EP2826924A1 - Drainage gutter with solar powered lighting - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a drainage channel (1) having a channel body (2) and a gutter cover (4) seated on the channel body (2) and associated with at least one illumination element (15). Such a drainage channel (1) should be improved in terms of their ease of use and installation. For this purpose, the invention provides as a lighting element (15) a solar light module (6), comprising at least one luminous element and a solar panel (8) provided with solar panel (7) for power generation, which is electrically connected to a power storage, said power storage to supply the Lighting elements (15) is electrically connected to these. The correspondingly pre-assembled drainage channels (1) are ready for immediate use without additional installation effort.

Description

The invention relates to a drainage channel having a channel body and a channel cover seated on the channel body and associated with at least one illumination channel.

Such a lighting channel is from the German utility model DE 202009000014 U1 previously known. In the previously known dewatering device, a lighting element is integrated into the dewatering device such that below the cover of the dewatering channel an elastically deformable fastening device is arranged, in which a lighting element is received, which is ideally also elastically deformable. Furthermore, the lighting elements integrated in the drainage channel are interconnected, preferably connected in series or in parallel, and provided with a separate power supply.

The need for such lighting troughs has been steadily increasing in the past, as drainage channels are increasingly being used as an optical design element in conjunction with attractive buildings or for space design. The drainage channels and in particular their visible covers thus not only fulfill the pure drainage function, but also represent a means of designing the public or private space.

The ability to illuminate the drainage channels also provides a security feature at night to illuminate dark areas or traffic-guiding functions for both pedestrian traffic and motorized traffic to meet, since the drainage channels are preferably laid on the edge of roads or sidewalks. With appropriately clever use of the lighting channels can be dispensed with other additional lighting means in the area of the illuminated systems and thereby substantial savings can be achieved.

Nevertheless, such lighting troughs have not yet been able to prevail decisively in the market, in particular because the power supply required for the lighting elements is associated with considerable additional installation and assembly work. Incidentally, the power supply demands a careful and, above all, watertight installation against the background of the fact that water has to be dissipated by the drainage channels, and, as a precaution, comprehensive protection of the systems, for example by FI switches. The added value achieved by the lighting channel has thus far been costly and expensive to purchase at a considerable financial and installation expense.

Based on this prior art, the invention is based on the object to provide an improved illuminated drainage channel, which significantly reduces the extra effort required in particular when installing lighting channels. The solution of the object of the invention is achieved with a drainage channel with the features of the current claim 1. Advantageous developments of the drainage channel according to the invention can be found in the dependent claims 2 to 10.

According to claim 1, the drainage channel according to the invention is not equipped with a conventional lighting element, but rather with a solar light module comprising at least one lighting element and a solar panel for power generation, with a power storage is electrically connected, wherein the lighting element is powered by means of the power storage. The drainage channel designed in this way is therefore not dependent on the connection to a power grid, but rather can be installed as a "stand-alone" solution. The otherwise required wiring of the lighting elements for power supply and in particular the associated assembly and installation effort can therefore be completely eliminated in the inventive solution.

In a concrete embodiment, at least the lighting element of the solar light module is connected to the gutter cover by means of a clip, latching and / or screw connection. The lighting element can therefore be connected in the simplest possible way, if necessary, with the underside of the gutter cover, against the background that the gutter covers usually latticed or designed as a bar with corresponding openings, so are designed permeable, already due to the mounting of the lighting element below the gutter cover immediately the desired lighting effect is achieved.

In a further embodiment, the at least indirectly connected to the lighting element solar panel is mounted below the gutter cover, so on the basis of the above-described permeable structure of the gutter cover an at least largely unrestricted light incidence is ensured on the solar cell of the solar panel, which in turn a power generation for charging also with the solar lamp module connected power storage is ensured.

In yet another embodiment of this solution, the gutter cover is provided with a recess such that through this recess arranged below the gutter cover solar panels of the solar panel are completely recessed and thus an unobstructed light is ensured on the respective solar cell array. In this way, by means of the solar cell fields the maximum current efficiency, depending on the installation location of the respective drainage channel, can be achieved.

In order to allow an unrestricted incidence of light on the solar panel and / or to achieve special lighting effects, it may be advantageous for the channel cover to be at least partially transparent.

