GB2263008A

GB2263008A - Escape route guidance system

Info

Publication number: GB2263008A
Application number: GB9204816A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Derek Anthony Jones
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-12-31
Filing date: 1992-03-06
Publication date: 1993-07-07
Also published as: GB9204816D0; GB9127511D0

Abstract

A guidance system, particularly for guiding persons to a fire exit under conditions of darkness or poor visibility, comprises tactile guiding strips (3a, 3b) mounted along the walls of the building at a convenient height. The strips comprise lengths of fabric pile where the pile is inclined in a direction towards the fire exit 2. The pile therefore feels smooth when a hand is passed over it in a direction towards the fire exit, but feels rough when the hand is moved in a direction away from the fire exit. In conditions of poor visibility a person may thus find the fire exit by following the "smooth" direction of the strip. Other forms of surface shape or texturing may be employed to give the strip a different feel in opposite directions. <IMAGE>

Description

guidance System" The present invention relates to a guidance system for guiding people to a destination, particularly for guiding people to fire exits in conditions of low or nil visibility or for guiding blind people.

Guidance systems commonly used for indicating the direction in which people should move to a fire exit in buildings and transport vehicles, such as planes and boats, involve the use of illuminated signs or a sequence of bulbs on the floor. These work to some extent but are useless if the power supply to these devices fails or if the visibility is very poor, for example due to the presence of dense smoke. These systems are relatively costly to install and require frequent testing, and are also obviously unsuitable for blind persons. The present invention seeks to provide a guidance system which is touch sensitive to enable persons to feel their way to a destination such as a fire exit.

According to the invention there is provided a guidance system for guiding persons from a location to a required destination, comprising tactile guiding elements mounted along a route between the location and the destination in a position where such elements may be touched by a person travelling along that route, the elements being textured and/or shaped such that there is a difference in feel between passing a hand over an element in a direction towards the destination and passing a hand over the element in a direction away from the destination.

In a preferred embodiment said elements are elongate elements which extend in the direction of the route. The elongate elements may be integral with one another so as to form a substantially continuous strip, or may be separate elements mounted adjacent one another endto-end to form a substantially continuous strip.

Each elongate elements may be flexible and may be supported on an elongate substantially rigid holding plate. In this case the longitudinal side edges of the elongate element may be engaged by longitudinal side flanges on the holding plate. Cushioning material may be provided between the elongate element and the holding plate.

In any of the above arrangements each element may be formed with a pile which extends from a base and is inclined in a direction having at least a component extending longitudinally of the element.

Alternatively the elements may be formed with projections each having, on one side, a surface inclined at a shallow angle to the longitudinal direction of the element, and, on the opposite side, a surface inclined at a substantially greater angle to the longitudinal direction of the element. For example, each projection may be generally semi-conical in shape, or wedge-shaped.

In another arrangement the elements are -formed with raised projections in the form of pointers.

The elements are preferably formed from fireproof material.

The invention includes within its scope a set of parts for use in a guidance system and comprising a number of tactile guiding elements of any of the kinds defined above, and means for mounting said elements to a wall, floor, ceiling or other support.

The following is a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a guidance system according to the invention in use in a hotel corridor; Figure 2 shows one form of strip material suitable for use in the invention; Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the strip of Figure 2 in a holding plate; Figures 4 to 6 are cross-sectional views of alternative forms of strip and holding plate; and Figures 7 to 9 are perspective views of alternative forms of strip material suitable for use in the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a schematic view of one side of a typical hotel corridor 1 with a plurality of rooms 98, 99 and rooms 101 to 104 on either side respectively of a fire exit 2. In the event of a fire, residents of the hotel would need to make their way to the fire exit 2. Those in rooms 98, 99 would need to move to the right (as viewed in the drawing) and those in rooms 101 to 104 would need to move to the left.

In accordance with the invention, two substantially continuous strips of material 3a, 3b extend from opposite directions towards the fire exit 2, at a convenient height where they may be continuously touched by a person walking along the corridor. Each strip extends across each room door as well as along the wall between the doors. There is, of course, a break between each strip of material on a door and the strips of material on the adjacent walls, so that the door may be opened. As more fully described in relation to Figures 2 to 9, each strip of material is textured so that there is a difference in feel when a hand passes over it in one direction than when a hand passes over it in the opposite direction. Residents in the hotel would be informed of the texture they should feel when moving in the correct direction towards the fire exit.The strip 3a will be mounted to lead residents from left to right and strip 3b will be mounted the opposite way round to lead residents from right to left.

Referring now to Figure 2, the strip material may be textured by being in the form of a fibre pile 5 with each fibre projecting in an inclined direction from a base 6 as shown. Movement of a hand over the pile in the direction of inclination of the fibres would tend to flatten the fibres and make the pile feel smooth.

Movement of a hand against the inclined direction of the fibres, however, would make the pile rise and feel rough.

The strip material of Figure 2, if used as the strip 3a, 3b in Figure 1, might be mounted so that the inclined fibres in each strip point in the direction of fire exit 2 (i.e. the fibres of strip 3a would point to the right whereas the fibres of strip 3b would point to the left.) Residents in the hotel would be advised that in the case of fire, they should follow the strip in the direction that the strip feels smooth.

The strip material may be manufactured in a similar manner to artificial turf. Alternatively, it may comprise any commercially available conventional carpeting material of the kind in which the pile has a distinctive direction of inclination which may be readily felt by the hand.

The strip material of Figure 2 may be fixed directly to a wall or door, e.g. with fasteners such as screws or clips, or adhesive. Alternatively, at the point of manufacture, the base 6 may be mounted in an elongate holding plate 7, e.g. of extruded plastics or metal, as shown in Figure 3. In this case the base 6 and holding plate 7 can be secured to a wall or door, e.g. by fasteners such as screws or clips, or adhesive.

