US2342005A - Luminescent warning device - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 15, 1944. G, MITTAG 2,342,005

LUMINESCENT WARNING DEVICE Filed June 17,1942.

INVENTOR 660% Matt ATTORNTY or vehicles, than b the bombs.

Patented Feb. 15, 1944 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE LUMINESCENT WARNINGIDEVICE George Mittag, New York, .N.'.Y.

Application June'li, 1942, Serial No.447;'38'4 Claims. (crest-7:1.)

My invention relates 'to an improved luminescent device adapted to be worn by pedestrians and other persons during air raid blackouts, and which will provide a sufficientl luminous visual indication of the presence of the wearers to prevent accidental collision with other persons during such periods, but which will not glow or reflect light to an extent such that it will give an indication of their presence to enemy aircraft which may be overheadat the time.

During blackoutperiods'there is grave danger of injury or death to pedestrians, civilian'defense personnel, and others on the, streets or in buildings, by reason of accidental collisions, and it'has been the experience in certain instances that during air raids more people were injured and killed due to collisions, either with pedestrians At the same time, it is highly important that no light, either direct or reflected, be present which will guide, or give an indication to, enemy bombers or other hostile aircraft in the vicinity.

vsuificient or not devised'to give the desired warning or indication ofthe'presence of'the'wearer of the device from different approach angles; the

special or complicated nature of the devices'has made them difiicult or inconvenient to keep or carry during periods when they were not required to be Worn; they were difiicult to put on quickly and properly during a blackout; they often interfered with the clothing or movements of the wearers, and usually were required to be of dif- "ferent sizes corresponding to the sizes of the wearers.

Among the objects ofthe invention are to obviate the foregoing disadvantages of the prior de vices; to 'provide-a-more suitabl -warning device which has comparatively large luminescent surfaces so that the presence of the-wearer, regard- "less ofhis size, will readily be'discerned at 'a--* suflicient distance to avoid collision during total blackout periods; the device makes the presence of the wearernoticeable at all angles of approach, either from the front or rear,'by"another person in the immediate vicinity; it needbe' madein but one size which can be worn by men, women and children of all sizes ancl'ages; it is comfortable and convenient to carry or wear; it can be put on1quickly and easily even'in "the'dark and is fool-proof in the "mannerin which'it "maybe n put on or worn; it does not hed light or'glow in a manner to make the wearer discerna-ble'by enemy aircraft; it is simple in construction and adapted to quantity production methods and thus may be "furnished or-sold at-a low cost; it is light inweight and maybe worn with any kind of clothing and without interferingwith themovements of the wearer; and the luminescent substance will not crack or'peel 'off, and therebythe device will retain its efficiency and have a long life.

Other objects'and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription,takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. v1 is a front'view'of a pedestrian wearing a device :in accordance with 'the in-vention;

, Fig. 2"is a rear view of the wearer and-the device'of'Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device in an e 'Jtended position;

Fig. 4 shows certain details of the inner=c0nstruction of one of the luminescent pads OfEthG device;

Fig.5 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken 'alongthe line- 5-5- of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a detail of one method of construction of the edge 'portion of the pad.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the invention is shown as comprisinga'pad ofsheet l0 of'flexi-ble material, preferably reinforced cloth, having the exposed outer surface l4 thereof impregnated or coated witha luminescent substance, for example, a paint which is commercially known as phosphorescent paint, and .=which- -ex- 'hibits luminescence in the dark. As sh0wn, the pad may be made sufliciently large in area-;so that it substantially covers the chest of the wearer, or that portion-of the body'from just below the neck or shoulders down to and including the waist. Fig. 2 show -asimilar-pad ll having a luminescent surface I5'which covers a substantial portion of the back of the wearer.

Inthe embodiment illustrated, the pads I0 and II are held in position on'the chestand back of the wearer by meansof flexible straps l2 which pass over and are supported bythe shoulders, the ends of the strap being secured in any suitable manner to the upper edges of the pads 10- and II. The size or area of the pads obviously-may be varied within considerable limits, although pads having a longitudinal dimension of eighteen inches and a transverse dimension of eleven inches have been found to be especially suitable, =-the length of the straps l2 being approximately eleven inches'between the-pads. In view :ofthe posed surface of the material.

put on over the head of the wearer, even in the dark. Moreover, the device may be worn with any kind of clothing and without interfering with the movements of the wearer, so that the device may be worn over a shirt or blouse, or over a topcoat, overcoat, raincoat, or other article of cloth- 1 ing as the case may be. Preferably, each pad in and II has a luminescent surface on each side thereof, that is, the underside of the pad as viewed in the figures is luminescent to the same extent as the outer side, and the pads are therefore reversible both with respect to the outer and undersides thereof, and with respect to the front and rear positions of the pads when worn, and. thus the device is foolproof in the manner in which it may be put on or worn.

Figures 3 to 6 show various details of the pads, the pads of the device being shown in extended position in Fig. 3.

Figs. 4 to 6 show details of the construction of one of the pads, which preferably is composed of two identical sheets, each of which comprises a woven cloth base, indicated at ll, to which the phosphorescent paint E4 or IE is applied to the obverse or exposed side thereof, and eachof the cloth sheets I! has a glazed or non-absorbent surface coating I8 on the reverse or inner side thereof. The advantage of having each sheet glazed with a non-absorbent surface i8 is that it prevents the phosphorescent paint from soaking into the sheet IT to an extent such as to reduce the luminescent effect of the surface it or I5, the glazed surface i8 causing the luminous paint or substance to be retained in the woven portion I! or near the outer exposed surface thereof so as to be most effective in producing the luminescent glow.

