WO2022043650A1

WO2022043650A1 - Safety device, door, fire safety systems, and method of indicating the status of a door, and improving fire safety

Info

Publication number: WO2022043650A1
Application number: PCT/GB2021/051709
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Cassidy; Lisa Anderson
Original assignee: Helix Corporate Management Limited
Priority date: 2020-08-28
Filing date: 2021-07-06
Publication date: 2022-03-03
Also published as: EP4205094A1

Abstract

A safety device (100a) for fitting to a door (10), the safety device (100a) comprising an indicator (110) configured to indicate in use the status of the door (10) for passage, wherein the indicator (110) is adjustable based on event information, a receiver (130) operable to receive event information, a controller (120) configured to control the indicator (110), a power supply (140), and an indicator housing (150), which houses the receiver (130), controller (120) and power supply (140) and which houses at least part of the indicator (110).

Description

SAFETY DEVICE, DOOR, FIRE SAFETY SYSTEMS, AND METHOD OF INDICATING THE STATUS OF A DOOR, AND IMPROVING FIRE SAFETY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a safety device, a door including a safety device and to a method of indicating the status of a door and of improving fire safety, and to fire exit systems, and other built structure exit systems.

BACKGROUND

For health and safety reasons, commercial and residential buildings include fire doors to slow the progress of a fire and designated emergency exits to allow people to exit the building safely.

To support more effective evacuations, directional signage may be used to indicate a nearest exit or an exit route. Buildings may have multiple exit routes, for example on different sides of a building, using different stairwells or using external fire escapes. It is common to mark exits and assembly points on a printed map of the building, and /or in the building itself, for example in an obvious and eye-catching position such as near to a door or in a stairwell.

Buildings often employ lighting to guide people towards exits - for example, signs stating ‘fire exit’ are often illuminated, and are often located at ceiling level. Lit signage is particularly useful in poor visibility (which may be due to smoke or loss of power to the building’s main lighting). It is also known to have electrical lights at floor level with a battery powered emergency electricity supply, and alternatively to have photoluminescent strips on the wall near the floor to indicate an exit path. An exit may become inaccessible - for example, a fire may stand between people trying to exit and an exit door, causing them to seek an alternative route, or debris may block an exit, for example. Those who are not familiar with the building - for example hotel guests - may have particular difficulty finding an alternative exit.

Problems with printed maps and typical fire exit signs arise when an exit becomes inaccessible - people exiting the building will not discover that an exit is blocked until arriving at the exit, or by word of mouth, for example. This could lead to bottlenecks, as well as panic (endangering people evacuating as well as slowing evacuation), and the potential for people to be trapped by structural damage to the building.

JP2017506788A discloses a device to help people choose the safest course of action in an emergency, where multiple exit options are available. The device uses visual or audible alerts to indicate whether a person should remain in the building or leave the building, and indicates safe and unsafe exit routes as well as threat levels. The indication can be updated using real-time information from a sensor network.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present invention provides a safety device for fitting to a door, the safety device comprising an indicator configured to indicate in use the status of the door for passage, wherein the indicator is adjustable based on event information, a receiver operable to receive event information,

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) a controller configured to control the indicator based on event information, a power supply and an indicator housing, which houses the receiver, controller and power supply and which houses at least part of the indicator.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a door defining a recess, wherein the door includes the safety device installed in the recess.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a door including a safety device, the safety device comprising: an indicator configured to indicate in use the status of the door for passage and/or indicate in use a direction to go to follow an exit path from the position of the door, wherein the indicator is adjustable based on event information; a receiver operable to receive event information; a controller configured to control the indicator; and a power supply, wherein the safety device is integrated with the door.

The safety devices described above have components in common (an indicator, a controller, a receiver, a power supply); however, in one aspect the safety device is a retrofit device and in another aspect the safety device is integrated with the door.

In this disclosure, references to a ‘door’ refer to a door ‘leaf’ - i.e. the part of the door that is openable to allow a person to go through the door.

The safety device, or door, may indicate in use whether someone should pass through the door or not open the door and go through it. The safety device or door may indicate to someone in the vicinity of the door a direction in which they should move - for example to leave a building.

The safety device being integrated with the door means that each part of the safety device is associated with the door and fixed thereto. The safety device may be integrated with the door at a manufacturing stage, before the door arrives at a building (or other location where the door will be installed). In other examples, the safety device may be a retrofit device. Benefits of both the integrated safety device and the retrofit safety device are described herein.

The function of the part of the safety device may determine how the part is integrated with/fitted to the door. The indicator should be visible to a person looking at the door and so may be fixed to a surface of the door or embedded in the door. The door may have a rebate in which the indicator is received so that the indicator does not to protrude (i.e. extend a distance) from an external surface of the door, or does not protrude so much as it would without the rebate. Alternatively, or additionally beading or channel-creating formations may be provided on or at the surface of the door so as to hide or protect or partially hide or protect the indicator.

Other parts of the safety device do not need to be seen in order to perform their function; the controller and/or receiver and/or power supply may be ‘hidden’ within the door. In other words, these parts may be fitted inside the door. These parts may be recessed in the door and may be covered.

Integration with the door or retrofitting to the door in this disclosure excludes attachment to a door frame, for example, or wall mounting near the door.

The safety device may be considered to be part of the leaf of the door, where integrated. This means that the door itself can be tested in a factory in advance of installation in situ and certified to meet certain standards, for example fire standards, without the need to be concerned about infrastructure near where the door is to be used and fitted. Where retrofitted, the safety device can be tested as a single working unit (housed in the indicator housing) before installation in the door. The safety device may comprise a single unit to be fitted to the door, and may not comprise disjointed parts that need to be fitted to different parts of the door, door frame and walls of the building, for example. Therefore, minimal adjustments need to be made to the door and building to accommodate the safety device. Some doors may be provided with a recess into which the safety device unit is adapted to be installed.

An emergency event may occur in a building such that the building needs to be evacuated. Throughout this description, evacuation and exiting a building is discussed. It is possible that evacuation or exiting includes moving from one part of a building to another, safer, part of the building, and does not necessarily require complete departure from the building.

Of course, the door including a safety device may be installed in another structure - such as a cruise ship or other boat or vehicle where people may be evacuated.

Other situations where directional guidance to leave a built structure with doors need not be emergencies. For example at the end of a concert, play, movie, sports event etc, there can be many people looking to leave a building and guidance on how to do so can be useful, especially guidance that can be changed in real time. In some situations the safety device could be considered a directional guidance advice device for people near doors. In some embodiments “safety device” can be replaced by “directional guidance advice device”, or “door usage and directional guidance advice device”.

Event information is in many examples information associated with or indicative of an emergency event. An emergency event may be a fire or a gas leak, or a human threat such as a terrorist attack or a robbery, for example. Parts of the building may not be safe for people to approach, for example to use as an exit route. Evacuation of the building would be safer and more efficient with knowledge of the location of the event, or areas that are affected by the event.

In other situations event information may not be associated with an emergency as such, but with a preferred route for travel for people near the door, for example to help with the flow of people moving through a space or building.

Event information may include a desire to avoid a door or exit path, or a desire to use a door or exit path.

Event information may change over time - for example, as the emergency event unfolds parts of the building or exit paths may become inaccessible, or previously unsafe paths may become safe.

Event information may include sensor data obtained by one or more sensors, as described below.

The safety device may begin indicating using the indicator automatically, once an emergency event is identified by its controller or signalled to its controller.

The indicator may be configured as a visual indicator - for example, a light emitter that uses light to indicate the status of the door. Alternatively or additionally, the indicator may be configured as an audible indicator - for example, a speaker configured to emit an alarm sound or verbal message.

The indicator may include a light source arranged on the door and the light source may be configured to be visible from external to the door when illuminated.

In other words, the light source may be embedded in the door or otherwise fixed to the door such that - when illuminated - light from the light source is visible to people near the door. Multiple people may be able to see the light (i.e. the indication) at one time, which is different from an approach where people are sent individual warnings (for example, to a smartphone).

Light from the light source may not be obstructed by the door. In general terms (depending on the eyesight of the person), light from the light source may be seen by looking at the door.

For example, the door may separate a room from a corridor or may separate sections of a corridor (for example, as a fire door) and the light may be visible in the room and/or the corridor. In some embodiments the light may be from either of two sides of the door.

When not illuminated, the light source may not be readily visible externally to the door. For example, the light source may be arranged such that the light source itself is not visible externally to the door but that light from the light source is visible. In this way, the light source may not be apparent to someone looking at the door when the light source is not illuminated. Disguising the light source in this way may be beneficial from an aesthetic design perspective, for example, and may prevent theft or vandalism.

The indicator may be positioned on or embedded into (or otherwise fixed to) a surface of the door - as opposed to a door frame, for example. In this way, the door can be made as a completed unit, integrated with the safety device including the indicator.

The light source may be positioned on a surface of the door that is visible when the door is closed, as opposed to on a surface contacting the door frame when closed. In this way, people exiting the building can look at a closed door and identify the illuminated light source.

The light source may include light emitting diodes - LEDs. The indicator may include LEDs, wherein the safety device may be configured to illuminate the LEDs to indicate a first status of the door and to reduce illumination of the LEDs or extinguish the LEDs to indicate a second status of the door.

