Apparel – Hand or arm coverings – Wristlets
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-08
2001-08-14
Lindsey, Rodney (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Hand or arm coverings
Wristlets
C002S016000, C002S059000, C002SDIG001
Reexamination Certificate
active
06272688
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to warning devices and devices used for attracting attention when a person needs assistance, or otherwise needs to be highly visible, specifically to a fluorescent orange, elongated, tubular, thin-walled, flexible device, and a method for its manufacture, that is substantially rectangular in appearance when not in use and laying flat in a fully extended position, having one open end and an opposing end that is closed with the exception of a small centrally located, stretchable starter hole for use in inserting and withdrawing a hand through the substantially closed end. The length of the present invention would preferably extend from a person's wrist to his or her shoulder, although it could also be used over a leg. The wall thickness of the plastic material would be selected so that the device is flexible, has some capability of stretching without tearing so that it can be reused, and has sufficient rigidity so that the device will remain in its usable position without straps, ties, or other means of attachment to the person using it, or to that person's clothing. Optionally, markings could be added to the surface of the device to provide cutting lines to shorten the device for children, advertising indicia, and/or aesthetic design. A pocket is also optional, for use in inserting instructions for use, advertising information, a business card, or multipurpose use by the person wearing it. Further, small spaced-apart perforations may be formed in the device, pre or post manufacture, to enhance user comfort during warm weather. Applications can include uses where enhanced visibility is desired and/or to signal the need for emergency assistance, such as but not limited to, use over the limbs of stranded motorists needing to change a tire or while walking along a roadway to obtain gas or assistance; by law enforcement officers while directing traffic or during an investigation of an accident scene; by ground control personnel directing airplane traffic during reduced visibility conditions; by motorcycle riders, other cyclists, and those riding other wheeled vehicles for enhanced visibility at night and during the day; by hikers lost or injured in the wilderness to signal a need for assistance; by school crossing guards; by injured downhill or cross-country skiers in remote areas; by hunters needing assistance; by people stranded at sea; and by private pilots in downed planes needing to be spotted from the air. Also, in the alternative, two or more of the highly visible, flexible fluorescent orange devices can be tied together and attached to a tree, or to an abandoned vehicle, airplane, or boat, to indicate the need for emergency assistance; the devices could be attached to a person's belt, belt loop, or other article of clothing or garment accessory to attract attention and signal the need for emergency assistance when coverage of a human limb is not appropriate due to injuries sustained; as well as portions of the thin-walled flexible material can be easily cut from the remainder of the device, or torn therefrom by a person of average strength, and secured on a succession of small tree limbs to mark a trail for rescuers to a cave or other location hidden from direct view that is temporarily used for shelter from wildlife and/or inclement weather, with the remainder of the device being worn by the person to enhance his or her visibility and increase the likelihood of a prompt rescue.
BACKGROUND—DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Safety devices are known that enhance the visibility of cyclists, walkers, motorcycle riders, and the like. Typically, reflective patches or strips are added to a vest, shoes, hat, or pants to accomplish this purpose. Also, lighted devices are known that can be strapped around an arm, head, chest, or leg, or incorporated into clothing, which operate to provide steady or intermittent light transmission. However, reflective material is not suited for enhanced visibility from a great distance or during daylight hours, and batteries powering a lighted device typically fail in a short period of time. Further, neither is effective as a marker that can be seen from the air to identify the location of a stranded hunter, hiker, skier, or pilot needing to seek shelter from the wind during inclement weather. Also, particularly if not configured as an article of clothing, safety devices for enhanced visibility and emergency use that are carried in a pocket, vehicle glove compartment, backpack, equipment bag, or a camera bag attached to a belt or worn around the waist, need to be as light in weight as possible, and compact in configuration, for easy transport. Batteries are heavy, as well as bulky, and most hunters, hikers, climbers, and skiers using a backpack or other equipment bag would be unwilling to carry a supply of batteries adequate for extended emergency use. Further, it would be desired for any disposable devise employed for high visibility use to be inexpensively and easily made, simply constructed and designed for fast deployment and removal, made for reuse more than once if so desired, and made from materials that can be recycled to promote environmental considerations.
The use of fluorescent orange coloring is also known for providing high visibility. By law hunters are required to personally display a specified minimum surface area of bright orange coloring for safety. When the present invention is worn on both arms, it would adequately satisfy the hunting requirement, and also provide additional safety advantages, such as small portions of the thin-walled flexible material being able to be easily cut from therefrom and readily attached to small tree branches, or to vertically extending rigid stalks of grass or other plant vegetation, and used as a trail marker by a person injured or lost in the woods, with the remainder of the device being worn by the person to enhance his or her visibility and increase the likelihood of a prompt rescue. Also, the present invention would be lightweight and easily folded into a compact configuration for storage, a concern of cyclists, walkers, climbers, and skiers alike when there is a need to carry emergency supplies. Further, there is no accessory, permanently connected thereto or detached, needed for attaching the present invention over the limb of a person needing high visibility. The thin-walled material of the present invention, and the preferably half-moon shaped starter hole that is smaller than the smallest adult hand contemplated for use therewith, allows a comfortable but stretchable wrist connection, and the approximate one millimeter minimum thickness of the material used allows the present invention to have a sufficient amount of rigidity to resist the force of gravity that might otherwise cause it to become longitudinally collapsed and shortened during use, wherein it would no longer have an optimal attention attracting effect. Reuse of the present invention is possible since the starter hole would stretch without tearing, and then substantially regain its former configuration once a limb is withdrawn therefrom. Further, the present invention is sufficiently inexpensive to make and use, allowing for an option of disposal or recycling after a single use.
The invention thought to be the closest in concept to the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,007 to Girest (1974). The Girest invention comprises a pair of lightweight sleeves extending from a person's wrist to the shoulder each having reflective material attached thereto. However, the Girest invention is different from the present invention in several important ways. The Girest invention has restrictive means at its wrist end and a strap at the opposed end for attachment to the epaulette of a uniform. The present invention has an open end and an opposing substantially closed end with a centrally located, stretchable starter hole for use in inserting and withdrawing a hand therethrough. The thickness dimension of the material used to make the sleeves of the present inventio
Lindsey Rodney
Morse Dorothy S.
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