Rotatable indicator having light-emitting diode back-lighting

Claim 1

A rotatable indicator comprising a cylindrical drum having inner and outer surfaces, said drum having opaque and translucent areas defining indicia on said outer surface, a rigid supporting board of insulating material; means for rotatably mounting said drum on said board; at least one solid state light-emitting device; means for supporting said device on said board within said drum in a position exposed to said inner surface thereof, said supporting means including a metal plate and first and second spaced metal posts secured to said board and extending outwardly therefrom within said drum, said plate being conductively secured to one of said posts and insulatingly secured to the other of said posts; said device being a lightemitting diode having generally planar surfaces with light being emitted from one of said diode surfaces, said one diode surface facing said inner drum surface, the other of said diode surfaces being supported on said plate whereby light emitted by said device back-illuminates said indicia, said diode having P and N sections joined by a junction intermediate and generally parallel with said diode surfaces, means for electrically connecting said device to a source of operating potential, said connecting means including at least one electrical connection connecting one of said sections to said plate and at least one other electrical connection connecting the other of said sections to said other post.