The status of the door may be ‘safe’ or ‘not safe’ for passage. The safety device may illuminate the light source (for example, the LEDs) to indicate that the door is safe to use. If the door is not safe to use, the light source may not be switched on or may be dimmed, for example.

Of course, the reverse is also possible - the indicator may be illuminated to indicate that the door is unsafe for passage, and may otherwise be dimmed or switched off.

Illuminating the indicator may include blinking or flashing the light source, for example, and does not require continuous illumination. Flashing lights are known to provide effective warnings.

The indicator may include first and second sets of LEDs, wherein a set of LEDs includes LEDs of the same colour and wherein the first set of LEDs includes LEDs of a different colour from the second set of LEDs, wherein the safety device is configured to illuminate the first set of LEDs to indicate a first status of the door and to illuminate the second set of LEDs to indicate a second status of the door.

In other words, the safety device may use coloured lights to indicate whether the door is safe for passage or not. In this case, the safety device includes coloured LEDs - one colour indicating safety and another colour indicating danger (or rather reduced safety - there may be preferable doors to choose over the present door, even though the door is technically safe to use, as the present door may be closer to the emergency event than other doors for example). The safety device may illuminate a set of green LEDs to indicate that the door is safe to use, and the safety device may illuminate a set of red LEDs to indicate that the door is not safe to use.

In this example, the safety device uses a colour combination to indicate ‘go’ or ‘stop’, or ‘enter’ or ‘do not enter’, commonly used for traffic lights. In this way, it is possible for the indicator to be understood in any country independent of the language spoken in that country.

Different symbols may be illuminated instead or as well as different colours e.g. an arrow or a cross (to indicate pass through or do not enter).

The indicator may include an arrangement of light sources used to spell a word or phrase, or the indicator may include a covering including a word or phrase or other design to convey a warning, that is illuminated by the light source. The indicator may include an LED screen or other digital display. The indicator may be a directional indicator. In other words, the indicator may indicate a direction of travel to a person exiting the building.

The indicator may include a light source arranged in the shape of an arrow, wherein the arrow is arranged to point away from the door. In this example, the directional indicator may be illuminated when the present door is not safe for passage. The directional indicator may indicate an alternative exit route - the arrow may be arranged to point away from the door and towards another door, for example.

The directional indicator may include a light source and a covering including an arrow design, for example, such that when illuminated the covering shows an arrow.

In this way, the directional indicator may direct a person exiting the building away from an unsafe door and towards an alternative exit door or safer exit route (leading to an alternative exit door, for example). The safety device may be configured to illuminate the arrow based on event information indicating that the exit path using that door is not safe (and that following the arrow would provide a safer option).

An alternative exit door (to which the arrow points) may also include a safety device, or may not. The alternative exit door may be an emergency exit and may be identifiable by markings or lighting or otherwise identifiable, once a person follows the directional indicator of the present door. In this way, the safety device of the present door improves safety during an evacuation, even if another door (which may not include the safety device) is the safer option.

The safety device may be configured to identify a safe door - providing an alternative exit from the door including the safety device - and illuminate the arrow pointing towards the safe alternative door. The arrow shape may be formed from LEDs. The LEDs of the arrow shape may be coloured - for example, the LEDs of the arrow may be green to indicate a safe route away from the door.

Alternatively, the arrow may indicate that the door is safe to pass through in the direction of the arrow - for example, the arrow may point upwards on a surface of the door, indicating that it is safe to use the door in order to travel down a corridor on the other side of the door.

The indicator may include more than one directional indicator - for example, more than one arrow shape. The indicator may be configured to display a moving sequence of illuminated arrows pointing in one direction, or creating a shape indicating a series of directions (for example indicating a route including turning a corner). The colour and/or brightness of the illuminated arrows may be varied to attract attention or indicate different safe and unsafe directions along a route.

The indicator may be a an X-shaped cross with each of the four arms of the X being independently controllable by the controller so that the X can become a left pointing arrow, a right pointing arrow, an up arrow, a down arrow, or a cross.

The door may comprise a transparent or translucent panel, and the indicator may include a light source arranged adjacent the panel and configured to direct light onto the panel when illuminated.

The light source may be provided on one side of the transparent panel, or a light source may be provided on each side of the transparent panel adjacent the transparent panel. The light source may be provided so as to transmit light into the edge of the transparent panel that is transverse to the plane of the panel. This may be as well as or instead of having light sources to one or both sides on the panel, adjacent the panel (front and back of the door).

The panel may be a window - for example, a fire rated window (contributing to the fire resistance of the door) - normally used to see beyond the door into a corridor, for example, but illuminated by the light source to form an indicator in an emergency event.

The door may include beading attaching the panel to the door, wherein the light source may be embedded into or otherwise attached to the beading, or retained to the door by the beading. The beading may be partially or substantially or completely translucent or transparent. In this way, the light from the light source may shine through the beading (i.e. visible through the beading). Light from the light source may be directed to the panel by way of the beading - in other words, the beading may not block light from the light source from reaching the panel. Or the beading may be opaque so as to hide the light source when the light source is not illuminated.

The panel may have a square or rectangular cross-section, for example, defining a perimeter and the light source may be arranged adjacent or on the perimeter (or part of the perimeter - for example, a side of the panel). The light source may be embedded (or otherwise attached to) the beading associated with one or more sides of the panel. For example, the light source may be positioned below the panel, such that light from the light source illuminates the panel upwards from below.

The light source may be positioned on any side of the panel or on multiple sides for example, in order to cast light onto the panel.

The light source may be received in a recess of the door, may be rebated in the door, may be received in a channel of the door - for example, a channel receiving the panel may also receive the light source. By way of the panel, the light source may be visible from either of two sides of the door. For the other examples introduced above, the door may include light sources on a front surface and a back surface of the door (i.e. surfaces not associated with the door frame) so that people exiting the building are able to see an indicator from different sides of the door. These light sources may be independently controllable by the controller, for example.

The receiver may be configured to receive a command signal from a remote device and the controller may be configured to control the indicator based on the command signal. The controller may be configured to control the indicator automatically on identifying that an emergency event is occurring. An administrator of the building or a person employed at the building or a person at a control or call centre may use a remote device to engage (for example, wake from a sleep mode) or update the safety device in the event of an emergency. The fire service command staff may use a remote device to engage or update the safety device, for example, upon arriving at the building and identifying the location of a fire.

The remote device may be a BMS (Building Management System or Fire Detection / Alarm System), laptop, tablet or mobile phone, for example. The remote device may be enabled to issue a command signal to the receiver of the safety device - for example using Wi-Fi / Z Wave or other wireless communications.

It is known to implement hardwired controls in fire safety systems. A benefit of the present wireless control is ease of installation into a building - there is no need to install wiring to reach a large number of doors, particularly in a large building such as a tower block of flats or a hotel. It is also beneficial for an operator to be able to use a remote controller - they can be moving around in the building (exiting themselves or offering assistance to those evacuating) and carrying the remote device with them. They can also choose to stand a safe distance away from the building on fire while operating the remote device. Fixed controllers - in contrast - may become inaccessible during a fire, rendering a system hardwired to the fixed controller useless. If the remote controller needs to be replaced, it is easier than replacing a hardwired system.

A safety system using wireless communication may have a higher uptake versus a hardwired safety system due to ease of installation and more flexibility in operation. Retrofitting a wireless communication safety system is easier than in-building wiring for communication in a building.

The receiver may be configured to receive a sensor signal from a sensor and the controller may be configured to control the indicator based on the received sensor signal.

For example, a heat sensor may identify a temperature rise indicative of a fire, and may communicate with the receiver. The controller may include a processor - for example - or the safety device may otherwise include a processor. The controller or processor may be configured to process the sensor signal and the controller may be configured to control the indicator accordingly. The controller or processor may be programmed with the location of the sensor, and may interpret the sensor signal in view of the sensor’s location. In this example, the receiver may receive a sensor signal indicating a fire, and the controller may illuminate the light source (for example LEDs) depending on the location of the fire (based on the sensor location) relative to the door. If the fire is far enough away that the door is a safe exit option, the controller may illuminate the light source (for example LEDs) to indicate that the door is safe to use.

The receiver may be configured to receive an override signal from a remote device and the controller may be configured to perform an override action to control the indicator based on the received override signal in place of the received sensor signal.

In other words, the remote device may be used to override the safety device. It may be deemed that a door is actually safe to use, for example, even though a sensor has indicated otherwise. It may be deemed that a door is unsafe to use as a precautionary measure - for example by a firefighter - even though a sensor has indicated otherwise. Therefore, it may be possible to override a control action taken by the controller based on a sensor signal.

Similarly, a door may be “manually” instructed to indicate users not to go through the door, or to direct users to go in a different direction than the automatic computer generated route. This can be useful for example if the automatic system is otherwise going to send users to a route that is safe from a fire, for example, but to an exit which is otherwise compromised or not the best choice. Possibly one of a number of suitable exits is not suitable after all, for example because a vehicle has crashed into it, or because the road outside has been dug up and is impossible, or has a hazard. A manual intervention /input command can be useful to deselect one or more otherwise permissible exit routes (manual in the sense of manual input to a system which communicates with the controller in the door).

