BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to LED light strips and, more particularly, to LED light strips having two-port screw-in terminal connectors at opposite ends to allow for temporary or permanent connections to a DC power source or additional LED lighting strips using interconnecting wire conductors.

Discussion of the Related Art

Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting has become increasingly popular in both residential and commercial lighting applications. In particular, Light Emitting Diode (LED) tape lighting or LED light strips are very popular for use in many types of lighting applications, including in the field of visual arts and accent lighting. For example, LED light strips are extremely common for use in accent light applications such as, but not limited to, under cabinet lighting, TV back lighting, staircase lighting, architectural lighting, as well as kitchen and bar lighting.

LED light strips are typically formed with a flexible or rigid material, such as a silicon substrate. A long printed circuit board (PCB) extends over the entire length of the strip and is incorporated into the body of the flexible or rigid material. The PCB includes conductive tracks for powering LEDs that are arranged at regular spaced intervals along the length of the strip. Conductive contact pads, such as copper pads, serve as contact terminals and are provided at predetermined intervals along the length of the strip in electrical connection with the conductive tracks. When an LED light strip is cut to a desired length, there needs to be a pair of contact terminals pads (i.e., + and -) at each end of the light strip.

In order to power the LEDs on the light strip, it is necessary to connect the contact terminals to a DC power source which is typically a 12 volt power source or a 24 volt power source. Additionally, LED light strips can be connected to one another or other DC LED lighting connections. This requires electrical connection to the copper pads at the ends of the LED light strips. Typically, LED light strips are connected to one another by connecting the positive (+) and negative (-) conductive contact terminal pads at the end of one light strip to the corresponding positive (+) and negative (-) conductive contact terminal pads at the end of another light strip.

Providing a reliable connection of wire conductors to LED light strips, for connecting the light strips to one another or to a DC power source, has proven to be problematic. In the past, others have soldered wires, such as 18-22 AWG wire, directly to the conductive terminal contact pads. The issue with the wires that come soldered on the LED strip tape from the factory is they don’t offer any flexibility with how many connections you can make off of them. Also, the length they connect to other strips/power sources is limited (usually around 4-6”). It is set/predetermined and only at each end of the 16.5’ roll. For this reason, they are very limited for interconnect- ability. Others have proposed various clip connectors or clamp devices that clamp to the terminal contact pads at the ends of the LED light strips. These various connection devices have been found to be unreliable. Moreover, these type of connectors often scrape or damage the terminal contact pads on the LED light strips and lose connection over time. Still others have proposed connector devices that use screws or metal pins that puncture the LED light strip at the terminal connector pads. These type of connections make destructive edits to the LED terminal connector pads that can min or even break the internal circuit on the PCB of the LED light strip. Moreover, most of the proposed connection devices in the related art do not offer any possibility of splitting off with multiple wire connections from the end of one LED light strip to two or more LED light strips and/or a DC power supply source.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is directed to an LED light strip with screw-in terminal connectors at opposite ends of the light strip. The LED light strip includes a flexible or rigid material substrate having a top side and a bottom side, an arrangement of LEDs at regularly spaced intervals on the top side, and a printed circuit board (PCB) with conductive tracks incorporated within the material substrate and electrically connected to the arrangement of LEDs. Pairs of conductive pads serving as positive (+) and negative (-) contact terminals are provided at predetermined intervals along the length of the LED light strip. Two-port screw-in terminal connectors are permanently attached to opposite ends of the LED light strip by soldering pins of the terminal connectors to the corresponding + and - conductive pads to allow for temporary or permanent connections to a DC power supply or multiple other DC LED lighting connections using 18-22 AWG wire. Brief Description of the Drawings

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a rear top perspective view of a two-port screw-in terminal connector used in the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front top perspective view of the two-port screw-in terminal connector illustrating a pair of wire conductors ready to be inserted within corresponding positive and negative terminal screw clamps of the two-port screw-in terminal connector;

Figure 3A is a cutaway perspective view of a portion of an LED light strip showing the two-port screw-in terminal connector with wire conductors attached thereto and placed in position at the end of the LED light strip with conductor pins of the screw- in terminal connector in contact with positive and negative conductive contact terminal pads on the LED light strip;

Figure 3B is a cutaway perspective view of the portion of the LED light strip shown in Figure 3A and illustrating the conductive pins of the two-port screw-in terminal connector soldered to the positive and negative conductive contact terminal pads on the LED light strip; Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the two-port screw-in terminal connector showing the screw operated terminal screw clamps within the open ports of the terminal connector;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view, shown in cutaway, illustrating a portion of the LED light strip fitted within an extruded channel and mounted to a surface; Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating three LED light strips of the present invention interconnected in parallel, wherein the terminal end of one of the LED light strips is electrically connected to two other LED light strips using the two-port screw-in terminal connectors and interconnecting wire conductors; and Figure 7 is a top plan view of the LED light strip of the present invention shown fitted within an extruded channel, wherein the two-port screw-in terminal connectors are provided at each end of the LED light strip and soldered to the conductive terminal contact pads of the light strip and having wire conductors attached to the two-port screw-in terminal connectors. Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

The LED light strip of the present invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and is generally indicated as 10.

