The present invention pertains to exit signs and, more particularly, to an exit including multi-directional lighting.
Exit signs are generally provided in a building to help direct people inside the building to the nearest exit. This is particularly beneficial in the case of an emergency but can also be useful to a person navigating an unfamiliar building. In either case, it is desired that exit signs be readily noticeable. Specifically, in the event of a fire, a person may find themselves crawling through a building to stay below the level of the smoke caused by the fire. It would be desirable to provide exit signs that can be easily seen in such a situation.
The present invention provides an exit sign with multi-directional lighting. The exit sign has a slim design, while the lighting increases the visibility of the sign for users located to the side of the sign, thereby aiding in drawing attention to the sign. In particular, the exit sign includes a main body and a front panel. The front panel includes one or more symbols indicating the direction and/or location of a building exit. The front panel is snap-fittingly received in an opening of the main body portion. This feature helps make the exit sign relatively slim. The main body portion further includes a peripheral side portion having a translucent area, defined by a unitary, refractive lens cover, which is U-shaped. A light source is configured to emit light through the translucent area, with the U-shape of the translucent area providing for the projection of light in multiple directions, including an area leading up to the sign, an area in front of the sign and an area beyond the sign. This feature helps make the exit sign more visible for a user located at or to either side of the exit sign, while also further enhancing the user's ability to locate the related exit. This lighting arrangement can be especially beneficial when the exit sign is mounted relatively low on a wall since the floor and the lower portion of the wall will be illuminated, thereby aiding a person crawling along the floor, such as in the case of the person attempting to exit through a smoke filled building hallway, in locating a suitable exit.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to common parts in the several views.
Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention.
With initial reference to
Peripheral side portion 125 has a translucent area 135 defined by a unitary lens cover which is preferably formed of plastic and has refractive qualities, and symbol 130 has a translucent area 140. As shown, translucent area 135 is designed to be U-shaped, i.e., the unitary cover is U-shaped. Specifically, peripheral side portion 125 has a lower side portion 145, a first lateral side portion 150 and a second lateral side portion 155, and translucent area 135 forms at least part of lower side portion 145, first lateral side portion 150 and second lateral side portion 155. In preferred embodiments, translucent area 135 extends up at least 25%, more preferably about 33%, of each of first and second lateral side portions 150 and 155. Exit sign 100 includes at least one light source configured to emit light through translucent areas 135 and 140. In particular, exit sign 100 includes a light source 160 which takes the form of an elongated LED strip configured to project light through translucent area 135. Exit sign 100 also includes a light source configured to light up translucent area 140. This light source (identified and discussed further below) is also preferably constituted by a plurality of LEDs and is located behind front panel 115 so as to not be visible in
In
Main body 110 further includes a base 435 and an upstanding wall 440 extending from base 435 within the interior of exit sign 100. A channel 445 is defined between interior wall 405 and upstanding wall 440. Wiring 430 and other components are located within channel 445, while light source 415 is located within the central area defined by upstanding wall 440. This allows for the unobstructed transmission of light from light source 415 to translucent area 140 of front panel 115. The other components located within channel 445 include a backup battery (not separately labeled) for light source 415 and a separate backup battery (not separately labeled) for light source 160, although a common backup battery could be employed.
The arrangement of front panel 115 within main body 110 allows exit sign 100 to be relatively slim as compared to other exit sign designs. Accordingly, when exit sign 100 is mounted to a wall (e.g., wall 105), exit sign 100 protrudes from the wall to a lesser extent than other exit signs, thereby assuring that exit sign 100 will not obtrusively extend into the path of individuals walking by or otherwise passing exit sign 100.
Although exit sign 100 could be mounted at a wide range of heights on an interior building wall or even suspended from an interior ceiling, a particularly advantageous use of exit sign 100 is exemplified in
Based on the above, it should be readily apparent that the present invention provides an exit sign that is readily noticeable and emits a substantially uniform lighting pattern over an enlarged area in the vicinity of the exit sign. The slim design increases the visibility of the sign for users located to the side of the sign, while the lighting helps draw attention to the sign and additional surrounding structure. While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been set forth, it should be understood that various changes or modifications could be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20190213926 A1 | Jul 2019 | US |