Electro-luminescent light assembly
First Claim
1. A light assembly, comprising:
- a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs;
an individual electro-luminescent (EL) light unit in which is secured an EL panel and which includes light unit mounting means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board;
a pair of electrical contacts; and
means for positioning the electrical contacts in the individual EL light unit in such a way that electrical contact between the EL panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals is established by insertion of said light unit mounting means into any of said openings.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A light assembly is made up of a circuit board and a plurality of individual light units which can be installed on and removed from the circuit board to form a desired design or pattern. Each individual light unit includes an electro-luminescent light panel and a resilient contact arrangement which permits an electrical connection between the contacts in the individual light unit and contact terminals on the circuit board to be established by the act of mounting the individual light unit on the circuit board. The light unit itself may form a sub-assembly of a larger lighting arrangement, and each sub-assembly may include a plurality of individual light units arranged into groups, with each group having a different color.
167 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A light assembly, comprising:
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a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent (EL) light unit in which is secured an EL panel and which includes light unit mounting means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; a pair of electrical contacts; and means for positioning the electrical contacts in the individual EL light unit in such a way that electrical contact between the EL panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals is established by insertion of said light unit mounting means into any of said openings. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A light assembly, comprising:
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a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent light unit in which is secured an electro-luminescent panel and which includes means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the individual electro-luminescent light unit for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board, wherein the pair of contacts are arranged to engage said contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board and thereby establish an electrical connection between said contact terminals and said electro-luminescent panel in said individual light unit, wherein said individual light unit includes a housing to which is secured the electro-luminescent panel, and wherein said pair of contacts are made of a resilient conductive material having a dimension which exceeds a distance between electrodes of the electro-luminescent panel and corresponding said contact terminals such that when the individual light unit is mounted on the circuit board, the contacts are compressed between the contact terminals and the electro-luminescent panel electrodes to ensure a positive electrical connection therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A light assembly, comprising:
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a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent light unit in which is secured an electro-luminescent panel and which includes means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the individual light unit for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board, further comprising additional individual light units, wherein said light assembly is one of a plurality of sub-assemblies of a master assembly, said sub-assemblies being arranged into groups, each group being connected by a common bus pair to a common pair of connector pins and by a wiring harness to a master circuit board on which are arranged said plurality of additional sub-assemblies. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An individual EL light unit for removably mounting on a circuit board having
a plurality of openings and a plurality of pairs of contact terminals, comprising: -
a housing; an electro-luminescent (EL) light panel; light unit mounting means extending from the housing for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; a pair of electrical contacts; and means for positioning the electrical contacts in the housing in such a way that electrical contact between the EL panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals is established by insertion of said light unit mounting means into any of said openings. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An individual electro-luminescent light unit for removably mounting on a circuit board having a plurality of openings and a plurality of pairs of contact terminals, comprising:
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a housing; an electro-luminescent light panel; means extending from the housing for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the housing for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the housing on the circuit board, wherein said electro-luminescent panel is secured to said housing, and wherein said pair of contacts are made of a resilient conductive material having a dimension which exceeds a distance between electrodes of the electro-luminescent panel and corresponding said contact terminals such that when the individual light unit is mounted on the circuit board, the contacts are compressed between the contact terminals and the electro-luminescent panel electrodes to ensure a positive electrical connection therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification