AU2008320691A1

AU2008320691A1 - Improvement in a door for facilitating the location thereof

Info

Publication number: AU2008320691A1
Application number: AU2008320691A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Gonzague De Raulin; Remy Jaffres
Original assignee: Hill Rom SAS
Current assignee: Hill Rom SAS
Priority date: 2007-10-31
Filing date: 2008-10-30
Publication date: 2009-05-07
Also published as: EP2220313A2; FR2922932A1; WO2009056765A3; WO2009056765A2

Description

I Improvement in a door for facilitating the location thereof The invention relates to a door and more particularly the improvement of the localization thereof, facilitating its location, especially concerning the handle, in light or in darkness. The invention applies particularly to the hospital field or a medically equipped room, for example equipped to accommodate a disabled person with visual impairment or Alzheimer's disease. It also advantageously concerns an improvement using signaling means, also allowing permanent disinfection of the handle. In a hospital room or place where a disabled person lives, especially one suffering from senility (Alzheimer's disease) or vision impairment, a door (leading to the exit, to the toilet or to a bathroom) is an element that becomes an essential reference. It is therefore important to encourage its localization in all circumstances. The invention allows focusing attention on the handle of this door by increasing its visibility, day or night. More particularly, the invention concerns a door comprising a jamb and a leaf connected to said jamb and equipped with a handle, characterized in that said handle is illuminated by at least one specific light source placed close to it at least when the leaf is closed. Said specific light source may include at least one simple lamp emitting in the visible light spectrum. In this case, this lamp illuminates the handle. By day, it increases the contrast between the handle and the door, and by night, it highlights the handle itself. Advantageously, the material of the handle is chosen to emphasize its visibility. For example, it is possible to provide a handle made of a transparent or translucent material and/or having reflective areas. It is also possible to obtain or combined conduction and/or 2 reflection of the light by the handle itself, for example by including reflective prisms. One or more miniaturized light sources such as light-emitting diodes called LEDs can advantageously be used. They can either be integrated into the handle or near the door and/or jamb. For example, the specific light source can be mounted on the leaf of the door next to the handle. According to another possibility, said specific light source can be installed on the jamb of said door, next to said handle when the leaf is closed. According to an advantageous characteristic, the specific light source can be housed in the thickness of the leaf by being optically coupled to said handle of a transparent material. Thus, the transparent handle, for example made of methacrylate, guides the light. Its diffusion along the handle can be improved by providing prismatic forms along it and on its surface in order to reflect the light in all directions. According to another possibility, the specific light source is or includes a source of ultraviolet light, while at least one photoluminescent region with the wavelength of said source is installed on said handle. In this case, the handle is visible even in the dark. For example, the material or coating of the handle (or some marks made on it) may be white, reacting to ultraviolet rays. The surface of the handle can also be textured to increase the contrast between the handle and the door so as to obtain the maximum photoluminescent effect at night. In all cases, the color of the door or that of a back plate mounted on the door next to the handle can be chosen to increase the contrast between the handle and its background. In the case of a back plate, the shape, dimensions and even the material thereof are chosen to maximize this contrast. Finally, in the case of ultraviolet "lighting," the ultraviolet light source may be of sufficient power to exert bactericidal action on the handle.

3 Indeed, door handles are a major vector of the spread of nosocomial infections. In the case of night signaling of the type mentioned above (which can be combined with day signaling), it is sufficient to adapt the power of the ultraviolet light to obtain permanent disinfection of the handle. The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will become clearer in light of the description that follows, given solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - figure 1 illustrates a door equipped with the improvement according to the invention; - figure 2 illustrates a first variant; - figure 3 is a detail view illustrating a second variant; - figure 4 is a detail view illustrating a third variant; and - figure 5 is a detail view illustrating a fourth variant. Figure 1 shows the door 11 of a room such as a bedroom, for example. This door conventionally includes a jamb 12 and a leaf 13 connected to the jamb. The leaf is equipped with a handle 14. According to a significant characteristic of the invention, the handle 14 is illuminated by a specific light source 16 placed close to it. In the example in figure 1, the light source 16 is mounted on the leaf 13, and its light beam illuminates the handle. In addition, the leaf has a back plate 18 of a relatively dark color, placed next to the handle. This increases the contrast between the handle and its visual background. According to the example, the light source 16 is a conventional lamp emitting in the visible light spectrum. The source may consist of one or more light emitting diodes. In the embodiment of figure 2, the light source 26 is installed on the jamb 12 of the door or on the field of the adjacent wall, near the handle 14a in the closed position of the door. The handle is textured with slight relief to 4 increase the contrast, by reflection of the light in multiple directions. In the embodiment of figure 3, the handle 14b is a transparent material or at least translucent and provided, on at least one of its faces, with prismatic facets 28. In addition, the light source 36 (consisting of one or more miniature lamps, such as light emitting diodes, for example) is housed in the thickness of the leaf and optically coupled to the handle. Thus, the emitted light propagates in the body of the handle forming an illuminated guide. The prismatic facets 28 allow the light to spread in all directions and increase the contrast between the handle and the background consisting of the leaf 13. In the example of figure 4, the light source 46 is fixed to the jamb 12 at the height of the handle 14c and includes two lamps directed towards it. Possibly, one of the lamps can emit in the visible light spectrum, and the other in the ultraviolet spectrum. The lamp emitting in the visible light spectrum illuminates the handle during day, and the other lamp emitting in the ultraviolet spectrum "illuminates" the handle at night. Preferably, the body of the handle may be white. Thus, it stands out as compared to the darker back plate 18 during the day. The handle may also include small reflecting surfaces 48, in the form of points. At night, the white handle becomes photoluminescent by the effect of the ultraviolet light. In the example of figure 5, the specific light source 56 is mounted on the leaf 13 of the door and includes lamps emitting in the visible light spectrum and/or in the ultraviolet spectrum. These lamps are focused on a handle 14d made of transparent material whose front face is provided with prismatic facets 28. Some faces of the handle can be provided with a white coating assuring visibility at night, under the action of the ultraviolet light. The devices that were just described may be equipped only with ultraviolet lamps for use exclusively when awake at night. In the examples of figures 1, 2, 4 and 5 and under ultraviolet light, it is possible to provide at least one lamp 5 with ultraviolet light with sufficient power to kill certain microorganisms present on the handle. Thus, a simple power adaptation of the ultraviolet light allows effectively and permanently fighting against the spread of nosocomial infections.

Claims

1. Door comprising a jamb and a leaf (13) connected to said jamb and equipped with a handle (14), characterized in that said handle is illuminated by at least one specific light source (16, 26, 36, 46, 56) placed in its vicinity, at least when said leaf is closed.

2. Door according to claim 1, characterized in that said light source (16, 26, 46, 56) emits ultraviolet light and that at least one photoluminescent area with the wavelength of said source is arranged on said handle.

3. Door according to claim 2, characterized in that said source of ultraviolet light (16, 26, 46, 56) has sufficient power to exert bactericidal action on said handle.

4. Door according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said specific light source (16, 56) is mounted on the leaf of the door next to said handle.

5. Door according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said specific light source (26, 46) is installed on the jamb of said door next to said handle, when said leaf is closed.

6. Door according to claim 1, characterized in that said handle (14b, 14d) is made of transparent or translucent material.

7. Door according to claim 6, characterized in that said specific light source (36) is housed in the thickness of said leaf and optically coupled to said handle.

8. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said handle is provided with prismatic facets (28) for reflecting light.

9. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a back plate (18) positioned next to the handle on the leaf, the color and/or the material of the back plate being chosen to emphasize the contrast with the handle.