Ornamental Article With Illuminated Display

This invention relates to an illuminated display and more particularly to such a display for wearing on the person.

Strings of lighted elements electrically energized, are known for dispersal through a wearer's hair or around articles of wearing apparel where such lighted elements have the purpose of enhancing the wearer's appearance. Such arrays of lighted elements require conducting leads to extend between the lighted elements and also require the wearer to carry an electrical power supply such as a dry cell storage battery somewhere on the wearer's person. The conducting leads together with the bulk of the power supply provide serious inconveniences to the wearer. Other devices are known where the power supply is carried remotely on the person and the conducting leads are connected to a lighted ornamental article through a cord which may serve as a band for hanging the article around the wearer's neck as well as a path for delivering the electrical energy to the lighted elements in the ornamental article. The inconvenience of the bulk of the power supply which must yet be carried and the conductive leads thereto is not overcome.

A relatively small lighted ornamental article is desirable which contains lens, lamp and electrical energy source, so that the above referenced remotely located power supply bulk and conducting lead inconvenience between lighted elements and power supply are avoided.

An ornamental article case has a front section and a rear section which join together to define a battery chamber and a lens chamber therein. The battery chamber is configured to receive a miniature electrical battery. A lens opening is formed in the front case section in communication with the lens chamber and a switch opening is formed in the rear case section in communication with the battery chamber. A lens is mounted in the lens opening and a light source is mounted in the lens chamber cooperating with the lens to transmit light therethrough when energized. A switch member is mounted in the switch opening and a pair of spring terminals are mounted in the case extending into the battery chamber to contact opposed electrical terminals on the miniature battery when placed therein. The switch member carries structure for urging one of the spring terminals away from contact with one of the battery terminals. Conductive leads are connected between the battery and the light source. Consequently, the light source is deenergized when the switch member is positioned so that the structure thereon urges the spring terminal away from the battery terminal. Conversely when the structure on the switch member is not in contact with the spring terminal an electrical circuit is completed through the light source causing light to be transmitted through the lens, thereby providing an illuminated display. The ornamentaL article is envisioned as being suspended from a chain or string and carried about a portion of the wearer's body, or as being pinned to an article of wearing apparel to thereby provide a pleasing display.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ornamental article for wearing on the person which has contained light and light energizing sources.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighted ornamental article which is controlled to the on and off conditions by the wearer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighted ornamental article wherein assembly of a minimum number of structural parts is accomplished in a minimum amount of time by minimally skilled assemblers.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the illuminated ornamental article in pendant form.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the Illuminated ornamental article of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ornamental article with the rear case section removed.

FIG. 4 is a rear plan view of the illuminated ornamental article.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the illuminated ornamental article with the front case section removed.

FIG. 6 is an electrical schematic of one embodiment of the present invention.

The ornamental article disclosed herein is seen in perspective in FIG. 1. An outer case 11 has a front case section 12 and a rear case section 13 which are joined together as shown. The ornamental article may be worn by pinning it to an article of apparel on a person by means of a pin (not shown) attached to rear case section 13, or by suspending it on a chain or string 14 as shown in FIG. 1 which surrounds the neck of the wearer, for example. Front case section 12 is shown having a lens aperture 16 therein which accepts a lens 17. Lens 17 may have a decal, such as the star 18 shown thereon in FIG. 1. A set of decals having different designs for placement overlying lens 17 may be provided. In this fashion a selected decal design may be placed on lens 17 in place of star 18. The decals may be snapped into place or held by a yieldable adhesive.

The manner in which outer case 11 is formed by joining front case section 12 and rear case section 13 is shown in FIG. 2. Rear case section 13 has an inner locating diameter 19 near the lip thereof and front case section 12 has an outer locating diameter 21 near the lip thereof. When inner and outer locating diameters 19 and 21 respectively are placed adjacent to one another, outer case 11 forms a battery chamber 22 and a lens chamber 23 therein. A passage 24 is also formed through outer case 11 between front and rear case sections 12 and 13 respectively. Passage 24 serves to surround a chain or the supporting string 14 for suspending the ornamental article in pendant form.

Lens aperture 16 is seen to be in communication with lens chamber 23 and lens 17 is shown in FIG. 2 to be mounted in lens chamber 23 on a ledge 26 surrounding lens aperture 16. Lens 17 in this embodiment has a planar front face 27 and a convex rear face 28. It should be understood that front face 27 could be convex or concave in keeping with desired light emission characteristics from the display. Lens 17 has a bore 29 formed through convex rear face 28 which is configured to accept a miniature incandescent lamp 31. A pair of conducting leads 32 extend from miniature lamp 31 which are connected to opposite ends of the incandescent light emitting filament therein. It should be understood that other light sources, such as light emitting diodes, could be substituted for miniature incandescent lamp 31. Convex rear face 28 on lens 17 may have a reflective coating 33 thereon so that light entering lens 17 from miniature incandescent lamp 31 will substantially all be reflected through planar front face 27 on lens 17.

Rear case section 13 has a switch aperture 34 therein which communicates with battery chamber 22 and in which is mounted a switch member 36. In this embodiment switch member 36 takes the form of a disc having a bead 37 around the circumference thereof which is formed to fit in a matching groove 38 extending around the periphery of switch aperture 34. Switch member 36 also has a switch post 39 attached thereto extending into battery chamber 22. It may be seen that switch member 36 is disposed in switch aperture 34 for rotary motion therein as bead 37 passes in sliding fashion through matching groove 38. Switch member 36 is removable from switch aperture 34 by inserting a lever (not shown) between a ramp 41 and the periphery of switch member 36 and exerting a prying motion on the lever to snap bead 37 out of matching groove 38. In this fashion battery chamber 22 is made accessible from the exterior of outer case 11. A well known miniature battery 42 such as the nickel cadmium type for example, is shown positioned in battery chamber 22.

Turning now to FIG. 3, rear case section 13 is removed showing lens 17 in lens chamber 23 and battery 42 in battery chamber 22. A first spring terminal 43, shaped as shown and mounted between a plurality of posts 44 extends into battery chamber 22. First spring terminal 43 is shown contacting the periphery of battery 42, which is one of the electrical terminals thereon. A second spring terminal 46 is shown extending into battery chamber 22 and fixed in position by having a portion thereof entering a slot 47 in a terminal post 48 formed on the interior of front case section 12. Second spring terminal 46 is shown contacting one end of battery 42 which is the opposing electrical terminal thereon. Electrical leads 32 are shown, one each being in electrical contact with one of the first and second spring terminals 43 and 46. An opening 49 is shown in battery chamber 22 through which first spring terminal extends to contact the periphery of battery 42.

It is envisioned that case 11 may contain a flasher circuit 50 which could be positioned electrically as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3. The circuit 50 may be any of several known configurations, one of which is ssen in FIG. 6. When contact 43 is in the closed position, transistors Q1 and Q2 operate at the resonant mode for the series combination of R1 and C1 to provide an oscillatory current through lamp 31. A flashing display is thus provided from lens 17.

A pair of case locating posts 51 are shown formed on the inner surface of front case section 12 and a pair of lens locating posts 52 are shown also formed thereon. Lens 17 has side tabs 53 extending from the edge thereof. Tabs 53 have holes 54 fromed therethrough on substantially the same spacing as lens locating posts 52. Lens 17 is fixed in position in lens aperture 16 by pressing tabs 53 over lens locating posts 52 allowing them to pass through holes 54 until planar front face 27 seats on ledge 26. Lens 17 may thereafter be retained on lens locating posts 52 by frictional engagement therewith or by placing some epoxy or other suitable cement around lens locating posts 52 and the surface of tabs 53. Miniature incandescent lamp 31 may also be held in position in bore 29 by the stiffness of conductive leads 32 or by placing some epoxy or other suitable cement about the miniature incandescent lamp 31 after it is inserted into bore 29.

With reference to FIG. 4, switch member 36 is shown having a raised center portion 56 thereon for grasping by the fingertips to impart rotational movement thereto. An indicator dot 57 is aligned with switch post 39. With switch post 39 in the position shown in FIG. 2 and as indicated in FIG. 4, first spring terminal 43 will be urged away from the periphery of battery 42 and will rest in a notch 58 in switch post 39. Thus, the circuit from battery source 42 through the incandescent element in miniature incandescent lamp 31 is broken. When raised portion 56 is manually engaged and rotated to a point where indicator dot 57 is opposite the "on" position as indicated in FIG. 4, switch post 39 assumes the position shown in FIG. 3 and first spring terminal 43 passes through opening 49 in battery chamber 22 as urged by the spring force therein, to contact one electrical terminal at the periphery of battery 42. It may thus be seen that it is only necessary for switch member 36 to pass through the angle between the on and off positions seen in FIG. 4 to effect manual control of light emission from miniature incandescent lamp 31.

FIG. 5 shows the interior of rear case section 13 together with stops 59 located to limit the rotational movement of switch member 36 to that required for switch post 39 to rotate between the on and off positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 2 respectively. Thus, switch post 39 is rotated between the off position, where it urges spring terminal 43 away from contact with the terminal on battery 42, and the on position, where it assumes an out-of-the-way position allowing first spring terminal 43 to come into contact with one terminal of battery 42. The switch 36 is held in the off position by a V portion on first spring terminal 43 which enters notch 58 on switch post 39. Switch 36 is held in the on position by means of the spring force urging first spring terminal 43 into contact with one terminal of battery 42, which force is sufficiently large to prevent switch post 39 from slipping between first spring terminal 43 and the battery terminal. FIG. 5 also shows a pair of case locating lands 61 on the inner surface of rear case section 13 having locating bores 62 therein for receiving case locating posts 51 on front case section 12. In this fashion front and rear case sections 12 and 13 respectively are located in angular orientation.

A colored or metallic coating may be applied to the outer surface of outer case 11 to further enhance the pleasing appearance of the lighted ornamental article. Decals or sets of decals of different decorative design, or decals carrying written inscriptions are envisioned as being available for application to front face 27 of lens 17 in place of the star 18 which is shown. A lighted ornamental article has been disclosed which will emit either steady or flashing light and which is appropriate for pinning on a wearer's apparel or for wearing as a pendant around the neck or wrist, etc. The necessity for carrying remotely located power suuplies or external conductive members extending between light producing elements and the remotely located power supplies is removed. Moreover, an illuminated ornamental article is disclosed which may be manually controlled to emit light or to simply serve as a non-lighted piece of jewelry at the wearer's option.