Claims
- 1. An electro-luminescent light arrangement for a cover having a front side, a rear side, and at least one opening through which an electrical connection is made between at least one electro-luminescent element and a separate power supply, comprising:an electro-luminescent element situated in a recess in a front surface of the front side of the cover with at least one opening arranged in the recess to allow making an electrical connection between an electrode of the electro-luminescent element and conductive means electrically connected to the power supply for providing an electric pulse from the power supply, the conductive means arranged within the recess at least partially behind the electro-luminescent element; at least one pressing means for ensuring connection of a conductive member of the conductive means and the electrode of the electro-luminescent element in order to connect the electro-luminescent element to the power supply for illumination; and a light-passable front piece fitted into the recess and having a desired thickness for protecting the electro-luminescent element.
- 2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two electro-luminescent elements are arranged in the recess said two electro-luminescent elements having adjacent electrodes which are contacted by said conductive member.
- 3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least two electro-luminescent elements are U-shaped.
- 4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least two electro-luminescent elements are L-shaped.
- 5. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductive member is a resilient conductive member.
- 6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the conductive member is cylindrically shaped, and the connections to the power supply include a wire extending through the center of the cylinder.
- 7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressing means is a member properly incorporated with an opening for receiving said conductive member.
- 8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover is a cover selected from the group consisting of a wall plate, a switch cover, an electrical outlet cover, a cable outlet cover, a dimmer switch cover, a timer cover, and a keyboard fascia plate.
- 9. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front piece includes design elements selected from the group consisting of stencils, windows, masking, silkscreening, stickers, and indicia.
- 10. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further comprising additional circuitry connected between the power supply and the conductive member for controlling the electro-luminescent element.
- 11. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electro-luminescent element includes multiple discrete phosphor coated areas and multiple electrodes corresponding to the multiple discrete phosphor coated areas, and wherein the conductive member engages at least two of said electrodes.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/910,202, filed Aug. 13, 1997, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/383,404, filed Feb. 3, 1995, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,394.
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5662408 |
Marischen |
Sep 1997 |
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Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/910202 |
Aug 1997 |
US |
Child |
08/963269 |
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US |
Parent |
08/383404 |
Feb 1995 |
US |
Child |
08/910202 |
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US |