Safety umbrella
A safety umbrella for providing visibility for an individual crossing an intersection or walking at night or in dark rainy inclement weather includes a center pole having a cover at its upper end and an opposite hand gripping end that includes a housing and a loop and cap member detachably securable to the housing and the housing holding at least one battery interconnected to an on/off switch and a plurality of wires extending from within the housing through the center pole to the upper end for interconnection to a LED light enclosed within a transparent casing that projects above the cover and which is operable by the on/off switch so that the individual can be made more visible to other individuals and to automotive vehicles and thereby avoiding accidents and injuries to all parties.
The present invention pertains to improvements in umbrella visibility, and more particularly pertains to a safety umbrella with an illumination device located at the top of the umbrella.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONUmbrellas are one of the most common accessories for warding off and protecting oneself from the vagaries of the weather, especially foul and inclement weather that includes rain, hail, sleet, and even snow. During daylight hours the individuals and the umbrellas they are using are generally visible even in such inclement weather. However, people are out and about as much during the dusk and nighttime hours as they are during the visible daylight hours, and rainy, dreary, overcast inclement weather at night doesn't inhibit their activities. With visibility thus reduced, it is desirable to provide the umbrella with some type of illumination means so that the individual can be made more visible to vehicles oncoming and rushing by and which also provides the added benefit of reducing the chances of accident or injury to both the individual that is out and about walking or crossing an intersection and for the motorists speeding by the ambulatory individual.
The prior art discloses various designs that incorporate an illumination means with an umbrella.
For example, the Carver patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,381) discloses an umbrella having an illumination means that is actuated only when the umbrella is open.
The Yang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,798) discloses a flashing umbrella wherein flashing lights are disposed at the distal end of each rib of the umbrella.
The Wu patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,293) discloses an illuminating umbrella wherein the top and the tips of the ribs include illumination means.
The Wu patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,451) discloses an illuminated umbrella having an illumination device that is detachably securable to the top of the umbrella.
The Yang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,873 B1) discloses an illuminated umbrella having a top illumination assembly and tip illumination assemblies.
The Li patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,135 B2) discloses an attachable lighting system for an outdoor umbrella that includes an umbrella mounted to a support pole to which a foldable awning is mounted with the ribs of the awning having light bulbs affixed thereto.
The Li patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,667 B2) discloses a lighting arrangement for a foldable outdoor awning wherein the supports for the awning include light bulbs affixed thereto and the arrangement also includes a solar panel collector.
The Khor patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,341 B1) discloses an illuminable umbrella that automatically produces light when the umbrella is in the open position.
The Lee patent (U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,624 B2) discloses an umbrella having a plurality of cover support ribs with each rib having lamp holes formed thereon for the detachable mounting of lamps.
Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above devices, there remains a need for a handy and easy-to-use safety umbrella.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention comprehends a safety umbrella for allowing the individual using the umbrella to be seen in advance by motorists and automotive vehicles, especially at night or in dark overcast inclement weather and rainy weather where visibility is otherwise low. Whether the individual is walking along a road, street, on a sidewalk, or crossing a busy intersection, the safety umbrella not only makes the individual more visible but also provides a safeguard for both the individual and any automotive vehicles passing by the individual.
Thus, the safety umbrella of the present invention includes a center pole having an umbrella cover mounted at its upper end and an opposite hand gripping end that includes a housing and a loop and cap member detachably securing to the housing. The housing includes an internal chamber for holding at least one battery that is interconnected to an on/off switch mounted to the exterior of the housing, and the internal chamber and battery are closed off by the attachment of the loop and cap member to the housing.
The inner end of the internal chamber of the housing includes battery contact plates that are connected to electrical wires that extend through the center pole to the upper end of the center pole. The wires connect to an illumination device, which in the preferred embodiment is a LED bulb, and the LED bulb projects from the top of the umbrella cover. The LED bulb is enclosed within a transparent casing that is removable from a mounting member on which is seated.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety umbrella with an illumination device so that the user of the umbrella can be seen in dark and rainy weather.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety umbrella that both keeps rain of the individual as well as allows the individual to be visible at night and in dark inclement rainy weather.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a safety umbrella having a lighted top thereby providing advance visibility for automotive vehicles when the individual is crossing intersections, roads, and streets at night and during dark inclement rainy weather.
These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures and appended claims.
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Located at and attached to the hand-gripping end 20 is a housing 30. The housing 30 includes an exterior continuous surface 32 and an internal chamber 34 with the internal chamber 34 being closed off at an inner end 36. The internal chamber 34 includes annular inner threads 38 adjacent the opening 40 of the annular chamber 34. Mounted at the inner end 36 is at least one battery contact plate 42 and the illumination means is powered by at least one battery 44 that is placed within the internal chamber 34 for contacting the battery contact plate 42.
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While the present invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that numerous modifications, alterations, and variations are possible and practicable to those skilled in the art and will yet be encompassed by description of the invention as set forth herein and come within the ambit of the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. An illuminable safety umbrella, comprising:
- a center pole having an upper end and an opposite hand-gripping end;
- an umbrella cover mounted to the upper end and capable of selective closure and opening;
- a housing mounted to the hand-gripping end of the center pole;
- the housing including an internal chamber, an opening and a plurality of annular inner threads adjacent the opening;
- the chamber sized to receive therein at least one battery;
- an on/off switch mounted to the housing and electrically interconnected to the battery;
- a loop and cap member detachably securable to the housing;
- the loop and cap member having a threaded portion for engagement to the annular inner threads of the housing, and a loop portion;
- the loop portion including an aperture for attachment to an article of clothing;
- a mounting member mounted to the upper end of the center pole and above the umbrella cover;
- a removably securable casing seated upon the mounting member;
- an illumination means enclosed within the casing; and
- a plurality of electrical wires extending from the internal chamber to the mounting member for electrically interconnecting the battery to the illumination means so that selectively disposing the on/off switch to the on position causes the illumination means to light up thereby making the individual holding the umbrella more visible.
2. The illuminable safety umbrella of claim 1 wherein the illumination means is a LED bulb.
3. The illuminable safety umbrella of claim 2 wherein the securement of the loop and cap member to the housing encloses and contains the battery within the internal chamber of the housing.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 17, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 22, 2009
Inventor: Carlos J. Lewis (Vancouver, WA)
Application Number: 12/082,994