Notification appliance circuit with energy storing notification devices
First Claim
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1. A notification appliance circuit (NAC) comprising:
- a plurality of notification devices, each device including a strobe circuit and an energy storage device for supplying electrical energy to the strobe circuit to generate light flashes, the electrical storage device having a capacity to store enough electrical energy for repeated generation of light flashes over a time period without fully discharging;
circuit wiring connected to the notification devices to provide electrical power to the notification devices;
a power conditioning circuit connected to the circuit wiring for providing charging current to the energy storage device; and
a controller for providing control signals to the power conditioning circuit to control the charging current provided to the energy storage device;
wherein the controller provides control signals to cause the power conditioning circuit to fully charge the energy storage device when the NAC is in a supervisory state;
wherein the controller provides control signals to cause the power conditioning circuit to recharge the energy storage device when the NAC is in an active state and the energy storage device has been partially discharged;
wherein the controller provides control signals to the strobe circuit to reduce intensity of the light flashes during a period when the energy storage device is being recharged when the NAC is in the active state.
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Abstract
A notification appliance circuit (NAC) includes notification devices having a high capacity rechargeable energy storage device such as a supercapacitor and a strobe circuit. The supercapacitor can provide energy to produce flashes over an extended time period without fully discharging. The notification devices can also make use of the fallback power strategy in which the strobe circuit operates with reduced intensity while the supercapacitor is being recharged.
37 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A notification appliance circuit (NAC) comprising:
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a plurality of notification devices, each device including a strobe circuit and an energy storage device for supplying electrical energy to the strobe circuit to generate light flashes, the electrical storage device having a capacity to store enough electrical energy for repeated generation of light flashes over a time period without fully discharging; circuit wiring connected to the notification devices to provide electrical power to the notification devices; a power conditioning circuit connected to the circuit wiring for providing charging current to the energy storage device; and a controller for providing control signals to the power conditioning circuit to control the charging current provided to the energy storage device; wherein the controller provides control signals to cause the power conditioning circuit to fully charge the energy storage device when the NAC is in a supervisory state; wherein the controller provides control signals to cause the power conditioning circuit to recharge the energy storage device when the NAC is in an active state and the energy storage device has been partially discharged; wherein the controller provides control signals to the strobe circuit to reduce intensity of the light flashes during a period when the energy storage device is being recharged when the NAC is in the active state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A notification device for use in a notification appliance circuit (NAC), the notification device comprising:
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a strobe circuit for generating light flashes; an energy storage device for supplying electrical energy to the strobe circuit to generate light flashes, the electrical storage device having a capacity to store enough electrical energy for repeated generation of light flashes over a time period without fully discharging; a power conditioning circuit connected to the circuit wiring for providing charging current to the energy storage device; and a controller for providing control signals to the power conditioning circuit to control the charging current provided to the energy storage device; wherein the controller provides control signals to cause the power conditioning circuit to fully charge the energy storage device when the notification device is in a supervisory state in which the strobe circuit is inactive; wherein the controller provides control signals to cause the power conditioning circuit to recharge the energy storage device when the strobe circuit is active and the energy storage device has been partially discharged; wherein the controller provides control signals to the strobe circuit to reduce intensity of the light flashes during a period when the energy storage device is being recharged and the strobe circuit is active. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification