Patent Grant
11629852
The present disclosure relates to building egress lighting systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer program product.
For non-residential “legal means of egress”, building codes require visual signage designating the location of a legal egress door and corresponding signage directing occupants toward the legal egress door, which is identifiable by an exit sign luminaire. In addition, when house power is interrupted, building codes require an illumination of a path (means of egress) to guide occupants to the legal egress door. This illuminated egress path shines on the floor below a luminaire (the source of the light) and is referred to herein as an egress luminaire. Some conventional egress luminaires can also couple to an audio and testing device. Together, the exit sign luminaire and the egress luminaire constitute a non-residential building illuminated means of legal egress.
For decades, manufacturers of lighting means of egress have relied on incandescent and fluorescent light sources in egress luminaires to provide the egress path of illumination, while LED light sources have been the common light source for exit sign luminaires. To a large degree, the form of the egress luminaire has been dictated by the form factor of the light source. For example, an egress luminaire employing a halogen MR16 lamp requires at least one 2″ diameter aperture 2″ deep. The inefficient light source power consumption of this type of lighting required a sizeable housing to retain a battery therein. To meet building code requirements in the U.S., the luminaire battery is to maintain the light for a minimum of ninety minutes.
Further, the light source includes optical lenses that could not easily be of scale and shape to efficiently collect and the direct the light so as to illuminate a uniform linear path of egress. Moreover, the luminaire's light source/s required manual aiming. The limitation of the dated egress lighting technology translated into short luminaire spacing, which in turn contributed to additional labor, material, and maintenance costs.
With the advent of a planar LED light source, the form factor of the egress path light source and luminaire can be significantly reduced. Compared with the dated incandescent light source, the LED light source is at least five times more efficient. As a result, the power storage demands on the egress luminaire with an integral battery has been reduced by at least 80%. As recognized by the present inventor, pairing the efficient planar LED light source with advances in optical technology efficiencies can contribute to wider egress luminaire spacing with light better uniformity along the path of egress.
Finally, as recognized by the present inventor, advances in computer coding techniques and hardware developments in device integration have made possible today for building means of egress to become better suited to protect life and property. Example integrated devices include Internet-of-things (IOT) devices. The totality of the technological advancements underscore a need to re-examine the form and functionality of present-day building means of egress.
The present innovation reconfigures the form and functionalities of a forward-looking building means of egress on the luminaire and on the system levels. The overriding design consideration is today's reduced power demands on the light emitting luminaire. In fact, while integral batteries can be used with the present innovative egress and exit sign luminaires, this innovation advocates the use of a centralized remote emergency power supply that can power the egress illuminated means of an entire building.
The present innovation reconfigures the egress luminaire form by studying the form factors of critical components of the luminaire, the luminaires' mounting applications alone or coupled to an exit sign luminaire, IOT devices that can be coupled to the luminaire, and provide a platform to accommodate yet-to-be-developed applications for egress luminaires that can be supplied at a later date.
An additional overriding design parameter of the present innovation is system modularity on the device and the luminaire levels. “Plug n′ play” luminaire devices can be interchangeably used and the entire means of egress luminaires can operate as stand-alone units or coupled, can be mounted on any surface, and can employ interchangeable components that conform to at least one of: a mechanical form, electrical power consumption, and a data communication protocol. The present building means of egress luminaires can be used indoors and outdoors and can integrate additional utility for both building means of egress and quasi and unrelated building disciplines.
A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
Before turning to the detailed drawings, an overview of components used in exemplary systems described herein, as well as their functionality, is first described.
The Light Source of the Egress Luminaire—The present innovation employs at least one planar light emitted diode (LED) light source with a linear lens optics above. The dedicated lens optical pattern of the light source can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. The light source can include at least one LED lamp that is powered by a local or remote driver. The light sources can be arranged side-by-side, having dedicated lens optics or an optics system that is adapted to configure a plurality of light sources. The lens optics can be configured for a specific luminaire mounting height.
For example, a luminaire mounted below 12′-0″ above the floor may have one or two light sources and may use one type of lens optics, while a luminaire mounted at 24′-0″ above the floor may have four light sources with a different type of lens optics. In addition, the input power to each light source and the orientation of the light source with its coupled lens may vary based on the specific needs. The light source with its coupled lens optics and a heatsink collectively form a module.
The module couples to a power receptacle, or power and data receptacle. The module can rotate about its vertical axis. While the number of light source lamps, lenses, and input power may vary, the present innovation, at least in one embodiment, defines the light source aperture diameter to be equal to or smaller than 80 mm. In other embodiments, the maximum aperture diameter is 70 mm, 60 mm, 50 mm, 40 mm, 30 mm, 20 mm, or 10 mm. Having a defined standard for a light source module form factor and power/data enables usage of various output light sources with corresponding optics interchangeably inside the same aperture in a standardized luminaire housing.
The light source module can be a plug n′ play device coupled to a standardized luminaire housing. The standardized aperture in the housing can then also retain other IOT devices with power and data connectivity. The orientation of this present innovation rotational light source module, coupled to the luminaire housing, is substantially horizontal. When installed, the installer simply aligns the lens beam directional designator with the center line of the path of egress below—no aiming by tilting is required.
The Power Source—Building Code requires that a building means of egress illuminates at least one exit sign and a defined path of egress to a legal exit door when house power is interrupted. To meet the code requirement, a standby back-up power source must be readily available to supply power to the exit and egress luminaires. The common back-up power sources include at least one of: an integral luminaire battery, a remote inverter, and a generator. Three technological advances have contributed to reduced power demands on today's building illuminated means of building egress:
These advances have contributed to a smaller size housing requirement where a battery is used and/or where inverters (converts direct current, DC, into alternating current, AC) are used. It is understood that the present innovation's reconfigured luminaire architecture is in part as a result of recognizing the lesser size housing requirements of the back-up power source.
Power Source Circuitry—Present egress luminaires commonly rely on an integral battery or batteries to power at least the egress luminaires when house power is interrupted. Normally, the battery is charged under house power and when house power is disrupted, the battery then discharges by applying its stored power to the egress luminaires. The power circuitry of the egress luminaires can require only a single input power circuit.
While the egress luminaire of the present innovation can utilize an integral battery, the present innovation recognizes several limitations associated with such use. Luminaires with integral back-up batteries are often placed in hard to reach locations, the battery life is unpredictable, and additional hardware is required to continuously monitor and test the battery's readiness. These limitations contribute to more opportunities for failure that in turn, add costs to the initial material, labor, and maintenance costs.
The present innovation in one embodiment uses a single inverter (a circuit that converts DC to AC) to provide the back-up AC power needs for the building's illuminated means of egress. The inverter can couple to the code-mandated luminaires by one or two power circuits. The inverter battery or batteries are configured to remain fully charged by house power and then available on standby for discharging their storage power in the event of power interruption. The power consuming devices coupled to a single circuit and the double circuits of this embodiment can be configured as follows:
Single Circuit—The single circuit configuration flows house power directly to downstream illuminating means of egress luminaires and to the battery charger of the inverter. Under house power, only the egress sign luminaires are required to be on. The other egress luminaires are switched off by a micro switch communicatively coupled to at least one of: an inverter controller, a building lighting controller and/or battery management system (BMS). When house power is disrupted, a transfer switch disconnects the house power engaging the inverter. As the inverter engages, a microswitch coupled to the egress luminaire switches on by a signal and/or the received power. The microswitch may use an in-built capacitor.
Double Circuit—The double circuit configuration utilizes two circuits. The first circuit referred herein as the house power circuit powers illuminated means of egress that are required to operate 24/7. Such illuminated means include at least one exit sign luminaire. The second circuit is referred herein as the standby emergency back-up power circuit. This circuit receives power only when house power is interrupted. When power flows through the circuit, all power consuming devices belonging to the illuminated means of egress receive their power from this circuit. These luminaires include at least one of: an egress luminaire and an exit sign luminaire.
The present innovation is configured to incorporate Internet of Things (JOT) devices, communication devices, sensing devices, output devices, and charging devices. These devices can be controlled by at least one processor/controller (computer processor) governed by local AI code, as will be discussed. The processor/controller provides adaptability and makes real time decisions concerning matters of life safety. Some of the devices coupled to the illuminated means of egress may be quasi-related to or not related to the illuminated means of egress. These devices may only share resources such as power or power and data while others for the benefit of other building disciplines. Control over the power usage of all devices is addressed under the specifications for the IOT devices.
The present embodiment recognizes that a single 1.0 kVA or 1.5 kVA output remote inverter powering luminaires employing efficient light sources and lens optics can satisfy the illuminated requirements of a large building. The inverter can be placed at an easy to access secured cabinet and its batteries can be industry standard used among other with vehicles.
IOT Devices—The architecture of the present innovation means of egress provides for the integration of IOT devices into the luminaire housing. A non-exhausted listing of IOT devices includes devices that are connectable, addressable, and controllable over computer networks (wired, wireless, or hybrid) such as temperature sensors, gas detectors, optical detectors, video and still cameras, seismic sensors, IR sensors, transceivers and the like. The building code mandates that the egress luminaires shall be positioned over and along main building circulation arteries to enable occupants to quickly arrive at the legal exit doors of the building. These egress luminaires along with exit sign luminaires are electrified. Since these electrified components are code mandated and are disposed in strategic building locations, they provide a platform for coupling IOT devices.
The IOT devices can be directly associated with the operational requirements of the means of egress luminaires. enhancing their capability to protect life. or can be unrelated sharing common resources coupled to the luminaire. In addition, unrelated devices can be coupled to the egress luminaires' housing, providing utility to quasi related or unrelated building system disciplines.
The IOT devices can include at least one of: a sensing device, a charging device, a communication device, a processing/controlling device, and an output device (e.g., an energy output device such as a speaker that emits audible sound, a warning light that emits a visible light of a certain color, intensity and/or pulsed characteristic, and/or a RF warning signal that is used to trigger another alarm). The sensing devices an include thermal, humidity, air quality/fire, radiation, vibration, audio and visual. The charging device can include a battery and capacitor charger, and a communication device can include a single or bi-directional transceiver that communicates by means of wire (Cat 5, etc.) and/or wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, 5G, Bluetooth, etc.). The processing/controlling device can couple to at least one local device coupled to a luminaire housing including the light source and or luminaire driver. The output device can be a light source such as an egress path, an indicator, a strobe light source. and an audio device such as a speaker.
At minimum, the present innovation provides the full utility of present-day conventional illuminated means of egress. Coupling IOT devices to an egress luminaire with a processor/controller governed by an AI engine enhances the luminaires' utility and provides a novel means of protecting life.
The Processor/controller Code (non-transitory computer readable storage devices that include computer executable instructions)— At least one of the illuminated means of building egress can be coupled to a processor/controller. The processor/controller can be physically or communicatively coupled to at least one IOT device including a light source and a light source driver. The processor/controller is programmed to provide instructions that are compliant with the building codes. The computer code can employ at least one AI algorithm that operates on a trained model. The computer code is configured to process real time input from local and neighboring sensing devices, and to compile instructions that are received from a remote networked device and local data stored including operational logic. The processor can then in real time generate autonomous decisions pertaining to the egress luminaire and/or other devices the processor is communicatively coupled to.
