MARKING PLATE DEVICE

DISPOSITIF-PLAN DE MARQUAGE

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
A marking plate device is intended to receive at optionally
selected positions light emitting marking means (6) at optionally selected
positions provided with two electrodes to be stuck into a plate (1), said
device further comprising at least two electrically conducting layers (3, 5)
which are isolated from and parallel to each other, and means (9, 12),
preferably an isolating layer, being provided to break the electrical
connection between the conducting layer (3) adjacent said marking means
and the electrode which is to be conductively engaged with a following
conducting layer (5) at the point where this electrode extends through the
layer (3) adjacent said diode. Each marking means comprises a light
emitting diode (6) which when applied on said plate (1) emits light by
conductively engaging each electrode (7, 8; 10, 11) with the corresponding
conducting layer (3, 5)

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
A marking plate device intended to receive at optionally
selected positions, light emitting marking means (6), provided with two
electrodes to be stuck into a plate (1), said device further comprising at
least two electrically conducting layers (3, 5) which are isolated from and
parallel to each other, and means (9, 12), preferably an isolating layer,
being provided to break the electrical connection between the conducting
layer (3) adjacent said marking means and the electrode which is to be
conductively engaged with a following conducting layer (5) at the point
where this electrode extends through the layer (3) adjacent said marking
means, characterized in that said marking means each comprises a light
emitting diode (6) which when applied on said plate (1) emits light by
conductively engaging each electrode (7, 8; 10, 11) with the corresponding
conducting layer, and that the marking plate device comprises a plurality
of light emitting diodes, each diode conductively engaging each electrode
with the corresponding conducting layer, the diodes being electrically
connected in parallel.

Description

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Marking plate device
The present invention is related to a marking plate device
intended to receive at optionally selected positions light emitting marking
rneans at optionally selected positions provided with two electrodes to be
sLuck into a plate, said device further comprisiny at least two electrically
conducting layers which are isolated from and parallel to each other, and
means, preferably an isolating layer, being provided to break the electrical
connection between the conducting layer adjacent said marking means and
the electrode which is to be conductively engaged with a following
conducting layer at the point where this electrode extends through the
layer adjacent said diode.
When connecting electric conductors consisting of several
electric lines to aach other isolating layers of plastics is removed from the
ends of said lines, and, then, those ends are clamped or screwed into a
coupling box or the like to provide conducting connection between said
lines. This method is time consuming, and the coupling box often comprises
many parts which decrease the total reliability of the unit.
US-PS 697,856 is related to a device comprising a lamp each
pole of which being connected to a conducting layer. This complicated
device is intended to be used as a light source for lightning purposes and is
further not usable today as it is applicable on a heavy current curcuit. The
device must have been found unusable, e.g. from a security point of view,
not long after the patent was granted in 1902. 1 ience, it cannot constitute
an encitement for the appliance of the device according to the invention.
In US-PS 11,970, also granted in 1902, a previously known
device is described, by means of which conducting connections to overlying
conducting layers are provided. This device has two pins one of which being
provided with isolating material over the area siLuated on the same level as
a conducting layer, by means of which no conducting connection should be
obtained. This device is neither intended to be used on a marking plate.
When marking on maps or the like, needles with heads of
different colours are often used to designate different places, e.g. manu-
facturing or selling places. ~laps exist in which such needles have been
replaced by coloured lamps which are firmly secured in said maps. On the
other hand, iL is noL previously known to push marking means optionally
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onto a map or another similar plane disc5 thereby providing that the
marking means emit light.
An object of the present invention is to provide a marking plate
device, by means of which it is possible to obtain a marking emitting light
in a quick and efficience way anywhere over said marking plate by pushing
said rnarking means into said plate.
This object is achieved by the fact that said marking means
each comprises a light emitting diode which when applied on said plate
emits light by conductively engaging each electrode with the corresponding
conducting layer.
Preferred embodiments of the invention have been given the
characteristics of the subclaims.
By using light emitting diodes, which is to be regarded as
completely novel within this field, substantially the same light intensity is
obtained over the whole map with the same voltage, since the light
emitting diodes are so constructed, that when the striking voltage is
achieved, ths light emitting diode emits lights with approximately constant
intensity no matter how the voltage is varying.
The invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawing which shows preferred embodiments.
Fig. 1 shows in cross-section a first embodiment of a marking
plate device according to the invention.
Fig. 2 shows in cross-section a second embodiment of a marking
plate device according to the invention.
Fig. 3 shows a cross-section along the lines III-III in Fig. 2.
In Fig. 1 a marking plate device 1 according to the invention is
shown comprising an upper layer 2, which e.g. consists of a map, an upper,
electrically conducting layer 3, an intermediate situated, isolating layer 4,
and a lower, electrically conducting layer 5. A light emitting diode 6 is so
placed on said plate 1, that the light emitting body thereof emits light. The
light emitting diode 6 has two electrodes 7 and 8, one electrode 7 of which
has an isolated part 9, and the other electrode 8 is shorter than the partly
isolated electrode 7 and slightly longer than the isolated part 9. Each
conducting layer 3 and 5 has been connected to a pole of an electric
source, permitting each electrode, when the lighL emitting diode 5 is
placed upon said plate so that the electrodes 7 and 8 are stuck into the
same, to conductively engage with the corresponding layer of said plate so
that the light emitting diode 6 is turned on and emits light.

The overlying electrically conducting layers 3 and 5 consist of
e.g. tin foil close-meshed nets or other electrically conducting materials.
In Figs. 2 and 3 a second embodiment of a marking plate device
according to the invention is shown in which similar parts hav0 been
designated with the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1. As can be seen in
Fig. 2 the device according to this embodiment comprises two coaxially
arranged electrodes 10 and 11 which each conductively engages the
corresponding electrically conducting layer 3 and 5 respectively.
Fig. 3 shows that an isolating part or layer 12 is provided
between the electrodes 10 and 11. Concerning the function of this
embodiment reference is made to the function of the embodiment accord-
ing to Fig. 1.
In a further embodiment (not shown) the electrodes of the light
emitting diodes consist of plates which at the bottom are provided with an
edge or the like and which are arranged side by side with intermediate
isolating material.
In a further development of the invention it appears that a
possible solution is to manufacture a socket with electrodes said socket
being provided with a layer of isolating material on the electrode which is
to be conductively engaged with the conducting layer adjacent said socketO
This socket is also provided with recesses to receive and anchor the
electrode of a light emitting diode.
The device according to the invention is thus used preferably to
mark places on a map so that simultaneously the marking means emits
light. This has as has been described above been possible to perform in a
restricted extent among other things on such maps which have firmly
secured lamps but it has not been possible before to optionally place a
great number of light emitting marking means on a map.
It is obvious that the breaking off of the electrical connection
between an electrode and said adjacent layer is not restricted to be
accomplished by providing the electrods with an isolating layer. This can
be accomplished in other ways e.g. by means of separating fingers.
The invention can be modified further within the scope of th0
accompanying claim.

Representative Drawing