LIGHTED PANEL FOR AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR
A lighted panel in combination with an article of footwear wherein the lighted panel includes a translucent display panel, a foam sheet, at least one primary light diffuser, and a reflective sheet that together act to illuminate, and distribute light uniformly throughout, the translucent display panel without any concentrated points of light.
1 . An article of footwear having a closure flap, the closure flap having a lighted panel, the lighted panel comprising:
a reflective sheet adjacent to the closure flap;
a foam sheet facing said reflective sheet;
a translucent display panel facing said foam sheet; and
a lighting unit comprising at least one primary light diffuser located between the reflective sheet and the foam sheet, each primary light diffuser having a light source;
wherein each light source illuminates at least a portion of the translucent display panel.
2 . The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein each said primary light diffuser has two opposing surfaces and a serrated connecting surface.
3 . The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein said light source is a light emitting diode.
4 . The article of footwear of claim 1 wherein the reflective sheet comprises foil.
5 . An article of footwear having a lighted panel affixed to the article of footwear, the lighted panel comprising:
a reflective sheet adjacent to the article of footwear;
a porous material facing said reflective sheet;
a translucent display panel facing said porous material; and
a lighting unit comprising at least one primary light diffuser located between the reflective sheet and the porous material, each primary light diffuser having a light source;
wherein each light source illuminates at least a portion of the translucent display panel.
6 . The article of footwear of claim 5 wherein each said primary light diffuser has two opposing surfaces and a serrated connecting surface.
7 . The article of footwear of claim 5 wherein said light source is a light emitting diode.
8 . The article of footwear of claim 5 wherein the reflective sheet comprises foil.
9 . The article of footwear of claim 5 wherein the porous material is a foam sheet.
10 . The article of footwear of claim 5 wherein the porous material is woven.