WO2004097116A1

WO2004097116A1 - Replaceable transparent foot block with warning and guiding function

Info

Publication number: WO2004097116A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/000790
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chul-Yong Kim; Chul-Won Kim
Original assignee: Chul-Yong Kim; Chul-Won Kim
Priority date: 2003-04-29
Filing date: 2004-04-06
Publication date: 2004-11-11

Abstract

Disclosed is a replaceable transparent foot block, which is capable of warning and guiding people, such as the disabled, under emergency situations, and is easy to be managed and has improved appearance and advertisement effect. The foot block includes an embossed top sheet that is made of a transparent material to enhance the advertisement effect. A guide plate is fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet and painted with an eye-catch color such as yellow. In addition, the foot block is printed with a figure or sign for guiding people or accomplishing the advertisement effect according to intended use.

Description

REPLACEABLE TRANSPARENT FOOT BLOCK WITH WARNING AND GUIDING

FUNCTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a replaceable transparent foot block for warning and guiding people under emergency situations.

• Background Art

To guide the visually impaired, such as people with blindness or color blindness (achromatopsia) , conventional foot blocks have embossed sheets thereon or painted with colors capable of being perceived by color-the blind. However, there are disadvantages in these foot blocks, as follows . The conventional foot blocks require high costs when installed in public or private places or buildings, and is difficult to be managed because of being often partially destroyed or lost after installed.

In detail, the current statute associated with foot blocks, in Korea, provides that a foot block to guide people under emergency situations should be produced as a 300x300-mm-wide board-type structure, on an upper surface of which an embossed sheet with a plurality of flat hemispherical embossments is formed and which is painted with a color distinguishable from the surroundings. In this regard, all of the conventional foot blocks in present installed in public places or buildings are painted yellow, the most attractive color, and are made of an opaque material, such as concrete or metals. However, since the conventional foot blocks are easily changed and/or contaminated in the yellow color especially in outdoors, they should be replaced with new ones as time goes by. In case of being applied to indoors, the uniformly embossed yellow foot blocks typically do not suit with a variety of floors with tiles or other finishing materials, appearance of which is important. For this reason, they are not preferred in hotels, shopping malls and other public places . In addition, since the conventional foot blocks are difficult to be managed after installed and easily changed and/or contaminated in the yellow color, leading to significant damage to the appearance of the foot blocks, they must be removed and discarded with time, thus resulting in increased maintenance costs of the foot blocks.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a replaceable foot block for warning people under emergency situations, which is installed anywhere or in buildings while not forcing any existing structures in the places or the buildings to be changed, by introducing thereinto both an embossed top sheet that is made of a transparent material easy to be installed in the places or the buildings and an attractive color-painted guide plate that is provided under the embossed top sheet.

In addition, it is another object of the present invention to provide a foot block for • guiding people during emergency situations, which guides, in particular, people with visual disabilities when installed in buildings or outdoors, or guides people to a safe place during emergency situations, such as fire or power stoppage, and which is easy in management and improved in appearance, quality and advertisement effect thereof.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is an exploded sectional view of a foot block according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the foot block of FIG.

1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the foot block of FIG. 1, which has been installed on a support surface; FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of a foot, which includes a hard layer on an upper surface thereof according to a first modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a foot block, which includes a U-shaped reinforcing part according to a second modification of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the foot block of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a foot block according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which includes a plurality of flat longitudinal semi-tubular embossments on an upper surface thereof; FIG. 8 is an exploded sectional view of a foot block according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which has been installed on a support surface;

FIG. 9 is an exploded sectional view of the foot block of FIG. 7, which has been installed on a support surface without use of a fixation unit;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a plurality of the foot blocks of FIG. 8, which have been installed on a support surface;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of a foot block according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. .12 is a sectional view of the foot block of FIG. 11; and FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a foot block, which includes an adhesion layer according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a foot block, including an embossed top sheet that is made of a transparent material and a guide plate that is provided under the embossed top sheet, wherein the guide plate is painted with an attractive color and printed with a guide figure or sign.

The transparent material of the embossed top sheet is a synthetic resin that forms a laminated sheet, but any materials may be used as the material of the embossed top sheet in the present invention as long as they have properties of being transparent, resistant to atmospheric corrosion and endurable. A plurality of embossments are formed on an upper surface of the laminated top sheet at regular intervals to produce the embossed top sheet. The guide plate is painted with a color distinguishable from the surroundings and printed on an upper surface thereof with a sign, for example, crossing" or "road".

The foot block of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, as follows. FIG. 1 shows an overall construction of the foot block according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the foot block of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the foot block of FIG. 1, which has been installed on a support surface.

The foot block according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a transparent embossed top sheet A having a plurality of flat hemispherical embossments 2 that are arranged in a plurality of lines at regular intervals on an upper surface of the top sheet A. A guide plate B is fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet A and includes a painted layer 12 on an upper surface thereof. The foot block further includes a fixation unit C to immobilize both the embossed top sheet A and the guide plate B on a support surface at each of four corners of the embossed top sheet A.

