Patent Grant
9689542
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of illumination of safe exit doorways, windows, stairs, paths of egress or other safe exit portholes or other portals of an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure, such as a private residence, to help evacuees/occupants more swiftly and safely evacuate such a structure in the event of a fire, heavy smoke event, earthquake, security breach, and/or the presence of unsafe levels of hazardous gasses or other noxious fumes or any other emergency or event which its user desires to be informed of through its activation. The invention also relates to the materials, articles and processes used for exit illumination systems, as well as to how and when to use the same. The invention also relates to the field of providing a new and unique form of egress-marking visible notification appliance technology designed to be integrated into code-compliant fire-related notification appliance circuits and other security systems, access control systems and other types of systems to deliver emergency exit and egress path illumination in varying forms to the occupants of the residences, buildings, facilities and structures, maritime vessels, recreational vehicles, airplanes, trains and other vehicles, and other locations where such technology may be useful.
2. Background Art
“According to the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), more people die annually in the United States from fires than all other natural disasters combined . . . ”
People regularly become quickly confused and disoriented in building structures under siege by fire, smoke and other perilous situations. In particular, when building structures are on fire or are otherwise experiencing a heavy smoke event from smoldering materials, smoke fills the building structure, floor by floor, space by space, from the ceiling down toward the floor. That is, smoke first fills areas overhead, closest to the ceiling, and as a space fills with smoke, the floor levels are the last areas to become visually occluded by smoke.
Per FireHouse.com, “on average, 8 people die every day in the United States in residential fires. It is estimated that 75 percent of ALL fire-related deaths are due to smoke inhalation brought about by disorientation.”
In residential settings, there are typically no means by which an evacuee(s) can identify a safe exit doorway or other portal as most residential structures are not required to provide “EXIT” signage above or near the safe exit doorways.
In commercial settings, where “EXIT” signage is typically required, those signs are less than ideal once a fire has begun and the resulting smoke begins to quickly fill the structure. Because of the way that smoke fills a building structure (described above), “EXIT” signs, which by code are often required to be affixed “above” an exit portal, are the first and primary luminary devices to provide safety knowledge to evacuees and, regrettably, are one of the first things to disappear from sight during fire and heavy smoke. Obviously, an “EXIT” sign above a doorway which is invisible to evacuees is relatively useless as it can no longer successfully impart the knowledge that it was intended to pass along to such evacuee(s) in the crisis due to its occlusion by the increasingly-dense smoke in the areas proximate to its installation.
Currently, it is exceptionally rare to find a private residential setting wherein any lighted signage is used to identify a safe exit door. In commercial settings, where such signage is required by law, current “EXIT” sign location/placement is generally accepted primarily because the location of the sign is “out of the way” and is generally clear of passers-by, cleaning and maintenance staff's vacuum cleaners, carts, hand-trucks moving goods into and out of the building structure and other normal use of the building structure that could damage, break or otherwise disable the device. Notwithstanding the safe place for such signage to be installed and to be maintained, the location is one of the worst places for its intended purpose during smoke and fire events.
Numerous quotes, statistics and facts regarding structure fires in the US directly relate to the need for the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The following are some examples:
Analogous challenges are presented in virtually any type of disaster or emergency situation that requires immediate evacuation of a building structure, whether due to fire, flood or earthquake, or whether due to human threat such as a security breach, hazardous gas release, terrorist attack, bomb threat or the like.
Common modern visible notification appliances in fire alarm systems utilize a single-point of high-intensity light xenon lamp and lens to emit intense stroboscopic pulses of light into their indigenous areas as a form of “indirect” lighting to alert occupants and to assist occupants of a building in hopefully locating a path of egress and the exits to evacuate the space, area or building. These appliances are also utilized in sleeping areas to “wake” slumbering occupants where higher intensity flashes, 17 candelas luminosity, are used to wake sleeping occupants.
These conventional strobes pump their light into a broad area of the room or space to light up the area for occupants to see enough of the space or area to navigate to an exit. In fire alarm systems, conventional traditionally recognized xenon emergency strobe lights are required to be installed on the ceiling or up high on the wall at or above 80″ inches and below 96″ in height unless the ceiling height of the room will not permit same. Common emergency lighting and exit signage appliances are also typically a point-source light which is installed elevationally high on a wall or above a doorway. They are designed to provide ambient light and exit location information to people in a building crisis such as fire, power failure and other emergency events. Alternatively, the present invention, herein referred to as an Egress Marking Visible Notification Appliance™ (EMVNA™), is installed all of the way around the periphery of an exit door and/or along a path of egress, up high and at lower levels, in a much more effective configuration when smoke from fire begets the extinction of light; an all too common phenomenon in fire. Unlike common visible notification appliances in fire alarm systems, emergency lighting appliances and exit signage appliances, the EMVNA captures the value of light as an alerting, demarking, and directional medium and place it in exactly the right format and locations at exactly the right time, i.e. during a building evacuation event or emergency.
In comparison to the EMVNA, traditionally recognized conventional emergency strobes do not “directly” identify the exit point or path of egress like the EMVNA. In contrast, The EMVNA, even though it is also a stroboscopic luminary designed to provide alerting functions and it does deliver lower intensity ambient-type lighting like strobes, is NOT intended to perform the same functions as traditional conventional emergency strobe lighting devices. Its moderate intensity light output and light color is specifically designed not to create flash blindness in evacuating occupants and to provide them with a light color that is profoundly easy to see and process. The EMVNA is not intended to wake sleeping occupants and it is not intended to provide standard xenon strobe light intensities of light. Rather it is intended to alert, demark and direct occupants via an alternative location-of-light, intensity-appropriate and hue of color configuration designed to be “superior in its effectiveness and safety”.
The activation of this new form of egress-marking visible notification illumination in fire alarm control panel driven systems is driven by a fire alarm control panel's activation and the resulting actuation of its notification appliance circuitry or through another integrated system's activation. It can also be integrated with emergency lighting appliances, devices and systems; exit lighting appliances, devices and systems; path-marking systems; as a component in an array security system components and devices in a security system; as well as access control systems. This new system is designed to deliver emergency alerting and directional illumination at elevationally high, low, or simultaneously both high and low, locations in space, to highlight safe exit doorways, windows, stairs or other safe exit portholes or other portals, or predetermined paths of egress and/or intermittent points of emergency alerting and directional illumination along such paths of egress of an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure as identified above.
Few material advancements in visual notification devices have occurred since their initial entry into the marketplace. This segment of the industry went from almost total obscurity to literally blowing up in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, et seq., (ADA) codes were enacted. As enforcing authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ's) have developed an understanding of the current technology, notification appliances have emerged as an important, yet somewhat static and mundane, part of fire safety and building operations worldwide. And, as acceptance of their importance to fire safety has been incorporated into fire and building codes, reliance on them nearly everywhere is almost a given. Generally, it was just a limited few pioneers who were first to market the modern visible notification appliance products; mostly large, well-capitalized companies have inherited the benefits of being founders of what now has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry with sales approaching four times U.S. domestic sales annually worldwide.
Today, the Egress-Marking Visible Notification Appliance (EMVNA) technology interrupts this trend by delivering a unique and much more effective appliance with versatility, functionality, and overall efficacy than that of conventional traditional visible notification appliances. Until the advent of the EMVNA, no other appliance has entered the market which successfully combines a system-integrated visible notification appliance with exit-marking capabilities. Traditional code required system-integrated visual notification appliances and other exit-path marking device's typical placements and configurations, while immensely important as an acceptable means of visual notification to date, are materially less efficient than the EMVNA technology in delivering the visual notification message to occupants as smoke pours into an occupied space in a fire and fills the space from the ceiling down. The commonplace emergency strobes, emergency lighting and exit signs, and their systems, though important to preserve for a myriad of reasons, fall short in a number of ways as the graph below indicates.
Some have tried to overcome such challenges and problems by designing creative exit lighting systems, but their attempts have fallen far short of the ideal. Among those are the inventors of the following patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,794,373, 5,130,909, 5,343,375, 5,418,523, 5,612,665, 5,755,016, 5,815,068, 6,025,773, 6,237,266, 6,646,545, 7,114,826, 7,255,454 and 7,391,319.
It is a fundamental object of the present invention to overcome the obstacles and challenges of the prior art in a way that helps save lives and avoid injury by helping to orient occupants of a home, other residential structure or commercial setting in the event of an emergency, power failure, or other crisis, highlighting the predetermined exit portal and guiding occupants toward the exit portals through the use of illumination.
Objects of focus for this instant application include providing inconspicuous and inexpensive life-saving systems to help direct home, building, and facility occupants to safety in an emergency, as well as methods and related assemblies that can be readily commercialized, easily installed, easily tested, and easily used. Aspects of the invention address these objects in part by providing linear illuminators to highlight the border of the preferred exit window or doorway (each, a “portal” or “porthole”) in an emergency without necessarily requiring complete integration into smoke alarms or other alert, emergency, or safety systems. Its ability to be deployed in a myriad of layout formats and alternative configurations provides exceptional flexibility in the field for architects, fire authorities having jurisdiction, building code authorities, facility and building engineers or other authorities dictating the fire, safety and security details of any given residence, building, facility, structure, maritime vessel, airplane, train, recreational or other vehicle in their emergency preparedness duties and obligations. Our objects also include reducing the costs to acquire and implement life-saving emergency exit lighting, especially in the home setting. Related objects include providing systems that can easily be acquired and implemented by or for the disabled, poor and elderly.
Aspects of some of the inventions to be claimed include an easily-installed home emergency exit illumination system that brightly illuminates the path to a portal, and/or the outline of the portal itself, through which an occupant can escape fire & smoke. Aspects of the invention serve the object of readily identifying the portal by providing alarm-activated linear illuminators positioned to brightly highlight the perimeter of the portal and portions of the path to the portal. Commercialized aspects of the invention are designed to provide building, facility and structure owners, operators, tenants, and managers thereof, specifically in public accommodation settings, with the opportunity to provide all occupants of a building, facility or structure with a reliable hard-wired or wirelessly integrated version(s) of this invention.
Still another object is to provide an aesthetically unnoticeable system that does not detract from the interior design of the home or workspace when the system is not responding to an emergency situation. This object is served in part through the use of linear illuminators that are virtually invisible and undetectable when not energized.
Embodiments of the invention include combinations of well-known individual electrical parts, sensors, printed circuit board(s), and plastic or metal housing components and various luminary/light sources integrated to create a system and method for providing emergency illumination and possibly directionality (i.e., information about which direction to go) to areas around, near or adjacent to an exit door, window, stairwell/staircase or otherwise as may be utilized in a residential or commercial enclosed or semi-enclosed structure to demark emergency exits. Such systems may be used in any part of an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure to provide emergency illumination of a safe exit, to provide additional floor/ground level illumination, and to identify the safe exit portal or shelter in place location which a person seeking emergency egress should exit to or through in the event of fire, smoke, earthquake, terrorist attack or other crisis or emergency condition, such as power failure, that precipitates the immediate relocation of occupants to safe areas and/or the complete evacuation of the structure.
Preferred embodiments may include a single-station form which performs as a stand-alone module, or a system-integrated form which, as the name suggests, may be integrated with existing detection systems (such as fire/smoke detection, security systems, noxious gas detection, and the like) and other exit and emergency lighting appliances or systems currently being utilized within the structure.