The safety device may be configured to transmit event information to the remote device, allowing an operator to monitor the event based on event information provided by the safety device itself. For example, the safety device may include a transmitter/transceiver configured to transmit a radio frequency signal to the remote device - for example using Wi-Fi or other wireless communication. A building or other build structure may have a plurality of doors each provided with a safety device, and which together serve as a directional exit indicating system for the built structure, and one that is capable of showing altered, different, exit pathways depending upon its inputs (e.g. from sensors and/or external command inputs).

Another aspect of the present invention provides a safety network including a first door including a safety device and a second door including a safety device, wherein the safety device of the first door includes a transmitter configured to transmit event information and wherein the safety device of the second door is configured to receive the event information, wherein the indicator of the second door is controllable based on the event information.

In this way, the status of each door may be updated as the emergency event unfolds.

The safety network may comprise a remote device. The remote device may be configured to transmit a command signal, wherein the controller of each safety device may be configured to control the indicator of each safety device based on the command signal.

The ability to use the same remote device to control multiple safety devices allows for a more efficient evacuation.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a building including a door including a safety device, or a safety network.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of indicating the status of a door, comprising: providing a safety device integrated into the door, the safety device including a power supply, and providing an indicator as part of the safety device; and indicating that the door is safe for passage or that the door is not safe for passage and/or providing a directional indication indicating in use a direction to go to follow an exit path from the position of the door.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of indicating the status of a door, comprising providing a safety device, the safety device including a power supply, and providing an indicator as part of the safety device, installing the safety device in or on a door, (for example installing it into a recess defined in the door) and indicating that the door is safe for passage or that the door is not safe for passage.

Adjusting the indicator based on event information may include: receiving, at a receiver of the safety device, a command signal from a remote device or a sensor signal from a sensor; and controlling the indicator based on the received command signal or sensor signal.

The method may further include: receiving an override signal from a remote device; ending control of the indicator based on the command signal or the sensor signal; and controlling the indicator based on the override signal.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of improving fire safety of a building comprising replacing a door with the present door including a safety device.

The method may include replacing a plurality of doors in the building with doors including a safety device. The safety devices - in each door - may be communicatively coupled and configured to share event information between safety devices.

In this way, an exit route can be displayed to a person exiting the building as they progress through the building, passing the doors, and can be updated based on how an emergency unfolds.

The method may include replacing every door or multiple doors in a building with doors including safety devices. Although the present door may direct people to other doors that do not include a safety device, replacing multiple or even every door in a building with the present door allows doors to indicate their own status - improving safety.

Instead of retrofitting a safety device to a door already in the building, the entire door may be replaced to ensure that the doors meet factory controlled safety standards as well as providing the other benefits set out in this disclosure.

Where the safety device is retrofitted, benefits of the safety device including the indicator housing are that the whole safety device is compact and easy to install, with minimal adjustments required to the door. In this way, the safety device may be fitted to the door without nullifying the door’s fire rating, through making adjustments to the door that are allowed within the fire safety standards (for example, within ironmongery allowances). It is already permitted to add some things to fire doors without voiding their fire safety certification, and the intention is to fit the fire safety device to the door within the existing rules, by making the fire safety device unit small enough to do that. Fitting a self-contained, flay structure, unit facilitates that.

A method of building a built structure may be provided, comprising a door including a safety device. The method may include fitting more than one door including a safety device. The method may include fitting a door including a safety device as a front door of a residence, or as a fire exit of the building, for example.

A method of controlling multiple doors including safety devices may be provided, comprising using a group controller to communicate with a receiver in each door. The method may include using HUB software. One door including a safety device may include the group controller and may be configured to control other doors including safety devices. The door with the group controller may be configured to control doors on the same floor/level of a building, for example, or in the same wing of a building, or may be configured to control doors throughout the building. A third-party may be enabled to control the group controller using a remote device - for example a computing device, such as a tablet or smartphone, configured to communicate a control signal to a receiver using Wi-Fi or other suitable wireless communication.

Controlling multiple doors with safety devices as a group may allow an evacuation to be coordinated during the evacuation. Based on the movement of people through a building, for example, multiple indicators may be updated to guide people to an exit safely.

A method of providing a dynamic exit route may be provided, the method including using doors, each including a safety device, to provide indications that each respective door is safe for passage or not safe for passage and/or provide a directional indication indicating in use a direction to go to follow an exit path from the position of the respective door.

A method of testing the door including a safety device may be provided. The method may be performed at a factory where the door is manufactured including the safety device. The method may include testing the door including the safety device once fitted into a frame, and/or once fitted into a building where the door will be used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples are shown in the figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows a door including a safety device according to an embodiment;

Figure 2 shows a door including a safety device including a directional indicator according to an example;

Figure 3 shows a first door including a directional indicator according to an example and a second door including a directional indicator according to an example;

Figure 4 shows a door including a light source and a panel according to an example;

Figure 5 shows a safety device according to an example;

Figure 6 shows a safety network including sensors according to an example;

Figure 7 shows a safety network including sensors and a remote device according to an example.

Figure 8 shows a door and an indicator and a directional indicator according to an example;

Figure 9 shows a side view of the door of Figure 8;

Figure 10 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘A’ of Figure 8;

Figure 11 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘B’ of Figure 8;

Figure 12 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘C’ of Figure 8;

Figure 13 shows typical edge detail of a door according to an example;

Figure 14 shows a door including a panel according to an example;

Figure 15 shows a side view of the door of Figure 14;

Figure 16 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘A’ of Figure 14;

Figure 17 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘C’ of Figure 15;

Figure 18 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘B’ of Figure 14;

Figure 19 shows a drop seal according to an example, which is a zoomed-in view of zone ‘D’ of Figure 15;

Figure 20 shows a door and a safety device according to an embodiment; Figure 21 shows (a) a safety device including a cover and (b) the safety device without the cover;

Figure 22 shows a plan view of the safety device of Figure 21 (a) and (b); and

Figure 23 shows an end view of the safety device of Figure 21 (a) and (b), and (c) a side elevation of the safety device of Figure 21 (a) including the cover.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described by way of example in more detail below.

Figure 1 shows a door 10 including a safety device 100 according to the present invention. The door 10 may be dimensioned to fit a typical door frame (which may vary country to country, and may depend on whether the door 10 is an external door (e.g. a front door) or an internal door (e.g. a door connecting rooms) or whether the door 10 is sized to accommodate a wheelchair, for example). The door 10 may have a substantially rectangular cross-section. The door 10 may have a height - shown as ‘h’ in Figure 1 - of between 1980mm and 2050mm, for example. The door 10 may have a height of 1981mm or 2040mm, for example, which are typical door heights in the United Kingdom. The door 10 may have a width - shown as ‘w’ in Figure 1 - of between 400mm and 1600mm, for example. The door 10 may have a width of 726mm or 762mm, for example, which are typical door widths in the United Kingdom. The door 10 may be a bespoke door, made to measure a door frame.

The door 10 may be dimensioned to fit typical door frames, such that no adjustment of a door frame is needed to install the door 10. In embodiments, the safety device 100 is integrated with the door 10 - no adaptation of the door frame is required. The door 10 may therefore be easily installed by a suitable workman or even layman.

The door 10 may have a thickness - shown as ‘t’ in Figure 1 - of 45mm as standard, for example. Fire doors typically have a larger thickness than a standard door. The door 10 including the safety device may be a fire door 10. The thickness ‘t’ of the door 10 may be around 45mm (for example, 44mm, or 45mm) where the door 10 is a fire door 10. The standard thickness ‘t’ of a fire door may change over time or differ country to country, and the present door 10 may have a thickness ‘t’ that meets the relevant standard.

An FD code indicates how many minutes of fire a fire door can withstand. For example, the door 10 may meet safety standards F30 (30 minutes), F60 (highly fire retardant - 60 minutes) and/or F90 (fire resistant - 90 minutes). In embodiments with an integrated safety device 100, the door’s 10 fire rating is based upon the door 10 including the safety device 100. Other safety devices may include a safety device attached to a pre-existing fire door. Any addition to a fire door is likely to nullify the door’s fire rating, in contrast with the door 10 of the present disclosure, with the safety device 100 integrated therein.

As the door 10 is suitable to fit into a typical door frame and meets safety standards with the safety device 100 integrated therein, quality control is simplified and overall safety is improved. The door 10 including the integrated safety device 100 can be checked following assembly at a factory for example - in contrast to performing safety checks once a safety device has been added to an existing door, already installed in a building. Higher skilled workers are not needed to install the door 10 and there is less room for poor workmanship (in adding a safety device) compromising safety. There are additional benefits to inbuilding the safety device 100 into the door 10. Any externally mounted features on a door (a doorbell, a letterbox, a device such as a smart keyhole or doorstep camera, for example) may be subject to vandalism or theft. Other safety devices that are retrofittable to a door, for example, may be particularly tempting and simple to remove from the door. The present integrated safety device 100 is protected from damage and theft by the door 10 itself.

The door 10 may be formed from wood, metal, fibreglass and/or glass. The door 10 may be formed from solid timber or composite lightweight material, for example.

Steel is commonly used for fire doors in particularly high risk environments, due to the material’s high resistance. However, the door 10 including the safety device 100 utilises wireless communication, which may be negatively affected if the door 10 is formed from steel. The door 10 may be formed from wood, or may include wood. Or at least an area of the door near the wireless communication may be made of a material that allows the wireless communication to be effective.

