Safety umbrella

• US 4,872,468 A
• Filed: 10/14/1988
• Issued: 10/10/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ronald S. Cole
• Original Assignee: Ronald S. Cole
• Inventors: Cole, Ronald S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Scherbel, David A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAI, LANNA
• Application Number:
  US07/258,004
• Time in Patent Office: 361 Days
• Field of Search: 135/16, 135/33, 135/34, 135/DIG. 10, 362/102, 362/32
• US Class Current: 135/16
• CPC Class Codes: A45B 3/04 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: F21L 2/00 Systems of electric lighting devices systems employing both electric and non-electric light sources or exchangeable light sources F21L27/00
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 33/0004 Personal or domestic articles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 135/91 Illuminated cane or umbrella

Abstract

This umbrella is designed to provide added safety to a user by making the user more visible in darkness to a motorist. Primarly, it consists of a strip on its canopy that is both reflective and will glow when light is provided by either an on board light system or externally from passing car headlights etcetera. The on board lighting system includes a handle for a pole, a battery, a bulb, and a reflector, and a switch for closing a circuit to cause light to be emitted from at least one end of the handle.

Claims

1. A safety umbrella which comprises a pole, a flashlight handle secured to said pole, for providing better visibilitiy to passing motorists, and a canopy secured to said pole having a glowing and reflective strip, for adding visibility to said passing motorists, said flashlight handle being formed in one piece of plastic material in an L-shaped configuration having a base portion extending horizontally from a vertical, gripping portion with the umbrella opened in an upright, protective condition, a bore extending into the base portion from the free end thereof and a battery, a bulb, a reflector and a coil spring received in said bore, a threaded lens cap threadedly received on the free end of said base portion, a transparent lens fixedly secured to said lens cap closing the bore, with the lens and reflector having their optical axes extending along the handle base portion so as to direct light from the bulb through the free end of the bore in a horizontal direction, an on-off switch being mounted at an upper end of said gripping portion of said handle and circuit means extending between said on-off switch, said battery and said bulb, the vertical, gripping portion of the handle being formed with a bore extending axially inwardly from an uppermost end thereof providing a socket receiving said pole whereby said handle is secured to said pole, said flashlight handle further comprises lighting means that includes an optical fiber having one end fixedly secured in an opening provided through said reflector, and another end of said optical fiber engages with an upwardly domed lens fixedly secured to a top of the gripping portion of said flashlight handle of said umbrella.

2. A safety umbrella which comprises a pole, a flashlight handle secured to said pole, for providing better visibility to passing motorists, and a canopy secured to said pole having a glowing and reflective strip fixedly secured to a border edge thereof, for adding visibility to passing motorists, said flashlight handle being formed in one piece of plastic material in an L-shaped configuration having a base portion extending horizontally from a vertical, gripping portion, with the umbrella opened in an upright protective position, a bore extending inwardly from a free end of the base portion, a battery, a bulb, a reflector and a coil spring received in said bore, a threaded annular translucent lens cap threadedly received on the free end of said base portion, and a transparent lens fixedly secured to said lens cap closing the bore, with the lens and reflector having their optical axes extending along the handle base portion so as to direct light from the bulb through the free end of the base portion in a horizontal direction with the lens cap enabling a portion of the light to be emitted in radial directions in a vertical plane at the end of the annular base portion, an on-off switch mounted at an upper end of said gripping portion of said handle and circuit means extending between said on-off switch, said battery and said bulb, the vertical, gripping portion of the handle being formed with a bore extending axially inwardly from an uppermost end thereof providing a socket receiving said pole, whereby said handle is secured to said pole, further visibility to said passing motorists being provided for by said glowing and reflective strip, said flashlight handle further comprises lighting means including an optical fiber having one end fixedly secured in an opening provided through said reflector and another end of said optical fiber engages with an upwardly domed lens fixedly secured to the handle of said umbrella so that light can be omitted from both the free end of the base portion and the domed lens both vertically upwardly and in horizontal directions unobstructed by a hand holding the gripping portion of the handle.