EP3022486B1 - Transportable and adaptable lighting system, and method for lighting a worksite on railway tracks using such a system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a portable and adaptable lighting system comprising on the one hand rechargeable batteries and on the other hand light tubes, each light tube being typically connected to a battery by an electric cable. The device according to the invention is particularly intended for the railway environment to provide adaptable lighting according to the various configurations of use envisaged, but its use is also conceivable outside this field.

One particularly targeted application is to provide lighting for intervention areas during night ballasting operations on railways. By this is meant particularly the work of setting up or renewal of track ballast, by means of trains work, called "ballast" with several hopper cars carrying hoppers of gravel, the gravel being poured on the tracks directly from said hoppers and therefore under the hoppers, then leveled, compacted etc. to form the ballast of the track. Several specific problems arise when carrying out such work. In the first place, they are usually done at night to minimize the inconvenience of using the lanes during the day. Each hopper car carries several hoppers, so several points of discharge of the ballast, and therefore several areas that it is necessary to illuminate, simultaneously or not, depending on the hoppers used. The train used can have many hopper cars, and therefore extend over considerable distances. For example a train ballast can have about twenty wagons and measure up to 300 m long. Most frequently, the ballasting operations take place in countryside areas that do not benefit from any lighting or energy source that can be used for site lighting, especially as the ballast train moves during the operation. The duration of each operation is relatively long, depending on the length of lane under intervention.

We already know, by US2010284178 , a lighting system comprising a housing with a rechargeable battery that can be fixed on a metal surface, for example a car, by magnets, and a lamp connected to the housing by a flexible tube for orienting the lamp in different positions by compared to the case. This system is intended to provide emergency lighting, and the connection of the lamp to the housing by a flexible tube allows only possible use, the lamp remaining permanently mechanically linked to the housing that serves as a support.

We also know, by DE9302706U1 a portable lighting system associating a battery pack and a lamp connected to the battery pack by a cable, but the means for supporting and fixing the box on the one hand and the lamp on the other hand are not intended to allow use in various configurations both for the temporary fixing of the housing and for maintaining the position in the lamp. We also know by US2012 / 0212942 a system comprising a carrying case with a rechargeable battery, and lamps that can be stored in the case or attached to a separate holder that can also be stored in the case.

This system has the advantage of offering a certain ease of transport, but remains bulky and does not allow to fix independently the case and the lamp or lamps on various support and various positions, as is the case in particular to ensure the lighting of the intervention zones during night ballasting operations on railways, the lighting means must be brought on site easily, positioned and fixed easily on wagons in the proper positions to ensure the best possible lighting, and be moved with the wagons without intervention of the operators to move the lighting.

The document WO 2009/043102 shows a light tube whose end is magnetized, so as to suspend the tube on a metal surface. However, the position of the tube necessarily remains vertical, which does not allow the complete choice of the position of the tube for optimal lighting.

The present invention aims to provide a lighting system adapted to address these various problems. The lighting means must be able to be installed quickly, and also quickly removed to be moved from one place to another on a wagon, or from one wagon to another, or from one train to another , and allow in the meantime to recharge the batteries. The lighting shall be capable of being oriented to allow optimum illumination of the track, and therefore both the batteries and the light sources must be able to be arranged and fixed in various places of the wagons, on zones of various geometrical configuration, or on supports other than wagons and also be hand-held, both for their transport and for possible use of local manual lighting. The lighting power must of course be sufficient, for example 1000 lm in white 6000 ° K, and the duration of the lighting must also be sufficient, for example of the order of four hours, involving holding the batteries of duration at least four hours in operation.

As already indicated, the portable lighting system must also be able to be used outside of its particular application in use fixed on ballast car, for example carried by hand, maintained temporarily on various types of supports, placed on the ground, etc. so as to offer maximum flexibility of use on site.

With these objectives in view, the subject of the invention is a transportable and adaptable lighting system comprising at least one autonomous assembly comprising a battery pack and a light tube connected to the battery pack by an electric cable, without any other mechanical connection, the block battery comprising, on the one hand, support means for the light tube and, on the other hand, a set of holding and fixing means comprising a handle for holding by hand, characterized in that the holding and fixing means comprise in in addition to magnets for attachment to metal surfaces, hook means for attachment to a wire or elongated element or to the edge of a wall, these holding and fixing means being arranged on the battery pack in a fixed manner and so as to allow direct use of any of these means without adaptation, and the light tube being rotatably mounted in magnet end supports s forming magnetic fixing means.

• sur une première face, préférentiellement une première grande face, les moyens de fixation à aimant,
• sur une seconde face, préférentiellement une seconde grande face, deux premiers moyens à crochets, situées encore préférentiellement au voisinage respectivement d'un grand côté et d'un petit côté de la seconde grande face, les premiers moyens à crochet étant agencés pour pouvoir être engagés sur un élément de type fil ou sangle ou encore sur le bord d'une paroi,

sur une troisième face, préférentiellement une première moyenne face, des seconds moyens à crochets agencés pour pouvoir être engagés sur un élément de type fil ou sangle ou encore sur le bord d'une paroi,
sur une quatrième face, préférentiellement une deuxième moyenne face, la poignée, qui peut aussi avantageusement être agencée pour servir de moyen de support du tube lumineux.According to preferred arrangements, the battery pack has a general rectangular parallelepiped shape having two large faces, two small faces and two medium faces, and presents:

• on a first face, preferably a first large face, the magnet attachment means,
• on a second face, preferably a second large face, two first hook means, preferably still located in the vicinity respectively of a large side and a small side of the second large face, the first hook means being arranged to be able to be engaged on a wire-like element or strap or on the edge of a wall,

on a third face, preferably a first average face, second hook means arranged to be engaged on a wire-like element or strap or on the edge of a wall,
on a fourth face, preferably a second average face, the handle, which can also advantageously be arranged to serve as a means of supporting the light tube.

One of the small faces will preferably be used for the electrical connections of the tube and the charger, as will be seen later, while the second small face will preferably be kept free so as to serve as a laying surface of the battery pack on the ground or on other substantially horizontal surfaces.

As will be understood from the foregoing, the battery pack according to the invention allows numerous options of installation, maintenance and fixation, thus allowing its use in many configurations of parts or bodies that can be used to support the block. battery, carrying itself, or not, according to the needs and possibilities, the light tube which is connected to it electrically. It will also be noted that, in certain configurations, a battery pack can be used to power several light tubes.

According to one particular arrangement, at least some of the hook means, for example the second hook means, are formed from blades having a flat portion attached to one side of the battery pack and folded to form said hook, and the magnets are integrated in said planar portions.

Very preferably, the light tubes are LED tubes, generally known elsewhere, comprising a plurality of LEDs distributed on an elongated flat support also for the electrical connection of said LEDs. In addition, these tubes are preferably rotatably mounted in magnetic end supports, thus allowing the magnetic attachment of the tubes to the walls of the wagons or other suitable elements, and allowing a pivoting orientation of the tube, for directing the lighting in such a way that desired, regardless of the inclination of the support wall.

According to an advantageous arrangement, the lighting system comprises storage cases arranged to each receive a predetermined number of light tubes and associated battery packs, the tubes being arranged substantially parallel in the same plane, and all the battery packs of a same case being then connected to be recharged simultaneously, from a single charging unit, external to said case or integrated therein. The number of tubes and battery packs contained in the same case preferably corresponds to the number of tubes necessary for lighting a car of the train ballast, so that a case corresponds to a wagon. For example, a case may typically contain four sets of light tubes and battery packs. Another advantage is that it is possible to use the case containing the plurality of light tubes as a more powerful lighting means, since concentrating on a reduced surface the light power of all the light tubes contained in the storage case.

According to another embodiment of the invention, each set light tube - battery pack also includes a radio receiver and a remotely controllable switch to remotely control the startup of the tubes and their extinction, individually or in groups. This particularly advantageous arrangement thus makes it possible to avoid long journeys along the train to control the lighting on each wagon or group of wagons, and thus makes it possible to easily extinguish the non-useful light tubes at a distance, thereby preserving their ability to illumination by avoiding unnecessary discharge of the batteries.

It will also be noted that, in order to facilitate the radio control of the light tubes while avoiding any disturbances that may be caused by the metal masses of the wagons or the environment in general, the radio receivers may be separated from the battery packs and connected to them or to the tubes by an extensible cable, for positioning the receivers in areas of better reception, independently of the situation of the tubes and battery packs. In such a case, the radio receivers may also include fixing magnets to enable their quick and easy installation.

The invention also relates to a lighting method of a railroad ballast yard, the ballast yard being made by means of a ballast train comprising a plurality of hopper cars containing the gravel intended to form the ballast, a method according to which a lighting system as defined above is used, is placed on each wagon a predetermined number, including four, of light tube-battery pack assemblies each provided with a radio remote control receiver, the tubes luminaires being fixed by means of their rotating magnet supports in the lower part of the wagons, and oriented so as to illuminate the working areas beneath the hoppers and their surroundings, and control by means of a radio transmitter the commissioning or stopping of a predetermined group of said sets corresponding to the wagons carrying the hoppers put in place; artwork.

According to a particular arrangement, typically corresponding to a train 300 m long, the sets of tubes and battery pack can be divided into four groups, respectively on each side of the train and for each half-train, ie half front and back half. Each group of tubes can be commissioned independently, easily and remotely, depending on the needs of the site, and avoiding leaving in service groups of useless light tubes. Of course, this provision is only an example and can be modified according to the needs and configuration of the site.

Other features and advantages will become apparent in the description that will be made of a light tube assembly and battery pack according to the invention, as well as a storage case for these sets and an example of use for a railway ballast operation.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un bloc batterie seul, conforme à l'invention,
• la figure 2 est une autre vue en perspective du bloc batterie, sous un angle de vue opposé à celui de la figure 1, et avec un tube lumineux maintenu sur le bloc batterie,
• les figures 3 et 4 sont des vues en coupe du bloc batterie selon un plan parallèle aux grandes faces du bloc et selon un plan orthogonal
• la figure 5 est une illustration d'un exemple d'implantation des blocs batteries et tubes lumineux sur un wagon d'un train ballastière,
• la figure 6 est un schéma d'ensemble montrant une répartition des groupes de tubes lumineux sur un tel train,
• la figure 7 illustre la possibilité d'utiliser le bloc batterie comme support du tube lumineux, posé sur le sol,
• la figure 8 illustre la possibilité d'utiliser le bloc batterie comme support du tube lumineux, tenu à la main d'un opérateur,
• la figure 9 illustre la possibilité d'attacher le bloc batterie à la ceinture d'un opérateur, qui tient seulement le tube lumineux à la main,
• la figure 10 représente une mallette de rangement et de transport d'un ensemble de plusieurs tubes lumineux avec leurs blocs batteries associés, et montrant la possibilité d'utiliser un tel ensemble comme source de lumière unitaire,
• la figure 11 est un schéma illustrant l'agencement des tubes et blocs batteries dans la mallette de rangement et les connexions électriques pour le rechargement des batteries.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

• the figure 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack alone, according to the invention,
• the figure 2 is another perspective view of the battery pack, from an angle of view opposite to that of the figure 1 , and with a luminous tube held on the battery pack,
• the Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views of the battery pack in a plane parallel to the large faces of the block and according to an orthogonal plane
• the figure 5 is an illustration of an example of implantation of battery packs and light tubes on a wagon of a ballast train,
• the figure 6 is an overall diagram showing a distribution of groups of light tubes on such a train,
• the figure 7 illustrates the possibility of using the battery pack as a support for the light tube, placed on the ground,
• the figure 8 illustrates the possibility of using the battery pack as a support for the light tube, held in the hand of an operator,
• the figure 9 illustrates the possibility of attaching the battery pack to the belt of an operator, who holds only the light tube by hand,
• the figure 10 represents a case for storing and transporting a set of several light tubes with their associated battery packs, and showing the possibility of using such a set as a unit light source,
• the figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the tubes and battery packs in the storage case and the electrical connections for recharging the batteries.

The battery pack 1 shown Figures 1 to 4 comprises a casing 10 of mechanically impermeable and mechanically resistant plastic and the various attacks likely to occur in the environment of ballast yards, typically able to meet the requirements Fires / Flames for use during tunnel work. A set of batteries 3 is disposed inside the housing 10, and connected to a connector 30 fixed to a small face 16. The housing also comprises an electronic circuit providing protection against overloads and short circuits, a protection in temperature, load indicator LEDs, and a general cut-off switch.

A light tube 2 is electrically connected to the connector 30 by an extensible cable 21.

The luminous tube 2 is a cylindrical LED tube, comprising, in a manner known per se, a plurality of LEDS assembled on a plate that printed circuit which also carries the electronic circuits for supplying and managing the LEDS. The tube 2 is rotatably mounted in two end supports 22 provided with magnets 23 arranged to allow the attachment of the tube on magnetic metal supports, typically sheets or steel profiles, while allowing the adjustment of the orientation of the tube. lighting by pivoting the tube in the supports.

The housing 10 has a parallelepipedal shape comprising two large opposite faces 11, 12, two middle faces 13, 14 and two small faces 15, 16.

A first average face 13 has a handle 41 for carrying the battery pack by hand. The handle is shaped so that it can also serve as a support for the light tube 2, which is then held tight between the elastic clips 42 formed on the handle. The shape and orientation of the handle is such that the light tube 2 is vertical when attached to the battery pack 1 and the latter is placed on the ground or other substantially horizontal surface, resting on its small face 15 , as shown figure 7 . Furthermore, for a simple transport, the block provided with the light tube held horizontally on the handle, can be easily carried with one hand, as shown figure 8 .

Metal blades 31 or other material, possibly elastically deformable, are fixed on the first major face 11 and magnets 32 are integrated in these plates. The platelets 31 are folded to extend substantially parallel to the second average face 14 and thus form hooks 33, adapted for example to suspend the housing on a cable, or on the edge of a plate, sheet etc. By using this mode of holding the battery pack, the light tube can be fixed elsewhere, with its own magnet attachment means, or be maintained on the handle of the block, then located below.

The magnets 32 are very powerful magnets, typically N50 class, allow the fixing of the battery pack on any magnetic medium, such as steel sheets or profiles, and particularly the constituent elements of a wagon of a ballast train, such as represented at figure 5 , or on metal poles of the wayside. The arrangement of the magnets on a face perpendicular to that comprising the handle and parallel to the general direction of the handle and therefore the tube, is particularly advantageous because it allows to orient the light tube, supported by the battery pack, vertically or horizontally or in any other position, by simply orienting the battery pack according to the proper inclination.

The battery pack also comprises other fixing means constituted by two hooks 51, 52 extending from the edges of the second large face 12, substantially parallel thereto. The hooks 51, 52 preferably extend respectively from two perpendicular edges of the large face 12, and are also elastic, to allow the attachment of the battery pack for example to the belt of an operator, the operator thus keeping hands free, and able to grasp and hold the light tube alone by hand, for directed spot lighting, as shown figure 9 .

The multiplicity of fixing possibilities has a great advantage in the case of lighting of a train ballast, because the type of fastener used will depend on where the light tube must be arranged to provide adequate lighting, which involves limitations to position the battery pack by staying close to the tube in Reasonable distance limits with respect to the length of the electrical connection cable 21. In other words, the battery pack can be fixed within a limited radius from the associated light tube, which means finding a suitable support whatever the configuration. environment, because the cars are not all identical, it may be necessary to temporarily place it in one place and then move it, etc. ... The many possibilities of fixing solve these problems by proposing many alternatives, whether by attachment by magnet, or hung on a cable or a sheet, etc.

The figure 5 is a typical example of maintenance on a hopper car 91 of light tubes and battery packs, and radio receivers 6 of the remote control, which are connected to the blocks by a cable and also attached to the car by magnets.

The scheme of the figure 8 represents a bale train 9 comprising several wagons 91, for example twenty wagons, extending over a distance 1 of approximately 300 meters. The light tubes, and their associated batteries, are located on the train before the ballasting operations. The battery-tube assemblies are divided into four groups G1 to G4, each comprising about twenty sets, each group covering a length of 150 m. At the site, it is possible to control by radio by means of the remote control switch of each set the commissioning or the extinction of each of these groups independently. Of course, it would be possible to organize the sets differently. We can thus, account Given the needs of the site, optimize the lighting by keeping off the tubes that have no immediate utility, while allowing their very quick commissioning. This saves the energy available in batteries, the size of which must remain relatively small for reasons of ease of transport and handling.

By way of example, LEDS light tubes have a length of 60 cm and a power of 10 W for a clearly 1290 lm / m, and LiFeO4 type batteries have a weight of 0.7 kg and a capacity of 4.2 A / H, giving a range of about 4 hours of lighting or more.

The luminous tubes can also be declined in several colors, typically red and blue, to ensure in addition to the actual lighting, a function of signage of the works of ways.

The figure 10 represents a case 7 for storage and transport comprising four sets of light tubes 2 and associated battery packs 1. The case 7 is designed to receive the tubes 2 arranged parallel in the same plane, and can thus be a unit lighting combining that of the four tubes, in other words a powerful light source for particular applications. Moreover, as illustrated in the diagram of the figure 11 , the case 7 comprises the connections 71 adapted to allow the charging of the batteries of the four blocks 1 simultaneously, and can be automatically connected during the introduction of battery packs in the case, the charger 72 can be integrated into the case or, as in the example shown, outside the case. In addition to such cases or bags of equivalent functionalities, there are also provided charging stations on wheels allowing on the one hand a transport more easy said bags or briefcases and simultaneously recharge many batteries.

Claims (9)

1. Transportable and adaptable lighting system comprising at least an autonomous assembly including a battery unit (1) and a light tube (2) connected to the battery unit by an electrical cable (21), with no mechanical links, the battery unit (1) including, on the one hand, support means (41, 42) for the light tube and, on the other hand, a set of holding and attaching means comprising a handle (41) for a hand grip, characterised in that the holding and attaching means also comprise magnets (32) for attachment to metallic surfaces, hook means (33, 51, 52) for attachment to a wire or elongated element or to the edge of a wall, these holding and attaching means being arranged on the battery unit in a fixed manner and in a manner to allow direct use of any of these means without adaptation and the light tube (2) being rotatively mounted in magnetised end supports (22) forming magnetic attachment means.
2. System according to claim 1, characterised in that the battery unit (1) has a general rectangular parallelepiped shape with two large faces (11, 12), two small faces (15, 16) and two medium faces (13, 14) and has on a first face, preferentially a first large face (11), magnetised attachment means (32), on a second face, preferentially a second large face (12), two first hook means (51, 52) arranged to be engaged on a wire or belt type element or on the edge of a wall, on a third face, preferentially a first medium face (14), second hook means (33), and on a fourth face, preferentially a second medium face (13), the handle (41).
3. System according to claim 1, characterised in that the handle (41) is arranged to act as support means for the light tube (2).
4. System according to claim 1, characterised in that at least certain hook means (33) are formed from blades (31) comprising a flat part added to a face (11) of the battery unit and folded to form said hooks, and the magnets (32) are integrated into said flat parts.
5. System according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises storage cases (7) arranged to each accommodate a predetermined number of light tubes (2) and associated battery units (1), the tubes being arranged substantially parallel in a given plane.
6. System according to claim 5, characterised in that all the battery units (1) of a given case (2) are connected so that they can be recharged simultaneously by a common charger (72).
7. System according to claim 1, characterised in that each light tube-battery block assembly also comprises a radio receiver (6) and a remote controllable switch.
8. System according to claim 1, characterised in that the light tubes (2) are LED tubes.
9. Lighting process for ballasting work on railway tracks, the ballasting work being done by means of a ballast train (9) comprising a plurality of hopper wagons containing gravel intended to form the ballast, process according to which a lighting system such as defined in any one of the previous claims is used, a predetermined number, notably four, of autonomous assemblies comprising a light tube (2) and a battery unit (1), each equipped with a remote controlled radio receiver (6), is placed on each wagon, the light tubes (2) being attached by means of their supports (22) with magnets (23) at the lower part of the wagons and oriented to illuminate the work areas located under the hoppers and around the hoppers, and the starting or stopping of a predetermined group (G1 to G4) of said assemblies, corresponding to the wagons carrying the hoppers used, are controlled by means of a radio transmitter.

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