Durel Corporation

Durel Croporation

Edward L Kinnally

Charles I Zovko

Walter J Paciorek

Ralph M McGuigan

Robert J Krafcik

William A Coghlan

James H Butt

Christopher C Shol

Van H Potter

An EL lamp is powered by bursts of high frequency signal repeated at low frequency, i.e. having a low duty cycle envelope, in order to shift the color of light emitted by the phosphor in the lamp without degrading the life of the lamp. The bursts include one or more consecutive cycles of a high frequency signal or several closely spaced cycles of a high frequency signal.

Controlling color shift in EL phosphors

An EL lamp includes hole for receiving fitting attached to a printed circuit board. The fitting has a base, a head, and a neck connecting the head to the base. The diameter of the head is slightly larger than the diameter of the hole and the head fits though the hole by temporarily stretching the lamp. The lamp includes a substrate, a front electrode, a phosphor layer, and a rear electrode. The rear electrode faces the base. Contact to the front electrode is made through a first aperture in the rear electrode and in the phosphor layer. A second aperture, through the front electrode and the phosphor layer, exposes a portion of the substrate that is covered by the rear electrode. The apertures are aligned with two of the holes in the lamp.

Electrical, solderless snap connector for EL lamp

An EL panel includes lamp materials laminated to a conductive sheet, wherein the lamp materials include a front electrode, a phosphor layer, and a dielectric layer. The conductive sheet is the rear electrode for the EL panel. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the conductive sheet is metal foil, a layer of a printed circuit board, or a layer on a flex circuit. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the phosphor layer and the dielectric layer are applied to the front electrode by screen printing or by roll coating.

EL panel laminated to rear electrode

A movable pointer includes an elongated, translucent substrate having an EL lamp covering one side of the substrate. The pointer emits light from an adjoining, narrower, front side which is roughened slightly. The ends of the substrate are capped or coated to prevent light emission. A second EL lamp can be attached to a second side of the substrate. The width of the EL lamp can be tapered to provide a pointer which is brighter at one end than at the other. Electrical connection to the EL lamp is made with a compliant ribbon having conductive stripes on one or both sides thereof. The ribbon is mechanically and electrically attached to contacts on the EL lamp.

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Gilbert, AZ, United States of America

Edward L Kinnally