Emergency lighting device

Abstract

To provide an emergency lighting device that can control the suspension and resumption of inspection operations without being mistaken for an abnormality.SOLUTION: An emergency lighting device includes a light source unit, a power supply device, and a storage battery, and is connected to a sensor. The light source unit is configured to light up in response to power supply, and the sensor is configured to transmit a human presence signal to the power supply device when a person is detected. The power supply device performs a charging process for charging the storage battery, a start process for starting power supply from the storage battery to the light source unit, an interruption process for stopping the power supply in response to reception of a human presence signal, a resumption process for resuming the power supply in response to no reception of a human presence signal for a certain period of time during the interruption process, a completion process for completing the power supply when the voltage of the storage battery is discharged to a specific threshold value, and a determination process for calculating a total lighting time, which is the total time the light source unit is lit by power supply, and determining whether the total lighting time is equal to or longer than a predetermined lighting time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to emergency lighting devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Emergency exit lights and emergency lights, which are a type of emergency lighting equipment, are required to be inspected by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency or the Building Standards Act of Japan. Since this inspection involves turning on the emergency lights, the light source used during normal use may have to be stopped. Therefore, depending on the installation location and environment of the emergency lighting equipment, it may be necessary to stop operations during the inspection or to carry out the inspection on a non-working day. This has led to an issue of increasing the burden on inspectors.

[0003] The above-mentioned problems can be solved by a lighting device disclosed in Patent Document 1, which automatically starts inspection work based on the period of use of the emergency power supply. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-27706 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, because the above-mentioned inspection work involves turning on the emergency lights, there was a problem that if the emergency lighting device was installed in a location within view of general users, it could be mistaken for an abnormality.

[0006] In addition, the inspection of emergency lighting equipment includes checking whether emergency lighting can be provided for the specified period of time. Therefore, if the inspection is interrupted, it is necessary to restart the charging of the storage battery and the inspection from the beginning, which increases the burden on the inspector.

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure aims to provide an emergency lighting device that can control the suspension and resumption of inspection operations without causing general users to mistakenly believe that an abnormality has occurred. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An aspect of the present disclosure is preferably an emergency lighting device that includes a light source unit, a power supply device, and a storage battery and is connected to a sensor, in which the light source unit is configured to turn on in response to power supply, the sensor is configured to transmit a human presence signal to the power supply device when it detects a person, and the power supply device is configured to perform a charging process for charging the storage battery with power supplied from a commercial power source, a start process for starting power supply from the storage battery to the light source unit, an interruption process for stopping power supply in response to reception of a human presence signal, a resume process for resuming power supply in response to no human presence signal being received for a certain period of time during the interruption process, a completion process for completing power supply when the voltage of the storage battery is discharged until it reaches a specific threshold value, and a determination process for calculating a total lighting time, which is the total time that the light source unit was turned on by power supply, and determining whether the total lighting time is equal to or longer than a default lighting time. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the suspension and resumption of an inspection operation can be controlled without causing general users to mistakenly believe that an abnormality has occurred. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an emergency lighting system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view showing an emergency lighting device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 1 is a structural exploded view showing an emergency lighting device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the emergency lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a human presence sensor according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing an inspection remote control according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] First embodiment [Configuration of emergency lighting device according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure]

[0012] Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an emergency lighting system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 1 illustrates the connection between an emergency lighting device 1 and a human sensor 8, inspection operations using an inspection remote control 9, and human detection by the human sensor 8.

[0013] The emergency lighting system 100 is connected to a commercial power source 10. The commercial power source 10 supplies power to the emergency lighting device 1 under normal circumstances.

[0014] The emergency lighting device 1 is connected to a human presence sensor 8. The human presence sensor 8 detects the presence or absence of a person 12 and transmits a human presence / absence signal. The emergency lighting device 1 receives the human presence / absence signal from the human presence sensor 8.

[0015] Furthermore, the emergency lighting device 1 may start an inspection operation by being remotely controlled from an inspection remote control 9.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the emergency lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure, and Fig. 3 is an exploded structural view showing the emergency lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] The emergency lighting device 1 includes a light source unit 2. The light source unit 2 is turned on using power supplied from a commercial power source 10 during normal times. Furthermore, when the commercial power source 10 is cut off during an emergency, the light source unit 2 is turned on using discharge power supplied from a storage battery 3. The storage battery 3 is charged with power supplied from the commercial power source 10 during normal times, and supplies discharge power to the light source unit 2 during an emergency.

