Patent Publication Number: US-8985805-B2

Title: Emergency lighting device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to lighting device, and more particularly to an emergency lighting device that is capable of charging a flashlight and providing emergency lighting and alarm. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In production and people&#39;s life, people may be faced with industrial accidents or natural disasters such as explosions, fires, earthquakes, etc. During these disasters, a power supply normally may go wrong or be cut off, which causes a normal lighting to go out. For ensure safety of persons and belongings, and dispose or arrange goods or others, people commonly use an emergency light to light temporarily. For example, emergency lights are installed on walls of a manufacturing workshop, so as to be convenient for operating the machines for the workers. Additionally, emergency lights also may be installed on walls of a stair or a safe exit, to help people to escape when a fire or other accidents happens which causes a sudden power-cut. 
     A conventional emergency light includes batteries, lights and a controller. Under normal condition, the lights are gone out, and the batteries are charged with controlled by the controller. When a power is cut and then detected, the controller will connect the batteries and the lights, so that the batteries could supply power to the lights to irradiate the external. This emergency light plays an important role in the accidents, however, it lacks flexibility due to it&#39;s fixed on the wall, which brings difficulty for people to use it at other places. As a result, an additional flashlight is also necessary when the emergency light is used during the sudden power-cut in dark. 
     Additionally, if a fire happens, it&#39;s very import to save oneself and call for help at the same time, so that he/she can be discovered by the rescuers as soon as possible. Thus a tool having lighting and alarming functions is quite necessary during escape. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide an emergency lighting device that is capable of charging a flashlight and providing emergency lighting and alarm. 
     To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides an emergency lighting device comprising a charging stand and a flashlight disposed upon the charging stand to charge. The charging stand comprised a base, a circuit controller, and several lights, and a cavity is formed on the front of the base to hold the flashlight; the circuit controller comprises a circuit control board, a positive contact, and a negative contact, the positive and negatives contacts are connected with the circuit control board and whose ends are protruded to the cavity; a positive conductive pin and a negative conductive pin corresponding to the positive and negatives contacts are provided on the flashlight, the flashlight is held in the cavity so that the positive and negatives contacts are electrically connected with the positive and negative conductive pins; the circuit control board installed in the base, whose input terminal is electrically connected with external power supply and output terminal is electrically connected with the flashlight that is installed on the front of the base; and the circuit control board is arranged to control the external power supply for charging the flashlight and a power source of the flashlight for discharging electricity to the lights. The flashlight comprises an alarm mounted on a tail of the flashlight to alarm, and the alarm comprises a mounting base installed in the flashlight, a buzzer stand installed in the mounting base, a buzzer installed in the buzzer stand, a buzzer drive circuit board installed in the buzzer stand and electrically connected with the buzzer, a switch controller installed at an end of the mounting base and electrically connected with the buzzer drive circuit board, and a conductive assembly installed in the mounting base and fixed on the buzzer, and electrically connected with the power source of the flashlight and the buzzer drive circuit board respectively; wherein the conductive assembly comprises a conductive post, a retainer, a conductive fiber plate, a conductive ring and a conductive spring, the conductive post has an upper end contacting a cathode of the power source of the flashlight, and a lower end electrically connected with a negative contact of the buzzer drive circuit board, and the conductive post is fixed on the retainer which is fixed on the conductive fiber plate, the conductive fiber plate is electrically connected with a positive contact of the buzzer drive circuit board, the retainer is sleeved with the conductive spring which has a lower end electrically contacting the conductive fiber plate and an upper end electrically contacting the conductive ring, and the conductive ring sleeves the retainer an is electrically contacts with an anode of the power source of the flashlight. 
     Preferably, the charging stand further comprises an indicator light installed on the front of the base and electrically connected with the circuit controller. The indicator light can indicate different signals when the flashlight is charging or charging is finished, so that the charging state is facilitated to be aware. 
     Preferably, a flange is formed at inner side walls of the cavity, and at least one recess is formed at outer side walls of the flashlight, the flange engages with the recess after the flashlight is disposed in the cavity. By cooperation between the flange and the recess, under a condition of that the flashlight is installed in the cavity, the flange can be acted as a guider and moreover a holder for holding the flashlight, so as to ovoid displacement of the flashlight to cause misalignment of the positive and negative contacts of the circuit controller. 
     Preferably, the charging stand further comprises a power adapter, a hole is formed at a bottom of the base, and the power adapter has an output terminal inserted into the hole and electrically connected with the circuit controller, and an input terminal electrically connected with the external power supply. The power adapter is arranged for converting the input voltage of the external power source to an output voltage that is suitable to charge the flashlight, so that the flashlight can be charged under a safe condition. 
     Preferably, the alarm further comprises a buzzer press plate installed in the mounting base and pressed against the buzzer, so that the buzzer can be fixed on the buzzer stand, which may avoid wobble or displacement of the buzzer to keep the function of the buzzer. 
     Preferably, the switch controller comprises a switch control plate, a sponge mat, and a switch cap sleeved on a switch button of the switch control plate, the sponge mat is sleeved between the switch control plate and the switch cap, and the switch control plate is installed in the mounting base. The switch control plate is used for controlling the connection or disconnection of the buzzer drive circuit board, the sponge mat is used for insulating the switch control plate from the external, and the switch cap covering on the switch button of the switch control plate is used for insulating and protecting the switch button. 
     Preferably, the alarm further comprises a casing mounted on the tail of the flashlight, and the center of the casing is hollow to accommodate the switch cap. Such a casing is used for preventing the outside impurity entering to the buzzer to baffle the acoustic. 
     Preferably, the alarm further comprises an elastic assembly having a pin, a spring and a baffle plate; a hole is formed on the pin, and a flange is extended from an end of the pin; the spring is disposed in the conductive post, one end of which is accommodated in the hole and electrically contacted a bottom of the hole, and the other end of which is electrically contacted the baffle plate; the baffle plate is electrically connected with the lower end of the conductive post, the pin has a head that is protruded to the upper end of the conductive post and electrically contacted the cathode of the power source of the flashlight, and the flange of the pin is capable of contacting a bottom of the conductive post to prevent the pin disengaging from the conductive post. With the arrangement that the spring is disposed in the conductive post, and the pin is urged by spring force of the spring, the pin can keep a connection with the cathode of the power source, thereby ensuring reliability of the conductive post and the power source. 
     Concretely, a hole is defined on the pin, and a flange is extended from the end of the pin. The hole has a bottom for contacting the spring, and the flange is capable of contacting the bottom of the conductive post thereby prevent the pin disengaging from the conductive post. 
     Preferably, the flashlight further comprises an integrative charging light-emitting device embedded in a front end of the flashlight and which comprises a light-emitting assembly, a switch assembly, a charging assembly and a device body; wherein the light-emitting assembly is installed in a front end of the device body and faced to a head of the flashlight, a conductive piece is provided at a back end of the device body and electrically connected with the light-emitting assembly, a cathode of the light-emitting assembly is electrically connected with the cathode of the power source of the flashlight; the charging assembly installed in the device body comprises the positive conductive pin one end of which is electrically connected with the conductive piece, and the other end of which passes through the device body and is formed on a head of the flashlight and electrically connected with the positive contact of the charging stand, and the negative conductive pin one end of which is electrically connected with the cathode of the light-emitting assembly, and the other end of which is electrically connected with the negative contact of the charging stand; and the switch assembly is installed on the device body and adapted for electrically connecting or disconnecting the power source of the flashlight with the light-emitting assembly. Due to the integrative charging light-emitting device is an integrative structure, thus its assembly and disassembly are very convenient on one hand, and the electrical connection between the integrative charging light-emitting device and the power source of the flashlight is good on the other hand, which has good impact-resistant performance to keep a reliable operation for the integrative charging light-emitting device. 
     Concretely, the integrative charging light-emitting device further comprises a microcontroller disposed in the device body, the microcontroller has an anode electrically connected with the anode of the light-emitting assembly and the conductive piece respectively, and a cathode electrically connected with the light-emitting assembly and the cathode of the power source of the flashlight respectively; the switch assembly has a bottom mounted on the microcontroller and a top protruded out of the device body, and the switch assembly is arranged to control light strength of the light-emitting assembly. 
