Personal Umbrella
A personal umbrella may comprise a power source that may be positioned within a shaft and/or with a slide mechanism of the umbrella. A controller may be electrically coupled to the power source and configured to receive input from a user of the umbrella. One or more illumination devices may be positioned proximate to a brim of a canopy of the umbrella and electrically coupled to both the controller and the power source. One or more illumination devices electrically coupled to the power source may be integrated in an illumination module coupled to the shaft and/or the slide mechanism. One or more fan blades may be integrated with the illumination module and configured to cause airflow to move in a direction toward the handle of the shaft of the personal umbrella. A powered heating element may be incorporated with the fan blades to provide heated airflow.
On dark rainy nights, it is oftentimes difficult for a person to walk outdoors safely, especially in areas and/or along pathways that may not be illuminated by streetlights or other similar outdoor lighting. While a person might opt to protect herself from falling rain by use of a portable and personal hand-held umbrella, darkness may nonetheless make walking on uneven ground treacherous.
Oftentimes, a person using a personal umbrella in such instances may have occasion to need to locate items in bags, purses, pockets, or other items. As a nonlimiting example, a person may, after walking outdoors in a non-illuminated area to a vehicle, may need to locate his or her keys from a personal bag, backpack, or the like. Attempting to locate ones keys while also holding the personal umbrella and whatever additional bags or items that a person might be normally carrying can be a difficult task to execute safely or without dropping and/or causing damage to items being carried.
One possible solution to this common problem is for the individual to incorporate use of a flashlight to help illuminate the individual's path and/or immediate area to make walking or even standing on uneven ground more safe. However, while use of a flashlight in such instances and in such manners might be desirable, doing so while also holding the personal umbrella and one or more other items, such as bags, a phone, etc. may actually complicate the execution of individual outdoor travel, since use of a flashlight would in most instances involve use of another hand (where a first hand might already be occupied to hold the personal umbrella over the individual's head). Accordingly, the result of incorporating use of a flashlight can actually make such a situation more difficult to execute and, therefore, a situation that is less safe to the individual.
Personal umbrellas also are sometimes desirable to be used in daylight conditions as protection from direct sunlight to create shade. As a nonlimiting example, it is not uncommon for individuals engaging in select activities, like as a spectator at a sporting event, to use a personal umbrella to provide shaded relief on a warm, sunny day. Such individuals might also even utilize a personal hand-held cooling device, such as a fan to move air to the individual and create a cooling effect. But, sometimes holding both a personal umbrella and a personal electric cooling device, such as a fan, can create similar difficulties for proper execution, as discussed above, since doing so most likely may occupy both hands of the individual. In such instances, engaging in any additional personal activity by the individual may not be possible or may create an unsafe situation for the individual or others nearby.
Accordingly, for these reasons, there is a need for a previously heretofore unknown solution to the problems described above, which is set forth herein below.
Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Personal umbrella 10 may comprise, as one of ordinary skill in the art would know, ribs 22, canopy 24, and shaft 18. In this nonlimiting example, shaft 18 is depicted in
Further, personal umbrella 10 is configured with an illumination circuit, which may include an illumination device 12 that is controlled by controller 14. In this nonlimiting embodiment, controller 14 may comprise a button that when actuated closes a circuit causing illumination device 12 to illuminate, as shown in
Illumination device 12 may be fashioned into or as a part of rib 22 or canopy 24 of umbrella 10 that, as one of ordinary skill in the art would know, moves from a position that is relatively parallel to shaft 18 to an expanded position, as shown in
In one alternative embodiment, Illumination device 12 may be a small LED illuminator configured as part of rib 22 of umbrella 10. The LED illuminator of illumination device 12 may be electrically coupled to a power source and controller 14 shown in
In the nonlimiting example of
As shown in
One of ordinary skill in the art would know that illumination module 34 should ideally be sized to provide an optimum or maximum amount of illumination while also enabling the umbrella to be fully closed without impair by the illumination module 34. Thus, the illustration in
Controller 14 (of
Fan blades 42, as one of ordinary skill in the art would know, could be constructed of any suitable material. Nonlimiting examples of material that may comprise fan blades 42 may include foam or other soft or pliable substances that can collapse when personal umbrella 40 is folded shut and can return to form, as shown in
Controller 14 in
As an alternative embodiment and nonlimiting example to the embodiment of
In the nonlimiting example of
With respect to the integrated slide and illumination modules 53a and 53b in
One of ordinary skill in the art would know that one or more illumination devices 12 could be coupled to supports 38 and/or ribs 22 beneath the canopy 24.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.