The processor/controller code can have defining features that contribute to a paradigm shift in the perceived illuminated means of egress systems. The addition of sensing devices to a specific addressable location coupled with code that processes multiple inputs in real time, compiles the inputs and makes life saving actionable decisions is novel. The present innovation can bring full machine self-awareness to buildings, exceeding human perception and decision-making capacity. This attribute can be explained by the processor's ability to know what lies beyond and throughout the building.
Scenario 1 is an exemplary illustration of a means of egress luminaire coupled to IOT devices providing a direct utility. A processor/controller, a transceiver, and a sensing device such as a camera with a processor may be coupled to an egress luminaire, wherein the luminaire has a dedicated address and its location inside a building (or outside) is known.
The event—A fire broke out inside a building over an illuminated path of egress. An egress path luminaire equipped with a processor/controller, and a camera can alert an occupant not to follow the path. Without the sensing and processing equipment, the present code requirement could lead an occupant to his or her death by encouraging the occupant to follow a path that is obstructed by the fire. Conventional egress lighting does not assure an occupant that the path is safe. Yet, this is the path the occupant is expected to use in the event of fire in the building. The present innovation recognizes this deficiency and diverts the occupant to a different exit door, saving their life.
Scenario 2 is an illustration of a means of egress luminaire coupled to IOT devices providing predictive utility having the same IOT devices as scenario 1. Event—A camera image sensed and processed by a controller/processor, and communicated to a responsible party, can alert that a legal exiting door is blocked by boxes at a specific location in a building. This predictive observation will save life when fire breaks out and/or in an earthquake.
Scenario 3 is an illustration of a means of egress luminaire coupled to IOT devices providing utility having the same IOT devices as scenario 1. Event—An egress path luminaire coupled to IOT devices, acting as a building security device can relay notice of an unauthorized entry into a building, through the sensed camera input, to a person responsible for building security. The coupled IOT devices are a shared building disciplines resource used for enhanced life safety means and building security.
Scenario 4 is an illustration of a means of egress luminaire coupled to IOT devices providing an unrelated to illuminated means of egress utility. A processor/controller, a transceiver, and a sensing device such as a thermal probe may be coupled to an egress luminaire, wherein the luminaire has a dedicated address and its location inside a building (or outside) is known. A sensor signals the processor/controller that the ambient temperature exceeds a set threshold. The processor/controller sends an alert to the building's facility manager to correct the anomaly.
The processor/controller code can prioritize device operation by assigning each device a relational priority based on a condition/situation. The weighted relation between devices and priorities is rather complex and an AI code algorithm can configure best action based on programmed knowledge, learned experience, real time input, and above all understanding that its prime purpose is to protect life. As a part of the program, the AI code employs a predictive algorithm that anticipate events before they occur and can act including alerting humans and machines.
The AI code can be configured to operate independently from other remote devices or in unison. Acting in unison enables information exchange between devices wherein lifesaving decisions can be made based on sensed input. Event—A camera observes a person in a building with a handgun drawn and another sensor observes noise recognized as a gunshot. The AI code coupled to the plurality of the means of egress luminaires will likely:
The IOT devices in the example above, such as a listening device capable of identifying a gunshot and a camera with image recognition capability, are uncommon to building means of egress luminaires. Nonetheless, the scenario described demonstrates an expanded life protecting capability that can only be managed through multiple device communication.
The AI code can prioritize device operation using devices based on code requirements and real time situational needs. In so doing, the processor/controller monitors the power consumption of each coupled device and reduces the power to, and/or turns off devices while prioritizing life saving devices.
For example, a dual circuit remote power circuitry under house power powers an exterior mounted egress luminaire. The luminaire is also coupled to building security lighting and a camera. Under house power circuit the egress light sources are off while the other two devices are on. When building power is interrupted, the egress light sources turn on and the camera input power is switched to the remote power circuit. The building security lighting turns off. As the event proceeds, the local processor/controller monitoring available power alone or communicatively with other like devices, decides whether the camera must remain on, for what duration, and how often it must transmit an image.
To physically accommodate the IOT devices, at least the egress luminaire housing form factor requires reconfiguration. On the device level, at least two IOT devices' form factors, and means of electromechanical connectivity can interchangeably couple to at least one egress luminaire. These devices can be mechanically and electronically sized and configured to fit on or in luminaire housing retaining surfaces. Their electrical/data receptacle/s may also be configured to be electromechanically compatible with at least one light source.
On the luminaire housing level, and consistent with the overall design intent of system modularity, the present innovation has developed interchangeable housing modules that when put together become all elements needed for illuminated means of egress. The modules also provide for device provisions that require changing the housing form.
The illuminated means of egress is comprised of at least one of: an egress luminaire and an exit sign. The present innovation provides for a standalone exit sign and an exit sign that couples to an egress luminaire. The exit sign that couples to the egress luminaire is configured to couple from below or from above. The sign can be single or double sided. The sign can be directly coupled to the egress luminaire, or in a preferred embodiment can be coupled to an intermediary element referred herein as the adaptor.
The adaptor is a volumetric elongated element configured to couple to the exit sign from below. The adaptor can be unitary with an extender or a standalone element. The adaptor is configured to provide the following features: improve the visibility of an exit sign when an egress luminaire is coupled from below, allow power from above to enter the egress luminaire, adapt the assembly to at least one of a surface, a pendent, and wall mounting conditions, and couple to an extender that provides space to add electrical devices.
