Abstract:
An outer garment or vestment comprising a front panel and rear panel that includes an electrical circuit of neon wire, a battery operated power pack and toggle switch so as to be illuminated to allow play, such as touch football, tag and the like, in the darkness where the neon wire is mounted in a lens on the rear panel with a configuration defining a focal point such as a spiral shape and is operatively connected to the toggle switch so that depressing the lens causes the illuminated neon wire to be turned off and a portion of the neon wire mounted on the front panel and configured to designate each of the sides of the players.

Description:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
   None 
   CROSS REFERENCES 
   None 
   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   This invention relates to a garment or vestment that fits over the torso of the wearer that includes a battery operated control for illuminating lighted indicia on the garment and particular to an actuator that is touched by another to actuate the lights to either turn them to off or to on or to flash. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is intended for use in sports activity that is played in the night time. Not to say that the concept cannot be used for other purposes as will become evident from the description to follow. As is known, people, particularly young children, enjoy playing games in the evening when it is dark, and an example of such a game is “touch football”. In this game sides are chosen and a ball of sorts is used to play where each side has the opportunity to advance the ball toward the opponents goal post. It is also well known that there are balls, such as footballs, that are battery operated that light up so that they are seen in the dark. This invention is to allow persons to play sports similar to touch football where an outer garment or vestment is worn by each of the players and is battery operated. A neon string of wire is attached to the garment so that on one side a logo indicating one side is illuminated and a button on the opposite side is mounted and it likewise is illuminated. A control is attached to the garment and a switch is mounted adjacent to the button. The opposing side touches the button to indicate that that person has been tagged and in the case of touch football, that that person is caught and ends the play. While, one method, is to darken the illuminated indicia by a touch of the button or to cause it to go into a flashing mode, all of which are actuated by a switch operatively connected to the button and the other method is to do the same and include an audio producing device that would create a sound in addition to the mode of the neon wire. Obviously, in sports that have two (2) or more sides or different teams, the indicia for each of the teams will be different so that each team will be distinguishable. 
   It is quite evident from the above paragraph that this invention can have utility in environments where the natural or created lighting is sufficiently dim so that the lights on the jersey is illuminated sufficiently to be discernable. For example this invention envision this type of garment with the ability to touch a button to change its characteristics to say on, off or intermittent, and to even include some type of noise producing device can be used in addition to the outside environment, like beaches and parks and the like it can be used in inside environments such as skating rinks, gyms, etc. and would have an obvious need in locations in the world where the duration of sunlight is at a minimum. 
   This invention contemplates that the vestment can be readily cleaned as say, by washing, by mounting the battery power pack to be removable and selecting material that has a propensity of being washed. Another concern of this invention is that the material used cannot be harmful to the wearer such that if falling by accident the button and power pack is isolated to assure that they do not cause harm to the wearer. And additionally, the vestment must be easy to don and doff and maintain. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The object of this invention is to provide a battery operated illuminated garment or vestment that is actuated to different operated modes by a touch of a button attached to the garment and operatively connected to an electrical switch. 
   A feature of this invention is to provide an illuminated garment comprising a battery powered power pack operatively connected to a toggle switch that interconnects the power pack to a neon wire to illuminate the same and including a lens attached to the face of the garment that covers a portion of the neon wire and acts a button to actuate the toggle switch. The neon wire is also attached to the front of the garment to designate the team of a player. 
   Another object of this invention is to provide a garment that includes visible neon wire that is illuminated so as to allow one to play quasi-football in the darkness and to include a touchable button to control the illumination of the neon wire. 
   A feature on this invention is to provide an illuminated garment that is characterized as relatively inexpensive to fabricate, easy to maintain and clean and provides protection against injury to the wearer. 
   The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view identical to the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1  illustrating the back side of the garment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view in perspective illustrating the details of the button and control mechanism of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is an electrical circuit diagram illustrating the power pack and the electrical connections for igniting the lights of this invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of this invention illustrating an assembly identical to the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with a different configuration to indicate another player when employed in a game; and 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of a group of players utilizing the present invention where the opposite sides of the game are depicted. 
   

   These figures merely serve to further clarify and illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope thereof. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   While the invention is disclosed in its preferred embodiment as an overgarment or vestment that is utilized by players in a quasi-football game, it is to be understood that this invention has application for other activities, including both competitive sports or individual sports. While the push button is ideal in a game where one of the players is tagged to discern a condition of the game, it is well within the scope of this invention where the present invention could be used as a garment for an individual utilizing it for situations where darkness is present, as for example, in running, or hunting or fishing. Suffice it to say, the garment is essentially efficacious where it is desirable to provi de a lighted garment that includes a push button to illuminate or stop the illumination or to provide intermittent lighting (flash) as the situation demands. Also, within the scope of this invention, the button can also be used actuate the system to change the illumination, it can also include a device that would produce noise, so that both visual and noise conditions could be utilized in the game being played. 
   As best seen in  FIGS. 1–4 , the invention comprises an outer garment generally illustrated by reference numeral  10  having a front panel  12  and a rear panel  14 , where the front panel is in reference to the body of the wearer. (Like reference numerals used in all the Figs, designate like parts) The material of the panels in the preferred embodiment is a plastic material, such as neoprene, that is characterized as light weight and being capable of absorbing energy so as to protect the wearer from injury. (A ⅛ inch thick vented padding utilized in gymnasiums can be utilized) The panels  12  and  14  are joined together by a pair of adjustable straps  16  that are attached to the upper portion of the garment  10  so as to fit over the shoulder of the wearer and another pair of adjustable straps  18  that are mounted on the lower portion of the panels  12  and  14 . One end of each of the adjustable straps  16  and  18  and are sewn directly onto the panels to secure them in place. A suitable commercially available VELCRO® fasteners or buckles  20  are utilized to adjust the straps to fit the wearer. 