     Preferably, the flashlight further comprises an impact-resistant device including a conductive protective piece, a conductive buffer spring and a hollow insulating base, wherein the insulating base is embedded in the head of the flashlight, the conductive protective piece is embedded in the insulating base and has a cavity to accept the buffer spring, and a contacting portion is provided at a front end of the conductive protective piece to contact with the insulating base; the buffer spring has a front end elastically connected with the conductive piece and a back end elastically inserted into the conductive protective piece and contacting the bottom of the cavity; and the conductive protective piece has a back end that is capable of elastically protruding out of the insulating base to contact with the anode of the power source of the flashlight. With such an arrangement, an impact or shock suffered by the integrative charging light-emitting device will be buffered, thereby avoiding a poor connection in the power source of the flashlight and thus always maintaining a good connection between the integrative charging light-emitting device and the power source. 
     In comparison with the prior art, the present invention provides a flashlight installed on the charging stand, and several lights installed on the base of the charging stand, and the lights will be turned on or turned off controlled by the circuit controller. If external power source is cut off, the lights can irradiate by using the power source of the flashlight, so that it can be easily noticed by persons in dark on one hand, and it can provide emergency lighting to help people to face with a power-cut situation on the other hand. In other words, the charging stand can be acted as a charger to charge the flashlight or functioned to provide an emergency light. Additionally, an alarm is formed on the flashlight, which controls the buzzer drive circuit to cause the buzzer sound by controlling the switch controller, so as to achieve a buzzer alarm. Such an arrangement of the alarm plays a very importance role in calling for help when an emergency happens. Furthermore, the alarm is installed in the flashlight directly, which increases the functions of the flashlight and facilitates the using and carrying. The handy emergency lighting device of the present invention is quit easy to use, which is applicable to family, workshop, hallway, dark way or safe exit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings facilitate an understanding of the various embodiments of this invention. In such drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an emergency lighting device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a charging stand of the emergency lighting device; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the charging stand; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the emergency lighting device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a flashlight of the emergency lighting device; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of an alarm of the emergency lighting device; 
         FIG. 7  is an exposed view of the alarm of the emergency lighting device; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of an integrative charging and light-emitting device of the emergency lighting device; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of an integrative charging and light-emitting device of the emergency lighting device; and 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged view of a portion A shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the emergency lighting device  1  of the present invention includes a charging stand  100  and a flashlight  200  installed in the charging stand  100  for charging. The charging stand  100  includes a base  110 , a circuit controller  120 , several lights  130 , an indicator light  140  and a power adapter  150 . A cavity  111  is defined at the front of the base  110  to hold the flashlight  200 . The circuit control board  120  includes a circuit control board  121 , a positive contact  122 , and a negative contact  123 , the positive and negatives contacts  122 ,  123  are connected with the circuit control board  120  and whose ends are protruded to the cavity  111 . The flashlight  200  has a positive conductive pin  223   a  and a negative conductive pin  223   b  corresponding to the positive and negatives contacts  122 ,  123  respectively, and the flashlight  200  is held in the cavity  111  so that the positive and negatives contacts  122 ,  123  are electrically connected with the positive and negative conductive pins  223   a ,  223   b . The circuit control board  121  is mounted within the base  110  and whose input terminal is electrically connected with external power supply, the flashlight  200  is installed on the front of the base  110  and electrically connected with an outer terminal of the circuit control board  121 , and the circuit control board  121  is arranged to control the external power supply for charging the flashlight  200  and a power source  240  of the flashlight  200  for discharging electricity to the lights  130 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the indicator light  140  is installed at the front of the base  110 , and electrically connected with the circuit controller  120 . The indicator light  140  can indicate different signals when the flashlight  200  is charging or charging is finished, so that the charging state is facilitated to be aware. 
     A flange  112  is formed at inner walls of the cavity  111 , and at least one recess  201  is formed at outer side walls of flashlight  200 . When the flashlight  200  is disposed in the cavity  111 , the flange  112  engages with the recess  201 . By cooperation between the flange  112  and the recess  201 , under a condition of that the flashlight  200  is installed in the cavity  111 , the flange  112  can be acted as a guider and moreover a holder for holding the flashlight  200 , so as to ovoid displacement of the flashlight  200  to cause misalignment of the positive and negative contacts  122 ,  123  of the circuit controller  120 . 