The adaptor can be mechanically coupled to at least one of: an exit sign, an egress luminaire, an extender, and a wall surface. Coupling the adaptor to at least one of the above elements can be toolless. The adaptor can be made of metallic and/or non-metallic material and can be configured to be used indoors and outdoors.
The extender is a volumetric element that can expand the capacity of the egress luminaire to support more devices. The devices can be disposed inside and/or the exterior surfaces of the extender. The extender is coupled to the egress luminaire from above and to the adaptor from below. For example, in applications where battery is required, the battery can be placed inside the extender. Power from above reaches the extender and is conveyed to the egress luminaire below.
The extender can be a standalone element or can be unitarily coupled to the adaptor, essentially turning the two elements into one element. The extender can be mechanically coupled to at least one of: an exit sign as a standalone element, an egress luminaire, an extender, and a wall surface. Coupling the extender to at least one of the above elements can be toolless. The extender can be made of metallic and/or non-metallic material and can be configured to be used indoors and outdoors.
The Exit Sign and Egress Luminaires—The exiting sign luminaire is a planar surface that is vertically oriented and coupled to a wall, a ceiling, or suspended from a ceiling. At least one side of the vertical planar surface displays written text for an exit and/or a symbol designation for an exit. The text and/or symbol can have a directional designator like a chevron directing building occupants toward an exit door. The text side of the planar surface is opposite to the direction of the occupant's path of travel in a manner that an occupant has visual contact with the sign.
The present innovation can couple IOT devices to the exit sign. It also can use the exit sign as a non-emergency sign. For example, a combination of an outdoor egress luminaire and an exit sign can be placed over a legal existing door. The exit sign can become a sign for a different purpose and not be connected to the electrical circuitry of the egress luminaire below. Similarly, only a portion of the egress luminaire below can be tasked with illuminating a path of egress from the building.
Code requires that the sign remains lit 24/7, and an LED light source is today's most common light source means to illuminate single- and double-sided egress exiting sign luminaires. The size and color of the text and/or symbols are mandated by codes of national and local jurisdictions.
The egress luminaire is coupled to a wall, a ceiling, or suspended from a ceiling. The egress path luminaire can have at least one light source that emits light symmetrically or asymmetrically. Moreover, the lens produces a light pattern that is asymmetric. The egress path luminaire is configured to illuminate a legal path of egress below the luminaire. A building path of egress can be comprised of a plurality of egress path luminaires forming a patchwork of linear continuous illuminated paths that can terminate by the building's legal egress door or can extend beyond the building's legal exit door to the exterior.
Now, referring to the drawings,
The use of an integral battery 9 (
Another common power circuitry configuration (not shown) includes a single dedicated emergency lighting circuit. The circuit can power all the building's illuminated means of egress or a selected group of luminaires. When house power is interrupted, a remote back-up power source 2,36 (inverter 2, and generator 36) sends power to the dedicated emergency lighting circuit. The balance of the luminaires can be powered by integral batteries 9.
A more forward-looking power circuitry configuration, like that shown in
The illuminated means of egress can have a local temporary power source to power at least one of: a microswitch and the transceiver 3. It should be noted that other devices coupled to the illuminated means of building egress can be selectively switched off when power interruption is sensed or for the duration of such power interruption. Furthermore, illuminated means of building egress governed by a local and/or remote processor/controller 23 (
The present innovation teaches that at a minimum a single small remote power back-up supply such as the inverter 2 can provide ample power to illuminate the egress means of a large building. Further, the illuminated means of egress can become a device platform for coupled IOT devices 8. The platform enhances the capacity of the illuminated means of egress to protect life while providing utility for other building disciplines. Furthermore, at least one device that supports at least one unrelated building discipline can be coupled to the platform.
The exemplary devices of
The devices coupled to circuits G and H include: a standalone egress light module 4, an egress light module 4 coupled to a square formed luminaire, and a light module 4 coupled to a round formed luminaire. The standalone egress light module 4 can be coupled to other lighting and non-lit power consuming devices. For example, a light module 4 can be an OEM component supplied with an ambient lighting luminaire 18 wherein the orientation of the emitted egress light is configured in the field by rotating the light module 4 to align with a designated path of egress. The luminaire's light module 4 is coupled to at least one driver 25 wherein the driver 25 receives its power from at least one of: a house power, an integral battery 9, and the remote back-up power source 2,36.
The benefits derived from the latter power circuitry configuration include lesser dependency on local switching and communication devices and greater latitude to operate the technology of illuminated means of egress on an IOT device 8 platform with little or no dependency on an integral battery/ies 9. In fact, the only switched devices during operation of this power circuitry configuration can be auxiliary devices that are quasi or nonrelated devices to the building's illuminated means of egress.
For example, an exterior egress path luminaire 15 disposed over an egress door coupled to the house power circuit can also be coupled to building security lighting with a photocell 39 and a camera 7 (the camera can also be the photocell). In the event of power interruption and circuitry switchover to the back-up power circuitry, illuminated means of egress are turned on, the security lighting is turned off, and the camera 7 may turn on or remain on until a local and/or a remote processor/controller 23 decides to turn the camera 7 off intermittently or fully.
This block diagram illustrates a control aspect of the present disclosure that may be embodied as a system, a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium on which computer readable program instructions are recorded that may cause one or more processors to carry out aspects of the embodiment.
The computer readable storage medium may be a tangible device that can store instructions for use by an instruction execution device (processor). The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any appropriate combination of these devices. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes each of the following (and appropriate combinations): flexible disk, hard disk, solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc (CD or CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) and memory card or stick. A computer readable storage medium, as used in this disclosure, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.