The door 10 may be plain or panelled. The door 10 may include fire resistant glass - for example clear glass or Georgian wired glass. The door 10 may include a panel 116 formed from fire resistant glass - a panel 116 is shown in Figure 4.

The door 10 may include an intumescent seal. For example, the intumescent seal may be an intumescent varnish or paint, or an intumescent membrane including fireproof card or noncombustible board. As temperature increases, the seal may be configured to expand to seal any gaps between the door 10 and its frame. A typical gap may be 2 -4mm. Some fire doors do not include an intumescent seal on the door itself, with the seal on the door frame instead. The door 10 may be fitted into a door frame including an intumescent seal.

To fit the door 10 into a door frame, the door 10 may include one or more hinges, which may be fire protected hinges (depicted in Figure 8, for example). The door 10 may include other hardware - for example a lock or a latch - and the hardware may be fire protected. The door 10 may be a front door of a residence or hotel room, for example, so may need to be lockable.

The door 10 may include bristles or other anti-smoke features. The door 10 may include a drop seal (depicted in Figures 8 and 18, for example). The drop seal may be configured to drop down to form a firm seal when the door 10 closes.

The door 10 may not be a fire door 10, as the benefits of the safety device 100 in indicating a safe exit option to a person exiting a building may be felt even when the safety device 100 is included in another type of door 10. However, a fire door 10 including the safety device 100 further increases safety if the emergency event is a fire.

As described above, the safety devicelOO includes an indicator 110. Visual and/or audible elements may be used to indicate whether the door 10 is safe to use. In Figure 1, the indicator 110 is depicted on the door 10 - the indictor 110 is rectangular, but may have any cross-section in reality. In Figure 1, the indicator 110 is depicted positioned proximal the top of the door 10, but may be positioned anywhere on the door 10. Positioning the indicator 110 on a surface of the door 10 that is generally visible (i.e. visible when the door 10 is open or shut) may be preferable. Positioning the indicator 110 near the top of the door 10 may be preferable, as this may catch a person’s eye more successfully than an indicator 110 at or near floor level (near the bottom of the door 10). Alternatively, if a passageway has smoke in it people may be crawling and an indicator near the floor may be better. The indicator 110 may be modular - i.e. may include multiple parts - for example, a first indicator module may be located near the top of the door 10 and a second indicator module may be located near the bottom of the door 10.

This disclosure focusses on an indicator 110 being visible to a person looking at the door 10 while exiting the building - of course, for an audible indicator, proximity to the door 10 would be paramount in hearing the indication and reacting accordingly. Visible indications may be preferable to audible indications if, for example, a fire alarm is sounding (which may mask an audible indication). Any of the visible indications disclosed here could be used alongside audible indications.

In the present door 10, an indication (indicating the status of the door 10 for passage) can be updated. For example, an emergency event may unfold such that previously safe exits become unsafe, previously unsafe exits become safe, the emergency event ends, or the emergency event is a false alarm or test (for example a fire drill).

The indicator 110 may include a light source 112 to attract attention and to be easily visible should visibility be low. The light source 112 may include a single light bulb or may include multiple light bulbs, for example a string of light bulbs or an array of light bulbs on a tile. The door 10 may define a groove, channel, recess, or rebate to receive the light source 112, or the light source 112 may otherwise be fixed to the door 10 or embedded in the door 10. Rebating the light source 112 may reduce or prevent damage to the light source 112, compared with if the light source 112 protruded from the door 10.

The light source 112 may be illuminated only to indicate that the door 10 is safe to use, or the light source 112 may be illuminated whatever the status of the door 10, and may indicate whether the door 10 is safe to use or not safe to use based on colour, for example.

In one example, the light source 112 may turn green or otherwise illuminate automatically when a fire alarm goes off, or when a sensor identifies that a fire has broken out. At that moment in time, the door 10 may be safe to use, or a hazard preventing the door 10 from being used may not yet have been identified. The light source 112 may then be controlled to turn red or to turn off or dim, for example, if it is established that the door 10 is not safe to use.

The light source 112 may include light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other suitable lights such as condensed fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

The indicator 110 may have a width substantially equal to half the width of the door 10, or greater than half of the width of the door 10, for example, or substantially equal to three-quarters of the width of the door 10.

The indicator 110 may have height substantially equal to half the height of the door 10, or greater than half of the width of the door 10, for example, or substantially equal to three quarters of the height of the door 10.

The indicator 110 may be the same size as a surface of the door 10, for example, filling the door 10. The width and/or height may be dimensions of the indicator 110 when arranged on the door 10 (i.e. once the orientation of the indicator 110 on the door 10 is determined). The present disclosure relates to three types of indicator 110 - although features of these types of indicator 110 may be combined in any suitable way to indicate the status of the door 10.

The first type of indicator 110 may simply include a light source 112 as described above and as depicted in Figure 1.

The second type of indicator 110 may include a directional indicator 114 - this may have any of the features of the light source 112 described above, and may indicate a direction for a person to follow. This is depicted in Figures 2 and 3.

The third type of indicator 110 may be configured to direct light onto a panel 116 of the door 10 using the light source 112. This is depicted in Figure 4.

In the second type of indicator 110, the directional indicator 114 may be an arrow or include an arrow shape (or other shape indicative of direction such as a triangle without an arrow’s stem) formed from the light source 112 or illuminated using the light source 112. An arrow may be formed from three strips of LEDs, for example - one strip forming a stem and the other two strips forming the point of the arrow.

For example, the directional indicator 114 may point away from the door 10 to indicate that the door 10 itself is not safe to use and that there is an alternative exit that may be found by following the directional indicator 114. The directional indicator 114 may be illuminated green to indicate safety in the indicated direction.

The safety device 100 may include multiple directional indicators 114 (as part of the indicator 110), which may either reinforce one another (pointing in the same direction) or may allow for different directions to be indicated. Two or more arrows may be simultaneously displayed, for example. In one example scenario, the indicator 110 may display a green arrow pointing to the left, and a red arrow pointing towards the right, indicating that a left turn is the safe choice.

The directional indicator 114 may point upwards or downwards with respect to the door 10, indicating the direction through the door 10. This is shown in Figure 3 - in the depicted scenario, the left hand door 10 is not safe to use, so the directional indicator 114 is indicating that a right turn leads to a safer option. The indicator 114 of the right hand door 10 is indicating that the path through the door 10 is safe.

The meaning of the directional indicators 114 is intended to be understood irrespective of language and should present simple to follow directions to a person moving quickly and/or in a stressful situation.

The indicator 110 may comprise a set of four directional indicators 114, for example, indicating up, down, left and right. In this way, the indicator 110 may be controlled to display one or more of four directions for a person to follow. The indicator 110 may comprise more than four directional indicators 114 - for example, where a directional indicator 114 may be arranged to indicate that a person should ascend stairs, for example arranged to point diagonally.

The set of four directional indicators 114 may be a cross (or X) shape, which may be formed from LEDs. The X may be illuminated to display an X shape, a left arrow, a right arrow, an up arrow or a down arrow, for example. The X shape may be oriented on the door 10 to indicate upper and lower left and right hand diagonal arrows, for example. The door 10 may include both a directional indicator 114 in the shape of an arrow and an indicator 110 in the shape of an X - for example as shown in Figure 8.

The or each directional indicator 114 may be configured to illuminate based on event information and may be individually controllable. Directional indicators that point in an undesirable direction may not be illuminated, may be illuminated in a different colour from the directional indicator 114 indicating a safe direction, or may be illuminated to show the directional indicator 114 as crossed- through, for example.

More than one direction may be established as a safe direction away from the door 10 - so more than one directional indicator 114 may be illuminated simultaneously, or may be illuminated in the same manner to indicate safety - for example, in a green colour.

It is clear from this example that the indicator 110 may need to be visible (or audible) from both a front side and a back side of the door 10 - as the status of the door 10 for passage may differ depending on which way a person is travelling through the door 10. These sides may be considered sides of approach of the door 10 (as opposed to a side of the door onto which hinges or a lock set may be fixed, for example). The door 10 may lead to a safe exit route in only one direction, may be usable in either direction, or may be unsafe to use in either direction. The indicator 110 may include a light source 112 on each side of the door 10 for visibility from both sides of the door 10.

The third type of indicator 110 makes use of a transparent or translucent (or substantially transparent or translucent) panel 116 in the door 10 and directs light onto the panel 116 to indicate the status of the door 10. A benefit of the third type of indicator 110 - using the panel 116 - is that the indication is visible from both sides of the door 10 (i.e. from either direction of approach).

As described above, the indicator 10 may comprise a light source 112 arranged adjacent the panel 116 (for example, along part of or the entire perimeter of the panel 116) configured to cast light onto the panel 116. In Figure 4, the light source is depicted as a strip along the underside of the panel 116 - this is merely exemplary and any suitable arrangement of a light source 112 and panel 116 that directs light to the panel 116 may be used.

As with the other types of indicator 110, colour may indicate safety or danger - the light source 112 may direct green onto the panel 116 such that the panel 116 appears green, for example, to indicate safety.

Integrating the light source 112 of the third type of indicator 110 with the door 10 may include fixing the light source 112 to the door 10 and/or the panel 116 using the fixture between the door 10 and the panel 116. For example, the panel 116 may be held in place on the door 10 by beading and the light source 112 may be embedded or otherwise fixed to the beading as described above. The light source 112 may be embedded or otherwise attached to a frame of the panel 116, for example, or otherwise attached to the perimeter of the panel 116 before installation into the door 10. The light source 112 may be embedded in a high resistance beading - for example, resistant to high temperature and/or electric current.

