hole and said cavity to a metal piece of said bulb head, while another electric power lead is secured to an electrical contact on said bulb head.

7. The body height adjustable electric bulb of in claim 1, wherein said bulb body is formed by two similarly configured long and flat cases coupling together to form a cavity for containing components of said power supply unit and said height adjusting unit, in one end of said bulb body there is an opening for receiving a main part of said height adjusting unit, guide bars located on said two cases to thereby slideably engage said two cases within guide slots on said height adjusting unit to thereby permit height adjustment against the friction created therebetween, and ends of said guides bars can abut small hooks within said slots to prevent said height adjusting unit from sliding out of said bulb body during height adjusting.

8. The body height adjustable bulb of claim 7 wherein said bulb body includes, a solid post and a hollow post extending from inner sides of said two cases, respectively, to join and fix said two cases by insertion of said solid post into said hollow post, and a plurality of small holes around a periphery of said bulb body to receive said plurality of light emitting diodes.

9. The body height adjustable electric bulb of claim 8, wherein said plurality of light emitting diodes are distributed evenly general around the periphery of said two cases of said bulb body with their optical axes located substantially within a coupling plane of said two cases.

10. The body height adjustable electric bulb of claim 1, wherein in said power supply unit includes a bridge rectifier circuit consisting of diodes D1, D2, D3 and D4 in series, a limiting capacitor C1 in an input and a parallel filter capacitor in an output to power said plurality of light emitting diodes serially.