As a result, the lighting duration depends on the integrated in the drainage channel solar lamp module u. a. decisively from the power consumption of the light element used within the solar lamp module. In this context, it has proven to be advantageous to use the extremely power-saving compared to conventional lighting elements, durable and moreover robust LED's. Due to the extent far advanced LED technology so far within the scope of this lighting technology not only a long illumination time can be achieved, but also almost from the entire conceivable color palette are selected, so different light colors and light intensities are realized by selecting appropriate LEDs, so that the additional advantages of further optical design options is achieved.

In another advantageous embodiment, the solar light module is provided with a preferably integrated twilight switch, which is realized in particular by means of a photocell. By means of this twilight switch, the solar light module is switched on automatically when it falls below a defined illumination value, that is connected to the power storage and thereby the lighting of the lighting channel according to the invention automatically turned on. In a further embodiment, either with the help of the same twilight switch when exceeding a certain degree of illumination, ie in particular at daybreak, either the solar light module can be automatically switched off again, or the electrically conductive with the light-emitting memory is designed so that the lighting due to lack of power supply is switched off in good time before dawn.

As power storage have proven in connection with the inventive solution nickel metal hydride batteries, where necessary, several nickel metal hydride batteries connected in series as compared to a single battery enlarged power storage can be used to a sufficient supply of the solar lamp module. The capacity of nickel-metal hydride batteries, ie their storage capacity, is usually designed so that a permanent lighting of eight to twelve hours, ie during the usual night time, is ensured. Another advantage of the batteries used is that they are mechanically very robust, are also designed for a variety of loading and unloading operations and thus have proven to be very durable.

In an advantageous embodiment, the power storage devices mentioned are arranged in a watertight sealable housing and can thus be arranged without problems within a drainage channel. The power storage housing used for this purpose is closed only reversible, so it can be opened if necessary, to be able to easily replace faulty or exhausted batteries.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the solar light module used to illuminate the drainage channel is integrally formed, so that in the solar light module both the light element and the solar panel for power generation and the power storage enclosure are integrated with the integrated power storage in physical unit. As a result, the assembly effort is significantly reduced again.

In another advantageous embodiment of these embodiments, the solar light module is designed to be waterproof overall.

Furthermore, it has proven useful if the gutter covers are already factory-equipped with the solar lamp modules according to the invention and further the gutter cover thus equipped is also factory already mounted on the gutter body, so that in the result a completely pre-assembled lighting gutter can be delivered to the site. This has the effect that the installation of the lighting channel differs in any way from a conventional drainage channel, so in particular is associated with no additional effort. After installation of the lighting channel this can then be taken without further operation due to the automatic switching on and off and without further installation immediately in continuous operation, only at regular intervals, for example once a year, the recorded in the power storage enclosure batteries must be replaced ,

The invention is explained below with reference to several in the drawings only schematically illustrated embodiments.

Figur 1

eine Entwässerungsrinne in einer perspektivischen Ansicht,

Figur 2

die Rinnenabdeckung der in Figur 1 dargestellte Entwässerungsrinne in einer in Figur 1 mit II bezeichneten Detailansicht,

Figur 3

in einer perspektivischen Explosionsdarstellung eine Rinnenabdeckung mit einem zur Verbindung mit der Rinnenabdeckung ausgelegten Solarleuchtenmodul,

Figur 4

in einer perspektivischen Explosionsdarstellung eine Rinnenabdeckung mit einem zur Verbindung der Rinnenabdeckung ausgelegten alternativen Solarleuchtenmodul,

Figur 5

eine Rinnenabdeckung mit montiertem Solarleuchtenmodul gemäß Figur 4 in einer Längsschnittansicht,

Figur 6

eine Detailansicht des in Figur 5 dargestellten montierten Solarleuchtenmoduls,

Figur 7

eine perspektivische Explosionsdarstellung einer Rinnenabdeckung mit einem zur Verbindung mit der Rinnenabdeckung ausgelegten weiteren alternativen Solarleuchtenmodul,

Figur 8

eine Rinnenabdeckung mit montiertem Solarleuchtenmodul gemäß Figur 7 in einer Längsschnittansicht und

Figur 9

die Rinnenabdeckung mit montiertem Solarleuchtenmodul gemäß Figur 8 in einer Detailansicht.