In the foot block according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the transparent embossed top sheet A, as shown in FIG. 2, includes the embossments 2 that are arranged at regular intervals, thereby guiding the visually impaired to a desired place or a safe place during ^■ an emergency situation.

To maintain the transparency of the embossed top sheet A for longer periods, the embossed top sheet A, as shown in FIG. 4, may include a hard layer 3 on the upper surface thereof. The hard layer 3 may be formed by coating the upper surface of the embossed top sheet A with a liquid coating agent, such as Teflon that is composed of a fluorine resin, thereby offering an abrasion resistance to the foot block when it is installed, especially outdoors where numerous pedestrians pass .

The guide plate B is preferably painted yellow, thus generating the painted layer 12. Preferably, in addition to a pigment, the painted layer 12 includes a light accumulation material, thereby allowing the foot block to emit light for a predetermined period during an emergency situation, such as power stoppage.

In addition, the foot block may include a light reflection layer 13 that is provided on a lower surface of the guide plate B. Along with the painted layer 12, the light reflection layer 13 functions to draw the attention of people, for example, drivers far away, by reflecting light radiated from automobiles, especially at night. Thus, the foot block possesses an excellent function to bring a person' s notice by both the painted layer 12 and the light reflection layer 13.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the foot block may further include a reinforcing part 15, which has a U-shaped cross- section and surrounds an edge of the embossed top sheet A.

The reinforcing part 15 is formed by bending a stainless or aluminum plate that is highly resistant to corrosion, while surrounding the edge of the embossed top sheet A and defining a space 16 between the embossed top sheet A and the reinforcing part 15. The guide plate B is inserted into the space 16 defined between the embossed top sheet A and the reinforcing part 15. That is, the reinforcing part 15 allows the guide plate B to be inserted into and removed from the foot block of the present invention, as desired. Thus, an existing guide sign or advertisement sign may be easily replaceable with another one according to the intended use at a state of being printed on the guide plate. For more effective alarming or guiding function, in addition to the painted layer 12 of the guide plate B, on the upper surface of the embossed top sheet A, another figure or sign may be printed, or another painted layer may be formed. This figure or sign printed on the embossed top sheet A has an additional effect to draw the attention of people, when introduced into the foot block along with both the light reflection layer 13 and the guide plate B.

With reference to FIG. 7, a replaceable foot block according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes a transparent embossed top sheet A having a plurality of flat longitudinal semi-tubular embossments 2 that are arranged in a plurality of rows at regular intervals on an upper surface of the top sheet A. A guide plate B is fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet A and includes a painted layer 12 on an upper surface thereof. An adhesion layer 17 is provided on a lower surface of each of both the embossed top sheet A and the guide plate B to attach the embossed top sheet A to the guide plate B and fix the guide plate B to the support surface. The foot block according to the second embodiment further includes a fixation unit C to immobilize both the embossed top sheet A and the guide plate B on a the support surface at each of four corners of the embossed top sheet A.

Since the embossments 2 arranged in the lows have a longitudinal semi-tubular shape, as shown in FIG. 7, the foot block according to the second embodiment of the present invention is more effective in guiding, especially, the blind.

With reference to FIG. 10, a replaceable foot block according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a transparent embossed top sheet A having a plurality of embossments 2 that are arranged in a plurality of rows at regular intervals on an upper surface of the top sheet A. A guide plate B is fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet A and includes a painted layer 12 on an upper surface thereof. The foot block according to the third embodiment further includes a fixation unit C to immobilize both the embossed top sheet A and the guide plate B on a support surface at each of four corners of the embossed top sheet A. A light-emitting layer D is provided on a lower surface of the guide plate B and is electrically connected to an electric power source 25, for example, for traffic signals or street lamps, through an electric wire 23 and a controller 24.

The light-emitting layer D serves as a electric luminescence by emitting light using electric power supplied from the electric power source 25, thereby allowing people, including the disabled, to recognize a desired direction and danger even at night. In addition, for advertisement purposes, the light-emitting layer D may be printed with an advertisement sign or figure thereon.

