Abstract:
A portable light reel system holding electro-luminescent (EL) wire and self-contained electronics, providing a stand-alone and self-contained light reel. The rotatably mounted cylindrical hub about which the EL wire is wound accommodates a battery and inverter. A waterproof switch is operative to impress a high frequency A.C. voltage upon the EL wire providing an “ON” state or a “BLINKING” state. An external power connector is provided the means for charging the batteries as well as supplying power to the inverter.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/422,718, filed Oct. 31, 2002. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to storage reels for electrical wire. More specifically, the present invention is a portable self-contained light reel that holds electro-luminescent (EL) wire and houses a power supply for the wire. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Portable reels storing strings of lights are often used for decorative purposes during holidays for decorating both the interior and exterior of houses. They also serve a utilitarian purpose when used by law enforcement and other emergency action personnel for cordoning off or otherwise illuminating a specific area. 
     In the most basic embodiment of light reels known in the related art, a string of discrete, wire-mounted lights is wound around a storage reel, the reel being operative to unwind the string of lights from the reel to a desired length. An electric plug disposed on one end of the string is inserted into a source of electricity. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,148, issued to K. R. Christensen in 1997, discloses a light string storage reel comprising at least one reel including a center section and first and second side sections, the center section having an essentially hollow interior for storage of the lights. U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,095, issued to M. J. Murfin in 2001, discloses a storage device for light strands, which includes a hollow housing having a rotatably mounted shaft. A hand crank is rotatably mounted to the sidewall of the housing and is attached to the shaft for selectively rotating the shaft to wind a light strand around the shaft. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,401, issued to P. S. O&#39;Donnell in 1999, discloses a hand reel storage device for a holiday light string, having an elongated cord, a plurality of light sockets with light bulbs, a plug on a first end and an outlet on a second end. 
     Reels for storing and dispensing wire capable of conducting electricity are not limited to light strings. Canadian Patent No. 1,237,469, discloses a reel for electric fence wire in which the hub or support for the reel accommodates an electric fence energizer device which provides a high voltage impulse to the electric fence. The hub may also accommodate batteries for supplying power to the energizer device. 
     Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,433,279, issued to Doss et al. in 2002, discloses two juxtaposed reels which retract an output power plug cable and an input power cable connected to an accessory power input plug. 
     In addition, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0100652, issued to T. G. Loyd in 2002 discloses a system for supplying power to a marine vessel that comprises at least one battery charger device, at least one battery and at least one retractable cord device. The battery charger is connected to the battery and adapted to transmit voltage to the battery. The retractable cord device is connected to the battery charger and is adapted to transmit voltage to the battery charger. 
     The more prevalent use of wire storage reels is for storing and dispensing electric power cords, some with automatic retraction mechanisms and some without. A brief list of U.S. Patents in the field of reels for storing and distributing electrically conducting cable includes: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,267, 3,837,448, 4,143,746, 4,244,536, 4,284,180, 4,721,833, 6,035,983, and 6,059,081. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a portable light reel system solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a portable light reel system for storing, dispensing and illuminating EL wire. EL wire is an electronic component that can only be activated by a voltage driver. The brightness intensity level depends on the voltage and frequency applied to it. The higher the voltage and frequency, the brighter the EL wire illuminates. The present invention utilizes a DC to AC inverter designed to generate a certain voltage and frequency, optimized for a specific length of EL wire. 
     The system has a housing containing a rotatably mounted cylindrical hub around which the wire is wound. The cylindrical hub is hollow, waterproof, and is adapted to accommodate a battery and the DC to AC inverter. A switch disposed on the hub selectively connects the output of the inverter to the EL wire. An external power connector mounted on the hub is provided for recharging the battery and provides an alternate way of supplying power to the inverter. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a lightweight, low profile structure that contains a plastic light reel which holds EL wire and which contains a power supply for the EL wire, thereby providing a stand-alone and self-contained, portable light reel. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a portable light reel, which can control the “on-off” rate at which the EL wire is illuminated. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable light reel on which EL wire can be easily stored, unwound and rewound. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a light reel that holds EL wire, which can be used for lighting when no ac mains power is available. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable light reel for EL wire that can be used emergency purposes, such as landing lights for helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, marking crime scenes, firefighting and police operations. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 an environmental, perspective view of a portable light reel system according to the present invention with an input connector for charging the battery and illuminating the EL wire from an external DC power source. 
     FIG. 2 is an environmental, perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the portable light reel system in which the external power is provided by 120 VAC. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded side view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is a portable light reel  100 , as generally shown in FIGS. 1-4. The light reel  100  is composed of a cylindrical reel  120  mounted in a support structure  102 , within which the reel  120  may be rotated by means of a folding handle  112 , for the purpose of paying out or rewinding electro-luminescent (EL) wire  110 . 
     The support structure  102  may be fabricated from aluminum, plastic, or another suitable lightweight material, and has a base  108  with a generally rectangular, flat surface and two circular support members  104 ,  106  arising from opposite sides of the base  108 . A handle  140  located at the top of the support structure  102  and extending between circular support members  104 , 106  provides a convenient means of carrying the unit 
     The reel  120  is molded from lightweight plastic, or may be constructed from aluminum or another lightweight material, and forms a hollow cylinder having molded flanges  322 ,  324  on either end of the cylinder for retaining the wire  110  on the reel  120 . A honeycomb lattice  330  provides structurally integrity for the flanges  322 ,  324 , while providing a more lightweight structure than solid flanges. 
