US20070047222A1

US20070047222A1 - [umbrella with light-emitting indicator]

Info

Publication number: US20070047222A1
Application number: US11/162,004
Authority: US
Inventors: Wen-Chu Chang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-08-25
Filing date: 2005-08-25
Publication date: 2007-03-01

Abstract

An umbrella with light-emitting indicator is provided. The umbrella with light-emitting indicator comprises an umbrella stand, a control circuit and a light-emitting device. The umbrella stand comprises a set of moveable ribs, a piece of umbrella cloth covered on the ribs and an insulative element with a receiving space formed on top end of said umbrella stand. The control circuit is securely installed in the receiving space of the insulative element, wherein the control circuit is connected to a battery and a switch. The light-emitting device is securely fixed onto surface of the umbrella cloth of the umbrella, wherein the light-emitting device is electrically connected to the control circuit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides an umbrella with light-emitting indicator and more particularly, to an umbrella has a light-emitting element to indicate the position of the user to increase safety.
2. Description of Related Art
During the rainy weather, sky usually turns dark even during day making the visibility is low and chances of accident is high. Generally, pedestrians hold umbrellas while walking in order to shelter from rain, however, the umbrella partially blocks the view of the pedestrian and therefore the risk of accident is high. For improving the safety of pedestrians while using umbrellas in rainy weather condition, some manufacturers designed umbrellas with light-emitting element. FIGS. 5 and 6 shows a conventional umbrella A comprising a crown A1 for a threaded hat B thereon. The threaded hat B is made of a transparent material and has a protrusion B1 extending from the opening of the threaded hat B. The threaded hat B has a hollow portion to receive a light-emitting portion C with a circuit board C1, a light-emitting element C2, a small battery C3 and a switch C4. The small battery C3 and the switch C4 are secured on the circuit board C1. The circuit board C1 has an inserting portion C11 at a distal end thereof for fitting into a slot D1 of a main portion D. The switch D4 penetrates out of an aperture D5 through the main portion D. The main portion D is a hollow body made of a transparent material having a threaded portion D2 at a top opening thereof for receiving the protrusion B1 of the hat B. The main portion D also has an tube D3 with a gradient enlarging bottom opening positioned at a primal end thereof, and the tube D3 has a threaded coil D1. Furthermore, a waterproof seal D4 is provided for connecting the main portion D with the crown A1 of the umbrella A. However, the above-mentioned conventional umbrella A has at least the following defects.
1. A plurality of molds is required for manufacturing various components such as crown A1, hat B, main portion D and the like. Thus, the manufacturing cost is high, and time for assembling various components is also increased.
2. The light-emitting portion C has the light-emitting element C2 positioned in the hat B, because the light-emitting element C2 emits through the hat B, the brightness is limited, and therefore, the safety effect provided by the indicator is limited.
3. For replacing the small battery C3 of the light-emitting portion C, the user has to remove the circuit board C1 from the main portion D, and because the circuit board C1 is positioned in the slot D1 and the switch C4 of the circuit board C1 has to be positioned corresponding to the aperture D5 of the main portion D, thus attempts to remove from/insert the circuit board C1 into the main portion D may damage the switch C4. Thus, the replacement of the small battery C3 may cause risk and convenience.
Therefore, how to overcome the above defects of the above-mentioned umbrella is highly desired by the manufacturers in the field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in the view of the foregoing, the present inventor makes a detailed study of related art to evaluate and consider, and uses years of accumulated experience in this field, and through several experiments, to create an umbrella with light-emitting indicator, wherein the light-emitting indicator emits brighter light.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the umbrella comprises an insulative element with a receiving space and a control circuit may be disposed in the receiving space. The control circuit is connected to a battery, a switch and a light-emitting device. The light-emitting device may be positioned on the surface of the umbrella cloth. The switch is adopted for driving the control circuit to turn on/off the light-emitting device. Thus, the umbrella of the present invention is capable of producing brighter light, which can be visible at a larger range and thereby promote safety of the user.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the light-emitting device may comprise an electro-luminescent panel including a trademark, pattern, animal shape, cartoon figure or human figure to improve the light brighter to provide better indicator effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the following accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an umbrella according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an umbrella according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of an umbrella according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3A is an enlarged sectional side view of an umbrella according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an elevation view of an umbrella according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a conventional umbrella.
FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a conventional umbrella.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 3A, an umbrella in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of an umbrella stand 1, a control circuit 2 and a light-emitting device 3.
The umbrella stand 1 comprises a set of movable ribs 11, a piece of umbrella cloth 12 covered on the ribs 11 and an insulative element 13 positioned at top end of the umbrella stand 1. The insulation element 13 comprises a receiving space 131.
The control circuit 2 is electrically connected to a battery 21 connected to a switch 22.
The light-emitting device 3 comprises a light emitting source.
Hereinafter, the assembly of the umbrella of the present invention will be described. First, the control circuit 2 is installed into the receiving space 131 of the umbrella stand 1 and the switch 22 of the control circuit 2 is positioned outside of the receiving space 131. The control circuit 2 is electrically connected to the light-emitting device 3 and the light-emitting device 3 is fixed to the surface of the umbrella cloth 12 of the umbrella stand 1. Then, the switch 22 is adopted to control the control circuit 2 for turning on/off the light-emitting device 3. Thus, the tip of the umbrella stand 1 can be illuminated with a bright light that is visible even from far away distance and thereby making the umbrella visible over a larger range.
The battery 21 of the control circuit 2 may comprise a dry cell, a small battery or a rechargeable battery. The switch 22 may be comprised of a depressible type switch for controlling power supply to the control circuit 2. The material of the insulative element 13 formed at the top end of the umbrella stand 1 comprises an insulative material in order to avoid lightning strike.
Referring to FIG. 4, the umbrella cloth 12 of the umbrella stand 1 comprises the light-emitting device 3 including an electro-luminescent panel. The electro-luminescent panel may include a trademark, a pattern, a animal shape, a cartoon figure or human figure to improve the brightness of the light for providing better indicator effect. Additionally, the light-emitting device 3 may be adhered by using adhesive glue or stitched, or fixed by using screws or rivets to the umbrella cloth 12 of the umbrella stand 1. The light-emitting device 3 may also be integrally formed with the umbrella cloth 12 to substantially fix the light-emitting device 3 onto the umbrella cloth 12.
The light-emitting device 3 may also include an electro-luminescent panel to provide the following advantages.
1. Better stability.
2. Lower power consumption.
3. Almost no heat generation during light emitting.
4. Uniform brightness visible over a larger range.
5. Viewing angle free.
6. Extremely thin and elastic.
7. Unaffected in lower temperature.
8. Customizable size and shape.
9. Customizable position of terminals and pattern.
10. Ability to choose power source.
11. Ability to have text or pattern printed thereon.
12. Service life unaffected by shock or lightening strike.
13. Color of light-emitting effect remain unchanged during voltage change.
14. Almost unaffected by electromagnetic wave and radiation interferences.
With the abovementioned advantages, the electro-luminescent panel is more suitable for application in the light-emitting device 3 of the present invention.
Accordingly, the umbrella of the present invention has at least the following advantages.
1. The insulative element securely fixed on the top end of the umbrella stand is formed as a single piece and does not waste additional manufacturing cost, and also assembly of the insulation element is very easy and convenient.
2. The light-emitting device is securely fixed to the surface of the umbrella cloth of the umbrella and may include a large size electro-luminescent panel for providing better light-emitting effect for improving visibility.
3. Because the battery of the control circuit is installed in the receiving space of the insulative element, the battery may be easily replaced without ruining the structure of the umbrella.
4. The insulative element on the tip of the umbrella is made of the insulative material in order to prevent the lightening strike.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific best mode, it is to be understood that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations in which fall within the spirit and scope of the included claims. All matters set forth herein or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted in an illustrative and non-limiting sense.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An umbrella with light-emitting indicator, comprising:

an umbrella stand, comprising a set of moveable ribs, a piece of umbrella cloth covered on said ribs and an insulative element with a receiving space formed on top end of said umbrella stand;

a control circuit, securely installed in said receiving space of said insulative element, wherein said control circuit is connected to a battery and a switch; and

a light-emitting device, securely fixed the surface of said umbrella cloth of said umbrella, wherein said light-emitting device is electrically connected to said control circuit.

2. The umbrella with light-emitting indicator according to claim 1, wherein said insulative element is comprised of PVC.

3. The umbrella with light-emitting indicator according to claim 1, wherein said light-emitting device comprises an electro-luminescent panel, and is integrally formed with said umbrella cloth.