Computer readable program instructions described in this disclosure can be downloaded to an appropriate computing or processing device (circuitry) from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a global network (i.e., the Internet), a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may include copper transmission wires, optical communication fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing or processing device may receive computer readable program instructions from the network and forward the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the computing or processing device.
Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may include machine language instructions and/or microcode, which may be compiled or interpreted from source code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including assembly language, Basic, Fortran, Java, Python, R, C, C++, C # or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely autonomously, on a user's personal computer, notebook computer, tablet, or smartphone, entirely on a remote computer or computer server, or any combination of these computing devices. The remote computer or computer server may be connected to the user's device or devices through a computer network, including a local area network or a wide area network, or a global network (i.e., the Internet). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by using information from the computer readable program instructions to configure or customize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure.
Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flow diagrams and block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that each block of the flow diagrams and block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flow diagrams and block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.
The computer readable program instructions that may implement the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be provided to one or more processors (and/or one or more cores within a processor) of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable apparatus, create a system for implementing the functions specified in the flow diagrams and block diagrams in the present disclosure. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having stored instructions is an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the functions specified in the flow diagrams and block diagrams in the present disclosure.
The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions specified in the flow diagrams and block diagrams in the present disclosure.
Referring to
Additional detail of the computer circuitry included in each luminaire 15 is shown in
The circuitry of luminaire 15 may be any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with other devices on network 110.
The circuitry of luminaire 15 may include processor 23, bus 49, memory 40, non-volatile storage 50 with auxiliary power storage 9, network interface 43, peripheral interface 44 and display interface 41. Each of these functions may be implemented, in some embodiments, as individual electronic subsystems (integrated circuit chip or combination of chips and associated devices), or, in other embodiments, some combination of functions may be implemented on a single chip (sometimes called a system on chip or SoC).
Computer processor 23 may be one or more single or multi-chip microprocessors, such as those designed and/or manufactured by Intel Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), Arm Holdings (Arm), Apple Computer, etc. Examples of microprocessors include Celeron, Pentium, Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 from Intel Corporation; Opteron, Phenom, Athlon, Turion and Ryzen from AMD; and Cortex-A, Cortex-R and Cortex-M from Arm.
Bus 49 may be a proprietary or industry standard high-speed parallel or serial peripheral interconnect bus, such as ISA, PCI, PCI Express (PCI-e), AGP, and the like.
Memory 40 and non-volatile storage 50 may be computer-readable storage media. Memory 40 may include any suitable volatile storage devices such as Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Static Random Access Memory (SRAM). Non-volatile storage 50 may include one or more of the following: flexible disk, hard disk, solid-state drive (SSD), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash), compact disc (CD or CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) and memory card or stick.
Program 32 may be a collection of machine readable instructions (code) and/or data that is stored in non-volatile storage 50 and is used to create, manage and control certain software functions that are discussed in detail elsewhere in the present disclosure and illustrated in the drawings. In some embodiments, memory 40 may be considerably faster than non-volatile storage 50. In such embodiments, program 32 may be transferred from non-volatile storage 50 to memory 40 prior to execution by processor 23.
The computer of luminaire 15 may be capable of communicating and interacting with other computers via network 110 through network interface 43. Network 110 may be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and may include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network 110 can be any combination of connections and protocols that support communications between two or more computers and related devices.
Peripheral interface 44 may allow for input and output of data with other devices that may be connected locally with the computer of luminaire 15. For example, peripheral interface 44 may provide a connection to external devices. External devices may include devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a keypad, a touch screen, and/or other suitable input devices. External devices may also include portable computer-readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and data used to practice embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, program 32, may be stored on an egress luminaire such portable computer-readable storage media. In such embodiments, software may be loaded onto non-volatile storage 50 or, alternatively, directly into memory 40 via peripheral interface 44. Peripheral interface 44 may use an industry standard connection, such as RS-232 or Universal Serial Bus (USB), to connect with external devices.
Display interface 41 may connect computer 15 to a remote display. The remote display may be used, in some embodiments, to present a command line or graphical user interface to a user of computer 15. Display interface 41 may connect to the display using one or more proprietary or industry standard connections, such as VGA, DVI, DisplayPort and HDMI.
As described above, network interface 43, provides for communications with other computing and storage systems or devices external to the computer of luminaire 15. Software programs and data discussed herein may be downloaded from, for example, a remote computer, a web server 120, a cloud storage server 125 and a computer server 130 to non-volatile storage 50 through network interface 43 and network 110. Furthermore, the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be executed by one or more computers connected to the computer of luminaire 15 through network interface 43 and network 110. For example, in some embodiments the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be executed by remote computer 115, computer server 130, or a combination of the interconnected computers on network 110.
Data, datasets and/or databases employed in embodiments of the systems and methods described in this disclosure may be stored and or downloaded from remote computer 115, web server 120, cloud storage server 125 and computer server 130.
The egress luminaire 15 is disposed inside a building interior 42. Inside the building, the egress luminaire is in communication with at least one more egress luminaire 15 and may also be communicatively coupled to at least one other building discipline device 45. In addition, at least one egress luminaire 15 can be communicatively coupled to at least one exterior mounted device 48.
The egress luminaire 15 is configured to operate alone and in unison with other local and remote network devices. The communication between the devices can be wired, wireless, or a combination of the two methods. The plurality of the egress luminaires 15 are communicatively coupled to a network interface 43. The network interface can be a building BMS. The network interface 43 can be coupled to at least one of: a display interface 41 and a peripheral interface 44. Through the network interface 43, program updates can be downloaded to the array of the building devices. Also, through the network interface 43, information and alerts can reach human and machine clients inside and outside the building. This communication can be a redundant means of communication to the already mesh device network configured for at least two devices disposed inside the building.
The network interface 43 can be communicatively coupled to the cloud network 110 and through this network, can be communicatively coupled to at least one of: a remote computer, a web server 120, a cloud storage server 125, and a computer server 130.
Returning to the network for egress luminaires, these egress luminaires constitute the backbone of the building illuminated means of egress. The network operates 24/7 while the light modules 4 of the egress luminaires 15 turn on only when house power is interrupted. In another embodiment, the processor is energized only when power is interrupted wherein an auxiliary back-up power supply 9 provides sufficient power to the processor to support essential services.
The short wall surface of the egress luminaire 15 includes operational indicator lights 21 and the long wall surface includes receptacles 22 configured to couple (wired or wirelessly) to a plurality of devices including IOT devices 8. The IoT devices shown include: an audio device 38 (such as a speaker and/or microphone) and a camera device 7. If there are no non-lit modules (e.g., sensing device 6, camera/occupancy sensor 7, IoT device 8) hosted on the bottom of the egress luminaire 15, the space for accommodating the non-lit module, maybe covered with a removable cap, so the space may be used later if it is decided to later retrofit the egress luminaire 15 with a non-lit module. Moreover, the non-lit modules may be hosted by a universal receptacle 22 as well. It should be noted that the IoT devices may be physically separated from the egress luminaire 15 and may couple via wireless communications to the egress luminaire 15 so as to provide sensor data (e.g., data regarding temperature, sound, pressure, seismic, facial recognition, light, chemical (e.g., gases such as natural gas, CO, etc.), or toxic substance detection (e.g., sarin gas, radioactive materials) to the egress luminaire 15 for consideration by the egress luminaire 15 when directing evacuation routes. Egress luminaires 15 are also interconnected for exchanging the sensor data so the processors/controllers 23 in the egress luminaires 15, so the processors/controllers 23 may cooperate with one another to adaptively illuminate safest egress routes as various incidents evolve. Also shown is a knock-out opening 24 configured to allow access to the egress luminaire 15 when the luminaire is wall-mounted.
Above the egress luminaire 15, an adaptor 11 is shown coupled to a conduit 14. The adaptor 11 is a modular key mechanical structure disposed along the upper surface of the egress luminaire 15 along with an extender 1 (
In addition to the light modules 4 coupled to the egress luminaire 15 bottom surface, other light emitting devices and sensing devices 6 can be coupled. These devices can use a universal receptacle 22 to receive power and receive/transmit data. For example, an exterior mounted egress luminaire 15 can be coupled to exterior building security lighting and can have a camera 7 and a photocell. The security lighting turns on by the photocell every night, powered by house power. The camera 7 is activated only when human presence in the vicinity is sensed. The camera 7 also operates on house power. When house power is interrupted, the security lighting turns off, the egress lighting is turned on and the camera 7 remains on. During this time, the camera 7 may employ an additional or a different code 32 algorithm configured to respond to the power interruption conditions. The elements shown include: an egress luminaire 15, a camera/occupancy sensor 7, an indicator light 21, a wall 19, an adaptor type C 12, a sensing device 6, an IOT device 8, an output device 33 and a bore/knockout opening 24.
The present egress luminaire 15 and exit sign luminaire 5, together forming combo luminaire 10, can be coupled to an extender 1 and an adaptor 11. The volumetric extender 1 provides internal space when additional devices need to be coupled to the luminaire.
The adaptor 13 is configured to couple the combo luminaire 10 flushed to the wall 19 wherein horizontally disposed light modules 4 with rotatable optics illuminate at least one path of egress below and I/O IOT devices 8 coupled enhances the assembly ability to protect life and provide services to other building disciplines inside and outside the building.
c show enlarged perspective views of the adaptor's ability to adapt to all possible luminaire/s mounting conditions.
Both the extender 1 and the adaptor 11 show latches 52 coupled to the short walls of each of the elements. The extender 1 shows an extender door 46 open, exposing electronic elements housed inside. These elements can include at least one of: a battery 9, a processor/controller 23, a driver 25, and a charging device 37.
The device tray 55 shows a plurality of power and/or data receptacles configured to couple to an array of IOT devices. These devices can include the light module 4 and the camera/occupancy sensor 7 shown.
The latches 52 of both the extender 1 and the egress luminaire 15 secure the extender door's 46 and the device tray 55 in place respectively. To release the extender door 46 or the device tray 55, one has to exert force by at least one of: pushing, pulling, sliding, and/or twisting at least one of the latches 52. The figure also shows an indicator light 21, a test button 47, and an IOT device 8.
For example, suppose an individual is located near an office along path P1 north of egress luminaire 15A. Normally, supposing an IOT 8B detects a power outage in the building with other alarms sounding in other parts of the building, occupants in this area would normally be directed to exit E1 by following path P1 (the shortest path for this individual to exit E1). Moreover, P1 would be the predetermined path of egress for some in the corridor North of egress luminaire 15A. However, in this situation another IOT, IOT 8A, detects the audio from shots fired by an active shooter at exit E1. In this situation, an AI engine (discussed with reference to the following figures) executed in the computer processor of egress luminaire 15A determines that path P1 is no longer a suitable means of egress under this situation. Instead, the egress luminaire 15A determines that path P2 is a safer means (superior path) of egress out the south of the building at exit E2. The egress luminaire 15A responds by not illuminating path P1 but illuminating the path P2 so the occupant is guided way from exit E1 and toward Exit E2.
On the other hand, it is possible that the IOT 8B visually detects that path P2 is congested with other evacuees. In this situation, egress luminaire 15A communicates (via direct wired communications or wirelessly) with egress luminaire 15B, updating egress luminaire 15B of the congestion along path P2. In response to the recognition that there is an active shooter near exit E1, and that path P2 is congested, the AI engine operating in egress luminaire 15B cooperates with egress luminaire 15C to provide an illuminated means of egress along path P3B. Moreover, egress luminaire 15B chooses not to illuminate the pre-determined means of egress path P3A due to the detection of the active shooter, and instead cooperates with egress luminaire 15A and egress luminaire 15B to provide an alternative path toward exit E2, and thus avoiding the congested path P2 as well as path P3A, which leads toward the active shooter.
The above description is just one example of how an AI based egress luminaire can adaptively provide a safest and most efficient route in an active shooter situation, and/or a situation where certain standard means of egress are overly congested. As was previously discussed, the AI engine is trained to accommodate input from various IOT and other sensors for reacting and adapting to received communications as well as sensor input for temperature, sound, pressure, seismic, facial recognition, light, chemical (e.g., gases such as natural gas, CO, etc.), or toxic substance detection (e.g., sarin gas, radioactive materials).
Turning to
First, by referring to
In reference to
Below, specific processes of determining the means of egress will be explained.
In this non-limiting example, first, the computer-based system 101 may acquire at least one subject image, perhaps from IOT 8B (
After the subject image is acquired, in order to generate a source vector to be inputted to the data analysis network 300, the computing device 100 may instruct the data extraction network 200 to generate the source vector including (i) an apparent human congestion, and (ii) an apparent blockage due to non-human object(s).
In order to generate the source vector, the computer-based system 101 may instruct at least part of the data extraction network 200 to detect the apparent human congestion from the subject image.
Specifically, the computer-based system 101 may instruct the first feature extracting layer 210 to apply at least one first convolutional operation to the subject image, to thereby generate at least one subject feature map. Thereafter, the computer-based system 101 may instruct the ROI pooling layer 220 to generate one or more ROI-Pooled feature maps by pooling regions on the subject feature map, corresponding to ROIs on the subject image which have been acquired from a Region Proposal Network (RPN) interworking with the data extraction network 200. And, the computer-based system 101 may instruct the first outputting layer 230 to generate at least one estimated congestion level and at least one estimated blockage level. That is, the first outputting layer 230 may perform a classification and a regression on the subject image, by applying at least one first Fully-Connected (FC) operation to the ROI-Pooled feature maps, to generate each of the estimated congestion level and the blockage level, including information on coordinates of each of bounding boxes. Herein, the bounding boxes may include human occupants and items identified in images in the hallway.
After such detecting processes are completed, by using the estimated congestion amount and the estimated blockage amount, the computer-based system 101 may instruct the data vectorizing layer 240 to subtract a volume occupied by occupants (and items) to a volume present along path P2 to determine an apparent congestion and an apparent blockage.
After the apparent congestion and the apparent blockage are acquired, the computing device 100 may instruct the data vectorizing layer 240 to generate at least one source vector including the apparent congestion and the apparent blockage as its at least part of components.
Then, the computing device 100 may instruct the data analysis network 300 to calculate an estimated total congestion/blockage by using the source vector. Herein, the second feature extracting layer 310 of the data analysis network 300 may apply second convolutional operation to the source vector to generate at least one source feature map, and the second outputting layer 320 of the data analysis network 300 may perform a regression, by applying at least one FC operation to the source feature map, to thereby calculate the estimated total congestion/blockage. Once trained, the resulting AI engine may use the estimated total congestion/blockage as one layer of the AI's engine (as well as other layers trained to analyze the other parameters discussed herein) as input to the computer-based system 101 in assessing whether the candidate path is superior to the existing egress path. Based on that that assessment, the computer processor 23 and control the egress luminaire to illuminate the superior egress path to a safe exit.
As discussed above, the computer-based system 101 includes two neural networks, i.e., the data extraction network 200 and the data analysis network 300. The two neural networks are trained to perform the processes properly. Below, a more detailed description of how to train the two neural networks will be explained in reference to
First, by referring to
Herein, the data vectorizing layer 240 may have been implemented by using a rule-based algorithm, not a neural network algorithm. In this case, the data vectorizing layer 240 may not need to be trained, and may just be able to perform properly by using its settings inputted by a manager.
As an example, the first feature extracting layer 210, the ROI pooling layer 220 and the first outputting layer 230 may be acquired by applying a transfer learning, which is a known technology, to an existing object detection network such as VGG or ResNet, etc.
Second, by referring to
After performing such training processes, the computer-based system 101 has trained the AI engine to properly calculate the congestion amount by using the subject image including the scene photographed from the IOT 8B. Moreover, as a consequence of training the computer-based system 101 to implement the AI engine to consider the above described parameters, the AI engine may be used to select certain paths (e.g., path P2 may or may not be selected or not based on the congestion amount as compared to alternative paths, such as P3B, previously discussed) to adaptively identify a best means of egress under the circumstances. The computer-based system 101 selects one or more means of egress by comparing candidate paths that have been evaluated with the AI engine according to the described parameters, and a path (or multiple paths) with the highest evaluation rating, or ratings above a threshold, is/are selected. In response to the selection, the egress luminaires 15 (15A, 15B, 15C) in this example illuminate the selected means of egress (e.g., P3, P3B, and P2) in this example, and optionally egress Luminaire 15D does not illuminate a means of egress, and optionally extinguishes the light source for its exit luminaire so as to prevent inducing an occupant to head toward a safe exit. As discussed above, the AI engine may also be trained to consider other parameters (e.g., fire, gas leak, toxic chemicals, power outages, etc.) beyond congestion and blocking and the processes above may be used to train the AI engine in a similar way.
Hereafter, another embodiments will be presented for determining the total congestion amount.
As a second embodiment, it is considered that the perspective of the camera in the egress luminaire is elevated, and so the image of the hallway is tilted. To account for this factor, the source vector may further include an actual distance, which is a distance in a real world between the camera and the hallway floor, as an additional component of the source vector. For the second embodiment, it is assumed that a camera height, which is a distance between the IOT 8B and a ground directly below the camera in the real world, is provided. This embodiment is same as the first embodiment until the first outputting layer 230 generates a tilt angle to better assess the amount of congestion even though the camera in the IOT 8B is not directly overhead, but takes the image from a tilt. Hereinafter, processes performed after the tilt angle is generated will be explained.
The computer-based system 101 may instruct the data analysis network 300 to calculate the actual distance by referring to information on the camera height, the tilt angle, a coordinate of the lower boundary of the main entrance door, by using a following formula:
In the formula, x and y may denote coordinates of the lower boundary of the floor, fx and fy may denote the focal lengths for each axis, cx and cy may denote coordinates of the principal point, and h may denote the camera height. A usage of such formula for calculating the actual distance is a well-known prior art, thus further explanation is omitted.
After the total congestion/blockage is calculated, further training for additional parameters such as temperature, sound, pressure, seismic, facial recognition, light, chemical, or toxic substance may be used as well to further refine the process for adaptively identifying a best means of egress under the circumstances.
The process then proceeds to a query in step S568 in which a determination is made regarding whether the pre-determined (existing) egress plan, along with egress paths that are part of the plan, are sufficient under the circumstances. If the response to the query is affirmative, then the process proceeds to step S570 where the egress luminaire 15 illuminates egress paths according to the existing egress plan. Then the process performs a query in step S572 to determine if the situation has changed (e.g., perhaps an active shooter has moved locations). If not, the process returns to step S570. However, if the response to the query in step S568 is negative, the process applies the AI engine to identify which path(s) is unsuitable (or inferior) to a superior egress route, and then directs the egress luminaire 15 to illuminate that superior egress route. The process optionally continues to check whether the situation has changed that would cause the egress luminaire 15 to identify a new route as a superior egress route under the circumstances and then illuminate that new route.
1, 16a2, 16a3 and 16a4 are sub-figures of
1, 16b2, 16b3, and 16b4, are sub-figures of
3 shows the luminaire 15 with a sensing device and two light modules coupled. Since the light modules in this illustration can rotate about their vertical axis up to 180 degrees each, together the modules have 360 degrees of rotational zone coverage capability. This light module configuration is most suited to configuration where the path of egress is linear using back-to-back asymmetrical light modules or diverges (branches-off) at 90 degrees to another path (similar to the letter L). Nonetheless, given the rotational mobility of 360 degrees, the light modules in at least one configuration can be at 120 degrees to one another or any other rotational angle needed to cover a non-continuous linear path of egress below the luminaire.
The above illustration shows a few of numerous configurations for the light module's orientation, quantities, light power input, lens optical pattern, and quality of the light emitted by the light modules. In addition, these configurations can be in conjunction with other sensing and output devices. The devices can be coupled to at least one receptacle facing the floor, at least one receptacle coupled to a side wall of the luminaire housing, or a combination thereof.
1 and 16c2 show the 3 and 5 receptacles luminaires with an exit luminaire coupled to the middle floor facing receptacle. It should be noted that the horizontally disposed lenses of the light module coupled to the egress luminaire do not mask the full view of the exit sign 5. The rotational capability coupled with the light module horizontal lens placement above the exit sign 5 is a novel solution for the egress/exit “combo luminaire”. Further, it should be noted that for example a three receptacle “combo” luminaire by a door can be coupled to one light module, one exit luminaire, and one sensing device. Positioned by a legal egress door, the luminaire can then provide an illuminated egress pathway with an egress exit signage and sensing device alerting/recording events in the door's vicinity.
Furthermore, the egress luminaire 15 is one of a network of luminaires that collectively illuminate a path of egress. As discussed with respect to
The luminaire housing of the present disclosure is independent from the luminaire mounting height. The transverse light beam pattern is determined by the luminaire's mounting height and the required path of egress width.
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, the components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may be performed by more, fewer, or other components and the methods described may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order. As used in this document, “each” refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/830,439, filed in the USPTO on Jun. 2, 2022, and contains subject matter related to that disclosed in, U.S. Pat. No. 9,626,847 issued Apr. 18, 2017, U.S. Pat. No. 9,990,817 issued Jun. 5, 2018, U.S. Pat. No. 11,149,936 issued Oct. 19, 2021, and US patent publication 20220034497 published Feb. 3, 2022, the entire contents of each of which being incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8939634 | Leadford et al. | Jan 2015 | B2 |
| 9574750 | Hetrick | Feb 2017 | B1 |
| 9626847 | Spiro | Apr 2017 | B2 |
| 9990817 | Spiro | Jun 2018 | B2 |
| 11149936 | Spiro | Oct 2021 | B2 |
| 20090059602 | Santos et al. | Mar 2009 | A1 |
| 20210254820 | Spiro | Aug 2021 | A1 |
| 20220034497 | Spiro | Feb 2022 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Oct. 14, 2022 in corresponding International Patent Application No. PCT/US2022/36938, 11 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17830439 | Jun 2022 | US |
| Child | 17843540 | US |
