Pathway lighting for door handles

Abstract

A door handle device includes pathway lighting to illuminate a pathway when needed, such as during a power outage, fire, or other emergency. The pathway lighting includes at least one light source, such as a super-bright LED or other low current/power light source, that is mounted to a door and that is bright enough to illuminate a pathway. Power for the light source may be provided by an internal power source that is used to power other components (e.g., a lock, a key card reader, etc.) within the door handle device. The pathway lighting acts as a backup or supplemental light source when needed to guide people toward a desired location. The pathway lighting may also act as an interior light.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to door handle assemblies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently-used hotel room doors incorporate special door handle assemblies rather than the doorknobs used in conventional doorknobs normally found in residences. These door assemblies often incorporate electronic circuitry, such as an electronic key card reader, electronic latches, and other devices.

There are situations where there is insufficient lighting to locate the door handle, such as at nighttime, during a power outage, in the case of fire, etc. Although it may be possible to direct supplemental lighting to illuminate the door handle, the lighting will also lose power in the case of a power outage if it is connected to a central source, making it ineffective in emergency situations where there is a power loss. Moreover, there is currently no way to provide pathway lighting in emergency situations, nor is there any way to control lighting to respond to environmental conditions, such as a change in the amount of ambient light near the door handle assemblies. Conventional lighting used to illuminate the door handle itself may provide enough lighting for locating the door handle in darkened conditions, but it is insufficient to illuminate any area beyond the immediate vicinity of the door handle.

There is a desire for a device that provides a way to illuminate a pathway in the event of a power outage or other situation requiring supplemental lighting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is generally directed to a door handle device incorporating pathway lighting to illuminate a pathway when needed, such as during a power outage, fire, or other emergency. In one embodiment, the device includes at least one light source, such as a super-bright LED or other low current/power light source, that is mounted to a door and that is bright enough to illuminate a pathway. Power for the light source may be provided by an internal power source that is used to power other components (e.g., a lock, a key card reader, etc.) within the door handle device. In one embodiment, the device also includes a light sensor that detects the amount of ambient light surrounding the device and a controller that controls the operation of the light source based on the amount of ambient light.

By providing pathway lighting on the door handle device, the invention can illuminate a pathway in situations where other light sources are unavailable. As a result, the pathway lighting provides an additional measure of comfort to guide users toward the door and lead them toward a desired location, if needed, in the event that normal lighting is unavailable. The pathway lighting may also act as interior lighting to provide emergency lighting and/or act as a nightlight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a door handle device according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a door handle device of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a representative diagram of a control unit in the door handle device according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a representative diagram of a control unit in the door handle device according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a front portion of a door handle device 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. In this description, the term “front” corresponds to the portion of the door handle device 100 that is on the exterior portion of the door (e.g., facing into a hallway), while the term “rear” or “back” corresponds to the portion of the door that is on the interior portion of the door (e.g., facing into a hotel room).

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the door handle device 100 includes a door handle 102 and a face plate 104. The face plate 104 may include a slot 106 or other opening for accommodating an electronic key (not shown). Indicator lights 108 may be included in the device 100 to provide visual feedback to a user to indicate whether or not the key card is inserted correctly into the slot 106.

To illuminate a pathway in the vicinity of the door handle device 100, the device 100 includes at least one light source 110. The light source 110 itself may be any light source that runs on low current/power and that can produce light with enough brightness to illuminate a pathway. Possible light sources include, for example, LEDs, electro-luminescent light sources, incandescent lights, etc. In the illustrated example, the light source 110 is a module 112 containing a plurality of super-bright LEDs 114. As shown in FIG. 3, the light source 110 may obtain its power from, for example, an internal power source 116 within the device 100 that is also used to power other components within the device 100, such as a key card reader 118, a latch (not shown), or locking mechanisms (not shown) in the door. Connecting the light source 110 with an internal power source 116 used within the door rather than an external centralized power source ensures that the light source 110 can be used for emergency lighting in the event of an emergency, power outage, or other similar occurrence requiring supplemental lighting.

Note that the light source 110 is not used simply to illuminate the door handle 100 and therefore cannot simply be, for example, a low-wattage incandescent light. Instead, the light source 110 should be bright enough so that the light sources 110 on multiple doors in a hallway, for example, delineate a pathway that can be easily seen and followed in an emergency situation even if there is no other available ambient lighting. For example, the light sources 110 may define and illuminate a pathway that leads toward an exit.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the device 100 includes a control unit 118 that is manually operable or has an electronic eye or other similar light sensor 120 that detects the amount of ambient light surrounding the device 100. The device 100 also includes a switch 122 that controls operation of the light source 110 based on the detected amount of ambient light. For example, the switch 122 may be controlled to provide infinite adjustment of the light intensity output by the light source 110 based on the amount of ambient light (e.g., decreasing the brightness of the light source 110 when ambient light level is high and increasing the brightness of the light source 110 sufficiently to illuminate the pathway when the ambient light level drops below a selected threshold). Alternatively, the switch 122 may simply cause the light source 110 to turn on only when the light sensor 120 detects that the ambient light drops below the threshold; in this case, the light source 110 would remain turned off at all other times.

