Illumination – With wearing apparel or body support – Head covering or clamp
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-04
2003-12-09
Dang, Hung Xuan (Department: 2873)
Illumination
With wearing apparel or body support
Head covering or clamp
C362S105000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06659618
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to headwear with a forwardly extending brim, bill or visor such as caps, hats and helmets.
BACKGROUND
The use of lights and other illuminating devices with headgear is known. However, prior illuminated headgear particularly of the soft baseball cap variety, have not been particularly well designed in terms of substantially maintaining the original cap configuration without intrusive alterations and/or additions for the lights, while at the same time being able to provide optimized illumination in the field of view of the wearer without changing the comfort and fit of the hat on the wearers head.
Incandescent light bulbs commonly have been proposed for use with lighted headgear. Unfortunately, such lighting devices generate a significant amount of heat, and are relatively heavy. Smaller, less powerful incandescent lights still may make the wearer feel quite uncomfortable after even a short while due to the proximity of the light source and the wearer's face. Further decreasing the size of the incandescent lights, to the point where the wearer is comfortable, may cause light output to be very dim and therefore unusable for illuminating areas forwardly of the wearer. In one aspect of the present invention, this area can be at distances that reading material is commonly held forward from a reader's eyes, e.g. on the order of ten to eighteen inches from the eyes. A light that is capable of brightly illuminating the filed of view within that range of distances is necessary for ensuring comfort in reading in dimly lighted areas. However, a lower intensity light bulb or lamp, which may be preferable to reduce heat or increase battery life, may result in less than optimal lighting causing eyestrain and discomfort. Alternatively, where illumination is desired at further distances forwardly from the hat wearer, such as when the hat is being worn during sport's activities undertaken in dim light conditions, e.g. jogging at night, incandescent bulbs, particularly those of the size and weight suitable for use with hats, cannot provide the desired illumination far enough forwardly from the hat wearer.
The use of fiber optic lighting devices instead of incandescent light bulbs is known. In such devices, optical fibers are bundled together to create a light producing device. The nature of fiber optics is such that there is no heat generated at the point where the light is typically transmitted. Unfortunately, such devices suffer from a rather major limitation. Namely, a very intense and powerful light source must be available to provide light to the optical fibers. For example, headgear such as worn by surgeons having a fiber optic lighting devices must at all times stay tethered to a fiber optic light source, which severely restricts the mobility of the user and thus the ease of use of the headgear. A portable light source that stays connected to the fiber optic light head via fiber optic cables extending away from the wearer is not desirable because of the inconveniences of having to carry the light source as well as having to deal with the dangling connecting lines of the fiber optic devices.
An additional problem that exists with fiber optic devices, as well as incandescent lighting devices, is rapid battery consumption. Incandescent light bulbs are known to consume large amounts of power. Similarly, a fiber optic device, since it requires a strong lighting source, also requires a large amount of power. As a result, the user is forced to change batteries often or stay tethered to a constant power source or light source.
Another disadvantage in prior art lighting devices is the manner in which surfaces are illuminated. Lighting devices used in the medical field generally produce a single fixed narrow beam of light to brightly illuminate the particular stationary body area on which the doctor may be operating. However, such a single narrow beam would not be particularly helpful for the broader or wider lighted field of view needed by runners, for example.
Accordingly, there is a need for lighted headgear that is optimized in terms of its fit and wearability, and its ability to project light for use in poorly lit or dim areas. More particularly, a hat having lights that are arranged to direct an optimum amount of light without inconvenience to the hat wearer is needed. Further, lights that are very compact and lightweight, while still providing the necessary lighting strength and having a sufficiently long life for the power sources that power these lights would be desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, illuminated headwear with one or more illumination devices are provided to illuminate the area forwardly of the person wearing the hat. The preferred headwear is a soft sports hat or cap having a forwardly extending, more rigid brim such as commonly worn by baseball players. In this form, the lighted hat substantially retains its original unlighted configuration from the perspective of the wearer both in terms of its appearance and comfort when worn. As such hats are worn fairly commonly whether or not the wearer is engaged in a sporting activity, keeping the hat's appearance substantially similar to that when in its unlighted configuration is fairly important. Manifestly, since such hats are worn fairly frequently and over long stretches of time, they also need to be fairly comfortable.
Accordingly, the preferred hat employs a pair of small, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and in particular the lens portions thereof, e.g. less than approximately 0.375 inch in length and approximately 0.1875 inch in diameter, that are secured to the brim portion of the hat at or adjacent to the front of the outer edge thereof in a non-obtrusive manner. The LEDs are of a solid-state material so that they generate high intensity beams of light projecting forwardly form the front edge of the brim and do not require a large size thereof and large power source therefor. The high intensity LEDs can be efficiently arranged so that a minimum number of lights are employed on the hat while still achieving a well-lit area projecting far forwardly from the hat wearer. In particular, only a pair of small LEDs spaced laterally on either side of the hats fore and aft extending centerline need be employed to achieve high powered lighting with the hat herein. Since the LEDs project comes of light forwardly therefrom, there will only be a relatively small unlit area immediately forwardly of the brim front edge that extends in an uninterrupted manner between these two cones of light. This unlit area is of little consequence as it is generally above the wearer's field of view, and thus saves the need for providing a light on the hat centerline to light up this area. Thus, the present hat includes an efficient positioning of the high intensity lights thereon so that they are not obtrusive both in terms of the hat's appearance, and do not require significant space in and on the hat for associated electrical circuitry, as will be described hereinafter.
In the preferred forms, the laterally spaced LEDs can be either secured in cut-out notches formed in the front edge of the brim portion or housed in compact, self-contained light modules so that they are generally adjacent the outer edge of the hat brim portion. In either case, the brim portion need not have its thickness significantly increased over its normal thickness, and thus it still retains it original form. The light modules are substantially the same as described in applicants' '919 patent application, and thus provide high intensity light for the hat emanating from very compact housings of the modules. However, because the compact light modules are secured onto the brim portion and thus project therefrom, they are less desired from an aesthetic standpoint. By contrast, the notches in the brim are preferably sized so that approximately half or more of the size or length of the LEDs fits therein so that only a relatively smaller portion of the LED dome len
Dang Hung Xuan
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery
LandOfFree
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