Safety umbrella

The present invention pertains to improvements in umbrella visibility, and more particularly pertains to a safety umbrella with an illumination device located at the top of the umbrella.

Umbrellas are one of the most common accessories for warding off and protecting oneself from the vagaries of the weather, especially foul and inclement weather that includes rain, hail, sleet, and even snow. During daylight hours the individuals and the umbrellas they are using are generally visible even in such inclement weather. However, people are out and about as much during the dusk and nighttime hours as they are during the visible daylight hours, and rainy, dreary, overcast inclement weather at night doesn\'t inhibit their activities. With visibility thus reduced, it is desirable to provide the umbrella with some type of illumination means so that the individual can be made more visible to vehicles oncoming and rushing by and which also provides the added benefit of reducing the chances of accident or injury to both the individual that is out and about walking or crossing an intersection and for the motorists speeding by the ambulatory individual.

The prior art discloses various designs that incorporate an illumination means with an umbrella.

For example, the Carver patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,381) discloses an umbrella having an illumination means that is actuated only when the umbrella is open.

The Yang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,798) discloses a flashing umbrella wherein flashing lights are disposed at the distal end of each rib of the umbrella.

The Wu patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,293) discloses an illuminating umbrella wherein the top and the tips of the ribs include illumination means.

The Wu patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,451) discloses an illuminated umbrella having an illumination device that is detachably securable to the top of the umbrella.

The Yang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,873 B1) discloses an illuminated umbrella having a top illumination assembly and tip illumination assemblies.

The Li patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,135 B2) discloses an attachable lighting system for an outdoor umbrella that includes an umbrella mounted to a support pole to which a foldable awning is mounted with the ribs of the awning having light bulbs affixed thereto.

The Li patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,667 B2) discloses a lighting arrangement for a foldable outdoor awning wherein the supports for the awning include light bulbs affixed thereto and the arrangement also includes a solar panel collector.

The Khor patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,341 B1) discloses an illuminable umbrella that automatically produces light when the umbrella is in the open position.

The Lee patent (U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,624 B2) discloses an umbrella having a plurality of cover support ribs with each rib having lamp holes formed thereon for the detachable mounting of lamps.

Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above devices, there remains a need for a handy and easy-to-use safety umbrella.

The present invention comprehends a safety umbrella for allowing the individual using the umbrella to be seen in advance by motorists and automotive vehicles, especially at night or in dark overcast inclement weather and rainy weather where visibility is otherwise low. Whether the individual is walking along a road, street, on a sidewalk, or crossing a busy intersection, the safety umbrella not only makes the individual more visible but also provides a safeguard for both the individual and any automotive vehicles passing by the individual.

Thus, the safety umbrella of the present invention includes a center pole having an umbrella cover mounted at its upper end and an opposite hand gripping end that includes a housing and a loop and cap member detachably securing to the housing. The housing includes an internal chamber for holding at least one battery that is interconnected to an on/off switch mounted to the exterior of the housing, and the internal chamber and battery are closed off by the attachment of the loop and cap member to the housing.

The inner end of the internal chamber of the housing includes battery contact plates that are connected to electrical wires that extend through the center pole to the upper end of the center pole. The wires connect to an illumination device, which in the preferred embodiment is a LED bulb, and the LED bulb projects from the top of the umbrella cover. The LED bulb is enclosed within a transparent casing that is removable from a mounting member on which is seated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety umbrella with an illumination device so that the user of the umbrella can be seen in dark and rainy weather.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety umbrella that both keeps rain of the individual as well as allows the individual to be visible at night and in dark inclement rainy weather.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a safety umbrella having a lighted top thereby providing advance visibility for automotive vehicles when the individual is crossing intersections, roads, and streets at night and during dark inclement rainy weather.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures and appended claims.