[0018] The emergency lighting device 1 also includes a power supply device 4. The power supply device 4 charges the storage battery 3 using power supplied from a commercial power source 10 during normal times, and lights up the light source unit 2 using discharge power supplied from the storage battery 3 during an emergency.

[0019] 4 is a bottom view of the emergency lighting device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The emergency lighting device 1 is provided with a charging monitor lamp 5 on the bottom. The charging monitor lamp 5 is a lamp that indicates the charging state. The charging monitor lamp 5 is lit when the commercial power source 10 is energized, and is turned off when the commercial power source 10 is cut off or when the light source unit 2 is in an emergency lighting state due to an inspection operation or the like.

[0020] Whether the commercial power source 10 is energized is detected by the power supply device 4. By detecting this, the power supply device 4 controls the supply of charging power to the storage battery 3 and the supply of lighting power to the charging monitor lamp 5.

[0021] Furthermore, the emergency lighting device 1 is provided on its underside with a manual inspection start button 6 and a self-inspection inspection start button 7. The functions of the manual inspection start button 6 and the self-inspection inspection start button 7 will be described later.

[0022] 5 is a diagram showing a human presence sensor according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The human presence sensor 8 is a sensor that detects the presence or absence of a person. Detection performed by the human presence sensor 8 may be performed, for example, by a method using infrared rays, radio waves, or image information. An example of a method using radio waves is a method in which radio waves are transmitted, and radio waves reflected by an object are received, and a moving body is detected based on the frequencies of the transmitted wave and the received wave caused by the Doppler effect.

[0023] The human presence sensor 8 is connected to the power supply device 4. The human presence sensor 8 transmits to the power supply device 4 a human presence / absence signal according to the presence or absence of a detected human.

[0024] The human presence sensor 8 may be mounted on the emergency lighting device 1, or may be separately installed outside the emergency lighting device 1. Alternatively, the human presence sensor 8 may be built into the power supply device 4.

[0025] The human sensor 8 is an example of a sensor used as a means for detecting the presence or absence of a person. Another means for detecting the presence or absence of a person is entrance / exit detection using a card key such as an employee ID card. For example, when a person enters or leaves an office space or a lighting space, authentication using a card key is performed. Using this authentication, time-attendance information is created, such as when a person enters the room, it indicates that the person has arrived at work, and when a person leaves the room, it indicates that the person has left work. Then, when a person has arrived at work, a presence signal is sent to the power supply device 4, and when a person has left work, a non-presence signal is sent to the power supply device 4. In this way, by sending a presence / non-presence signal to the power supply device 4 based on the time-attendance information using the entrance / exit detection, it is possible to perform control similar to that of the human sensor 8.

[0026] 6 is a diagram showing an inspection remote control according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The inspection remote control 9 is used when starting an inspection operation of the emergency lighting device 1 by remote control.

[0027] [Inspection method according to embodiment 1 of the present disclosure] An inspection method according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the inspection performed by the emergency lighting device 1, the switching operation of the power supply source is checked, and the duration of emergency lighting is measured. The checking of the switching operation of the power supply source is a check assuming that the commercial power source 10 is cut off, and is a check of the operation of switching from normal lighting by the commercial power source 10 to emergency lighting by the storage battery 3. The measurement of the duration of emergency lighting is a measurement of the duration that emergency lighting of the light source unit 2 by the storage battery 3 can be continued.

[0028] First, the start of the inspection operation will be described. The inspection operation is started by the power supply device 4 upon receiving an inspection start signal. The inspection start signal may be transmitted by pressing or pulling down the self-inspection inspection start button 7 of the emergency lighting device 1, or may be transmitted by remote control using the inspection remote control 9. Alternatively, if the emergency lighting device 1 has a timer, the signal may be transmitted automatically at a preset start time for the inspection operation.

[0029] The inspection operation is started when the storage battery 3 is fully charged. The fully charged state is, for example, when the storage battery 3 is charged until the voltage of the storage battery 3 reaches or exceeds a specific threshold value.

