AU632262B2 - - Google Patents

Description

I 1 INVENTION TITLE MINI SOLAR STREET SIGN The following statement is a full description of this invent.ion, including the best method of performing it known to me:- The invention relates to improvements in devices used for illuminating small external signs at night, particularly those utilising solar energy.

Difficulty in locating a residential house at night is a common problem experienced by all from time to time. Whilst some products have been introduced in the market tr alleviate this type of problem e.g.

reflective number;/letters, the problem still remains as there is usually not enough directed light available for them to work.

a at Clearly, the best solution is for the sign to have its own source of light. Unfortunately, external a electrical installations are difficult and costly hence lighting up house numbers and other Fmall signs from the house's own electricity supply has 20 been an option only to those who can afford to have licensed qualified electrician to do the job.

These problems are overcome by the present invention which is a small solar powered electronic lantern designed to illuminate signs at night, The invention comprises of a lantern with a window, light emitting diode (LED) positioned inside the lantern, rechargeable batteries to supply power to 2the LED, a solar module located on top of the lantern to recharge the batteries, and a printed circuit board (PCB) designed to control the invention's operation.

The invention uses a sign plate which is a thin rectangular board with plugged holes in dot matrix form. To make the sign, plugs are simply removed from the holes to form the desired numbers or letters on the sign plate. The sign plate is then placed inside against the lantern's window. When the LED inside the lantern is turned on at night, light shining through unplugged holes causes the sign t o be illuminated.

beOoo <To enhance illumination, the internal back wall of 15 the lantern is finished in bright flourescent paint, and the top, bottom and side internal walls lined o with reflective material. The back side of the sign plate is likewise lined with reflective material.

Different types of sign plates can be made by varying o: 20 the size of the holes thus varying the dot matrix and 000° the number of holes that can be contained in the sign plate. Consequently, the number of holeL within the sign plate will determine the number of letters or numbers that can be formed in the sign plate.

25 The invention is fully automatic once installed. Its

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4 operational cycle consists of the illumination of the sign at night and the recharging of the batteries during the day. The PCB which controls the operation of the invention uses the solar module to detect the amount of ambient light. When absence or lack of ambient light is detected, the PCB causes the LED to be turned on. When daylight is detected, the LED is turned off and recharging of the batteries commences.

I I 3 The preferred form of the invention uses one high intensity LED at least 130mcd. Its source of electrical current is a series of two Nickel Cadmium (Nicad) rechargeable batteries size each 1.25V and 500-600mAh. Total battery voltage is 2.5V with 500-600mAh capacity. The solar module consists of small solar cells in series generating 3V 100mA under direct sunlight.

The preferred form of the lantern is a thin, box-like structure which consists of a mounting frame, and a window frame. The mounting frame is used for fixing the lantern on walls, mail boxes or any appropriate structure. The window frame, which contains the sign plate, the solar module and all electronic components, 15 is inserted into position in the mounting frame.

9 0o So o The mounting frame may be made of any suitable I material such as metal, or moulded plastic. The window frame is made of clear moulded plastic which is sealed to protect all electronic components from 20 damage that can be caused by rain and other elements outside.

The preferred sign plate is made of thin laminated cardboard with reflective foil or metalised back.

With the use of a fine die blade, holes in dot matrix angement are precision cut to leave the cut round S* pieces still intact in the plate and plugging the holes, until selectively removed when making the sign.

Extensive tests of a prototype of the invention proved that it can effectively operate continuously.

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4 As the invention relies on sunlight to recharge its batteries, it must be mounted in a position that will permit-the solar module, inclined on a 45 degree angle on top of the lantern, to be directly under the the sun for at least 3 hours a day. The solar module under direct sunlight will recharge the batteries at the rate of 100mA per hour thereby storing up to 300mAh in 3 hours.

The PCB is designed to discharge to the LED electrical current equal to 20mA per hour. At this rate, the LED can operate up to 12 hours, or all night, before the batteries are discharged below effective operating level. The batteries can be fully recharged in 5 hours o' under direct sunlight.

*0 15 Overcast days will cause the LED to operate for less S°'o hours at night. However, the next cloudless day will restore the lantern to its normal operational cycle.

Most consumer Nicad rechargeable batteries available 0 "in the market can do in excess of 1000 cycles of charging and discharging. It is expected that the invention will require only one set of good Nicad 0 batteries for up to two years before the batteries

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have to be replaced.

a Visibility tests on the prototype using a yellow S. 25 130mcd LED, 2.5V battery, lantern with flourescent yellow internal back wall, and a sign plate with holes 8mm in diameter showed that the sign is clearly visible up to 80 feet away at night.

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5 To assist with understanding the invention, reference will now be made to accompanying drawings which show an example of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of the invention's electronics.

Figure 2 shows an example of a sign plate with 17 x dot matrix. Dark holes represent unplugged holes forming the number "57".

Figure 3 shows the different components of the invention and the manner of assembly using the preferred thin box-like lantern.

The electronics casing 1 is made of moulded plastic So wherein all electronic components are put together. The solar cells 2 are mounted on top of the casing and connected to the PCB 5 by two electrical wires 6 and 7 which run through the holes on top of the casing 3 and 4 down to the PCB. The PCB is installed on the left hand side of the casing underneath the solar cells and above 20 the hole 8 through which the LED 9, connected to the PCB, is lowered. The batteries 10 are loaded into the right side of the casing and are linked to the circuitry via battery contact pins 11 also connected to the PCB. The electronics are sealed by covering the back of the casing with a thin plastic sheet.

The sign plate 13 is placed inside the window frame 16, on the lower side against the window, with its reflective side 14 facing in. The assembled electronics 12 is inserted in the top portion of the window frame and the LED lowered into the sign plate area through a hole 15 on 1A 6 the floor of the top portion of the window frame. The LED is positioned behind the sign plate at a 45 degree angle, focussed towards the full reflective back side of the sign plate.

The window frame 16 containing the electronics and the sign plate is then inserted in position in the mounting frame 17. The mounting frame has recessed punch out holes 18 for mounting the frame on walls, mailboxes or other structures. The recessed mounting holes provide space for screw or bolt heads to allow the window frame to slide in freely. The mounting frame can also be fixed on walls using adhesive materials. The back inside wall of the mounting frame 19 is finished in bright flourescent paint to enhance illumination.

So i 9o 15 Figure 4 shows an example of the invention that is fully assembled.

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Claims (3)

1. An electronic sign illuminating device comprising a lantern with a transparent window, a removable sign plate with plugged holes arranged in dot trix form which is placed against the lantern window, automatically operated light emitting diode (LED) positioned inside the lantern behind the sign plate which provide light therein that shines through selectively unplugged holes which form the sign on the sign plate, and a solar module that recharges the batteries that supply electrical current to the LED.

2. The electronic sign illuminating device of claim 1 :wherein the sign plate comprises of a thin board with plugged holes in dot matrix form, one side of which is lined with reflective material facing the S*inside of the lantern to enhance sign illumination.

3. The electronic sign illuminating device of claim 1 0 substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. t Efren Y. Calixto 23/9/92 (Name of the Applicant) (Date) -~JI r L q i T:1 I; 7 J: A C, INVENTION Mini Solar Street Sign The invention pertains to improvements in devices used for illuminating small external signs at night, particularly those utilising solar energy. The invention is a solar powered electronic lantern (refer to Figure 4 in specification) designed to illuminate external signs at night. A sign plate with holes forming the sign is positioned inside against the lantern's transparent window, hence light shining through the holes causes the sign to be illuminated at night. The source of light is a light emitting diode (LED) positioned inside the lantern and focussed on the back of the sign plate. To allow continous and unattended Soperation, the invention uses rechargeable batteries which are charged daily by solar cells mounted on top of the lantern. The LED automatically lights up to illuminate the sign when Sdarkness is sensed by the solar cells. The principal use of the invention is illuminating small signs such as house numbers. Compact and with mounting provisions, the invention can be easily fixed on external structures such as mailboxes and fences,