     A distal end cover  310 , and a proximal end cover  122 , are adapted to provide a waterproof seal on either end of the reel  120 . The waterproof seal may be achieved through the use of one of several methods, or a combination of methods, which include waterproof sealing cement and/or a flexible waterproof gasket between the end cover and the reel. 
     The reel  120  rotates within the cavity formed by the circular support members  104 ,  106 . As shown in FIG. 3, circular support member  106  has a horizontal support member, such as strap or bar  318 , extending across the diameter of the support member  106 . Bar  318  has a hole  334  defined therein. An axle bolt  312  passes through holes  328 ,  334  in the distal end cover  310  and bar  318 , respectively, and is secured by retaining ring  314 , which clips into a groove defined in the end of axle bolt  312 , thereby rotatably mounting one end of the reel  120  to support member  106 . Two rollers  320 , made of a friction reducing material such as nylon, are mounted to the bottom of the proximal circular support structure  104 . The proximal end flange  322  defines a rim which bears on rollers  320 , so that when handle  112  is cranked, the proximal end flange  322  rotates on rollers  320 , while the distal end rotates about axle bolt  312 . The inner diameter of the circular support members  104 ,  106  and the outer diameter of the reel flanges  322 ,  324  are dimensioned to allow the reel  120  to rotate freely without excessive horizontal or vertical deflection. 
     The hollow interior of the reel  120  accommodates a twelve volt rechargeable battery  302  and a DC to AC inverter  304 . The battery  302  may be of standard lead acid construction, or may be of lithium ion composition, thereby achieving lighter weight and greater output power. The input voltage of the inverter  304  is approximately twelve volts, and the output voltage and frequency of the inverter is predetermined to best illuminate the length of EL wire  110  disposed on the reel  120 . Preferably the inverter  304  in the present invention supplies a voltage of approximately 90 VAC at 1800 Hz. to the EL wire  110 . The electrical connection between the battery  302  and inverter  304  is explained in detail below. 
     One end of the battery  302  is received and supported by a recess  326  disposed in the inner surface of the distal end cover,  310 . The proximal end of the battery  302  is adhesively fastened to one side of the inverter  304 , the inverter  304  being fastened to the inner surface of the proximal end cover  122  by means of a pair of screws  338 , passing through lugs  336  extending from the inverter  304  and secured by captive nuts  316  disposed on the inner surface of the end cover  122 . A pair of elongated threaded bolts  308  tightly sandwich together the reel  120 , battery  302 , and inverter  304  between the end covers  310 ,  122 . The bolts  308  pass through apertures  340  cut in the distal end cap  310  and are secured by captive nuts  316  disposed in the proximal end cap  122 . 
     The EL wire  110  is comprised of an inner conductor coated with luminescent material over which a pair of outer conductors is helically wound. A plastic sheath of clear or colored material protects the wire from damage, as well as providing a means for altering the color of the light. One end of the EL wire  110  passes through a silicon gasket in the cylindrical surface of the reel  120 , maintaining the waterproof integrity of the hollow interior. A wire connector  306  electrical connects the three conductors of the EL wire  110  to the output of the inverter  304 . A three-position double pole, double throw waterproof switch  114  disposed on the outer surface of the proximal end cover  122  selectively controls the output of the inverter  304 . 
     The schematic drawing of FIG. 5 best describes the operation of the electrical components of the portable light reel  100 . In the “OFF” position, shown in the figure, the inverter  304  is disconnected from the battery  302 . The remaining two switch positions are operative to cause the EL wire  110  to illuminate continuously with a steady glow, or to blink at a predetermined rate. One pole of the switch  114  is operative to connect the negative or ground terminal of the battery  302  to one input terminal of the inverter  304 . The positive terminal of the battery  302  is always connected to the other input terminal of the inverter  304  are connected together. An external power input connector  116  is provided for charging the battery  302 , as well providing an alternate source of power for driving the inverter  304  directly from an A.C. source, with the conversion from A.C. to D.C. being performed by a transformer external to the reel  120 , as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     The blinking rate is determined by the value of a resistor R 1  impressed across inverter control leads C 1  and C 2 . When the switch  114  is in the “ON” state, there is an effective short between control leads C 1  and C 2 . When the switch is in the “BLINK” position, resistor R 1  is switched across control leads C 1  and C 2 . 
     The aforementioned embodiment of the present invention  100  is designed for emergency and military personnel and as such was designed with a 12 VDC external input power connector  116 . As shown in FIG. 1, the output of an AC to DC converter  130 , such as a wall charger, may be connected to the external DC power input connector  116  to charge the battery  302  and drive the inverter  304 . 
     FIG. 2 discloses an alternative embodiment  200  in which the external power is provided by a 120 VAC power cable and plug  210  inserted into a recessed male power connector  202 . A battery charger (not shown) contained within the reel and electrically connected to the battery  302  and inverter  304  operates to convert the 120 VAC to 12 VDC to charge the battery  302  and power the inverter  304 . 
     Using an alternative inverter with different output power and frequency characteristics one may vary the brightness of the illuminated EL wire. An additional dimmer or toggle switch (not shown) may optionally be provided on the end cover for controlling the brightness of the EL wire. 
     All openings on the end cover  122  for the power switch  114  and external power connector  116  are provided with waterproof gaskets (not shown) or other means for maintaining the waterproof integrity of the hollow compartment within the reel  120 . 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.