| NO20200334A1 | 2021-09-21 | |||
| EP3267456A1 | 2018-01-10 | |||
| EP2998489A1 | 2016-03-23 | |||
| DE102013102348A1 | 2014-09-11 | |||
| DE102008029698A1 | 2010-01-07 |
| 9 Claims: Claim 1: This invention is made out of stainless-steel grade 316 which provides great resistance to corrosive environments and has a higher strength and better creep resistance when exposed to higher temperatures. It is marine grade and can withstand marine environments and all infrastructures. The contacts are made out of tin-plated copper which makes them resistant to hash environments. With these features the present invention is unique to the industry. Claim 2: The slim version size of this invention meets the high security level specification for prisons and military structures and can be installed on very suitable position that complies with building egress codes and is convenient for aluminum frames with glass walls without additional fabrication or modifications. Its robust features and functionality are unique features to this invention. Claim 3: The activation visual and audio indicators are controlled by an IC that drives the Light Emitting Diode and Buzzer to simultaneously flash and sound in a uniform manner that gives a reasonable warning flash and sound which is not as irritating as the continuous buzzing that the available products in the market produces is a unique feature to this invention. Claim 4: The electronic components, functionality and their arrangement on the printed circuit board are unique to the invention. Claim 5: The Sliding Lever shape and configuration is unique to this invention. The Sliding Groves makes it possible for the Sliding Lever to steadily move up and down to its operational positions. Claim 6: The Pacman Lever which has a contact attached to it will engage and disengage the contacts which makes and breaks the circuit on the printed circuit board through a cable connector. This is another unique feature to this invention. Claim 7: The Torsion Springs and Flat Springs allow for smooth operation of the button and maintain a suitable force on the Latching Lever and Sliding Lever to move from an unlatched position to alatched position and vice versa is a unique feature to this invention. Claim 8: The two adjacent 1.5mm reset holes that directs the reset pin to push down the Latching lever back to its deactivated position is a unique feature to this invention. SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) |
| AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 23 January 2023 (23.01.2023) [Claim 1] A heavy duty emergency exit button with a plurality of robust components interconnected in processes that deactivates interfaced access-controlled door locks when operated. Comprising a Button assembly [22] that is attached to the Sliding Lever [2] which slides along grooves on the Housing Assembly [21], Pacman Lever [10] that has contacts which open and close as the Sliding Lever [2] is displaced from its default position and then reset back to default manually by a reset Pin [28], This disengages and re-engages the Contacts [19] that switches the wire linked circuit on the Printed circuit board [20] triggering a Relay [I] to disconnect power from the door locks thereby allowing doors to be manually opened. [Claim 2] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to claim 1, wherein a Button assembly [22] is attached to Sliding Lever [2] facilitating a smooth steady operation sliding down and up grooves on the Housing assembly [21], [Claim 3] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to claim 2, wherein a Sliding lever [2] is constantly forced upwards by two Flat Springs [7] while the Latching Lever [16] is constantly forced upwards by two Torsion Springs [3] providing force for the Latching lever [16] to stay latched when activated and unlatched when deactivated. [Claim 4] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to claim 3, wherein a Sliding lever [2] slides with stability and force that triggers the Pacman lever [10] to open and close its contacts while being guided by a Latching lever [16] that latches and unlatches in specific positions. [Claim 5] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to claim 4, wherein a Pacman lever [10] opens and closes contacts that disengages and re-engages Contacts [19] which switches the wire linked circuit on the Printed circuit board [20], [Claim 6] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to claim 5, wherein Contacts [19] switches the wire linked circuit on the Printed circuit board [20] triggering a designated Lock Relay [I] with a common that is linked to positive + and negative - terminals through Jumpers [h] and [i] for lock power switching and a designated alarm relay for monitoring when the heavy duty emergency exit button is activated or deactivated. [Claim 7] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to claim 6, wherein a Relay [I] triggers IC [a] that then drives Amber LED [e] and Buzzer [f] at the same intervals of flashing and buzzing. AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19) [Claim 8] A heavy duty emergency exit button according to any of the preceding Claims, A 2mm reset hole on the middle of the Button Assembly [22] that guides the 1.60mm Reset pin [28] to push down the Latching lever back to its unlatched position which resets all components back to default. AMENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19) |
Emergency Exit Button
Description
Technical Field a) This invention relates to the Electronic Security Industry and it complies with codes for emergency egress devices in access control systems category under the industry standard of (Emergency Break Glass Unit). It serves as a vital operation in the event of an emergency evacuation in any access-controlled building. It is imperative to operate an Emergency Exit Button to allow quick exit for all building occupants without any delay. The Emergency Exit Button is self-latching and when it is operated, contacts open instantaneously and remain in an activated position until it is manually reset to close the contacts, therefore the door lock will unlock and remain unlocked until the Emergency Exit Button is reset to relock the door. The Emergency Exit Button should only be operated in the event of an emergency because it is monitored, alarmed and resettable to relock the door by a designated person (ex. a fire warden) after the emergency is cleared and it is safe to re-enter the building.
Background of invention a) The following are the objectives that inspired the development of this invention:
. To address explosion, fire and corrosive chemical safety issues that the current products available in the market neglect to mitigate against, yet they can compromise their structural integrity that may cause immediate operational failures when exposed to these three safety factors.
. To meet the high security level specification for Prisons and Military installations that require stainless steel on any building within the Prison and Military perimeter which the current products available in the market do not meet this specification.
. To provide a product with a structural size that is made out of material which meets the high security level specification for Prisons and Military installations and can be installed on every suitable position that complies with building emergency egress codes and is convenient for aluminum frames with glass walls.
. To provide a user-friendly device that indicates two different operational states with visual and audio indicators that simultaneously correspond with each other while confirming activation and deactivation of the Emergency Exit button. The audio indicator sound is not as irritating as the continuous buzzing sound produced by available products in the market, that users usually request the buzzer to be turned
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) off and some field technicians do not wire this warning feature because of this common reasoning.
. To provide a device suitable for marine installations that can withstand hash environments and corrosion due to high level exposure to sea salt.
Summary of invention
Technical problems: a) The available products in the market are generally made of some kind of moldable polymers that when exposed to corrosive chemicals and high temperatures caused by explosions and fires, they lose their structural integrity and may fail to operate under such exposure. b) These materials (moldable polymers) do not meet the high security level specification for Prisons and Military installations which require stainless steel for all fixtures and fittings. c) The emergency egress devices available in the market do not have the structural size made out of material that meet the high security level specification for Prisons and Military structures. d) Some users usually find the continuous buzzing sound produced by the available products in the market very irritating such that they request the buzzer to be turned off and some field technicians do not wire this warning feature because of this common reasoning. e) In marine environments devices contacts and connectors corrode due to sea salt making the devices inoperable and require replacements periodically.
Solution to problems a) This invention is made out of Stainless-steel grade 316 which provides great resistance to corrosive environments and has a higher strength and better creep resistance when exposed to higher temperatures. b) Stainless steel is the required material for fixtures and fittings to be installed on high security level specification for Prisons and Military structures. c) The slim size of this invention is made out of material that meets the high security level specification for Prisons and Military structures and can be installed on every suitable position that complies with building emergency egress codes. It is convenient for aluminum frames with glass walls without additional fabrication or modifications.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) d) The activation visual and audio indicators are controlled by an IC that drives the Light Emitting Diode and Buzzer to simultaneously flash and buzz in a uniform manner that gives a reasonable warning flash and buzz which are not as irritating as the continuous buzzing sound that the available products in the market produce. e) Stainless steel grade 316 is marine grade and can withstand marine environments. The contacts are made out of tin-plated copper which makes them resistant to hash environments.
Advantageous effects of invention a) The overall structure of this invention is a non-corrosive, heat resistant durable assembly made out of Stainless-steel grade 316 hence it meets the high security level specification for Prisons and Military structures. The contacts and connectors are made out of tin-plated copper which makes them resistant to harsh environments and all marine infrastructures. The slim size of this invention can be installed on suitable positions that complies with building emergency egress codes and is convenient for aluminum frames with glass walls without additional fabrication or modifications. The printed circuit board has activation visual and audio indicators that are controlled by an IC which drives the Light Emitting Diode and Buzzer to simultaneously flash and buzz in a uniform manner. The sound gives a reasonable warning flash and buzz which is not as irritating as the continuous buzzing sound that the available products in the market produce. The electronic components, functionality and arrangement on the printed circuit board are unique to this invention. The Button is surrounded by a thin film of Polycarbonate to transmit light from the light Emitting Diodes on the Printed Circuit Board. The Sliding Lever has two adjacent holes where the Polycarbonate Film will pick up the light from the light Emitting Diodes. The Sliding Lever makes the operation of the button stable and a sustainable assembly. The Sliding Groves makes it possible for the Sliding Lever to steadily move up and down to its operational positions. The Latching Lever remains latched when the button is operated until the lever itself is pushed down with a reset pin through the reset holes. The Button cannot be pushed further down or pushed again to return to its normal position once the Latching Lever is latched, the Latching Lever will only be unlatched with a reset pin. The Pacman Lever which has a contact attached to it will disengage the contacts and breaks the circuit on the printed circuit board through a Cable Connector. The two Flat Springs allow for smooth measured operation of the Button and maintain a suitable force on the Sliding Lever to move from unlatched position to latched position and vice versa. While the double Torsion Springs apply a suitable force on the Latching Lever to facilitate its return from latched position to unlatched position when a reset pin is used. The Flat Springs and the Torsion Springs apply the same directional force, but the component mechanism makes
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) them acts as opposing forces that facilitates the simultaneous mechanical movement of the components when the button is operated. The two adjacent 1.5mm reset holes and the reset pin which has a shaft with a maximum length of 10mm and a diameter of 1mm that protrudes from a spherical ring of diameter 12mm that can conveniently attach to key rings or hanged in a key press makes this design possible.
