EP3106741A1

EP3106741A1 - Emergency light for tunnel

Info

Publication number: EP3106741A1
Application number: EP15706850.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Miguel Ángel BARRENA MARTINEZ
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-01-31
Filing date: 2015-01-12
Publication date: 2016-12-21
Also published as: ES2507440A1; WO2015114183A1; ES2507440B1

Abstract

The invention relates to an emergency light for tunnels, comprising: an open casing (1); attachments for attaching the casing (1) to a tunnel; an LED body inside the casing, which can be connected to the electrical grid; an LED control plate; a cover (10) for covering the LED body and closing the casing (1); and a standalone power supply device for use in the event an electrical grid supply failure, comprising a lithium-phosphate-iron 3 A.h DC battery, a charger for charging the battery from the electrical grid, a charger control plate, and a battery control plate, including monitoring means and a time meter for monitoring the voltage and current of the battery, in order to protect the battery against overcharges, overdischarges and short circuits. The invention provides extended battery life and improves the operating versatility of the light..

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention can be included in the technical field of light devices. In particular, the invention has the object of an emergency light for tunnels, particularly for railway tunnels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the tunnels of some communication channels, such as, for example, roads and railways, for safety reasons, evacuation galleries are defined to evacuate people from the tunnel in the event of emergency, caused by accident, catastrophe or fault.
Said evacuation galleries are equipped with highly diverse kinds of means of lighting, depending on requirements, which usually comprise lights connected to the mains. To avoid the disabling of the means of lighting in the event of failure of the connection to the mains, the lighting means incorporate batteries designed to power the lights, where the batteries are charged from the mains during operating periods in which the lights are powered by the mains, whilst, in the event of failure of the mains connection, the batteries come into operation automatically and power the lights during a time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention describes an emergency light for tunnels, in particular, but not exclusively, for railway tunnels.
The light incorporates an open casing, elongated in longitudinal direction, and equipped with two ends in accordance with the longitudinal direction, where the casing also incorporates fastenings to fix the casing to a gable or to the ceiling of a tunnel.
In the interior of the casing is disposed a LED body which can be connected to the mains and additionally to a LED control board to control the powering and operation of the LED body, as well as a cover is mounted on the casing, to cover the LED body and close the casing.
The light additionally comprises an autonomous power device designed to power the LED body in the event of failure of the mains, where the power device comprises:

a DC lithium-iron-phosphate battery;
a battery control board,
a charger to charge the battery from the mains, and
a general control board, to activate a switching between mains and battery LED supply.

The battery comprises at least one cell, preferably a plurality of cells, so that the battery contains a sufficient charge for the desired purposes, for example, of 3 A.h.
The battery control board incorporates a monitoring means and a time meter, to monitor the voltage and current of each one of the cells, so as to avoid overloads, over-discharges and short-circuits.
The light described has an operating autonomy substantially greater than that of the lights known in the state of the art, and, thanks to the LED, battery and general control boards, has superior performance with respect to: reliability, and versatility as regards operating conditions, since they substantially lengthen the battery life and allow the operation of the light in accordance with a high range of voltages, currents and frequencies, which allow the light to easily adapt to the conditions required in many countries.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description being made and in order to aid towards a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description wherein, with illustrative and non-limiting character, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a perspective view of a light in accordance with the invention, where the cover has not been represented.
Figure 2a.- Shows an enlarged view of the rear part of the casing, showing grooves to fix the casing to a tunnel.
Figure 2b.- Shows a side view of the casing connected to a metal support using the grooves of figure 2a.
Figures 3a, 3b and 3c.- Show, in three different positions, the fastening of the casing to a tunnel using rotatory fastenings.
Figure 4.- Shows a detail of a side cap designed to cover the ends of the casing, and which is equipped with a silicon O-ring.
Figure 5.- Shows a side detailed perspective of the light.
Figure 6.- Shows a detail of figure 5 illustrating the relative arrangement of the casing with respect the cover.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Below, with the aid of aforementioned figures 1 to 6, a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is described.
As observed in figure 1, the emergency light for tunnels object of the present invention comprises an open casing (1), elongated in longitudinal direction, preferably manufactured in extruded aluminium and equipped with two ends according to a longitudinal direction. The casing (1) comprises connections (preferably two connections) to be fixed, both horizontally and vertically, as desired, to a gable or on the ceiling of a tunnel. In particular, it is provided that the casing (1) is fixed to the gable or to the ceiling of the tunnel through a metal support (2), previously disposed in the tunnel (see figure 2b). In accordance with a first option, as shown in figure 2a, each connection incorporates two grooves (3) which define a cross, located in the rear face of the casing (1), preferably in the vicinity of the ends. In accordance with a second alternative option, shown in figures 3a to 3c, the connections comprise a fastening (4) rotatively connected to the casing (1), preferably connected to the ends. In figures 3a to 3c, three positions are observed with different orientations of the casing (1) with respect to the fastening (4).
Again returning to figure 1, in the interior of the casing (1) is housed a LED body which supports a plurality of LEDs (5) to light the tunnel. The light has the corresponding electrical connections, such as a powering hose (not represented), located at a first end of the casing (1), to connect the light to the mains and provide power to the LEDs (5). According to a preferred embodiment, the LED body incorporates 240 LEDs (5) SMD5050 of white light, of 32 W power, with colour temperature 6000 K, capable of providing a light flow of 2700 lumens and equipped with an opening angle greater than 120°. Preferably, as shown in figure 1, it has a male quick plug (19), connected in the first end of the casing (1), and the hose is equipped with the corresponding female quick socket (not represented), to be connected to the light.
The LED body comprises a central portion (8), preferably flat, equipped with two ends, and two side portions (9), also flat, located at the ends of the central portion (8), and which are inclined with respect to the central portion (8), to allow a more uniform light distribution.
The light additionally incorporates a LED control board (not represented) to control the powering and operation of the LEDs (5). The LED control board is configured to be able to withstand different AC input voltage values, e.g. 115, 127, 220, 230 and 240 V, at an input frequency of 50-60 Hz., and an input current of up to 1A, and to provide a DC output current of 30 V and an output frequency of 35 W at maximum current. The incorporation of a LED control board with the characteristics indicated allows the light to be able to operate, without the need to make any modifications, in a manner adapted to the voltage, current, luminosity, frequency conditions, etc. which are stipulated in different countries, which provides the light with an unusual versatility. For safety reasons, the battery input comprises a 1 A and 250 V fuse.
A cover (10), see figures 3a to 3c, preferably manufactured in halogen-free, self-extinguishing polycarbonate, is mounted on the casing (1), to cover the LED body and close the casing (1). The cover (10) and, where applicable, caps (11, 21), see figure 1, have seals for sealing the casing (1), which provide a waterproof level of IP65 or higher. To achieve the indicated waterproofing, the seals comprise cap seals (see figure 4) and cover seals (see figures 5 and 6).
The cap seals incorporate, by way of example, as observed in figure 4, seals (18) manufactured in silicon toric tube with a diameter of 1.5 mm.
The cover seals incorporate, as shown in figures 5 and 6:

straight flanges (22) located longitudinally throughout the interior of the casing (1), oriented obliquely towards the interior;
curved flanges (23) located longitudinally throughout the side edges of the cover (10), to grip the straight flanges (22);
gaskets (not represented), manufactured in spongy material.

According to a preferred embodiment, the light is configured to be powered with alternating current of between 100-230 V at frequencies of 50-60 Hz, having a power factor (cos phi) equal to or greater than 0.95.
Likewise, the construction characteristics of the light allow a suitable operation within a range of temperatures of -30°C / +50°C, as well as in relative humidity conditions greater than 95%.
Additionally, the light object of the present invention incorporates an autonomous power device designed to power the LEDs (5) in the event of failure of the mains supply. The power device comprises a battery (not shown) and a charger (not shown) to charge the battery, and it additionally incorporates respective battery control board (not represented) and general control board (not represented).
The general control board is responsible for receiving electrical current from the battery and powering the LED, to switch, in less than 1 second, the powering of the LED between mains supply and battery supply, when the mains supply is fortuitously interrupted.
The battery is a 24V DC LiFePO₄ lithium-iron-phosphate battery and it is preferably composed of eight cells, to provide a charge of 3 A.h. It requires a charging time of approximately 2 hours and has an autonomy not less than 90 minutes. The battery control board incorporates monitoring means and a time meter, to monitor the voltage and current of each one of the cells, to avoid overloads, over-discharges and short-circuits. In particular, the monitoring means monitor each one of the cells to check that the voltage is within established margins, thus avoiding overloads and over-discharges of the battery, and the monitoring means and the time meter monitor each cell to verify that the battery current does not exceed a pre-established limit during a predetermined time. By way of example, it is verified that the voltage is not greater than 3.85 ± 0.025 V to protect against overloads and not below 2.30 ± 0.080 V, and the current does not exceed 40 A during a time greater than 11 ms, which would be indicative of short-circuit. Using a battery control board configured as just indicated, the battery is provided with a life greater than 1000 cycles. Additionally, the robust configuration of the battery allows working temperatures between -30 and +50 °C.
According to a preferred example, the charger is configured to receive alternating current of 50-60 Hz. with an input voltage of 110-277 V and an input current of up to 0.2 A, and it comprises means to provide a DC output voltage of 30 V and a maximum output current of 2 A. The battery is charged from the mains using the charger, and it has an operating autonomy greater than 90 minutes.
The battery is configured to go into operation in a time no greater than 1 second after which the mains supply failure is detected. Preferably, the casing (1) comprises different removable side caps (11, 21), as indicated above, which are preferably manufactured in polycarbonate, and located both at the first end of the casing (1) and at the second end of the casing (1) opposite the first end. Likewise, preferably, the battery may be housed in the interior of the casing (1), in an area close to the second end, to be easily removed in the event of fault, after removal of the corresponding cap (11, 12). A first cap (11) of the caps (11, 21) is located at the first end of the casing (1), whilst a second cap (21) is located at the second end of the casing (1).
The light comprises a manual switch (not represented) which makes it possible to selectively connect and disconnect the powering of the LEDs (5) when the light is connected to the mains. When the light is not connected to the mains, but to the battery, the manual switch is not operational and the LEDs light at a lower current, for example, causing a power consumption of around 20 W, according to a light flow of 1350 lumens, less than 2700 lumens for the case of connection to the mains, to extend the battery duration.
The battery has a consumption of 62 W in charging state, 48 W in previously commented service state, and of 10 W in charged battery state and LEDs switched off.
Likewise, the light incorporates a pair of indicators (not shown) for example, of red and green colour, to indicate the charging status and the operating status of the battery. For example, when the light is connected to the mains, if the red indicator is switched on and the green indicator is switched on, the battery is fully charged.
Preferably, the LED control board and the general control board are integrated in a single board assembly. In this way, the electrical connections relating different components of the light are simplified, with the consequent reduction in wiring and saving of space, in the interior of the casing (1).
It is not necessary (nor recommendable) to dismantle the light to connect it. The light incorporates, at the first end, as indicated above, a hose (not represented) of approximately one metre in length and 4*1.5 mm² section, internally connected and protruding through the first cap (11). It is sufficient to remove (unscrew) the second cap (21) from the second end; connect the battery appropriately to a connector (not shown) installed in the interior of the casing (1); place the second cap (21); and connect the hose to the mains.
The configuration described is adapted to various national and international legislations, which means that the light of the invention can be used in various countries. For example, the light complies with standards UNE EN 55015, EN 50308, EN 60598-1, EN 60598-2-1, EN 61000-3-2, EN 61547, EN 6100-4-2, and EN 1837; in addition to the community certification requirements (CE) to which directive 2004/108/EC refers.