Preferred embodiments also exploit circuitry and systems in existing fire alarm control panels, access control panels and drivers, burglar and security system panels, other alarms and/or other automated or manually triggered systems to automatically energize an illumination system that highlights both exit portals (i.e., windows or doorways) as well as at least a portion of the path leading to the portal. Preferred embodiments might also exploit existing DC power backup supplies used by any of the aforementioned systems, appliances, and/or devices. Although the system can be integrated with a smoke detection module, it preferably is packaged with an illumination controller linked to lengths of linear illuminators, where the controller operates in response to the audible alarm signal from smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detector alarms, a firefighter P.A.S.S. device or other useful audible alarms or, if integrated, it would respond to its integrated system's activation protocols designed to trigger its operation where other emergency condition detectors in the home, commercial setting, industrial setting or elsewhere where these alerting and notification systems may be required or used. The controller is preferably adapted for mounting above the top edge of or near the portal egress path or pathpoint or into a UL rated electrical junction box so the supplied illuminator lengths, in varied, often trim-to-fit lengths can extend symmetrically left and right from that location, to partially or completely illuminate the portal and the path to the portal independently or as an extension of another emergency lighting or exit demarcation (sign) device or appliance. With an assortment of approaches that may or may not be added in a system, variations may also convey directionality to the occupant in order to alert the occupants of the structure, demark the path or area toward which the occupant should travel and help lead or direct the occupant to and through the predetermined exit portal.
The Egress Marking Visible Notification Appliance (EMVNA) is a technologically advanced integrated fire-alarm, security, access control and other building system and method which provides a unique visible notification appliance system and method for emergency situations, such as fire, power failure and other occupant relocation or evacuation events in residences, buildings, facilities and structures, maritime vessels, recreational vehicles, airplanes, trains and other vehicles. The EMVNA is a transgenerationally designed notification appliance which has been designed to be passively compatible with all other visible notification appliances operating in a given space on a notification appliance circuit (NAC) through its copyrighted proprietary firmware driving the device and is designed to be integrated into other emergency lighting and exit demarcation appliances (signage) as an extension of their intended purpose to increase their efficacy for occupants, given their current inability to provide the marginal benefits that the present invention affords them unless included. The EMVNA is designed to anticipate that all or parts of the EMVNA may be sheathed, coated, and/or otherwise shielded or contained in protective materials, containers or waterproofing process covers or boxes (such as a Hoffman box, Panduit channeling, or Plexiglas covers) to allow for its use in hazardous or wet interior or exterior locations.
The EMVNA is a supervised device being supervised similarly to other common dumb-device visible notification appliances in a NAC and is specifically designed to be a low power consuming passive visible notification appliance in the NAC, compatible with, but totally independent of, other visible notification appliances operating in the common NAC. The EMVNA is specifically designed not to interfere, hinder or otherwise limit or affect any other device's ability to operate on the common indigenous NAC.
The EMVNA provides visible stimuli and information to users, emergency response personnel, and occupants. At an exit doorway, and/or along a predetermined path of egress, the EMVNA provides floor to top-of-jamb illumination or low-level illumination, respectively, in a code-compliant fashion or manner. When configured as part of a fire alarm system, the EMVNA operates in the notification zone in a flash-synchronized manner when the system is configured to flash. When integrated into an emergency lighting, exit demarking or path-marking system or connected to appliances integrated therein, the EMVNA becomes an extension of the system or appliance. In all configurations, its luminaries may consist of linear, point-source or combinations of these types of luminaries configured to emit a flashed or static emergency light message of appropriate intensity to occupants, users and emergency response personnel in order to: (i) initiate emergency action; (ii) demark the exits and/or predetermined paths of egress; and (iii) direct users, emergency response personnel, and occupants to such exits or shelter-in-place safe quarters or rooms or along such predetermined paths of egress in buildings or outdoors for evacuation or relocation purposes.
The inventions are to be generally defined in the appended claims, as they may be supplemented or amended from time to time. However, those of skill in the art will recognize many other aspects of our inventions from the following descriptions, considered in light of the prior art. It must be understood that many other aspects of our inventions and many other alternatives, variations, substitutions and modifications will also fall within the scope of the inventions, both those inventions that are now claimed and those inventions that are described but not yet claimed.
One of ordinary skill in the art can glean a good understanding of the broader inventions from consideration of several presently preferred embodiments that are depicted with the aid of
Home Setting. The embodiments emphasized first in this description are thought to be most applicable in the context of home settings (such as in the example of
Alternative Settings. It should also be understood, though, that alternative embodiments may be installed in virtually any occupiable structure that has portals such as doors or windows through which an occupant (including workers or emergency personnel) might have need to escape in the event of a fire or other emergency. In the alternative embodiment illustrated in
Referring to the preferred embodiment installed in building 100′ as a hotel, the floor of structure 100′ depicted in
The building structure 100′ will be discussed at various places throughout this description, particularly in association with
Stand-Alone (Single-Station) Module.
The preferred housing shape and relative size of the housing 211 for module 40 are evident in
With further reference to
Controller 41, coordinated by the device's pre-programmed firmware, intermittently samples the ambient background audio values in its indigenous area or space. Controller 41 “listens” for the tonal patterns and frequency values of the audible signal generated by a detector 73 (high and low frequencies) or other pre-configured values that may be used. Controller 41 can be configured to sense and detect other stimuli and/or conditions as well.
Other alternative embodiments may be triggered by any or all of an audible or electronic emergency fire protection alarm system, smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector or other emergency alarm or detection systems that emit an alarm preferably an audible alarm, or as an extension of another appliance, device (such as an emergency lighting appliance or exit sign appliance or system), system or subsystem to augment and/or broaden its efficacy in the provision of safety and which may be actuated by such appliance or device or through other stimuli or interconnected integrated system which may operate concomitantly or independently with or through such appliance, device or system. As another alternative, the embodiment of
Another alternative embodiment is an integrated module referred to herein as the “Integrated Egress-Marking Visible Notification Appliance” or “I-EMVNA” variation of illumination system 10, the various elements of which are shown in
This format of the I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 operates on the integrated NAC's 24 volt DC low-voltage power source(s), is current-limited and draws approximately 65 mA (milliamps) from the NAC power source for its operation. The I-EMVNA can also operate on a 12 volt DC input and can also be hard-wire configured with and installed in an emergency lighting, exit demarcation (signage), access control or security alarm system or security/fire combo systems, where the fire and security systems are integrated together through one combined system. In these alternative systems, it can be directly integrated independently or as an extension of another integrated appliance, as detailed above. Additionally, it can utilize building-wide backup generator supplied power to operate, may include its own DC batter backup power supply and/or can utilize a DC power supply of another appliance or device for its operation.
Most EMVNAs are designed to be installed/recessed into or over single-gang electrical outlet box 2100 or double-gang outlet box whose lettered cover plate 2610 can either denote the “FIRE” to indicate that it is a part of the fire system in the structure and may denote “exit here” with a down arrow designed to be placed on the coverplate used to secure the device driver inside the electrical box (back-box or junction box) which can be used to denote which direction one should take to reach the nearest exit with a left arrow, right arrow or up arrow as the specific location might command. The EMVNA system 10 is preferably in the form of a UL 1971 and/or a UL 924 listed (Emergency Lighting and Power Equipment), or similar listings in foreign jurisdictions, exit sign which preferably is located at a level which makes the sign visible when smoke may be obscuring the view of evacuees at a higher level within the room, enclosure or structure.
Some I-EMVNAs are also fabricated in their own housing which can be mounted at any location. Five-position and other multi-position dual in-line package (DIP) switch 2360 in the I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 can be field-calibrated to different light intensity settings and can be configured or calibrated to flash in synchronization with the other visible notification appliances in the same room and/or field of view. Typical EMVNAs are calibrated by the manufacturer to flash at a 1 Hz flash pattern or a pattern identical to the other visible notification appliances that it is synchronized within the connected zone or field of vision.
The I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 is compatible with other control systems and their synchronized visible notification appliances in the connected zone and they flash at the code-required 1 Hz rate while delivering a color and luminosity specifically designed for its elevationally low-level location capability and utility. In the absence of other visible notification appliances in the NAC, the I-EMVNA is compatible with other I-EMVNA devices with a variety of code-compliant 1 Hz flash, 2 Hz flash or other code-compliant flash patterns and has switch-selectable settings to independently operate. The purpose of the I-EMVNA's 1 Hz flash compatibility and its designed ability to synchronize with other notification appliances in the common NAC is to avoid creating a conflict in the indigenous environment for individuals with epilepsy and/or those who may have positive photic response to visual stimuli with seizures (i.e. be prone to seizure as a result of being exposed to flashing light(s)).
The I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 is automatically triggered with the notification appliance circuitry, like other notification appliances, to immediately light the periphery of an exit door and/or highlight the path of egress with its two linear luminaries being LightStrands 2221 and 2222, which in contrast to existing technologies, provides both a direct visual alarm by demarcating an exit and an indirect visual alarm by illuminating toward and in the area in proximity to the exit. LightStrands 2221 and 2222 are made available in a variety of linear luminary lengths, the most common being two LightStrand lengths which are each 12′ long for a total of 24 lineal feet of LightStrand luminary. Common linear luminary lengths are 12′ (24 lineal feet of light per device), 15′ (30 lineal feet of light per device) and 18′ (36 lineal feet of light per device). These differing lengths for the I-EMVNA are designed to accommodate large or inordinately large doorways, double-door openings, doors with transoms overhead and/or doors with built-in side-light features. Although these are standard lengths, if necessary, additional lengths may be joined end-to-end in order to accommodate longer courses of luminaries, and the devices may be butted, one to the other, in order to run the synchronized linear luminary format along any distance or length.
The I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 may be integrated with a variety of different systems to alert, demark and/or direct occupants of a building in a fire or other emergency event or crisis in a building, such as, but not limited to, exit signs or signage systems to provide multi-elevational exit demarcation which, unlike in-wall or surface mounted conventional exit signs, is visible from any angle of approach. The I-EMVNA may also be integrated with emergency lighting system to demark exit points and/or egress paths in the event of a power failure or other emergency event which triggers the integrated emergency lighting system, or as a path-marking device to direct occupants toward an exit point, safe harbor, or shelter-in-place location and/or along a predetermined path of egress leading to safety. The I-EMVNA may be integrated into a 12V or 24V hard-wired commercial (and limited residential) notification appliance circuit (NAC) which is driven by a Fire Alarm Control Panel (FACP) which has its own array of detectors and sensors which detect the presence of smoke, heat and/or fire, which can be manually activated (such as through a pull-station in a hallway) or automatically activated (such as through its smoke, heat and/or fire detection devices integrated into other sensing and detection circuits which are integrated into the FACP) and where, in this type of system, the I-EMVNA will flash synchronously with the other visible integrated notification appliances which are driven by the system.
The I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 may also be integrated into a 12V-24V hard-wired residential or commercial/industrial security system and/or a combination security, emergency lighting system, exit lighting system, access control system, and fire system which also has its own separate array of detection and sensing devices integrated into the panel on separate circuits. Within the security system and some emergency lighting and exit sign systems, the I-EMVNA will have a setting to either flash or not to flash. The system's control panel with which the I-EMVNA is integrated will energize it and will control its operation.
Another system into which the I-EMVNA variation of illumination system 10 may be integrated is a 12V-24V, typically hard-wired commercial access control system where the device can be energized and activated by the access control system per the control panel that drives the system. In this application, the I-EMVNA will be able to flash or not flash either at the point of ingress or egress or remotely as a signal to personnel charged with knowing the security (i.e. the breach or containment of the premises) and can be used as indicators inside the building or structure to alert those already inside of a breach of a controlled access point into the protected space. An alternative contemplated embodiment of the I-EMVNA would also be to be used as a signal on the exterior of the building, facility or structure to alert law enforcement or security personnel that a burglar, fire or other security system has been activated (silently or accompanied by audible and other communicative means) as a result of fire, breach or other unwarranted or other unpermitted access thereto or other event where passing-by authorities can determine through its signal that the building, facility, structure or premises has undergone an event triggering the system and that it is in need of immediate attention per indigenous protocols for such an event. The I-EMVNA is also anticipated to be utilized in locations containing a “safe-room”, such as an American Embassy or Consulate facility where identification of the location of persons seeking shelter from indigenous conditions might be located when extraction or other rescue intervention teams or personnel enter the facility to perform their search and rescue duties pursuant to specified protocols for same.
