Emergency lighting

• US 6,276,634 B1
• Filed: 07/29/1999
• Issued: 08/21/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Saf-T-Glo Limited
• Original Assignee: Saf-T-Glo Limited
• Inventors: Bodle, Peter Winstanley
• Primary Examiner(s): Knight, Anthony
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOP, ANDREA MARIE
• Application Number:
  US09/364,611
• Time in Patent Office: 754 Days
• Field of Search: 521/74, 521/77, 52/33, 405/42, 405/70, 362/153, 362/84, 116/205, 116/DIG.16, 404/9, 404/14, 404/15, 404/16, 244/118.5, 244/118.6
• US Class Current: 244/118.5
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 3/00 Devices or single parts for facilitating escape from buildings or the like, e.g. protection shields, protection screens; Portable devices for preventing smoke penetrating into distinct parts of buildings A62B1/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/46 Emergency lighting, e.g. for escape routes
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/47 Circuits; Control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/68 using ultraviolet light
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 3/78 for generating luminous strips, e.g. for marking trim component edges
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 2011/0038 Illumination systems for cabins as a whole
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 25/00 Emergency apparatus or devices, not otherwise provided for parachutes B64D17/00, B64D19/00; jettisoning of fuel tanks or fuel per se B64D37/00; specially adapted for protection against criminal attack, e.g. anti-hijacking systems B64D45/0015 ; safety belts or body harnesses in general A62B35/00; safety belts or body harnesses for land vehicles B60R22/00; jettisonable parts of fuselage facilitating emergency escape B64C
• CPC Class Codes: F21S 4/22 flexible or deformable, e.g. into a curved shape
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/20 with luminescent surfaces or parts luminescent compositions C09K11/00; light sources using luminescence F21K2/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/22 Advertising or display means on roads, walls or similar surfaces, e.g. illuminated

Abstract

An emergency lighting system for an aircraft has photoluminescent strips mounted on the floor rather than a string of electrical lights. This is a better fail-safe since there is no possibility of a failure in power supply. A channel extrusion is secured to the floor of the aircraft and a photoluminescent strip is held between the channel and a transparent cover member. The photoluminescent strip has two thin layers of photoluminescent material rather on a base layer, rather than being a calendered product. This increases the light output.

Claims

1. An aircraft comprising:

(a) a floor along which is disposed an aisle having;

(i) a length and a width;

(ii) a first side region extending longitudinally adjacent to a plurality of seats that are spaced apart longitudinally along said aisle; and

(iii) a second side region spaced apart from said first side region by substantially the width of said aisle;

(b) an exit adapted to enable passengers to leave the aircraft;

(c) a first elongate guide track mounted on said floor and extending longitudinally along said first side region of said aisle;

(d) a second elongate guide track mounted on said floor and extending longitudinally along said second side region of said aisle;

(e) each of said first and second guide tracks having a generally flat, smooth top surface and comprising a plurality of track sections having a length and a width, and being butted end-to-end along the guide track;

(f) each of said plurality of track sections comprising;

(i) a photoluminescent strip extending substantially continuously along the track section and having an upper surface and a lower surface; and

(ii) a cover of light transmissive material extending continuously over said photoluminescent strip to protect said upper surface; and

(g) said photoluminescent strip being energized by an ambient light source and operable to emit visible light for a substantial period of time in an absence of said ambient light source and without being energized by an electrical current, so that said first and second guide tracks provide substantially parallel continuous tracks of light extending longitudinally along said aisle to identify said side regions of said aisle and to define a path along said aisle of the aircraft in an absence of illumination from said ambient light source, for guiding passengers along said aisle toward the exit.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of track sections further comprises a base extending along said photoluminescent strip to support said lower surface.

3. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein said photoluminescent strip is held substantially between opposed, generally parallel surfaces of said cover and said base.

4. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein said cover is releasably attached to said base.

5. The aircraft of claim 4, wherein said base and said cover have respective co-operating interengageable formations extending substantially continuously along each side of each track section.