Brief Description of Drawings a) Some of the drawings have been drawn from left to right in a manner that depict the deactivated state (DI.2, Fig. 1) and the activated state (DI.2, Fig. 2) on drawings with two illustrations while the other drawings have only one illustration.
. (Dl.l, Fig. 2) illustrates the exploded view of the mechanical components of the present invention.
. (DI.2, Fig.l) Illustrates the face plate in its deactivated state with a steady illuminated green light and its activated state (DI.2, Fig. 2) with a "flashing" amber light. This device size is 90mm by 35mm by 25mm mounting centers 76mm.
. DI.3, Fig.l Illustrates the face plate in its deactivated state with a steady illuminated green light and its activated state (DI.3, Fig. 2) with a "flashing" amber light. This device size is 118mm by 74mm by 25mm mounting centres 84mm.
. (D1.4) Illustrates the circuit diagram (Fig. 1) for the electronics of this invention.
. (DI.5) Illustrates the printed circuit board circuit diagram (Fig. 1) that clearly shows the electronic components and their arrangement on the printed circuit board that is unique to the invention. "The diagram shows two double pole relays but ideally it should be a single pole relay and a double pole relay, but because of their very different symbols in size I used both double relays to accurately show the arrangement of the components. Hence the components list will have a single pole relay and a double relay, and I will be referencing the one of double pole relay as a single pole relay in this application".
Description of Embodiments a) The embodiments of the present invention are directed to the Electronic Security Industry that complies with codes for emergency egress devices in access control systems category under the industry standard of (Emergency Break Glass Unit). The Emergency Exit Button (Dl.l) includes the Button (2) slid through a thin film of Polycarbonate (1) with the same shape of the of the Button (2) that encompass the Button (2) surrounding. The Sliding Lever (6) has two adjacent holes where the
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Polycarbonate Film (1) will clip in running through the middle of the Sliding Lever (6). The Button (2) assemble will then be attached to the Sliding Lever (6) with four screws going through the Sliding Lever (5) from the bottom. The Torsion Springs (3) one leg will be pushed through a small hole on the Sliding Lever (6) and folded towards the opposite side. The Torsion Springs (3) will be fastened with a R clip into position which encourages the Latching Lever (5) upwards. The latching Lever (5) is attached with two pins (4) to the Assembly Housing and it is held underneath the Sliding Lever by the Torsion Spring (3) and the Flat Springs (7) forcing upwards the Sliding Lever (6). The Latching Lever (5) facilitates the device to be activated and deactivated by latching from one position to the other. Pacman Lever (10) is attached to the Bracket (11) with a pin and a C clip, while the contacts are attached to the Pacman Lever (10) and the Bracket (11). The Contact (12) has two separated contacts that are soldered to each Wire (9). The complete Pacman Lever assembly will now be attached to the Assembly Housing (8). The Sliding Lever (6) will then slide down at an angle along Sliding Groves in conjunction with the Pacman Lever (10) to avoid distortion of the functionality of this invention. Once Sliding Lever (6) with the button assembly attachment is placed and working in conjunction with Pacman Lever (10) with the contact assembly attachment when sliding up and down the Sliding Groves. Two adjacent Pins (4) that holds the Latching Lever (6) into position are forced through slight tight holes to achieve a firm assembly. The Latching Lever (5) can now be held in its latched position to facilitate the assemble of the two The Flat Springs (7) to be screwed through the Assembly Housing (8) from the outside which completes the simultaneous mechanical functioning of this invention. The Printed Circuit Board is separated with a thin heat resistant membrane with holes for the Light Emitting Diodes and the screw that attaches the Printed Circuit Board to the Assembly Housing (8). The assembly of this invention is completed when the wires are crimped to the male connector and connected to the related female connector on the Printed Circuit Board. The front of the Housing Assembly (8) will have letters engraved and painted with green illuminated paint, EMER on top and EXIT at the bottom. b) To compliment the unique mechanical function of this invention, the printed circuit board (DI.5, Fig .1) receives current through the - negative switched Connector (10) when the Emergency Exit button is in deactivated state. Current is carried to the relay coil (13) and normally open contact NO is triggered and lights up the Light Emitting Diode Green (18) which stays illuminated until the Emergency Exit Button is activated by pushing the button in an emergency situation. In the event of emergency and the Emergency Exit Button is pushed, the -negative switched Connector (10) does not receive any current hence the Light Emitting Diode Green (18) turns off. When the Emergency Exit Button is pushed, current follows through the common and the normally closed contact NC of relay (13), which carries currents to the relay coil (12) and triggers its normally closed NC and normally open contacts NO. At the same time the IC 555