[0030] Furthermore, the emergency lighting device 1 has a function of notifying the insufficient charge state when it receives an inspection start signal while the storage battery 3 is not charged above the threshold. The function of notifying is, for example, a function of turning on a monitor lamp that notifies the user of insufficient charge or that inspection cannot be started. Or, a function of performing an operation different from normal operation, such as blinking the emergency light source. As described above, the emergency lighting device 1 notifies the user that the charge state of the storage battery 3 is not above the threshold, and does not proceed to inspection operation.

[0031] Next, the interruption of the inspection operation will be described. The inspection operation is interrupted in response to the detection of the presence of a person. For example, the inspection operation is interrupted when a human presence signal is transmitted from the human presence sensor 8.

[0032] The interruption of the inspection operation will be described in more detail. During the inspection operation, the light source unit 2 is in an emergency lighting state. When the human presence sensor 8 detects the presence of a person, it transmits a human presence signal to the power supply device 4. When the power supply device 4 receives the human presence signal, it stops the power supply from the storage battery 3 to the light source unit 2.

[0033] Next, the restart of the inspection operation will be described. The inspection operation is restarted when the presence of a person is no longer detected during the interruption of the inspection operation described above. For example, the inspection operation is restarted when the presence signal of a person is not transmitted from the human presence sensor 8 for a certain period of time.

[0034] The restarted inspection operation is completed when the power charged in the storage battery 3 is sufficiently discharged. When it is sufficiently discharged, for example, it is when the voltage of the storage battery 3 is discharged until it reaches a specific threshold. The specific threshold is, for example, a discharge reference voltage of the storage battery 3, which is a battery voltage required to turn on the emergency lighting device 1 at the required illuminance.

[0035] When the inspection operation is completed, the power supply device 4 measures the lighting time from the start of the inspection operation to its interruption, and the lighting time from the restart of the inspection operation to its completion, and calculates the total lighting time. Furthermore, the power supply device 4 judges whether this total lighting time is equal to or longer than the specified lighting time. This allows the power supply device 4 to judge whether the emergency lighting by the storage battery 3 satisfies the specified lighting time.

[0036] As described above, in this embodiment, the inspection operation is interrupted and resumed in response to the presence / absence signal from the human presence sensor 8, so that the interruption and resumption of the inspection operation can be controlled without causing general users to mistakenly believe that an abnormality has occurred.

[0037] The inspection operation may be interrupted and resumed multiple times. In this case, the power supply device 4 calculates the total lighting time of the multiple lighting operations performed from the start to the completion of the inspection operation.

[0038] The above-mentioned inspection operation is for carrying out emergency lighting during normal times. That is, in the event of an emergency such as a power outage, the emergency lighting device carries out emergency lighting regardless of the presence or absence of a person presence / absence signal. Alternatively, if the emergency lighting device 1 is further connected to a device for detecting an emergency, such as an emergency exit light signal device or a smoke detector, the operation command from the device takes priority over the signal from the human presence sensor 8.

[0039] Furthermore, only in the automatic inspection state can the inspection operation be suspended and resumed in response to the presence / absence signal from the human sensor 8. In other words, when a manual inspection operation is being performed, control is not performed in response to the presence / absence signal from the human sensor 8. This is the same when the presence or absence of a human is detected by a means other than the human sensor 8.

[0040] Embodiment 2 An inspection method according to embodiment 2 of the present disclosure will be described below. The inspection method according to this embodiment differs from embodiment 1 in that if the inspection operation is suspended for a certain period of time exceeding a threshold, the inspection operation is restarted from the beginning.

[0041] As described above, the inspection operation may be interrupted and resumed multiple times. However, if the inspection operation is interrupted for a long period of time, the power of the storage battery 3 may decrease due to natural discharge. If the inspection operation is resumed in a state where the power is reduced, the lighting time will be shorter than the original possible time. In other words, since the total lighting time is shorter than the original value, there is a problem in that it is not possible to determine whether the emergency lighting by the storage battery 3 satisfies the specified lighting time.

[0042] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the total period during which the inspection operation is suspended exceeds a threshold, the inspection operation is stopped instead of being resumed. The suspension period refers to the period from when the inspection operation is suspended to when it is resumed. This threshold may be set to, for example, 16 hours, assuming a time during which the operation may be suspended due to a power drop caused by natural discharge of the battery or an installation location or environment of the emergency lighting device 1.