As shown in Figure 16, the panel 116 may include multiple channels or grooves configured to receive an intumescent seal and/or the light source 112 - shown as a channel for LEDs. The width of the channel for receiving the light source 112 may be substantially equal to half the width of a frame of the panel 116, for example.

In Figure 4, dashed lines are used to indicate that the light source 112 is integrated with the door 10

- shown internal to the door 10 and adjacent the panel 116.

In Figure 14, a schematic drawing of the door 10 including the panel 116 is shown. Figure 15 shows a side view of the door 10 including the panel 116, showing that the panel 116 is integrated with the door 10. Figure 17 shows a zoomed-in view of the side of the door 10, at zone ‘C’ in Figure 15. This shows the panel 116 formed from glass, and an intumescent strip.

Although the figures depict a single panel 116 in the door 10, the door 10 may include multiple panels 116. Each panel 116 or only one of the panels 116 may form an indicator 110, for example.

The panel 116 may include an intumescent seal - for example, the panel 116 may include an intumescent seal around one or more of its edges. This is shown in Figure 16. Figure 16 shows a zoomed-in view of zone ‘A’ of Figure 14. In this example, an LED is shown at the edge of glass, and an intumescent strip. The door 10 is then shown formed from hardwood.

The panel 116 - which may be formed from fire resistant glass, for example - may define one or more scattering areas, for helping see light that may be directed into the edge(s) of the panel 116 (for example, where the light source 112 is placed at an edge of the panel 116). Providing one or more scattering areas may ensure that the light from the light source 112 is visible on the panel 116 on both sides of approach of the door 10. A scattering area may be frosting or the panel 116 may be etched or roughened - for example, the panel 116 may not have a smooth surface and may include grooves or raised spots.

Any of the types of indicator 110 may be part of the safety device 100 having the features described below. The safety device 100 is shown in Figure 5.

The safety device 100 includes a receiver 130 operable to receive event information. The receiver 130 may be a Wi-Fi receiver or other radio signal receiver, configured to receive a Wi-Fi or other radio frequency signal. In this way, the safety device 100 may update the indication being made by the indicator 110 as an emergency event unfolds. The receiver 130 may be a transceiver, for example

- the safety device 100 may also be configured to transmit event information, using the transceiver or the safety device 100 may include a transmitter.

The receiver 130 may be arranged in a housing, for example, formed from a material that does not attenuate radio waves. Wood, for example, is transparent to radio waves. The receiver’s 130 housing may be formed from a different material from another material forming the door 10.

The receiver 130 may be arranged in the door 10 at or near to an edge of the door 10, to reduce any attenuation of radio waves by the door 10. In this position, the receiver 130 may also be easily accessed for any maintenance, repairs or replacement. The receiver 130 may be housed on a ‘hinge’ side of the door 10 - i.e. a side of the door 10 onto which hinges may be mounted for fitting the door 10 into a frame. This may further prevent vandalism or theft, once the door 10 is fitted in the frame, rendering the housing difficult to access without taking down the door 10. A housing in this position is shown in Figure 8, in zone ‘B’. The housing may include a removable cover. The housing may be recessed in the door 10 and the cover may lie substantially in plane with a surface of the door 10 - such that the housing and cover do not extend a length from the door 10. In this way, the presence of the housing (and therefore the receiver 130) may go unnoticed to a non-skilled observer.

Rebating the receiver 130 housing may prevent accidental damage - for example, knocking the receiver 130 in everyday use. The cover may add protection for the receiver 130.

The safety device 100 may be configured to communicate with a sensor 202 located in the building or near to the building. Example sensor 202 positions are depicted in Figure 6. Figure 6 is a simplified diagram of a door 10 and associated wall (for example a wall in a corridor). Sensors 202 are shown at or near floor level, at or near ceiling level, at a height between floor and ceiling level, and on the door 10 itself.

Accordingly, to avoid theft, vandalism or accidental damage, the door 10 may not include a sensor 202 externally mounted on the door 10.

The sensor 202 and the safety device 100 (for example, the receiver 130) may communicate using wireless short-range radio frequency protocols - for example WiFi 6 (or 802.1 lax WiFi), 802.1 lac WiFi, other WiFi standards, Z Wave, LPWAN (low power wide area network), any other suitable IEEE 802.11-based wireless LAN systems, ZigBee, Bluetooth or other short-range radio frequency platforms suitable for communication between Internet of Things devices, for example soldier radio waveform (SRW).

The sensor 202 may be part of a sensor network including multiple sensors 202. The safety device 100 may be configured to communicate with multiple sensors 202 or with the sensor network. Two or more sensors 202 in the sensor network may be communicatively coupled, for example using any of the wireless short-range radio frequency protocols listed above or another suitable protocol. The safety device 100 may be configured as a base unit in communication with the sensor network.

Collectively, the sensor 202 and the safety device 100 may be part of a safety network 200 in the building. The safety network 200 may include multiple sensors 202 - for example the sensor network. Sensors 202 may be located throughout a building and boosters and/or range extenders (or repeaters) may be implemented to support communication between the sensors 202 and the safety device 100. The communication protocol used may depend on the size of the building (in terms of signal range) as well as battery life of the safety device 100 and/or sensors 202 (which may be battery powered). The safety network 200 may include one or more boosters and/or range extenders. The range of the communication protocol used by the sensor 202 and safety device 100 may be around 1000m, for example.

The boosters and/or range extenders may also be provided to support communication between the safety device 100 and the remote device 204. This may allow the remote device 204 to communicate with the safety device 100 from a safe distance - for example from outside of the building.

The safety device 100 or the safety network 200 may be equipped with series boosters to increase range and strength of Wi-Fi router connectivity in both non-emergency and emergency situations, for example. The remote device 204 that may provide a command signal or an override signal to the safety device 100 may be the same remote device or a different remote device from the remote device to which the safety device 100 may be configured to provide event information.

The sensor 202 may be a proximity sensor, a heat sensor or temperature sensor, a smoke detector, a pressure sensor or another type of sensor configured to sense a parameter (a parameter meaning temperature, pressure, or the like that may identify the emergency event). The position of the sensor 202 may depend on the type of sensor 202 - for example, a heat sensor may be located at or near to the ceiling.

The sensor network may include different types of sensor 202 to sense different parameters. The sensor 202 may be configured to sense a parameter (for example temperature) continuously, periodically, or may be activated - for example, by another sensor elsewhere in the building. The sensor 202 may be configured to transmit sensor data to the safety device 100 - in particular, to the receiver 130 - continuously, periodically, or may transmit sensor data when requested by the safety system for example. The safety device 100 may be configured to request sensor data from the sensor 202.

Sensor data may be indicative that an emergency event has occurred, is about to occur, or of the nature of the event for example - event information may be, may include or may be based on sensor data. In this way, the sensor data may provide event information to the safety device 100.

For example, the sensor 202 may indicate a temperature or a change in temperature to the safety device 100. The safety device 100 includes a controller 120, which may be configured to interpret sensor data received from the sensor 202 and control the indicator 110 accordingly. Where the indicator 110 includes multiple light sources 112 - for example, multiple directional indicators 114 - each may be independently controllable by the controller 120.

The sensor 202 may be a camera or other video equipment, or a microphone, for example. The safety device 100 may include a camera, video equipment, or a microphone, to obtain event information.

The sensor 202 may include a processor configured to interpret sensor data - for example, to compare a sensed temperature with a threshold temperature and establish whether a fire has broken out. The sensor 202 may be configured to communicate to the safety device 100 that a fire has broken out.

Alternatively or additionally, the safety device 100 may include a processor 122 configured to interpret sensor data received from the sensor 202. The optional processor 122 is shown in Figure 5. The controller 120 may include the processor 122 or otherwise be communicatively coupled with the processor 122.

The sensor 202 may be configured to transmit its location (as sensor data), to the receiver 130. The controller 120 may be configured to identify the location of the sensor 202, or may be programmed with the location of the sensor 202, for example. The location of the sensor 202 may indicate to the safety device 100 whether the emergency event being sensed - for example, a fire - is near to the door 10. The controller 120 may be configured to establish whether the door 10 is safe to use or not based on proximity of the sensor 202 to the door 10 and the nature of the sensor data received from the sensor 202. In one example, the receiver 130 may receive sensor data indicating that a fire has broken out within sensing range of the sensor 202 (i.e. near enough to the sensor 202 to be sensed). The controller 120 may determine that the sensor 202 is located in a corridor into which the door 10 leads, rendering the door 10 unsafe to use in the direction of the sensor 202 (i.e. in the direction of the fire). The controller 120 may therefore control the indicator 110 to indicate that the door 10 is unsafe to use in order to exit in the direction of the fire. However, the door 10 may be safe to use in the opposite direction, away from the fire. The controller 120 may control the indicator 110 to indicate as such.

The processor 122 may be configured to process sensor data from multiple sensors 202. A collection of sensor data may be required to determine the nature and/or extent of the emergency event - for example, a first sensor 202 may sense a rise in temperature in a first location and a second sensor 202 may sense a rise in temperature in a second location - in this way, it is established either that two fires have broken out or that a fire has broken out between the first and second sensors 202, for example.

