Patent Publication Number: US-2007097687-A1

Title: Emergency lighting device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates, in general, to emergency lighting devices and, more particularly, to an emergency lighting device, which is installed in a building to provide light when an emergency, such as a fire or power failure, occurs.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Generally, an emergency lighting device lights a lamp using a battery provided therein for a certain period of time and allows the direction of an entrance or emergency exit to be easily determined when an emergency, such as a fire or power failure, occurs in a multistoried building, a public office, a sports stadium or a concert hall.  
      Such conventional emergency lighting device is constructed to allow a fire manager to monitor the operating status of equipment in real time. However, since the emergency lighting device is installed to be adjacent to the ceiling of a building, it is inconvenient to manage the emergency lighting device using a manual switch, and since the emergency lighting device only functions as a typical lamp, it is incapable of actively responding to emergencies.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an emergency lighting device, which can easily determine the charging status of auxiliary power and the operating status of a lamp, and provide integrated functionality incremental to a typical lamp function, thus minimizing the loss of lives and property when a disaster or a fire occurs.  
      Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly described and understood from the embodiments of the present invention. The objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by means and combinations disclosed in the accompanying claims.  
      In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an emergency lighting device, comprising a power supply unit for supplying main power and auxiliary power; a sensing unit for sensing occurrence of an emergency at a location where the emergency lighting device is installed, using temperature and illuminance; an output unit including at least one emergency lamp for lighting a lamp provided therein in response to a signal output from the sensing unit; an input unit including a remote controller for receiving a command required to interrupt supply of the main power and to examine status of supply of the auxiliary power; and an emergency lamp control unit for controlling operation of the power supply unit, the sensing unit, the output unit and the input unit.  
      Preferably, the remote controller may have a function of setting an examination time.  
      Preferably, the output unit may further comprise a radio transmitter for outputting a radio broadcast at a preset frequency through a speaker when an emergency occurs.  
      Preferably, the emergency lamp control unit may transmit information indicating occurrence of an emergency to a center control unit for managing and controlling an entire building, and the input unit may further comprise a rescue button for transmitting a rescue signal to the center control unit through the emergency lamp control unit when an emergency occurs. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an emergency lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram schematically showing the emergency lighting device of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Prior to the description thereof, the terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to their typical meaning based on the dictionary definitions thereof, but should be interpreted to have the meaning and concept relevant to the technical spirit of the present invention, based on the fundamental notion that the present inventor can suitably define the concept of the terms to describe the invention using the best method.  
      Therefore, the constructions in the embodiments described in the present specification and in the drawings are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not define the entire technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various equivalents and modifications capable of replacing the constructions at the time of filing the present invention.  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an emergency lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The emergency lighting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a control box  10  that has a rear surface supportable on a wall and is made of a metallic material. Further, in the control box  10 , a fire sensor  11 , a Light Emitting Diode (LED)  12  for indicating whether power is supplied, a speaker  13  for outputting a radio broadcast, and a rescue button  14  are provided.  
      The present invention can be described in that, for the fire sensor  11 , a temperature sensing unit for sensing heat and an illuminance sensing unit for sensing light are used. Further, a smoke sensing unit for sensing smoke can also be used for the fire sensor  11 .  
      Further, emergency lamps  20  installed in the emergency lighting device of the present invention are connected to the control box  10  through connecting holes  15  and the direction of the emergency lamps  20  can be horizontally or vertically adjusted. Each of the emergency lamps  20  includes therein a lamp lit by power. As the lamp for each emergency lamp  20 , an incandescent or florescent lamp can be used. Preferably, the external surface of the emergency lamp  20  is covered with a heat-resistant glass cover to provide protection from fire, etc.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram schematically showing the emergency lighting device of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the emergency lighting device of the present invention includes a power supply unit  200  for supplying main power  210  and auxiliary power  220 , a sensing unit  300  for sensing the occurrence of an emergency at the location where the emergency lighting device is installed, using temperature and illuminance, an output unit  400  including at least one emergency lamp  410  for lighting a lamp provided therein in response to a signal output from the sensing unit  300 , an input unit  500  including a remote controller  510  for receiving a command required to interrupt the supply of the main power  210  and to examine the status of the supply of auxiliary power  220 , and an emergency lamp control unit  100  for controlling the operation of the power supply unit  200 , the sensing unit  300 , the output unit  400  and the input unit  500 .  
      The main power  210  of the power supply unit  200  is used to supply power under normal conditions and the auxiliary power  220  is used to ensure the continuous supply of power even when the supply of the main power  210  is interrupted in an emergency.  
      The sensing unit  300  is provided with a temperature sensing unit  310  and an illuminance sensing unit  320  to sense the temperature and illuminance of the place where the emergency lighting device is installed, thus allowing the emergency lamp control unit  100  to determine whether an emergency occurs.  
      The output unit  400  further includes a radio transmitter  420  for outputting a radio broadcast at a preset frequency through a speaker  15  while lighting the emergency lamp  410  if an emergency occurs. A person, evacuating in the event of the emergency, can understand the external situation by listening to the radio broadcast from the radio transmitter  420 , remain calm, and then try to find an escape route for himself or herself when the person is isolated in a building or a similar space.  
      The remote controller  510  of the input unit  500  can simultaneously examine a plurality of emergency lamps using the same frequency through a single manipulation. Further, the remote controller  510  has the function of setting an examination time and can be used as a typical watch when the remote controller  510  is not used.  
      Further, the emergency lamp control unit  100  transmits information indicating the occurrence of an emergency, etc. to a center control unit  610  for managing and controlling an entire building. The input unit  500  further includes a rescue button  520  which transmits a rescue signal to the center control unit  610  through the emergency lamp control unit  100  when an emergency occurs. Therefore, an evacuating person can press the rescue button  520  to notify outside parties of his or her location when the person is isolated, and can be quickly rescued from the emergency. In this case, the center control unit  610  is installed in a center management unit  600  for managing the entire building. The center management unit  600  includes a center output unit  620  capable of outputting information transmitted from the emergency lamp control unit  100 , thus detecting the location of an evacuating person in the building.  
      The emergency lamp control unit  100  also includes a central processing unit  110 , and further, a power control unit  120 , a sensing control unit  130 , an output control unit  140  and an input control unit  150  for controlling the power supply unit  200 , the sensing unit  300 , the output unit  400  and the input unit  500 , respectively.  
      As described above, the present invention provides an emergency lighting device, which uses a remote controller to more easily examine whether auxiliary power is normally supplied, and sets an examination time, thus improving convenience in the use of the emergency lighting device.  
      Further, the present invention is advantageous in that when an emergency occurs, an external situation can be understood through radio broadcasts, and information about the location of an evacuating person can be externally provided using a rescue button, thus improving a rescue function.  
      Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.