Claims

Emergency light for tunnels, comprising:
- an open casing (1), elongated in longitudinal direction, and equipped with two ends in longitudinal direction;

- a LED body, comprising a plurality of LEDs (5) and which is housed in the interior of the casing (1), and which can be connected to the mains;

- a cover (10), mounted on the casing (1), to cover the LED body and close the casing (1); and

- an autonomous power device designed to power the LED body in the event of failure of the mains, wherein the power device comprises:

- a DC lithium-iron-phosphate battery, and

- a charger to charge the battery from the mains;
characterized in that it additionally comprises:
- a LED control board to control the power and operation of the LED body;

- a battery control board, incorporated in the power device; and

- a general control board, incorporated in the power device, to activate a switching between mains and battery LED supply;
wherein the battery control board comprises:
- monitoring means, to verify that the voltage and current values of the battery are within predetermined ranges; and

- a time meter to verify that the battery current does not exceed a determined value during a time greater than a pre-established time.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, wherein the LED body comprises:
- a central portion (8) equipped with two ends, and

- two side portions (9), located at the ends of the central portion (8), and which are inclined with respect to the central portion (9).
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, wherein the LED control board and general control board are integrated in a single board assembly.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, wherein it additionally incorporates a powering hose located at a first end of the casing (1), to connect the light to the mains.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 4, wherein it additionally incorporates a quick plug (19) located at the first end of the casing (1) to connect the powering hose to the light.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 4, wherein it additionally incorporates a first side cap (11) to cover the first end of the casing (1).
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, additionally comprising a removable second side cap (21), to cover a second end of the casing (1), as well as the battery is housed in the casing (1) in an area close to the second end and accessible from the second cap (21).
Emergency light for tunnels, according to any of claims 6 and 7, wherein the cap (11) and/or the cover (10) are manufactured in halogen-free self-extinguishing polycarbonate, as well as the caps (11, 21) and the cover (10) have seals for sealing the casing (1), wherein the seals are configured so as to provid a waterproof level not less than IP65.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 8, wherein the seals comprise:
- cover seals, incorporating:
- straight flanges (22) located longitudinally throughout the interior of the casing (1), oriented obliquely towards the interior;

- curved flanges (23) located longitudinally throughout the side edges of the cover (10), to grip the straight flanges (22); and

- gaskets, manufactured in spongy material, and

- cap seals, incorporating silicon O-rings (18).
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, wherein it additionally incorporates connections to fix the casing (1) to a gable or to the ceiling of a tunnel.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 10, wherein the connections comprise grooves (3) in the form of a cross located in a rear face of the casing (1), to fix the light in horizontal or vertical position.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 10, wherein the connections comprise a fastening (4) rotatively connected to the casing (1), to allow a rotation of the casing (1) with respect to the fastening (4) around a longitudinal axis of the casing (1).
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, additionally comprising a manual switch which can be actuated to selectively allow and prevent the powering of the LEDs (5) when the light is connected to the mains, wherein the switch is configured to be locked in the position of allowing the powering of the LEDs (5) in the event of a connection failure with the mains.
Emergency light for tunnels, according to claim 1, wherein it additionally incorporates at least one indicator to indicate the charging status and the operating status of the battery.