PURSE ILLUMINATION ASSEMBLY

Abstract

The present invention provides a purse illumination assembly, comprising: a purse having at least two sides, wherein the inside of at least one of the at least two sides is light emitting fabric; a power source means operatively coupled to the light emitting fabric; and a switch means operatively coupled to the power source means.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims priority to co-pending application Ser. No. 10/746,470 entitled “Touch Activated Purse Illumination Assembly” filed Dec. 23, 2003.

The present invention generally relates to illumination devices specifically for use in purses, handbags and backpacks that allow the user to easily activate and illuminate its interior. The use of lights as a means for illuminating a purse is known within the art. These may include traditional pocket lamps that hang from a strap down into a purse and must be switched on by the user or light systems built into a purse, which would illuminate upon opening the purse.

By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,142 issued to Weir describes a purse light system. The purse light system is a purse with a built in light system, which includes a purse outer structure, a battery pack and a light assembly positioned to emit light into the purse chamber. The purse lighting system automatically switches on when the purse opening is in the open position and off when the purse opening is in the closed position. Lighting a purse from the top down is not as effective as the present invention which emits ambient light from the bottom and side of the purse or handbag.

Another purse lighting system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,926 issued to Meyers describes a purse light. This purse light includes a light for illuminating the interior of a purse, consisting of a mounting assembly housing a light bulb, a reflector to direct the light towards a diffusing lens which projects the light in a multitude of directions and a digital clock.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,568 issued to Blue-Recio discloses yet another Light Assembly for the interior of a purse. The Light Assembly consists of a mounting structure to secure the assembly to the inside of a bag. An illumination source which projects light to the interior of the bag, and a switch the user must push to turn the purse light on. The switching mechanism for the '598 patent may allow for the lamp to be inadvertently switched on by pressure from items within the purse which, and may also allow for the lamp to be inadvertently left on by the user, both instances may result in complete discharge of the battery without the knowledge of the user.

U.S Pat. No. 4,742,438 issued to King describes a light for the interior of a purse, having a light bulb, an electric power supply mounted within a translucent housing which is temporarily mounted on a mounting bracket which is permanently attached to the inside of a purse. The '438 patent is impractical because it requires mounting brackets to be permanently mounted on the interior of a purse.

While these devices serve their specific purposes, the aforementioned patents do not disclose an ambient light in a handbag. Light emitting fabrics also allow for a softness and pliability of the fabric, and add very little to the total weight of the purse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to illumination systems for a purse or bag.

According to one embodiment, a purse illumination assembly, comprising: a purse having at least two sides, wherein the inside of at least one of the at least two sides is light emitting fabric; a power source means operatively coupled to the light emitting fabric; and a switch means operatively coupled to the power source means.

According to another embodiment, a purse illumination assembly, comprising: a purse having at least two sides, wherein the inside of at least one of the at least two sides is a light emitting fabric comprised of a piece of fabric with arrays of LED pixels mounted on a flexible plastic substrate and having an electrically conducting track on the flexible plastic substrate connecting each said LED Pixel; a power source means operatively coupled to the light emitting fabric; and a switch means operatively coupled to the power source means.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 is a diagram according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 is a diagram according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, the present invention generally provides a purse with light emitting fabric on the inside or outside of one side of the purse.

A purse illumination assembly, comprising: a purse having at least two sides (e.g. 14, 16, 18), wherein the inside of at least one of the at least two sides is light emitting fabric; a power source means operatively coupled to the light emitting fabric; and a switch means operatively coupled to the power source means. The light emitting fabric (210) may be any Light-Emitting fabric including textile imbedded LED or OLED, photonic textile and black light. The lights, though, should be embedded (202) to provide ambient lighting that is capable of being programmed to provide a pattern. The term embedded refers to the fact that the light is contained substantially within the fabric or substrate. The LEDs are not capable of moving around, as would be the case in a string of lights. The LEDs are fixedly attached to either the fabric or substrate. The light emitting fabric may be comprised of a piece of fabric (204) with arrays of LED pixels (202) mounted on a flexible plastic substrate (200) and having an electrically conducting track (206) on the flexible plastic substrate (200) connecting each LED Pixel (202). The LED pixel (202) may contain red, green and blue (RGB) LEDs. There may also be a waveguide between the LED pixels. It is envisioned that there may be flash memory in communication with light emitting fabric. The light emitting fabric may be encased in translucent water resistant material. A touch sensitive switching means may be in communication with the switch means.

Referring to FIG. 1, a purse illumination assembly 10 is disclosed, comprising a base housing unit 12 a circuit assembly 14 and a light-emitting portion 20. The base housing unit 12 may have a generally rectangular shape with two ends, and four longitudinal sides. At least one of these longitudinal sides may be a removable side providing access to the interior of the base housing unit 12 for tasks such as replacing the power source 18, or fixing other electrical elements therein. The exterior of the base housing unit 12 may have two recessed indentations 17. The recessed indentations 17 may contain the switching means 16 therein. These two indentations 17 may be deep enough as to shield the switching means 16 from inadvertent actuation by items contained within the purse but are of a depth that allows the user to intentionally actuate the switching means 16.

The base housing unit 12 may further comprise an attachment means 26 fixedly attached thereto providing a purse illumination assembly 10 that is removably attachable to the interior of the purse. The attachment means 26 may be a hoop and loop fastener (such as Velcro®) in which one side of the attachment means is affixed to the base housing unit 12 by an adhesive, and the other side of the attachment means is attached to the interior of the purse. Another possible attachment means may be a U shaped clip with a spring like closing effect. One side of the clip may be fixedly attached to a side of the housing 12, the other side may slipped over an interior pocket of a purse providing a purse illumination assembly 10 that is secured to the interior of a purse.

The circuit assembly 15 is partially contained within the base housing unit 12, wherein the circuit assembly 15 is comprised of a touch sensitive switching means 16 exposed on the exterior of the base housing unit 12, a power source 18 and a timing circuit 14 providing a timed and regulated conveyance of electricity. The touch sensitive switching means 16 may extend through the base housing unit 12 and are exposed on the exterior of the base housing unit 12. The touch sensitive switching means 16 may also be exposed on the exterior of the light-emitting portion 20, and may be comprised of a first electrical contact 21 and a second electrical contact 23 which are non-intersecting. The bridging of the first contact 21 and second contact 23 will illuminate the light-emitting portion 20 for a given amount of time before automatically shutting off. The purse illumination assembly 10 may implement a capacitive timing circuit 14, which uses the charging and discharge of a capacitor, to regulate the duration of illumination. The purse illumination assembly may also further comprise a flash memory contained within the housing unit 12.

A power source 18 in communication with the electronic circuitry 15 may consist of at least one disposable power cell, rechargeable cell or solar powered cell. The illumination assembly 10 may further comprise an electrical contact 27 partially contained within the base housing unit 12 in electrical communication with the power source 18. This electrical contact 26 allows a conventional battery-charging device to be in removable electrical communication with the power source 18 of the purse illuminating assembly 10. The user may attach one end of a battery charging unit to the electrical contact 26 in communication with the illumination assembly power source 18, and the other end of the battery charging unit to a battery charger receptacle, providing a rechargeable purse illumination assembly 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, according to a preferred embodiment it is intended that the illumination assembly 120 be along the side of the purse to provide illumination on the inside or outside of the purse. This is one of the many advantages of the present invention in relation to the prior art in that the light emitting fabric may illuminate either the inside or outside of the fabric, as shown in FIG. 3 there may be a shape such as the star (100) shape out of the lights on the outside of the purse. The touch sensitive switching means may be comprised of two non-intersecting electrical contacts. There may also be a voice sensitive switching means in communication with the switch means. It is also envisioned that the voice sensitive switching means may be able to call up certain shapes in response to voice activated commands. For example, the user may say “Star” and the star (100) may light up. The light emitting fabric may be sequenced to provide a dynamic display. For example, the star (100) may flash or turn into a circle or a video depicting movement.

It should be understood that the foregoing relates to preferred embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A purse illumination assembly, comprising:

a purse having at least two sides, wherein the inside of at least one of said at least two sides is light emitting fabric;

a power source means operatively coupled to said light emitting fabric; and

a switch means operatively coupled to said power source means.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said light emitting fabric is selected from the group consisting of textile imbedded LED or OLED, photonic textile and black light imbedded LED or OLED.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said light emitting fabric is comprised of a piece of fabric with arrays of LED pixels mounted on a flexible plastic substrate and having an electrically conducting track on said flexible plastic substrate connecting each said LED Pixel.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3, wherein each said LED pixel contains red, green and blue (RGB) LEDs.

5. An apparatus as in claim 3, further comprising a waveguide between said LED pixels.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising flash memory in communication with light emitting fabric.

7. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said light emitting fabric is encased in translucent water resistant material.

8. An apparatus as in clam 1, further comprising a touch sensitive switching means in communication with said switch means.

9. An apparatus as in claim 5, wherein said touch sensitive switching means is comprised of two non-intersecting electrical contacts.

10. An apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising a voice sensitive switching means in communication with said switch means.

11. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said light emitting fabric may be sequenced to provide a dynamic display.

12. A purse illumination assembly, comprising:

a purse having at least two sides, wherein the inside of at least one of said at least two sides is a light emitting fabric comprised of a piece of fabric with arrays of LED pixels mounted on a flexible plastic substrate and having an electrically conducting track on said flexible plastic substrate connecting each said LED Pixel;

a power source means operatively coupled to said light emitting fabric; and

a switch means operatively coupled to said power source means.

13. An apparatus as in clam 12, wherein said light emitting fabric is selected from the group consisting of textile imbedded LED or OLED, photonic textile and black light.

14. An apparatus as in claim 12, wherein each said LED pixel contains red, green and blue (RGB) LEDs.

15. An apparatus as in claim 12, further comprising a waveguide between said LED pixels.

16. An apparatus as in claim 12, further comprising flash memory in communication with said light emitting fabric.

17. An apparatus as in claim 12, wherein said light emitting fabric is encased in translucent water resistant material.

18. An apparatus as in claim 12, further comprising a touch sensitive switching means in communication with said switch means.

19. An apparatus as in claim 12, wherein said touch sensitive switching means is comprised of two non-intersecting electrical contacts.

20. An apparatus as in claim 12, further comprising a voice sensitive switching means in communication with said switch means.

21. An apparatus as in claim 12, wherein said light emitting fabric may be sequenced to provide a dynamic display.