[0043] The restart of the inspection operation in this case will be described in more detail. First, the power supply device 4 switches the power supply source. That is, the power supply source is switched to the commercial power source 10, and the process of charging the storage battery 3 is executed again.

[0044] After the storage battery 3 is fully charged, the inspection operation is resumed by a process similar to the above-mentioned inspection operation start process. At this time, the lighting time before the power supply source is switched is not included in the total lighting time. In other words, the inspection operation is restarted from the beginning.

[0045] As described above, in this embodiment, if the inspection operation is interrupted for a certain period of time that exceeds a certain threshold, the inspection operation is restarted from the beginning, making it possible to accurately determine whether the emergency lighting by the storage battery 3 satisfies the specified lighting time.

[0046] Third embodiment An inspection method according to embodiment 3 of the present disclosure will be described. The inspection method according to this embodiment differs from embodiment 1 in that if the inspection operation is suspended for a certain period of time, the total lighting time is corrected based on factors that affect the lighting time.

[0047] Examples of factors that affect the lighting time include the natural discharge amount of the storage battery 3 and the voltage of the storage battery 3 required to light the light source unit 2. If the tendency of the natural discharge amount of the storage battery 3 can be grasped, the total lighting time may be corrected by calculating the lighting time that is shorter than the originally possible time based on the length of time that the interrupted state continued. In addition, the total lighting time may be corrected by calculating the ratio of the voltage of the storage battery 3 required to light the light source unit 2 to the voltage of the storage battery 3 that decreases due to natural discharge, and multiplying it by the length of time that the interrupted state continued.

[0048] A first method for grasping the tendency of the amount of natural discharge of the storage battery 3 is, for example, a method of acquiring a discharge rate that is generally known according to the type of secondary battery used in the storage battery. For example, it is known that nickel-cadmium storage batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries have a high discharge rate, while lithium-ion batteries and all-solid-state batteries have a low discharge rate. Currently, nickel-metal hydride batteries are widely used in emergency exit lights and emergency lights, which are a type of emergency lighting device, and therefore the discharge rate of the nickel-metal hydride batteries can be taken into consideration.

[0049] A second example of a method for understanding the tendency of the amount of natural discharge of the storage battery 3 is to actually measure the voltage when the storage battery 3 is allowed to naturally discharge.

[0050] As described above, in this embodiment, by correcting the total lighting time based on factors that affect the lighting time, it is possible to accurately determine whether the emergency lighting provided by the storage battery 3 satisfies the specified lighting time.

[0051] Fourth embodiment An inspection method according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The inspection method according to this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a delay control is performed when the inspection operation is suspended and resumed in response to a human presence / absence signal from the human presence sensor 8. The delay time described above may be set arbitrarily, for example, to several seconds.

[0052] In this embodiment, delay control is performed when the inspection operation is interrupted in response to, for example, the detection of the presence of a person. Here, it is considered that an inspector visually checks whether the inspection operation is being performed normally.

[0053] If delay control is not performed, emergency lighting will be interrupted when an inspector approaches the emergency lighting device 1. This will prevent the inspector from visually checking the emergency lighting, which may lead to the inspector mistakingly believing that the inspection operation is not being performed normally.

[0054] Therefore, in this embodiment, the emergency lighting is interrupted with a delay after a person enters the detection range of the human presence sensor 8. This makes it possible to prevent the user from mistakingly determining that the inspection operation is not being performed normally, particularly in an environment where the emergency lighting cannot be seen from outside the detection range of the human presence sensor 8.

[0055] In this embodiment, delay control is performed when the inspection operation is resumed in response to, for example, the absence of human presence. The absence of human presence means, for example, that a certain time has passed since the human presence sensor 8 transmitted a human presence signal, or that the human presence sensor 8 transmits a human absence signal. Here, it is considered that a general user passes by the vicinity of the emergency lighting device 1.

[0056] If delay control is not performed, emergency lighting will resume when the general user moves away from the emergency lighting device 1. In other words, the general user can visually confirm that emergency lighting has resumed. This may cause the general user to have a feeling that perhaps they forgot to turn off the lights or that there is someone nearby. Alternatively, the general user may mistakenly believe that the emergency lighting device 1 is on because an abnormality has occurred.