Show it:

FIG. 1

a drainage channel in a perspective view,

FIG. 2

the gutter cover of in FIG. 1 illustrated drainage channel in a in FIG. 1 with II designated detailed view,

FIG. 3

in a perspective exploded view, a gutter cover with a designed for connection to the gutter cover solar light module,

FIG. 4

in a perspective exploded view, a gutter cover with a designed for connecting the gutter cover alternative solar light module,

FIG. 5

a gutter cover with mounted solar light module according to FIG. 4 in a longitudinal sectional view,

FIG. 6

a detailed view of the in FIG. 5 shown assembled solar lamp module,

FIG. 7

an exploded perspective view of a gutter cover with a designed for connection to the gutter cover further alternative solar light module,

FIG. 8

a gutter cover with mounted solar light module according to FIG. 7 in a longitudinal sectional view and

FIG. 9

the gutter cover with mounted solar light module according to FIG. 8 in a detailed view.

Fig. 1 shows in a perspective view, first, a conventional drainage channel 1, comprising a gutter body 2, on the frame 3, a gutter cover 4 is seated with a grid structure. Below the gutter cover 4 is in accordance with the in Fig. 2 shown detail view of the gutter cover 1 a solar light module 6 is attached. The solar lighting module 6 may be mounted below a recess 5 or just below the grid structure of the gutter cover 4.

The integral in this embodiment solar light module 6 comprises according to FIG. 3 arranged equipped with solar panels 8 solar panel 7, which is thus exposed to at least largely unobstructed solar radiation and thus converts the sunlight into electricity, with the one in the Fig. 1 to 3 not further shown power storage, which is arranged in a reversibly, but watertight sealed power storage housing 13 is fed. To this power supply, the lighting elements, here LED's 10, the solar light module 6 are connected. In this case, the solar light module 6 is so below the gutter cover 4 mounted so that the LED's 10 are each arranged below the recesses 5 of the grid structure of the channel cover 4, so that the lighting effect achieved with the LED's 10 can act undiminished. The LED's 10 are arranged on a solar panel 7 concentrically surrounding imaginary ring distributed over the circumference.

In the embodiment according to the perspective view FIG. 3 is the solar light module 6 below the recess 5 by means of a screw with the screws 11 via corresponding holes 12 which are arranged around the recess 5, screwed to the gutter cover 4.

In this case, there is the solar lamp module 6 from the centrally arranged solar panel 7 in FIG. 3 shown solar cells 8 for power generation, which supply the stored in the power storage enclosure 13 and not shown here power storage, preferably nickel-metal hydride batteries, the power storage turn the in an outer peripheral ring 14 around the solar panel 7 arranged around lighting elements, here the LEDs 10, provide power. Otherwise, the solar lighting module 6 has an in Fig. 3 non-illustrated twilight switch, preferably a photocell, on, which produces the electrically conductive connection between the arranged LED's 10 and the power storage falls below a defined illumination value and interrupts again when this illumination value is exceeded.

An alternative embodiment of the solar lamp module 6 is in 4 to 6 shown in a perspective exploded view. Again, the solar light module 6 is connected by means of screws 11 through the holes 12 in the channel cover 4 with the channel cover 4. In this case, however, the solar panel 7 with the solar cells 8 is decoupled from the actual lighting element 15 with the individual or multiple LEDs 10 disposed therein, in which case the lighting element 15 in FIG Installation state is arranged below the central recess 5 of the channel cover 4, as otherwise from the longitudinal sectional view in Fig. 5 seen. The installation situation of the solar lamp module 6 below the channel cover 4 is in the detail view according to Fig. 6 represented in Fig. 5 denoted by VI.

Another alternative embodiment of the solar lamp module 6 is in Fig. 7 to 9 shown. Also in this embodiment, the lighting element 15 with the LED's not shown here 10 and the solar panel 7 with the solar cells 8, which are also not shown, spatially decoupled from each other. In this case, the lighting element 15 and the solar panel 7 are each formed as a substantially rectangular housing, which are interconnected by two spaced apart connecting rods 16, wherein on the connecting rods 16 in each case a plurality of connecting clips 17 are arranged.

According to the longitudinal sectional view in Fig. 8 and the in Fig. 8 with IX designated detailed view in Fig. 9 In this case, the connecting rods 16 are spaced such that they each engage under a longitudinal strut of the channel cover 4, so that a releasable clip connection between the channel cover 4 and the solar lamp module 6 can be produced by means of the connecting clips 17 which engage around the mentioned longitudinal struts of the channel cover 4. In the in 8 and 9 illustrated installation below the lighting element 15 and the solar panel 7, the lattice-like structure of the gutter cover 4, the upper edges of the lighting element 15 and the solar panel 7 at least approximately complete with the lower edge of the channel cover 4, so that here a largely unobstructed light emission from the lighting element 15 and a Almost unimpeded light irradiation for the solar panel 7 are ensured.