Preferably, a solar power generation apparatus 29, which is equipped with a solar cell, may be used with or instead of the electric power source 25 (see, FIG.10) . Therefore, if equipped with both the solar power generation apparatus 29 and a proper battery, the foot block may more effectively execute its functions to alarm danger or guide people during an emergency situation even when the electric power supply is stopped or any electric power source is not available because of being installed at a distant place.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the foot blocks according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention may be installed on existing foot blocks by employing the adhesion layers 16 without use of the fixation units C, such as anchor bolts, and without civil engineering works, such as work for removal of the existing food blocks. In particular, the employment of the adhesion layers 16 simplifies the installation of the foot blocks on a variety of tiles or floor finishings indoors.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, a replaceable foot block according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention includes a transparent embossed top sheet A having a plurality of embossments 2 that are arranged in a plurality of rows at regular intervals on an upper surface of the top sheet A. A guide plate B is fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet A and includes a painted layer 12 on an upper surface thereof. A bottom sheet E is integrated with the embossed top sheet A into a single structure, with a space 22 defined between the embossed top sheet A and the bottom sheet E. An insert hole 26 is provided at an edge of the embossed top sheet A. Through the insert hole 26, the guide plate B is inserted into the space 22 and drawn out from the space 20 according to the intended use, thereby allowing for its exchange to another one. The foot block according to the fourth embodiment further includes a fixation unit C to immobilize both the embossed top sheet A and the guide plate B on a support surface at each of four corners of the embossed top sheet A. With reference to FIG. 13, a replaceable foot block according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention includes an adhesion layer 27 that is provided on a lower surface of the bottom sheet E. The adhesion layer 27 allows the replaceable foot block to be installed on a support surface without use of a fixation unit. Industrial Applicability

As described hereinbefore, the foot block of the present invention overcomes the limitation of conventional concrete, synthetic resin or metal foot blocks in expression with guide figures or signs by introducing a guide plate thereinto, wherein the guide plate is printed with various guide figures or signs. Thus, the foot block of the present invention is not particularly restricted in installation places. In addition to the guide figures or signs, the guide plate may be printed with advertisement figures or signs . Thus, company capitals are attracted due to the advertisement effect of the foot block, and the foot block can be installed for the disabled, in particular, the visually impaired, with relatively low costs.

The foot block of the present invention has a further advantage, as follows. Since the embossed top sheet and the guide plate can be repeatedly installed and removed by using the fixation units, an old foot block can be replaced with a new one by a simple work, unlike the conventional foot blocks requiring complex works, such as preparation of concrete.

Due to the guide plate's properties of reflecting light or emitting light at night, the foot block can be used to guide the disabled, as well as to guide people during an emergency situation, such as fire or electric power stoppage.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A replaceable transparent foot block for warning and guiding people under emergency situations, comprising: a transparent embossed top sheet comprising a plurality of embossments that are arranged in a plurality of lines at regular intervals on an upper surface of the embossed top sheet; a guide plate fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet and comprising a painted layer on an upper surface thereof; and a fixation unit to immobilize both the embossed top sheet and the guide plate on a support surface at each of corners of the embossed top sheet.

2. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 1, wherein the embossed top sheet comprises a hard layer on the upper surface thereof.

3. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 1, wherein the painted layer of the guide plate contains a light accumulation material.

4. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a light reflection layer that is provided on a lower surface of the guide plate.

5. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing part that has a U-shape cross-section and surrounds an edge of the embossed top sheet, with a space defined between the embossed top sheet and the reinforcing part, wherein the guide plate is inserted into the space.

6. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a painted layer that is provided on the upper surface of the embossed top sheet.

7. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 1, wherein the embossments of the embossed top sheet has a longitudinal semi-tubular shape.

8 A replaceable transparent foot block for warning and guiding people under emergency situations, comprising: a transparent embossed top sheet comprising a plurality of embossments that are arranged in a plurality of lines at regular intervals on an upper surface of the embossed top sheet; a guide plate fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet and comprising a painted layer on an upper surface thereof; and an adhesion layer provided on a lower surface of each of both the embossed top sheet and the guide plate to attach the embossed top sheet to the guide plate and fix the guide plate to a support surface.

9. A replaceable transparent foot block for warning and guiding people under emergency situations, comprising: a transparent embossed top sheet comprising a plurality of embossments that are arranged in a plurality of rows at regular intervals on an upper surface of the top sheet; a guide plate fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet and comprising a painted layer on an upper surface thereof; a fixation unit to immobilize both the embossed top sheet and the guide plate on a support surface at each of corners of the embossed top sheet; and a light-emitting layer provided on a lower surface of the guide plate and electrically connected to an electric power source through an electric wire and a controller.

10. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 9, further comprising a solar power generation apparatus that is equipped with a solar cell to convert solar energy into electric energy, and is connected to the electric wire.

11. A replaceable transparent foot block for warning and guiding people under emergency situations, comprising: a transparent embossed top sheet having a plurality of embossments that are arranged in a plurality of rows at regular intervals on an upper surface of the top sheet; a guide plate that is fixed to a lower surface of the embossed top sheet and includes a painted layer on an upper surface thereof; a bottom sheet is provided at a integral state with the embossed top sheet, with a space defined between the embossed top sheet and the bottom sheet, wherein the guide plate is inserted into the space; and a fixation unit to immobilize both the embossed top sheet and the guide plate on a support surface at each of four corners of the embossed top sheet.

12. The replaceable transparent foot block as set forth in claim 11, further comprising an adhesion layer provided on a lower surface of the bottom sheet to fix the bottom sheet to a support surface.