[0057] Therefore, in this embodiment, the emergency lighting is resumed with a delay after the person leaves the detection range of the human sensor 8. This makes it possible to prevent general users in particular from feeling uncomfortable or mistaking that an abnormality has occurred.

[0058] As described above, in this embodiment, delay control is performed when interrupting and resuming the inspection operation in response to the presence / absence signal from the human presence sensor 8, thereby preventing people from misunderstanding the inspection operation.

[0059] Below, aspects of the present disclosure are summarized as appendices.

[0060] (Appendix 1) An emergency lighting device comprising a light source unit, a power supply device, and a storage battery, and connected to a sensor; The light source unit is configured to be turned on in response to a power supply, The sensor is configured to transmit a human presence signal to a power supply device when the sensor detects a human; The power supply device includes: a charging process for charging the storage battery with power supplied from a commercial power source; A start process for starting power supply from the storage battery to the light source unit; an interruption process of stopping the power supply in response to reception of the person presence signal; a resumption process of resuming the power supply in response to the person presence signal not being received for a certain period of time during the interruption process; a completion process for completing the power supply when the voltage of the storage battery is discharged to a specific threshold value; a determination process of calculating a total lighting time, which is a total time during which the light source unit is turned on by the power supply, and determining whether the total lighting time is equal to or longer than a predetermined lighting time; is configured to implement Emergency lighting equipment. (Appendix 2) The power supply device a process of stopping the power supply when a total time from the interruption process to the resumption process exceeds a threshold; a recharging process for performing the charging process again; a re-execution process of re-executing the start process, the interruption process, the restart process, the completion process, and the determination process after the recharging process; and further configured to: The re-execution process is a process of excluding the time during which the light source unit was turned on before the recharging process was performed from the total lighting time. 2. An emergency lighting device as described in appended claim 1. (Appendix 3) The total illumination time is corrected based on factors that affect the illumination time. 5. An emergency lighting device as defined in claim 1 or 2. (Appendix 4) The start of the interruption process or the restart process is controlled with a delay. 4. An emergency lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. (Appendix 5) 5. An emergency lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sensor is built-in. (Appendix 6) The sensor is built into the power supply device. 5. An emergency lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. (Appendix 7) Further equipped with a timer, The start process is automatically started at a start time preset in the timer. 7. An emergency lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1 Emergency lighting system 2 Light source unit 3. Storage battery 4 Power supply 10 Commercial power supply 12 people

Claims

1. An emergency lighting device comprising a light source unit, a power supply device, and a storage battery, and connected to a sensor; The light source unit is configured to be turned on in response to a power supply, The sensor is configured to transmit a human presence signal to a power supply device when the sensor detects a human; The power supply device includes: a charging process for charging the storage battery with power supplied from a commercial power source; A start process for starting power supply from the storage battery to the light source unit; an interruption process of stopping the power supply in response to reception of the person presence signal; a resumption process of resuming the power supply in response to the person presence signal not being received for a certain period of time during the interruption process; a completion process for completing the power supply when the voltage of the storage battery is discharged to a specific threshold value; a determination process of calculating a total lighting time, which is a total time during which the light source unit is turned on by the power supply, and determining whether the total lighting time is equal to or longer than a predetermined lighting time; is configured to implement Emergency lighting equipment.

2. The power supply device a process of stopping the power supply when a total time from the interruption process to the resumption process exceeds a threshold; a recharging process for performing the charging process again; a re-execution process of re-executing the start process, the interruption process, the restart process, the completion process, and the determination process after the recharging process; and further configured to: The re-execution process is a process of excluding the time during which the light source unit was turned on before the recharging process was performed from the total lighting time.

2. An emergency lighting device according to claim 1.

3. The total illumination time is corrected based on factors that affect the illumination time.

2. An emergency lighting device according to claim 1.

4. The start of the interruption process or the restart process is controlled with a delay.

2. An emergency lighting device according to claim 1.

5. 2. The emergency lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is built-in.

6. The sensor is built into the power supply device.

2. An emergency lighting device according to claim 1.

7. Further equipped with a timer, The start process is automatically started at a start time preset in the timer.

2. An emergency lighting device according to claim 1.

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