GB2404929A

GB2404929A - Handrail

Info

Publication number: GB2404929A
Application number: GB0319074A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael W Player
Original assignee: PIXIE DEVELOPMENTS Ltd
Current assignee: PIXIE DEVELOPMENTS Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-14
Filing date: 2003-08-14
Publication date: 2005-02-16
Also published as: GB0319074D0

Abstract

An illuminated safety handrail comprising an elongate hollow body 11 having a lengthwise extending portion formed from a translucent plastics material with elongate printed circuit board (PCB) 26 mounted therein and extending for the length of the body with an array of light emitting diodes (LED's) 29 spaced apart longitudinally of the PCB 26 for the length of the body 11. The LED 29 may be mounted on opposite sides of the PCP so that light projects in two opposing directions. Preferably, the hollow body 11 provides the external profile of a handrail having a wider top portion 12, a narrower bottom portion 13 with a waist 15 located at a mid-height location on the sides 14 of the body.

Description

1 2404929 Handrail

Field

This invention relates to handrails and in particular to safety rails of the type used in conjunction with facilities such as stairs, corridors or passageways, in particular in darkened or poorly illuminated facilities gf Invention Handrails are often provided as both a safety means and as a guide means in many I O facilities which are used by the public, such as theatres, cinemas, underground rail networks and installations, stations etc In the event of an emergency it Is possible that the main source of illumination in a particular facility may either fail or be deliberately switched off and replaced by low voltage low illumination safety lights In such circumstances, any safety handrail may be difficult to see and/or follow In facilities such as an underground portion of a railway network in the event of a breakdown or systems failure it may be necessary to disembark passengers from a train into dark rail tunnels in order lead them to safety In such circumstances any safety handrail provided at the side ofthe tunnel may be both difficult to locate and follow especially where the ground surface within the tunnel is uneven From US4367,5 l 7 it is known to provide a light emitting mounting brackets handrails JP1] 1] 7483 discloses a circular section hand rail having an optical fibre extending along its length within the rail and which is illuminated by a single light sour-cc at the end of the optical fibre A disadvantage OT'SUCh a system is that in the event of a failure ofthe single fight source the handrail is not easily located W00220390 discloses a method of illuminating a moving escalator handrail The present invention provides an illuminated handrail suitable for use in emergency situations in which the handrail may be the only light source.

Statements of Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a handrail comprising an elongate hollow body having at a lengthwise extending portion formed from a translucent plastics material, the hollow body having elongate printed circuit board (PCB) mounted therein which extends for the substantially the length of the body with an array of light emitting diodes (LED's) spaced apart longitudinally of the PCB for the length of the body Preferably, the I,ED's are mounted on opposite sides of the PCB for the length of the body so that light is projected in two opposing directions The outer shell of the hollow body provides the external profile of the handrail having a wider top portion and narrower bottom portion with the sides tapering to a waist located at a mid-height location between said top and bottom portions. The waist is located nearer to said bottom portion than to said top portion The PCB is mounted within the body between opposed pairs of inwardly projecting lugs, each pair of lugs forming a recess therebetween which accommodates an edge margin of the PCB The lugs are aligned with the waist The PCB divides the hollow body into two compartmcTIts separated by the double sided I'CB The bottom portion may be formed from a material having a higher light transmission than the top poT-tior By having the PCB nearer the bottom portion and/or providing a more transparent bottom portion' a higher proportion of the emitted light may be directed downwards to illuminate the ground or other surface for walking.

S The hollow body is preferably made by extrusion of a suitable plastics material, preferably a fire retardant material. An example of a suitable plastics material is a polycarbonate resin.

The LED's may be coloured according to whether they face upwards or downwards.

The handrail may be incorporated into a safety system including a power supply to the LED's and a power may be pulsed through the LED,s to indicate a preferred direction of travel to persons during an emergency.

Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. I is a cross-section through a handrail according to the present invention, Fig.2 is an isometric view of a PCB used in the handrail, Fig.3 is an isometric view of the hollow body ofthe handrail, and Fig.4 is an isometric view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

With reference to Figs. I to 3, there is shown a safety handrail 10 comprising a hollow elongate body 11 which formed from a suitable plastics material by extrusion. The extruded body 1 I forms the outer profile of the handrail and must have sufficient rigidity and strength to form a relatively rigid rail which can support the weight of a person who temporarily looses their footing. The plastics material is a translucent composition preferably a light diffuser grade of resin made fire retardant, preferably a polycarbonate resin composition The body 11 has a substantially constant wall thickness with a wider top portion 12, narrower bottom portion 13, and sides 14 tapering inwardly from both the top S and bottom portions to form a waist 15 On the inner surface of the hollow body 11 there is provided on each side 14 a pair of spaced apart lugs 2],22, or 23,24 which extend longitudinally of the body 11 The lugs 21,22, and 23 24 are located opposite each other adjacent the waist] 5 and extend inwardly of the body A gap 25 between the lugs 21,22, & 23,24 in each pair accommodates the edge margin of a PCB 26.

The PCB 26 also extends longitudinally of the hollow body 11 and is mounted in the opposed gaps 25 dividing the hollow body 11 into two chambers 31,32. The PCB 26 has an elongate base board 30 having two spaced apart copper strips 27,28 on each side thereof forming a DO voltage (typically 24volts DC) conductor and a ground conductor across which suitable LED's 29 are connected. The LED's are mounted on both sides ofthe base board 30 and may be spaced apart longitudinally by about 15mm The LED's 29 facing upwardly in the inner chamber may be coloured as is desired, and the LED's 29A facing downwards are preferably white so as to illuminate a walking area below the handrail when in use The PCB may comprise a plurality of elongate base boards arranged end to end and joined electrically The handrail may be extruded with different coloured potions, for example the bottom portion 13 could be a clear polycarbonate resin allowing good downwards illumination Long handrails may be formed from a plurality of hollow bodies 11 joined end to end, and which contain a plurality of base boards joined end to end The hand rail is mounted to a wall or other support using wall bracket secured to the lower portion of the hollow body 1 1, that below the waist 15 Such brackets may clamp against the tapering sides of the body below the waist The handrail illumination operates at low voltages and nominal power consumption can be provided by a 240/220 volts single phase mains supply which is transformed to a suitable I O DC supply for the PCB In the event of a power failure the handrail can be powered by stand-by generators or alternatively by re-chargeable batteries In emergency situations in such locations as underground tunnels the LED's can be activated to illuminated the rail and ground The LED's may be activated to provide a pulsed bar of light which moves in the direction of the nearest safe exit, assembly area or station In an alternative arrangement the PCB may be provided with a plurahty of rows of LED's on one or both sides therof, preferably a double row With reference to Fig 4, there is shown a farther embodiment of the Invention in which an extruded hollow body I I I is adapted to a shape for insertion in a co-operating recess 110 formed h1 an existing handrail 100 In this case, the PCB]26 has 1,F.D's 129 mounted On one side only, that is the upper side in use The PCB is mounted Internally in the body 111 in a gap formed between the bottom portion I 1 i and lugs 122,124 formed one on each side of the body and extending inwardly thereof

Claims

Claims 1. A handrail comprising an elongate hollow body having at a

lengthwise extending portion formed from a translucent plastics material, the hollow body having elongate printed circuit board (PCB) mounted therein and extending for the length of the body with an array of light emitting diodes (LED's) spaced apart longitudinally of the PCB for the length of the body 2 A handrail as claimed in Claim I, wherein the outer shell of the hollow body provides the external profile of a handrail having a wider top portion, a narrower bottom portion with a waist located at a mid-height location on the sides ofthe body between said top and bottom I O portions 3 A handrail as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the waist is located nearer to said bottom portion than to said top portion 4. A handrail as claimed in any one of Claims I to 3, wherein the LED's are mounted on opposite sides of the PCB for the length of the body so that light is projected in two opposing directions A handrail as claimed in any one of Claims I to 4, wherein the PCB is mounted within the body between opposed pairs of inwardly projecting lugs, each pair of lugs forming a recess therebetween which accommodates an edge margin of the PCB 6 A handrail as claimed hi Claim hen dependent upon Claim 4. wherein the PCF3 divides the body into two chambers with the LE-'D's on one side ot the PCB facing towards the top portion and LED's on the other side ot the PCB facing towards the bottom portion 7 A handrail as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6 when depending from Claim 2, wherein the lugs are located at the waist 8 A handrail as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 wherein the hollow body has a bottom portion formed from a material having a higher light transmission than the rest of the body 9 A handrail as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the light emitted by the LED's is coloured according to whether they face upwards or downwards.

l O l O A handrail and which is substantially as described herein with reference to Figs l to 3 of the drawings or Fig 4 of the drawings I l A safety handrail system including a handrail as claimed in any one of Claims I to 9 and further including a power source for the LED's and power is pulsed through the LED,s so as to indicate a preferred direction of travel to persons during an emergency