Claims
1. A personal umbrella, comprising:
- a power source positioned within a shaft of the personal umbrella;
- a controller electrically coupled to the power source and configured to receive input from a user of the personal umbrella;
- one or more illumination devices positioned proximate to a brim of a canopy of the personal umbrella and electrically coupled to the controller and the power source; and
- wherein the controller is configured to cause illumination of the one or more illumination devices when illuminated to vary in intensity in proportion with user input received by the controller.
2. The personal umbrella of claim 1, wherein the power source comprises a plurality of batteries electrically coupled to each other.
3. (canceled)
4. The personal umbrella of claim 1, wherein the one or more illumination devices are LEDs.
5. The personal umbrella of claim 1, further comprising:
- an illumination module supported by the shaft and positioned proximate to an underside of the canopy, the illumination module being electrically coupled to the power source and the controller, the illumination module further containing at least one illumination device.
6. The personal umbrella of claim 5, the illumination module further comprising:
- a motor electrically coupled to an energy source; and
- a plurality of fan blades coupled to the motor.
7. The personal umbrella of claim 6, further comprising:
- a heating element positioned proximate to the plurality of fan blades and electrically coupled to the energy source and to the controller.
8. The personal umbrella of claim 1, further comprising:
- wiring positioned within the shaft and within a rib of the personal umbrella, and further in electrical communication with the one or more illumination devices positioned proximate to a brim of a canopy of the personal umbrella, the controller, and the power source.
9. A personal umbrella, comprising:
- one or more batteries;
- at least one light positioned on an outer edge of a canopy portion of the personal umbrella and in electrical communication with the one or more batteries; and
- a user input device in electrical communication with the one or more batteries and the at least one light, the user input device being adapted to control the intensity of illumination of the at least one light when the at least one light is illuminated.
10. (canceled)
11. The personal umbrella of claim 9, further comprising:
- a light module positioned beneath an underside of the canopy proximate to the shaft and coupled to both the one or more batteries and to the user input device, wherein control of the user input device causes at least one light coupled to the light module to illuminate an area below the canopy.
12. The personal umbrella of claim 11, wherein the light module is integrated with a slide mechanism of the umbrella that enables opening and closing of the canopy portion of the personal umbrella.
13. The personal umbrella of claim 9, further comprising:
- at least one motor electrically coupled to the power source and to a user input module;
- a plurality of fan blades coupled to the motor and configured to rotate and create an airflow in a general direction toward a handle end of the shaft when the motor is energized.
14. A personal umbrella, comprising:
- a power source coupled to the umbrella;
- a controller electrically coupled to the power source and configured to receive input from a user;
- a plurality of illumination devices coupled to the personal umbrella and electrically coupled to both the controller and the power source; and
- wherein the controller is configured to cause illumination of the plurality of illumination devices when illuminated to vary in intensity in proportion with user input received by the controller.
15. The personal umbrella of claim 14, wherein at least one of the plurality of illumination devices is coupled proximately to an edge of a canopy of the umbrella and in electrical communication with the power source and the controller.
16. The personal umbrella of claim 14, wherein at least one of the plurality of illumination devices is coupled to the personal umbrella beneath a canopy of the umbrella and in electrical communication with the power source and the controller.
17. The personal umbrella of claim 14, further comprising:
- at least one motor electrically coupled to the power source and to the controller;
- a plurality of fan blades coupled to the motor and configured to rotate and create an airflow in a general direction toward a handle end of the shaft when the motor is energized.
18. The personal umbrella of claim 17, further comprising:
- a heating element electrically coupled to the power source and the controller and positioned proximate to the plurality of fan blades.
19. The personal umbrella of claim 14, wherein one or more of the plurality of illumination devices is coupled to a slide mechanism operable for opening and closing the personal umbrella.
20. (canceled)
21. The personal umbrella of claim 1, wherein the intensity of illumination of the one or more illumination devices varies in accordance with at least one of color of illumination, one or more blinking patterns, and brightness of illumination.
22. The personal umbrella of claim 9, wherein intensity of illumination of the at least one light when the at least one light is illuminated varies in accordance with at least one of color of illumination, one or more blinking patterns, and brightness of illumination.
23. The personal umbrella of claim 1, wherein the intensity of illumination of the plurality of illumination devices varies in accordance with at least one of color of illumination, one or more blinking patterns, and brightness of illumination.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 30, 2011
Publication Date: Jul 4, 2013
Inventors: Meredith Ann Crain (Woodstock, GA), Norman Andrew Crain (Woodstick, GA)
Application Number: 13/340,769