Electro-luminescent light assembly

Claim 2

A light assembly, comprising: a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent (EL) light unit in which is secured an EL panel and which includes light unit mounting means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; a pair of electrical contacts; and means for positioning the electrical contacts in the individual EL light unit in such a way that electrical contact between the EL panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals is established by insertion of said light unit mounting means into any of said openings.

Claim 3

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means extending from the individual light unit comprises at least one leg having an extension which forms a hook and which is arranged to flex upon insertion into said any of said openings until the extension clears the opening, whereupon the extension is arranged to engage an opposite side of the circuit board from a side engaged by a housing of the individual electro-luminescent unit and thereby secure the individual electro-luminescent unit to the circuit board.

Claim 4

A light assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means extending from the individual light unit includes a second leg having an extension.

Claim 5

A light assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said individual light unit includes a leg assembly positioned centrally relative to the individual light unit such that the leg assembly forms a rotation axis for said light unit, made up of said at least one leg having an extension, and further comprising a second leg arranged to enter an opening in the circuit board for the purpose of preventing rotation of individual light unit about said rotation axis after mounting the light unit on the circuit board.

Claim 6

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of contacts are arranged to engage said contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board and thereby establish an electrical connection between said contact terminals and said electro-luminescent panel in said individual light unit.

Claim 7

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual light unit is cylindrical.

Claim 8

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual light unit has a polyhedral shape.

Claim 9

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said individual light unit includes a housing to which the electro-luminescent panel is attached and a transparent cover which as a result of its optical properties serves as a lens for light emitted by the optical panel through the transparent cover.

Claim 10

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a power source and means for converting the power input from the power source to an AC trigger current, means for controlling the AC current to control an on/off timing of the electro-luminescent panel, and means for supplying the output of a control circuit to buses on the circuit board.

Claim 11

A light assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein said power source is a solar energy-based power source.

Claim 12

A light assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electro-luminescent panel is made up of elements of different colors, and further comprising additional pairs of electrical contacts, one for each of said elements.

Claim 13

A light assembly, comprising: a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent light unit in which is secured an electro-luminescent panel and which includes means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the individual electro-luminescent light unit for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board, wherein the pair of contacts are arranged to engage said contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board and thereby establish an electrical connection between said contact terminals and said electro-luminescent panel in said individual light unit, wherein said individual light unit includes a housing to which is secured the electro-luminescent panel, and wherein said pair of contacts are made of a resilient conductive material having a dimension which exceeds a distance between electrodes of the electro-luminescent panel and corresponding said contact terminals such that when the individual light unit is mounted on the circuit board, the contacts are compressed between the contact terminals and the electro-luminescent panel electrodes to ensure a positive electrical connection therebetween.

Claim 14

A light assembly, comprising: a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent light unit in which is secured an electro-luminescent panel and which includes means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the individual electro-luminescent light unit for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board, wherein the pair of contacts are arranged to engage said contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board and thereby establish an electrical connection between said contact terminals and said electro-luminescent panel in said individual light unit, wherein said individual light unit includes a housing to which is secured the electro-luminescent panel, and wherein said pair of contacts are made of a resilient conductive material having a dimension which exceeds a distance between electrodes of the electro-luminescent panel and corresponding said contact terminals such that when the individual light unit is mounted on the circuit board, the contacts are compressed between the contact terminals and the electro-luminescent panel electrodes to ensure a positive electrical connection therebetween.

Claim 15

A light assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein said contacts extend through slots in said housing and have a width which is greater than that of the slots such that said contacts are retained in said slots by compression of a portion of the contacts upon insertion of the contacts into the slots.

Claim 16

A light assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein said cover is an optical element.

Claim 17

A light assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein said EL panel is secured to said housing by double-sided tape.

Claim 18

A light assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein said individual light unit further comprises a cover, with said EL panel being secured between the cover and a top surface of said housing such that said EL panel is visible through said cover.

Claim 19

A light assembly, comprising: a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent light unit in which is secured an electro-luminescent panel and which includes means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the individual light unit for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board, further comprising additional individual light units, wherein said light assembly is one of a plurality of sub-assemblies of a master assembly, said sub-assemblies being arranged into groups, each group being connected by a common bus pair to a common pair of connector pins and by a wiring harness to a master circuit board on which are arranged said plurality of additional sub-assemblies.