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) timer (1) receives current and triggers its output 3 which continuously switches state between high and low giving out and intermittent motion that turns on and off the Light Emitting Diode Amber (5) and Buzzer (6) at intervals simulated by Capacitor (16) due to its charging and discharging attributes. When Jumper (7) is on, the buzzer sounds, when it is off the buzzer does not sound as well. Jumpers (8) and (9) facilitates the -negative and +positive switching of the designated lock output 1 (19) on the Terminal Block (11), Hence jumper (8) is -common and jumper (9) is +common, while output 2 (20) is left for monitoring. Resistors (4) and (17) limits the current flowing through the circuit to the required values by Light Emitting Diodes (5) and (18). Resistors (2) and (3) are configured for the IC 555 timer (1) to operate in Astable operating mode which has no stable state. Diodes (14) and (15) are connected in reverse bias to protect the Integrated Circuits (1) from the peak voltage across the coils (12) and (13) when they are suddenly turned off.
Assembly Sequence a) Assembly sequence of mechanical components in chronological order.
• Step 1: Slide the Button (2) through the Polycarbonate film (1).
• Step 2: Place the button assembly in the Housing assembly (8).
• Step 3: Attach the Pacman Lever (10) to the Bracket (11) and attach Contacts (12) to the Housing assembly (8) with Wires (9) already soldered to the contacts.
• Step 4: Attach the Pacman Lever assembly to the Housing assembly (8).
• Step 5: Slide the Sliding Lever (6) at an angle into the Groves with the Pacman Lever (10) in its deactivated position.
• Step 6: Clip the Polycarbonate film (1) through two holes on the Sliding Lever (6) and attach the button assembly on the Sliding Lever (6) with four screws from the bottom.
• Step 7: Push one leg of the Torsion Springs (3) through the holes on the Sliding Lever (6) and fold them to the opposite side.
• Step 8: Attach the Latching Lever (5) to the Housing Assembly (8) with Pins (4) on both sides of the Housing Assembly (8)
• Step 9: Fasten the Torsion Springs (3) with a R clip while the Latching Lever (5) being forced upwards by the Torsion Springs (3).
• Step 10: Hold the latching Lever assembly in its deactivated position and attach the Flat Springs (7) to the Housing Assembly (8) to complete the mechanical assembly of this invention.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) b) The printed circuit board (DI.5, Fig .1) is comprised of the following components:
IC NE555 Timer (1)
3K3HM Resistor (2)
6K8 HM Resistor (3)
510HM Resistor (4)
Light Emitting Diode Amber (5)
12V Buzzer (6)
Jumper (7)
Jumper (8)
Jumper (9)
Connector (10)
Terminal Block (11)
12V lAmp Double pole relay (12)
12V lAmp Single pole relay (13)
1N1448 Diode (14)
1N1448 Diode (15)
220uf Capacitor (16)
470HM Resistor (17)
Light Emitting Diode Green (18).
Industrial Applicability a) This invention complies with codes for emergency egress devices in access control systems category under the industry standard of (Emergency Break Glass Unit). It serves a vital operation in the event of an emergency evacuation in any access-controlled building. The Emergency Exit Button is self-latching and when it is operated, contacts open and remain in actuated position until its manually reset to close the contacts hence the door lock will unlock and remain unlocked until the Emergency Exit Button is reset to relock the door. The overall structure of this invention is a non-corrosive, heat
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) resistant durable device that is made out of Stainless-steel grade 316 hence it meets the high security level specification for Prisons, Military structures and is suitable for marine installations. The contacts are made out of tin-plated copper which makes them resistant to hash environments including marine infrastructures. The size of this invention can be installed on very suitable position that complies with building emergency egress codes and is convenient for aluminum frames with glass walls without additional fabrication or modifications. The printed circuit board has activation visual and audio indicators that are controlled by an IC which drives the Light Emitting Diode and Buzzer to simultaneously flash and sound in a uniform manner that gives a reasonable warning flash and sound which is not as irritating as the continuous buzzing sound that the available products in the market produce. The Emergency Exit Button has two adjacent reset holes that directs the reset pin to push down the Latching lever back to its deactivated position, it is also supplied with two reset pins that conveniently attach to key rings or hanged in a key press.
SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)