The safety network 200 may include multiple doors 10 each including a safety device 100, and each safety device 100 may be configured to communicate with another safety device 100 using any of the suitable short range radio frequency protocols listed above. In this way, the safety devices 100 may share event information (for example, sensor data or processed sensor data) such that a first door 10 may indicate a status based on the status of a second door 10. For example, the safety device 100 in the first door 10 may establish that the first door 10 is close to a fire and is not safe, but that a second door 10 is safe to use based on sensor data. The first door 10 may therefore indicate, using a directional indicator 14, that the second door 10 is the safe option.

As described above, the safety device 100 may not only receive event information from the (or each) sensor 202, but may also receive information from a remote device 204. The safety network 200 may comprise the remote device 204 - this is shown in Figure 7 in a simplified diagram and in reality the remote device 204 may be carried by an operator, for example.

The remote device 204 may be used by the operator - for example, an incident officer - to take control of the safety device 100. Where the controller 120 may be configured to control the indicator 110 automatically based on sensor data received from the sensor 202 (or sensors 202), the remote device 204 may allow the operator to override the controller 120 and control the indicator 110 using the remote device 204.

The remote device 204 may be any suitable computing device - for example a laptop, mobile phone or tablet - connectable to the Internet. The receiver 130 may be configured to receive a command signal from the remote device 204 as described above. The remote device 204 may be used to control more than one safety device 100.

Of course, the remote device 204 may be fixed in a location - for example at a workstation in the building - although it is envisioned that a remote device 204 that is portable may be most effective for the purposes of the present disclosure, for example so that the operator can carry the remote device 204 with them when moving around the building to assess the emergency event.

The safety device 100 includes a power supply 140. The power supply 140 is - as part of the integrated safety device 100 - integrated with the door 10. The power supply 140 may be replaceable and/or rechargeable. The power supply 140 may be a battery, for example an alkaline battery. The power supply 140 may have a battery life of 1 to 3 hours, for example. The battery life of the power supply 140 may be long enough to power the safety device 100 during an evacuation of a building. The safety device 100 is therefore independently powered with respect to other systems or devices in the building, for example.

If an electrical supply to the building fails in an emergency event, power to the safety device 100 would not be affected.

The power supply 140 may be housed with the receiver 130, for example. The power supply 140 may supply power to the light source 112 and may be wired to the light source 112 (i.e. able to deliver electrical power to the light source 112). Wiring between the power supply 140 and the light source 112 may be embedded in the door 10 - for example to prevent tampering or damage to the wire. Wires may otherwise be attached to the door 10 and covered, to ensure safety standards are met.

One wiring configuration is shown in Figure 8, which shows wires leading from a battery pack to both an X-shaped indicator 110 and an arrow shaped directional indicator 114.

Figure 10 shows a zoomed-in view of an example wiring route in the door 10 of Figure 8, at ‘A’. A red LED is shown (i.e. an indicator 110 that may indicate danger and/or that a person should stop). Cable is routed inside of the door 10.

Cable is also shown in Figure 11, which shows a zoomed-in view of the door 10 of Figure 8, at ‘B’. Figure 11 also shows an intumescent strip configured to provide an intumescent seal.

Figure 13 shows edge detail that the door 10 may include - for example, an intumescent strip, a cover plate (configured to cover the receiver 130 and/or power supply 140, for example), grooves, channels or recesses in the door 10 and cable routed in the door 10.

Figure 17 shows the power supply 140 positioned in the door 10 with respect to the panel 116. A cable route may be provided in the door 10 or on the door 10 (although embedding cable in the door 10 may be preferable) between the power supply 140 and the light source 112 at the panel 116. In Figure 18, the light source 112 is the example LED of Figure 16.

Each indicator 110 may alternatively be connected to a separate power supply 140, for example.

The door 10 may define a cover for the safety device 100, which may allow access to the safety device 100 or part of the safety device 100 for maintenance (which may including testing - which is likely to occur on a regular basis). The safety device 100 (excluding the indicator 110, which is depicted in a separate position from the rest of the safety device 100) is shown in the figures as a box inside the door 10 (in dashed lines) located adjacent an edge of the door 10, but this is merely exemplary. In embodiments, the safety device 100 is integrated in the door 10, but may be positioned anywhere in the door 10 in terms of height and width). The controller 120, receiver 130 and power supply 140 may be positioned separately across the door 10 or may be arranged in close proximity. The controller 120, receiver 130 and power supply 140 may be wired together and may be suitably positioned with respect to one another to be wired together. The indicator 110 may be wired to one or more of the other elements of the safety device 100 - the position of the rest of the safety device 100 may be determined by the position of the indicator 110, which has a position determined by visibility to a person looking at the door 10. The safety device 100 or one or more parts of the safety device 100 (for example, excluding the indicator 110) may be housed in a housing in the door 10. For example, the receiver 130 and/or power supply 140 housing is described above.

The housing may be defined by the door 10 or may be a separate housing insertable into the door 10 - for example into a recess in the door 10. This may allow easy addition of the safety device 100 into the door 10 when assembling the door 10. The housing may include a removable cover to allow access to parts of the safety device 100 for maintenance and testing.

Other measures may be in place to prevent theft of the safety device 100, a part thereof, or of the housing - for example the cover may be lockable or require a particular tool for access. The safety device 100 may be disguised in the door 10, to prevent theft.

The door 10 including the housing and/or cover for covering the safety device 100 may meet fire safety standards and replacing the power supply 140 - for example - may be possible without affecting the fire rating of the door 10.

Alternatively, parts of the safety device 100 may not be housed together in a housing and may otherwise be connected and integrated into the door 10.

The indicator 110 may also be housed in the housing or associated with the housing; however this may not be practical for the indicator 110 in terms of visibility to a person looking at the door 10.

The indicator 110 may also be disguised from view - for example, the light source 112 may be hidden from view when not illuminated - removing temptation to steal or vandalise the indicator 110 or even the safety device 100.

Integrating the safety device 100 in the door 10 - for example in the housing - may further protect the safety device 100 or parts of the safety device 100 in heavy use, for example when installing the door 10, or in day to day use.

In another embodiment, the safety device is not integrated in the door 10. Benefits of the integrated safety device 100 described above can still be realised where the safety device 100 is, instead, retrofitted to a door 10. A safety device can be retrofitted to a fire door 10 without nullifying the fire door’s fire rating, by taking advantage of allowances within the specification for ironmongery in fire doors.

Whether a safety device is integrated may not affect a non-fire door in terms of fire rating, but has other effects such as ease of installation and accessibility for replacement, as well as likelihood of damage/theft. Therefore, retrofitting a safety device should be done in a manner that addresses potential problems.

Figure 20 shows a retrofit safety device (or unit) 100a, which may have any of the features of the safety device 100 described above that do not require the safety device 100 to be integrated in the door 10. The safety device 100a is not integrated in the door 10 at the manufacturing stage.

A recess may be defined in the door 10 to accommodate the safety device 100a as a retrofit device. The safety device 100a may otherwise be retrofitted to the door 10 - for example, fixed to an external surface of the door 10. However, this may nullify the door’s 10 fire rating. Further, though the safety device 100a would still be operable to indicate the status of the door 10, the safety device 100a may be at greater risk of damage/theft without being installed in a recess. Installing the device in a recess in the door mitigates the risk of vandalism or theft, or accidental damage.

The safety device 100a may include an indicator housing 150. The indicator housing 150 may be square or rectangular in cross-section, for example. The shape of the cross-section of the indicator housing 150 may be based on the recess that exists in the door 10 to receive the indicator 110 that does not nullify the door’s 10 fire rating.

Housing the elements of the safety device 100a in the indicator housing 150 may make the retrofit safety device 100a simple to install for a layman or maintenance worker that has no experience installing the particular safety device 100a. Easy installation may improve safety - reducing errors in installation - as well as saving costs versus a device that requires a professional to install it. The unit 100a comprising a single self-contained unit that can be attached to the door with its own power supply and communication capabilities (e.g. to other units and/or a building wi-fi network, and/or other telecoms) makes it easy and quick to install, without having to connect wiring. Physical connection of the unit to the door is all that is required to install it, in many preferred embodiments. The recess may have a length and a width - the length may be between 10mm and 20mm, for example around 15mm, for example 16mm.

The indicator housing 150 may have a length and width - the length may be between 10mm and 20mm, for example around 15mm, for example 16mm.

The recess may have a depth into the door 10 of up to around 10mm before affecting the fire rating of the door 10.

The indicator housing 150 may define a depth - marked as ‘t ’ in Figure 21 - which is the depth that the indicator housing 150 extends back into a recess when installed in the door 10. In order to avid nullifying the door’s 10 fire rating, the depth may be approximately 10mm, or 10mm, or less than 10mm. An allowable recess to avoid nullifying the door’s 10 fire rating may be 10mm, so the depth of the indicator housing 150 may be less than 10mm or exactly 10mm maximum.

The door may be pre-provided with a recess for the safety device, or a recess may be made in the door, for example when fitting the device/unit.

The indicator housing 150 may be configured to create an interference fit with the door 10 within the recess, when installed. The recess may be lined with a material configured to hold the indicator housing 150 in place in the recess in a friction fit, for example. The indicator housing 150 may be attachable to the door 10 - for example, through gluing or otherwise adhering the indicator housing 150 in the recess.

