LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR FOLDED INFLATABLE ESCAPE SLIDES WITH MEANS FOR TESTING SYSTEM WITH SLIDE IN FOLDED CONDITION
First Claim
1. In an emergency lighting system for an escape slide for use in vehicles such as aircraft wherein said escape slide is made of flexible gastight material, is prepared for positioning within a vehicle by being placed in tightly folded deflated condition, and is provided with inflating means to deploy said slide into inflated condition foR use;
- said emergency lighting system comprising electrical components including a plurality of light bulbs, wires secured to said slide and connected with said bulbs, a battery pack, and a switch connected in series with said battery pack and said wires, said switch being open when said slide is in said folded condition; and
said emergency lighting system including means for closing said switch, when said slide is deployed, to energize said light bulbs; and
at least some of said electrical components being enclosed in inaccessible position when said slide is in said tightly folded deflated condition;
wherein the improvement comprises;
testing means for testing the operative condition of the electrical components of said emergency lighting system while said slide is in said tightly folded deflated condition, said testing means comprising a pair of electrical conductors connected across the terminals of said open switch and having portions accessible from the exterior of said slide when said slide is in said tightly folded deflated condition, a test instrument comprising a current-sensitive device giving predetermined displays of the absence of or of the relative amounts of current flowing through said device, means for connecting said device across said accessible portions of said pair of electrical conductors thus to shunt said device across the terminals of said open switch, said test instrument having an effective electrical resistance which is sufficiently low that when said device is shunted across said open switch said light bulbs and said wires are connected with said battery pack through said device under conditions which approximate those conditions which would exist were said open switch to be closed, whereby the absence of current flow or the relative amount of current flow to said light bulbs displayed by said device when shunted across said open switch is a useful indication respectively of inoperativeness or of the relative state of operativeness of said electrical components of said emergency lighting system.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Emergency lighting system for escape slides for vehicles, primarily aircraft, comprising lighting harnesses with a plurality of electric lighting units, a battery pack, switch mechanism automatically operated to energize lights upon deployment of slide, the lighting harnesses being prefabricated in one standard size adaptable for application to slides of widely varying sizes and configurations and a testing device for determining operative condition of switch, lights and batteries without deploying slide. Slide is normally carried in aircraft in tightly folded condition with battery pack and lighting units inaccessible. Testing device includes jack extended to accessible position and testing instrument with cooperating plug. Instrument may be carried to any folded slide on an aircraft or a fleet of aircraft for periodic checking. Instrument indicates by deviation from a predetermined standard reading when defects exist in batteries, wiring, bulbs or switch.
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Citations
1 Claim
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1. In an emergency lighting system for an escape slide for use in vehicles such as aircraft wherein said escape slide is made of flexible gastight material, is prepared for positioning within a vehicle by being placed in tightly folded deflated condition, and is provided with inflating means to deploy said slide into inflated condition foR use;
- said emergency lighting system comprising electrical components including a plurality of light bulbs, wires secured to said slide and connected with said bulbs, a battery pack, and a switch connected in series with said battery pack and said wires, said switch being open when said slide is in said folded condition; and
said emergency lighting system including means for closing said switch, when said slide is deployed, to energize said light bulbs; and
at least some of said electrical components being enclosed in inaccessible position when said slide is in said tightly folded deflated condition;
wherein the improvement comprises;
testing means for testing the operative condition of the electrical components of said emergency lighting system while said slide is in said tightly folded deflated condition, said testing means comprising a pair of electrical conductors connected across the terminals of said open switch and having portions accessible from the exterior of said slide when said slide is in said tightly folded deflated condition, a test instrument comprising a current-sensitive device giving predetermined displays of the absence of or of the relative amounts of current flowing through said device, means for connecting said device across said accessible portions of said pair of electrical conductors thus to shunt said device across the terminals of said open switch, said test instrument having an effective electrical resistance which is sufficiently low that when said device is shunted across said open switch said light bulbs and said wires are connected with said battery pack through said device under conditions which approximate those conditions which would exist were said open switch to be closed, whereby the absence of current flow or the relative amount of current flow to said light bulbs displayed by said device when shunted across said open switch is a useful indication respectively of inoperativeness or of the relative state of operativeness of said electrical components of said emergency lighting system.
- said emergency lighting system comprising electrical components including a plurality of light bulbs, wires secured to said slide and connected with said bulbs, a battery pack, and a switch connected in series with said battery pack and said wires, said switch being open when said slide is in said folded condition; and
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeDME Company LLC (Hillenbrand Incorporated)
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Original AssigneeDavid H. Rush, Wayne E. Williams
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InventorsDavid, H. Rush, Wayne, E. Williams
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Primary Examiner(s)Gerard R. Strecker
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Application NumberUS05/042,840Time in Patent Office532 DaysField of Search324/51 340/214,410 182/48 193/25BUS Class Current324/414CPC Class CodesB64D 25/14 Inflatable escape chutesY10S 362/802 Position or condition respo...