Referring now to Figure 4, as an alternative to the arrangement in Figure 3, and at the point of manufacture, the base 6 of the strip may be held in an elongate channel-shaped holding plate 8, with a cushion layer 9 (e.g. of foam rubber material) interposed between the base 6 and the plate 8. This provides a more comfortable feel to the pile 5 and greater depth and contour to the strip. The base 6, plate 8, and cushion layer 9 can again be secured to a wall or door by fasteners such as screws or clips, or adhesives.

Referring to Figures 5 and 6, instead of the base 6 being mounted in the holding plate 7 or 8 at the point of manufacture, as described with reference to Figures 3 and 4, a plate 10 or 11 may be secured first to the wall or door, e.g. by fasteners such as screws or clips, or adhesive. The base 6 is then inserted and secured to the plate, for example by an adhesive, or by deforming the side flanges 12 of the plate inwardly. This may make installation easier and more sightly.

Referring to Figures 7, 8 and 9 there are shown alternative forms of strip material to that shown in Figure 2.

In the strip of Figure 7 a base 13 is textured by being formed with a plurality of semi-conical projections 14, in somewhat similar fashion to a cheese grater. The semi-conical surfaces are inclined at a shallow angle to the length of the strip, and this makes the projections 14 feel smooth when the hand passes over them in one direction. However the other surface of each projection, being inclined at a substantially greater angle, i.e. about 90 , makes the projections feel rough when the hand passes over them in the other direction. A person can follow the smooth direction.

In the strip of Figure 8 a base 15 is textured by being formed with a plurality of arrow head projections 16. A hand passing over the arrow heads can feel the direction they point in, and a person can follow that direction. Other projections in the shape of pointers may be employed, provided that they feel different in different directions.

In the strip of Figure 9 a base 17 is textured by being formed with a plurality of wedges 18. The wedges 18 feel rough when the hand passes in one direction and smooth when the hand passes in the other direction. A person can follow the smooth direction.

The strip material shown in Figures 7 to 9 can be made of any suitable material e.g. plastics or metal, or flock on parchment strip like wallpaper.

The strip materials described above can be mounted at approximately waist height, as shown in Figure 1, on the doors and walls. The strip might also, however, be mounted on the floor or at a different height on the wall and may also be placed to guide people around furniture and other obstacles. The strip material may also be of fire-resistant material and be made in a variety of colours and designs to give directional information by sight as well as by touch.

While the guide system has been illustrated as used in a hotel, it will be appreciated that it may be used in other buildings such as offices, houses, apartment blocks, stations and airports, or in transport vehicles such as aircraft, boats and coaches. It may also be used for purposes other than indicating a fire escape route, for example it may be provided to enable blind persons to find their way to any destination.

In all of the above arrangements the strips, and plates, may be supplied in standard lengths. The holding plates, such as 7, 8, 10 and 11, may comprise rigid lengths, and the strips, such as 6, 13, 15, 17, may be supplied in coils or rolls, when supplied separately from the plates. Alternatively, each rigid plate may be supplied pre-fitted with its length of strip. For convenience, one standard length might be such as to fit across the width of a standard door, to keep cutting to a minimum.

Although the strips are preferably mounted so as to provide a substantially continuous strip surface, the invention does not exclude arrangements where the end of one strip is spaced a short distance from the beginning of the next strip, provided that the distance is only such that a person's hand continuing to move in the same direction must inevitably come into contact with the next strip.

Claims

1. A guidance system for guiding persons from a location to a required destination, comprising tactile guiding elements mounted along a route between the location and the destination in a position where such elements may be touched by a person travelling along that route, the elements being textured and/or shaped such that there is a difference in feel between passing a hand over an element in a direction towards the destination and passing a hand over the element in a direction away from the destination.

2. A guidance system according to Claim 1, wherein said elements are elongate elements which extend in the direction of the route.

3. A guidance system according to Claim 2, wherein said elongate elements are integral with one another so as to form a substantially continuous strip.

4. A guidance system according to Claim 2, wherein said elongate elements are separate elements mounted adjacent one another end-to-end to form a substantially continuous strip.

5. A guidance system according to any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein said elongate elements are flexible.

6. A guidance system according to Claim 5, wherein each elongate element is supported on an elongate substantially rigid holding plate.

7. A guidance system according to Claim 6, wherein the longitudinal side edges of the elongate element are engaged by longitudinal side flanges on the holding plate.

8. A guidance system according to Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein cushioning material is provided between the elongate element and the holding plate.

9. A guidance system according to any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein said elements are each formed with a pile which extends from a base and is inclined in a direction having at least a component extending longitudinally of the element.

10. A guidance system according to any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein said elements are formed with projections each having, on one side, a surface inclined at a shallow angle to the longitudinal direction of the element, and, on the opposite side, a surface inclined at a substantially greater angle to the longitudinal direction of the element.

11. A guidance system according to Claim 10, wherein each projection is generally semi-conical in shape.

12. A guidance system according to Claim 10, wherein each projection is generally wedge-shaped.

13. A guidance system according to any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein said elements are formed with raised projections in the form of pointers.

14. A guidance system according to any of Claims 1 to 13, wherein said elements are formed from fire-proof material.

15. A set of parts for use in a guidance system and comprising a number of tactile guiding elements as defined in any of the preceding claims, and means for mounting said elements to a wall, floor, ceiling or other support.

16. A guidance system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of Figures 1 to 9 of the accompanying drawings.