Illuminated plate for motor vehicle

Abstract

An illuminated plate for motor vehicles includes: a base sheet; an electroluminescent sheet; a background sheet which is transparent, translucent, or reflective, and which has a cutout section constituted by openings shaped in characters for display; character inserts which are transparent or translucent and shaped in the characters, which character inserts are infixed in the corresponding openings of the characters in the cutout section; and a clear cover sheet.

1 . An illuminated plate for motor vehicles, comprising:
 a base sheet configured to be mounted to a motor vehicle;   an electroluminescent sheet for providing illumination configured to be connected to an inverter, said electroluminescent sheet being overlaid on the base sheet;   a background sheet which is transparent, translucent, or reflective, and which has a cutout section constituted by openings shaped in characters for display, said background sheet being overlaid on the electroluminescent sheet;   character insert sheets which are flat and transparent or translucent and shaped in the characters, said character insert sheets being infixed in the corresponding openings of the characters in the cutout section, wherein the background sheet and the character insert sheets have different transparent colors and shades, wherein the background sheet and the character insert sheets have substantially the same thickness; and   a clear cover sheet which is overlaid on the background sheet and the character insert sheets for protection so that the character insert sheets and the background sheet are visible through the clear cover sheet.   
     
     
         2 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the electroluminescent sheet is constituted by a laminate containing a phosphor layer. 
     
     
         3 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the background sheet is transparent or translucent, and includes a print layer formed thereon. 
     
     
         4 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 3 , wherein the print layer on the background sheet is formed by thermal transfer printing. 
     
     
         5 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the background sheet is reflective and includes a print layer formed thereon. 
     
     
         6 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the background sheet is made of polyester. 
     
     
         7 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the character insert sheets are made of vinyl. 
     
     
         8 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the characters for display formed in the background sheet are license plate numbers of the motor vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the characters for display formed in the background sheet are those indicating vehicle dealer identification. 
     
     
         10 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the base sheet is made of fiberglass. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein a backside of each of the electroluminescent sheet, the background sheet, the character insert sheets, and the clear cover sheet has an acrylic adhesive layer for adhering to the underlying sheet. 
     
     
         13 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , wherein the character insert sheets are slightly smaller than the openings of the characters. 
     
     
         14 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 1 , further comprising the inverter which is a 12-volt DC input inverter. 
     
     
         15 . An illuminated dealer plate temporarily installed to a motor vehicle in place of a license plate, comprising:
 a base sheet configured to be mounted to a motor vehicle;   an electroluminescent sheet for providing illumination configured to be connected to an inverter, said electroluminescent sheet being overlaid on the base sheet;   a dealer sheet which is transparent, translucent, or reflective, and which includes a print layer formed thereon, said dealer sheet being overlaid on the electroluminescent sheet, said dealer sheet having a cutout section constituted by openings shaped in characters for display;   character insert sheets which are flat and transparent or translucent and shaped in the characters, said character insert sheets being infixed in the corresponding openings of the characters in the cutout section, wherein the dealer sheet and the character insert sheets have different transparent colors and shades, wherein the dealer sheet and the character insert sheets have substantially the same thickness; and   a clear cover sheet which is overlaid on the dealer sheet for protection so that the dealer sheet with the print layer is visible through the clear cover sheet.   
     
     
         16 . The illuminated dealer plate according to  claim 15 , wherein the print layer on the dealer sheet is formed by thermal transfer printing. 
     
     
         17 . The illuminated plate according to  claim 15 , wherein the character insert sheets are slightly smaller than the openings of the characters.