Patent Application
20060076376
The present invention relates to safety lights for people engaged in activities in low-light conditions in the presence of hazardous equipment and, in particular, to an armband that includes such a light.
People participate in many work- and recreation-related activities in low-light or dark conditions despite the presence of potentially dangerous machinery or equipment, including automobiles, which are operated by other people. In many of these activities the safety of participants is at least partly dependent on their being seen by the equipment operators or drivers. For purposes of illustration the following description refers to generally recreational activities such as walking or running outdoors where automobiles pose the primary hazard. It will be appreciated, however, that the description would be similarly applicable to any activities that occur in low-light conditions in the presence of equipment operated by others.
Runners and walkers commonly increase their visibility to motorists in low-light or dark conditions by wearing light- or bright-colored clothing, or reflective items such as reflective vests, bands, patches, etc. Light- or bright-colored clothing and reflective items are generally passive in that they rely on ambient or other light sources to provide increased visibility. Generally reflective items are only effective when illuminated from a narrow range of directions and when the observer is in narrow range of viewing positions. If either the illumination angle or the viewing position is outside it's narrow range, reflective items fail to provide their characteristic bright reflectance.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an armband light that includes an armband light section with a flat, flexible light and a power source forming one end of an armband. The flat, flexible light is wrapable about a user's arm or other limb. An armband spring section includes a planar wrap spring and forms another end of the armband. A fastener fastens the armband light section and the armband spring section together to secure the armband light to a user's arm.
The planar wrap spring is characterized as having a spring bias that wraps toward or around itself within a single plane. The wrapping of the planar wrap spring within a single plane is distinguished from a conventional helical spring in which spring coils extend over a range of multiple planes. The planar wrap spring is sized to fit around a user's arm or other limb under compression and may form a partial loop (e.g., C-shaped), or a complete or overlapping loops the wrap around a user's arm.
The armband light of the present invention provides active illumination that increases the safety of the user in low-light or dark conditions. The armband light is compact, lightweight, and unobtrusive and compatible with a wide range of activities including walking, running, etc. The flexible light wraps around the user's arm to provide active illumination in a very wide range of directions.
Additional description and implementations of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Armband light 10 includes a light section 12 with a light source 14 (indicated by dashed lines in
Light section 12 includes a case 22 that contains a battery (not shown) for powering light source 14 and a user-operable switch 24 with which the user turns light source 14 on and off. Switch 24 controls a circuit for delivering electrical power to light source 14 in a conventional manner known in the art. Case 22 includes a battery access panel 26 for accessing and replacing the battery. A tab 28 with a fastener 30 (
In one implementation, switch 24 is positioned on a front face of case 22, and battery access panel 26 is a rotating-type panel that is positioned on a rear face of case 22. In this implementation fastener 30 is either hooks or loops (e.g., hooks) of a hook and loop fastener material (e.g., Velcro®) that faces in the direction of the rear face of case 22.
A spring section 34 includes a planar wrap spring 36 (
Planar wrap spring 36 is characterized by having a spring bias that wraps toward or around itself within a single plane. The wrapping of planar wrap spring 36 within a single plane is distinguished from a conventional helical spring in which spring coils extend over a range of multiple planes. Planar wrap spring 36 is sized to fit around at least part of a user's arm under compression and may formed as a partial loop (e.g., C-shaped), or a complete or overlapping loop the wraps around the user's arm.
Armband light 10 provides active illumination that increases the safety of the user in low-light or dark conditions. Armband light 10 is compact, lightweight, and unobtrusive and compatible with a wide range of activities including walking, running, etc. Flexible light source 14 wraps around the user's arm to provide active illumination in a very wide range of directions.
In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of our invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the detailed embodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of our invention. Rather, we claim as our invention all such embodiments as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.
