Aircraft Exit Guidance Lighting With Dynamic Operable-Exit Direction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional aircraft emergency lighting systems fail to effectively guide passengers and crew to the nearest operable exit during emergencies, especially when one or more exits are unusable, leading to a time-consuming and dangerous process.
Innovation Solution
An emergency lighting system with strategically placed light sources, including interior and exterior lights, that can be controlled individually or in groups to indicate the direction to the nearest operable exit, utilizing sensors to monitor exit and slide functionality and dynamically adjust lighting patterns in real-time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional emergency lighting systems activate all lights simultaneously, then all exits are illuminated, but passengers cannot quickly identify the nearest operable exit when some exits are unusable
Solution Approach 1:
The emergency lighting system is segmented into individually controllable light sources distributed throughout the aircraft cabin. Each light source or group of lights can be independently activated or deactivated based on the operational status of nearby exits, allowing the system to provide differentiated guidance information to passengers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that detect the operational status of exits and provide feedback to the controller. Based on this feedback, the controller dynamically adjusts which lights are activated, creating a responsive guidance system that adapts to real-time conditions and directs passengers toward operable exits.
2Ease of operation
If individual floor lights are controlled separately, then directional guidance to specific exits is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller serves multiple functions: it receives sensor inputs, determines exit operability, calculates optimal light activation patterns, and controls individual floor lights. This multi-functionality consolidates what could be multiple separate systems into a single integrated controller, managing complexity while enabling sophisticated directional guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system transitions from static, uniform illumination to dynamic, adaptive lighting patterns. The controller continuously monitors exit status and adjusts light activation in real-time, creating moving guidance patterns that actively direct passengers toward operable exits rather than merely illuminating all areas equally.
3Reliability
If emergency lighting provides real-time exit status information, then passenger safety is enhanced, but system reliability requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of exit operability through sensors before activating the lighting guidance pattern. By detecting exit status in advance and pre-calculating the appropriate light activation sequence, the system ensures reliable guidance is ready immediately when needed, rather than reacting after an emergency occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency lighting system monitors its own operational context through integrated sensors and automatically adjusts its behavior without external intervention. The controller self-determines which exits are operable and self-configures the lighting pattern accordingly, making the system self-sufficient and reducing dependency on external control systems during emergencies.
Data Source
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AI summary
An emergency lighting system is disclosed herein. The emergency lighting system includes an interior emergency light (320) disposed adjacent an exit door (314) and configured to illuminate the exit door, a plurality of floor lights (322) disposed in a row on a floor, the plurality of floor lights configured to illuminate an aisle, wherein each floor light of the plurality of floor lights is configured to be controlled individually and separately from the other plurality of floor lights, and a controller (502) operatively coupled to the interior emergency light and the plurality of floor lights and configured to activate the interior emergency light in response to an emergency and to activate each of the plurality of floor lights to indicate a direction to the exit door.