Illuminated traffic wand

• US 7,261,456 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2005
• Issued: 08/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kuo-Hsin Liu
• Original Assignee: Kuo-Hsin Liu
• Inventors: Liu, Kuo-Hsin
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Jong-Suk (James)
• Assistant Examiner(s): Choi; Jacob Y
• Application Number:
  US11/289,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20070121332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 362/551, 362/555, 362/577, 362/171, 362/178, 362/202, 362/203, 362/205, 362/800, 135/910
• US Class Current: 362/577
• CPC Class Codes: F21L 4/00 Electric lighting devices with self-contained electric batteries or cells
• CPC Class Codes: F21L 4/005 the device being a pocket lamp F21L4/022, F21L4/045, F21L4/085 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/0414 specially adapted to be used with portable lighting devices
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0006 Coupling light into the fibre in general G02B6/4298
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/001 the light being emitted along at least a portion of the lateral surface of the fibre
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode

Abstract

The illuminated traffic wand has a hilt, a wand, an illumination device, and a cap. The hilt is tubular and has a front end, a rear end, an illumination cavity at the rear end and a tapered wand seat at the front end. The wand is mounted securely in the tapered wand seat, is a rod of translucent material that transmits and radiates light and has a mounting pin and a tapered proximal end that corresponds to the tapered wand seat and has a pinhole that pinhole aligns with the mounting hole in the hilt. The mounting pin is mounted in the mounting hole and the pinhole to securely hold the wand in the hilt. The cap is connected to the rear end of the hilt, holds the illumination device in the illumination cavity and activates the illumination device to cause the wand to shine.

Claims

1. An illuminated traffic wand comprising

a hilt being tubular and having

an interior comprising

an illumination cavity formed at the rear end of the hilt;

and

a tapered wand seat formed at the front end of the hilt and communicating with the illumination cavity;

a front end;

a rear end;

an external surface;

a mounting hole formed radially through the hilt near the front end;

a wand being a rod of translucent material that transmits and radiates light and comprising

a distal end;

a proximal end being tapered, corresponding to the tapered wand seat of the interior of the hilt and having

a pinhole aligning with the mounting hole in the hilt to connect the wand to the hilt; and

a flat surface; and

a mounting pin mounted in the mounting hole in the hilt and the pinhole in the proximal end to securely hold the wand in the hilt;

an illumination device mounted in the illumination cavity in the hilt for illuminating and making the wand shine and comprising

a battery seat having

a front end facing the flat surface at the proximal end of the wand; and

a rear end;

an illumination element mounted on the front end of the battery seat and having

a circuit board having

a front surface facing the flat surface at the proximal end of the wand; and

a rear surface;

multiple light sources mounted on the front surface of the circuit board; and

a switch mounted on the front surface of the circuit board; and

a spring attached to the front surface of the circuit board and abutting the flat surface at the proximal end of the wand;

a cap connected to the rear end of the hilt, holding the illumination device in the illumination cavity in the interior of the hilt for activating the illumination device to cause the wand to shine and comprising

a sleeve connected to the rear end of the hilt and having

an inner end;

an outer end; and

a lip formed at the outer end of the sleeve and protruding inward; and

a pushbutton mounted slidably inside the sleeve, protruding from the outer end of the sleeve and having

an outer end protruding from the outer end of the sleeve for being pressed to activate the switch and the light sources on the circuit board by pressing the switch against the flat surface at the proximal end of the wand;

an inner end; and

a flange formed around and protruding radially out from the inner end of the pushbutton and held in the cap by the lip.

2. The illuminated traffic wand as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the hilt further has an external thread formed on the external surface of the hilt at the rear end;

and

the sleeve of the cap further has an internal thread formed inside the sleeve at the inner end and corresponding and attaching to the external thread on the hilt.

3. The illuminated traffic wand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distal end of the wand is rounded.

4. The illuminated traffic wand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wand further comprises multiple bubbles formed in the translucent material of the wand.

5. The illuminated traffic wand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light sources of the illumination device are light emitting diodes (LEDs).

6. The illuminated traffic wand as claimed in claim 1, wherein the switch is a pushbutton toggle switch.