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?

Could you put things inside the lining?

 

If you are willing to experiment, one or more LED's embedded in a tube filled with a highly fluorescent material (e.g., calcofluor white, fluorescein, etc. ) might give a nicely dispersed light of any color you want. For starters, I would use a casing that was flexible and with a high refractive index -- like a flexible acrylic. If you have ever seen the chemiluminescent light sticks that kids use for Halloween, the actual amount of light produced is quite small, yet they appear quite bright in the dark. I am not suggesting such a stick in a purse nor using a liquid. I am simply suggesting that you might consider whether fluorescence at room temperature of a gel or soft plastic might suffice. Flexible plastic with the fluorescent material dissolved in it might not even need a casing. Think of a light guide with a lot of light scatter.

John

Calcofluor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcofluor-white
Flourescein: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescein

 

Could you put things inside the lining?

Stuffing things in the liner is something I'd like to avoid. The EL panel is connected with iron-on patch material making it ideal for applying to garments which is very popular right now. The video I posted demonstrate how easy it is to integrate the inverted and electrical connections. Easy enough for a child to do it with a household iron and wax paper.

However, I didn't realize that LED technology was available that is thin and flexible enough to be worked around the interior lining of a bag or purse without suffering mechanical damage. The LEDs would be brighter, simpler, cheaper. I could then use the battery fabric and dispense with almost all of the hard tech needed to make the illumination system work. No bulky inverter. It's possible somebody has an induction charging system that is also flexible and that would be the icing on the cake for this project. Thanks for the detective work ronv.

 

If you are willing to experiment, one or more LED's embedded in a tube

John some kind of highly flexible light-guide/diffuser combined with a red LED would be ideal.

Update: Getting warmer.
http://www.fusionoptix.com/optics/diffusers/flexible_diffusers.html

 

That's the beauty of this AAC community. There are so many bright minds here willing to shine a light on a tough problem.

 

If you go that direction, you will need to calculate the concentration of fluorescent dye used. It will be a low concentration. Let's say, you want something 10 cm long. The equation is O.D. = ecl
O.D. = optical density, also known as "A" for absorbance
e = extinction coefficient of the dye at the wavelength of excitation (say the wavelength of the LED emission). That value can be found in the literature for all common dyes.
c = concentration of the dye in mol/L
l = light path in cm

Assume you want an OD of 0.9, e = 20,000, and l = 10 cm. Then the concentration would be 4.25x10E-6 moles per liter. If the molecular weight is 200, you can see the amount would be approximately 0.8 mg per liter. That is not very much. I mention this, because the temptation is to use enough so you can see it, which is usually way too much. In that case, all of the LED light is absorbed very close to the LED and the rest of the fluid/gel/plastic will remain dark.

John

Edit: My first choice would be calcoflour white. It is the whitener used in detergents and is quite stable. If you want red, you might consider a rhodamine dye or a europium complex. Dyes and markers are a well developed area of chemistry.

 

Stuffing things in the liner is something I'd like to avoid. The EL panel is connected with iron-on patch material making it ideal for applying to garments which is very popular right now. The video I posted demonstrate how easy it is to integrate the inverted and electrical connections. Easy enough for a child to do it with a household iron and wax paper.

However, I didn't realize that LED technology was available that is thin and flexible enough to be worked around the interior lining of a bag or purse without suffering mechanical damage. The LEDs would be brighter, simpler, cheaper. I could then use the battery fabric and dispense with almost all of the hard tech needed to make the illumination system work. No bulky inverter. It's possible somebody has an induction charging system that is also flexible and that would be the icing on the cake for this project. Thanks for the detective work ronv.

Most circuits will have some 3rd dimension, thus the question on the lining. How would you get an iron on the inside of the purse, or would you make your own lining?
If you notice the picture for the batteries it took about 54 square inches to light about 3 square inches of tape, so in essence it would be a liner made of battery cloth.
Have a look here and see what you think.
http://www.powerstream.com/thin-lithium-ion.htm

 

And here is a charging coil.
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/427/iwas3827-268728.pdf

 

Hooking it up. There are flexible printed circuit boards, but they can be pricey due to the tooling to cut the shapes and the process. You need to be very careful not to flex where components are mounted or else add stiffeners at those points.
http://www.flexiblecircuitry.com/flexible-circuitry/
They are usually glued on.

 

You guys are so cool. It's like I fell asleep and woke up in a MENSA meeting.

 

How's that adage go? Design a better handbag and the world will beat a path your your door. (Well, maybe just half the world.)

I hope you will keep us up to date on your progress.

John

 

I hope you will keep us up to date on your progress.
John

I promise