   The invention essentially consists of a power pack  22 , neon wires  24 , a toggle switch  40  and the arrangement of these components. As noted in  FIG. 3  the neon wire is helically wound (obviously, shapes other than spiral, can equally be employed, but should define a focal point) on the back panel  14  and fits into a translucent plastic cover or lens  27  that is mounted on the back panel  12  and visible from the outside. A plurality of grommets  28  made, say, from aluminum, extend through openings formed in the plastic cover  27  through the garment and through complementary openings  30  formed in the support member  32  to support the plastic cover  27  to the face of the back panel  12 . The support member  32  is planar in shape and is made from any suitable commercially available plastic hard material and includes a side projection  34  mounted on or made integral thereto projects from one end of member  32  and serves to support the power pack  22 , which will be described in detail herein below. 
   A planar rectangular shaped pad  36  made from a soft plastic, energy absorbing material, such as neoprene, say ¼ inch thick, is removably attached to the back surface of the support member  32  by a plurality of suitable, commercially available Velcro adhesive pieces of tape  38  that serve to hold the pad  36  to the support member  32 . The purpose of pad  36  is to absorb the energy from the force being used by the opponent or person that presses the button  44  of the toggle switch  40  which will be described in detail in the description to follow. 
   A suitable power pack  22 , such as the commercially available power pack identified as “COOLNEON, is available from coolneon.com company and accessible over the Internet (telephone number 510.547.587). The unit includes a cavity supporting AA batteries and the electrical circuitry to power the system so as to illuminate the neon wire  24 . An enclosure for the battery cavity is provided. The power pack  22  includes an on/off and flashing switch so that when actuated it supplies power for the neon wire to be illuminated. A clip extending from the back surface of the power pack clips onto the projection  34  to secure it in place and facilitates the removal thereof when it is desirable to replace, insert batteries or wash the garment. 
   A suitable commercially available toggle switch  40  is wired to the power pack  22  via the wire  42  to supply electrical power thereto is mounted in aperture  53  and includes a toggle button  44  that extends through the opening  46  formed in the member  32  through an opening formed in the back panel  12  and into the plastic cover  27  and abuts against the back surface thereof. The plastic cover or lens  26  which preferably is made from plexiglass is sufficiently resilient so that pushing against the front face of the plastic cover  27  will position the toggle button to actuate the switch  40 . This, of course, will connect or disconnect the power pack to and from the neon wire to illuminate or de-illuminate the neon wire. The toggle switch may be any suitably commercially available toggle switch, say a push-on-push (2-way) soft feel 3 AA=125 VAC switch, or could be a 3-way switch so that on, off and intermittent can be actuated. 
   An access hole  50  is formed in the pad  36  allowing one to gain access to the switch  40 . A plug  52  may be utilized to enclose the access hole  50 . As best seen in  FIG. 4  the power pack is connected to the switch  40  by the positive and negative lead wires of the wire connection  42  which are suitably attached, say by solder. Of course, to gain access to this connection the plug can be removed from the access hole  50 . 
   The front panel  12  includes a configuration of neon wires  24  that extend from the spiral shape in the plastic cover  27  over one of the straps  16  and along the outer surface of the front panel  12 . While any shape of the configuration of these wires can be made, in this instance, an “X” shape is utilized to designate one side of a team. As shown in  FIG. 5  the neon wire  24  is configured in an “O” shape to designate the opposite side of the team members. It will be noted in  FIG. 2  that indicia  60  shaped in the form of an “X” extends from the peripheral edges of the plastic cover  27  on the back panel  14  which conforms to the shape of the neon wire on the front panel  12  to easily identify players on each team. This indicia can be marked directly on the face of the panels or can be made from other material that is attached to the face of the panels. Obviously, any other designations can be used as is desired by the users thereof. 
   The neon wire is available in different colors giving one the option of using different colors for the players of the different teams. These wires are commercially available and consists of electro-luminescent fiber that has a center wire coated with a powdery white phosphate flanked by two fine redial wires, which in turn is encased in a vinyl coated outer sheath. A male and female connection  43  is mounted on the ends of the neon wire at a location that is convenient for removal of the battery pack  22 . 
     FIG. 6  illustrated the alignment of players, say in a quasi-football game, where one side  62  is identified with an “X” and the other side  64  is identified with an “O”. A commercially available illuminated football could be used and the game is played where the objective is to catch the person holding the ball, rather than by tackling, as is done in tackle football. In accordance with this invention, the person on the opposite team touches the plastic cover or lens  27 , which, in turn, translates the button  44  to actuate the system to the off condition or to a flashing condition. Obviously, because the neon wire is illuminated and well seen in the dark, the game is easily played in the darkness or nighttime and when the button is pressed the condition of the neon lights assures that the person who otherwise would be tackled is caught. Hence, in the game, the players on one side center the ball to one of its players who, in turn, either runs, hands it off to another player, or passes the football to advance the ball toward the goal posts or goal (not shown). The objective of the players of the opposite side is to catch the player with the ball and stop movement. This, of course, is done by touching the lens  27  which, in turn, positions the button  44  to actuate the toggle switch  40  and electrically break the circuit so that electricity form the power pack  22  is disconnected from the neon wires  24 . While one of the main purposes of this invention is to allow the playing of quasi-football in the evening so that it is particularly available to children, it is of course, within the scope of this invention that the illuminated garment of this invention can be employed for other activities. 
   Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to detailed embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention.