EP3003511B1 - Device for managing the illumination of the grips of a climbing wall - Google Patents

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to a device for managing the illumination of a climbing wall in order primarily to dynamically mark paths, called paths, to be carried out by the users, said routes being predefined by the manager of said wall depending on the difficulty. desired and / or the level of the user, said management device also to exploit the associated animation capabilities.

Prior art

Climbers have always sought to rate the climbing routes in difficulty. At the appearance of the artificial walls, the courses were traced by placing colors, each course of different colors representing a route with its own degree of difficulty. However, the multiple overlaps of the course and the catch of all colors make the readability of the layouts for the least difficult.

In this respect, plugs provided with lights, such as those described in the international patent application, are already known. WO 2005/049155 , intended to be mounted on a climbing wall with usual fastening means. The latter consist of a body comprising an outer portion for supporting a climber and a substantially planar mounting face adapted to cooperate with said climbing wall. The body advantageously comprises an internal compartment made from a transparent or translucent construction material capable of allowing light to pass through. Said light climbing holds also include one or more light sources disposed within the body or internal compartment, or near said outlets or flush with the surface thereof, said light sources being connected to a power source through power cables arranged behind the climbing wall and through said wall through orifices. However, this type of light is not compatible with a renewal of the climbing wall consisting of a change in the position of said plugs either by changing their geographical position on the wall, or by rotation of said plugs around their axis. Indeed, if the position of the light sockets changes, it may be necessary to extend the power supply wiring and new through holes in said climbing wall. These operations are tedious and expensive because it is not always easy to access the back of the climbing wall, once it is set up. Similarly, it is necessary to mount / disassemble the plugs frequently for cleaning. These operations are then delicate because it is necessary each time to connect / disconnect the plugs to the power supply cables. Finally, the multiplication of orifices may ultimately weaken the climbing wall.

To partially overcome these drawbacks, autonomous light outlets with batteries are known. However, this type of light catches still has several disadvantages. Indeed, on the one hand, these batteries have a limited lifetime requiring a relatively frequent replacement and require to make in the socket itself an important housing for their implementation thus limiting their use in taking significant dimensions and on the other hand, battery recycling is still a delicate environmental problem.

Presentation of the invention

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to propose a climbing wall illumination device that is easy to set up, autonomous and makes it possible to easily change the course of said climbing wall at a lower level. cost and without complex and expensive operations, said device being adapted to be installed on the majority of existing climbing walls.

According to the invention, it is therefore proposed an illumination management device for an artificial climbing wall remarkable in that it comprises at least one transmission loop arranged to be attached to the back of the wall and capable of emitting an electromagnetic field through said wall, at least one light socket arranged to be fixed at the front of said wall and receiving an electronic card comprising at least one light source and a reception loop adapted to receive said electromagnetic field emitted by the associated transmission loop to convert it into electric current for supplying said light source, and a control box of the light source being arranged to be connected to an electrical network in order to supply electric power to said transmission loop and being able to send commands to manage the illumination of said light source.

The electronic card advantageously comprises a presence detector of a climber on the associated jack, the presence detector being preferably a flexible blade switch associated with a magnet or an RFID reader associated with a tag, the magnet or the tag is presenting in the form of a bracelet arranged to be worn by a climber.

The electronic card also includes a controller and a microcontroller, in particular for managing the identification information of the light source and the associated jack.

Advantageously, the electronic card is embedded in the material of the socket.

Even more advantageously, the electronic card is embedded in the material of an independent removable subassembly capable of being inserted into the back of the socket.

The plug or subassembly comprises a portion of flexible material for receiving the electronic card.

The control box includes a power supply for supplying power to said transmission loop and a microcontroller for controlling the proper operation of the illumination management device.

Advantageously, the illumination management device comprises a multiplatform software interface.

For this, the software interface is preferably made in the form of a web server embedded in said control box light sources.

According to a preferred embodiment, the illumination management device comprises at least one interactive terminal for managing the illumination of one or more channels and the control box comprises a connection means allowing the terminal to be connected to the software interface embedded in said box via a wireless protocol or via cables.

According to an even more advantageous embodiment, the illumination management device comprises a bidirectional connection between the socket (s) and the light source control box making it possible to time and record the time taken by a light source. climber to achieve the chosen path.

The bidirectional link preferably uses the radio frequencies and the electronic card of the socket and the control box of the light sources each comprise a transceiver.

Brief description of the figures

• la figure 1 est une vue de face d'une prise d'un dispositif de gestion de l'illumination d'un mur d'escalade selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une section verticale de la prise de la figure 1 fixée sur un mur d'escalade ;
• la figure 3 est une vue de face d'un mur d'escalade équipé d'une pluralité de dispositifs de gestion de l'illumination selon l'invention ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en perspective d'un mur d'escalade équipé d'une pluralité de dispositifs de gestion de l'illumination et d'une borne d'interface logicielle ;
• la figure 5 est un schéma d'un premier principe de fonctionnement associé à une première variante du dispositif de gestion de l'illumination de mur d'escalade selon l'invention ;
• la figure 6 est un schéma d'un deuxième principe de fonctionnement associé à une deuxième variante du dispositif de gestion de l'illumination de mur d'escalade selon l'invention.

Other advantages and features will emerge more clearly from the following description of an embodiment of a device for managing the illumination of a climbing wall according to the invention with reference to the appended figures in which:

• the figure 1 is a front view of a socket of a device for managing the illumination of a climbing wall according to the invention;
• the figure 2 is a vertical section of the taking of the figure 1 fixed on a climbing wall;
• the figure 3 is a front view of a climbing wall equipped with a plurality of illumination management devices according to the invention;
• the figure 4 is a perspective view of a climbing wall equipped with a plurality of illumination management devices and a software interface terminal;
• the figure 5 is a diagram of a first operating principle associated with a first variant of the management device of the climbing wall illumination according to the invention;
• the figure 6 is a diagram of a second operating principle associated with a second variant of the climbing wall illumination management device according to the invention.

Best way to realize the technical invention

With reference to Figures 1 and 2 , the device management 1 of the illumination of a climbing wall 2 comprises at least one transmission loop 3 arranged to be fixed to the rear of the wall 2, connected to an electrical network and able to emit an electromagnetic field through said wall 2, and a light socket 4 arranged to be fixed to the front of said wall 2 by means of fixing means 5 of the bolt or screw type for example, said socket 4 receiving an electronic card 6 comprising at least one light source 7 and a reception loop 8 adapted to receive said electromagnetic field emitted by the associated transmission loop 3 and to convert it into an electric current for supplying said light source 7.

The term "front" of the climbing wall 2 denotes the face facing the climber when the latter is about to climb said wall 2, and "back" the opposite face.

Because of the frequent removal / repositioning of sockets 4 for cleaning in particular, the use of a magnetic induction power supply is particularly suitable to overcome the disadvantages of wired power supply systems.

The skilled person will have no difficulty in determining the characteristics of the magnetic induction power supply to be implemented depending in particular on the nature and thickness of the wall 2.

For the same reasons, the electronic card 6 is preferably embedded in the resin of the socket 4 in order to make the whole waterproof and robust, said resin being conventionally of the orthophthalic or polyurethane polyester or epoxy type, for example, and becoming hard after molding.

However, insofar as the hard resin plugs do not allow to recover the electronic card 6 at the end of life for recycling, the electronic card 6 can be embedded in a portion of the socket 4 made of "soft" material, such as silicone for example, the flexible portion then being itself embedded in a harder resin. This variant embodiment not shown would facilitate the extraction of the electronic card 6, and therefore to consider the recycling thereof.

According to an alternative embodiment not shown, the electronic card 6 is embedded in an independent removable subassembly which will be inserted on the back of the socket 4, the latter comprising a reservation adapted to receive said subset. Moreover, as before, in order to facilitate the extraction of the electronic card 6, the latter may also be embedded in a portion of the subassembly made of "soft" material, such as silicone for example, the flexible portion then being then she herself drowned in a harder resin.

The skilled person will have no difficulty in determining the number and type of electronic components of the electronic card 6, so that they ensure the proper functioning of the socket 4 and are compatible with the chemical, thermal and mechanical constraints related to an integration in said socket 4.

However, to limit the effects of chemical and thermal constraints, the electronic card 6 may, prior to immersion in the socket 4 or in the subassembly, be cast in a protective resin. This resin can also soften the possible mechanical stresses during the solidification of the resin of the catches 4.

The light source 7 is advantageously a LED (Light Emitting Diode in English, light emitting diode in French) able to emit light of several different colors depending on the needs and routes to to mark. The use of LEDs also makes it possible to easily adjust the intensity of the luminous flux to adapt the management device 1 to the ambient lighting conditions.

Since the atmosphere near the wall 2 is laden with magnesia dust, each socket 4 is thus easily removable, allowing frequent cleaning in order to ensure the reliability and durability of said management device 1.

With reference to the figure 3 , an emission loop 3 may advantageously be associated with several reception loops 8 and thus with several sockets 4 to supply simultaneously several light sources 7. This configuration allows a great modularity of the wall 2 thanks to the variability of the position of the sockets 4 .

With reference to Figures 4 to 6 , the management device 1 also comprises a control box 9 able to activate the transmission loops 3 in order to switch on or off the light sources 7 of the sockets 4 and a software interface preferably operating from an interactive terminal 10 to manage the illumination of one or more channels.

However, the software interface can also be used on other hardware platforms with, for example, functional restrictions depending on the users.

Thus, a version of the mobile phone software interface, of the Smartphone type, will allow an opener to install the sockets alone in order to create new channels.

Likewise, a Smartphone / PC / interactive terminal version will allow you to visualize and choose lanes, and to save various parameters specific to climbers.

A PC version (Personal Computer in English) will be mainly dedicated to the computer of the manager of the climbing room equipped with the management device 1 according to the invention.

Finally, the software interface can be used for "announcement" screens placed in different parts of the room to communicate on the technical capabilities and functionality of the management device 1 and to present information on the other channels available in the room.

In order to ensure compatibility between the various platforms, the software interface is preferably implemented in the form of a web server embedded in said control box 9 of the light sources 7, said control box comprising a connection means 11 enabling at terminal 10 to be connected to the software interface embedded in said box via a wireless protocol, of the "WIFI" type for example, or via cables of the "ETHERNET" type, for example.

The software interface of the management device 1 makes it possible to graphically scroll the channels and the walls and, if the selected wall is not in use, to illuminate the programmed channels chosen on the wall concerned. The choice of a channel actuates the illumination of the light sources 7 concerned and advantageously an inaccessibility of all other channels using light sources 7 forming part of the chosen path.

The software interface advantageously makes it possible to time and record the time taken by a climber to achieve the chosen route. This last feature requires setting up a presence detector 12 of the climber on the electronic card 6 of the management device 1. The detection of the climber is advantageously of the magnetic type and may be associated with a bracelet comprising a magnet carried by the climber, said magnet modifying the magnetic field near the socket and allowing the detection of the presence of the climber. This detector is preferably a switch of the type with flexible blade (ILS or REED switch) for its life and reliability.

This feature further requires the establishment of a bidirectional link between the plug (s) 4 and the control box 9 of the light sources 7. This bidirectional link advantageously uses radio frequencies.

With reference to the figure 5 , the electronic card 6 also comprises a regulator 13 and a microcontroller 14 allowing in particular the management of the identification information of the light source 7 and the associated socket 4. Indeed, when setting up new outlets 4 on the climbing wall 2 and / or when registering new tracks, the opener makes it possible, thanks to the presence detector 12, to allocate to each socket 4 the track recorded a unique identifier, said unique identifier for lighting the light source 7 only according to the needs, the chosen channel and the orders of the control box 9.

Similarly, with reference to figure 5 , the control box 9, which is connected to at least one transmission loop 3, also comprises a power supply 15 for supplying power to said transmission loop 3 and a microcontroller 16 for controlling the proper operation of the transmission device. management 1.

However, with reference to FIG. 6, to enable the timing function of the path, the electronic card 6 of the socket 4 and the control box 9 also each comprise a transceiver, preferably of the radiofrequency type, respectively 17, 18. Thus, when the climber is detected on the socket 4, the latter sends its unique identifier to the control box 9, thanks to their transceivers 17, 18 respectively.

Finally, with reference to figures 5 and 6 and with such a configuration, the management device 1 can operate according to at least two principles.

Thus, the first principle of operation, shown schematically on the figure 5 , provides three modes of operation: installation mode, operation mode and channel programming mode.

When the management device 1 is in installation mode, the transmission loops 3 are activated and the control box 9 sends an order indicating to any socket 4 entering into activity (power up) and detecting a climber to store a unique identifier contained in the order, said unique identifier then serving to respond only to specific orders associated with said unique identifier and sent by the control box 9. The take is then initialized and activated with an identifier and the opener can switch to take 4 next, and so on.

When the management device 1 is in use mode, the control box 9 of the light sources 7 activates the transmission loops 3 and the light sources 7 receive commands by demodulation of the signal received by the reception loop 8. If the order is a broadcast command or contains their identifier then the light sources 7 execute the order and light, otherwise the light sources 7 remain off in standby mode, corresponding to low consumption.

When the management device 1 is in channel programming mode allows an opener to create new channels, the software interface makes it possible to send a "broadcast" command to all the light sources 7 so that they are ready to receive and to memorize the identifier of the channel being programmed, if the presence detector 12 is activated by the opener. When the opener approaches his bracelet having a magnet for more than three seconds, it is detected, the plug 4 becomes active for the channel being programmed and then stores the channel identifier, contained in the "broadcast" command, in its memory of the identifiers for which it will have to perform an action. To indicate that it has taken into account its selection, take 4 can take a defined color. As long as channel programming mode is active, the opener can select and deselect a plug by "activating" or not its presence sensor. At the end of channel programming, the software interface sends a "broadcast" command at the end of channel programming in order to place the jacks 4 in use mode. Each socket 4 now knows whether or not it should make an order concerning the programmed channel in question, by searching in its memory for the channel identifier associated with the order it receives. Thus, if the channel identifier is present then it performs the requested action, otherwise it does nothing.

Finally, the second principle of operation, shown schematically on the figure 6 , provides four modes of operation: installation mode, operation mode, channel programming mode and timing mode. The first three modes of operation are identical to those described above.

On the other hand, when the management device 1 is in timing mode (the only mode that necessarily requires a bidirectional link), preferably of the radiofrequency type, when the climber is detected by the bracelet or the presence of the climber, the socket 4 sends its identifier and the presence information at the control box 9 of the light sources 7, by radiofrequency link, thanks to their transceivers 17,18 respectively. This bidirectional connection makes it possible in particular to determine the time between each tap 4 and the total duration of the channel.

However, insofar as the establishment of a bi-directional radiofrequency-type link would significantly increase the price of a tap 4 and thus of the management device 1, only the catches 4 likely to be in the first position of a course and in the last position of the track will be equipped with the bidirectional link, thus making it possible to carry out the timing of said track. To do this, it will be necessary to identify in the management device 1 the first and last tap of the channel concerned.

Description of other embodiments

According to a variant embodiment not shown, the device for managing the illumination of an artificial climbing wall according to the invention is associated, thanks to a bidirectional connection of the radiofrequency type, to a marker or identification tag (tag RFID) carried by each climber, said tag being preferably in the form of a bracelet.

