JP4138927B2 - Optical transmission method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of light delivery, and in particular uses such media as self-supporting photoconductive media and light transmission materials for use in reflective belts, vests, helmets, etc. for safety and similar considerations. About that.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, there has been an interest in welfare and health in the United States and many other countries, so individuals and groups can run, jog or walk for exercise on streets, sidewalks, parks and running paths in cities and countryside. Enjoying is becoming normal. Due to time constraints, many people run in dusk evenings or darkness before or after work. If the light is dim or dark, street lighting is located in the corner of the street, and long street blocks usually have large unlit intervals, so the sidewalk is missing or damaged. Hence, the street lighting occupied by the runner is minimal, and therefore the runner is not always clearly visible. Another factor that affects visibility is the dark clothing worn by many runners, and this dark clothing does not reflect light, so when a runner is present, a vehicle driver traveling on the street However, it is not easy to see the runner.
[0003]
Recent attempts to make the runner easier to see include efforts to make the runner wear white or light colored clothing or capture light from the running vehicle so that it can be more easily seen from the light projected from the running vehicle. And an effort to provide a running garment such as a jacket with light reflecting tape on the front and back. Even if these measures are taken, there are many accidents related to the runner and the traveling vehicle, but these accidents can be avoided. When a runner or jogger collides with a traveling vehicle, it is clear that the runner suffers more serious damage, and the number of runner deaths due to collision with the traveling vehicle has increased in recent years.
[0004]
In order to overcome these problems, attendant damage and death, and associated costs, efforts are being made to provide devices that make the runner more visible in the dark or in poor visibility environments. One common device is a reflective vest worn on a runner's torso with reflective tape placed on top and in horizontal and / or vertical orientation. However, if the driver does not light the lights at dusk, the vest is impractical. Similarly, the reflective belt worn by the runner is not effective when the runner is not running in a place where the reflective material shines with the light from the street light or when the light from the vehicle is not directed towards the belt.
[0005]
Most recently, various types of individually driven light delivery devices are being worn by runners or joggers to improve visibility in twilight or darkness. Such a light delivery device is mounted on the runner's leg to provide a continuous light beam and is one of the wearers, such as a leg lamp having a self-contained battery pack, lamp and reflector. A device for mounting on the above-mentioned leg is included. Other types utilize flash or flashing illuminators with dispersive lenses for projecting light. Also, flash type aircraft strobe lights are available that can be clipped to a belt or clothes to provide a high visibility light source to improve visibility in the dark.
[0006]
However, these devices are limited in either the intensity of the light source or the angle at which the light is visible. The majority of the device is not visible at an angle of 160 to 180 degrees. Therefore, if the vehicle is approaching the runner at an angle where the device cannot be seen from the side, a collision may not be avoided when the driver finds the runner. To overcome this, multiple ramps can be used, but this approach adds extra weight and is uncomfortable for the runner. Many reflective belts also use electroluminescent materials with a relatively low level light source that provides only a limited field of view.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention allows the above limitations and disadvantages of known light delivery devices to be viewed from a distance, the runner can comfortably wear, and the runner can see the runner from virtually any approach angle. It is overcome by providing a very high intensity light emitter that can be incorporated into a reflective belt or vest.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a light transmission method and apparatus effective for providing a light transmission apparatus with higher intensity than that currently used in safety devices such as reflective vests and safety vests. A light delivery device is a self-supporting light in the form of a light source such as a flash bulb or light emitting diode (LED) and one or more elongated members of flexible thermoplastic commonly used as hot melt adhesives. A conductive medium. Hot melt adhesives are of various lengths and cross-sectional shapes and may have various clarity or transparency. Hot melt adhesives are flexible and emit light at a relatively high intensity along the length of the light source when placed at the end of the member, providing higher visibility than electroluminescent materials. High transparency or clarity to communicate.
