In these days, wide ranges of
multifunctional light sources are being developed in the market. Most of them
serve as a decorative device as well as light source. Newly-developed lighting
systems are, however, easily crowded out by the existing ones before their
efficiency is verified in the market because of low brand recognition compared
with the existing ones that have been highly appreciated. Now, we are going to
introduce ﾔOptical Fiberﾕ and ﾔELﾕ that have widely been used in sign industry,
increasing market share in lighting systems.
Emissin
Principle of Optical Fiber
Optical Fiber is a fiber type of lighting
source used to deliver light. The fiber is made by forming a thin and long
object out of dielectrics such as quartz, glass, plastic and etc. Light passes
through its center. Optical Fiber is generally divided into GOF (Glass Optical
Fiber) and POF(Plastic Optical Fiber). Among both, POF is primarily used for the
purpose of lighting or displaying applications. Optical Fiber is basically
composed of 3 parts: Core, Clad (blocking layer) and Cover that protects the
inner part. Optical Fiber performs the best light delivery performance between -
40~70｡. Optical Fiber core is made of plastic of which heat transformation
temperature is approximately 110｡. Therefore, if the surrounding temperature is
beyond the recommended temperature, its light delivery performance may be
lowered.
Low Maintenance Costs
A sign incorporating
Optical Fiber consists of roughly 3 parts: light source / color filter, Optical
Fiber and display panel. The part of light source / color filter produces
various colors and images by using light energy. This part is composed of light
source (lamp), controller and stapping motor. The color filter installed on the
light source part makes it possible to keep changing the color of light in
rotation. Usually, halogen or metal lamp is used as a luminous source. Optical
Fiber plays the role of correctly delivering the light loaded by a light source.
And the display panel produces various images out of the light delivered by
Optical Fiber. A sign work using Optical Fiber requires delicate handwork
through all jobs with a number of workers. That is why this may cost higher than
other light sources. Considering maintenance, Optical Fiber must, however, be an
economic lighting system. Its electric power is one-twelfth less consumed than
electric power of neon sign. Also, this is made of semi-permanent materials,
which little requires expenses for maintenance.
Emission
Principle of EL
EL stands for Electro Luminescence, which works
based on the principle as follows: if you coat a film with a fluorescent
material so-called Phosper, connect electrodes and make a proper A/C voltage,
the fluorescent material generates light. Luminescence level varies depending on
voltage factor (amplitude and the number of vibrations) loaded to electrodes,
and various lights are produced in accordance with phosper color. EL-based
products include EL Sheet, EL Wire, Belt EL and etc. EL Sheet is an even-
surfaced luminous body, which generates mild light and makes colors more clear.
This, therefore, can be used in the daytime too. 0.2mm thick EL Sheet can be
applied for curve and cubic surfaces. This little-heats up, so this will not be
burnt by overheat. This also endures vibration and impact. Compared with
fluorescent lamp or neon, this saves the electric power consumption up to
approximately 70%, and enjoys a long lifespan. That is, this is good in terms of
cost. This can be used for approximately 8,000~10,000 hours. The light resulting
from EL Sheet does not fatigue your eyes and achieves various kinds of
colors.
An Alternative for Neon
EL products have
interior decoration effect as well as advertisement effect. They can be,
therefore, used in numerous fields including interior/exterior sign, interior
light source, light-based fancy items, various kinds of display systems, and low
profile backlight of LCD etc. Interior is usually done with EL Wire and Belt EL,
which can be easily bent and transformed. Recently, the demand is increasing
especially on Belt EL that is small in dimension, convenient to carry and easy
to handle. ﾒSince we introduced EL 4~5 years ago, the demand had decreased on it
because its price was high and it was not widely recognizedﾓ, said Youngnam Kim,
president of NeedsTech Co., Ltd., depicting on the recent market situation, ﾒThe
demand has been, however, increasing on it as an alternative for neon products
as its price has fallen down and the products have been widely used in the
market.
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