Display sticker with integral flasher circuit and power source

[0002] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/789,249, filed Jan. 28, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,346, issued Jan. 11, 2000.

[0003] This invention relates generally to display devices, and particularly to lightweight display devices designed to be removably affixed to various fabric articles such as articles of clothing.

[0004] Many types of displays are known and extensively used, including promotional, ornamental, informational, inspirational and warning displays, among others. Stickers are a well known type of lightweight display device that can be readily adhered to a supporting surface for static display of printed text and/or graphics. However, there has not heretofore been a self-contained sticker with an electronically controlled dynamic display, that is, a display with changing characteristics such as light or sound effects that attract the attention of a desired observer.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,602 to Meyerowitsch discloses a sticker for an alarm system having an LED that flashes under control of an integrated circuit included as part of the sticker along with the LED. However, the sticker requires an external power source, and is provided with electrical wires for that purpose that are longer than the sticker itself. U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,140 to Tuttle discloses a postage stamp or mailing label having an integrated circuit transceiver and an associated battery cell mounted therein. Tuttle mentions, but does not describe, LEDs or laser diodes for the propagation of light signals to an interrogator. However, no such propagation occurs without a separate interrogation unit. Moreover, there is no indication that the electro-optical coupling technique suggested by Tuttle would or should be capable of generating humanly perceptible light or flashing action.

[0006] Lighted displays have been proposed for various articles of clothing as a way to enhance aesthetic appeal, which is a fundamental goal of fashion design. Examples of such displays are found in the following patents:

[0007] However, such displays are designed either to be permanently affixed to an article of clothing, or to have different parts of the display located in different places in the article of clothing, or both. Typically, there is a requirement for holes in the fabric or other modification of the clothing itself. For example, in the devices disclosed in the above-referenced patents to Miller, Davidson and Shenker, holes are provided to allow LEDs to protrude through the fabric, and a control circuit, battery, and electrical wiring are located within a pocket or other portion of the garment. Miller teaches the use of a heat-sensitive adhesive for permanently connecting a flexible printed circuit sheet to a garment, and VELCRO* or snaps for temporary connection thereof. Ferber discloses the use of VELCRO* for connection of a battery and control circuit to a set of LEDs which are removably connected to electrically conductive lines printed, screened, painted or coated on or molded into a garment.

[0008] Bennion discloses a lighted display with LEDs mounted on a flexible circuit board that is permanently affixed to the surface of a shirt by means of a temperature-sensitive adhesive. A battery pack for the circuit board is carried in a pocket of the shirt and electrically connected to the circuit board by electrical wiring and a snap-terminal arrangement with prongs that puncture the shirt material. Branom discloses an LED flasher circuit on an overlay or patch secured to the back of a jacket or exercise vest by adhesive or sewing or the like, with a battery removably disposed in a pocket of the garment.

[0009] Readily removable, adhesively affixed name tags suitable for use on clothing are widely available, but such tags have heretofore been available only with static displays. There remains a need for a simple, inexpensive, self-contained sticker with an electronically controlled, dynamic display capable of being readily affixed to and readily removed from an article of clothing or other fabric article, and having minimal weight, thickness, and stiffness.

[0010] The present invention meets these needs and offers other advantages with a display sticker with an integral flasher and power source adapted to be adhesively affixed to but readily removed from an article of clothing or other fabric article. A thin flexible sheet has a pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to its back surface, on which is mounted a printed circuit board having integrally mounted thereon an LED, a control circuit to energize the LED to flash at a humanly perceptible rate to attract attention to indicia printed on the front surface of the sticker, and a battery. The LED is visible through a portion of the flexible sheet. The adhesive has a tacky surface enabling the sticker to be readily affixed to fabric and yet readily removed therefrom, i.e., without substantial force and without damage to the fabric such as by removing portions thereof or leaving adhesive residue thereon.

[0011] Integral mounting of an LED or other component having electrical leads is considered to include mounting of the component by its leads, with the body of the component located off the circuit board, as well as direct mounting of the component body on the board.

[0012] It is an object of the present invention to provide enhanced eye-catching or otherwise attention-getting characteristics beyond those attainable with conventional printed stickers.

[0013] Another object is to provide a self-contained display sticker that may be attached to a garment without causing noticeable sag in the garment or producing a noticeable bulge on the surface of the garment or sticker.

[0014] A further object is to provide a compact flasher circuit and power source on a sticker.

[0015] Yet another object is to attract greater attention to a sticker with a minimum of additional parts, weight and thickness.

[0016] Still another object is to maintain design and manufacturing simplicity, low cost, and ease and comfort of use while providing a sticker with dynamic display capabilities.

[0017] These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0018] FIG. 1 is an exploded rear view of the preferred embodiment of a display sticker according to the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control circuit and an alternate LED arrangement for the display sticker of FIG. 1.

[0020] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an exploded rear view of a display sticker 10 according to the present invention. A thin flexible sheet 12 has a printed circuit board 14 adhesively affixed to its back surface 16 by a layer of adhesive 18 which preferably covers the entire back surface of the flexible sheet. The front surface of the sticker may have printed thereon a product or company name, slogan or design, or other advertising indicia or indicia of other types.

[0022] The sticker is preferably provided with a peel-off backing 20 which covers the portion of adhesive layer 18 around the area occupied by the circuit board. A second peel-off backing 22 may be provided to cover the circuit board area before the circuit board is affixed to the sticker, if desired. The sticker preferably includes a pre-punched hole 24 through the flexible sheet 12 for an LED 26. The front surface of the circuit board is flat and free of components except for an LED and is affixed to the back surface of sheet 12 in the area exposed after removal of backing 22. LED 26 protrudes through hole 24 when the circuit board is affixed to sheet 12.

[0023] A suitable material for flexible sheet 12 is 60# white high gloss paper, and a 40# release liner is suitable for backing sheets 20 and 22. Such materials are commercially available from Brown-Bridge Industries of Troy, Ohio. Brown-Bridge B-82 rubber-based, pressure-sensitive adhesive is suitable for adhesive layer 18.

[0024] The printed circuit board may have a diameter of approximately 1″, and a maximum height of approximately ⅛″ which is defined by the height of a battery or batteries 28. In an alternative embodiment having a lithium battery described later, the circuit board has a diameter of approximately 1.5″ and a maximum height of approximately {fraction (3/16)}″. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the entire circuit board is small in relation to the height and width of sheet 12, and is positioned near the center thereof so as to be spaced apart from the periphery thereof. So constructed, the display sticker may be placed on an exposed surface of a shirt, sweater, dress, jacket or other fabric article without producing a noticeable bulge in the fabric surface or the surface of flexible sheet 12. The circuit board is also sufficiently lightweight as to avoid causing any noticeable sag in the surface of a garment to which it is attached.

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 2, the control circuit may have one LED as depicted on printed circuit board 14 in FIG. 1, or may have multiple LEDs driven by an LED decoder which is suitably included in a signal generator IC 46 along with a clock, a binary counter and a device control and power management circuit interconnected as shown in the drawing. A pushbutton membrane switch 44 is provided on the printed circuit board adjacent to the IC to trigger the IC into an active state in which it energizes the LED to flash at a predetermined humanly perceptible rate. The circuit is preferably designed to operate at a flashing rate of about 100 msec. or more between flashes. Preferably the LED is a high-brightness LED, whereby a flash duration of approximately 3 msec. or less is sufficient to generate enough light to attract attention from a reasonable distance.

[0026] IC 46 is preferably a monolithic CMOS integrated circuit with an on-chip capacitor in the clock circuit, and is fabricated according to well known techniques. The device control circuit provides a battery-saving sleep state for the IC. The device control circuit is continually supplied with power via the VDD input connected to the battery, but it controllably supplies power to the other circuit blocks, which, like the device control circuit, incorporate CMOS technology. Consequently, the device control circuit enables the IC to draw 1 μA or less of battery current when the IC is in its dormant or sleep state, during which the supply of power to the clock, counter and decoder is switched off by the device control circuit.

[0027] The device control circuit is suitably a flip-flop which is set in response to a first closure of the membrane switch, whereupon the device control circuit goes into the active state and supplies battery power to all of the circuit blocks of the IC. The clock then begins oscillation at a frequency determined by the RC time constant of the external resistor 48 and the internal on-chip capacitor. This clock frequency then drives the binary counter which, in turn, drives the LED decoder. The decoder converts binary data from the counter into an LED firing signal at a preset duty cycle. If LEDs are connected to more than one output of the decoder, the decoder converts binary data from the counter into a sequential firing of the LED outputs at the same duty cycle. The device control flip-flop is reset in response to a second closure of the membrane switch and thereby switches the IC back into the sleep state. IC 46 is preferably supplied in die form and wire bonded onto the circuit board.

[0028] The circuit board as shown in FIG. 1 has a pair of 1.5V alkaline manganese dioxide button cell batteries mounted thereon in series so as to provide a 3V DC source. Each battery, and thus the series connection of the two cells, preferably has a capacity of 20-50 mA-hr. Alternatively, a 3V lithium manganese dioxide coin cell with 200 mA-hr capacity may be used. The capacity of the power source may be less than 20 mA-hr although it is preferably at least 20 mA-hr. For example, commercially available button cells having a nominal capacity of 19 mA-hr and 13-14 mA-hr, the latter corresponding to Type AG1, are contemplated as useful in certain desired applications.

[0029] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected. For example, if added flexibility is desired, the circuitry may be mounted on a flexible printed circuit board instead of a rigid circuit board. Also, a sound source may be employed as an indicator in place of an LED or other light source. A metal dome switch may be used instead of a membrane switch. In addition, flexible sheet 12 may be made of vinyl, Tyvek®, or other materials suitable for stickers, and is preferably paper-thin, e.g., 0.002-0.006″ in thickness. The paper substrate of the preferred embodiment is 0.004″ thick. Thicknesses of up to 0.020″ or so are also contemplated for certain applications. The material may be clear and in such cases may have printed indicia on the same surface as the printed circuit board instead of the opposite surface as described above.