The indicator housing 150 may include a fire-resistant material - for example, being formed from a fire-resistant material. The indicator housing 150 may be made of black fire-resistant material.

The indicator 110 includes a light source 112. In figures 20-23, the indicator 110 is shown including two light sources 112.

The indicator 110 may include multiple light sources 112, which may be different in colour or the light sources 112 may include groups of lights different colours as described above. Also as described above, the or each light source 112 may have a particular shape - for example an arrow - to give a directional indication to an evacuating person. The light sources 112 may be LEDs, as described above. The light sources 112 may include mega chip LEDs or other high lumen output LEDs. For example, each light source 112 may be formed from multiple LEDS - each light source 112 may include two mega chip LEDs, for example. Bright LEDs may be used such that the light sources 112 may be seen at a distance of over 20 metres in darkness. Use of mega chip LEDs may allow the light sources 112 to be seen at a distance of 30 metres in darkness - which is the same or approximately the same visibility in darkness as a traffic light. This distance of visibility in darkness may allow a person looking at the light sources 112 from down a corridor (for example) to determine that the light sources 112 are lit. Current legislation for safety lights requires a distance of 12 metres visibility in darkness.

The light source 112 may include a casing that may be transparent or translucent to allow light (from the LEDs, for example) through. The casing may be plastic or glass, for example. The light source 112 may have a circular cross-section, or an oval cross-section, for example, as shown in Figure 21. The light source 112 may extend across approximately half of the length of the indicator housing 150. The light source 112 may extend more of a length across the indicator housing 150 - for example 75% of the length or 90% or more of the length.

The light source 112 may include LEDs dimensioned 5mm x 5mm x 2mm, for example.

The indicator 110 may include light sources 112 arranged side-by-side as shown in figures 20-23. There may be a space between the light sources 112 suitable to house elements of the safety device 100a.

A power housing 160 may house the power supply 140 as described above (for example a battery, for example a 85mA lithium battery unit). Figure 21(b) shows the power housing 160 between the light sources 112. The power housing 160 may otherwise be located in the indicator housing 150. One power supply 140 may be configured to deliver power to multiple light sources 112, or each light source 112 may have a designated power supply 140. Including the power supply 140 in the indicator housing 150 results in a self-contained and compact safety device 100a. Utilising the space between two light sources 112 for the power housing 160 as shown in figure 21(b) results in a particularly compact safety device 100a.

The power housing 160 may house other elements of the safety device 100a - for example the controller 120 and/or receiver 130 described above.

The safety device 100a may include a circuit board connecting the power supply 140 to the light source(s) 112, controller 120, receiver 130 and/or other elements. The circuit board may be housed in the power housing 160. The circuit board may be connected to a different power source 140 from the light source(s) 112 or draw power from the same power source 140. Drawing power from the same power source 140 may be more efficient - both in terms of power and in terms of space within the indicator housing 150.

The power housing 160 may include the circuit board and power supply 140 in a stacked configuration. The circuit board may substantially cover the power supply 140.

The indicator housing 150 may house all parts of the safety device 100a for easy installation into a door 10 in situ (without needing to send the door 10 to a workshop). The battery life of the power supply 140 may be at least 1.5 hours. The safety device 100a may function for the entirety of a building evacuation with a battery life of 1.5 hours.

Balancing the activity of the light source(s) 112 and power usage is important - to ensure that people notice the light source(s) 112 they should be bright and eye-catching, but this drains power more quickly than dimmer lights.

The light source(s) 112 may operate in a flashing mode as described above. This may save power versus a light that is always on (when activated).

In one example, the indicator 110 may include a first light source 112 and a second light source 112. One light source 112 may be green, the other red. As described above, red indicates danger and may be used to indicate that the door 10 is unsafe for passage. Green indicates safety and may be used to indicate that the door 10 is safe to pass through. Each light source 112 may be configured to operate in a flashing mode - pulsing ON and OFF, or between levels of brightness, to catch attention and/or save power/extend the operational life when activated.

The green light source 112 may be configured to flash - i.e. turn ON and OFF, or between levels of brightness - at a slower rate than the red light source 112.

For people evacuating, urgent more rapid flashing may be more indicative of danger than slower flashing. In the above example, red colour is combined with urgent flashing to emphasise danger. However, in other examples, urgent flashing may be combined with a light source 112 of any colour to indicate danger.

The reverse may be true and the green light source 112 may flash at a higher rate than the red light source 112, to emphasise the safety of a door 10 for passage.

The safety device 100a may include a cover 152. The cover 152 may be arranged to cover the interior of the indicator housing 150. The indicator housing 150 may provide a ‘box’ and the cover 152 may provide a ‘lid’, accordingly. The cover 152 may have an underside, which is adjacent the interior of the indicator housing 150 in use, and an external side that is visible to someone looking at the door 10 once the safety device 100a has been installed. The cover 152 may be a cover plate.

The cover 152 may define one or more cut-outs though which the light source(s) 112 can be seen. The light source(s) 112 may protrude through the one or more cut-outs to be seen.

The indicator 110 is therefore at least partially housed in the indicator housing 150, in that the light source(s) 112 are housed but may protrude from the cover 152.

Figure 23 (a) and (c) show the light sources 112 protruding beyond the plane of the cover 152. Figure 21 (a) shows the cut outs in the cover 152 having a similar shape to the light sources 112 and hugging the light sources 112. The cut outs may be dimensioned to fit around the light source(s) 112 or may expose part of the light source(s). The cut outs may include a padding or other border in contact with the light source(s) 112 - for example to prevent the light source(s) falling out of the cut outs.

The cover 152 may be dimensioned to overhang the indicator housing 150, as shown in figures 21(a) and 23. The cover 152 may extend a length beyond one or more edges of the indicator housing 150. Due to the overhang, the cover 152 may lie flush to an exterior surface of the door 10 when the indicator housing 150 is installed in a recess of the door 10. This may disguise the recess. The cover 152 may be marked with a company logo or otherwise indicate the origin or nature of the product.

The cover 152 may be removable and replaceable. Figures 21(a) and 22(a) show the safety device 100a including the cover 152. The indicator housing 150 may define one or more screw threads to receive screws. The cover 152 may be attached to the indicator housing 150 by screws 154 received in the internal threads 156 as shown. The cover 152 may otherwise be removably fixable to the indicator housing 150 - for example by one or more hook-and-eye arrangements, hook-and-loop connectors, clips or other two-component fasteners or other fasteners. The cover 152 may include a lip extending perpendicular to the plane of the cover 152, arranged to extend into the indicator housing 150 in use and hold the cover 152 in place via a friction fit.

Removal of the cover 152 may allow maintenance or replacement of elements housed in the indicator housing 150 (e.g. the battery), without the need for removing the indicator housing 150 from the door 10.

Each light source 112 may be removable once the cover 152 has been removed. The light sources 112 should not be removable through the cover 152 as this may lead to theft/damage and therefore the safety device 100a potentially failing in an emergency situation.

The light sources 112 may be removable from the indicator housing 150. The indicator housing 150 may remain installed in the door 10 when light sources 112 are replaced. The same is true for the power supply 140, the controller 120, the receiver 130 or any other elements of the safety device 100a.

A building manager, a janitor or other personnel may be equipped with replacement light sources 112, power supplies 140 and the like and checking and/or testing the safety device 100a may include removing and replacing some or all these parts of the safety device 100a. One regular maintenance activity may be replacing the batteries periodically, and another may be checking that the lights are operating properly.

Removed parts of the safety device 100a may be recharged and reused, to reduce waste. For example, the safety device 100a may include a set of interchangeable rechargeable power supplies 140, such that a power supply 140 can be charged while another is included in the safety device 100a, swapped over as needed. The power supply 140 may be rechargeable while still housed in the power housing 160, for example a charging device may be connected to the power supply 140 at the door 10.

The safety device 100a may include a test mode. The test mode may allow the indicator 110 to be turned on/activated in a non-emergency situation - for example, to test the power source 140 or in a fire drill or other evacuation practice. The test mode may be actuatable by was of the controller 120. For example, the test mode may be actuatable using a remote device to control the controller 120 to activate the indicator 110.

In the test mode, the light source(s) 112 may be configured to light up. The light source(s) 112 may be configured to flash a predetermined number of times to indicate that the power source 140 is connected properly and/or charged, for example. The light source(s) may be configured to light up or flash until the test mode is ended - for example, through remote control of the controller 120. The test mode may be actuated by a signal received at the receiver 130, to control the controller 120 to cause the indicator 110 to perform in test mode. For example, a user may begin the test mode at a particular safety device 100a at a particular door 10 in a building and may wish the test mode to be performed by multiple safety devices 100a in the building, which are triggered by a signal from the particular safety device 100a. A single remote control may allow control of multiple safety devices 100a accordingly.

A test may be required every six months, for example, to ensure that the safety device 100a is functional and therefore ready to assist an evacuation.

The light source(s) 112 and power housing 160 may form a single, removable unit. The light source(s) 112 and power housing 160 may be attached together for easy removal. For example, as shown in figure 21(b), two light sources 112 may be provided either side of the power housing 160, with each light source 112 attached to the power housing 160. This unit may be easily pulled from the indicator housing 150 for replacement.

A light source 112 and power housing 160 unit may comprise a power supply 140 and circuit board in the power housing 160. A light source 112 and power housing 160 unit may comprise a controller 120 and/or a receiver 130, for example.

The casing of the light sources 112 may extend over/form part of the power housing 160. The light source 112 and power housing 160 unit may therefore include plastic/glass or other suitable transparent or translucent material that lets light through. The casing material may be selected to be resilient when pulled from the safety device 100a so as not to shatter and injure the person removing the light source 112 and power housing 160 unit.

Replacement light source 112 and power housing 160 units may be provided for easy maintenance. The casing material may therefore be selected to be resilient in transport - for example in packs of replacement light source 112 and power housing 160 units.

The power supply 140 may be housed behind the light source 112 - ‘behind’ here meaning that the light source 112 is arranged between the power supply 140 and the cover 152 (when attached). The light source 112 may be arranged raised from the indicator housing 150 such that the power supply 140, the circuit board or another part of the safety device 100a can fit behind the light source 112. Provided that light from the light source(s) 112 is visible (for example, through a cut out in the cover 152), the other features of the safety device 100a may be arranged in any position within the indicator housing 150.

The light source 112 and power housing 160 unit may include a housing defined on a side of the light source 112 to house the power supply 140, circuit board or another part of the safety device 100a. For example, the power housing 160 may extend between two light sources 112 and back from one or both light sources 112 (see figure 21(b)).

The indicator housing 150 may define a region to receive the light source 112 and power housing 160 unit - for example shaped to hold the unit in place in a friction fit. Figure 21(b) shows the internal screw threads 156 included in portions of the indicator housing 150 that extend towards the light sources 112 and power housing 160, for example.

The cover 152 may include a lock, such that only authorised personnel may remove the cover 152. The safety device 100a may include an intumescent seal 162. The intumescent seal 162 may be arranged adjacent the underside of the cover 152, where the cover 152 overhangs the indicator housing 150. The intumescent seal 162 may be an intumescent gasket substantially surrounding boundary between the indicator housing 150 and the cover 152 when the cover 152 is in place.

The intumescent seal 162 may be attached to the cover 152 such that removal of the cover 152 also removes the intumescent seal 162, or may be attached to the indicator housing 150 such that the intumescent seal 162 remains on the door 10 when the cover 152 is removed. The intumescent seal 162 may not be attached but may be sized to fit onto the indicator housing 150 and remain in place as a gasket.

The intumescent seal 162 may have a thickness of approximately 1mm, or 1mm.

Provision of the intumescent seal may protect the safety device 100a during a fire, allowing the safety device 100a to function properly in the presence of fire.

Any of the features of the safety device 100 described above may be features of the safety device 100a, where the features do not require the safety device 100 to be integrated with the door 10. Likewise, the integrated safety device 100 may have any of the features of the retrofit safety device 100a that do not require retrofitting.

Either type of safety device may be connected to other safety devices and/or to a remote control by wireless connection. Both integrated safety devices 100 and retrofit safety devices 100a may be part of the same safety network, accordingly.

A built space with a network of doors each having indicators and with sensors in all, or some of the doors, or maybe even with sensors in none of the doors but otherwise provided in the vicinity of the doors, can have the information from the sensors (e.g.in the doors) being used in the creation of a collective exit path indication for people in the built space using the directional indicators of the doors, controlled in concert to create the exit path indication.

Although specific examples have been described, these are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which should be determined with reference to the accompanying claims.

Claims

28

CLAIMS A safety device for fitting to a door, the safety device comprising: an indicator configured to indicate in use the status of the door for passage, wherein the indicator is adjustable based on event information; a receiver operable to receive event information; a controller configured to control the indicator; a power supply; and an indicator housing, which houses the receiver, controller and power supply and which houses at least part of the indicator. A door defining a recess, wherein the door includes the safety device of claim 1 installed in the recess. A door including a safety device, the safety device comprising: an indicator configured to indicate in use the status of the door for passage, and/or indicate in use a direction to go to follow an exit path from the position of the door, wherein the indicator is adjustable based on event information; a receiver operable to receive event information; a controller configured to control the indicator; and a power supply, wherein the safety device is integrated into the door. The safety device of claim 1 or the door of claim 2 or 3, wherein the indicator includes a light source arranged on the door and wherein the light source is configured to be visible from external to the door when illuminated. The safety device of claim 1 or 4, or the door of claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the indicator includes LEDs, wherein the safety device is configured to illuminate the LEDs to indicate a first status of the door and to reduce illumination of the LEDs or extinguish the LEDs to indicate a second status of the door. The safety device of any preceding safety device claim or the door of any preceding door claim, wherein the indicator includes first and second sets of LEDs, wherein a set of LEDs includes LEDs of the same colour and wherein the first set of LEDs includes LEDs of a different colour from the second set of LEDs, wherein the safety device is configured to illuminate the first set of LEDs to indicate a first status of the door and to illuminate the second set of LEDs to indicate a second status of the door. The safety device of claim 6 or the door of claim 6 wherein the safety device illuminates a set of green LEDs to indicate that the door is safe to use, and wherein the safety device illuminates a set of red LEDs to indicate that the door is not safe to use. The safety device of any preceding safety device claim or the door of any preceding door claim, wherein the indicator is a directional indicator. The safety device of any preceding safety device claim or the door of any preceding door claim, wherein the indicator includes a light source arranged in the shape of an arrow, wherein the arrow is arranged to point away from the door. The door of claim 3, wherein the door comprises a transparent or translucent panel, and wherein the indicator includes a light source arranged adjacent the panel and configured to direct light onto the panel when illuminated. The door of claim 10, including beading attaching the panel to the door, wherein the light source is embedded into or otherwise attached to the beading or retained to the door by the beading. The door of claim 11, wherein the beading is partially, substantially or completely translucent or transparent. A safety device according to any preceding safety device claim wherein (i) the device comprises a unit adapted to be fitted in a rebate or recess in a door, the unit having a depth of 2cm or less, or 1.5 cm or less, or 1 cm or less, and preferably having a depth of about 1 cm; or a door according to any preceding door claim having a safety device in accordance with part (i) of this claim. A safety device according to any preceding safety device claim or a door according to any preceding door claim, wherein the indicator comprises LEDs and the controller is adapted to cause the LED’s to flash when the controller receives event information indicating an evacuation event, or a device test signal, the power supply having enough power to enable the LEDs to keep operating in their flashing mode for at least 30 minutes, and preferably for at least an hour or at least 90 minutes. A safety device or door according to claim 14, wherein LEDS of one colour (e.g. green) are provided and LEDS of another different colour (e.g. red) are provided and wherein the controller is adapted to cause the different colour LEDs to flash at different rates, or to cause those of one colour to flash whilst those of another colour do not flash (either being continuously on, or not energised). A safety device or door according to any preceding claim wherein the power supply comprises a removable or rechargeable battery, optionally provided behind a control board that has the controller on it and that is connected to or that carries LED lights, comprising the indicator, the battery optionally being removable from the device without having to remove the device from the door. The door of any one of claims 10, 11 or 12, wherein the door includes an intumescent seal arranged between the panel and the light source. The door of any preceding door claim, comprising an intumescent seal and/or a drop seal. The safety device of any preceding safety device claim or the door of any preceding door claim, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a command signal from a remote device and wherein the controller is configured to control the indicator based on the command signal. The safety device of any preceding safety device claim or the door of any preceding door claim, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a sensor signal from a sensor and wherein the controller is configured to control the indicator based on the received sensor signal. The safety device of claim 19 or the door of claim 19, wherein the receiver is configured to receive an override signal from a remote device and wherein the controller is configured to perform an override action to control the indicator based on the received override signal in place of the received sensor signal. A safety network including: a first door according to any preceding door claim or a first door including a safety device according to any preceding safety device claim, and a second door according to any preceding door claim or a second door including a safety device according to any preceding safety device claim, wherein the safety device of the first door includes a transmitter configured to transmit event information and wherein the safety device of the second door is configured to receive the event information, wherein the indicator of the second door is controllable based on the event information. A safety network according to claim 22, further comprising a remote device, wherein the remote device is configured to transmit a command signal wherein the controller of each safety device is configured to control the indicator of each safety device based on the command signal. A building including a door including a safety device, or a safety network, according to any preceding claim. A method of indicating the status of a door, comprising: providing a safety device integrated into the door, the safety device including a power supply, and providing an indicator as part of the safety device; and indicating that the door is safe for passage or that the door is not safe for passage and/or providing a directional indication to indicate in use a direction to go to follow an exit path from the position of the door. A method of indicating the status of a door, comprising: providing a safety device, the safety device including a power supply, and providing an indicator as part of the safety device; installing the safety device into a recess defined in the door; and indicating that the door is safe for passage or that the door is not safe for passage. The method of claim 25 or claim 26, wherein adjusting the indicator based on event information includes: receiving, at a receiver of the safety device, a command signal from a remote device or a sensor signal from a sensor; and controlling the indicator based on the received command signal or sensor signal. The method of any one of claims 25, 26 or 27, further comprising: receiving an override signal from a remote device; ending control of the indicator based on the command signal or the sensor signal; and controlling the indicator based on the override signal. A method of improving fire safety of a building comprising replacing one or more doors in a building with doors including a safety device according to any preceding safety device claim or any preceding door claim, wherein the safety devices are communicatively coupled and configured to share event information between safety devices.