Article of self-light emitting clothing

An article of self-light-emitting clothing includes an article of clothing, a driver device and a group of electric coupling switches. The article of clothing includes a light-emitting component, and first and second arrangement areas, and when the article of clothing is folded, the first and second arrangement areas can contact each other; otherwise, the first and second arrangement areas are separated. The driver device includes a battery and a switch circuit. The group of electric coupling switches includes first and second couplers disposed on the first and second arrangement area, respectively. When the first coupler and the second coupler are electrically coupled to each other, the switch circuit is in open-circuit status to disconnect the battery and the light-emitting component. When the first coupler is not electrically coupled to the second coupler, the switch circuit is conducted to enable the battery to supply power to the light-emitting component.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to an article of light-emitting clothing, more particularly to an article of light-emitting clothing which is able to automatically turn on the light-emitting component to emit light when being worn.

2. Description of the Related Art

An article of clothing added with a reflective device or a light-emitting device can increase the attention of others to improve the user's safety. One of the conventional manners is to attach or sew a reflective object on a surface of an article of clothing, so as to increase safety. As a passive warning device, the reflective vest is unable to produce light refraction warning effect until the reflective vest is illuminated by an external light source. When there is no street light or other light source around in dark environment, the reflective vest is hard to provide warning effect. For example, when a car drives on a bend and approaches a person on the road, the light of car lamp cannot be detected early and cannot illuminate the reflective vest early on the bend, and the reflective vest is unable to produce warning effect, so that a light-emitting vest which lights electrically is developed.

For example, ROC utility model patent No. M442719 discloses a light-emitting fabric with reflective including a fabric body, at least one reflective component, a plurality of light-emitting components, and a circuit assembly. The reflective component is disposed on an outer surface of the fabric body, the light-emitting components are disposed on the fabric body, and the circuit assembly is electrically connected to the light-emitting components. The light-emitting fabric has a reflective effect and a light-emitting effect, so as to enhance the warning function.

The above-mentioned light-emitting fabric includes a switch, and the user must find the switch to turn on the power source to drive the light-emitting components to emit light. However, in many emergency situations, the user may delay to use the light-emitting fabric, for example, in a condition that the user's car stops in an emergency at the roadside for maintenance because of vehicle breakdown, the user may want to wear the light-emitting vest to improve safety, but the user cannot find the switch because of being unfamiliar with the vest, which is not used for a long time.

Similarly, some people in outdoor activities also carry light-emitting clothing based on safety factors, but they may not wear the light-emitting clothing until it becomes dark. However, the user may spend a lot of time to find the switch in a low-light environment.

Another conventional light-emitting clothing can turn on the light by sensing manner, for example, ROC utility model patent No. M448766 discloses a wearing objects with warning function, and ROC utility model patent No. M528935 discloses a wearable bicycle indicating device, and these patents disclose the devices capable of emitting light by the sensing means; however, these conventional devices need to use central processing units or microprocessors for calculation, and also have complicated structures and are expensive. Furthermore, the user is required to turned off power source after every use, and then turn on the switch to activate the power source for use; otherwise, the power stored for the light-emitting component may be exhausted before use.

Furthermore, the applicant has previously gained ROC utility model patent No. M550556 disclosing a self-light-emitting vest, which uses a Hall sensing element to activate lighting function of the vest. Although the Hall sensing element consumes very low power, and the vest can maintain in standby status for a long time when the button cell battery is used to support the sensing function, but a low sensing current in the standby status still may exhaust the power of the battery, and it causes inability to drive the light-emitting component to emit light. Therefore, what is needed is to develop self-light-emitting clothing which can more extend the standby time, to solve the above problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide an article of clothing which is able to emit light automatically when being worn, so as to prevent the user from delaying to use because of unable to find the switch in time.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an article of light-emitting clothing which can turn off power for the light-emitting component automatically when not use, so as to extend standby time of a battery.

