Patent Application
20130250559
Integrating lighted features into flexible fabric structures has been met with limited success. Typical implementations utilizing incandescent, LED, or other “point source” lights may suffer from poor reliability. More specifically, as the fabric is flexed, electrical connections between the point source lights are stressed and eventually broken. Further, such designs may create a safety hazard when the electrical connections are weakened or broken. More specifically, a loose or disconnected electrical power supply could ignite or burn adjacent objects or personnel and/or cause an uncomfortable or dangerous shock to an adjacent or nearby person.
Electroluminescent lighting (hereinafter “EL lighting”) utilizes an optical and electrical phenomenon in which a material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field to generate light from electricity. Advantages of EL lighting include durability, flexibility, and low power consumption.
The presently disclosed technology utilizes EL lighting or other continuous illumination technologies integrated on or within a fabric material to illuminate the fabric material. While the following implementations are discussed with specificity to the design of flags, the concepts presented herein may also be applied to other fabric articles (e.g., clothing, shelters, containers, etc.). Further, while the following implementations are discussed specifically with regard to EL lighting, other continuous illumination technologies may also be used (e.g., chemiluminescense).
The EL flag 100 includes one or more EL lighting features (e.g., lighting feature 106) to provide a fabric integrated display. The EL lighting features present a continuous illumination, as distinct from discrete point source illumination (e.g., by incandescent or LED lights). The lighting feature 106 provides a uniformly lit star pattern. In one implementation, the lighting feature 106 is configured to blink or vary in its intensity over time to provide a desired visual effect. Further, the lighting feature 106 may possess a variety of colors and those colors may also change over time. Still further, other stars on the EL flag 100 may also be EL lighting features. In an implementation with multiple lighting features, each may be sequentially lit to provide an animated or otherwise visually engaging presentation.
In various implementations, the lighting feature 106 is laminated onto a surface of the EL flag 100, stitched into a similarly sized and shaped aperture in the EL flag 100, or placed within a similarly sized and shaped clear window in the EL flag 100. Other ways of integrating the lighting feature 106 into the EL flag 100 are contemplated herein.
The EL lighting features are fabricated using either organic or inorganic EL materials. The active EL materials are generally semiconductors having a wide enough bandwidth to allow the exit of the light from the EL material. An example EL material is inorganic thin-film EL (TFEL) (e.g., zinc sulfide topped with manganese, which has a yellow-orange emission). Other examples of the range of EL material include powdered zinc sulfide doped with copper (which produces a greenish light) or silver (which produces a bright blue light); thin-film zinc sulfide doped with manganese (which produces an orange-red color); naturally blue diamond, which includes a trace of boron that acts as a dopant; inorganic semiconductors containing group III and V elements, such as indium phosphate, gallium arsenide, and gallium nitride; and some organic semiconductors.
The lighting feature 106 is powered by the battery 102, which is located in the upper-left corner of the EL flag 100. The battery 102 may be single-use or rechargeable and incorporate a variety of technologies (e.g., zinc-carbon, alkaline, nickel-cadmium, nickel-zinc, nickel metal hydride, and lithium-ion). Further, the battery 102 may include two or more individual batteries linked in series or parallel to obtain a desired output voltage and/or capacity. In some implementations, no battery 102 is used and power for the lighting feature 106 is obtained from an external source (e.g., 110V household power).
The battery 102 is electrically connected to the lighting feature 106 by one or more electrical lines 108 (e.g., wires). In some implementations, the lighting feature 106 is directly connected to the battery 102 and no separate lines 108 are included. For example, a thin element of the lighting feature 106 may extend to the battery 102. The thin element of the lighting feature 106 may be blacked out so as not to detract from the visual display. In other implementations, the battery 102 is small enough that it may be incorporated immediately adjacent and electrically connected to the lighting feature 106 without significantly detracting from the visual display.
The lighting feature 206 is powered by the battery 202, which is located in the lower-left corner of the EL flag 200. In other implementations, the battery 202 may be located in other areas of the EL flag 200 or separate from the EL flag 200. The battery 202 may be single-use or rechargeable and incorporate a variety of technologies. Further, the battery 202 may include two or more individual batteries linked in series or parallel to obtain a desired output voltage and/or capacity. In some implementations, no battery 202 is used and power for the lighting feature 206 is obtained from an external source.
The battery 202 is electrically connected to the lighting feature 206 by one or more electrical lines 208. In some implementations, the lighting feature 206 is directly connected to the battery 202 and no separate lines 208 are included. For example, a thin element of the lighting feature 206 may extend to the battery 202. The thin element of the lighting feature 206 may be blacked out so as not to detract from the visual display. In other implementations, the battery 202 is small enough that it may be incorporated immediately adjacent and electrically connected to the lighting feature 206 without significantly detracting from the visual display.
The lighting feature 306 is powered by the battery 302, which is located on or within the flag pole 304. In other implementations, the battery 302 may be located in other areas of the flag pole 304 or separate from the flag pole 304. The battery 302 may be single-use or rechargeable and incorporate a variety of technologies. Further, the battery 302 may include two or more individual batteries linked in series or parallel to obtain a desired output voltage and/or capacity. In some implementations, no battery 302 is used and power for the lighting feature 306 is obtained from an external source.
The battery 302 is electrically connected to the lighting feature 306 by one or more electrical lines 308. In some implementations, the lighting feature 306 is directly connected to the battery 302 and no separate lines 308 are included. For example, a thin element of the lighting feature 306 may extend to the battery 302. The thin element of the lighting feature 306 may be blacked out so as not to detract from the visual display. In other implementations, the battery 302 is small enough that it may be incorporated immediately adjacent and electrically connected to the lighting feature 306 without significantly detracting from the visual display.
The lighting feature 406 is powered by the solar panel 410, which is a connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. The solar panel 410 may be a part of a larger photovoltaic system that includes the solar panel 410 and a battery 402, and electrical lines (e.g., lines 408) connecting the solar panel 410 and the battery 402 to the lighting feature 406. In operation, the solar panel 410 charges the battery 402 and the battery 402 provides power to the lighting feature 406. While sufficient solar energy to run the lighting feature 406 is available, the battery 402 remains charged. Once the available solar energy drops below the energy required to power the lighting feature 406, the battery 402 is depleted to power the lighting feature 406. If the available solar energy drops remains below the energy required to power the lighting feature 406, the battery 402 will eventually become entirely depleted and the lighting feature 406 will become unpowered until the battery 402 is recharged or replaced.
The light sensor 412 may turn the power to the lighting feature 406 on and off depending on the ambient lighting conditions. More specifically, when the ambient lighting level is low, the light sensor 412 may turn the lighting feature 406 on and when the ambient lighting level is high, the light sensor 412 may turn the lighting feature 406 off. The lighting feature 406 may not be particularly visible in high ambient lighting conditions and turning the lighting feature 406 off in such conditions may conserve power. In another implementation, the lighting feature 406 is turned on and off via a timer that is calibrated to illuminate the lighting feature 406 during nighttime and/or twilight hours. As used herein, the term “light sensor” may include a photovoltaic cell, a photoresistive element, or another light-sensitive element. The term “light sensor” may also include electronic circuitry programmed to detect when the light incident the solar panel 406 has dropped below a certain level, thereby using the solar panel 406 to detect light, rather than a separate light sensor 412. In such embodiments where the light sensor is in the form of electronic circuitry, the light sensor may be located on the flag pole 404 or elsewhere.
