WO2005093678A1

WO2005093678A1 - Emergency guidance system

Info

Publication number: WO2005093678A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/000837
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gi-Su Hwang
Original assignee: Gi-Su Hwang
Priority date: 2004-03-25
Filing date: 2005-03-23
Publication date: 2005-10-06
Also published as: KR200353351Y1

Abstract

The present invention provides an emergency guidance system which guides people under emergency conditions, such as a fire or the interruption of electric power. More particularly, the emergency guidance system of the present invention is installed in a subway station or a building and is designed such that a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) (7) sequentially flashes in the direction of an exit. Furthermore, the present invention includes a power charging condenser (8). Therefore, even if power is interrupted, the emergency guidance system can be operated for a predetermined time, thus indicating to people the direction of a desired location.

Description

[DESCRIPTION]

[invention Title] EMERGENCY GUIDANCE SYSTEM

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to an emergency guidance system which has a good appearance and lets people quickly know the location of an exit, and which does not require separate power generating equipment, thus it is very economical, and in which continuous operation is ensured even if power is interrupted. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an emergency guidance system which is used in normal conditions to indicate the direction for transferring in a subway, bus, or airplane terminal, for example, an emergency guidance system having light emitting diodes of different colors corresponding to different subway lines, thus helping people quickly find a location for transferring, and which indicates to people the direction of an exit or a safe place when a fire occurs . [Background Art] Green emergency exit sign lights are representative examples of conventional emergency guidance devices which are provided in buildings. Such an emergency exit sign light has a subsidiary power generator so that the emergency exit sign light is operated when a fire occurs or during the interruption of electric power. However, because a fluorescent lamp or a small electric bulb having a short lifetime is used, a user must periodically replace the lamp or bulb with a new one. Due to this, maintenance costs are increased. As well, there is a probability of malfunction under emergency conditions. In addition, because light emitted from a display is stationary, when a fire occurs, people cannot easily find the emergency exit sign light due to smoke or obstacles. Even if the people find the emergency exit sign light, it is very difficult to quickly determine the precise direction of an exit under emergency conditions. In an effort to overcome the problems of conventional emergency exit sign lights, recently, a separate indicating sign such as an arrow is used for indicating the direction of an exit. Furthermore, various emergency exit sign lights which indicate the direction of an exit using an audio system have been proposed. These emergency guidance devices make it easier to determine the direction of an exit. However, most of these emergency guidance devices use a nickel cadmium or lithium ion battery. Accordingly, if it is assumed that an emergency guidance device is continuously operated, a replacement period of a battery is several months or less. Furthermore, in the case that an emergency guidance device is embedded in a floor of a building but is not mounted to a wall, greater time and expense are required to maintain the emergency guidance device. As well, because conventional emergency guidance lights and guidance sign lights use high voltage, people may be exposed to hazards, such as a secondary fire or electric shock, when a fire occurs. Damage due to this may be more serious than direct damage due to the fire. Moreover, in conventional arts, because a group of emergency guidance devices is collectively operated, operation taking the direction of a fire into account is impossible. In other words, the emergency guidance devices may guide people in the wrong direction in the event of a fire.

[Disclosure] [Technical Problem] 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 an emergency guidance system which has a good appearance and lets people quickly determine the location of an exit, and which does not require separate power generating equipment, thus it is very economical, and in which continuous operation is ensured even if power is interrupted. Another object of the present invention is to provide an emergency guidance system which is used under normal conditions to indicate the direction for transferring in a subway, bus, or airplane terminal, for example, an emergency guidance system having light emitting diodes of different colors corresponding to different subway lines, thus helping people quickly find a location for transferring, and which indicates to people the direction of an exit or a safe place when a fire occurs.

[Technical Solution] In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a emergency guidance device to guide people, including: a housing embedded in an inner surface of a structure, such as a floor, when constructing the structure or mounted to a wall or a ceiling of an existing structure; a transparent cover mounted to an upper end of the housing; a support provided on the upper end of an inner surface of a sidewall of the housing so that the transparent cover is placed on the support; a direction indicating display attached to an inner surface of the transparent cover; a coupling rail provided on a lower end of the inner surface of the sidewall of the housing so that a substrate is inserted into the coupling rail; a light emitting diode mounted to the substrate; a power charging condenser mounted to the substrate, so as to flash the light emitting diode even when outside power is interrupted; a sensor to sense a fire and to send a sensing signal to a device body; a sensor input terminal to connect the sensor to the main body; a device input terminal to connect the main body to another device body when a plurality of device bodies is provided; and a bracket embedded in the floor of the structure before the housing is embedded in the floor, so that the housing is inserted into the bracket.