As shown in FIG. 2, a light source 110a may be mounted on the rear side of the door as well as or instead of the front side of the door. When the light source 110a is mounted on the rear side of the door to face, for example, an inside of a hotel room, the light source 110a can act as a night light or beacon so that a person can easily find the door handle 102 in a darkened room. Moreover, because the light source 110a can be adjusted to output light having an intensity that is high to illuminate a pathway, the inventive device 100 provides an additional measure of safety to hotel room occupants. Note that incorporating the light sensor 120 to control operation of the light source 110a in this embodiment can allow the light intensity to be reduced if, for example, the light source 110a is to be used only as a night light in non-emergency situations. Note that although the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 shows the light source 110a pointing upward, the light source 110a may be arranged to point downward to illuminate the door handle 102 from above instead.

The control unit used to power and control operation of the light source 110a in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is the same as the one described above with respect to FIG. 3. Note that a single given door may have the device 100 having the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, or both. If the door has a light source on both its front side 110 and its rear side 110a, the same control unit 118 may be used to control operation of both light sources 110, 110a if desired.

Further, the control unit 118 may be configured so that the light sources 110, 110a operate differently under different ambient light conditions, if desired. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 118 may also include a controller 124 that controls the two light sources 110, 110a independently based on the ambient light sensed from respective light sensors 120, 120a. In one embodiment, the controller 122 turns the front light source 110 off when its corresponding light sensor 120 detects light in a hallway, while the controller 122 also turns the rear light source 110a on when its corresponding light sensor 120a detects that the hotel room is darkened. In both cases, the light sources 110a , 110b illuminate and define a pathway in the vicinity of the light source 110a , 110b due to their brightness.

Instead of or in addition to the sensors 120, 120a, a receiver 126 may be connected to the switch 122 or the controller 124 to receive a wireless message from, for example, a wireless messenger communication system (not shown). In this case, the message received by the receiver 126 acts as the control mechanism. The message may instruct the switch 122 or controller 124 to enable or disable the light source 110, 10a; in one example, in the case of a power outage, the messenger system can send a last message to turn on the light source 110, 110a to alert a guest of the location of their room or otherwise provide more customized control over the light source 110, 110a.

Incorporating a light source to serve as pathway lighting for a door handle device and powering the light source with a power source associated with the door itself provides a reliable, economical way to offer supplemental lighting in emergency situations. Moreover, controlling the intensity of the light output from the light source based on a detected amount of ambient light allows more efficient operation of the light source with minimized current draw.

It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that the method and apparatus within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.

Claims

1. A door handle device, comprising:

a door handle assembly; and

at least one light source that illuminates a pathway in a vicinity of the door handle device.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the door handle assembly comprises:

a door handle; and

a door plate, wherein said at least one light source is adjacent to the door plate.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the door plate includes an opening to accommodate an electronic key, wherein the device further comprises a control unit having a power source that powers circuitry for reading the electronic key.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the power source also powers said at least one light source.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a control unit having a power source that powers said at least one light source.

6. The device of claim 5, further comprising at least one light sensor, wherein the control unit controls operation of said at least one light source based on ambient light detected by said at least one light sensor.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein said at least one light source comprises at least one light emitting diode.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said at least one light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes.

9. A door handle device, comprising:

a door handle assembly having a door handle and a door plate, the door plate including an opening to accommodate an electronic key;

at least one light source that illuminates a pathway in a vicinity of the door handle device, wherein said at least one light source is adjacent to the door plate; and

a control unit having a power source to selectively supply power to said at least one light source.

10. The device of claim 9, further comprising at least one light sensor in communication with the control unit, wherein the control unit selectively supplies power to said at least one light source based on ambient light detected by said at least one light sensor.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the control unit is manually operable.

12. The device of claim 9, further comprising a receiver in communication with the control unit to receive a wireless message, wherein the control unit selectively supplies power to said at least one light source based on the wireless message.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the power source also powers circuitry for reading the electronic key.

14. The device of claim 9, wherein said at least one light source comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs).

15. The device of claim 9, further comprising a second door handle assembly, wherein the door handle assembly is on an exterior side of a door and the second door handle assembly is on an interior side of the door, and wherein said at least one light source comprises a first light source associated with the exterior side of the door and a second light source associated with the interior side of the door.

16. The device of claim 15, further comprising a first light sensor associated with the first light source and a second light sensor associated with the second light source, wherein the control unit controls operation of the first light source based on ambient light detected by the first light sensor and controls operation of the second light source based on ambient light detected by the second light sensor.

17. The device of claim 15, further comprising a receiver in communication with the control unit to receive a wireless message, wherein the control unit selectively and independently supplies power to at least one of the first light source and the second light source.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the control unit is manually operable to selectively and independently supply power to at least one of the first light source and the second light source.

19. The device of claim 9, wherein the door handle assembly is on an exterior side of a door.

20. The device of claim 9, wherein the door handle assembly is on an interior side of a door.