According to an embodiment, the present invention provides an article of self-light-emitting clothing comprising an article of clothing, a driver device, and a group of electric coupling switches. The article of clothing includes a light-emitting component, and includes a first arrangement area and a second arrangement area defined on a surface thereof. When the article of clothing is folded, the first arrangement area and the second arrangement area are in contact with each other, and when the article of clothing is unfolded, the first arrangement area and the second arrangement area are separated from each other. The driver device is fixed on the article of clothing, and includes a battery and a switch circuit. The battery is electrically connected to the light-emitting component through the switch circuit. The group of electric coupling switches includes a first coupler and a second coupler disposed on the first arrangement area and the second arrangement area of the article of clothing, respectively. The first coupler is electrically connected to the switch circuit. When the first coupler and the second coupler are electrically coupled to each other, the switch circuit is in open-circuit status to disconnect the battery and the light-emitting component, and when electric coupling between the first coupler and the second coupler is disconnected, the switch circuit is conducted to enable the battery to supply power to the light-emitting component.

In an embodiment, the group of electric coupling switches comprise indirect-sensing electric-coupling switches, and the first coupler is a Hall sensor device, and the second coupler is a magnetic component.

In an embodiment, the group of electric coupling switches comprises direct-contact electric-coupling switch, and the second coupler is electrically connected to the switch circuit.

In an embodiment, the first coupler and the second coupler are conductors.

In an embodiment, the first coupler and the second coupler are metal fastening devices configured to fasten with each other.

In an embodiment, the first coupler and the second coupler are magnetic conductive plates configured to attract to each other.

In an embodiment, the article of clothing is one of a raincoat, a windbreaker, an overcoat, a cloak, a warning vest, a reflective vest, a life jacket, and pet clothing.

In an embodiment, the driver device is disposed on an inner surface of the article of clothing.

In an embodiment, the self-light-emitting clothing further includes a plurality of electric wires disposed inside the article of clothing to serve as conductive wires for electrical connection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer toFIGS. 1 to 3.FIG. 1is a schematic view of the unfolded article of clothing according to a first embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention,FIG. 2a structural view of a driver device of according to a first embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention, andFIG. 3is a circuit block diagram according to the first embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the article of self-light-emitting clothing includes an article of clothing10, a driver device30, and a group of electric coupling switches40. The article of clothing10can be one of a raincoat, a windbreaker, an overcoat, a cloak, a warning vest, a reflective vest, a life jacket and pet article of clothing. In this embodiment, the article of clothing10is a one-piece raincoat for exemplary illustration. The article of clothing10comprises a light-emitting component20, and it is preferred that the light-emitting component20is a LED or other light-emitting component, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The light-emitting component20can be disposed on an obvious portion of the article of clothing10. The article of clothing10also includes a first arrangement area11and a second arrangement area12defined on a surface thereof, and when the article of clothing10is folded, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12can be in contact with each other, and when the article of clothing10is unfolded, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are separated from each other. For example, in this embodiment, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are defined on two sleeves of the article of clothing10, respectively, and when the article of clothing10is folded, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12can be in contact with each other, and when the article of clothing10is unfolded for wearing, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are separated from each other.

The driver device30is fixed in the article of clothing10. In this embodiment, the driver device30can be disposed in a pocket of the article of clothing10. It is preferred that the pocket is able to prevent rainwater intrusion; furthermore, the driver device30can also be fixed in other portion of the article of clothing10by a sewing manner, an adhesive manner, or a high frequency welding manner. In an embodiment, the driver device30can be disposed on an inner surface of the article of clothing10for better waterproof effect. The driver device30includes a battery31and a switch circuit32. The battery31and the switch circuit32can be disposed in a shell member33, the switch circuit32is electrically connected to external device through an electric wire34and the shell member33, and the battery31electrically connected to the light-emitting component20through the switch circuit32.

In this embodiment, the circuit design of the driver device30is similar to the circuit design of a disconnection warning device, so the driver device30can maintain in standby mode for a long time. When the conductive wire is disconnected, the driver device30can emit warning message. The disconnection warning device has applied in applications of home security and product anti-theft, but not applied in the article of clothing yet.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the article of self-light-emitting clothing can comprise a plurality of electric wires34disposed inside the article of clothing10to serve as conductive wires for electrical connection. The electric wire34is configured to electrically connect the driver device30to the first coupler41and the light-emitting component20, and the electric wire34can be a typical electric wire disposed inside the article of clothing10. It is preferred that the electric wire34can be disposed on an inner surface of the article of clothing10. With progress of material and textile technology, the electric wire34can be the electric wire directly distributed in the article of clothing10, and can also be conductive conductor knitted with the textile material of the article of clothing10integrally.

