Light-emitting systems for headgear

Abstract

A light-emitting system is provided which is removably attachable to headgear for personal illumination to enhance visibility of the user to others. The light-emitting system includes a housing that defines a receiving aperture and is configured to surround a portion of the headgear when the light-emitting system is removably attached to the headgear for use. The light-emitting system further includes at least one lens and a plurality of lighting elements coupled to the annular housing which are configured to selectively generate a halo or at least a partial halo of light that radiates outwardly away from the annular housing through the at least one lens to provide enhanced personal illumination.

1 . A light emitting unit, comprising:
 an annular housing sized to circumferentially surround a user's head when the light emitting unit is worn by the user;   a plurality of lighting elements supported within an interior housing cavity of the annular housing and arranged to generate at least a partial uninterrupted halo of light surrounding the user's head when the light emitting unit is worn and the plurality of lighting elements are illuminated;   an electrical power source electrically coupled to the plurality of lighting elements to provide energy to selectively illuminate the plurality of lighting elements; and   an attachment mechanism configured to enable the user to selectively attach and detach the light emitting unit to a hardhat or other headgear of the user without compromising the integrity of the hardhat or other headgear.   
     
     
         2 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein the attachment mechanism is configured to removably secure the annular housing to the hardhat or other headgear via the attachment mechanism pressing on an exterior surface of the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         3 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein the attachment mechanism includes deformable elements positioned around an inner periphery of the annular housing. 
     
     
         4 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein the attachment mechanism is configured to engage the hardhat or other headgear at discrete locations around a circumference of the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         5 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of lighting elements consist of LEDs spaced around a continuous annular path within the interior housing cavity. 
     
     
         6 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of lighting elements include LEDs that are grouped in clusters to provide areas with different lighting capabilities. 
     
     
         7 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of lighting elements include at least two sets of lighting elements which are distinct from each other and which are configured to selectively illuminate independent of each other. 
     
     
         8 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein some of the plurality of lighting elements are configured to selectively produce a higher intensity light source within a field of view in front of the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         9 . The light emitting unit of  claim 1  wherein a subset of the plurality of lighting elements is configured to selectively illuminate at a different frequency or with a different intensity relative to the other lighting elements. 
     
     
         10 . A light emitting unit removably attachable to a hardhat or other headgear, comprising:
 a an annular housing sized to circumferentially surround a user's head when the light emitting unit is worn by the user;   a plurality of lighting elements supported within an interior housing cavity of the annular housing and arranged to generate at least a partial uninterrupted halo of light surrounding the user's head when the light emitting unit is worn and the plurality of lighting elements are illuminated; and   an attachment mechanism configured to enable the user to selectively attach and detach the light emitting unit to a hardhat or other headgear without compromising the integrity of the hardhat or other headgear.   
     
     
         11 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the attachment mechanism is configured to removably secure the annular housing to the hardhat or other headgear via the attachment mechanism pressing on an exterior surface of the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         12 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the attachment mechanism includes deformable elements positioned around an inner periphery of the annular housing. 
     
     
         13 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the attachment mechanism is configured to engage the hardhat or other headgear at discrete locations around a circumference of the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         14 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the plurality of lighting elements consist of LEDs spaced around a continuous annular path within the interior housing cavity. 
     
     
         15 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the plurality of lighting elements include LEDs that are grouped in clusters to provide areas with different lighting capabilities. 
     
     
         16 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the plurality of lighting elements include at least two sets of lighting elements which are distinct from each other and which are configured to selectively illuminate independent of each other. 
     
     
         17 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein some of the plurality of lighting elements are configured to selectively produce a higher intensity light source within a field of view in front of the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         18 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein a subset of the plurality of lighting elements is configured to selectively illuminate at a different frequency or with a different intensity relative to the other lighting elements. 
     
     
         19 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 an electrical power source provided onboard the annular housing and electrically coupled to the plurality of lighting elements to provide energy to selectively illuminate the plurality of lighting elements.   
     
     
         20 . The light emitting unit of  claim 10  wherein the light emitting unit is configured as a self-contained unit that is readily attachable to the hardhat or other headgear by removably coupling the self-contained unit to the hardhat or other headgear. 
     
     
         21 . A light emitting unit removably attachable to a hardhat or other headgear, the light emitting unit having an annular form factor to circumferentially surround a user's head when the light emitting unit is worn and including a plurality of lighting elements arranged within a housing of the light emitting unit to generate at least a partial uninterrupted halo of light surrounding the user's head when the plurality of lighting elements are illuminated by an onboard electrical power source, and wherein a gap is established between at least a portion of the housing and the hardhat or other headgear when the light emitting unit is attached to the hardhat or other headgear.