Panel and edge lighting assembly

Claim 2

An edge lighted panel assembly comprising: a. a panel having a bore passing from its front to rear surface; b. a printed circuit board having a printed circuit exposed on one surface for carrying electrical power; c. a filter assembly having electrical leads adjacent to the rear surface of said panel when said assembly is positioned in said bore such that when said printed circuit board is positioned against the rear surface of said panel, said leads are in electrical engagement with said printed circuit; d. a cap and lamp assembly receivable in said filter assembly from the front of said panel, said leads being electrically connected to said lamp when received in said housing, said bore being counterbored at its front end to define an annular recessed area when said filter assembly is received in said bore; and, e. an internally threaded ring member threadedly receivable on said threaded end portion and dimensioned to seat in said annular recessed area to thereby hold said filter assembly in said panel, the top surface of said ring member and threaded end portion being substantially flush with the front surface of said panel, and the top of said cap and lamp assembly after being received in said filter assembly being substantially flush with the front surface of said panel, whereby said cap and lamp assembly may be replaced from the front of said panel without disturbing the assembly of said panel, printed circuit board and filter assembly.

Claim 3

An assembly comprising, in combination: a. a panel comprising a light conducting core in the form of a flat sheet having a front viewing surface and a normally concealed rear surface and including at least one bore of given diameter extending normally entirely through said sheet, said bore being counterbored on the front surface of said sheet to define an increased diameter bore extending into said front surface of said panel a distance less than the thickness of said panel to define an annular ledge with said bore, said panel further including first and second laterally extending channel segments on its rear surface communicating with said bore; b. a printed circuit board having on one surface a printed circuit defined by at least first and second conducting paths spaced apart by a distance such as to cross said first and second laterally extending channel segments respectively when said surface of said board is affixed in flush relationship to the rear surface of said panel, said board including indexing cavities adjacent to said conducting paths; c. a filter assembly comprising a lamp housing having an externally and internally threaded end portion defining an opening into said housing; first and second conductors having lead portions extending laterally from the other end portion of said housing opposite said threaded end portion, one of said conductors electrically connecting to said threaded end portion and the other terminating in a central contact means in said housing, said housing including small projections adjacent to said leads, the diameter of said threaded end portion and housing being less than that of said bore and the dimensioning of said conductors being such that said lead portions are receivable in said channel segments respectively when said housing and threaded end portion are passed through said bore from the rear surface of said panel; an internally threaded ring member dimensioned to be threadedly received on the externally threaded part of said end portion and seat on said annular ledge in said counterbore to thereby hold said filter assembly in said panel, the top surface of said ring member and end of said threaded end portion being substantially flush with said front surface of said panel; and d. a cap and lamp assembly adapted to be threaded into the internally threaded part of said end portion of said lamp housing such that the lamp portion of said assembly is within said housing and the cap portion in electrical threaded engagement with said end portion and flush therewith, the lamp in said assembly having a filament with one end thereof electrically connected to said cap and the other end positioned to be electrically connected to said central contact means when said cap and lamp assembly is fully threaded into said filter assembly, whereby said filter assembly may be positioned on said printed circuit board with said small projections received in said indexing cavities and with said leads crossing said conductive paths and electrically connected thereto so that electrical power may be applied to said leads from said printed circuit board, and said panel may be positioned over said printed circuit board with said filter assembly passing through said bore, and said ring member thereafter threaded to said end portion and finally said cap and lamp assembly threaded into said filter assembly to provide a completed edge lighted panel assembly wherein said cap and lamp assembly may be replaced from the front surface of said panel and wherein there are no projections above said front surface when said cap and lamp assembly is properly threaded into said filter assembly.

Claim 4

An assembly comprising, in combination: a. a panel comprising a light conducting core in the form of a flat sheet having a front viewing surface and a normally concealed rear surface and including at least one bore of given diameter extending normally entirely through said sheet, said bore being counterbored on the front surface of said sheet to define an increased diameter bore extending into said front surface of said panel a distance less than the thickness of said panel to define an annular ledge with said bore, said panel further including first and second laterally extending channel segments on its rear surface communicating with said bore; b. a printed circuit board having on one surface a printed circuit defined by at least first and second conducting paths spaced apart by a distance such as to cross said first and second laterally extending channel segments respectively when said surface of said board is affixed in flush relationship to the rear surface of said panel, said board including indexing cavities adjacent to said conducting paths; c. a filter assembly comprising a lamp housing having an externally and internally threaded end portion defining an opening into said housing; first and second conductors having lead portions extending laterally from the other end portion of said housing opposite said threaded end portion, one of said conductors electrically connecting to said threaded end portion and the other terminating in a central contact means in said housing, said housing including small projections adjacent to said leads, the diameter of said threaded end portion and housing being less than that of said bore and the dimensioning of said conductors being such that said lead portions are receivable in said channel segments respectively when said housing and threaded end portion are passed through said bore from the rear surface of said panel; an internally threaded ring member dimensioned to be threadedly received on the externally threaded part of said end portion and seat on said annular ledge in said counterbore to thereby hold said filter assembly in said panel, the top surface of said ring member and end of said threaded end portion being substantially flush with said front surface of said panel; and d. a cap and lamp assembly adapted to be threaded into the internally threaded part of said end portion of said lamp housing such that the lamp portion of said assembly is within said housing and the cap portion in electrical threaded engagement with said end portion and flush therewith, the lamp in said assembly having a filament with one end thereof electrically connected to said cap and the other end positioned to be electrically connected to said central contact means when said cap and lamp assembly is fully threaded into said filter assembly, whereby said filter assembly may be positioned on said printed circuit board with said small projections received in said indexing cavities and with said leads crossing said conductive paths and electrically connected thereto so that electrical power may be applied to said leads from said printed circuit board, and said panel may be positioned over said printed circuit board with said filter assembly passing through said bore, and said ring member thereafter threaded to said end portion and finally said cap and lamp assembly threaded into said filter assembly to provide a completed edge lighted panel assembly wherein said cap and lamp assembly may be replaced from the front surface of said panel and wherein there are no projections above said front surface when said cap and lamp assembly is properly threaded into said filter assembly.

Claim 5

An assembly according to claim 2, in which said cap includes a transverse slot to receive a driver to enable threading and unthreading of the same.