Sign lighting system
OwnerChristopher Lyons, John Englishinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A real estate sign post having a crossbar on which a modular lighting unit is secured by two theft-resistant screws having non-circular holes in their heads and shielded by upstanding walls on mounting brackets. The lighting unit is enclosed in a box-like housing with a solar panel in the top side, slot-like lamp openings at opposite ends of the bottom side, and elongated arrays of LED's mounted in concave reflectors for directing light toward opposite sides of a real estate sign. Battery packs enclosed in shrink wrap and a controller are enclosed in the housing. An alternative embodiment mounts fluorescent bulbs in reflectors that are supported on opposite sides of a base unit by elongated arms.
Claims23
In combination with a real estate sign post having a generally horizontal crossbar composed of wood, and a sign depending from the crossbar and containing real estate information, an outdoor lighting system, comprising:
- a box-like housing having generally rectangular top and bottom sides and narrow side edges, said housing being disposed on said crossbar and having opposite end portions spaced laterally from the crossbar, an opening in said top side, and elongated slot-like openings in the underside of said opposite end portions extending across said end portions;
- two elongated lighting assemblies disposed in said housing above said slot-like openings and each comprising an elongated reflector and a plurality of LEDs arranged in a row along the reflector to produce light, said reflector being concave in cross-section and positioned to focus the light from the LEDS on the sign;
- at least one battery pack in said housing containing at least one rechargeable battery for providing electrical energy to said LEDs;
- a solar generator having a flat panel of solar cells disposed in said opening in said top side for exposure to sunlight during daylight hours to charge the battery pack;
- a controller in said housing for controlling the charging of the battery pack during daylight hours and providing energy to the LEDs during darkness;
- and at least one theft-resistant fastener securing said housing to the crossbar and discouraging unauthorized removal of the lighting system from the post;
- whereby the real estate sign is lighted by the lighting system during darkness and is recharged during daylight hours.
An outdoor lighting system for a sign hanging below a generally horizontal crossbar, comprising:
- a box-like housing to be disposed on the crossbar and having a top surface formed with an opening;
- a solar generator having a solar panel mounted in said opening;
- two lighting assemblies supported by said housing to lie on opposite sides of said crossbar and illuminate opposite sides of the sign;
- a battery pack in said housing containing at least one rechargeable battery and connected to said generator to be charged thereby;
- a controller for connecting the battery pack to the lighting assemblies to provide energy after dark and to the generator to recharge the battery pack during the daylight hours;
- and at least one fastener for securing the housing to the crossbar.
An outdoor lighting system comprising:
- a box-like housing having one side having an opening, a second side having at least one slot-like opening, and at least one inner compartment;
- a solar generator having a solar panel disposed in said opening in said one side to be exposed to the sun during daylight hours;
- a lamp assembly mounted in said housing within said slot-like opening;
- and at least one battery pack disposed on said compartment to be charged by the solar generator during daylight hours and to provide energy to said lamp assembly after dark.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.