Illuminated signage employing light emitting diodes
First Claim
1. An illuminated sign comprising:
- a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; and
a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including;
a flexible electrical power cord including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath,a plurality of LEDs, anda plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED, each connector further including first and second connector sections that are secured about a portion of the flexible electrical power cord to secure the connector thereto, the first and second connector sections including mating connector section securing features disposed on opposite sides of the flexible electrical power cord for securing the first and second connector sections about the portion of the flexible electrical power cord, the mating connector section securing features including a tongue-and-groove sliding engagement between the first and second connector sections disposed at one side of the flexible electrical power cord.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An illuminated sign (88) includes a flexible electrical power cord (100) including first and second parallel conductors (112, 114) surroundingly contained within an insulating sheath defining a constant separation distance between the parallel conductors (112, 114). A plurality of light emitting diode (LED) devices (102) are affixed to the cord (100). Each LED device (102) includes an LED (104) having a positive lead (130p) electrically communicating with the first parallel conductor (112) and a negative lead (130p) electrically communicating with the second parallel conductor (114). A stencil (92) defines a selected shape, and the electrical cord (100) is arranged on the stencil (92). Power conditioning electronics (210, 220) disposed away from the stencil (92) electrically communicate with the first and second parallel conductors (112, 114) of the electrical power cord (100). The power conditioning electronics (210, 220) power the LED devices (102) via the parallel conductors (112, 114).
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; and a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible electrical power cord including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED, each connector further including first and second connector sections that are secured about a portion of the flexible electrical power cord to secure the connector thereto, the first and second connector sections including mating connector section securing features disposed on opposite sides of the flexible electrical power cord for securing the first and second connector sections about the portion of the flexible electrical power cord, the mating connector section securing features including a tongue-and-groove sliding engagement between the first and second connector sections disposed at one side of the flexible electrical power cord. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; and a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible electrical power cord including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, the spaced apart parallel conductors in the insulating sheath defining a cord plane arranged transverse to a surface of the channel to which the flexible lighting strip is secured, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible lighting strip including at least two strip branches defined by two flexible electrical power cords each including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED; a power supply disposed outside of the channel letter housing for delivering power to the flexible lighting strip; and a splice connector electrically connecting the two flexible electrical power cords of the flexible lighting strip. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible electrical power cord including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED; a power supply disposed outside of the channel letter housing for delivering power to the flexible electrical power cord of the flexible lighting strip; and a power connector by which the power supply is connected with the flexible electrical power cord, the power connector being arranged between two of the connectors that are spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord.
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23. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible electrical power cord including two or more ends and including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED; a power supply disposed outside of the channel letter housing for delivering power to the flexible electrical power cord of the flexible lighting strip; and a power connector by which the power supply is connected with the flexible electrical power cord, the power connector being connected with the flexible electrical power cord at a point away from any of the two or more ends of the flexible electrical power cord.
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24. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel; and a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible electrical power cord including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED, each prong having a bifurcated tip that receives one of the parallel conductors of the flexible electrical power cord, the parallel conductors being multi-stranded conductors that are compressively held within the bifurcated ends of the prongs. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An illuminated sign comprising:
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a channel letter housing defining at least one channel at least a portion of which is curved; and a flexible lighting strip secured within the channel of the channel letter housing, at least a portion of the flexible lighting strip being secured in a curved configuration conforming with the at least one curved channel portion, the flexible lighting strip including; a flexible electrical power cord including spaced apart parallel conductors in an insulating sheath, the spaced apart parallel conductors in the insulating sheath defining a cord plane arranged transverse to a surface of the channel to which the flexible lighting strip is secured, a plurality of LEDs, and a plurality of connectors each supporting at least one LED, the connectors being spaced apart along the flexible electrical power cord and connected therewith, each connector including prongs that pierce the insulating sheath to connect with conductors of the flexible power cord to deliver electrical power from the flexible electrical power cord to the at least one LED. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification