Abstract:
An emergency device having a housing with an illumination device, and a receiver, tuner and speakers positioned within the housing. A power source is electrically coupled with the emergency device and is generally a conventional power cord. An outage circuit is coupled with the power source. Upon sensing a power outage, the outage circuit, which is connected to the illuminating device, illuminates the illuminating device or another auxiliary device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/682,558, filed on May 19, 2005. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present disclosure relates to radios, illumination devices and power supplies, more particularly, to radios having lights which switch between conventional AC power to DC battery power in the event of a power failure.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Various types of emergency notification systems exist. Some utilize AC current to charge a battery for use when power outages occur. The systems require the device to be switched on after the power outage occurs. While this type of device works satisfactorily for its intended purpose, designers strive to improve the art.  
         [0004]     The present disclosure provides the art with an emergency radio, light and power supply which, when a power outage is sensed, is automatically activated. The device, along with activating the light, activates at least one auxiliary function. The auxiliary function may include powering an inverter receptacle, so that cell phones or the like may be used; powering a 12 volt cigar lighter outlet; and powering an AM/FM TV and weather band radio tuner. Also, the present device provides a removable rechargeable flashlight attached to the housing. Further, the device includes a main storage battery to operate the auxiliary devices as well as a back-up battery in the event of an extended power outage where the storage battery dies.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     In accordance with a first aspect of the disclosure, an emergency device comprises a housing including an illumination device, a radio receiver, tuner, and speaker. A power source is electrically coupled with the illumination device. The power source is a conventional power cord which is to be plugged into a conventional power outlet. A power outage circuit is coupled with the power source and a storage battery. The power outage circuit senses when power is terminated to the illumination device to activate the storage battery. Thus, when a power outage occurs, the illuminating device is automatically illuminated. The power source is also coupled to the radio receiver, tuner and speaker.  
         [0006]     A flashlight holder and a charging station are coupled with the housing to receive and charge a portable flashlight. A power inverter outlet is on the housing and is electrically coupled with the storage battery. A 12 volt cigar lighter outlet is coupled with the housing. The cigar lighter outlet is electrically coupled with the storage battery. A handle is coupled with the housing to enable handling and moving of the radio. The storage battery may be a rechargeable or nonrechargeable battery. Also, a back-up battery source is positioned inside the housing to provide power to the receiver, tuner and speaker in the event of a prolonged power outage.  
         [0007]     Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     The present teachings will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an emergency device in accordance with the present disclosure.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the device of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of the device of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is an internal view of the device housing of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a circuit of the emergency device. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]     The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses.  
         [0015]     Turning to the figures, an emergency device is illustrated and designated with the reference numeral  10 . The emergency device  10  includes a housing  12  including two halves  14  and  16  of a clam shell design. The housing  12  has an overall rectangular configuration and includes a rotatable handle  17  at its top end to enable it to be moved from place to place. The housing includes a light  18 , a radio  20 , an inverter outlet  22 , a 12V cigar lighter outlet  24 , and a flashlight holder  26 . Flashlight holder  26  includes a receiving and charging mechanism for a flashlight  28 . A power cord  30  provides power to the emergency device  10 .  
         [0016]     The emergency device  10  includes a power switch  32  to turn the radio  20  on and off. Power receiving receptacle  34  located on the housing connects the circuitry inside the emergency device  10  to the power cord  30 . A cover  35  protects the receptacle  34  when the cord  30  is not plugged in the receptacle  34 . Also, a replaceable fuse  36  is present. Also, a fuse LED  38  provides the user with an indicator to indicate whether or not the fuse is intact or blown.  
         [0017]     The light  18  is positioned at the top of the housing  12  near the handle  17 . The light  18  is of a conventional design including a housing  40  with a primary bulb  42  therein. A pivoting cover  43  enables access to the bulb  42 . The primary bulb  42  is coupled with the circuitry as will be explained herein. Also, a light switch  44  is positioned on the housing  12  to activate the light bulb  42  as desired by the user.  
         [0018]     The radio  20  is positioned in the housing  12 . The radio  20  includes a display screen  46  which illustrates the different bands on the radio. The radio includes AM, FM, TV, as well as weather bands. The radio  20  includes a receiver  48  ( FIG. 4 ) which is coupled with a band selector button  45 . The band selector button  45  enables the receiver  48  to be changed through the different bands. Also, the radio  20  includes a tuner button  50  which is associated with the tuner to select the desired frequency on the desired band. Further, the radio  20  includes a volume button  52  to adjust the volume of the speaker  54 . The speaker  54  is positioned at the bottom of the housing  12  and includes a speaker cover  56 .  
         [0019]     The inverter outlet  22  includes a 110 volt inverter outlet for low power appliances such as mobile phones, small TV&#39;s and the like. The outlet is mounted on the housing  12  and includes a cover  58  to prevent damage.  
         [0020]     The 12V cigar lighter outlet  24  is positioned in the housing  12  and includes a cover  60  to prevent damage. The inverter outlet  22  as well as the cigar lighter outlet  24  are electrically coupled with a switch  62 . The switch  62  enables switching between the inverter outlet  22  and the cigar lighter outlet  24 . Also, the switch  62  may be positioned in an off position so that neither the inverter outlet  22  or cigar outlet  24  may be used. The switch  62  as well as the inverter outlet  22  and cigar lighter outlet  24  are electrically coupled with the circuitry as will be explained herein. Also, an LED  64  may be present adjacent the switch  62 . The LED  64  indicates if the power is on to the inverter outlet  22  or to the cigar outlet  24 .  
         [0021]     The flashlight holder  26  is formed on a side of the housing  12 . The flashlight holder  26  includes a first receiving member  66  which enables the flashlight  28  to pass through an aperture  68  in the flashlight holder  26 . A charging base  70  receives the end of the flashlight  28 . The receiving base  70  includes a connector  72  ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ) which is electrically connected with the circuitry. The connector  72  electrically couples with a connector  74  ( FIG. 5 ) of the flashlight  28  to charge the flashlight  28 . The housing  12  includes LED  76  to indicate if the flashlight  28  is in a charged or charging mode.  
         [0022]     Turning to  FIG. 4 , the interior of the emergency device  10  is illustrated with the housing halves  14  and  16  separated. The light housing  40  as well as the radio tuner  46 , receiver  48  and speaker  54  are all visible inside of the housing. Also, the wiring and circuitry going from the switches to the various components are shown.  
         [0023]     Storage battery  80  is positioned inside of the housing  12 . The storage battery  80  is charged with the power cord  30 . The storage battery  80  powers the radio in emergency situations, as will be explained herein. The battery  80  is a rechargeable battery; however, a nonrechargeable DC battery could be used.  
         [0024]     A secondary battery source  82  is positioned within the housing  12 . The secondary battery source  82  includes a plurality of replaceable DC batteries. The secondary battery source  82  is coupled with the radio receiver  48  to power the radio receiver in the event of a prolonged power outage when the storage battery becomes drained.  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  illustrates a circuit diagram for the emergency device  10 . The power cord  30  connects to a rectifier  102 . The rectifier  102  converts incoming AC power to a regulated DC voltage at a plug  104 . In some embodiments, the regulated DC voltage is 15 volts DC (VDC). The DC power receiving receptacle  34  receives the regulated DC voltage from the plug  104 . The DC power receiving receptacle  34  connects to a clamping and filter circuit  106 . The clamping and filter circuit  106  clips undesirable incoming voltage spikes to a predetermined amplitude and filters undesirable electrical noise from the regulated DC voltage. An output  108  of the clamping and filter circuit  106  provides a filtered DC voltage. The filtered DC voltage is applied to one side of first contacts  32 A of the power switch  32 . The other side of the first contacts  32 A selectively connects the filtered DC voltage to a DC regulator  110  and a storage battery charging circuit  112 . The DC regulator  110  steps the filtered DC voltage down to a regulated DC voltage that is applied to a flashlight charging circuit  114  and a lighting control circuit  116 . The flashlight charging circuit  114  provides a flashlight charging voltage to the receiving base connector  72 . When the connector  74  of the flashlight  28  is mated with the receiving base connector  72 , the flashlight charging circuit  114  recharges the flashlight  28 . The flashlight charging circuit  114  is connected to the LED  76 . The flashlight charging circuit  114  turns on the LED  78  while the flashlight is charging and turns it off when the flashlight  28  is fully charged.  
         [0026]     The storage battery charging circuit  112  provides a charging current for the storage battery  80 . The storage battery charging circuit  112  also provides supplemental power for the lighting control circuit  116  and the radio  20  while AC power is at the AC power cord  30 . An output of the storage battery charging circuit  112  connects to one side of second contacts  32 B of the power switch  32 . The other side of the second contacts  32 B connects to a positive terminal of the storage battery  80 . A negative terminal of the storage battery  80  connects to ground through a resistor  138 . The storage battery charging circuit  112  connects to a charging LED  118  and a charged LED  120 . The storage battery charging circuit  112  turns on the charging LED  118  while it is charging the main battery  80  and turns on the charged LED  120  when the storage battery  80  is fully charged. A transistor  122  switches current from the storage battery  80  and the storage battery charging circuit  112  to the radio  20  and a common terminal of the switch  62 . The fuse receptacle  36  connects in series with the switched current from the transistor  122 . The switch  62  switches the power from the fuse receptacle  36  between the cigar lighter outlet  24  and an inverter  124 . The inverter  124  converts the power to an AC line voltage that is applied to the inverter outlet  22 . A wired-OR circuit includes diodes  126  and  128  and has two inputs connected to the power input of the cigar lighter outlet  24  and the power input to the inverter  124 , respectively. An output of the wired-OR circuit illuminates the LED  64  when either the cigar lighter outlet  24  or the inverter  124  is powered. The switch  62  can also be moved to an off position that disconnects the power from the cigar lighter outlet  24  and the inverter  124 . The LED  64  will be off when the switch  62  is in the off position.  
         [0027]     The radio  20  can receive power through the fuse receptacle  36  or from the secondary battery source  82 . An antenna  130  receives radio frequency signals and applies them to the radio  20 . The speaker  54  also connects to the radio  20 .  
         [0028]     A voltage and current (V/I) control circuit  132  applies a control signal  134  to the transistor  122 . The control signal  134  turns off the transistor  122  when voltage across the storage battery  80  is less than a predetermined voltage and when the current through the storage battery  80  is greater than a predetermined current. The V/I control circuit  132  connects to an LED  133  and turns on the LED  133  on when the control signal has turned off the transistor  122 . A reset switch  135  connects to the V/I control circuit  132  and is used to turn the transistor  122  back on by changing a state of the control signal. The V/I control circuit  132  turns off the LED  133  when the control signal has turned on the transistor  122 . The V/I control circuit  132  includes voltage sense leads  136  that connect to the positive and negative terminals of the storage battery  80 . The V/I control circuit  132  measures the voltage across storage battery  80  through the voltage sense leads  136 . The V/I control circuit  132  also includes current sense leads  140  that connect across the current sense resistor  138 . The current sense resistor  138  develops a voltage as current flows through it from the storage battery  80 . The V/I control circuit  132  uses the voltage developed across the current sense resistor  138  to determine the magnitude of current flowing through the storage battery  80 . The V/I control circuit  132  includes an oscillator  142  that connects to the LED  118 . The V/I control circuit  132  turns on the oscillator  142  when the V/I control circuit  132  determines that the storage battery  80  is in a discharged condition. The oscillator  142  then causes the LED  118  to blink and indicate to a user that the storage battery  80  needs to be recharged. In some embodiments, the V/I control circuit  132  declares the storage battery  80  is discharged when its voltage is less than about 10.5 volts.  
         [0029]     The lighting control circuit  116  will now be described. The lighting control circuit  116  switches power through the bulb  42  and the locator LEDs  144 . A wired-OR circuit includes rectifiers  146  and  148  and provides power to the bulb  42  and locator LEDs  144 . The LEDs  144  are positioned in the housing  40  at the apexes of a triangle around the bulb  42 . The rectifier  146  has an anode connected to the regulated DC voltage. The rectifier  148  has an anode connected to a switched side of the second contacts  32 B to receive a switched voltage from the storage battery  80 . Cathodes of the rectifiers  146  and  148  are connected together and provide power to one side of the bulb  42  and an anode of the LEDs  144 .  
         [0030]     A collector of a first transistor  150  connects to the other side of the bulb  42 . An emitter of the first transistor  150  connects to ground. A collector of a second transistor  152  connects to a cathode of the LEDs  144 . An emitter of the second transistor  152  connects to a collector of a third transistor  154 . An emitter of the third transistor  154  connects to ground.  
         [0031]     A D-latch  154  has a clock input connected to one side of the switch  44 . The other side of the switch  44  connects to ground. A Q-not output of the D-latch  154  connects to a control input of the second transistor  152  and feeds back to a D input of the D-latch  154 . A Q output of the D-latch connects to a control input of the first transistor  150 . One end of a capacitor  156  connects to the power provided by the cathodes of the rectifiers  146  and  148 . The other end of the capacitor  156  connects to one end of a resistor  158 . The other end of the resistor  158  connects to ground. A reset input  160  of the D-latch  154  connects to the connection between the capacitor  156  and the resistor  158 .  
         [0032]     A control input of the third transistor  154  connects to a reference voltage node  162  of the DC power receiving receptacle  34 . A grounding tang  163  connects the reference voltage terminal to ground when the plug  104  is removed from the DC power receiving receptacle  34 . A reference voltage terminal of the plug  104  connects to the reference voltage node  162  and keeps it substantially at ground potential while the plug  104  is inserted in the DC power receiving receptacle  34  and the power cord  30  is receiving power. When the power cord  30  stops receiving power, the reference voltage terminal of the plug  104  floats with respect to ground while the plug  104  is inserted in the DC power receiving receptacle  34 . A pull-up resistor  164  connects between the control input of the third transistor  154  and the power provided by the cathodes of the rectifiers  146  and  148 .  
         [0033]     Operation of the lighting control circuit  116  will now be described. During normal operation, the power cord  30  is plugged into a working outlet and the plug  104  is inserted in the power receiving receptacle  34 . The third transistor  154  is turned off since its control input is pulled to ground by the reference voltage terminal of the plug  104 . The locator LEDs  144  are therefore forced off since the third transistor  154  is in the current path of the LEDs  144 . For discussion purposes, the Q output of the D latch  154  will be assumed to be low from a power-on reset event (not shown). The bulb  42  is therefore turned off. Pressing the button  44  sends a clock edge to the clock input of the D-latch  154 . The Q and Q-not outputs of the D-latch  154  change state with each press of the button  44 . The bulb  42  responds to the state of the Q output, however the locator LED  144  remains forced off by the third transistor  154 . The button  44  is therefore used during normal operation to switch the bulb  42  on and off.  
         [0034]     During a power-out event, the power cord  30  loses power while it is inserted in the power receiving receptacle  34 . The third transistor  154  is now turned on since its control input is pulled up by the pull-up resistor  164 . At a beginning of the power-out event, the connection between the capacitor  156  and the resistor  158  momentarily asserts the reset input of the D-latch  154 . The Q output of the D latch  154  is therefore forced low and turns off the first transistor  150 . Thus, the primary bulb  42 , if illuminated, is turned off. The reset forces the Q-not output of the D-latch  154  high and turns on the second transistor  152 . The locator LED  144  are therefore turned on. Pressing the button  44  sends a clock edge to the clock input of the D-latch  154  and the Q and Q-not outputs of the D-latch  154  change state with each press of the button  44 . The button  44  is therefore used to switch between the bulb  42  and the locator LEDs  144  during a power-out event when the plug  104  is inserted in the DC power receiving receptacle  34 .  
         [0035]     The operation of the emergency device  10  will now be explained during portable operation when the plug  104  is removed from the DC power receiving receptacle  34 . The third transistor  154  is turned off since its control input is pulled down to ground by the grounding tang  163 . The locator LEDs  144  are therefore forced off since the third transistor  154  is in the current path of the LED  144 . The Q output of the D latch  154  will be assumed to be low from a power out event that occurred prior to the portable operation. The bulb  42  is therefore turned off. Pressing the button  44  sends a clock edge to the clock input of the D-latch  154 . The Q and Q-not outputs of the D-latch  154  change state with each press of the button  44 . The bulb  42  responds to the state of the Q output, however the locator LED  144  remains forced off by the third transistor  154 . During portable operation, the button  44  is therefore used to switch the bulb  42  on and off.  
         [0036]     Thus, when a power outage is detected by the circuit  100 , the circuit  100  transfers to the storage battery  80  for battery power. When this occurs, the locator LEDs  144  automatically illuminates to indicate that a power outage has occurred. Also, at this time, the auxiliary outputs, such as the inverter outlet  22  and/or the cigar lighter outlet  24 , may be utilized by the user. Thus, the emergency device  10 , upon sensing a power outage, automatically indicates that the power is out.  
         [0037]     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.