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US4794492A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Illuminated board

Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1987-03-30
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Granted: 1988-12-27
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Expires: 2007-03-30
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Abstract

Abstract The invention provides an illuminated board for use in sign boards, advertisement boards, drawing boards or similar planar objects to be illuminated comprising an elongate transparent and translucent wedge-shaped slab or prism with one essentially rectangular end face, two essentially triangular parallel side faces, one essentially rectangular smooth front surface and one essentially rectangular smooth rear surface, at least one light source arranged at said end face for illuminating said end face, one opalescent front panel arranged in a distance from said front face and essentially parallel to said front face and one reflective rear panel arranged in a distance from said rear face and essentially parallel to said rear face. By arranging the panels and the wedge so that they are not in mutual contact an attractive uniform and bright illumination can be practically obtained even in sign boards in sizes up to 1.1 m by 1.5 m.

Inventors

  • 👤 Franz J. Vinther

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 19:05
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/0001; G02B6/0011; G02B6/0033; G02B6/0035; G02B6/0045; G02B6/0046; F; F21; F21V; F21V7/00; G02B6/005; G02B6/0066; G02B6/007; G02B6/0071; G02B6/0081; G02B6/0086; G02B6/0088; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S362/00; Y10S362/812

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 144 words
An illuminated board for use in sign boards, advertisement boards, drawing boards and like planar objects to be illuminated, comprising an elongate, transparent and translucent wedge-shaped prismatic slab having one essentially rectangular end face, two essentially triangular parallel side faces, one essentially rectangular smooth front surface and one essentially rectangular smooth rear surface, at least one light source arranged at said end face for illuminating said end face, an opalescent front panel arranged adjacent said front face, a reflective rear panel arranged adjacent said rear face, and mounting means for holding said slab, said front panel and said rear panel so as to maintain said front panel parallel with and at a predetermined distance from said front face of said slab and, respectively, so as to maintain said rear panel parallel with and at a predetermined distance from said rear face of said slab.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 144 words
An illuminated board for use in sign boards, advertisement boards, drawing boards and like planar objects to be illuminated, comprising an elongate, transparent and translucent wedge-shaped prismatic slab having one essentially rectangular end face, two essentially triangular parallel side faces, one essentially rectangular smooth front surface and one essentially rectangular smooth rear surface, at least one light source arranged at said end face for illuminating said end face, an opalescent front panel arranged adjacent said front face, a reflective rear panel arranged adjacent said rear face, and mounting means for holding said slab, said front panel and said rear panel so as to maintain said front panel parallel with and at a predetermined distance from said front face of said slab and, respectively, so as to maintain said rear panel parallel with and at a predetermined distance from said rear face of said slab.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined distance from said slab front face to said front panel is in the range of 1 to 5 mm.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 29 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined distance from said slab rear face to said rear panel is in the range of 1 to 5 mm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 14 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein said reflective rear panel is frosted.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 14 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein said reflective rear panel is semifrosted.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 24 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein each said light source is a fluorescent tube arranged parallel to the edge of the wedge.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 26 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein the angle between said front face and said rear face is in the range from 1° to 4°.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 30 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, where the size of the wedge from the broad end face to the tip is in the range from 40 to 110 cm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 31 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein the angle between the front face and the broad end face is in the range from 60° to 90° and preferably about 83°.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 39 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein a part of said mounting means adjacent said wedge end face extends over a portion of the wedge front face so as to screen said portion of the wedge front face.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 24 words
An illuminated board according to claim 1, wherein said opalescent front panel exhibits a light transmittance of more than 50% and preferably about 75%.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

FR31104E Cited
US2646637A Cited
US3040168A Cited
US3464133A Cited
GB1162560A Cited
US3561145A Cited
US4059916A Cited
US4277817A Cited
EP0167289A2 Cited
US4648690A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1991-12-27 1992-06-27 1992-12-27 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1995-12-27 1996-06-27 1996-12-27 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1999-12-27 2000-06-27 2000-12-27 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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