Communications: electrical – Visual indication – Multiple colors
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-07
2001-11-06
Wu, Daniel J. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Visual indication
Multiple colors
C313S486000, C313S487000, C252S30140P, C362S230000, C362S231000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06313754
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an escape light instrument for guiding people to emergency exits, shelters or the like in the event of an emergency such as a fire or an earthquake.
2. Related art of the Invention
Recently, large underground shopping malls and large buildings are increasing every year, and should a fire arise in such a place, the people present there would be psychologically shocked even more seriously than in a conventional building. In this connection, the importance of fire prevention and fire fighting is pointed out in many quarters. One of the factors having particularly contributed to this awareness may be the tremendous social impact of tragic press reports on the victims of fires involving large structures until 1965.
It was under such a circumstance that the Japanese Fire Service Law was revised to require specified objects of fire prevention, including high-rise buildings, to be equipped with large and medium-size escape lights which excel in visibility over conventional ones in order to take fast refuge when a fire arises. As a result, the newly installed escape lights have proved more effective, but their aesthetic disharmony with the interior designs of buildings is often criticized, and their improvement is urged in this respect.
To meet this requirement, research and development attempts have been undertaken to work out escape lights with smaller sign faces with the finding that the conspicuity of an escape light is determined by the product of the brightness and square measure of the sign face, and accordingly it is now urged to increase the luminance of the sign face in order to make such small escape lights available for practical use.
FIG. 9
illustrates the configuration of an escape light instrument.
The sign face of an escape light panel
1
comprises a white part
1
a
, which presents the background color, and a green part
1
b
, on which a guidance sign is drawn. Behind the sign face of the escape light panel
1
is arranged a fluorescent lamp
2
, which serves as the light source, in a body
3
.
The fluorescent lamp
2
in conventional use would be a white fluorescent lamp for general illumination use, and the spectral characteristics of such a white fluorescent lamp are designed so as to evaluate the fidelity of subtle color reproduction for various kinds of colors for a reference light source (blackbody radiation, synthetic daylight) according to the general color rendering index (Ra).
More specifically, by making the lights of visible wavelength bands the emission spectrum of bi-wavelength emission type concentrated on the bi-wavelength bands such fluorescent lamps include a white fluorescent lamp having a wide band type emission spectrum (hereinafter called a “white fluorescent lamp (FL-W)”) and a tri-band type fluorescent lamp having a tri-band type emission spectrum (hereinafter called a “tri-band type fluorescent lamp (EX-N)”).
However, the white fluorescent lamp (FL-W) or tri-band type fluorescent lamp (EX-N) mentioned above has a content of a superfluous wavelength band for the discrimination of white and green the discrimination of which is required for any escape light instrument. Therefore when these lamps are used as the light source of the escape light instrument, light flux(luminous efficiency [lm/W]) for supplied power is small.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-noted problems and to realize such escape light instrument having high luminous efficiency.
An escape light instrument using as its light source a fluorescent lamp, of the present invention
mainly derives its luminescence from luminophors the peak ranges of whose luminescent wavelength are from 530 to 580 nm and from 600 to 650 nm, said luminophors having 30 nm or less of half band width,
permits categorical discrimination of at least green and white transmitted colors used on a sign face, and
has a luminous color of 5 or more in Duv.
Such constitution of the present invention realizes escape light instrument having high luminous efficiency.
Accordingly when the luminance is same as that of the conventional instrument, the power can be reduced. When the power is same as that of the conventional instrument, the luminance of the present invention is higher.
Further when higher luminance than that of the conventional instrument is realized, and when the size of the instrument is same as the conventional one, the conspicuity is improved and when the conspicuity is same as the conventional one, the size can be reduced, that is, compact escape light instrument can be realized because the conspicuity of the escape light instrument is determined by the product of the luminance and area size of the display surface.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4079287 (1978-03-01), Soules
patent: 4176294 (1979-11-01), Thornton
patent: 4199707 (1980-04-01), Akiyama
patent: 5164715 (1992-11-01), Kashiwabara
patent: 5838101 (1998-11-01), Pappalardo
patent: 6153971 (2000-11-01), Shimizu et al.
patent: 02085883 (1990-03-01), None
patent: 0717234 (1996-06-01), None
patent: 0794556 (1997-09-01), None
patent: WO97/11480 (1997-03-01), None
patent: WO98/36441 (1998-08-01), None
Shimizu Masanori
Shimomura Yoko
Tanabe Yoshinori
La Anh
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Ratner & Prestia
Wu Daniel J.
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