Abstract:
The invention disclosed provides a convertible safety body cover with interchangeable light patterns. The safety body cover has an outer front panel permanently connected to an outer rear panel. A first light pattern is mounted to an inner front panel that is removeably mounted to the outer front panel. A second light pattern is mounted to an inner rear panel that is removeably mounted to the outer rear panel. The light pattern panels are removed and replaced with different light pattern panels to create different visual effects.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of illuminated safety garments, and more particularly to a safety body cover having an interchangeable light pattern. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A safety vest, or body cover, is typically a light weight garment that is highly visible and intended to be worn to insure the wearer is visible to a driver of a vehicle. Safety vests are worn by workers involved in road construction and by persons exercising on roads used by vehicles. At times when ambient illumination is low, e.g. early mornings, late afternoons, evenings and in situations when visibility is minimal, e.g. during a fog, safety vests with lights are sometimes used. Examples of known safety vests with lights are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,488, U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,106, and U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2006/0034064. 
     While the above listed inventions provide safety vests with lighting apparatus, a problem persists in that the vests are not used regularly by persons exercising on roads used by vehicles. This lapse results in many unnecessary accidents because the exerciser is often not seen by the vehicle driver in time to avoid injury. Construction workers involved in road projects wear safety vests more regularly, possibly because of insurance requirements or governmental regulations. It remains a problem to motivate exercisers to wear a safety vest, especially a lighted safety vest during times of low ambient light. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a novel safety body cover that is designed to encourage greater use by persons exercising on roads in low light conditions. The body cover is formed with an outer panel and an inner panel at the front and the rear portions. The outer panels are semi-transparent. The inner panels carry a lighted pattern that is connected to a power supply. The inner panels are removably connected to the outer panels. The user can choose an inner panel with a preferred light pattern, or convert the body cover by replacing one inner panel with another inner panel having a different light pattern. It is anticipated that the selection of light pattern, or the changeability of light pattern, will motivate persons exercising on a road in low light conditions to more consistently wear such a lighted safety body cover. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is best understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which like elements are identified by similar reference numerals and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a convertible safety body cover of the invention being worn with a first light pattern installed and illuminated. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the safety body cover of  FIG. 1  with the front outer panel and the rear outer panel lifted to expose the front inner panel and the rear inner panel. 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the safety body cover of  FIG. 2  with the front inner panel removed. 
         FIG. 3A  is a side view of the front inner panel of  FIG. 3  taken in the direction of line A-A. 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the safety body cover of  FIG. 3  with a front inner panel having a different light pattern installed. 
         FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of the convertible safety body cover of  FIG. 4  being worn and illuminated. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the convertible safety body cover  10  of the invention is illustrated being worn by a person doing exercise, the person shown in dashed lines. Body cover  10  has an outer front panel  12  and an inner front panel  20  removably mounted thereto. A light pattern  14  is mounted to inner front panel  20  and is seen being illuminated through outer front panel  12 . A power supply, to be described below, is provided to illuminate light pattern  14 . 
     Referring further to  FIG. 1 , body cover  10  has an outer rear panel  24  that is integral with, or permanently assembled to, outer front panel  12 , a neck hole being provided substantially between outer front panel  12  and outer rear panel  24 . An inner rear panel  26  is removably mounted to outer rear panel  24 . A closure means  28 , e.g. a strap or a pair of snap fasteners, is provided to hold the front and rear panels of body cover  10  close to the body of the person during exercise. 