The battery31is a button cell battery, a lithium battery or a rechargeable battery. The button cell battery is also called as a watch battery or a coin battery. The battery31can be in electrical contact with the switch circuit32directly. The battery31provides electrical power to the light-emitting component20for emitting light. The switch circuit32is disposed on a circuit board, and other electronic circuits of conventional light-emitting circuit can also be disposed on the circuit board, for example, the electronic circuits can include a regulator, a flashing circuit, or a light sensing circuit.

The group of electric coupling switches40includes a first coupler41and a second coupler42disposed on the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12of the article of clothing10, respectively. The first coupler41is electrically connected to the switch circuit32. In this embodiment, the first coupler41and the second coupler42are conductors, and the group of electric coupling switches40includes direct-contact electric-coupling switch. It should be noted that the direct-contact electric-coupling switch defined in the present invention means that the first coupler41and the second coupler42of the group of electric coupling switches40can be the components electrically connected to each other physically, and the material of the components can be various conductors and the material which can flow current in normal temperature and under normal pressure. When the first coupler41and the second coupler42are in contact with each other, the current can flow the first coupler41and the second coupler42, and when the first coupler41is not in contact with the second coupler42, the flowing of the current is stopped. Please refer toFIG. 6, which is a schematic view of a first-type group of electric coupling switches of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. The first-type group of electric coupling switches40is a basic type group of electric coupling switches40of the present invention, and each of the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be a metal circular plate electrically connected to the electric wire34. When the first coupler41contacts the second coupler42, conductive connection is formed, and when the first coupler41is separated from the second coupler42, open circuit is formed.

In this embodiment, the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be magnetic conductive plates which can attract to each other, for example, the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be square plates (as shown inFIG. 1) adhered and fixed on two sleeves of the article of clothing10, respectively. That is, in this embodiment, the two sleeves are the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12of the article of clothing10. The light-emitting component20, the driver device30and the group of electric coupling switches40disposed in the article of clothing10can be used to form an electrical loop which is controlled, by the group of electric coupling switches40, to disconnect or conduct. Please refer toFIG. 3. As shown in an upper part ofFIG. 3, when the article of clothing10is folded, the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be in contact with each other physically to form electric coupling, and in this time, the switch circuit32is in an OFF status and the light-emitting component20is turned off. As shown in a lower part ofFIG. 3, when the user unfolds the article of clothing10to wear, the two sleeves must be separated first, so the first coupler41can be separated from the second coupler42automatically, and after the first coupler41leaves away from the second coupler42, the switch circuit32is in ON status and the light-emitting component20is turned on.

Please refer toFIG. 4, which is a schematic view of the folded article of clothing according to the first embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. When the user does not want to wear the article of clothing10and starts to fold the article of clothing10, the user can overlap the two sleeves first, so that the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are in contact with each other, so the first coupler41and the second coupler42are electrically coupled to each other on purpose, and the switch circuit32is in open-circuit status to disconnect the battery31and the light-emitting component20.

When electric coupling between the first coupler41and the second coupler42is disconnected, the switch circuit32can be conducted to enable the battery31to supply power to the light-emitting component20, so that user can receive the article of clothing10after confirming that the light-emitting component20is turned off. As a result, when not in use, the article of clothing10can automatically turn off the light-emitting component20, so as to extend standby time of the battery31.

