BACKUP LIGHTING ACCESSORY

Inventors: STEPHEN B. KATSAROS a citizen of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA residing at: 2540 FOREST STREET, DENVER, CO 80207

BACKUP LIGHTING ACCESSORY

BACKGROUND

[00011 Conventional light sources utilize power traditionally supplied by a public utility. The public utility often produces less then the energy requirements for a given area. In order to deal with this situation, utilities often selectively control power to certain areas of a power grid. This process of controlling power to deal with power shortages is referred to as rolling blackout, load shedding or the like. Hence, the phrase 'load shedding' refers to a time while power has been disrupted. In other situations, effects similar to load shedding can be felt, such as, for example, electrical short circuits, brown-outs, fire, accidents, natural disasters,

[0002] in order to provide light during times of 'load shedding' it is possible to run diesel generators, store energy in banks of batteries, or burn fossil fuels to provide light. Diesel generators and battery banks are complex to install, require maintenance and are expensive.

SUMMARY

[0003| A backup lighting installed in-between a socket and a light bulb, the light bulb controlled by a switch that controls electrical connection of the socket to a power grid at a voltage potential, wherein, the backup lighting accessory including: a housing provided with a first electrical connection for interfacing with the socket and a second electrical connection for interfacing with the light bulb, wherein the housing defines an interior portion and an exterior portion; a battery located inside the housing interior portion; an circuit board electrically interfaces with the battery and the first electrical connection; a switch-indicator interfaced with the electrical circuit board for sensing whether the switch is in an on position or an off position; at least one light emitting device interfaced with the electrical circuit board for providing illumination; wherein, when the light switch is in the on position and the power grid voltage potential is low, the light emitting device is illuminated by the battery via the circuit board. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is an overview schematic of a grid power delivery system in which an example of a backup lighting accessory is installed.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a backup lighting accessory with a traditional light bulb connected thereto.

[0006] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of interior components of the backup lighting accessory of FIG. 2.

[0007] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of one type of control circuit for a backup lighting accessory.

|0008] FIG. 5 is an overview schematic of a backup lighting accessory installed in a house with an additional solar panel for charging the backup lighting.

[000.9] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment wherein the control circuit of FIG. 4 is housed in a non-bulb configuration of the backup lighting accessory.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] At the highest level, the present backup lighting accessory provides light when grid- power is temporarily unavailable due to any of a larger variety of reasons (loss of

productivity, decreased safety, security concerns etc.). This backup lighting accessory is a simple device, installed in one-step, operates with existing electrical networking (inside, for example, a house). The cost of this device is low in comparison to other devices (such as diesel generators, battery assemblies with DC-charging and inverters, etc).

[001 11 With reference to FIG. 1 illustrating a backup lighting accessoiy 100 interfaced with a power generation system 10 and distribution system 20. The power is produced at a power plant 12 and transmitted there from via power lines 14. The power lines 14 may pass through a power substation (not shown) to the distribution system 20. Part of the distribution station is a power pole 22 that often includes a distribution transformer 24 for conditioning the power to a usable form (e.g. 1 20 volts or 220 volts alternating current). The conditioned power is transferred from the distribution transformer 24 through a service line 26 to, for example, a consumer 28. It should be noted that a plurality of consumers such as the illustrated second consumer 30 and third consumer 32.

[00121 With continued reference to FIG. 1 , the consumer 28 receives the service line 26 at an electrical mast 34 which routes the power to a meter 38 and subsequently a circuit breaker 40. From the circuit breaker 40, power is transferred through the consumer (in this case a house) as desired. One example of distribution is a circuit that includes a first outlet 42, a second outlet 44, a switch 46 and a socket 48. When the power plant 12 provides power, the power travels along the grid and eventually to the connection points (in this case outlets 42, 44 and socket 46). The schematic illustrated in FIG. 1 shows that the switch 46 is located between the circuit breaker 40 and the socket 48; therefore, user actuation of the switch 46 controls transfer of power all the way to the socket 48. In a traditional installation—without the present backup light—a bulb 50 installed in the socket 48 is controlled by the switch 46.

[0013] With continued reference to FIG. 1 , the present backup lighting accessory 100 can be installed in-between the socket 48 and the bulb 50. In general terms, as long as the grid- power is available to the consumer 28, the bulb 50 is traditionally operated by the switch 46. When the backup lighting accessor)' 100 is present, this traditional operation of the system causes a energy to be stored inside the backup light 100. The stored energy is utilized when the grid-power is interrupted in a manner described later herein.

[0014] With reference to FIG. 2 illustrating a perspective view of the backup lighting accessory 100 with the bulb 50 attached thereto. The backup lighting accessory 100 is provided with a housing 102 having a base 104 and a cap 106. The base 104 and the cap 106 are attached lo eachother by any type of joining method such as by screws (not shown). The base 104 has a connector 108 protruding therefrom. The connector 108 can be any of a variety of base of traditional lights such as, for example, the illustrated medium screw commonly referred to at an E26. It should be noted that this connector 108 can be configured as any one of a variety of types such as a candelabra, a 3 contact mogul, a can DC bay, a 2- lug sleeve, a 3-lug sleeve, a mogul bi-post, etc.. [0015] With continued reference to FIG. 2, the cap 106 is configured with a socket 1 10. The socket 1 10 may be any of a variety of configurations in a similar manner as described with the connector 108. The socket 1 10 receives the bulb 50; for example, by threaded engagement when the traditional E26 connector 108 is formed on the bottom of the bulb 50. The cap 106 is also provided with at least one feature that emits light such as the illustrated Light Emitting Diode "LED" 1 12. There are a large variety of LED configurations and the present example is provided to illustrate one configuration. The LED 1 12 can be configured in any of a variety of alternative configurations such a surface mount LED with a light pipe (to direct the light to any of a variety of directions). As illustrated LED 1 12 is accompanied by four additional LEDs 1 14, 1 16, 1 18, and 120. The LEDs 1 12, 1 14, 1 16, 1 18, 120 produce photos as part of a process described later herein. The cap 106 may also be provided with an indicator 122 for conveying a status or other information (e.g. charged status) to a user.

Located inside the backup lighting accessory 100 is a battery 130. The battery 130 is electrically coupled with the connector 108 and the LEDs 1 12, 1 14, 1 16, 1 18, 120 by a circuit that will be described later herein.

[0016| With reference to FIG. 3 illustrating an exploded view of the backup lighting accessory 100 and the bulb 50, the backup lighting accessory 100 is provided with a circuit board 140. The circuit board 140 generally includes.electrical components capable of controlling operation of the backup lighting accessory 100. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the LEDs 1 12, 1 14, 1 1 6, 1 18, 1 20 are mounted to the circuit board 140 and in electrical communication with the circuit board 140. The connector 108, socket 1 10, and battery 130 are also in electrical communication with the circuit board 140.

[0017] With reference to FIG. 4 illustrating a circuit diagram 160 representing an electrical circuit. The circuit diagram 160 shows examples of components and examples of connections between the components to control the operation of the backup lighting accessory 100. It should be noted that the circuit diagram 160 does not illustrate every component and is a simplified diagram for conveying the most significant operating components of the system; furthermore the diagram does not show the exact physical locations of the components. The circuit diagram 160 may be provided with an isolation circuit 162, a power supply circuit 164, a charging circuit 166, an isolation circuit 168, an LED lighting circuit 170, and a control circuit 172. The isolation circuit 162 makes the load of the bulb 50 (that is interfaced with the socket 1 10) invisible to the rest of the circuit diagram 160, particularly the control circuit 1 72. The power supply circuit 164 conditions the line voltage present in the connector 108 to DC power with particular characteristics (e.g. 12 volts DC). The charging circuit 166 is utilized fro charging the battery 130. The isolation circuit 168 is used for separating the control circuit 172 from the power supply circuit 164. The LED lighting circuit 170 is used for controlling the illumination of the LEDs 1 12, 1 14, 1 16, 1 18, 120. The control circuit 172 is used for creating and monitoring a signal that senses weather the switch 46 (FIG. 1) is closed or open.

[0018] Having described that basic features of one embodiment of the backup lighting accessory 100^ the processes of using the backup lighting accessory 100 will now be described. Installation of the backup lighting accessory 100 is easy for the average customer. With reference to FIG. 1 , the customer removes the bulb 50 from the socket 48. The backup lighting accessory 1 00 is instal led indo the socket 48 followed by installing the bulb 50 into the backup lighting accessory 100. There is no other external hardware, the controller is the existing switch 46 that operates the socket 48. When the power generation system 10 is operating properly and the distribution system 20 is fully functional, the power lines 14 carry electricity to the consumer 28. When the switch 46 is on, power is delivered to the bulb 50 via the socket 48 and the backup lighting accessory 100. While power is being delivered, the battery 130 is charging. In the event that power is cut, illustrated by the image of scissors, while the switch 46 is on, the backup lighting accessory 100 uses electricity stored in the battery 1 30 to activate the LF.Ds 1 1 2, .1 14, 1 1 6, 1 1 8, 1 20. These LEDs allow the area near the backup lighting accessory 100 to be illuminated (albeit at a different light quantity and quality then the light emitted from the bulb 50). If the user desires to turn off the light, the switch 46 is turned off. This process can continue indefinitely until the usable life of the rechargeable battery 130 is expired.

|00 9| With continued reference to FIG. 1 , the process that the backup lighting accessory 100 utilizes for monitoring the position of the switch 46 is to watch for a load located on the wiring. For example, first outlet 42 might have a refrigerator, or a lamp, or any electricity- consuming device. The circuit board 140 is capable of sensing this load by sending a control signal and monitoring the signal.

[0020] In one alternative embodiment, the battery 130 is a rechargeable battery that needs to be replaced after a period of time (e.g. 1 year of daily use). In order to replace the battery 130, the screws (not shown) are removed from the base 104 and the cap 106. By removing the screws, the battery 130 is able to be removed and replaced.

[0021 J In another alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the backup lighting accessor}' 100 may include a charging port 200. The charging port 200, if included, enables charging of the battery 130 by energy produced at a solar panel 202 (and delivered via a cable 204) or other suitable backup power system (e.g. car battery, another battery, etc.). This charging port 200 is particularly useful if the service line 26 is cut as illustrated for a long period of time.

[0022] It is to be understood that the apparatus disclosed herein can be employed in an of a large number of configurations such as, for example, an LED light tube, a stand-alone light bulb, basic light fixtures that receive a bulb directly, etc. One specific example configuration is the backup lighting accessory 100 configured without the socket 1 10— in which case, the plurality of LEDs 1 12 are powerful enough to serve as the light during normal use and during a load shedding event.

[00231 The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for puiposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variation may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and descried in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments of the invention except insofar as limited by the prior art.