GB2560906A

GB2560906A - Electrical contact assembly to supply electrical power to electroluminescent displays

Info

Publication number: GB2560906A
Application number: GB1704810.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ali Moazzam
Original assignee: Saralon GmbH
Current assignee: Saralon GmbH
Priority date: 2017-03-27
Filing date: 2017-03-27
Publication date: 2018-10-03
Also published as: GB201704810D0

Abstract

An electrical contact assembly 200 for an electroluminescent display comprises a first slot 230 in a housing 220. A first portion 241 of a flexible substrate 240 lies in the first slot. An object 210 with an electroluminescent display 212 on a surface thereof is inserted into the first slot. At least one conducting terminal 213 is also provided on a surface of the object and electrically connected to the electroluminescent display by conducting traces 214. At least one conducting layer 251, provided on the first portion of the flexible substrate touches the at least one conducting terminal. A power controlling unit 270 is provided on a second portion 242 of the flexible substrate. The second portion of the flexible substrate lies in a second slot 235 in the housing. A plurality of conducting traces 250 are provided on the flexible substrate to electrically connect the power controlling unit to the at least one conducting layer.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: Electrical contact assembly to supply electrical power to electroluminescent displays Abstract Title: Electrical contact assembly to supply electrical power to electroluminescent displays (57) An electrical contact assembly 200 for an electroluminescent display comprises a first slot 230 in a housing 220. A first portion 241 of a flexible substrate 240 lies in the first slot. An object 210 with an electroluminescent display 212 on a surface thereof is inserted into the first slot. At least one conducting terminal 213 is also provided on a surface of the object and electrically connected to the electroluminescent display by conducting traces 214. At least one conducting layer 251, provided on the first portion of the flexible substrate touches the at least one conducting terminal. A power controlling unit 270 is provided on a second portion 242 of the flexible substrate. The second portion of the flexible substrate lies in a second slot 235 in the housing. A plurality of conducting traces 250 are provided on the flexible substrate to electrically connect the power controlling unit to the at least one conducting layer.

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-1TITLE

Electrical contact assembly to supply electrical power to electroluminescent displays

CROSS-RELATION TO OTHER APPLICATIONS [0001] None

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present disclosure relates to an electrical contact assembly for supplying electrical power to electroluminescent displays provided on a surface of an object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Electroluminescent display is known for many decades. In an electroluminescent display a phosphor layer is sandwiched between two electrode layers, where at least one of the electrode layer is transparent. Supplying AC (alternating current) power to the electroluminescent display causes light emission from the phosphor layer. Typically, a high AC voltage (> 50 volt) is needed to switch on the electroluminescent display. Use of printing methods to produce the electroluminescent display is driving novel applications of the electroluminescent display. Now the electroluminescent display can be printed on any surface by the use of different printing methods e.g. screen printing, offset, gravure, inkjet, flexography etc. The electroluminescent display can directly be printed on a surface of an object or can be printed on a sheet and then the sheet can be applied on a surface of the object. In a non-limiting example, the object can be a package. In a non-limiting example, the object can be made of paper, plastic, glass, metal wood, ceramic etc. In order to switch on the electroluminescent display, a battery and an inverter circuit (DC-to-AC converter) is need. Fixing the battery and the inverter circuit on the surface of the object is a complicated process and also the aesthetic of the object can be destroyed as the battery and the inverter circuit are thick (> 2 mm). The battery and the inverter circuit also increase the total weight of the object. Different types of electrical contact assemblies have been reported in US patent no. 6124672 and in US application No. 11/266435. In order to make the electroluminescent display a common technology, a simple electrical contact assembly is needed that can power the electroluminescent display that is provided on a surface of an object. Removal and insertion of the object should also be an easy process. Safety of the user is also needed, as an AC power of more than 50 volts are used.

-1SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The present invention relates to an electrical contact assembly to supply electrical power to electroluminescent displays. The electroluminescent displays are provided on a surface of an object. The electrical power is supplied to the electroluminescent displays by at least one conducting terminal disposed on an outer surface of the object. The electrical contact assembly comprises a first slot, a second slot and a channel in a housing. The channel is connecting the first slot to the second slot. A portion of the object is inserted into the first slot along with the at least one conducting terminal. The first slot is defined by at least one wall and a bottom. A flexible substrate is also provided in the housing such that a first portion of the flexible substrate lies in the first slot, a second portion of the flexible substrate lies in the second slot and a third portion of the flexible substrate lies in the channel. The third portion is connecting the first portion and the second portion of the flexible substrate. The first portion of the flexible substrate is capable to bend to accommodate the object in the first slot when the object is inserted into the first slot. At least one conducting layer is provided on the first portion of the flexible substrate to touch the at least one conducting terminal. A power controlling unit is provided on a second portion of the flexible substrate. A plurality of conducting traces is provided on the flexible substrate to electrically connect the power controlling unit to the at least one conducting layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] FIG. 1A is an object with an electroluminescent display.

[0006] FIG. IB is an electrical contact assembly to supply electrical power to an electroluminescent display, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

[0007] FIG. 1C is an electrical contact assembly, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

[0008] FIG. 2A is a cross sectional view of an electrical contact assembly, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

[0009] FIG. 2B is a cross sectional view of an electrical contact assembly along with an object, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

-3[00010] FIG. 2C is a cross sectional view of an electrical contact assembly along with an object, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention.

[00011] FIG. 2D is a top view of the flexible substrate, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

[00012] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of an electrical contact assembly, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

DETAIFED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [00013] The invention will now be described in detail. Drawings and examples are provided for better illustration of the invention. It will be understood that the embodiments and aspects of the invention described herein are only examples and do not limit the protector’s scope of the claims in any way. The invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents. It will be understood that features of one aspect or embodiment of the invention can be combined with the feature of a different aspect or aspects and/or embodiments of the invention.

[00014] The present invention is about an electrical assembly system to supply AC electrical power to at least one electroluminescent display. Fig. 1A shows an object 110 with at least one electroluminescent display 112 and a plurality of conducting terminals 113. The object can be anything made of, but not limited to, plastic, paper, cardboard, corrugated paper, glass, ceramic, wood etc. In a non-limiting example, the object 110 is a package. In another non-limiting example, the object 110 is a decoration item e.g. glass vial, picture frame. The electroluminescent display 112 is provided on an inner or on an outer surface of the object 110. The electroluminescent display 112 is electrically connected to the conducting terminals 113 through conducting traces 114, provided on the object 110. In a non-limiting example, the electroluminescent display 112, the conducting terminals 113 and the conducting traces 114 are provided directly on the surface 111 of the object 110, by using a printing method. In another non-limiting example, the electroluminescent display 112, the conducting terminals 113 and the conducting traces 114 are first printed on a sheet of plastic or paper and then the sheet is fixed on the surface 111 of the object 112, like a label.

-4[00015] Fig. IB shows an electrical contact assembly 100 together with the object 110. The electrical contact assembly 100 supplies electrical power to the electroluminescent display 112. In the electrical contact assembly 100, the object 110 is inserted into a slot 130 of a housing 120. The housing 120 also comprises a power controlling circuit to supply electrical power to the electroluminescent displays 112 through the conducting terminals 113. Fig. 1C shows only the electrical contact assembly 100, which comprises a slot 130 in a housing 120, the slot 130 comprises at least one wall 133 and a bottom 134.

[00016] Fig. 2A shows a cross sectional view of the electrical contact assembly 200 along the plane XZ of the Fig. 1C. Fig. 2B shows a cross sectional view of the electrical contact assembly 200 together with an object 210. Electroluminescent display (or multiple displays) 212 are provided on the object 210. One or more conducting terminals 213 are provided on an outer surface 211 of the object 210. The conducting terminals 213 are connected to the electroluminescent displays 212 through conducting traces 214, provided on a surface of the object 210. The electrical contact assembly 200 comprises a housing 220. The housing 220 is mainly made of an electrically insulating material. In a non-limiting aspect, the housing material is plastic, paper, wood, ceramic, glass etc. A portion of the object 210 is inserted into a first slot 230 of the housing 220. The object 210 is inserted into the first slot 230 in such a way that some portion of the conducting terminals 213 are also inside the first slot 230. The first slot 230 is defined by at least one wall 233 and by a bottom 234. The perimeter of the first slot 230, defined by the at least one wall 233 is slightly larger than the perimeter of the portion of the object 210 that is inside the first slot 230, so that the object 210 can be easily inserted into and removed from the first slot 230.

[00017] The housing further comprises a flexible substrate 240. The flexible substrate is made of an insulating material. In a non-limiting aspect the flexible substrate is plastic e.g. PET, PP, PE, PEN etc. In another non-limiting aspect the flexible substrate is paper. The thickness of the flexible substrate is in the range of 75-500 micrometers. A first portion 241 of the flexible substrate 240 lies in the first slot 230. At least one conducting layer 251 is provided on a first surface 241a of the first portion 241 of the flexible substrate 240. The second surface 241b of the first portion 241 of the flexible substrate 240 is resting on the at least one wall 233. In a non-limiting example, an elastic material can be between the second surface 241b and the at least one wall 233. The purpose of the elastic material is to get compressed when the object 210

-5is inserted into the first slot 230. In a not-limiting aspect, the second surface 241b is fixed on the at least one wall 233 by an adhesive. The at least one conducting layer 251 is produced by printing a conducting ink on the flexible substrate 240. In a non-limiting aspect, the conducting ink used for the at least one conducting layer 251 is an epoxy based silver ink, that does not get scratch easily after curing. The at least one conducting layer 251 can touch the at least one conducting terminal 213 when the object is inserted into the first slot 230 and hence create electrical connection between the at least one conducting layer 251 and the at least one conducting terminal 213. The mechanical flexibility of the flexible substrate 240 is advantageous here because it can easily bend and hence allows easy insertion of the object 210 into the first slot 230. When the object 210 is inserted into the first slot 230, the first portion 241 of the flexible substrate 240 bends to accommodate the object 210 in the first slot 230. The housing 220 further comprises a second slot 235. The second slot 235 can be under the first slot 230 or can be on one side of the first slot 230. The first slot 230 is connected to the second slot 235 through a channel 231 in the housing. In a non-limiting aspect, the channel 231 is a hole on the bottom 234 of the first slot 230 which connect the two slots. In another non-limiting aspect the channel 231 can be a hole in the at least one wall 233 which connects the two slots. A second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240 lies in the second slot 235. The second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240 is connected to the first portion 241 of the flexible substrate 240 through a third portion 243 of the flexible substrate 240. The third portion of the flexible substrate 240 lies in the channel 231. A power controlling unit 270 is provided on a surface of the second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240. In a non-limiting aspect, the power controlling unit 270 is an DC-to-AC inverter. In another non-limiting aspect, the power controlling unit 270 is an AC-to-AC transformer. In a non-limiting aspect, the power controlling unit 270 comprises a plurality of electronic components 290 fixed on a surface of a printed circuit board 291. In a non-limiting aspect, the power controlling unit 270 can further comprises a battery holder 280 and at least one battery 281. Another surface of the printed circuit board 291 comprises at least one contact pad 293. A plurality of conducting traces 250 are provided on the flexible substrate 240 to electrically connect the power controlling unit 270 to the at least one conducting layer 251. The plurality of conducting traces 250 can be produced by printing a conducting ink on one or both the surfaces of the flexible substrate 240. The electrical contacts between the conducting traces of one side to the conducting traces of another side can be established by through holes in the flexible substrate 240. The printed circuit board 291 is fixed on a surface of the second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240 through conducting adhesive layers 294. The conducting adhesive layers 294 creates electrical contacts between the

-6conducting pad 293 and the conducting traces 250. The conducting adhesive layer 294 can an epoxy conducting glue or a hot melt conducting glue. In a non-limiting aspect of the invention, the plurality of electronic components 290 can be directly fixed on the second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240 on the conducting traces 250, as shown in Fig. 2C. In this scenario, there is no need of using a printed circuit board. The second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240 can be fixed on a surface of the second slot 235 by using an adhesive layer 295, so that the second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240 does not move or vibrate.