[0009]
The present invention also includes a reflective vest and / or a light emitting device that can be incorporated into a runner or other user's body and conforms to the body without discomfort due to its high flexibility. One method using a hot melt adhesive is to have a hot melt adhesive rod aligned axially with a light emitting diode sandwiched between the ends and a pair of conductive materials that parallel the rod and connect to the light emitting diode. In use with textile strips. Such a structure can be formed by various methods such as extrusion molding and injection molding.
[0010]
The present invention further includes the provision of a light emitting belt formed of a strip or band of velcro material. In this case, the loop strip is opaque and light reflective, the hook strip is a translucent material that transmits light, and the light transmitting member and the light emitting diode are disposed between the strips. Strips are formed around the member and are joined by Velcro loops and hooks.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the drawings illustrating exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and referring to the disclosure of the figures, FIG. 1 shows a person (adult or child) 10 wearing a belt 11 with increased brightness of the present invention. ing. The belt 11 is shown wrapped around the wearer's waist. The wearer may be a child playing in the dark, or an adult running or walking in the dark, and they want to be seen by the transit transportation. Such a belt is particularly suitable for police officers during traffic control and firefighters heading to the night fire scene.
[0012]
The belt 11 is made up of a strip 12 on the back side made of an elongate opaque and light-reflective material and an elongate translucent front strip 13 made of a material that allows light to be transmitted and seen by others. Yes. A light delivery device 15 is placed in a tube or case formed by these backside strips and translucent frontside strips. The apparatus includes one or more elongated members 16 of a substantially transparent thermoplastic material, commonly known as a hot melt adhesive. Such materials are available from H.C. of St. Paul, Minnesota. B. Stock number 110 ethylene-vinyl acetate manufactured by Fuller, low density polyethylene identified as “Crafty” hot melt adhesive manufactured by Ad-Tech Plastics System, a division of Adhesive Technologies (“Crafty”) Is a registered trademark of Ad-Tech), an adhesive consisting primarily of a polypropylene thermoplastic material or a polyamide adhesive identified as # 7820 Hysol manufactured by Hysol Engineering Adhesives of Seabrook, New Hampshire. All of the above materials have great flexibility and a high degree of transparency. H. B. Fuller's ethylene-vinyl acetate is available as pellets, pillows or rods of various lengths. These rods are extremely flexible and their transparency is determined by melting and rapidly cooling the material at 300 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (about 149 to 177 degrees Celsius).
[0013]
A plurality of light emitting diodes 17 are provided in the belt 1 between both ends of the axially extending member 16 so as to be a light transmission source for the rod and other elongated members. Parallel to the rod are two strips or bands 18, 19 of conductive fabric such as "Flectron" (registered trademark of Monsanto). This conductive fabric is a nickel or nickel / copper mesh material, and a current flows from the power source (see FIG. 5) to the light emitting diode via the connection line 21.
[0014]
The member 16 has an appropriate length depending on the desired light transmission with the light emitting diodes positioned between them, and these members, the light emitting diodes and the conductive fabric are arranged between the strips. The strips 12, 13 are positioned between the elongate strips 12, 13 by stitching them together at their outer edges 22. In this case, the thermoplastic material, the conductive fabric, and the light emitting diode are supplied to the extruder, and the thermoplastic material is molded into a desired cross-sectional shape at the time of extrusion, and the light emitting diode and the conductive fabric are made of the thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material may be embedded in to act as an insulator between the conductive fabric and the light emitting diode, or the conductive fabric and the light emitting diode may be placed in a desired mold and hot melt around them. An adhesive thermoplastic material may be injected or transfer molded and rapidly cooled to obtain maximum transparency.
[0015]
The member 16 is a suitable length of ethylene-vinyl acetate thermoplastic material, and the light emitting diode 17 as the light delivery source is any light source of visible or invisible light such as near infrared or infrared. More common light emission formats are relatively high intensity flashlight bulbs, light emitting diodes, halogen lamps or lasers. The conductive material may be the conductive fabric described above, but any other suitable conductive fabric, polymer, liquid, gas, metal or any combination thereof for supplying electrical energy to the electrical input of the light emitting diode. It's okay. The light transmission material can also act as an electrical insulator.
