Distributed emergency lighting system having self-testing and diagnostic capabilities
First Claim
1. A distributed emergency lighting system for use in a building having one or more conventional lighting system areas powered from a source of alternating current (AC) voltage, said distributed emergency lighting system comprising:
- an electroluminescent (EL) panel stripe;
a source of direct current (DC) voltage;
means electrically coupled to said DC voltage source for providing electrical power to said EL panel strip;
said electrical power means further comprising control means for illuminating automatically without operator intervention said EL panel stripe from a non-illuminated state to an illuminated state for a predetermined designated lighting area of the one or more conventional lighting system areas within the building in response to an emergency input triggering event; and
wherein said power means further comprises an EL power supply having an input coupled to the line side of an electrical switch supplying commercial AC power to the conventional lighting located in said designated area and to said DC voltage source in the absence of AC power at the line side of said electrical switch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A distributed emergency building lighting system senses the presence or absence of AC power at the input of a switch controlling lighting in a designated area or an input stimulus such as an alarm to provide low-level marking for visual delineation of the path of egress or lighting of a predetermined designated area by illuminating an EL panel in accordance with code requirements. Self-diagnostic testing verifies operational conditions of the battery and illumination circuit to ensure code compliance.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A distributed emergency lighting system for use in a building having one or more conventional lighting system areas powered from a source of alternating current (AC) voltage, said distributed emergency lighting system comprising:
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an electroluminescent (EL) panel stripe;
a source of direct current (DC) voltage;
means electrically coupled to said DC voltage source for providing electrical power to said EL panel strip;
said electrical power means further comprising control means for illuminating automatically without operator intervention said EL panel stripe from a non-illuminated state to an illuminated state for a predetermined designated lighting area of the one or more conventional lighting system areas within the building in response to an emergency input triggering event; and
wherein said power means further comprises an EL power supply having an input coupled to the line side of an electrical switch supplying commercial AC power to the conventional lighting located in said designated area and to said DC voltage source in the absence of AC power at the line side of said electrical switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A distributed emergency lighting system for use in one or more conventional lighting system areas in a building powered from a source of alternating current (AC) voltage, said distributed emergency lighting system comprising:
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an electroluminescent (EL) panel stripe;
a source of direct current (DC) voltage;
means electrically coupled to said DC voltage source for providing electrical power to said EL panel strip wherein said electrical power means further comprising controller means for illuminating automatically without operator intervention said EL panel strip from a non-illuminated state to an illuminated state for a predetermined designated conventional lighting system area of the one or more conventional lighting system areas within the building in response to an emergency input triggering event, and self-diagnostic circuit testing means electrically coupled to said electrical power means and said EL panel stripe and said controller means for verifying operational conditions of the lighting system including the detection of an electrical short circuit and an electrical open circuit of an EL panel coupled to said control means. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
means for sensing the battery voltage during the short time interval that said test electrical load is connected, and means for providing an alarm indication in response to the battery voltage falling below a predetermined voltage value during the sensing time interval.
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15. The distributed emergency lighting system as defined in claim 14, wherein the test electrical load is in the range of 10 to 20 times the electrical load of the emergency building lighting system.
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16. The distributed emergency lighting system as defined in claim 15, wherein said predetermined short time interval is in the range of 10 to 30 seconds.
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17. A distributed emergency building lighting system comprising:
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an electroluminescent (EL) panel;
means for providing electrical power to illuminate said EL panel; and
control means electrically coupled to said electrical power means and said EL panel for illuminating a predetermined designated area within the building in response to an input stimulus;
wherein said power means further comprises an EL power supply having an input coupled to the line side of an electrical switch supplying commercial AC power to the conventional lighting located in said designated area and to a DC voltage source in the absence of AC power at the line side of said electrical switch, and wherein said EL power supply further includes means for adjusting the light intensity of the EL panel to a desired intensity. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A distributed emergency building lighting system comprising:
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an electroluminescent (EL) panel;
means for providing electrical power to illuminate said EL panel;
controller means electrically coupled to said electrical power means and said EL panel for illuminating a predetermined designated conventional lighting area within the building in response to an input stimulus;
said power means for providing power to illuminate said EL panel further comprising an EL power supply having an input coupled to the line side of an electrical switch supplying commercial AC power to the conventional lighting located in said designated area and in the absence of AC power at the line side of said electrical switch to a DC voltage source;
said EL power supply further including means for adjusting the light intensity of the EL panel to a desired intensity, and said controller means further including self-diagnostic testing means for verifying operational conditions of the lighting system including the detection of an electrical short circuit and an electrical open circuit of an EL panel coupled to said controller means.
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Specification