Patent Publication Number: US-10786054-B1

Title: High visibility vest with hands free umbrella device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to umbrellas and shade producing devices, and more particularly to a hands-free variant of an umbrella. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
     When working outdoors for long periods of time, workers will often encounter harsh weather conditions such as rain or extreme heat. Unfortunately, workers are often unable to utilize proper shade or shelter devices as they must continually use their hands and/or move about the job site. 
     Additionally, most employers require their employees and contractors to wear brightly colored reflective vests at all times on a job site so as to be visible to heavy machinery operators and/or vehicular traffic passing along or through the site. Although useful for allowing the wearer to be visible, these vests serve no other useful purpose. 
     Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide an improved high visibility vest having an integrated handsfree umbrella system so as to overcome the drawbacks of the above noted devices and provide increased usability, safety and comfort to wearers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a hands-free umbrella device. One embodiment of the present invention can include a vest having a waist strap and a pair of shoulder straps. The vest can be constructed from various lightweight materials and can preferably include high visibility markings along a portion or the entire body. An umbrella assembly is removably connected to the vest, and can include a central pole, a sliding control mechanism, a rib assembly and a canopy. 
     In one embodiment, a plurality of retention members is disposed along the back portion of the vest for receiving an elongated shaft that is connected to the umbrella assembly. The elongated shaft can include a user adjustable shape, and the retention members can be arranged so as to position the umbrella assembly over the left or right shoulder of a wearer. 
     In one embodiment, the umbrella includes functionality for transitioning between an open position and a closed position. In one embodiment, the umbrella assembly is telescopically engaged to the elongated shaft and a height of the umbrella canopy is adjustable. 
     This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the high visibility vest with hands free umbrella device that is useful for understanding the inventive concepts disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a back perspective view of the high visibility vest with hands free umbrella device, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is another back perspective view of the high visibility vest with hands free umbrella device, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention. 
     Definitions 
     As described herein, the term “removably secured,” and derivatives thereof shall be used to describe a situation wherein two or more objects are joined together in a non-permanent manner so as to allow the same objects to be repeatedly joined and separated. 
     As described herein, the terms “connector” and “complementary connector” include any number of different elements that work together to repeatedly join two items together in a nonpermanent manner. Several nonlimiting examples include opposing strips of hook and loop material (i.e. Velcro®), attractively-oriented magnetic elements, flexible strips of interlocking projections with a slider (i.e., zipper), tethers, buckles such as side release buckles, and compression fittings such as T-handle rubber draw latches, hooks, snaps and buttons, for example. Each illustrated connector and complementary connector can be permanently secured to the illustrated portion of the device via a permanent sealer such as glue, adhesive tape, or stitching, for example. 
       FIGS. 1-3  illustrate one embodiment of a vest with hands free umbrella device  10  that are useful for understanding the inventive concepts disclosed herein. In each of the drawings, identical reference numerals are used for like elements of the invention or elements of like function. For the sake of clarity, only those reference numerals are shown in the individual figures which are necessary for the description of the respective figure. For purposes of this description, the terms “upper,” “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown best in  FIG. 1 , the vest portion of the device  10  can include a chest strap  11  which surrounds the chest/abdomen of a user  1 , and a pair of shoulder straps  12  and  13  which are connected to the front and back facing portions of the chest strap  11  and extend over each of the user&#39;s shoulders. In one embodiment, the shoulder straps  12  and  13  are arranged diagonally along the back of the wearer and are joined together via the support patch  32  described below. 
     In the preferred embodiment, each of the straps  11 - 13  can be constructed from an elongated malleable material such as polyester webbing, for example, and can be joined together via stitching or other known construction techniques. Additionally, each of the straps can include length adjustment mechanisms  14  such as the illustrated slide buckles, and the waist strap can include a connector  15  such as the illustrated side release buckle, for example. 
     Additionally, in the preferred embodiment, high visibility markings  16  such as neon coloring, reflective tape, and/or incandescent paint can be provided along the entire vest so as to increase visibility of the wearer. 
     Of course, any number of other construction materials, length adjustment mechanisms and connectors capable of adjusting and/or joining the strap components together are also contemplated, so as to allow a user to adjust the fit of the vest to their particular body size and/or comfort requirements. 