[0016]
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of an electrical circuit suitable for powering the belt of the present invention, which is connected in series with a switch 23 between terminals 4 and 5 of a 3909 LED flasher chip 24. A 0 volt DC battery 22 is provided, and the terminal 4 is connected to a common ground 25. The first transistor 26 has a base 27 connected to the terminal 2 of the chip and an emitter 28 connected to the terminal 6. The collector 29 of this transistor is connected to the base 32 of the second transistor 31, which is connected to the emitter 33 connected to the common ground 25 and to one side 36 of the plurality of diodes 17. And the other side 37 of the plurality of diodes is connected to a battery 22 in parallel with the diodes. The capacitor 38 is connected between the terminal 2 and the terminal 8 of the chip.
[0017]
FIGS. 6-9 show a second embodiment 41 of a reflective belt, in which the belt is formed from a retro-reflective material known as “Reflexite” (a registered trademark of Reflexite). Has been. The belt comprises a white support strip or elongate strip 42 that reflects light forward and a front elongate strip 43 that is a vinyl lens for light multiplication. The member 44, the diode 45, and their connection are a circuit including a circuit as shown in FIG. 5 and a battery pack 47 for providing power to this circuit in a tube or case formed by the strips 43, 44. Arranged together with the board 46. Vinyl lenses scatter light from the rods more evenly along the entire length of the rods so that the light is projected to a significant distance with either constant light emission or flashing or flashing light. To.
[0018]
FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment 51 of a reflective belt, in which the belt is formed of a backside strip or band and a front translucent strip or band 53, one or A further elongated light transmission member 54 is arranged between a pair of light emitting diodes 55, 56 that face each other so that light passes through the member 54. In this embodiment, the light emitting diodes 55, 56 are of different colors and can flash or flash at different speeds to provide a multicolor flash belt to the wearer.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 11, the elongate light transmission member 61 has an irregular contour with a rounded upper surface 62 and a recessed lower surface 63 made of a hot melt adhesive material. . The light-emitting diodes 64 spaced in the longitudinal direction are accommodated in a concave recess 63 in the center of the member 62, and the light-emitting diodes are embedded in a hot melt adhesive 65 that is formed around these light-emitting diodes and fills the recess 63. It is. The light emitting diodes are arranged to direct light in the length direction of the member 62. In the hot melt adhesive 65, an appropriate connection portion 66 for supplying electric power to these diodes is embedded.
[0020]
FIG. 12 discloses another elongate light emitting member 67 similar to that shown in FIG. 11, which includes a rounded upper surface 68 and a concave recess 69 on the lower surface. The concave depression 69 on the lower surface is positioned to send light along this member and spaced longitudinally within the hot melt adhesive 72. The light emitting diode 71 is accommodated. On the lower surface, some type of reflective device such as a light reflective microprism 73 is formed to improve the light transmission characteristics of this member. The members 61 and 67 can be extruded from a suitable extruder, and the light emitting diode and hot melt adhesive can be provided when these members exit the extruder. Further, the prism surface of the member 67 can be provided by using an appropriate roller or other components.
[0021]
FIGS. 13 and 14 show a fourth embodiment 81 of the reflective belt in which “Velcro” (a registered trademark of Velcro) of translucent nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene or polyester. , “Cosmolon” (registered trademark of YKK), or an elongated strip of hook / loop type material similar to this, to form a belt or case that houses the member 87 and the light emitting diode 88. The belt is formed with a strip 82 of “Velcro” type material on the back side that includes a loop 83, which strip 82 is of white or light colored material to reflect forward the light transmitted from the rod. . The translucent strip 84 on the front side of the “Velcro” material contains the material of the power hook 85. Since the member 87 and the light source are sandwiched between “Velcro” strips of material having loops and hooks facing each other, the members, the light source, and the connecting material are placed in a tube formed by the “Velcro” strips. And hooks and loops engage the strips at their edges 86 to form a belt.
[0022]
FIGS. 15 and 16 disclose the use of appropriate light sources and reflective materials in safety vests 91 as worn by workers in many industries, including workers in railway tracks, road construction, and the like. This vest is also used by police officers, intersection guards, or those who move in the field path to perform duties in dark lighting conditions. The vest includes a front panel 92 and a rear panel 93 joined by shoulders 94 so as to fit around the neck of the worker 95, and all parts are made of a lightweight mesh material. Both sides of the vest are open and straps 96 with velcro fasteners are attached and held to surround the operator's body without disturbing the operator's work. The vest includes a reflective strip 97. The strip is provided vertically or horizontally and has a front light emitting band 98 and a rear light emitting band (not shown) containing the same members and light source as used for the reflective belt. . Each band has a light emitting diode and battery pack 99 for the circuit as shown in FIG. 5 and is independent.
[0023]
Although the present invention is disclosed as a reflective belt or vest, a safety triangle, motorcycle rider, bicycle rider or inline roller skater used as a warning signal to a car or truck driver, a collision helmet, scuba diving Or it can be utilized or incorporated in a diving device for diving and many other such devices that ensure visibility. Such light-transmitting material is attached to the scuba diver's diving tank or diver's body.
[0024]
The ethylene-vinyl acetate thermoplastic material is extremely flexible and can be formed into any shape or cross-section and reshaped without affecting the light transmission properties of the material. Light is transmitted through the material at any angle, not just from the end of the member. Thus, light is projected onto the member perpendicular to the axis of the member or at any other angle relative to such an axis. Alternatives to ethylene-vinyl acetate plastic include low density polyethylene, polypropylene, copolyester plastic identified as “Spectar” from Eastman Chemical, and polyamide from Hysol Engineering Adhesives identified as # 7820 Hysol. There are thermoplastics, or combinations thereof. However, these materials may or may not be as flexible as ethylene-vinyl acetate plastic. For example, “Specter” is a relatively hard plastic with high transparency, but is harder than ethylene-vinyl acetate thermoplastic. The light-transmitting material emits light from all planes in all directions, whether internal or external, when driven by a light source. Also, if the device is used in a flammable situation, the thermoplastic hot melt adhesive can be treated with a suitable flame retardant to avoid fire or explosion.
[0025]
Other suitable materials that are transparent sealants other than hot melt adhesives include the following commercial products available as clear gels used in the form of beads of any suitable length. Such products are “Liquid Seal”, a trademark of Glidden's Macco Adhesives division, “Shoe Good” and “Shoe Good II”, a registered trademark of Electric Products, and a trademark of Electric Products A. "Google". The latter product is a gel formed essentially from propyl acetate and petroleum distillate. Each of these products is used as a gel but then hardens in the form of a flexible bead of sealant that can be utilized for light transmission.
[0026]
Light output intensity can be increased by selectively scoring the external plane of the light transmitting material, and in addition, by selectively backing the surface of the light transmitting material with a suitable reflective material. Can do. Dyes or colorants can be added to the light delivery material to alter the effect produced. Also, the visible light output of red, green and blue light emitting diodes can be combined with members in belts or vests, in which case the light travels along the core or surface of the light transmission medium and has a 64 color spectrum. Achieve an array. Also, in order to achieve the desired light output characteristics, light transmission members or strands can be laminated and bundled or woven together.
[0027]
The circuit shown in FIG. 5 drives the light source with a 3.0 volt battery pack, but other available circuits including different chips are available for other power sources (DC power supply or DC voltage of desired voltage and current). AC power source that can be converted).
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing the appearance of a person wearing a reflective belt of the present invention around his waist.
FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of a light source for use with a reflective belt.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reflective belt including a light emitting source.
4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electronic circuit for driving a reflective belt diode or other light source.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a reflective belt using a retroreflective tape including a diode and a light emitting member.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the light emitting source, omitting the translucent portion on the front side of the reflective belt.
