Patent Publication Number: US-2007096934-A1

Title: Guide lighting device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates, in general, to guide lighting devices and, more particularly, to a guide lighting device, which is installed in a building to guide persons to an emergency exit when an emergency, such as a fire or power failure, occurs.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Generally, a guide lighting device is required to help persons escape from an emergency situation when an emergency, such as a fire or power failure, occurs. At normal times, commercial power is supplied to the guide lighting device to be lit, or power is supplied only to a battery charging circuit while the guide lighting device is not lit, in order to charge auxiliary power. When commercial AC power is interrupted in an emergency, the guide lighting device is lit for a certain period of time using the auxiliary power, thus functioning to notify persons of the location of an emergency exit. Therefore, the conventional guide lighting device is provided with a pull switch or limit switch to determine whether auxiliary power of the guide lighting device is normally charged. Accordingly, if the pull switch is pressed or the rope thereof is drawn, the switch is opened so as to interrupt AC power, so that whether auxiliary power is normally supplied can be determined and examined.  
      However, if the guide lighting device is installed at a high location, such as the ceiling, the pull switch or limit switch cannot be manipulated, and a tool, such as a ladder, must be used to carry out an examination. Accordingly, such an examination method makes it very inconvenient for an examiner to determine whether auxiliary power is normally supplied. Therefore, the examiner frequently leaves the guide lighting device in its existing state without examining it, so that the guide lighting device does not operate normally in an emergency. As a result, there is a limitation in that evacuating persons cannot be guided to an emergency exit in a short period of time, and it is impossible to prevent the loss of lives from occurring.  
     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 a guide lighting device, which enables easy examination of whether the auxiliary power of the guide lighting device is normally supplied.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a guide lighting device, which has improved functionality for rescuing evacuating persons.  
      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 combination disclosed in the accompanying claims.  
      In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a guide 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 guide lighting device is installed, using temperature and illuminance; an output unit including a display window for lighting a lamp provided therein in response to a signal output from the sensing unit, thus indicating a location of an emergency exit; 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 a guide 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 guide 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 guide 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 a guide lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram schematically showing the guide 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 a guide lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the guide lighting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a casing  11  that has a rear surface supportable on a wall and is made of a metallic material. Further, in the casing  11 , a display window  12 , a fire sensor  13 , a Light Emitting Diode (LED)  14  for indicating whether power is supplied, a speaker  15  for outputting radio broadcasts, and a rescue button  16  are provided.  
      In this case, the display window  12  includes therein a lamp lit by power and functions to indicate the location of an emergency exit using a simple image or symbol. Preferably, the external surface of the display window  12  is covered with a heat-resistant glass cover to protect it from fire, etc.  
      The present invention can be described in that, for the fire sensor  13 , 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  13 .  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram schematically showing the guide lighting device of  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the guide 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 guide lighting device is installed, using temperature and illuminance, an output unit  400  including a display window  410  for lighting a lamp provided therein in response to a signal output from the sensing unit  300 , thus indicating the location of an emergency exit, 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 a guide 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 guide lighting device is installed, thus allowing the guide 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 display window  410  if an emergency occurs. A person, evacuating in the event of an 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 guide 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 guide 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 guide 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 guide lamp control unit  100 , thus detecting the location of an evacuating person in the building.  
      The guide 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 a guide 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 guide 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.