Referring initially to Figures 3A-3B and 7, the LED light strip 10 includes an elongate substrate 12 which may be formed of a flexible or rigid material. Similar to other LED light strips that are well-known in the art, the LED light strip 10 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) embedded within the material substrate 12. Because this is a well-known feature in LED light strips, the PCB and other details of the circuitry are not shown in any great detail in the drawings. The LED light strip 12 of the present invention further includes LEDs or LED light engines 20 arranged at regular spaced intervals on a top side 14 of the elongate substrate strip 12. The LEDs 20 are electrically connected to the PCB circuitry and are in further electrical communication with conductive contact terminal pads 22, 24. The pairs of conductive pads serve as positive (+) and negative (-) contact terminals for receiving electrical power to energize PCB circuitry, and particularly the LEDs 20. To provide a connection to a DC power source, the opposite ends of the LED light strip 10 are provided with two-port screw-in terminal connectors 30 that are permanently attached to the opposite ends of the LED light strip. In particular, as seen in Figure 3A, the two-port screw-in terminal connector 30 includes terminal pins 32, 34. Terminal pin 32 is placed in electrical contact with conductive pad 22 while terminal pin 34 is positioned in contact with terminal pad 24 on the LED light strip. It has been found that the best way to secure the connection of the two-port screw- in terminal connectors 30 is by soldering the terminal pins 32, 34 to the corresponding conductive pads 22, 24. This is done by first priming the terminal contact pads 22, 24 with a small bead of solder, then making the connection by fully immersing the pins 32, 34 completely within the molten solder until it sets. Figure 3B shows the soldered connections 26, 28 that effectively secure the connection of the terminal pins 32, 34 to the corresponding copper terminal conductive pads 22, 24.

Referring now to Figures 1-2 and 4, the two-port screw-in terminal connector 30 that is attached at opposite ends of the LED light strip 12 is shown in more detail. More specifically, each two-port screw-in terminal connector 30 includes terminal connector pins 32, 34. An opposite side of the two-port screw-in terminal connector 30 includes open ports 36, 38, each corresponding with either the positive or negative electrical terminal. The open ports 36, 38 are fitted with screw operated terminal screw clamps 42, 44. Terminal screw clamp 42 is electrically connected, in electric current flow connection with terminal pin 32 on the back side of the screw-in terminal connector 30 while terminal screw clamp 44 is electrically connected in direct electric current flow communication with terminal pin 34. Each of the terminal screw clamps 42, 44 are independently operated by an associated screw 46 or 48 to effectively open and close the screw clamps. More particularly, closing terminal screw clamp 42 is achieved by turning screw 46 on the top of the terminal connector 30 in a clockwise direction to cause the terminal screw clamp 42 to move downwardly towards a bottom conductor portion of the clamp within the open terminal port 36. Loosening or opening of the terminal screw clamp 42 I achieved by turning screw 46 in the opposite (i.e., counterclockwise) direction to cause the upper portion of the screw clamp to move upwardly within the terminal port 36 and away from the bottom conductive element of the screw clamp. Similarly, terminal screw clamp 44 is operated in the same manner by turning screw 48 either clockwise or counterclockwise to either close or open the terminal screw clamp 44. The open terminal ports 36, 38 and associated terminal screw clamps 42, 44 allow for convenient and secure connection of conductive ends 52, 54 of wire conductors 56, 58. As shown in Figure 2, the conductive ends 52, 54 of the wire conductors have been stripped of their insulation to allow for direct electrical contact with the terminal screw clamps 42, 44. With the terminal screw clamps 42, 44 in the open position, the conductive ends 52, 54 of the wire conductors 56, 58 are received within the associated terminal screw clamps 42, 44 and then, once fully inserted, the screw 46 and 48 are turned in order to close the terminal screw clamps 42, 44 that are already onto the conductive ends 52, 54 of the wire conductors 56, 58 to effectively sandwich the conductive ends 52, 54 within the terminal screw clamps 42, 44 and in electrical connection therewith, as shown in Figure 4. This provides an excellent and highly secure and reliable electrical connection of the wire conductors 56, 58 to the two- port screw-in terminal connectors 30 and the PCB circuitry of the LED light strips, via the soldered terminal pins 32, 34 to the copper terminal contact pads 22, 24.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, the LED light strips 10 are shown within an extruded channel 60. Extruded channels of this type are well-known in the art and may be made out of metal, such as aluminum, or plastic. The extruded channels 60 of this nature allow for a cleaner, more, more neat appearance of the LED strip lighting fixture as well as allowing for easier mounting and insulation.

As seen in Figure 6, the two-port screw-in terminal connectors 30 of the present invention allow for splitting off with multiple wire connections in parallel from the end of one LED light strip to two or more LED light strips and/or a DC power supply source. As seen in Figure 6, wire conductors 56A and 58 A extend from the positive and negative terminals of one terminal connector 30 on one of the LED light strips to another terminal connector 30 of a second LED light strip. Moreover, wire conductors 56B and 58B can extend from the one terminal connector 30 of the one LED light strip to yet a third LED light strip, as seen in Figure 6. And from that the terminal connector 30 of that third LED light strip, wire conductors 56C and 58C can be connected to the terminal connector and to a 12 volt or 24 volt DC power source or an additional LED light strip.

While the present invention has been shown and described in accordance with a preferred and practical embodiment, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are fully contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention which is not to be limited except as defined in the following claims as interpreted under the Doctrine of Equivalents.