Indeed, the transmission loop has the ability to communicate bidirectionally with the electronic card of each socket having at least one receiving loop but also with RFID tags and other RFID sensors.

This association allows an automatic identification of the climber by the transmission loop and the control box of the light sources.

The operating principles of the illumination management device and the software interface are not in question in their basic modes of operation, however the use of said management device is simplified because the passage through the software interface is no longer required.

Indeed, the openers can validate the addition of a catch to a route with the identification tag of the bracelet without having to connect with the software interface.

Similarly, users can choose not to go through the software interface and access a route directly by approaching their identification tag of a take. The routes to which said take belongs him are then proposed automatically and successively.

In addition, any user will see his statistics updated automatically, as soon as he is recognized on a route.

In multi-practice, this provides flexibility of use by automatically managing the update of profiles without return to the interactive terminal.

Possibility of industrial application

The management device 1 of the illumination according to the invention applies more particularly to the marking of the tracks on artificial climbing walls, but it can also be used to ensure the decoration / animation of the climbing room by the use of illumination sequences made for this purpose.

Finally, it goes without saying that the examples of management device 1 of the illumination according to the invention which have just been described are only particular illustrations, in no way limiting the invention.

Claims (13)

1. Illumination management device (1) intended for an artificial climbing wall (2) comprising at least one emission loop (3) arranged so as to be fixed to the rear of the wall (2) and able to emit an electromagnetic field through said wall (2), at least one luminous grip (4) arranged so as to be fixed to the front of said wall (2) and able to receive an electronic card (6) comprising at least one light source (7) and a reception loop (8) able to receive said electromagnetic field emitted by the associated emission loop (3) so as to convert it into electric current in order to power said light source (7), and un control housing (9) for the light source (7) being arranged so as to be connected to an electrical network so as to power said emission loop (3) with electric current and being able to send commands to manage the illumination of said light source (7).
2. Management device (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic card (6) comprises a presence detector (12) for a climber on the associated grip 4.
3. Management device (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the presence detector (12) is a reed switch associated with a magnet or an RFID reader associated with a tag, with the magnet or the tag having the form of a bracelet arranged to be worn by a climber.
4. Management device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the electronic card (6) comprises a regulator (13) and a microcontroller (14) that in particular allows for the management of identification information of the light source (7) and of the associated grip (4).
5. Management device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the electronic card (6) is embedded in the material of the grip (4).
6. Management device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the electronic card (6) is embedded in the material of an independent removable sub-assembly able to be inserted into the back of the grip 4.
7. Management device (1) according to any of claims 5 or 6, characterised in that the grip (4) or the sub-assembly comprises a portion made of flexible material in which the electronic card (6) is embedded.
8. Management device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the control housing (9) comprises an electrical power supply (15) in order to power said emission loop (3) with electric current and a microcontroller (16) making it possible to control the correct operation of the illumination device (1).
9. Management device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that it comprises a multiplatform software interface.
10. Management device (1) according to claim 9, characterised in that the software interface is carried out in the form of a built-in web server in said control housing (9) of the light sources (7).
11. Management device (1) according to claim 10, characterised in that it comprises at least one interactive terminal (10) that makes it possible to manage the illumination of one or several paths and in that the control housing (9) comprises a means for connecting (11) that allows the terminal (10) to be connected to the built-in software interface in said housing via a wireless protocol or via cables.
12. Management device (1) according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that it comprises a two-way connection between the grip or grips (4) and the control housing (9) of the light sources (7) that make it possible to time and to record the time takes to carry out the chosen path.
13. Management device (1) according to claim 12, characterised in that the two-way connection uses radiofrequencies and in that the electronic card (6) of the grip (4) and the control housing (9) of the light sources (7) each comprise an emitter-receiver, respectively (17, 18).

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