Apparatus for illuminating small and large areas with neon light is well known. Although such lighting techniques are well known, illuminating small and large areas with such neon illuminating devices has not been entirely satisfactory. Additionally, neon illuminating devices have not always been entirely efficient in its production of light. In this regard, due to the construction of the housing for the tube and any electrical components for energizing it, the illumination produced by the neon tube required bulky housings and components, which sometimes made the advantages of neon lighting be far outweighed by the disadvantages. In this regard, when it may be desirable to have neon lighting in a certain area, the bulk of the components and protective housings could preclude the use of such lighting for some applications. For example, where space is limited, neon lighting may not be an option, considering the required high voltage components and protective housings required for neon lighting.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved neon lighting system which is compact in size, and readily usable. In this manner, the advantages of brightness of light and long lasting dependability can be realized more extensively.
Furthermore, when relatively large areas require illumination, such as outdoor decorative lighting for buildings, long expensive neon tubes must be employed. Such long tubes are not only expensive, but they are also very fragile and tend to break easily when inadvertently jarred or impacted. Moreover, such long tubes are difficult to transport and store. Thus, installation of such neon illumination apparatus and associated tubes has been relatively expensive and time consuming, requiring the use of special transportation equipment, frames and cushioning materials.
Another problem with both short and long neon tubes is associated with energization. In this regard, in order to ionize the neon gas disposed within such tubes, high voltage must be utilized. Such high voltage is not only potentially dangerous, but also is not readily available except by the use of large, bulky and expensive step-up transformers.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have such a new and improved neon illumination apparatus and method of making and using it for illuminating either a small or a large area with bright glowing light in a compact manner. Such an apparatus should be easy to transport, without having to employ undesired and unwanted high voltage energization.