     Referring further to  FIG. 1 , light pattern  14  is formed of an array of LEDs that are electrically energized, or optionally of a continuous light tube. Light pattern  14  is illustrated in the form of a stylized star pattern. A further light pattern (not shown) is mounted to inner rear panel  26 , the rear light pattern optionally being like or different from the front light pattern in shape and color. According to the main objective of the invention, alternate patterns may be formed to allow the user to choose a style according to personal preference and to convert body cover  10  by changing patterns as desired. The light patterns may be of different shapes, including initials, words, letters, designs, etc. and/or of different colors. As noted above, this convertibility and the availability of varied light patterns is intended to increase use of the subject safety body cover by persons exercising on a road in low light conditions. Outer front panel  12  and outer rear panel  24  are preferably formed of a lightweight fabric that is semi-transparent to make light pattern  14  and the rear light pattern (not shown) clearly visible when energized. Alternately, outer front panel  12  and outer rear panel  24  may be formed of a translucent plastic resin. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , convertible safety body cover  10  is shown with outer front panel  12  and outer rear panel  24  lifted upwardly. Inner front panel  20  and inner rear panel  26  are seen hanging downwardly. Light pattern  14  is mounted to the forward facing surface of inner front panel  20 . A power supply  30 , e.g. a battery with a switch attached, is mounted to inner front panel  20  and connected to light pattern  14 . A second light pattern (not shown) and a second power supply are mounted to the rearward facing surface of inner rear panel  26 . In use, a top fastener  22  and a pair of side fasteners  32  that are mounted to the inner surface of outer front panel  12  and the outer surface of inner front panel  20  serve to hold inner front panel  20  to outer front panel  12 . Fasteners  22 ,  32  may be zippers, snap fasteners, hook-and-loop fasteners (e.g. Velcro®), or any other fastener appropriate to the purpose. Straps  28  are shown in the untied condition hanging from respective panels. Optionally, straps  28  may be fitted with buckles, snap fasteners, hook-and-loop fasteners, or left plain to be tied to one another. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , body cover  10  is illustrated in similar condition to the condition of  FIG. 2 . At this stage, inner front panel  20  has been separated from outer front panel  12  in order to be replaced with a different inner front panel having a different light pattern. It will be understood that substitute inner front panels and inner rear panels are to be produced in identical dimensions with top fastener  22  and side fasteners  32  in matching positions. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, light pattern  14  is mounted to a flexible sheet  20 , e.g. a vinyl plastic sheet. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3A , inner front panel  20  is shown in lateral edge view. Light pattern  14  and power supply  30  are mounted to inner front panel  20 . A second flexible sheet  21  is mounted over inner front panel  20  as added protection for light pattern  14 , second sheet  21  being transparent. Second sheet  21  is preferably sealed to inner front panel  20  at their mutual periphery, e.g. by adhesive or thermal means. A similar protective transparent sheet is mounted to inner rear panel  26  (see  FIG. 3 ) to protect the light pattern mounted thereto. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the safety body cover of the invention is now identified as body cover  10 ′, having been converted by assembly of inner front panel  20 ′ bearing a different light pattern  14 ′. The initial step of assembling an inner panel to body cover  10 ′ is to align and engage top fastener  22 ′. Outer front panel  12  is then pressed to inner front panel  20 ′ and outer panel side fasteners  32  engaged with inner panel side fasteners  32 ′ to secure the front panels to one another. If the light pattern mounted to inner rear panel  26  is also to be changed, a similar procedure is conducted. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , safety body cover  10 ′ is shown being worn by a person doing exercise. Alternate light pattern  14 ′ is seen illuminated behind semi-transparent outer front panel  12 . A second light pattern (not shown) is also illuminated and visible through outer rear panel  24 , the rear visibility of a person exercising in a road area with low light conditions being of major importance. Closure straps  28  are attached to maintain safety body cover  10 ′ securely and comfortably on the user. 
     As noted above, the light pattern may be formed as geometric shapes, artistic renderings, letters, numbers, and any combination. This versatility provides the safety body cover user the ability to select a light pattern by personal preference. It is also possible to supply the safety body cover with a plurality of light patterns, e.g. to select a first light pattern for jogging alone, and select a different light pattern for exercising with a group, the light pattern optionally may display a group logo or an advertisement and worn by all members of the group. 
     While the description above discloses preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is contemplated that numerous variations and modifications of the invention are possible and are considered to be within the scope of the claims that follow.