It is contemplated that EMVNAs can be integrated with and/or interconnected through the so-called “Internet of Things.” Such integration and/or interconnectivity can result in greater functionality of the EMVNA modules. It is further contemplated that any of the EMVNA modules or systems described herein may be integrated or interconnected in this manner, including a stand-alone or integrated EMVNA module.
Module Components.
The characteristics of the printed circuit board 212, the energizers 48a and 48b, and the other lesser components will be understood by those of skill in the art from the remainder of these descriptions.
Such characteristics make subsystem 40 ideal for packaging in an affordable, easy-to-install kit, together with the necessary components and supplies to complete installation of pre-set lengths of linear illuminators 20. As an example, a preferred variation of such a kit that provides linear illuminators 20 in the form of EL-Wire illuminators, wherein the kit preferably includes the modular control subsystem 40, two lengths of EL-Wire illuminators in the chosen style (i.e., one of the variations described elsewhere herein, or the equivalent), and supplies for securing the orientation of the EL-Wire lengths in the appropriate orientations around exit portals and along baseboards or the like.
Installation. The resulting assembly of module 40 is preferably installed in structure 100 on the top edge 221 of trim member 220 on wall 219. Although modular control subsystem 40 could be positioned along one of the side trim members 222 or 223, it preferably mounted in the center, directly above the top of the portal 231, such as illustrated in
Once mounted in place adjacent portal 231, the features of housing 211, namely the orientation of openings 241 and 242 coupled with the bottom elongate surface 217 of housing 211, serve to self-align linear illuminators 20 with the length of the adjacent trim number 220. System 10 thus provides a nine-volt-battery-operated, self-contained luminary device that is installable to automatically highlight the portal in an emergency.
Installation of a preferred alternative embodiment is shown in
Illumination Subsystem. In the illustrated embodiment, the exit route illumination subsystem 40 itself includes a controller 41 and one or more energizers 48a and 48b that operate to activate and control the illumination of at least two courses 21, 22 of linear illuminators 20. The controller 41 controls energizers 48 to energize lighted courses 21, 22 such that they emit a bright, readily-visible light. The luminary component for system 10 of
For simplicity of installation, exit route illumination subsystem 40 is preferably capable of operating on low-voltage DC battery power. Note that, as an alternative to low voltage battery power, other embodiments are adapted to be powered by AC power in one of two modes—either by converting the AC power to DC through an inverter or the like, or by stepping-down the AC power to safe levels and directing the stepped-down AC power directly into the illuminator 20. Preferably, this is achieved by embodying the linear illuminators 20 of courses 21 and 22 in the form of electroluminescent (EL) wire, although various alternatives approximate some but not all of the benefits of using EL-Wire, as will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art, particularly from further reading of this detailed description in light of the prior art. It is anticipated that the use of inverters and converters of AC and DC power into a useable power format for the EMVNA technology, in all of its forms, will be commonplace in the integration of the device into buildings, facilities, structures, interface with other appliances, devices or systems and subsystems. In still other embodiments, particularly the stand-alone or S-EMVNA modules, there is included a photocell embedded in the face or the top of the device to trickle charge the battery supplying power to the device. Such batteries would preferably be of a rechargeable type as understood by those of skill in the art which would be capable supplying sufficient power to operate the S-EMVNA module with all possible functional components which may be utilized in such a module.
One particularly-preferred alternative linear illuminator for the modular system 10 utilizes a laser light source rather than a physical illuminator but which may also use a filament or various forms of fiber optic cable to carry the light emission along its axis. This cabling or POF may be jacketed along its length with areas exposed to allow for the light carried within it to be hidden in certain areas along its axis and visible along other areas of its length. Like the EL-wire, this fiber-optic cabling, carrying laser or other light may be placed at locations where the installer/user thereof might desire it.
LED light sources, a single or multiple braided or twisted strands of electroluminescent wires possibly wrapped in a single translucent or colored jacket, side-light emitting plastic optical fiber, reflective mirrors and or reflective luminescent paints or strips of reflective material(s) may also be used to provide luminescence in less preferred variations of the modular system 10.
Another preferred embodiment of an illumination subsystem is illustrated in
Near the base of T-Connector 2200, LightStrands 2221 and 2222, the linear illuminator consisting of a length of electroluminescent wire (el-wire), exits T-Connector 2200 on the left and right sides near the base of T-Connector 2200 and when activated provides illumination around doorway/exit periphery and/or along the top of baseboards which is superior to existing technologies by making such exit visible from every angle of approach. This placement configuration of the el-wire provides not only a direct visual alarm by demarcating an exit but also provides an indirect visual alarm by illuminating an area in proximity to that exit. In further contrast to existing technologies which place strobes and other visual alarms high on a wall or at ceiling height above an exit whose presence may be completely occluded by smoke during a fire, this preferred embodiment provides visual alarms much lower so as not to be obscured or occluded by smoke.
LightStrands 2221 and 2222 are made with specially designed Lytec-Asia, Ltd. electroluminescent wire. Alternative embodiments provide for lengths of LightStrands 2221 and 2222 on each side where it exits T-Connector 2200 of 12 feet (370 cm), 15 feet (460 cm), or 18 feet (550 cm); however, “trim-to-fit” LightStrands 2221 and 2222 can be trimmed in the field to any desired length to meet the specific installation or physical limitation requirements. Stress reducers 2233 and 2234 are attached to EMVNA T-Connector 2200 where LightStrands 2221 and 2222 exit T-Connector 2200.
Kit with Module and Opposed Illuminator Lengths.
Hence, such a system 10 is adapted to save lives, help people avoid injury and the loss of life, speed up the building structure evacuation process, and provide a more efficient, safer and informative path for evacuees to follow when they find themselves enduring a crisis such as fire or heavy smoke in a residential or commercial structure 100. All this is achieved by system 10 providing bright floor-level and multi-elevational illumination which directs the occupants of a structure 100 toward the nearest exit portal in the event of a fire.
Any of the illuminator types herein described may be routed through a channel in the floor of the structure when circumstances might require such low level illumination. In other embodiments, illuminators may be laid in a routed channel at any elevation on a wall, in molding or trim, or in the floor with a clear covering such as Plexiglas to protect the illuminator, for guiding an occupant along an exit or safety path or for illuminating an exit portal. Other embodiments contemplate that illuminators may be routed through channels in sheetrock panels, countertops and the like if such a configuration is necessary within a particular facility or setting.
Securing Physical Illuminators in Place. While different embodiments of the linear illuminators 20 preferably use different supplies to secure the preferred positions of the linear illuminators 20, there are also even various alternative embodiments for affixing the particular physical types of linear illuminator 20, such as EL-Wire and POF embodiments. A first alternative kit for installation of the EL-Wire preferably includes a supply of an adhesive, preferably clear and preferably silicone (although those of ordinary skill will understand the pros and cons of other adhesives as well). The method of using such a kit involves applying the adhesive during or immediately after installation, to hold the EL-Wire illuminator in place, preferably in the nook or crevice where the molding 220, 222 and 223 and baseboards meet the wall 219, so that the illuminator 20 is even less noticeable when not energized.
As a second preferred alternative to direct adhesives (such as clear silicone), adhesive-backed cable “snap-in” or “snap-closed” clips and various forms of tape adhesives are included in certain preferred kit embodiments and are used in certain preferred methods. The clips may be off-the-shelf as the most affordable alternative embodiments for supplies to secure the EL-Wire illuminator 20 in place. As an alternative, such clips may also be made much like the one illustrated in
Directing Laser Illuminators. As mentioned elsewhere, laser light may also be used for linear illuminators 20 as an alternative without physical illuminators, by using energizers 48a and 48b that emit a laser beam out illuminator openings 241 and 242. With reference to
Speaker with Preprogrammed Emergency Audible Alarm. In some embodiments, the device may include a speaker or alternative announcing device that would be integrated into the device's logic, electronic processor(s) and/or electronic microprocessor(s) that would, when activated/triggered by the device's sensing devices, repeatedly announce a preprogrammed audible emergency signal, tone, alarm or recorded voice announcement sound to more clearly demark the location of the exit portal location when the device is activated or triggered. One additional facet to the modular control subsystem 40 is that alternative embodiments are programmed with an audible tone or voice recording that is broadcasted from audio opening 225 whenever illuminators 20 are energized. More particularly, circuit board 212 is preferably adapted to include a small speaker that would be hooked to the logic in the microprocessor/logic chip 41, to announce (audibly) an emergency signal/tone/alarm/voice sound whenever emergency conditions are detected by controller 41. With this adaptation, system 10 is adapted to even more clearly demark the safe exit portal location during a smoke event or other emergency and can utilize integrated panel predefined tones, or messages delivered to the EMVNA from the system's control panel (such as a FACP). Alternative embodiments of this adaptation even embed a digital recording device in board 212 (or in a companion board) within the housing 211 for subsystem 40, and a parent is then able to actually record a short message in his or her own voice that would be announced repeatedly when an emergency condition is detected by controller 41. Incorporation of both of these features allows users to choose which audible signal they would want to be announced in the event of an emergency which triggers the system to illuminate the illuminators 20. With the voice adaptation, to further encourage and comfort a child in an emergency, a trusted or authoritative voice can be used to issue audible commands to the child in the emergency, repeating “COME THIS WAY!” or any other desired message. The added interactivity with module 40 when a parent records his or her voice into the module 40 reinforces preparedness for all involved.
Whatever the particular features, the system 10 of the invention allows one standardized housing 211 that will be able to contain all the electronic guts of module 40 regardless of what is inside. Audible alternative adaptations may include: The Option to choose a “standard issue” pre-programmed tone or alarm to be broadcast through our tiny speaker from the device housing; and/or the option to include the Recording/Playback components that allow parents to record their own voices in the device as the alarm for the younger ones living in the home or those in need of audible alerting, such as the legally blind and partially sighted.
Hence, in some embodiments, the device may include a modular self-contained adjacently mounted speaker interconnected with the device which may receive its audible signal from other sources or the integrated system and which is actuated in tandem with the triggering of the emergency system driving it or an audio recording device similarly housed in the device which is integrated with the aforementioned speaker or alternative announcing device and further integrated with the device's logic, electronic processor(s) and/or electronic microprocessor(s) devices. The recording device will allow the operator or end user of the device to record a message in his or her own voice or other chosen audible sound on the device, in lieu of the preprogrammed audible emergency signal, tone, alarm or recorded voice announcement sound and which is announced repeatedly when the device activated or triggered.
Auto-Default to Preprogrammed Emergency Audible Alarm. In preferred embodiments, the device has both a default preprogrammed sound signal and, in addition thereto, also contains the personalized recording device for the operator or end user to record his/her audible sound or announcement. In this embodiment, and in any event where the personalized announcement were inactive or otherwise disabled, the preprogrammed audible emergency tone, alarm or recorded voice announcement sound would be activated in the absence of the existence of such personalized recorded announcement as a default when the device is triggered or activated in an emergency.
Illuminator Functions. In the
The device may utilize any form of illumination, including but not limited to, a laser light source, Laser Wire, an LED light source and/or a single or multiple braided or twisted strands of electroluminescent wires (possibly wrapped in a single translucent or colored PVC jacket), side-light emitting plastic optical fiber, reflective mirrors, prisms and or reflectors and refractors possibly in conjunction with reflective luminescent paints, sprays, strips, tapes or adhesives containing of reflective material(s) in various diameters and widths.
Single Strand of Electroluminescent Wire w/o Directionality. In this preferred embodiment, one single strand of electroluminescent wire operates as the linear light source. The single strand of electroluminescent wire is laid upon or otherwise specifically adhered or affixed around and along the periphery of an exit door, window, stairwell/staircase and then laterally along the top of base molding along the floor in areas abutting, adjacent to or proximate to such doors, windows or stairwells.
When activated/triggered by the device's sensing devices, such electroluminescent wire is energized and illuminated. The wire flashes/illuminates in a predetermined flash or static light pattern as predetermined by the devices preprogrammed processor(s), microprocessor(s) and or logic mechanism(s) embedded in the device's construction and this lighted wire shed lights along the outside periphery of an exit door or portal and/or along the floor area near such door immediately adjacent thereto through its operation. The device's linear light source may be located near floor level for better visibility in smoke environments. The lighting and system, in general, may be operated repetitively and nondestructively to allow inclusion of the lighting and system in fire and other emergency drills.
The device may also be installed along a corridor wall, around ground-floor windows or other exit portals vertically or laterally or in other areas where required light may be required to demark a safe path or exit for an evacuee to pursue in a structure incurring fire, smoke or other peril and may be used as an extension of other appliances or devices designed to alert, demark and or direct occupants of a building facility, structure or premises to or toward safety.
Module Recessed in Wall. Another preferred embodiment recesses module 40 in wall 219 to render all of system 10, other than the light strands 20 themselves, truly inconspicuous. The recessed installation is achieved by slightly rearranging the components of module 40 and replacing the housing 211 of module 40 with an enclosure like a small “insulated junction-box” or “protective Hoffman box”. This configuration can be used by either the S-EMVNA or the I-EMVNA, depending on the user's desires or architectural requirements. More specifically, system 10 may be housed in a standard UL-listed or UL-conforming single gang, four-square box (with a plaster ring), and or a double-gang junction box, often referred to in the field as “back-boxes'”; which come in a variety of types, styles, sizes, depths and configurations. Other alternatives may include housing system 10 in a red single gang outlet box which is sometimes used for installation of fire alarms and smoke detectors. Other alternative configurations of I-EMVNAs might also allow for them to be manufactured or fabricated in their own accompanying housing or electrical outlet box which can be mounted at any location by its installer. The result is flush with the surface of wall 219, with only the speaker/microphone hole 225 being visible above the door. In some applications, the module 40 is adapted to be recessed into a wall so that the microphone and/or audible speaker in the device are flush with the out surface of such wall and may be covered with a decorative or motif matching screening that, while covering and protecting the internal portions of the device, also allow for the reception of audible alarm frequencies that the device is trained to receive and similarly can allow for the broadcast of a tone, voice or other audible sound projection that the device may project or broadcast.
In typical installations, the cavity within which the device is situated in the wall is located “in the wall” behind the outer wall surface material which is typically sheetrock, paneling, bead-board, fabric, glass or polymer like materials. The installer of the device can easily create a hole in the wall face which is similarly sized and shaped as the housing 211 of the electrical and battery components that power and drive the light strands included in the device. The housing 211 portion of the device is affixed inside the cavity and the light strands protrude loosely into the room and remain on the outside of such wall to subsequently be affixed around the periphery of a door, window or other safe ingress/egress portal. Although this cavity can effectively be placed anywhere near the periphery of such door, window or other safe ingress/egress portal, it would typically be placed on center at the top of the exit portal and the light strands would be routed and affixed around such portal so as to illuminate the periphery of such door, window or ingress/egress portal.
In an alternative embodiment,
Lock Control Subsystem
Another alternative embodiment includes a system that can unlock one or more exit portal covers in case of an emergency. An exit portal, such as a doorway or window, typically has a portal cover. Portal covers may include a door, window, gate, hatch, or other ingress- or egress-way cover. In a residential structure 100, portal covers such as doors 95 and windows 96 may be locked while persons are in the structure, particularly at night. This alternative embodiment, with its portal cover unlocking capability, includes a modular control subsystem 40 with a means to send an unlock command to effect the unlocking of a portal cover which is directly associated with, and proximate to, the modular control subsystem's 40 location. In this embodiment, when the controller 41 detects an alarm condition, the controller 41 not only activates the illumination subsystem to light the portal periphery, but also activates the lock control subsystem which initiates an unlocking process to unlock one or more portal covers. For a single associated portal cover, this unlocking process begins by the controller 41 sending an unlock command to the portal cover lock control. The unlock command is sent by one or more of several transmission means. In a structure where the is no pre-existing, remotely controllable portal cover lock control means, as in many residential structures, the preferred means for sending the unlock command is an RF signal produced by a transmitter within the modular control subsystem 40, or by an audible signal, or by electronic signal over electrical wires or optical cables. For structures with a pre-existing, remotely controllable portal cover lock control means, as in some commercial buildings, the modular control subsystem 40 may send the unlock command via any of the previous means, or may send a signal to the pre-existing portal cover remote controller which would, in turn, communicate an unlock command to the portal cover lock control. When received by the associated portal cover's lock control subsystem, the unlock command causes the portal cover locking mechanism to unconditionally unlock the portal cover. Once the portal cover is unlocked, persons can then leave or enter the enclosed or semi-enclosed structure through the portal.
In a preferred embodiment of this alternative, the modular control subsystem 40 is situated on, above, or otherwise proximate to a lockable portal cover where the portal is a logical or pre-determined egress-way through which persons in a building may exit in an emergency. Other embodiments are configured to interface with home security systems that will achieve the same result for some or all portals in the structure.
Optimally, in an emergency, the modular control subsystem 40 detects an alarm condition, activates the lights for the exit portal, and simultaneously commands the lock control to unlock the portal cover. The lighted, unlocked portal then allows persons in the structure an unobstructed egress route and rescue personnel outside the structure an unobstructed ingress route.
Yet another alternative embodiment includes a means whereby the modular control subsystem 40 detects a vibration event such as an earthquake, prolonged explosion or series of explosions, or other event that vibrates the structure's walls for several seconds. In a preferred embodiment, the modular control subsystem 40 is mounted to a wall near a portal cover where the portal 95 is a logical or pre-determined egress-way through which persons in a building may exit in an emergency. The module 40 is mounted on a wall and situated above or near a portal cover. The controller 41 detects vibrations that fit the vibration profile, for magnitude and duration, through the module's 40 own vibration sensing device, from a vibration sensing device located in the danger detection array 73, by receiving a vibration alarm signal from the structure's indigenous vibration sensor, or any combination thereof. When the controller 41 detects a vibration event from one or more of the vibration sensor sources, it responds by activating the subsystems in the particular embodiment such as the illumination subsystem, the audible alarm subsystem, and the lock control subsystem, with each subsystem performing its functions as described elsewhere herein.
Some of the embodiments described above feature residential structures as examples, but persons of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate and apply the capabilities of the present invention in many circumstances, combinations, and arrangements in residential and non-residential structures including, but not limited to, commercial, industrial, government, scientific, educational, medical, military, and other structures.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, when the modular control subsystem 40 detects an alarm condition, in addition to its other actions, the module 40 transmits an unlock command to the portal cover lock control subsystem. The lock control subsystem includes a means to receive the unlock command from the modular control subsystem 40 and a means to control the portal cover's locking mechanism such that the control can unlock the portal cover.
The lock control subsystem's receiving means can include a receiver or transceiver for radio frequency, audio frequency, or electronic signals and the interconnection of the device with other devices in the system. The preferred embodiment includes an RF receiver embedded in the portal cover and attached to the locking mechanism control means.
The locking mechanism control means controls the portal cover's locking mechanism. If the existing locking mechanism can be adapted to accept the lock control subsystem, the existing locking mechanism can be adapted and reused. Otherwise, the lock control subsystem, including a desired locking mechanism, a receiving means, and a lock control means, replaces the previous locking mechanism. In either case, the control is appropriate for the type of the locking mechanism. The control may include electrical, mechanical, electromechanical, hydraulic, or other means. For example, in a portal cover where the lock is engaged by extending a mechanically actuated sliding metal bolt, as in many residential structures, the locking mechanism control means is preferably an electromechanical actuator to retract the sliding bolt.
The lock control subsystem is installed in or on the portal cover, and is preferably embedded in the portal cover.
For portal covers that are already equipped with a remotely controllable locking mechanism, an alternative embodiment of the lock control subsystem includes a means for communicating with the existing control. For example, if the existing locking mechanism can receive an electrical signal to unlock the portal cover, the module 40 is equipped with a communication means that the controller 41 can activate to produce an unlock command signal that is communicated to the locking mechanism's control such that the control unlocks the portal cover. The module's communication means may include an electrical relay, an RF transmitter, transceiver, or other means that is effective to communicate an unlock command to the existing locking mechanism's control. Such communication means are well known in the art, and a person of ordinary skill in the art can select and configure communication means to achieve communication between the module 40 and the existing remotely controllable locking mechanism.
Some of the examples given for the embodiments described above feature residential structures, but persons of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate and apply the capabilities of the present invention in many circumstances, combinations, and arrangements in residential and non-residential structures.
The Lightsaver Commercial Lighting System. As an alternative ideal for the commercial setting, the LightSaver Commercial System is comprised of a thin scalable length (1′ to several thousand feet) of three (3) twisted strands of very small wire that lights brightly when energized, a series of AC electrical inverters (to step the voltage from AC power and sequence the directional pulse), battery back-up power sources (to supply power in the absence of power) and can utilize RF transmitters and receivers (if required in some instances). This twisted wire is connected to an electronic sequencer inverter that energizes each independent wire in the three (3) wire sequence, in a 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 sequence. As each wire lights and then darkens (on-off, on-off, on-off) in harmony with the other two (2) wires and is repeated through the sequence, the optical occlusion effect of twisted or braided wire creates an optical illusion that the light is actually moving linearly along the entire braided strand in one direction. This effect is similar to that which your brain sees when you peer at the front of one of the massive sequenced lighting facades on the front of a casino in Las Vegas. The lights, through their proper sequencing (on-off, on-off, in harmony with the other similar lights in the pattern) cause the light to appear to move laterally along the face of the building structure; the same principal is used in the LightSaver System. Engineers commonly refer to this design as employing a “Jacob's Ladder” effect create the appearance of movement (directionality) of the light message being delivered to the occupant or evacuees during it activation.
Preferably, the braided wire or POF with laser or alternative light being carried along its length, is tiny and inconspicuous and runs laterally along the length of the wall just above floor level along the top of the baseboard, but many sized luminary outside diameter dimensions may be utilized in alternative commercial and industrial type applications and configurations. It can be run through walls, around doors or anywhere we desire to install it. The wire runs along exit corridors, interior hallways, exit stairwells and around interior room doors and provides a seamless line of sequenced and directional light from the most interior spaces of a building structure, along the hallways and corridors leading to emergency exits and then through the fireproof stairwells to the building structure exits leading to the out of doors of the structure; thusly leading evacuees from the depths of the building structure interior to the exterior of the building structure while illuminating and providing directionality along the way. Any event that would trigger an emergency alarm in a building structure can trigger (i.e. turn on) the LightSaver LinearStrobe™ System. The LightSaver LinearStrobe System can stand alone or can easily be integrated with existing fire and smoke alarms and security systems in Hotels/Motels, Casinos, Federal, State and Local Government Building structures, Hospitals, Retirement & Nursing Centers, Dormitories, Universities, Schools (public and private), High-Rise Residential Facilities (Condos/Apartments), Office Building structures, Malls and Retail/Shopping Facilities, Industrial/Manufacturing Facilities, Multi-Family Structures (Low-Rise Apartments) Individual Single Family Residences, Cruise Liners, Commercial Ships, Armed Services Aircraft Carriers, Ships and Submarines and any other Building structure or Structure. Our product is a life-saving public safety product which is triggered by any event that would similarly trigger and turn on an alarm system in a building structure, such as in the event of fire, smoke filling a building structure, an earthquake, a security breach or the release of dangerous levels of harmful or noxious gasses or other events requiring occupant notification in a structure. In actuality, any event which turns on an alarm will trigger the LightSaver LinearStrobe™ System. The public will simply “follow the light” to the nearest exit or will otherwise be able to glean the notification information desirous for the particular application.
This approach to fire safety and the assistance of evacuating a building structure is unique and will ultimately change the dependency of the public from mere exit signage above exits doors (where smoke first accumulates and masks such demarcation of safe exit) to an ultimately codified and required in-place system to light at floor-level AND to indicate the direction to proceed for safe egress from a building structure. This innovation will save lives, help people avoid injury, speed up the building structure evacuation process and will ultimately lessen the importance of exit signage. LightSaver provides a much more efficient, safer and informative path for evacuees to follow when they find themselves in a building structure enduring crisis such as fire, heavy smoke, earthquake, an emission of noxious fumes or toxic inert gasses or a security breach or loss of power to the building. Our process will allow for seamless integration of our system into existing systems, and will enable an added level of yet to be seen information to evacuees when they need it most.
In the illustrated embodiment, the exit route illumination subsystem 40′ itself includes a controller 41 and one or more energizers 48 that operate to activate and control the illumination of at least two courses 25, 26 of linear illuminators 20. In operation, when power is supplied to illumination subsystem 40′ through lead 45 (or 45′), the controller 41 controls energizers 48 to energize courses 25, 26 such that they emit a bright, readily visible light. Preferably, this is achieved by embodying the linear illuminators 20 of courses 25 and 26 in the form of electroluminescent (EL) wire, although various alternatives approximate some but not all of the benefits of using EL-Wire, as will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art, particularly from further reading of this detailed description in light of the prior art.
Multiple Strands of Electroluminescent Wire and Directionality. In another preferred embodiment, a grouping of braided, twisted or wound electroluminescent wires are utilized as the linear light source to provide the appearance of light movement and/or directionality in the linear light source. The device is triggered or activated immediately by the audible tones and/or frequencies of smoke alarms proximate the device or through electronic activation of other alarms that the invention is integrated with or through the invention's internal sensors and/or sensing devices and the electroluminescent wires are energized through the device's power source to provide emergency light and light movement. Once energized and illuminated, the wire(s) flash in sequence to illuminate in a predetermined flash or sequence as is predetermined by the devices preprogrammed processor(s), microprocessor(s) and or logic mechanism(s) embedded in the device's construction and this lighted wire shed lights along the outside periphery of an exit door or portal and/or along the floor area proximate such door and areas immediately adjacent thereto through its operation.
The wire(s), which may be contained in a clear jacket, is/are laid upon or otherwise specifically affixed to the top of and vertically along the sides of and generally around the periphery of an exit door or other portal such as a ground-floor window and/or is laid upon base molding along the floor and abutting a corridor wall upon which such molding is affixed.
When multiple strands of electroluminescent wire are utilized as the linear light source, the power source may be channeled through the light source sequentially from one line to the next repeatedly and continuously which causes the light to provide the visual perception of light moving laterally and directionally from one end of the wire to the opposite end of the wire while simultaneously providing an uninterrupted line of floor level directional lighting that is inconspicuous until activated by an emergency signal. The device's linear light source may be located near floor level for better visibility in smoke environments. The lighting and system, in general, may be operated repetitively and nondestructively to allow inclusion of the lighting and system in fire and other emergency drills.
Laser Module. The laser variations of Module 40 can be understood from
In one embodiment, the linear emergency light source is constructed of a laser light source wherein the laser light is triggered immediately by the audible tones and/or frequencies of smoke alarms proximate the device or through electronic activation of other alarms that the invention is integrated with or through the invention's internal sensors and/or sensing devices. When activated, such laser light is directed along the outside periphery of an exit door or portal and/or along the floor area near such door immediately adjacent thereto through a series of small mirrors, prisms or reflection/refraction devices or lenses which appropriately direct the laser beam/light along the periphery of the exit door and laterally along the wall wherein such door is situated. The device's linear light source may be located near floor level for better visibility in smoke environments. The lighting and system, in general, may be operated repetitively and nondestructively to allow inclusion of the lighting and system in fire and other emergency drills.
In the context of hallway 105, subsystem 40 preferably performs door illumination of doors 103-104 by illuminating the sides of doors 103-104 that face the hallway 105, which we therefore refer to as the “hallward” sides of doors 103 and 104. Partly because of the linear nature of illuminator 20, and in part due to the various preferred courses of its installation on or around the frames for doors 103 and 104 (rather than on the actual door itself), the door illumination for doors 103-104 also outlines the exit doors 103-104 to highlight doors 103 and 104. In the same context of hallway 105, subsystem 40 also performs hall illumination by illuminating the base of walls 106-107, preferably along lines at the base of the walls 106-107. Hence, hall illumination along the base of walls 106 and 107 outlines the way toward the exit door(s) 103-104. The inherent low height of the baseboards 160, where the illuminators 20 are installed and hall illumination is at its brightest, provides the benefit of being most readily visible to a person in hallway 105 even when hallway 105 is filled with smoke, such as in a fire.
Courses of the Linear Illuminators. In several commercial embodiments, linear illuminators 20 are preferably installed such that two courses 25-26 run from the energizers 48 under a concealed span 49 to two terminal points 23-24 (respectively, shown in
As will also be described further herein, the remainder of courses 25-26 (i.e., beyond span 49) are positioned to extend left and right from points 23 and 24, to outline the left and right halves of exit door 103, respectively, and thereafter to illuminate the base of the walls of hallway 105 along the baseboards 160 adjacent the floor 109. Preferably, similar installations of exit route illumination systems are made relative to exit doors 103, 104 and 403 (shown in
Beyond the terminal points 23, 24, other than variations due to door and corner spacing in hallway 105, illuminator courses 25 and 26 are similar to each other in basic characteristics. From the terminal points 23 and 24 above exit door 103, the left course 25 outlines the left side of door frame molding 97, and the right course 26 outlines the right side of door frame molding 97. As is evident in
To achieve hallway illumination, the linear illuminators 20 are operatively installed along the base of walls 106-107, along where walls 106-107 meet the floor 109 of hallway 105. Aside from the above-described door-outlining portions of illuminator 20 for each exit door 103-104, from the vantage point of one standing in hallway 105, essentially all other portions of illuminator 20 in the preferred embodiment are positioned along the base of walls 106-107, which preferably includes baseboard 160. With such positioning of linear illuminator 20 lengthwise along the lower portions of the side walls 106 of hallway 105, preferably along baseboards 160, illuminator 20 is positioned to hall illumination as well as to designate the route (or path) toward exit doors 103 and 104. When operatively energized, illuminator 20 illuminates each side of the hallway 105 along the baseboard 160, adjacent to floor 109. Because of the proximity of illuminator 20 to the floor 109, much of the floor 109 itself is also illuminated to help light the way for occupants to exit structure 100. Because of such positioning, these portions of illuminator 20 along baseboards 160 are referred to for reference as the “hall-defining portions” of illuminator 20.
In some embodiments, placement along baseboards 160 is achieved by adhering or tacking illuminator 20 along the baseboard, much as the door-frame-outlining portions are adhered or tacked along the outer edge of the door frame 97 of door 103.
Illuminator Placement in Baseboard Groove. As one preferred alternative, though, a groove 165 that is preformed, extruded or cut into baseboard 160 secures the hall-defining portions of linear illuminator 20 in place relative to baseboards 160. As best seen in
Flanged Alternative Illuminator.
Adaptations for Non-Exit Doors. While outlining and illuminating the exit doors in a corridor is characteristic of many embodiments of the present invention, it is preferred that other doors in the same corridor (i.e., “upstream” or “non-exit” doors that lead the wrong way or away from the ideal exits) not be outlined or illuminated, to minimize confusion. Hence, as viewed from within hallway 105, the hallward sides of exit doors 103 and 104 (shown in
Preferably, relative darkening of the hallward sides of upstream doors 130-148 while also illuminating the baseboards 160 of hallway 105 is achieved in one of two alternate ways—either by bypassing the hallward side of the upstream doors 130-148, or by sheathing the illuminator 20 with an opaque sheath around the hallward side of those upstream doors 130-148. Although not explicitly shown in any of the drawings, elevator doors and other doors that should not be opened for exiting purposes are treated the same, or much the same, as upstream doors that are not illuminated (i.e., relatively darkened) when illuminators 20 are energized.
Bypassing the hallward sides of upstream doors 130-148 is itself preferably accomplished by one of two techniques—either by routing the illuminator under the door jamb for the upstream doors 130-148 such that it is not visible in that span (while also not presenting a tripping hazard), or by illuminating the opposite side (i.e., the roomward side) of such doors 130-148.
Commercial Monitoring Subsystem. With cross-reference to
In any case, monitoring subsystem 22 is a system for monitoring the conditions in and/or around the structure 100′ to detect potential dangers. Preferably, the monitoring subsystem 22 of system 15 includes one or more fire detectors, either in the form of smoke detectors (such as fire detector 73 illustrated in
For embodiments monitoring security breaches, monitoring subsystem 22 includes detectors for monitoring glass break or door/window opening alarm switches, motion detectors and/or panic buttons. For embodiments monitoring for a noxious fumes hazard, the monitoring subsystem would include sensors for detecting excessive concentrations of CO or other potentially dangerous gasses (such as radon) in or around the structure, and the response subsystem would preferably be linked with a security alarm system to flash and sound special alarms in the event such excessive concentrations are detected. In an industrial manufacturing or processing setting, comparable systems may be employed to alert workers of noxious fumes within confined spaces.
Response Subsystem. When dangerous conditions are detected, controller 21 not only activates alarm subsystem 23 but, preferably, also initiates remedial measures through an emergency response subsystem 24. Such remedial measures are intended to mitigate the detected dangerous conditions, either in response to dangerous detections by the monitoring subsystem 22 or in response to manual or remote actuation of an alarm switch. In the preferred embodiment of an emergency system 15 for monitoring and responding to fire conditions, the response subsystem 24 is embodied to include a fire suppression system that may include sprinklers, halogen systems or analogous systems for other types of emergencies. The response subsystem 24 includes other types of actuators either in addition to or instead of the fire suppression system in other embodiments. Actuators for alerting law enforcement and security agencies, for instance, as well as visual and audible alarms 72, are included in embodiments adapted to monitor security breaches.
Alarm Subsystem. Perhaps most central to the functions of emergency system 15 is its function performed by controller 21 to alert occupants when monitoring subsystem 22 detects dangerous conditions. Controller 21 alerts such occupants by controlling alarm subsystem 23 to present both audible and visual alarms. In the preferred
Illumination Subsystem. The preferred exit route illumination subsystem 40 of the present invention is networked with emergency system 15 to be activated together with the alarm 72. For simplicity of installation, exit route illumination subsystem 40 is preferably capable of operating on low-voltage DC power the same as alarm 72. The low-voltage power supply may be either battery or inverter powered, preferably at voltages that match the voltage of the existing monitoring and alarm subsystems 22 and 23. Note that, as an alternative to low voltage battery power, other embodiments are adapted to be powered by AC power in one of two modes—either by converting the AC power to DC through an inverter or the like, or by stepping-down the AC power to safe levels and directing the stepped-down AC power directly into the illuminator 20. The power supply line 45 for subsystem 40 can be spliced into the low-voltage power supply line 74 that actuates the alarm 72, such that illumination subsystem 40 is automatically activated when the alarm 72 is activated. As an alternative, subsystem 40 taps into a power connection within alarm 72, as illustrated by phantom lines 45′ in
In the illustrated embodiment, the exit route illumination subsystem 40 itself includes a controller 41 and one or more energizers 48 that operate to activate and control the illumination of at least two courses 25, 26 of linear illuminators 20. In operation, when power is supplied to illumination subsystem 40 through lead 45, the controller 41 controls energizers 48 to energize courses 25, 26 such that they emit a bright readily visible light. Preferably, this is achieved by embodying the linear illuminators 20 of courses 25 and 26 in the form of electroluminescent (EL) wire, although various alternatives approximate some but not all of the benefits of using EL wire, as will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art, particularly from further reading of this detailed description in light of the prior art.
Illuminator Functions. In the
In the context of hallway 105, subsystem 40 preferably performs door illumination of doors 103-104 by illuminating the sides of doors 103-104 that face the hallway 105, which we therefore refer to as the “hallward” sides of doors 103 and 104. Partly because of the linear nature of illuminator 20, and in part due to the various preferred courses of its installation on or around the frames for doors 103 and 104 (rather than on the actual door itself), the door illumination for doors 103-104 also outlines the exit doors 103-104 to highlight doors 103 and 104. In the same context of hallway 105, subsystem 40 also performs hall illumination by illuminating the base of walls 106-107, preferably along lines at the base of the walls 106-107. Hence, hall illumination along the base of walls 106 and 107 outlines the way toward the exit door(s) 103-104. The inherent low height of the baseboards 160, where the illuminators 20 are installed and hall illumination is at its brightest, provides the benefit of being most readily visible to a person in hallway 105 even when hallway 105 is filled with smoke, such as in a fire.
Courses of the Linear Illuminators. Linear illuminators 20 are preferably installed such that two courses 25-26 run from the energizers 48 under a concealed span 49 to two terminal points 23-24 (respectively, shown in
As will also be described further herein, the remainder of courses 25-26 (i.e., beyond span 49) are positioned to extend left and right from points 23 and 24, to outline the left and right halves of exit door 103, respectively, and thereafter to illuminate the base of the walls of hallway 105 along the baseboards 160 adjacent the floor 95. Preferably, similar installations of exit route illumination systems are made relative to exit doors 103, 104 & 403 (shown in
Beyond the terminal points 23, 24, other than variations due to door and corner spacing in hallway 105, illuminator courses 25 and 26 are similar to each other in basic characteristics. From the terminal points 23 and 24 above exit door 103, the left course 25 outlines the left side of door frame molding 97, and the right course 26 outlines the right side of door frame molding 97. As is evident in
To achieve hallway illumination, the linear illuminators 20 are operatively installed along the base of walls 106-107, along where walls 106-107 meet the floor 95 of hallway 105. Aside from the above-described door-outlining portions of illuminator 20 for each exit door 103-104, from the vantage point of one standing in hallway 105, essentially all other portions of illuminator 20 in the preferred embodiment are positioned along the base of walls 106-107, which preferably includes baseboard 160. With such positioning of linear illuminator 20 lengthwise along the lower portions of the side walls 106 of hallway 105, preferably along baseboards 160, illuminator 20 is positioned to hall illumination as well as to designate the route (or path) toward exit doors 103 and 104. When operatively energized, illuminator 20 illuminates each side of the hallway 105 along the baseboard 160, adjacent to floor 95. Because of the proximity of illuminator 20 to the floor 95, much of the floor 95 itself is also illuminated to help light the way for occupants to exit building 100. Because of such positioning, these portions of illuminator 20 along baseboards 160 are referred to for reference as the “hall-defining portions” of illuminator 20.
In some embodiments, placement along baseboards 160 is achieved by adhering or tacking illuminator 20 along the baseboard, much as the door-frame-outlining portions are adhered or tacked along the outer edge of the door frame 97 of door 103.
Illuminator Placement in Baseboard Groove. As one preferred alternative, though, a groove 165 that is preformed, extruded or cut into baseboard 160 secures the hall-defining portions of linear illuminator 20 in place relative to baseboards 160. As best seen in
Flanged Alternative Illuminator.
Adaptations for Non-Exit Doors. While outlining and illuminating the exit doors in a corridor is characteristic of many embodiments of the present invention, it is preferred that other doors in the same corridor (i.e., “upstream” or “non-exit” doors that lead the wrong way . . . away from the ideal exits) not be outlined or illuminated, to minimize confusion. Hence, as viewed from within hallway 105, the hallward sides of exit doors 103 and 104 (shown in
Preferably, relative darkening of the hallward sides of upstream doors 130-148 while also illuminating the baseboards 160 of hallway 105 is achieved in one of two alternate ways—either by bypassing the hallward side of the upstream doors 130-148, or by sheathing the illuminator 20 with an opaque sheath around the hallward side of those upstream doors 130-148. Although not explicitly shown in any of the drawings, elevator doors and other doors that should not be opened for exiting purposes are treated the same, or much the same, as upstream doors that are not illuminated (i.e., relatively darkened) when illuminators 20 are energized.
Bypassing the hallward sides of upstream doors 130-148 is itself preferably accomplished by one of two techniques—either by routing the illuminator under the door jamb for the upstream doors 130-148 such that it is not visible in that span (while also not presenting a tripping hazard), or by illuminating the opposite side (i.e., the roomward side) of such doors 130-148.
Outlining the Roomward Side of Doors. With references to
The installation of illuminator 20 on the roomward side of door 130 can be more particularly seen by cross-referencing
As can be seen in
In similar fashion, each of the upstream doors for a particular space, such as each of doors 130-148 for hallway 105, are preferably bypassed on their hallward sides and illuminated instead on their roomward (or upstream) sides. In addition to the illumination provided in hallway 105, the outlining and/or illumination of the roomward sides of doors 130-148 enables occupants within rooms 110-128 to visually identify the way to safety in the event of an emergency condition detected by system 15.
Successively-Illuminated Exit Doors. So, in use, when illumination is energized from a single circuit of linear illuminators 20 from a given exit door (such as exit door 103), the illuminated circuit guides an occupant in an upstream room through successive doors leading to safety. For the illuminator circuit based at exit door 103, for instance, if a guest in the hotel of structure 100 is asleep in bed 110′ of room 110 when system 15 detects a fire or other emergency, the system 15 controls its subsystems 23 and 40 to bring the guest progressively toward a safe exit from structure 100. Such a progression begins with sounding of the audible alarm from alarm 72, waking and alerting the guest. When alert, the guest notices that the roomward side of door 130 is highlighted with a brightly-illuminated outline, which prompts the guest to get out of bed 110′ and leave the room 110 into hallway 105 through door 130. Once in hallway 105, hallway illumination along baseboard 160 indicates and highlights the path for the guest to move toward exit door 103.
Plus, the room-exit process that the guest just experienced in exiting room 110 through an illuminated door 130 has trained the guest to exit through successive illuminated doors. The door illumination of illuminator 20, therefore, draws the guest to exit through door 103 as the guest sees its illumination while other upstream doors (for example, doors 132 and 133) are relatively darkened on their sides facing hallway 105. To reinforce the clarity of this learned exit behavior, the illumination system is preferably installed such that the appearance of the door illumination within rooms 110-128 is substantially the same as the appearance of door 103 in hallway 105. Hence, if the door-outlining portions of illuminator 20 that outline door 103 are adapted to illuminate in the red color as is preferred (or in any other unique manner), the door illuminating portion 20″ in the individual rooms are preferably also adapted with sleeves, coatings or the like to illuminate red in the same way as with door 103.
Much the same is true for occupants in any of the rooms 110-128 in structure 100′. When the illumination subsystem 40 is energized, each of the doorways 130-148 are illuminated as seen from inside rooms 110-128 which indicates to the room occupants that the doorway connects to the main corridor of hallway 105. Yet, from the perspective of an occupant already in hallway 105 outside the rooms 110-128, the hallward sides of the same doorways 130-148 are relatively darkened.
More Progression in Stairwells.
As in the
As an alternative embodiment of stairwell illuminator 420, its course can be adjusted to highlight the stair-step profile of stairs 496, along the base of wall 406, to help further orient an occupant in stairwell 101. This alternative presents the linear illuminator 20 following the exact step-profile shape of the stairs 496. The controller and energizers are similar to that depicted in other figures including
Alternatives within Upstream Rooms. As will be evident to those of skill in the art, there are many variations on the themes of system 15 and subsystems 22-24 and 40. For example, with reference to the perspective view of
As will also be evident, similar successions of exit door illumination may also extend further upstream into still further halls, rooms and the like, whether they be sleeping quarters, dining rooms, banquet halls, restrooms, ballrooms or any other type of room that can exit into and through hallway 105. From such upstream rooms and halls, additional illuminator subsystems like subsystem 40 may be deployed to direct the occupants toward hallway 105, where the system illustrated in
El-Wire Embodiments. As described previously, some preferred embodiments embody the linear illuminator 20 as EL-Wire, which is capable of providing bright illumination with minimal power consumption. Indeed, currently available variations of EL-Wire consume only about 0.15 amps per linear foot with a 0.9 mm diameter EL-Wire (available from Lytec of Israel, Lytec of China, and other manufacturers in China and worldwide). On a single readily-available 12-Volt battery, eight hundred to a thousand feet of EL-Wire can be easily illuminated in some preferred embodiments.
The preferred EL-Wire embodiment uses commercially-available individually specified electroluminescent wire designed for the invention and manufactured by others or the inventor, “High Bright” EL-Wire, or Ellumiglow's Laser Wire, which has a clear outer casing 14 and appears fairly pale when not energized, but illuminates as bright aqua blue. Applicant has found that the “high bright” variations provide highly visible illumination. With reference to
It is widely known that green based wavelengths (like the aqua-white light emitted by the EMVNA) are the easiest colors for human's visual systems to detect, especially in dark or darkening (contrasted) settings. It has been shown that in these contrasted settings, the human eye sees all light as “white” light. At reasonable levels of illumination output in contrasted settings, such as that of the inside of a space or building during a fire when smoke is present, human visual systems just see light; and not the color of the light emitted. The EMVNA light emission, by design, provides the benefit of both an appropriate level of light intensity in a contrasted setting and an easy color for the human eye/brain to see/process.
Although the human eye can see over 10 million colors, the human eye is most sensitive to light emitted at a wavelength of 495 nm which in dark or contrasted settings is seen as white light to the human eye and brain. That wavelength (495 nm) is precisely halfway between green and blue in the color spectrum; exactly where the EMVNA light color falls. This area of the color spectrum is most visible and easiest to see (for the human brain to process) because this color actually demands the least amount of energy by the human eye and brain to see and process, respectively, the light. This is especially true in a contrasted setting in a dark or darkening volume of space; such as in a building space filling with smoke. In fact, consideration of human color visual sensitivity has led to drastic changes in the long-standing practice of painting emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances entirely red. Although the color (red) is historically intended for the vehicles to be easily seen and responded to, the wavelength distribution is not highly visible at low light levels and, actually, can appear nearly black in the evening or at night.
The EMVNA light pulses conform to the code required UL Standards for flash rates as they flash in a variety of frequencies (model's flash rates vary depending on the model and use). The EMVNA combined pulse and color combination are uniquely designed to easily catch the attention of human eye in a crisis situation; particularly at night or in a dark or darkening volume of space where smoke, in a fire, is billowing in and quickly darkens the space by blocking out the existing conventional forms of light found in most buildings and homes or spaces today. In fact, in recent news, NASA has contracted with one of its larger aerospace vendors to redevelop the International Space Station (ISS) to “swap a fluorescent lighting panel with a solid-state lighting module (SSLM) containing LED's which produces a blue, whitish or red-colored light depending on the time” of day. By altering the color emitted by the SSLM, it is believed that the ISS environment can be modified to meet the then current needs of the crew and made more conducive to promoting alertness, or sleepiness. Insomnia, and its ramifications to the mission's crew, is a common problem in prolonged space flight. The important note to take away from this is that, hues in the color of the EMVNA are believed, not only to be the easiest to see and process through the brain, but also promote “alertness”. According to NASA, “When these LED lights are colored blue, scientists believe that melanopsin—a pigment found in cells in the eye's retina which send nerve impulses to parts of the brain thought to make a person feel alert is stimulated. This blue light is also believed to suppress melatonin—a hormone made by the brain's pineal gland which makes a person feel sleepy when its levels rise in their blood.” Alternatively, “by switching from blue to red light—via an intermediary white stage—this process should be reversed, encouraging a feeling of sleepiness.”
Flash blindness is caused by bleaching (oversaturation) of the retinal pigment of the eye when high intensity light like that broadcast by emergency strobe lights, or camera flashes, is suddenly flashed into one's eyes. This effect can be even more debilitating in dark settings (like in a fire) when the dark-adapted pupil of the eye is wide open, giving the flash blindness a greater and longer effect. This visual impairment during and following exposure to that light flash may last for a few seconds to a few minutes. In contrast, the EMVNA is specifically designed to deliver a light emission color and intensity that diminishes the chances for occupants to suffer flash blindness when seeking the exits underneath the smoke in the then-dark setting of a smoky fire. Because the EMVNA is designed to be situated at and around the doorway or along low-lying areas when demarking a path of egress, the occupants passing through such an exit porthole will be close to the light. The EMVNA design takes this into account by calibrating its light intensity to a “moderate” effective level of brightness. Its calculated moderation of brightness, specified color and installation configuration substantially diminish the possibilities of creating flash blindness in the individual as he/she passes by the light. This intelligent design is particularly important in time-starved critical moments of an evacuation or relocation of occupants.
Bends. As will be evident, the type of technology used for illuminator 20 is such that illuminator 20 preferably can continue illuminating effectively despite being bent (or junctioned) to course through 90-degree turns such as at the points 18, 19, 149a and 149b shown in various illustrations or as otherwise needed for outlining doorframes and for the transitions between doors and baseboards, etc. The EL-Wire embodiments of the present invention are preferred in part for this reason—because EL-Wire illuminators can readily be bent at or beyond the 90-degree angles. Despite such sharp bends, EL-Wire does not easily crack or break and will continue to transmit light.
Directionality. “Directionality” in this context refers to the quality of an illumination system or an individual illuminator to indicate to an occupant in structure 100 which way to go toward an exit. A flashing light is considered by authorities and those skilled in the art of fire and life safety appliances to be a critical component of “alerting” occupants to an emergency condition. The flash of a light, itself, can be used to create a directionality for occupants to go or head toward. Hall illumination alone does not indicate directionality, unless the individual sections of the illuminators are specially adapted for directionality as taught herein. However, door illumination does provide directionality because it designates a door through which an occupant can exit. Likewise, an overall illumination subsystem 40 provides directionality by combining hall illumination with exit door illumination, illumination of the exit doors 103-104 communicating to occupants that they are the ways out of the hallway 105, and hall illumination of hallway 105 outlining and illuminating the way to those exit doors 103-104. As described elsewhere herein, the directionality achieved with exit door illumination is further enhanced by coloring the door illumination of exit doors 103-104, preferably to be red in color, thereby highlighting the exit doors 103-104 and further distinguishing them from other portions of hallway 105 that are not so colored.
In addition, individual sections of linear illuminator 20 are specially adapted in certain embodiments to provide directionality even if the occupant is not able to see the exit door illumination or is unable to notice the different colors or the like. The alternatives for providing this type of directionality to illuminator 20 preferably achieve such directionality with one or more of three approaches: (1) adapting and controlling the illuminator to create the illusion that light emitted from illuminator 20 is moving in a particular direction along the length of the linear illuminator 20, preferably toward the exit 103, thereby producing a wave-like motion (for reference, a “wave” or “pulse” effect); (2) providing arrow-shaped images (either dark or light images, through masking) on or in conjunction with the linear illuminator 20 to point in the direction toward an exit 103; and (3) varying the color of illuminator 20 along different sections of wall 106 so that illuminator 20 appears progressively more like the color of exit doors 103-104 for wall sections that are closer to exit doors 103-104, preferably varying from lighter colors to redder colors. Some preferred embodiments combine two of these approaches for hall illumination directionality, while other preferred embodiments just use one of these approaches for hall illumination directionality. Irrespective of the particular type of directionality, illuminator 20 preferably not only illuminates the route to exit doors 103 and 102 (and exit door 203 in
Multi-Strand Illuminators. The illuminator 20 in
Operatively connected to an appropriate control console 40′, as depicted in
With reference to
It is also noted that alternative multi-strand embodiments of linear illuminator 20 may include other numbers of strands 11-13 (two or more) with varying benefits. Still other alternative multi-strand embodiments combine the plurality of strands 11-13 in a manner that is different than a simple twist (as in
Arrow-Shaped Directionality Features. Directionality of illuminators 20 can also be achieved by the inclusion of directionally-shaped images on illuminator 20 when energized, either alone or in combination with other directionality features.
Preferably, the arrow shaped features 331-332 are clear, arrow-shaped windows on darkened bands 14b and 14d of the casing 14′ of illuminator 20′. Creation of such windows can be achieved in many ways that will be evident, such as by painting, printing or the like, or by the addition of a separable plastic or metal clip that has the arrow-shaped window pre-made in it. The remainder of casing 14′ (i.e., the segments 14a, 14c and 14e) are preferably clear, to allow maximum illumination in those segments 14a, 14c and 14e. As alternatives to the head-and-tail arrow shapes shown for features 331-332 in
By also incorporating the mounting flange 320 (described elsewhere herein with reference to
In alternative embodiments, arrow-like shapes are illuminated (or masked) adjacent (or across the face of) groove 165 to indicate the appropriate direction to a fire exit, to be illuminated by the proximity of the arrow-like shapes to the linear illuminator 20.
Color Coding. Another feature of preferred variations of linear illuminator 20 is the use of color to indicate directionality and aid occupants in more readily locating the Exit doorways 102-103. As mentioned earlier, a distinctive color (preferably red) can be rendered onto the linear illuminator 20 in those portions that surround (or are near, in some embodiments) the exit doors 102 and 103 to provide a very basic level of color directionality for the illumination subsystem 40. Most preferably, color differentiation differentiates exit door illumination from hall illumination, but in some embodiments it may also differentiate door illumination of an exit door 103 from door illumination of an upstream door. Such color is applied to the illuminator 20 either with a thin layer of transparent red paint, stain or the like, or by applying a transparent colored jacket, preferably made from fire retardant materials. The use of a fire-retardant spray can further enhance the fire retardant nature of illuminator 20.
Alternative embodiments also employ other uses of color-coding in addition to the red highlighting of exit doors. In such embodiments, generally in addition to the colored door illumination, the color of the hall illumination changes progressively for portions of the illuminator that are further away from the exit door 103. Preferably, the color progression begins at points 18-19 as the same color as illuminator 20 around door 103, and becomes more and more distinct from the color of the door illumination as it progresses away from door 103. So, with door illumination at exit door 103 preferably red, beginning at the base of either side of the exit door (at points 18-19 in
In some cases, authorities, such as fire departments in major cities, such as the FDNY of New York City, N.Y., have indicated a desire to deploy the EMVNA technology to indicate to responding fire and rescue personnel where a dangerous or hazardous location might exist in a building. In circumstances such as this, alternate coloration of the LightStrands would be necessitated in an effort to clearly indicate to such responding personnel that the area(s) behind the door or portal have differing firefighting protocols and firefighting needs and concerns. This would be the case with doors leading to boiler rooms, sub-power stations, building battery rooms and the like where the prescribed actions of firefighting personnel are defined differently from normal firefighting actions in other portions of the structure. As an example of this contemplated use, officers of the FDNY have suggested that the LightStrands would be “red” in color around doorways that lead into building battery array room that serve any given building in order to alert the firefighters in the fire scene to the existence of the battery room and to signal their need to treat this area of the building differently or with added caution. This concept could be used to establish different door color coding for different types of rooms or areas for a variety of life saving measures where the EMVNA LightStrands would have various colors, in turn signaling various firefighting protocols to be initiated by the local fire authority while fighting a fire in the building, structure or facility.
As will be evident, rather than a continuously gradual color progression for the hall illumination, the progression of color may be achieved in steps, where every so many feet of hall illumination is the same color, and the next so many feet is slightly lighter in color, etc. Many other ways of progressively changing the color will be evident to those of skill in the arts. Some alternative patterns for color progression used to indicate directionality and aid in navigating to doorways and in particular the exit doors 102-103: white gradually turning red hall illumination closer to exit doors 102-103; red around frame of exit door; white around frame of hallward side of internal upstream door; alternating red-white-red around frame of exit doorway.
Still other alternatives use differing colors on the upstream side of a door versus the downstream side of a door. Referring back to
Static Door Illumination Combined with Pulsed Hall Illumination. In one particularly preferred embodiment, connectors, colors, arrows and pulsation are all combined to provide an overall illumination circuit with beneficial characteristics, among which are the combination of static door illumination with pulsed hall illumination.
Preferably, the static/pulsed combination is accomplished by splicing together and installing an individual circuit of two different types of multi-strand illuminators 20 arranged in alternating succession. One of the alternating types is constructed with twisted wire to produce the pulse effect when energized (as in
As will be understood, rather than splicing together two different types of illuminator 20, the static/pulsed combination can also be fabricated from continuous strands 11-13—either sheathed in casing 14 at the site of installation, or produced and sheathed at the factory based on measurements of the needed dimensions and arrangements for each type of multi-strand illuminator 20 given the spacing of the doors in a given hall.
One particularly preferred way of achieving directionality is achieved by embodying each illuminator is constructed as a twisted combination of two, three or more EL-Wires (or other illuminators) contained in a clear jacket, sleeve or casing, as illustrated in
Other Types of Linear Illuminators. Although some aspects of the present invention directly relate to use of electroluminescent wire, other aspects can be appreciated in alternative embodiments with the use of other linear lighting technology, even including illuminators that are technically non-linear but that become linear illuminators through combinations of multiple non-linear illuminators. Several of the possible linear illuminators would fall into the LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting family. Particularly, LED light sources that would lend themselves to different embodiments of the present invention include:
In most embodiments of the present invention, these LED lighting components would preferably be sized in the 0.15 mm to 5 mm sizes and the flexible nature of these light sources enable one to attach it to any flat or curved surface in installation. The LED lights are covered by silicon coating or a PVC jacket which makes the lighting source able to withstand great strain, pressure and stress without tearing or breaking, and they are weather resistant and water proof.
Laser-illuminated fiber optic filaments such as side-light and end-light plastic optical fiber (often called “POF” or “fiber”) which is an optical fiber made out of plastic. Traditionally PMMA (acrylic) is the core material, and fluorinated polymers are the cladding material. These plastic optical fibers are designed for flexible and controlled light transfer of light from one point to another and along the sides of the cable/fiber no matter the visible color of the light source. The light can be transferred over long distances without much visible changing of the input color. In some instances, a careful mechanical treatment of the fiber surface could produce a side glow line of visible light. Many fiber optic cables are composed of several individual strands of PMMA acrylic fibers (also referred to as plastic fiber optic cable) covered by a clear PVC coating. All fiber optic lighting utilizes an illuminator is often referred to as the light engine, light pump, light source and even transformer which is affixed to one end of the cable that pumps the light through the length of the cable. The illuminator houses the lamp that provides the light for the fiber optic cable. The fiber is connected to the illuminator via a fiber head. One fiber optic preferred embodiment is multimode, multi-strand, OFNP cable.
Any of the aforementioned alternatives can provide numerous advantages that may substitute for EL-Wire benefits. LED systems can also be adapted to approximate a linear illuminator and, indeed, provide alternate ways of achieving sequencing of the illumination in order to indicate directionality. It should also be understood that illumination may also be achieved by using still other technologies that have not been mentioned in this description. Among such other options would be organic LED (OLED) technologies, LCD technologies, or excitable inert gasses such as neon or halogen lighting.
To the extent achievable with the technology utilized for linear illuminators 20 that form the courses 25 and 26, controller 41 (referenced in
Certain uses or installation circumstances present opportunities for alternative embodiments to utilize forms of conspicuous linear illuminators, which have dimensions much larger in diameter than the preferred range for inconspicuous illuminators 20 referenced previously. While the inconspicuous variations have diameters of 3.5 mm or less, the conspicuous embodiments have diameters greater than 3.5 mm but preferably less than 15 mm. Although such conspicuous embodiments compromise on some aspects of the inconspicuous embodiments, the conspicuous embodiments are still suitable for applications where inconspicuousness is not a concern. Such applications may be in industrial and commercial settings where aesthetics are of little relative importance. Moreover, the conspicuous embodiments generally produce brighter illumination when energized, given the increased size of the illuminator.
It should also be understood that still other alternative embodiments may incorporate features outside of the ranges described as “preferred” while still enjoying the benefit of remaining aspects of the invention. Some embodiments, for example, involve combining multiple sizes and colorations of differing types of illuminator components, not only differing in diameter sizes, but also differing in the color of light that is used for illumination. Indeed, certain alternative embodiments employ multi-wavelength illuminators to transmit both visible and infrared light to enhance visibility for firefighters using infrared vision. Such multi-wavelength illuminators have been found particularly beneficial with fiber optic laser illuminators that produce a dual beam in the same fiber-optic cable.
As described in part, still other embodiments use different types of technology for achieving illumination. Embodiments of aspects of the invention that are not limited in the type of technology may also combine more than one type of illumination technology, such as by combining EL-Wire together with LED components or Fiber Optic Laser Fiber(s), or vice versa, all interconnected in the same system in a given structure 100 or portion of that building structure. Indeed, such differential combinations enable an installer to provide the benefits of using EL-Wire for long halls, together with the benefits of fiber optic illumination for exit doors, all in combination with sequenced LED illuminators in sections where more variable directionality is desired.
Although some aspects of the present invention directly relate to use of electroluminescent wire, other aspects can be appreciated in alternative embodiments with the use of other linear lighting technology. Feasible alternatives for certain aspects of the invention utilize low-voltage LED wire or flexible LED strips, such as the 0.15 mm super thin BTgreen LED strip available from Betop Electronics Company, Ltd. Laser-illuminated fiber optic filaments also provide numerous advantages that may substitute for EL-Wire benefits. LED systems can also be adapted to approximate a linear illuminator and, indeed, provide alternate ways of achieving sequencing of the illumination in order to indicate directionality. Non-linear lighting technologies can be implemented in still other ways that either approximate a linear illuminator or achieve an equivalent result.
Irrespective of the particular type of technology used for illuminator 20, illuminator 20 preferably optimizes illumination, uses minimal power and simple transceiver equipment, is lightweight yet wide and/or brilliant enough to be highly visible when energized, and is cost-effective.
Casing Material Alternatives. The materials incorporated in and/or encasing illuminator 20 are preferably fire-resistant and/or fire-retardant. Several options are available commercially in EL-Wire and fiber optic cable, and it is expected that similar fire resistance and retardant characteristics could be made in other variations of illuminator 20 through substitution of materials or the addition of fire retardant coatings or casings. When not inherently fire retardant, illuminator 20 is preferably encased in transparent, specially-treated, fire-retardant casings or jackets 14 such as “Low Smoke Zero Halogen” (LSZH) jackets or as is commercially available under the “Plenum” designation. Flame Seal Products, Inc. also offers an Intumescent Fire Barrier Coating that may be used to provide an invisible coating that reportedly can be sprayed onto the linear illuminator 20 as a thin 18-mil coating to render the illuminator fire retardant. As an alternative, such materials can be applied onto the illuminator 20 and associated components and assemblies after they have been operatively installed in structure 100.
Preferably, for any illuminator alternatives that are not fire resistant or fire retardant in and of themselves, either a “Plenum” jacket or a LSZH jacket is used as the outer casing 14 of the illuminator to provide fire resistance in compliance with regulatory guidelines. Either of such jacket types provides a fire retardant jacket 14 that is slow-burning and emits little smoke during combustion. Installations using Plenum-rated jacketing help to ensure the safety of personnel by reducing the spread of dangerous gases in the event of a fire.
Wireless Sensors and Related Applications. In still other alternative embodiments, remote wireless actuators can be used in any of the referenced configurations to trigger activation of the illumination subsystem 40 or variations of that system. While using such wireless actuators is beneficial for numerous applications of the invention, particular benefits can be appreciated in residential or post-construction security applications, particularly where the monitoring subsystem is installed in a pre-existing structure. RF (Radio Frequency) transmitter/receiver triggering mechanisms allow installation of strips of the product under windows, in corridors, etc., where AC power is either not available or is economically unfeasible. RF capacity would operate on a frequency(ies) designed for same that would turn on the remote battery pack(s) associated with the controllers 41 installed in remote areas of the building structure. Such signal would be triggered by a signal transmitter switch mechanism triggered by the emergency response subsystem 24.
Quick-Release. As will be evident to those of skill in the art, in most embodiments, each of the entire courses of illuminator 20 may either be one continuous linear illuminator, or it may be composed of various segments that are spliced together using a suitable connector that transfers the necessary illuminating energy over the discontinuity in the linear illuminator. Such splicing of discontinuities in linear illuminator 20 preferably involves cutting, preparing the terminal ends (sanding or otherwise), approximating the opposed ends adjacent each other, and then applying an appropriate connector. Similar illuminator adaptation mechanisms can also be used for connecting the illuminator cables to the alarm system control module. When the distances to be illuminated are particularly lengthy, repeater units or supplemental power steps will also be included as needed. The extent of hallway 105 to be illuminated preferably is such that the illuminator from one door extends as far down the hall as designers want occupants to be directed toward the subject exit door, presumably to the center of the hall.
The device may utilize any form of illumination, including but not limited to a laser light source, a linear light source and/or a single or multiple braided or twisted strands of electroluminescent wires (possibly wrapped in a single translucent or colored PVC jacket), side-light emitting plastic optical fiber, reflective mirrors possibly in conjunction with reflective luminescent paints, sprays, strips, tapes or adhesives containing of reflective material(s) to enhance the devices luminescence around and/or near a safe exit portal of an enclosed or semi-enclosed structure.
The device may be triggered by any or all of an audible emergency fire protection alarm system, such as smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors or other emergency alarms or detection systems that emit an audible alarm and/or may be triggered by its own sensing devices included in its construction.
The device may be directly connected to its own DC powered battery source and, in some alternative embodiments it is powered by an alternative AC current electrical power source or system, both of which power and support the operation thereof. In an embodiment with directional illumination source, the AC or DC current energizes the electrical components comprising the device which may channel the electrification through the light source in a sequence from one line to the next repeatedly and continuously which causes the light to provide the visual perception of light moving laterally and directionally from one end of the wire to the opposite end of the wire while simultaneously providing an uninterrupted line of floor level directional lighting that is inconspicuous until activated by an emergency signal.
The luminary portion of the device may be located near floor level to provide evacuees with better visibility in smoke environments. The lighting and system, in general, may be operated repetitively and nondestructively to allow inclusion of the lighting and system in fire and other emergency drills and/or to train building structure occupants in such drills. In some embodiments, the linear emergency light source may be constructed of a laser light source wherein the laser light is triggered immediately by the audible tones and/or frequencies of smoke alarms or other alarms or by the device's own internal sensing device(s) and such laser light is directed along the outside periphery of an exit door and/or along the floor area near such door immediately adjacent thereto by using side-light emitting plastic optical fiber and/or a series of small mirrors which appropriately direct the laser beam/light along the periphery of the exit door and three (3) wound electroluminescent wires (possibly contained in one (1) clear jacket) which is laid upon or otherwise specifically adhered or affixed around and along the periphery of an exit door, window, stairwell/staircase and then laterally along the top of base molding along the floor in areas abutting, adjacent to or proximate to such doors, windows or stairwells. The device may also be installed along a corridor wall laterally or in other areas where required light may be required to demark a safe path or exit for an evacuee in a structure incurring fire, smoke or other peril.
Whether now known or later discovered, there are countless other alternatives, variations and modifications of the many features of the various described and illustrated embodiments, both in construction and in operation, that will be evident to those of skill in the art after careful and discerning review of the foregoing descriptions, particularly if they are also able to review all of various systems and methods that have been tried in the public domain or otherwise described in the prior art. All such alternatives, variations and modifications are contemplated to fall within the scope of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in terms of the foregoing preferred and alternate embodiments, this description has been provided by way of explanation of examples only and is not to be construed as a limitation of the invention, the scope of which is limited only by the claims of any related patent applications and any amendments thereto.
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of International Application No. PCT/US2014/058416, filed Sep. 30, 2014, entitled “Emergency Exit Route Illumination System and Methods,” which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/884,485, filed Sep. 30, 2013, entitled “Modular Emergency Exit Route Illumination System and Methods.” This application is also a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 14/633,194, filed Feb. 27, 2015, entitled “Modular Emergency Exit Route Illumination System and Methods,” which is a Divisional application of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 13/763,160, filed Feb. 8, 2013, entitled “Modular Emergency Exit Route Illumination System and Method,” which is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/011,878, filed Jan. 22, 2011, entitled “Modular Emergency Exit Route Illumination System and Methods,” all of which claim the benefit of U.S. Provisional Applications Nos. 61/336,501 and 61/318,731, both entitled “Modular Emergency Exit Portal Lighting System and Method,” filed Jan. 22, 2010 and Mar. 29, 2010, respectively, as well as to the prior co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/653,320, filed Dec. 12, 2009, entitled “Emergency Exit Route Illumination System and Methods,” and to its previously co-pending U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/201,603, bearing the same title, filed Dec. 12, 2008. By this reference, the entire disclosures, including the claims and drawings, of all of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure as though now set forth in their entirety.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6313549 | Moisan | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 20020057204 | Bligh | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20030218545 | Colberg | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20070099095 | Rudin | May 2007 | A1 |
| 20110133655 | Recker | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| 20110146120 | Liu | Jun 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160003428 A1 | Jan 2016 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61318731 | Mar 2010 | US | |
| 61336501 | Jan 2010 | US | |
| 61201603 | Dec 2008 | US | |
| 61884485 | Sep 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13763160 | Feb 2013 | US |
| Child | 14633194 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13011878 | Jan 2011 | US |
| Child | 13763160 | US | |
| Parent | 12653320 | Dec 2009 | US |
| Child | 13011878 | US | |
| Parent | 12653320 | Dec 2009 | US |
| Child | 14633194 | US | |
| Parent | 12653320 | Dec 2009 | US |
| Child | 13763160 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/US2014/058416 | Sep 2014 | US |
| Child | 14851979 | US | |
| Parent | 14633194 | Feb 2015 | US |
| Child | PCT/US2014/058416 | US |