When the user wants to wear the article of clothing10, for example, the user encounters heavy rain in the night and take the article of clothing10out of a luggage bag or a storage box of motorcycle, the user must unfold the article of clothing10to wear, so the first coupler41and the second coupler42disposed on the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12of the two sleeves of the article of clothing10can be separated from each other automatically; and, after the first coupler41leaves away from the second coupler42, the switch circuit32is in ON status to turn on the light-emitting component20to emit light, so that the user can turn on the light-emitting component20to emit light automatically without finding the switch in time. It should be understood that the circuit of the present invention can include a physical switch, and the user can manually control the physical switch to turn off the light-emitting component20for saving power when it is not necessary to turn on the light-emitting component20in current environment. According to the above description, the present invention provides an article of clothing which is able to emit light automatically when being worn, so as to prevent the user from delaying to use because of unable to find the switch in time.

Please refer toFIG. 5, which is a schematic view of unfolded self-light-emitting clothing of a second embodiment of the present invention. The article of clothing10of this embodiment is a front open vest. The light-emitting component20is disposed on the article of clothing10and distributed on a front part and a back part of the vest to enhance warning effect. The driver device30is disposed at an appropriate position in the article of clothing10. In this embodiment, the first coupler41and the second coupler42is disposed on two sides of the front chest portion of the vest. That is, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are defined on two sides of the front chest portion of the article of clothing10, respectively. The first coupler41and the second coupler42are electrically connected to driver device30through the electric wire34. In an embodiment, the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be metal fastening devices configured to fasten with each other. Please refer toFIGS. 7 and 8.FIG. 7is a schematic view of a second-type group of electric-coupling switches of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention, andFIG. 8is a schematic view of third-type group of electric-coupling switches of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. The first coupler41and the second coupler42shown inFIGS. 7 and 8are different types of metal fastening devices, and are electrically connected to the electric wire34. When the first coupler41is fastened with the second coupler42, conductive connection is formed; and, when the first coupler41is separated from the second coupler42, the conductive connection is disconnected. When the article of clothing10is folded, the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be fastened to form electrical conduction, so as to turn off the light-emitting component20. When the user wants to wear the article of clothing10, the first coupler41and the second coupler42must be unfastened to separate from each other, so that the driver device30is in ON status to turn on the light-emitting component20to emit light automatically.

Please refer toFIG. 9, which is a schematic view of the unfolded article of clothing of the third embodiment of the self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. The article of clothing10of this embodiment is a vest article of clothing constructed by bandwise objects. For example, a front chest belt, a strap, and a waist belt can form the vest article of clothing, and a fastening device with two separable parts is disposed on the waist belt. The light-emitting component20is disposed on the article of clothing10and distributed on the belts of different parts of the article of clothing10. The driver device30can be disposed in the fastening device. In this embodiment, the first coupler41and the second coupler42are disposed on two sides of the waist belt. That is, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are defined on two sides of the waist belt of the simple vest, respectively. In an embodiment, the first coupler41and the second coupler42can be metal fastening devices configured to fasten with each other, and when the article of clothing10is folded, the metal fastening devices are fastened to form electrical conduction, so as to turn off the light-emitting component20. In order to wear the article of clothing10, the user must unfasten the first coupler41and the second coupler42to separate from each other, so that the driver device30is in ON status to turn on the light-emitting component20to emit light automatically.

Please refer toFIGS. 10 to 12.FIG. 10is a circuit block diagram of self-light-emitting clothing according to a fourth embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention,FIG. 11is a schematic view of structure of a driver device according to the fourth embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention, andFIG. 12is a schematic view of the unfolded article of clothing according to the fourth embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. In this embodiment, the group of electric coupling switches50of previous embodiment is replaced by a group of indirect sensing electric coupling switches, and the first coupler51is the Hall sensor device and the second coupler52is the magnetic component. The Hall sensor device can sense magnetic change around. After the Hall sensor device in cooperation with the magnetic component senses the magnetic change around, the switch circuit32is controlled, according to a sensing result, to turn on or off the light-emitting component20to emit light. The second coupler52can be made by magnetic material, such as a magnet, magnetite, or a soft magnetic strip.