[00018] Fig. 2D shows a top view of the flexible substrate 240 without limiting the scope of the present invention. The flexible substrate 240 comprises a first portion 241, a second portion 242 and a third portion 243. Conducting layers 251 are provided on the first portion 241 of the flexible substrate 240. A power controlling unit 270 is provided on a second portion 242 of the flexible substrate 240. A plurality of conducting traces 250 are provided on the first portion 241, the second portion 242 and the third portion 243 to electrically connect the conducting layers 251 to the power controlling unit 270.

[00019] Fig. 3 shows another embodiment of an electrical contact assembly 300. Here a second slot 335 is on a side of a first slot 330 in a housing 320. A channel 331 is provided on a wall 333 of the first slot 330 to connect the first slot 330 to the second slot 335. At least one conducting layers 351 are provided on a first portion 341 of a flexible substrate 340. The first portion 341 of the flexible substrate 340 lies in the first slot 330. A second portion 342 and a third portion 343 of the flexible substrate 340 lie in the second slot 335 and in the channel 343, respectively. A plurality of conducting traces 350 are provided on one or on both the surfaces of the flexible substrate 340. A power controlling unit 370 is provided on a surface of the second portion 342 of the flexible substrate 240. The power controlling unit 370 is in electrical contact with the plurality of conducting traces 350. The plurality of conducting traces 350 are also connected to the at least one conducting layer 351.

-Ί -

Claims

1. An electrical contact assembly (200) to supply electrical power to an electroluminescent display (212) disposed on a surface (211) of an object (210), comprising: a housing (220);

a first slot (230) in the housing (220) for inserting a portion of the object (210) along with at least one conducting terminal (213), wherein the at least one conducting terminal (213) is disposed on an outer surface (213) of the object (213) and electrically coupled with the electroluminescent display (212);

a flexible substrate (240), wherein a first portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240) is in the first slot (230), the first portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240) is capable to bend to accommodate the object (210) in the first slot (230) when the object (210) is inserted into the first slot (230);

at least one conducting layer (251) provided on the first portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240) to touch the at least one conducting terminal (213);

a power controlling unit (270) provided on a second portion (242) of the flexible substrate (240); and a plurality of conducting traces (250) provided on the flexible substrate (240) to electrically connect the power controlling unit (270) to the at least one conducting layer (251).

2. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, further comprises a second slot (235) and a channel (231) in the housing (220), wherein the channel (232) connects the first slot (230) to the second slot (231), the second slot (231) houses the power controlling unit (370) and the second portion (242) of the flexible substrate (240).

3. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein a third portion (243) of the flexible substrate (240) is in the channel (232) and connecting the first portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240) to the second portion (242) of the flexible substrate (240).

-84. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claim in claims 1 and 2, wherein the flexible substrate (240) is a plastic of thickness in the range of 75 micrometers to 500 micrometers.

5. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claim in claim 1, wherein the power controlling unit (270) is an DC-to-AC inverter circuit to supply AC power to the electroluminescent display (212).

6. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claim in claims 1 and 2, wherein the second slot (231) houses at least one battery (281).

7. An electrical contact assembly (200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power controlling unit (370) comprises a plurality of electronic components (390) directly fixed on the second portion (390) of the flexible substrate.

8. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power controlling unit (270) comprises a plurality of electronic components (290) fixed on a printed circuit board (291) and the printed circuit board (291) is fixed on the second portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240) through conducting adhesive (292).

9. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first slot (230) is defined by at least one wall (233) and a bottom (234), a second surface (241b) of the first portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240) is fixed on the at least wall (233), the at least one conducting layer (251) is provided on a first surface (241a) of the first portion (241) of the flexible substrate (240).

10. An electrical contact assembly (200) as claimed in claims 1, 2 and 3, the channel (232) is provided on the bottom (234) of the first slot (230).

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1704810.9 Examiner: Mr Tony Oldershaw