Ordinary table oilcloth or thin linoleum provides a good base for each of the two sheets comprising the pad, since such material comprises a woven layer readily adapted to retain the phosphorescent paint, the surface 53 of hardened linseed oil and filler limiting the absorption of the luminescent paint by thewoven cloth so that it is retained at or near the ex- Table oilcloth or thin linoleum thus treated also provides a pad which is flexible, and which can be rolled up so that it may conveniently be carried at times when the device is not required to be worn. Moreover, the relatively open fibrous structure of the cloth base ll prevents the luminescent paint or substance from cracking or peeling off, and therefore the device will retain its efficiency and have a long life. The two identical sheets of the pad of Fig. l are turned back to back and stitched around the edges, as indicated at 20, the straps l2 being stitched between these layers, as indicated at 2i in Fig. 4. The device above described also is waterproof and will exhibit the desired degree of luminescence in wet or damp weather as well as in dry weather. The coating of luminescent paint preferably is made quite thin, and may be applied by a brush, spraying, or other method generally in the manner of application of any paint or stain.

Phosphorescent paint, after being activated by a short period of exposure to a source of artificial or natural light, will glow sufliciently in the dark for a long period of time, for example, eight hours or longer. The pad need only be left lying in a room or other place in a position such that either natural or artificial light is admitted thereto, and upon the occurrence of a blackout is instantly available for use.

The device may be made very inexpensively and by mass production methods, and thus may be furnished or sold at low cost. Also, it is not necessary to make a variety of different sizes of such a device, since the device shown will be found suitable for men, women and children of different sizes and ages.

While the device may be made to exhibit the desired luminescent properties by means of a phosphorescent paint, it will be obvious that other kinds of luminous paints may also be employed. For example, luminous paints composed of zinc sulphide or calcium sulphide, with or without an activating radioactive substance such as radium bromide, maybe used; also a paint composed of zinc beryllium silicate with an activating substance may be used. The device exhibits a very noticeable glow in the dark, but does not reflect light to an appreciable extent and for this reason is not objectionable during blackout periods.

It will be understood that, if desired, only one of the pads may be employed, although prefer ably and to insure greater safety both front and back pads are worn. In the case where only one pad is employed, the straps I2 or other suitable means may be so constructed as to be supported from the neck or other portion of the wearer or his clothes. The device is especially adapted for use during blackout periods, but is also well adapted as a suitable warning device to be worn in the dark by pedestrians, bicyclists, or other persons in general, and substantially reduces or minimizes the hazard of injury to such persons by collision with cars or vehicles on the road on which they may be'traveling.

Various other modifications, forms and uses of the device will readily suggest themselves to those versed in the art, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and I do not desire to be limited except as indicated by the scope of the appended claims;

I claim:

l. A luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by a person and to exhibit sufi'icient luminescence to give a visual warning of the presence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising ,a pad having an outer exposed surface of sufficient area to cover substantially the chest of the wearer from just below the shoulders to and including the waist, said exposed portion ofthe pad comprising a flexiblefibrous sheet with the outer surface thereof forming a relatively open fibrous structure, said outer surface having a thin coating of aluminescent paint, and means for securing said pad in operative position on-the chest. of the wearer.

wearer from just below the shoulders to and including the waist, said exposed portion of .the pad being composed of a flexible fibrous sheet with the outer surface thereof formingarelatively open fibrous structure, said outer surface having been impregnated with a luminescent paint, the inner surface of the sheet having thereon a coating of a non-absorbent material to prevent undesired absorption of said paint, and flexible strap structure for engaging the body of the wearer to secure said pad in operative position.

3. A luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by a person and to exhibit luminescence to give a visual warning of the presence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising two pads having outer exposed surface portions sufficient in area to cover substantially the chest and back, respectively, of the wearer, said exposed surface portions each comprising a flexible fibrous sheet with the outer surface thereof forming a relatively open fibrous structure, said outer surface having a thin coating of a luminescent paint, and flexible straps securing said pads together and spaced to receive the head and neck of the wearer between the straps and to rest on his shoulders for securing said pads in operative position.

4. A reversible luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by a person and to exhibit sufiicient luminescence to give a visual warning of the presence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising a pad composed of two flexible fibrous sheets secured together in superposed position, each exposed surface of the pad being of suflicient area to cover substantially the upper body portion of the wearer, each said sheet having the fibrous outer surface thereof impregnated with a luminescent paint and each having the inner surface thereof impregnated with a non-absorbent material to prevent undesired absorption of said paint, and means for securing said pad in operative position on the body of the wearer.

5. A reversible luminescent warning device adapted to be worn by a person and to exhibit sumcient luminescene to give a visual warning of the presence of the wearer in the dark, said device comprising a pad having two woven cloth sheets secured together in superposed position so that the opposed outer faces of the pad each comprises a woven structure, said outer faces being impregnated with a luminescent paint, the

inner faces of said sheets each having a glazed surface coating to prevent undesired absorption of said paint, and means for securing said pad in operative position on the body of the wearer.

GEORGE MIT'IAG.

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