     A hole  113  is provided at the bottom of the base  110 , in which the output terminal of the power adapter  150  is inserted and then is electrically connected with the circuit controller  120 , and the input terminal of power adapter  150  is electrically connected with the external power source. The power adapter  150  is arranged for converting the input voltage of the external power source to an output voltage that is suitable to charge the flashlight  200 , so that the flashlight  200  can be charged under a safe condition. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5-7 , the flashlight  200  includes an alarm  210 , an integrative charging light-emitting device  220 , a shock-resistant device  230  and a power source  240 . Concretely, the alarm  210  is installed on the tail of the flashlight  200  to give an alarm. The alarm  210  includes a mounting base  211  installed in the flashlight  200 , a buzzer stand  212 , a buzzer  213 , a buzzer drive circuit board  214 , a switch controller  215 , a conductive assembly  216 , a buzzer press plate  217 , a casing  218 , and elastic assembly  219 . Particularly, the buzzer stand  212  is installed in the mounting base  211 , the buzzer  213  is installed in the buzzer stand  212 , and the buzzer drive circuit board  214  is installed in the buzzer stand  212  and electrically connected with the buzzer  213 . The switch controller  215  is installed at the end of the mounting base  211  and electrically connected with the buzzer drive circuit board  214 . The conductive assembly  216  is installed in the mounting base  211  and fixed on the buzzer stand  212 , which are electrically connected with the power source  240  of the flashlight  200  and electrically connected with the buzzer drive circuit board  241 . Concretely, the conductive assembly  216  includes a conductive post  216   a , a retainer  216   b , a conductive fiber plate  216   c , a conductive ring  216   d  and a conductive spring  216   e . The conductive post  216   a  has an upper end contacting with a cathode of the power source  240  of the flashlight  200 , and a lower end electrically connected with the negative contact of the buzzer drive circuit board  214 , and the conductive post  216   a  is fixed on the retainer  216   b  which is fixed on the conductive fiber plate  216   c . And the conductive fiber plate  216   c  is electrically connected with the positive contact of the buzzer drive circuit board  214 , the retainer  216   b  is sleeved with the conductive spring  216   e  which has a lower end electrically contacting the conductive fiber plate  216   c  and an upper end electrically contacting with the conductive ring  216   d , and the conductive ring  216   d  is sleeved around the retainer  216   b  and is electrically contacted with the anode of the power source  240  of the flashlight  200 . 
     The buzzer press plate  217  is installed in the mounting base  211  and pressed against the buzzer  213 , so that the buzzer  213  can be fixed on the buzzer stand  212 , which may avoid wobble or displacement of the buzzer  213  to keep the function of the buzzer  213 . 
     The switch controller  215  includes a switch control plate  215   a , a sponge mat  215   b  and a switch cap  215   c . Concretely, the switch cap  215   c  is sleeved on a switch button of the switch control plate  215   a , the sponge mat  215   b  is assembled between the switch control plate  215   a  and the switch cap  215   c , and the switch control plate  215   a  is installed in the mounting base  211 . Specifically, the switch control plate  215   a  is used for controlling the connection or disconnection of the buzzer drive circuit board  214 , the sponge mat  215   b  is used for insulating the switch control plate  215   a  from the external, and the switch cap  215   c  covering on the switch button of the switch control plate  215   a  is used for insulating and protecting the switch button. 
     The casing  218  of the alarm  210  is assembled on the tail of the flashlight  200 , and the center of the casing  218  is hollow to accommodate the switch cap  215 . Such a casing  218  is used for preventing the outside impurity entering to the buzzer  213  to baffle the acoustic. 
     The elastic assembly  219  includes a pin  219   a , a spring  219   b  and a baffle plate  219   c , therein the spring  219   b  is disposed in the conductive post  216   a , one end of the spring  219   b  is electrically contacted with the pin  219   a , and the other end is electrically contacted with the baffle plate  219   c  that is electrically connected to the lower end of the conductive post  216   a . Concretely, the pin  219   a  has a head that is protruded to the upper end of the conductive post  216   a  and electrically contacted with the cathode of the power source  240  of the flashlight  200 . With the arrangement that the spring  219   b  is disposed in the conductive post  216   a , and the pin  219   a  is urged by spring force of the spring  219   b , the pin  219   a  can keep a connection with the cathode of the power source  240 , thereby ensuring reliability of the conductive post  216   a  and the power source  240 . 
