Claims
- 1. A night light, comprising:at least one electro-luminescent element having electrodes; a plug having at least two prongs for connection to a power source; conductive means having a first surface in contact with said electrodes and a second surface in contact with said prongs; a housing in which said electro-luminescent element, prongs, and conductive means are housed, said housing including at least a front part and a rear part; and at least one of fixing means for arranging the electro-luminescent element in the housing and for contacting said prongs with electrodes by conductive means, said fixing means being secured to one of the housing parts, the electro-luminescent element is captured between the fixing means and housing.
- 2. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electro-luminescent element is a thin electro-luminescent panel having correspondingly thin electrodes in contact with said conductive means.
- 3. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electro-luminescent element is a three-dimensional electro-luminescent fiber element.
- 4. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductive means is made from a resilient material.
- 5. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing means is an inner plate which is additional piece arranged inside the housing.
- 6. A night light as claimed in claim 5, wherein said inner plate is removably secured by tightness snap fit.
- 7. A night light as claimed in claim 5, wherein said inner plate is removably secured to said housing parts by screws.
- 8. A night light as claimed in claim 7, wherein said screws are threaded into posts on housing, said posts also serving to position the electro-luminescent element relative to a lit area in the housing part so as to be visible therethrough.
- 9. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front housing part has a curved principal surface.
- 10. A night light as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an optical effects device arranged to vary an image of the electro-luminescent element and any stenciling or other indicia as perceived by a person viewing the night light.
- 11. A night light as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an inverter circuit arranged to increase a brightness, provide other lighting functions, or vary a color of the electro-luminescent element.
- 12. A night light as claimed in claim 11, wherein the inverter circuit includes function interface means in the form of a conventional circuit arranged to provide lighting functions selected from the group consisting of chasing, random, fade in-out, pair flashing, time setting, time period control, and day-night control.
- 13. A night light as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for providing lighting functions selected from the group consisting of chasing, random, fade in-out, pair flashing, time setting, time period control, and day-night control.
- 14. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electro-luminescent element having a plurality of phosphor coated areas.
- 15. A night light as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rear housing part and said front housing part are secured to each other by screws.
- 16. A night light as claimed in claim 1, further including decorative elements selected from the group consisting of stencilling, phosphor arrangements, discrete electro-luminescent elements, silk-screening, films, filters, and masking.
Parent Case Info
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 allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/383,404, filed Feb. 3, 1995, (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,394).
US Referenced Citations (18)
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/910202 |
Aug 1997 |
US |
Child |
08/956425 |
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US |
Parent |
08/383404 |
Feb 1995 |
US |
Child |
08/910202 |
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US |