     As shown best at  FIGS. 2 and 3 , an umbrella assembly can be removably secured along the back side of the vest, so as to be worn by the user. In one embodiment, the umbrella assembly can include a central pole  21  having a sliding control mechanism  22  that is in communication with a rib assembly  23  for selectively transitioning the waterproof fabric canopy  24  between an open and closed orientation. In the preferred embodiment, the canopy  24  will also include high visibility markings  16  along the entirety so as to increase visibility of the wearer. 
     As described herein, the central pole  21  can include a rigid shaft along which the sliding control mechanism can move, or the central pole can be constructed from a plurality of rigid shafts that are telescopically positioned so as to be adjustable in length. Each of these arrangements are well known in the art. 
     In one embodiment, the umbrella assembly can also include an elongated shaft  25  having a top end  25   a  and a bottom end  25   b . As shown, the top end of the shaft  25   a  can be removably or permanently secured to the bottom end of the central pole  21  via a clamp  26  or other type of connector. In one embodiment, the top of the shaft  25  can include an opening and a hollow interior into which the bottom portion of the pole  21  can be positioned. In such embodiments, the connector  26  can include a threaded clamp which (when loosened) can allow the central pole to telescope away from and within the shaft. Such a feature allowing a user to adjust the height of the umbrella as shown by arrow a. 
     The shaft  25  can include any number of different lengths and can be constructed from either a rigid material or a material which allows flexion in three dimensions in order to allow a user to bend and/or orient the umbrella at any number of different positions as shown by arrow b and for the shaft to maintain the user-defined position (i.e., position memory). As described herein, the shaft  25  may be constructed from any number of different materials such as various soft metals, alloys and/or flexible plastics, for example. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the shaft  25  can be connected to the back side of the vest so as to extend above either the left or right shoulder of the wearer. In this regard, the vest can include a pair of upper retention loops  12   a  and  13   a , a support patch assembly  33 , and a lower retention pocket  34 . 
     In one embodiment, a support patch assembly  33  can be constructed from an identical material as the vest and can include a central body section that is stitched to each of the straps  12  and  13  where they intersect. A pair of retention loops  31  and  32  can be formed along each side of the patch and can each comprise hollow vertical channels for individually receiving the elongated shaft  25  when the same is to be positioned in a left or right side configuration, respectively. In this regard, the support patch assembly advantageously performs two distinct functions, as it 1) functions to align and maintain the position of the shoulder straps  12 - 13 , and 2) provides a connection point for positioning and securing the shaft to the users back. 
     In one embodiment, the lower retention pocket  34  can also be constructed from the same material as the vest and can include an opening  35  into which the bottom end of the shaft  25   b  can be positioned. Padding (not illustrated) is preferably sealed within the pocket so as to provide a cushion against the users back. In various embodiments, the shaft can be permanently or removably positioned within the pocket. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the vest is preferably constructed with each of the retention loops  12   a ,  13   a ,  31 ,  32 , patch  33 , and pocket  34  as permanent elements, so as to ensure the overall vest remains lightweight (e.g., less than 8 ounces) and to allow the vest to be laundered repeatedly without damage or loss of function. However, other embodiments are contemplated wherein one or more of the retention loops  12   a ,  13   a ,  31 ,  32 , patch  33 , or pocket  34  are constructed from other materials, or are removably connected to the vest so as to be adjustable in nature. 
     Although described above as including a specific shaped vest having a specific number of components at specific locations along the vest, this is for illustrative purposes only, as the inventive concepts are not to be construed as limiting to the figures as shown. To this end, any number of different types or shapes of vests/garments capable of being worn by a user are also contemplated. Moreover, any number of different components capable of receiving an umbrella assembly having any number of different shapes are also contemplated. 
     As described herein, one or more elements of the hands-free umbrella device  10  can be secured together utilizing any number of known attachment means such as, for example, screws, glue, compression fittings and welds, among others. Moreover, although the above embodiments have been described as including separate individual elements, the inventive concepts disclosed herein are not so limiting. To this end, one of skill in the art will recognize that one or more individually identified elements may be formed together as one or more continuous elements, either through manufacturing processes, such as welding, casting, or molding, or through the use of a singular piece of material milled or machined with the aforementioned components forming identifiable sections thereof. 
     As to a further description of the manner and use of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Likewise, the terms “consisting” shall be used to describe only those components identified. In each instance where a device comprises certain elements, it will inherently consist of each of those identified elements as well. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.