[Advantageous Effects] The present invention provides an emergency guidance device which has a structure in which the emergency guidance device is mounted to or embedded in a floor or wall of a building. Furthermore, because the mounting location and size are not limited, the emergency guidance device is easily manufactured so as to have a desired length. As well, the emergency guidance device uses low voltage, thus reducing electric charges and preventing electric shocks. As such, the present invention maximizes the efficiency of the emergency guidance device. Moreover, the present invention uses both a power charging condenser, such as an electric double layer capacitor, and bright light emitting diodes, unlike conventional arts using both a separate battery and a lamp. Therefore, the incidence of malfunction is reduced despite use over a long period, and a replacement period of the diode is relatively long. Thus, maintenance costs are reduced. 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.

[Description of Drawings] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an emergency guidance device, according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view to show the assembly of the emergency guidance device according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a circuit view showing signal processing of an integrated circuit using a sensor according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of an emergency guidance device, according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a further example of an emergency guidance device, according to the present invention; and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing yet another example of an emergency guidance device, according to the present invention.

[Best Mode] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an emergency guidance device, according to the present invention. The construction of the emergency guidance device of the present invention has been described above. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a metal housing 1 constituting a device body 1 is standardized in length, for example, 50, 100, 150 or 200 (unit: cm) . A plurality of device bodies 1 is mounted to or embedded in a desired location. In the case in which the device body 1 is embedded in a floor or wall of a structure but is not mounted or attached to the wall, a separate bracket 16 is first embedded in the floor or wall of the structure. Thereafter, a housing 2 of the main body 1 is firmly fastened to the bracket 16 by engaging a coupling protrusion 17 of the bracket 16 with a coupling groove 18 of the housing 2. Preferably, the metal housing 2 having variable length as noted above has a width of 3.3 (unit: cm) and a height of 2.4 (unit: cm). In the present invention, installation of the emergency guidance device is simple, and the emergency guidance device having a desired length can be selectively used. As well, the present invention has superior visibility. Furthermore, due to the use of a light emitting diode using low voltage, a risk of an electric shock is reduced, and efficiency is increased. Moreover, because the incidence of malfunction is reduced, difficulty in maintenance is reduced. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view to show the assembly of the emergency guidance device according to the present invention. In the case in which the emergency guidance device is embedded in the floor of the structure, it is preferable that a transparent cover 3 be made of reinforced glass to resist high pressure and in consideration of ease of cleaning and visibility. The housing 2 is preferably made of aluminium for lightness and to prevent damage due to outside force and prevent the temperature of the housing 2 from excessively increasing when a fire occurs. Furthermore, a direction indicating display 9 is provided on an inner surface of the transparent cover 3 made of reinforced glass. The direction indicating display 9 is formed by silk printing (12) patterns such as arrows or various signs on surfaces adjacent to the light emitting diodes 7. A coating film may be attached to the direction indicating display 9. The portions of the direction indicating display 9 adjacent to the light emitting diodes 7 are lighter and more transparent than the border of the transparent cover 3, thus having the effect of making the light emitting diodes 7 seem colored. Thereby, people can easily know the direction indicated by the direction indicating display 9. As such, the present invention has increased direction indicating efficiency when the light emitting diodes 7 are flashed. In the present invention having the light emitting diodes 7, a condenser 8 for charging power is installed to serve as a subsidiary power supply. In normal conditions, the light emitting diodes 7, mounted to a substrate at regular intervals, are sequentially and repeatedly flashed by an integrated circuit 19 which receives a signal from a sensor 11. Furthermore, the emergency guidance device of the present invention may have a plurality of sensors 11 to be prepared for the event of a fire occurring around an exit through which people normally move out. In detail, when a fire occurs around the exit, a sensor 11, located adjacent to the fire, senses the location of the fire and transfers the sensing signal to the integrated circuit 19 of the emergency guidance device. Then, the integrated circuit 19 stops the operation of the light emitting diodes which have been sequentially flashing in the direction of the exit, or the integrated circuit 19 changes the direction of the sequential flashing of the light emitting diodes. As such, the present invention makes it possible for people to efficiently respond to an emergency situation. The light emitting diodes 7 of the emergency guidance device of the present invention may comprise bright light emitting diodes having various colors. That is, the light emitting diodes 7 correspond to different subway lines in a station in which transferring between lines is possible. Furthermore, the light emitting diodes 7 may represent warning (red) , safety (green) and caution (yellow) . As such, the present invention serves as indication lighting, which indicates the direction for transferring between subway lines or warns of danger under normal conditions, as well as serves as emergency guidance lighting. In the case that white light emitting diodes 7 are used in replace of the variously colored light emitting diodes 7, the direction indicating display 9, which is placed on the inner surface of the transparent cover 3, is covered with the coating film or is silk printed. Then, the white light emitting diodes 7 perform the same function as the colored light emitting diodes 7. Furthermore, the direction indicating display 9, which comprises the coating film or the silk printed part 12, can represent various signs. In the case of the direction indicating display 9 having patterns such as arrows, when the light emitting diodes are sequentially flashed, the patterns are also sequentially flashed. This flashing enhances the visibility by people. In the drawings, the reference numeral 19 denotes an integrated circuit, and the reference numeral 20 denotes an external condenser. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a circuit view showing signal processing of the integrated circuit using the sensor. As shown in the drawings, in the present invention, the condenser 8 for charging power is mounted to the substrate 6 which is inserted into a coupling rail 5 of the housing 2 that forms the device body 1. Preferably, a separate adaptor 13 is mounted to the substrate 6 of the housing 2, and the condenser 8 is coupled to the adaptor 13 but is not directly mounted to the substrate 6. Then, the condenser 8 can be easily replaced with a new one when malfunction occurs or when it is desired to use a condenser having increased capacity. Meanwhile, in the case that a plurality of device bodies 1 is used and coupled together, a large external condenser 20 is separately provided outside the device bodies 1, such that the light emitting diodes 7 of each device body 1 are continuously operated even when power is interrupted. Preferably, the condenser 8 for charging power is an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) , which uses electrode activated carbon and organic electrolyte and has recently been used as a substitution for a battery in a radio mobile communication system or in a micro device. Typically, the EDLC has an unusual sensitivity to temperature, and its ability to resist pressure is low. Therefore, in the case that the EDLC is used, it is preferable that a heat radiation fin be attached to the housing or the EDLC be designed such that quick charging is prevented. If the light emitting diodes 7 of the emergency guidance device are flashed in a normal direction despite a fire occurring around an exit, it brings about the result that people are guided in the direction of the fire. To avoid this, in the present invention, when a fire occurs around an exit, a sensor 11 placed around the exit detects the fire and transfers the sensing signal to the device bodies 1. Here, the device bodies 1 and the sensors 11 are coupled together into a single system and controlled by the integrated circuits 19. Therefore, the flashing, which has been conducted in the direction of the fire, is stopped, and the flashing direction is changed. As such, the present invention prevents people from being guided in the direction of an exit around which a fire is occurring. FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are perspective views showing various examples of an emergency guidance device of the present invention. The emergency guidance device may be mounted to a rounded wall or corner of a structure. Furthermore, the emergency guidance device may be mounted to a location at which guidance in a vertical direction is necessary. In consideration of these, the housing 2 of the device body 1 may have an L shape, a T shape or a rounded shape. The bracket 16 may have a shape corresponding to the different shape of the housing 2. The'se modifications fall within the bounds of the present invention. [Mode for Invention] An emergency guidance device of the present invention may be mounted to a rounded wall or corner of a structure. Furthermore, the emergency guidance device may be mounted to a location at which guidance in a vertical direction is necessary. In consideration of these, the housing of the device body may have an L shape, a T shape or a rounded shape. The bracket may have a shape corresponding to the different shape of the housing. These modifications fall within the bounds of the present invention. [industrial Applicability] As described above, the present invention provides an emergency guidance system which is used under normal conditions to indicate the direction for transferring in a subway, bus, or airplane terminal, for example, the emergency guidance system has light emitting diodes of different colors corresponding to different subway lines, thus helping people quickly find a location for transferring, and which indicates to people the direction of an exit or a safe place when a fire occurs .

Claims

[CLAIMS] [Claim l] A emergency guidance device to guide people, comprising: a housing embedded in an inner surface of a structure, such as a floor, when constructing the structure or mounted to a wall or a ceiling of an existing structure; a transparent cover mounted to an upper end of the housing; a support provided on the upper end of an inner surface of a sidewall of the housing so that the transparent cover is placed on the support; a direction indicating display attached to an inner surface of the transparent cover; a coupling rail provided on a lower end of the inner surface of the sidewall of the housing so that a substrate is inserted into the coupling rail; a light emitting diode mounted to the substrate; a power charging condenser mounted to the substrate, so as to flash the light emitting diode even when outside power is interrupted; a sensor to sense a fire and to send a sensing signal to a device body; a sensor input terminal to connect the sensor to the main body; a device input terminal to connect the main body to another device body when a plurality of device bodies is provided; and a bracket embedded in the floor of the structure before the housing is embedded in the floor, so that the housing is inserted into the bracket.

[Claim 2] The emergency guidance device according to claim 1, further comprising: an integrated circuit designed such that, when a fire is detected by the sensor, a plurality of main bodies, located in an area near the fire, stops sequentially flashing towards the fire or changes a flashing direction.

[Claim 3] The emergency guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the device body comprises a plurality of device bodies, wherein each emergency guidance device further comprises: an adaptor provided between the substrate and the condenser (EDLC) to allow the condenser to be removably mounted to the substrate, so that the condenser to be used as a subsidiary power supply may be replaced with another condenser, or may be controlled from outside the device body, or a capacity of the condenser may be increased.