Would all of you agree that the end goal is a relatively simple circuit that can be silk-screened onto a flexible membrane so that there isn't a hard board in the purse?

I've heard of them, but never seen a flexible circuit board. The components ON the board will not be flexible.

But anyway the required circuit could be made quite small - much smaller than the inverter, which cannot be shrunk much. Maybe you could just "graft" it onto the inverter? It might even fit inside the plastic shell of the inverter if you were to cut it open.

I do want to reiterate that EL panels require potentially lethal power supply. Be sure to design for a low risk of the person contacting any live component.

 

Based on Wayneh's figures (post #14) the 'battery cloth' would need to provide ~6W, allowing for DC/AC conversion efficiency. Can a purse-sized patch do that?

Would all of you agree that the end goal is a relatively simple circuit that can be silk-screened onto a flexible membrane so that there isn't a hard board in the purse?

Nice if it could be done, but any off-the-shelf inverter is likely to be 3-dimensional.

 

Can a purse-sized patch do that?

Excellent point. I was picturing a much larger piece of clothing. It's worth noting that 38mA at 120V will draw 3800mA, or 3.8A from a 1.2V battery. If you can get 12V, that gives a much more reasonable 380mA draw.

 

Your idea has some merit. I can imagine many applications of Elastolite EL lighting on wearable clothing in the future. I would be having a talk with a patent attorney about this, otherwise I don't know how you would stop the copycats from stealing your idea.

The high voltage does present some concerns and challenges. What happens if the purse gets wet or some liquid gets spilled inside the purse?

Modern LEDs are super bright and efficient and run on low voltages. For your application I would not ignore LEDs. However, the idea is still sound.

I can still see Elastolite lights on clothing, backpacks, handbags, shopping bags with lots of commercial advertising potential.

 

There may be patentable aspects to the OP's system but EL is already in wide use for the applications you noted. Lots of prior art. See Tron.

 

It's worth noting that 38mA at 120V will draw 3800mA, or 3.8A from a 1.2V battery. If you can get 12V, that gives a much more reasonable 380mA draw

Judging by the limited product info on the manufacturer's web-site it's questionable if even 380mA is possible. The only reference to current that I could see was a graph with the figure '22mA' on it. How practicable would it be to connect patches in parallel and series to achieve the required current/voltage for an inverter? Indeed, how does one make connections to the stuff?

 

HAMLIN reed SW, form C, SPDT, .57 in glass length, # MDRR is just an example. For logic load, listed as millions of cycles, high current shortens life greatly, so would suggest a FET to carry the load. Form C prob. more expensive than form A, & slightly larger.

 

Do you have a cost target? While the things you are looking at are neat, they won't be inexpensive.

 

Cost is subjective. The question in a woman's mind is how much does this feature add value to what is still a simple handbag. I want to avoid the tail wagging the dog.

The purses are moderate priced from $135 to $170 I don't expect for this to be cheap starting out but it can't be more expensive than the bag.

 

I can still see Elastolite lights on clothing, backpacks, handbags, shopping bags with lots of commercial advertising potential.

Oryon Technologies that created Elastolite supplied the practical effect for the costums used in the movie Tron. Since then they have a small army of lawyers locking down just about ever possible patent for Elastolite enhanced clothes. I got lucky and thought of something that they didn't.

 

If they find out, they'll just go back and amend their patents to include your idea. Believe it or not, that happens. My competitor did it to me once. I didn't dream that was possible until it was done to me.

 

Thought you guys might be interested in this.

Hello Auriel,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding integrating Elastolite into purses. Great idea! Someone has to be first. We have been waiting for the right partner to catch on to the value of an illuminated interior for purses/bags.

We will follow up with you next week to discuss in more detail.

Kind regards,
TS
Tom Schaeffer
Oryon Technologies, Inc.
Chief Executive Officer
elastolite.com

 

Here is the catalogue of off the shelf Elastolite components including a couple of inverters.

SpartkFun

 

 

You could build in a wireless charger. Then you could just set the purse on a pad to charge the batteries.
But I'm still concerned that you may get scooped by one with a couple of leds in the corners and a battery.

 

You could build in a wireless charger. Then you could just set the purse on a pad to charge the batteries.
But I'm still concerned that you may get scooped by one with a couple of leds in the corners and a battery.

No woman is going to want a purse with batteries that she has to fool around with. This is an Apple philosophy product not Microsoft. This product must capture the heart and the imagination. Induction charging has been the idea for this since I first thought of this idea 15 years ago. You wouldn't believe some of the technologies I've experimented with before finding this. LEDs don't work because they are point source of light. The EL produces a red or rose colored, ambient light throughout the interior of the bag. Eventually I want to illuminate all the side pockets to but starting out the primary compartment of the bag will be enough to gain mind share with the feminine public.

 

I think your imagination is bigger than your budget, but good luck.

 

"LEDs don't work because they are point source of light."

Not necessarily. I have one of these armband lights, and it uses clever optics to appear as a solid band of light while, in reality, being lit at the end by an LED. I had to inspect it for quite a while to convince myself it wasn't EL. Here's another, and another.

As much as I love the look of EL, the attraction of LEDs is the elimination of the inverter.

 

"LEDs don't work because they are point source of light."
As much as I love the look of EL, the attraction of LEDs is the elimination of the inverter.

I stand corrected.
And it would be great to get rid of the inverter and an LED would be a lot brighter on less current.
Should I start researching a source for that type of light diffusion strip and LED combination or do you and one of the tribe here already have some idea of where to source it?
http://www.lightform.com/faq.php

https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/flexible-strips-and-bars/filter/Color,Red,136,4639:

http://www.gizmag.com/organic-led-efficiency-increase-nanotechnology/33971/

 

I'm not sure what material they use to accomplished that. Note how they use button batteries, and claim a pretty darn long life. For your application where use is intermittent, that might be very nice.

I think EL is superior to LED for light-per-power, so I disagree with "...an LED would be a lot brighter on less current", but maybe not after you include losses in the inverter. I do agree that an LED will get very bright as a point source, but EL is better for the total amount of light.