6. The aircraft of claim 5, wherein said co-operating interengageable formations comprise downwardly projecting flanges on said cover and upwardly projecting flanges on said base.

7. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein said cover and said base are formed integrally.

8. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said photoluminescent strip includes a layer of photoluminescent material.

9. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein said photoluminescent material emits one of a yellow and a yellow-green light.

10. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein said layer of photoluminescent material overlies a reflective layer.

11. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said cover has laterally projecting side edge flanges extending longitudinally along said track section to overlie flooring material on each side of each of the first and the second guide tracks.

12. The aircraft of claim 11, wherein said side edge flanges are inclined downwardly relative to said top surface of each of the first and the second guide tracks.

13. The aircraft of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of seats disposed adjacent to said second side region of said aisle and spaced apart longitudinally along said aisle.

14. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said exit is offset to one side of said aisle from said first guide track, and wherein a pair of exit guide tracks extend from said first guide track to said exit to identify an exit aisle branching toward said exit.

15. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said first and second guide tracks include direction indicators leading to said exit.

16. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said first and second guide tracks are non-directional.

17. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said photoluminescent strip comprises a material having a photoluminescent glow property such that from a time when said ambient light source was last incident thereon, the photoluminescent strip has a light output of at least 445 mcd/m² after one minute, at least 30 mcd/m² after ten minutes, at least 8 mcd/m² after thirty minutes, and at least 3.8 mcd/m² after sixty minutes.

18. The aircraft according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of spaced-apart, parallel exit guide strips extending from one side region of said aisle to the exit, said exit being disposed adjacent to and offset from said aisle, each of said exit guide strips comprising at least one track section and having:

(a) a generally flat smooth top surface;

(b) a photoluminescent strip extending substantially continuously along said track section of the exit guide strip and having an upper surface and a lower surface; and

(c) a cover of light transmissive material extending continuously over said photoluminescent strip of the track section of the exit guide strip to protect said upper surface, said photoluminescent strip being energized by the ambient light source and being operable to emit visible light for a substantial period of time in the absence of illumination from said ambient light source and without being energized by an electrical current, so that said pair of exit guide strips provide substantially parallel continuous tracks of light extending from said aisle to said exit in the absence of the illumination from said ambient light source, for guiding passenger from said aisle towards said exit.

19. The aircraft according to claim 18, further comprising photoluminescent areas marking the exit and operable to emit light photoluminescently in the absence of the illumination from the ambient light source.

20. An aircraft emergency exit guide track adapted to illuminate an escape route along an aisle extending longitudinally along a floor of the aircraft between rows of seats, said guide track having a substantial elongate length, a substantial width transverse to said elongate length, and a plan area, said aircraft emergency exit guide track comprising:

(a) a plurality of track sections butted end-to-end to form a continuous light path, each track section comprising;

(i) an elongate base strip adapted to be secured to the floor of the aircraft;

(ii) an elongate cover that is one of transparent and translucent and extends over said base strip, said elongate cover having a substantially planar, smooth top surface;

(iii) an elongate photolumninescent strip disposed between said base strip and said elongate cover and occupying substantially all of said plan area;

(b) said elongate cover overlying and protecting said photoluminescent strip and said base strip supporting said photoluminescent strip and enabling said track section to be trodden upon without damaging said photoluminescent strip;

(c) said cover being releasably attached to the track section along each side of said track section, enabling the cover to be readily removable therefrom and replaceable; and

(d) said photoluminescent strip being activated by exposure to an ambient light source and being operable to automatically emit light photoluminescently for a substantial period of time in an absence of illumination from the ambient light source, without further activation.

21. A method for defining an escape path between rows of seats arranged on each side of an aisle extending longitudinally of an aircraft cabin, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of elongate track sections that are operable when activated by an ambient light source, to emit visible light photoluminescently for a substantial period of time in an absence of illumination from the ambient light source; and

(b) securing said track sections end-to-end to a floor of the aircraft cabin to provide an elongate guide track extending longitudinally along each side of said aisle adjacent to said rows of seats so that light emitted by the elongate track sections defines a substantially continuous path of light along said aisle.