8 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.
9 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG.
FIG. 10 is a cutaway view of a portion of a third embodiment of a reflective belt using different arrangements of diodes relative to a light transmission member.
FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing another embodiment of a light emitting member in which a diode is embedded in a hot-melt adhesive in a cross-sectional view.
12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a light emitting member similar to that shown in FIG.
FIG. 13 is a front view showing a part of a fourth embodiment of a reflective belt using a Velcro fastener in a cutaway manner.
14 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 14-14 of FIG.
FIG. 15 is a front view of a person wearing a reflective or safety vest incorporating a light emitting diode and member of the present invention.
16 is a perspective view of the vest of FIG. 15. FIG.

Claims (19)

A device for light transmission,
A light source;
A self-supporting photoconductive medium formed of at least one elongated member of a hot melt adhesive thermoplastic material;
The light source operates to cause light to enter the elongated member at an arbitrary angle ;
A reflective belt surrounds the light source and one or more elongated members; a battery pack and circuitry are located on the belt;
The belt is formed of a pair of strips including a loop strip having a loop and a hook strip having a hook so as to wrap the self-supporting photoconductive medium and the light source along a central portion, and the pair of strips A device that engages with each other along an edge to form a case . The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source is a light emitting diode disposed at an end of the elongated member. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source is a plurality of light emitting diodes disposed along the elongated member. A portable reflective belt worn by the user,
Formed of a flexible material, and a single lifting the length belt surrounding the user's waist, providing an elongated envelope containing a plurality of light sources arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the belt belt,
A battery pack and a circuit attached to the belt;
At least one elongate light transmitting member in which the light source is disposed and operative to transmit light in its length direction, and is a substantially transparent and hot melt adhesive thermoplastic material that provides a predetermined light transmitting property; A light transmission member formed ,
The belt is formed of a pair of strips including a loop strip having a loop and a hook strip having a hook so as to wrap the light transmission member and the light source along a central portion, and the pair of strips extends along an edge. Reflective belts that engage each other to form a case . The reflective belt according to claim 4 , wherein the light source is any visible light or invisible light that can be transmitted through the light transmission member. The reflective belt according to claim 4 , wherein the light source is a plurality of light emitting diodes. The reflective belt according to claim 4 , wherein the light source is a laser beam. The reflective belt according to claim 4 , wherein the light source is a halogen lamp. The reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the belt includes a back layer of light reflective material and a front layer of translucent plastic material. Wherein the light source is driven by a circuit driven battery, which issued a flash through the light transmitting member, reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 9. 11. A reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the belt is formed from a retroreflective material comprising a white back layer and a front vinyl lens for scattering light. 12. The loop of any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the strip of loops is made of a light reflective material and the strip of hooks is made of a translucent material to form the case of the light transmission member. Reflective belt. The reflective belt according to claim 4 , wherein one or more dyes or coloring agents are added to the light transmission member. The light transmission member, red, including create Ru source of a predetermined color in the sequence of the green and 64-color spectrum in combination a light emitting diode of blue reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 13. The reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 14, wherein the light transmission member is combined with another material by any one of lamination, knitting and bundling in order to achieve a desired light characteristic. The reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 15, wherein the light source is disposed at both ends of the light transmission member, and the pair of diodes faces toward both ends of the light transmission member. Said light source is in a state of being separated a predetermined distance along the optical transmission member, Ru surrounded on or the light transmission in the member is adhered to said light transmitting member, any one of claims 4 to 16 reflective belt according to. The outer shape of the light transmission member includes a rounded upper surface and a concave portion formed on the lower surface, and the light source and the hot melt adhesive are inserted into the concave portion at predetermined intervals along the light transmission member. The reflective belt according to any one of 4 to 17 . The reflective belt according to any one of claims 4 to 18, wherein the light source is enclosed in the hot melt adhesive, and a lower surface of the light transmission member is formed of a light reflective microprism.

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