All three different embodiments shown above thus show a connectable to a solar light module 6 in a simple manner Gutter cover 4, wherein the channel cover 4 is seated with the attached solar lamp module 6 in the installation situation on a gutter body 2, so that the drainage channel 1 in addition to its dewatering function also fulfills a lighting and notification function. Due to the pre-assembly of the solar lamp modules 6 on the channel covers 4, the appropriately equipped drainage channels 1 can be laid as usual in a surface to be drained without any additional effort. Furthermore, the solar panels 7 equipped with solar cells 8 supply the current storage devices respectively integrated in the solar lighting module 6 with power so that the lighting elements 15 can then be energized as intended by means of the power storage, so that the drainage channel 1 is illuminated.

In an advantageous embodiment, the solar lighting module 6 additionally each have a twilight switch, which ensures that falls below a defined lighting value, the power supply by means of built-in solar power module 6 power storage on the lighting elements 15 and thereby automatically the lighting is turned on. The lighting then turns off either again by means of the twilight switch when a defined illumination value is exceeded or with sufficient discharge of the power storage automatically. This means that without any additional cabling, installation effort or any additional operation, the lighting channels are put into operation immediately and the desired lighting effect is achieved automatically. The only remaining additional maintenance is the exchange of electricity storage required at longer intervals.

In the foregoing, therefore, an illuminated drainage channel 1 is described which can be prepared in accordance with the factory by means of a comparatively slight additional expenditure, can be mounted without any additional outlay and is then immediately ready for operation.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

drainage channel

2

Channel body

3

frame

4

channel cover

5

recess

6

Solar lamp module

7

solar panel

8th

solar cells

10

LED

11

screw

12

drilling

13

Power storage enclosure

15

lighting element

16

connecting rods

17

connecting clips

Claims (12)

Drainage channel (1) with a channel body (2) and a gutter cover (4) seated on the channel body (2), to which at least one illumination element (15) is assigned,
characterized in that the lighting element (s) (15) is / are each formed as solar light module (s) (6), each comprising at least one lighting element (15) with one or more lighting elements and one, one or more Solar panels comprehensive, solar panel (7) for power generation, which is electrically connected to a power storage, the power storage in turn is electrically connected to the light emitting element. Drainage channel (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the one or more lighting element (s) (15) with the channel cover (4) is connected by means of a clip, latching and / or screw connection / are. Drainage channel (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that both the or the lighting element (s) (15) and the one or more with the lighting element (15) at least indirectly connected (n) solar panel (s) (7) within of the gutter body (2) in each case below the gutter cover (4) is attached / are. Drainage channel (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the gutter cover (4) is provided with a recess such that the solar cell array of the or below the gutter cover (4) fixed solar panel (7) by means of the recess (5) of the gutter cover ( 4) is recessed from the gutter cover (4). Drainage channel (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the channel cover (4) is at least partially transparent, in particular glass, is formed. Drainage channel (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the one or more solar panels (s) (7) are each directly connected to the one or more lighting element (s) (15) / are. Drainage channel (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each one or more LED (s) (10) is / are provided as luminous elements of the solar lamp modules (6). Drainage channel (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the solar lamp module (6) is connected to a twilight switch, preferably comprising a photocell, such that depending on the falling below a defined illumination value, an interruption switch of the electrically conductive connection between the power storage and the or the lighting element (s) is closable such that the electrically conductive connection is made automatically. Drainage channel (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that as power storage of the solar lamp module (6) one or more nickel-metal hydride battery (s) within a power storage housing (13) is arranged, which is provided with a detachable cover and is preferably formed as an integral part of the solar lamp module (6). Drainage channel (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the power storage housing (13) of the solar lamp module (6) closable waterproof and / or the solar light module (6) is designed to be watertight overall. Drainage channel (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the solar light module (6) comprising a solar panel (7), at least one lighting element (15), a power storage and a twilight switch, is integrally formed as a physical unit. Drainage channel (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the channel cover (4) is factory-equipped with at least one solar lamp module (6) and preferably the channel cover (4) is factory-mounted on the channel body (2) and as complete pre-assembled lighting channel is deliverable.

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