     Specifically, a hole  2191  is defined on the pin  219   a , and a flange  2192  is extended from the end of the pin  219   a . The hole  2191  has a bottom for contacting the spring  219   b , and the flange  2192  is capable of contacting the bottom of the conductive post  216   a  thereby prevent the pin  219   a  disengaging from the conductive post  216   a.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the integrative charging light-emitting device  220  is installed in the front end of the flashlight  200  and which is integrative structure. The integrative charging light-emitting device  220  includes a light-emitting assembly  221 , a switch assembly  222 , a charging assembly  223 , a device body  224  and a microcontroller  225 . Concretely, the light-emitting assembly  221  is installed in the front end of the device body  224  and faced to the head of the flashlight  200 , and a conductive piece provided at the back end of the device body is electrically connected with the light-emitting assembly  221  whose cathode is electrically connected with the cathode of the power source  240 . The charging assembly  223  installed in the device body  224  includes a positive conductive pin  223   a  and a negative conductive pin  223   b , one end of the positive conductive pin  223   a  is electrically connected with the conductive piece  226 , and the other end of the positive conductive pin  223   a  passes through the device body  224  and is formed on the head of the flashlight  200  and electrically connected with the positive contact  122  of the charging stand  100 ; one end of the negative conductive pin  223   b  is electrically connected with the cathode of the light-emitting assembly  221 , and the other end of the negative conductive pin  223   b  is electrically connected with the negative contact  123  of the charging stand. The switch assembly  222  is installed on the device body  224  and adapted for electrically connecting or disconnecting the power source  240  of the flashlight  200  with the light-emitting assembly  221 . Due to the integrative charging light-emitting device  220  is an integrative structure, thus its assembly and disassembly are very convenient on one hand, and the electrical connection between the integrative charging light-emitting device  220  and the power source  240  of the flashlight  200  is good on the other hand, which has good impact-resistant performance to keep a reliable operation for the integrative charging light-emitting device  220 . 
     The microcontroller  225  has an anode electrically connected with the anode of the light-emitting assembly  221  and the conductive piece  226  respectively, and a cathode electrically connected with the light-emitting assembly  221  and the cathode of the power source  240  of the flashlight  200  respectively. The switch assembly has a bottom mounted on the microcontroller  225  and a top protruded out of the device body  224 , and the switch assembly  222  is arranged to control light strength of the light-emitting assembly  221  by the microcontroller  225 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the impact-resistant device  230  includes a conductive protective piece  230   a , a conductive buffer spring  230   b  and a hollow insulating base  230   c . Concretely, the insulating base  230   c  is embedded in the back end of the head of the flashlight  200 ; the conductive protective piece  230   a  is embedded in the insulating base  230   c  and has a cavity  230   a   1  to accept the buffer spring  230   b , and a contacting portion  230   a   2  is provided at the front end of the conductive protective piece  230   a  to contact with the insulating base  230   c ; the buffer spring  230   b  has a front end elastically connected with the conductive piece  226  and a back end elastically inserted into the conductive protective piece  230   a  and contacting the bottom of the cavity  230   a   1 ; and the conductive protective piece  130   a  has a back end that is capable of elastically protruding out of the insulating base  230   c  to contact with the anode of the power source  240  of the flashlight  200 . With such an arrangement that the buffer spring  230   b  is arranged between the conductive protective piece  230   a  and the conductive piece  226 , such that an impact or shock suffered by the integrative charging light-emitting device  220  will be buffered, thereby avoiding a poor connection in the power source  240  of the flashlight  200  and thus always maintaining a good connection between the integrative charging light-emitting device  220  and the power source  240 . 
     In comparison with the prior art, the present invention provides a flashlight  200  installed on the charging stand  100 , and several lights  130  installed on the base  110  of the charging stand  100 . The lights  130  will be turned on or turned off controlled by the circuit controller  120 . If external power source is cut off, the lights  130  can irradiate by using the power source  240  of the flashlight  200 , so that it can be easily noticed by persons in dark on one hand, and it can provide emergency lighting to help people to face with a power-cut situation on the other hand. In other words, the charging stand can be acted as a charger to charge the flashlight  200  or functioned to provide an emergency light. Additionally, the alarm  210  is formed on the flashlight  200 , which controls the buzzer drive circuit  214  to cause the buzzer  213  to sound by controlling the switch controller  215 , so as to achieve a buzzer alarm. Such an arrangement of the alarm  210  plays a very importance role in calling for help when an emergency happens. Furthermore, the alarm  240  is installed in the flashlight  200  directly, which increases the functions of the flashlight  200  and facilitates the using and carrying. The handy emergency lighting device  1  of the present invention is quit easy to use, which is applicable to family, workshop, hallway, dark way or safe exit. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention.