Decorative optical fiber artificial plant

• US 6,918,692 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2003
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CHAO Tai Electron Company Limited
• Original Assignee: CHAO Tai Electron Company Limited
• Inventors: Yang, Chen-Sheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Quach-Lee, Y. My
• Assistant Examiner(s): Neils, Peggy A.
• Application Number:
  US10/404,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20040190284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 362/554, 362/563, 362/564, 362/122, 362/123, 362/805, 362/567, 428/18, 428/17
• US Class Current: 362/567
• CPC Class Codes: A41G 1/005 luminous or luminescent
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0008 the light being emitted at the end of the fibre

Abstract

A decorative optical fiber artificial plant has a base and an artificial foliage arrangement. The base has a housing and a colored light generator mounted in the housing. The artificial foliage arrangement is composed of multiple optical fibers and is connected to a specific position of the housing on which colored lights shines. The colored light generator has multiple LEDs and a controller to drive the LEDs. The controller has at least a microprocessor and multiple electronic switches connected between output ports of the microprocessor and the corresponding LEDs. Further, different driving programs are built into the microprocessor so the colored light generator can generate different color lights with various characteristics.

Claims

1. A decorative optical fiber artificial plant comprising:

a base having a housing and a colored light generator mounted in the housing, wherein

the housing has a mounting cylinder into which colored light from the colored light generator shines; and

the colored light generator has multiple LEDs and a controller to drive the LEDs, wherein the controller is positioned under the LEDs and comprises;

a microprocessor having multiple input ports and output ports;

multiple electronic switches respectively connected to the LEDs and the output ports of the microprocessor; and

an AC to DC power converter connected to the microprocessor and the electronic switches and converting AC power to DC power that is provided to the microprocessor and the electronic switches; and

an artificial foliage arrangement mounted in the housing,

wherein the artificial plant is composed of a bundle of optical fibers having a proximal end mounted in the mounting cylinder;

whereby the controller controls how long the LEDs are driven to generate different colored lights with various characteristics.

2. The decorative optical fiber artificial plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microprocessor has many driving programs and is further connected to a selector that has many connections connected respectively to the input ports to select a specific driving program.

3. The decorative optical fiber artificial plant as claimed in claim 2, wherein the selector is a knob.

4. The decorative optical fiber artificial plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein each electronic switch is a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR).

5. The decorative optical fiber artificial plant as claimed in claim 1, wherein each electronic switch is a triode AC switch (TRIAC).