The solar panel 406 and the battery 402 are each located on or within the flag pole 404. In other implementations, the solar panel 406 and/or the battery 402 may be located in areas of the flag pole 404 other than that depicted or separate from the flag pole 404 altogether. The battery 402 may incorporate a variety of technologies and may include two or more individual cells linked in series or parallel to obtain a desired output voltage and/or capacity (e.g., three individual battery cells are shown linked in series in
The battery 402 and solar panel 406 are electrically connected to the lighting feature 406 by one or more electrical lines 408. In some implementations, the lighting feature 406 is directly connected to the battery 402 and/or the solar panel 406 and no separate lines 408 are included. For example, a thin element of the lighting feature 406 may extend to the battery 402 and/or the solar panel 406. The thin element of the lighting feature 406 may be blacked out so as not to detract from the visual display. In other implementations, the battery 402 and/or the solar panel 406 are small enough that they may be incorporated immediately adjacent and electrically connected to the lighting feature 406 without significantly detracting from the visual display.
Side 1 of the EL flag 500 presents a star-shaped lighting feature and Side 2 of the EL flag 500 presents a circular lighting feature. The difference in appearance between the two sides may be accomplished by providing the lighting feature 506 that occupies the surface area of both the star-shaped and circular feature and using opaque flag material to form the visible shapes by selectively blocking light emitted from the lighting feature 506 on the two sides of the EL flag 500.
In one implementation, the lighting feature 506 is sandwiched between two layers of opaque flag material. In the area of the lighting feature 506 that is the star-shaped lighting feature on Side 1 and the circular lighting feature on Side 2, the flag material on each side of the lighting feature 506 is either transparent or is not present. In other implementations, there are at least two separate lighting features, one for each side of the EL flag 500, and there is an opaque layer between the separate lighting features that blocks light from one lighting feature from bleeding over to the other lighting feature.
The EL flag 600 further includes a transparent or translucent sleeve 614 that accepts the lighting feature 606 in sheet form. This way, the lighting feature 606 may be easily changed out to present a different visual display. Further, the front, rear, or both sides of the sleeve 614 may be transparent or translucent so that the lighting feature 606 may be visible from the front, rear, or both sides of the EL flag 600. The sleeve 614 may be stitched, glued, attached with a hook-and-loop fastener, laminated, or otherwise permanently or removably attached to the EL flag 600.
The clear (or translucent) window 716 is depicted as a rectangular border in
The clear (or translucent) piping 818 borders the entire EL flag 800 and the lighting feature 806 in rope form is contained within the piping 818. This form allows the lighting feature 806 to outline the EL flag 800. In other implementations, the clear piping 818 may have any shape or size on the EL flag 800 to secure the EL lighting feature 806 in a desired orientation. The piping 818 may be stitched, clipped, glued, attached with a hook-and-loop fastener, laminated, or otherwise permanently or removably attached to the EL flag 800.
An illumination operation 930 illuminates the continuous illumination light source. The illumination operation 930 presents a desired visual display to individuals that view the fabric integrated continuous illumination lighting display (e.g., an illuminated flag). Further, the fabric integrated continuous illumination lighting display is robust due at least in part to the robust nature of the continuous illumination light source itself
The logical operations may be performed in any order and omitting or adding steps, unless explicitly claimed otherwise or a specific order is inherently necessitated by the claim language. The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended. Furthermore, structural features of the different embodiments may be combined in yet another embodiment without departing from the recited claims.
As used herein, when referring to the battery or to how the lighting feature is powered by the battery, it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that certain electronic circuitry may be necessary to accomplish certain features disclosed herein. This electronic circuitry is known to those having ordinary skill in the art and therefore is not disclosed with particularity herein. It will be understood that any such necessary electronic circuitry shall be electronically coupled to the necessary parts required for operation and may be located adjacent the battery, adjacent the lighting feature, or elsewhere. For example, it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that the electronics necessary to convert the DC power from a battery into the AC power necessary to illuminate many electroluminescent materials may be incorporated into a case (i.e., battery pack) containing the battery and may be electronically coupled to both the battery and the lighting feature. Further, it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that the term “battery” contemplates the use of any device capable of holding an electrical charge (e.g., chemical battery, fuel cell, capacitor, or others). It will be further understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that where the battery is a rechargeable battery, an external source (e.g., 110V household power) may be used to recharge the battery.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/613,872 filed Mar. 21, 2012, the contents of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61613872 | Mar 2012 | US |
