Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be used to provide low-cost, low-power lighting in a variety of situations. However, because these designs can be complex, the resulting device can be relatively thick, limiting their usefulness in space-sensitive situations.
Furthermore, the desire to keep devices as thin as possible limits the size of the LEDs that can be used in a lighting device, thereby limiting the amount of light the lighting device can produce.
In addition, many LED devices are rigid devices, which limit their use in many situations by fixing their size and shape.
Also, for aesthetic reasons, many designers and consumers would like the LEDs alone to be visible in a lighting element, making them appear as if they were lights suspended in mid-air. However, the requirement to have conductive lines to control the operation of the LEDs has not allowed for such a design.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a thin, low-power, flexible lighting device that includes one or more relatively large lighting elements, but that can be easily manufactured in which all elements aside from the lighting elements were either transparent or at least very difficult to see with the naked eye.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds