Jlj, Inc.

St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants, Inc.

Ncr Corporation

Other

Jay Cavender, Inc.

Stay Lit International, Inc.

John Louis Janning

John E Minardi

Robert L Clark

Eugene A Janning, Jr

Gale W Miller

An artificial Christmas tree with substantially unfiltered, full wave rectified pulsating DC voltage supplied to a plurality of female outlets disposed on the outside of the trunk of the tree. Alternatively, a power distribution strip, mountable on the tree, provides the full wave rectified pulsating DC power. The female outlets of the pre-wired tree or the power distribution strip receive the male plugs of 'naked' LED light strings, which do not have female end connector plugs or power conversion circuitry. The LED light strings have only two wires and are powered by the full wave rectified and substantially unfiltered pulsating DC voltage. Dimming circuitry may be provided to dim the light output of the LED light strings.

Christmas tree with DC outlets for powering LED light strings

A series-wired LED light string formed of a plurality of LEDs connected in series with a current limiting resistor. A resistive component is electrically connected across each LED and serves as a shunt to electrically bypass a failed LED to keep the remaining LEDs in the light string fully illuminated. The LED light string has only two wires and is powered by a full wave rectified voltage, generated external to the light string.

Low cost LED light string for pre-lit christmas trees

A split bridge circuit for rectifying the alternating current house supply into direct current (D.C.), using hi-polar transistor as rectifying devices. Using specified terminals of the bi-polar transistors results in a high forward voltage drop across the transistors (particularly as compared to the voltage drop across diode rectifiers in the prior art circuits), which reduces ripple significantly and lessens, or even eliminates, the need for a series limiting resistor in the circuit.

Full wave low flicker LED light string

A dual color series-wired LED light string formed of a plurality of sockets, each of which receives an LED housing containing a pair of LEDs connected in anti-parallel configuration. Each LED socket includes a protective resistive component which is electrically connected across each pair of anti-parallel LEDs of the respective LED housing to protect each LED of the pair from reverse voltage breakdown damage in the event of a failure of the other LED in the housing. The protective resistive component also further serves as a shunt to electrically bypass a failed LED to keep the remaining LEDs in the light string fully illuminated.

Resistive protection to prevent reverse voltage breakdown in anti-parallel wired LEDs

A string set of series-connected incandescent bulbs in which the bulbs are individually provided with a voltage responsive shunt which is inoperative during normal operation of the string set when connected to a source of operating potential and which becomes operative only in response to an increase in the voltage thereacross which exceeds its rating, and in which the remaining bulbs of the circuit continue to receive rated current therethrough and rated voltage thereacross and further continue to be illuminated even though other bulbs in the string are either inoperative or are missing from their respective sockets. The string includes a split bridge AC to DC converter which provides pulsating DC current to the shunted, series-connected incandescent bulbs.

DC operated Christmas light string

An LED with an internal bypass transistor, particularly suited for use in a series wired LED string to keep the string lit in the event of a failure of an LED. In one embodiment, the collector and/or base of the bypass transistor is used as one terminal of the shunt and the emitter is used as the opposite terminal. The preferred embodiment is to use the collector and emitter terminals only with the base terminal open.

LED with internal bypass transistor

A split bridge circuit for rectifying the alternating current house supply into direct current (D.C.), using bi-polar transistor as rectifying devices. Using specified terminals of the bi-polar transistors results in a high forward voltage drop across the transistors (particularly as compared to the voltage drop across diode rectifiers in the prior art circuits), which reduces ripple significantly and lessens, or even eliminates, the need for a series limiting resistor in the circuit.

An input power circuit for a battery-powered device, such as a toy or consumer electronic device, includes a polarity correction circuit portion. The device includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal, a first output terminal and a second output terminal, and a diode with a forward voltage drop of about 0.5 volts or less. In embodiments, the polarity correction circuit portion is configured to provide a positive voltage polarity at the first output terminal and a negative voltage polarity at the second output terminal for any polarity of power at the first input terminal and the second input terminal. The polarity correction circuit portion can include a diode bridge, and the diode may include a Schottky diode or a germanium diode.

Battery polarity control system

A shunt for bypassing LEDs in a series wired light string to keep the light string lit in the event of a failure of an LED. In one embodiment, the bypass shunt is a rectifier diode with a very high forward voltage drop (V). Another embodiment uses a transistor bypass device, where the collector and/or base is used as one terminal of the shunt device and the emitter is used as the opposite terminal. The preferred embodiment is to use the collector and emitter terminals only with the base terminal open.

Transistor bypass shunts for LED light strings

A series connected LED light string using capacitors as shunts. The shunts are implemented by inserting a capacitor&#x2014;for example a low breakdown voltage chip capacitor&#x2014;in every light socket, or internally within each LED. The capacitive shunt continues current in the light string in the event an LED fails by opening electrically&#x2014;the capacitor shorts out, thus, keeping the string of lights illuminated. The shunt capacitor across the LED also helps filter the pulsating DC voltage to the bulbs and reduces annoying flicker.

Capacitor shunted LED light string

A string set of series-connected incandescent bulbs in which substantially all of the bulb filaments in the set are individually provided with a shunt in their respective socket. If flasher bulbs are used in the string, they will twinkle off and on when the operating potential is applied. The flasher bulbs are provided with internal shunts to prevent all of the bulbs of the string from flashing on and off in the event of a failure of the shunt in the socket of the flasher bulb.

Flasher bulbs with shunt wiring for use in series connected light string with filament shunting in bulb sockets

Dual-sided direct thermal printing of a thermal imaging element having thermally sensitive coatings on opposite sides of a substrate is described, where the thermal imaging element is provided along a feed path of a thermal printer having print heads disposed on opposite sides of the feed path. Printing on both sides of the thermal imaging element is achieved by applying variable energy heat pulses from the opposed print heads.

Two-sided thermal printing

An optical switching device contains an active stage coupled to a passive stage. The index of refraction in the active stage is variable to change the entry direction of a light beam into the passive stage, which has a fixed index of refraction. Because the light beam can enter the passive stage at different angles, the exit direction of the light beam from the passive stage can be changed. The resulting optical switch allows switching without any mechanical components.

Multi-stage optical switching device

A series-connected string of light bulbs, operating on AC voltage, each having connected thereacross a voltage regulating shunting circuit which regulates the voltage across an empty or otherwise inoperative socket so as to maintain unidirectional current across each of the remaining sockets in the string during one-half of an AC cycle, thereby insuring continuous but dimmed illumination of the light string. The voltage regulating shunting circuit of the present invention is a silicon rectifier diode connected in series with a voltage regulating diode. The voltage regulating diode may be an array of silicon diodes or a Zener diode. The voltage regulating shunting circuit can be mass produced by using conventional manufacturing techniques.

Growing community of inventors

Dayton, OH, United States of America

John Louis Janning