Claim 20

A light assembly, comprising: a circuit board having a plurality of identical openings and a plurality of identical pairs of contact terminals respectively connected to one of two common inputs; an individual electro-luminescent light unit in which is secured an electro-luminescent panel and which includes means extending therefrom for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the individual light unit for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the individual light unit on the circuit board, further comprising additional individual light units, wherein said light assembly is one of a plurality of sub-assemblies of a master assembly, said sub-assemblies being arranged into groups, each group being connected by a common bus pair to a common pair of connector pins and by a wiring harness to a master circuit board on which are arranged said plurality of additional sub-assemblies.

Claim 21

A light assembly as claimed in claim 17, wherein said one of a plurality of sub-assemblies is provided with a housing on which the light assembly circuit board is mounted and which encloses said connector pins.

Claim 22

An individual EL light unit for removably mounting on a circuit board having a plurality of openings and a plurality of pairs of contact terminals, comprising: a housing; an electro-luminescent (EL) light panel; light unit mounting means extending from the housing for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; a pair of electrical contacts; and means for positioning the electrical contacts in the housing in such a way that electrical contact between the EL panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals is established by insertion of said light unit mounting means into any of said openings.

Claim 23

An individual EL light unit for removably mounting on a circuit board having a plurality of openings and a plurality of pairs of contact terminals, comprising: a housing; an electro-luminescent (EL) light panel; light unit mounting means extending from the housing for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; a pair of electrical contacts; and means for positioning the electrical contacts in the housing in such a way that electrical contact between the EL panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals is established by insertion of said light unit mounting means into any of said openings.

Claim 24

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 19, wherein the means extending from the housing comprises a leg having an extension which form a hook and which is arranged to flex upon insertion into said any of said openings until the extension clears the opening, whereupon the extension is arranged to engage an opposite side of the circuit board from a side engaged by said housing and thereby secure the individual EL unit to the circuit board.

Claim 25

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 20, wherein the means extending from the housing includes a pair of said legs having an extension, and said openings are arranged in pairs to form a matrix or said pairs.

Claim 26

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 20, wherein said individual light unit includes a centrally positioned leg assembly made up of at least one of said legs having an extension, and further comprising a second leg arranged to enter an opening in the circuit board for the purpose of preventing rotation of the housing after mounting on the circuit board.

Claim 27

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 19, wherein said EL panel is secured to said housing by double-sided tape.

Claim 28

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 19, wherein the individual light unit is cylindrical.

Claim 29

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 19, wherein the individual light unit has a polyhedral shape.

Claim 30

An individual electro-luminescent light unit for removably mounting on a circuit board having a plurality of openings and a plurality of pairs of contact terminals, comprising: a housing; an electro-luminescent light panel; means extending from the housing for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the housing for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the housing on the circuit board, wherein said electro-luminescent panel is secured to said housing, and wherein said pair of contacts are made of a resilient conductive material having a dimension which exceeds a distance between electrodes of the electro-luminescent panel and corresponding said contact terminals such that when the individual light unit is mounted on the circuit board, the contacts are compressed between the contact terminals and the electro-luminescent panel electrodes to ensure a positive electrical connection therebetween.

Claim 31

An individual electro-luminescent light unit for removably mounting on a circuit board having a plurality of openings and a plurality of pairs of contact terminals, comprising: a housing; an electro-luminescent light panel; means extending from the housing for insertion into any of said plurality of openings to thereby removably mount the individual electro-luminescent light unit on the circuit board; and a pair of electrical contacts positioned in the housing for establishing electrical contact between the electro-luminescent panel and one of said pairs of contact terminals upon mounting of the housing on the circuit board, wherein said electro-luminescent panel is secured to said housing, and wherein said pair of contacts are made of a resilient conductive material having a dimension which exceeds a distance between electrodes of the electro-luminescent panel and corresponding said contact terminals such that when the individual light unit is mounted on the circuit board, the contacts are compressed between the contact terminals and the electro-luminescent panel electrodes to ensure a positive electrical connection therebetween.

Claim 32

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 26, wherein said contacts extend through slots in said housing and have a width which is greater than that of the slots such that said contacts are retained in said slots by compression of a portion of the contacts upon insertion of the contacts into the slots.

Claim 33

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 26, wherein said individual light unit further comprises a cover, with said EL panel being secured between the cover and a top surface of said housing such that said EL panel is visible through said cover.

Claim 34

An individual light unit as claimed in claim 28, wherein said cover is an optical element.