Patent ID: 6517214
Filing Date: 2003-02-11
Classification: A41D,F21V,Y10S

Abstract:
A safety vest for protecting an individual during the performance of an activity made more hazardous when visibility is poor, said vest comprising, in combination,a light weight fabric forming front and back panels worn over the chest and back respectively of an individual, a continuous ribbon sheath attached to the outer surface of said fabric and extending over both said front and back panels, said ribbon sheath comprising: an elongated, reflective backing sheet, a translucent cover sheet attached at the edges to the edges of said backing sheet, electrical power supply conductors sandwiched between said backing sheet and said translucent cover sheet and extending along the length of said ribbon sheath, and a plurality of spaced-apart electrical lamps each being connected to said conductors and positioned within said sheath sandwiched between said backing sheet and said translucent cover sheet such that light emitted directly by each of said lamps as well as light reflected from said reflective backing sheet shines through said translucent cover sheet, said lamps being positioned within said sheath such that, when said vest is worn on the body of said individual, at least one of said lamps is visible when viewed at a distance from said individual from any direction, a source of electrical energy attached to and carried by said vest, and electrical circuit means including a manually operated switch for connecting said battery to each of said lamps via said power supply conductors when said switch is closed.