The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 18, 2000
Filed:
Jan. 20, 1998
William J Rintz, Delray Beach, FL (US);
Other;
Abstract
A light switch cover is disclosed for use with conventional 'rocker' and 'toggle' type switches. The cover generally includes a mounting bracket which is attached to the electrical box, along with the switch and a face plate which is attached to the mounting bracket. For 'rocker' type switches, the face plate is preferably constructed from a soft material to allow the user to operate the covered 'rocker' switch, but can be made of a combination of hard and soft materials. For 'toggle' type switches an aperture is provided in the face plate to operate the toggle. Preferably, the outer surface of the face plate is provided with a decorated design or other indicia. The light switch can also be utilized where more than one switch is provided. For multiple 'rocker' switches, a diverter bar is provided on the mounting bracket, to absorb pressure being asserted on one 'rocker' switch from also transferring to an adjacent 'rocker' switch and inadvertently turning 'off' or 'on' the adjacent 'rocker' switch. An electroluminescent lighting sheet can also be provided between the face plate and mounting bracket to highlight and enhance the decorative features of the present invention light switch cover. A battery back-up and power loss sensing circuit can be included that illuminates the lighting sheet whenever power to the light switch is lost. Upon loss of power, the lighting sheet can be illuminated steadily or can blink at a preselected frequency. An on/off switch can be provided to manually turn the illuminated light switch cover off. The invention can be utilized with pressure sensitive dome-type switches.