The group of electric coupling switches50includes the first coupler51and the second coupler52disposed on the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12of the article of clothing10, respectively. The first coupler51is electrically connected to the switch circuit32, and it is not necessary to electrically connect the second coupler52and the switch circuit32. The battery31and the switch circuit32of the driver device30are disposed in the shell member33, and the switch circuit32can be electrically connected to an external device through the electric wire34and the shell member33. The battery31is electrically connected to the light-emitting component20through the switch circuit32, and the first coupler51and the switch circuit32can be disposed on the same circuit board. The indirect-sensing electric-coupling switch defined in the present invention means that the first coupler51and the second coupler52of the group of electric coupling switches50are sensing devices not electrically connected to each other physically, and when the first coupler51and the second coupler52are moved close to effective magnetic area where the first coupler51and the second coupler52can affect each other, the switch circuit32can be controlled, according to the sensing result, to change a status thereof.

Please refer to the circuit block diagram ofFIG. 10. As shown in an upper part ofFIG. 10, when the article of clothing10is folded, the first coupler51and the second coupler52are moved into the effective magnetic area to form indirect electric coupling to each other, and at this time, the switch circuit32is in OFF status and the light-emitting component20is turned off. As shown in a lower part ofFIG. 10, when the user unfolds the article of clothing10to wear, the two sleeves must be separated from each other first, so the first coupler51is separated from the second coupler52automatically, and the first coupler51and the second coupler52leave away from the effective magnetic area; as a result, the switch circuit32is in ON status and the light-emitting component20is turned on.

Please refer toFIG. 12. In this embodiment, the article of clothing10is a two-piece light-emitting vest including a plurality of light-emitting components20. In this embodiment, the light-emitting component20can be a LED strip, and the light-emitting components20can be disposed on obvious portions of the article of clothing10. The article of clothing10includes a first arrangement area11and a second arrangement area12defined on a surface thereof, and when the article of clothing10is folded, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12can be moved close to each other, and when the article of clothing10is unfolded, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are separated from each other. For example, in this embodiment, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are defined on two sides of the front chest portion of the article of clothing10, respectively, and when the user does not want to wear the article of clothing10and starts to fold the article of clothing10, the two sides of the article of clothing10are folded along a centerline, and the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are moved close to each other, so that the first coupler51and the second coupler52can enter the effective magnetic area, the switch circuit32is in the OFF status (open circuit), and the battery31and the light-emitting component20are disconnected. The user can receive the article of clothing10after confirming that the light-emitting components20is turned off. As a result, when the article of clothing10is not in use, the light-emitting components20can be turned off automatically, thereby extending standby time of the battery31.

When the user wants to wear the article of clothing10, the article of clothing10can be spread out, and the first coupler51at the first arrangement area11and the second coupler52at the second arrangement area12can leave the effective magnetic area, and in this time, the switch circuit32is in ON status to turn on the light-emitting component20to emit light, so that the user can turn on the light-emitting component20to light automatically without finding the switch. It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the physical switch can also be disposed on the circuit, and the user can manually control the physical switch to turn off the light-emitting component20for saving power when the light emitted from the light-emitting component20is not required in environment. According to the above description, the present invention provides an article of clothing which is able to emit light automatically when being worn, thereby preventing the user from delaying to use because of unable to find the switch.

FIG. 13is a schematic view of the unfolded article of clothing according to a fifth embodiment of self-light-emitting clothing of the present invention. This embodiment is substantially the same as the fourth embodiment, and the difference between the fifth embodiment and the fourth embodiment is that the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12of the fifth embodiment are defined on upper and lower positions of a front side of the article of clothing10, respectively, and the second coupler52is implemented by a magnetic component having a larger area. When the user does not want to wear the article of clothing10and start folding the article of clothing10longitudinally, the first arrangement area11and the second arrangement area12are moved close to each other, and in this time, the second coupler52, which is a magnetic component having a larger area, can facilitate the first coupler51to enter the effective magnetic area of the second coupler52, so that the light-emitting component20can be turned off during the folding process, and the user can receive the article of clothing10. When the user wants to wear the article of clothing10, the article of clothing10is spread out, and the first coupler51at the first arrangement area11and the second coupler52at the second arrangement area12can leave away from the effective magnetic area easily, and in this time, the switch circuit32can be in ON status to turn on the light-emitting component20to emit light, so that the user can turn on the light-emitting component20to light automatically without finding the switch.