Emergency light unit

Claim 2

An emergency light unit for mounting in a standard electrical wall box of a building, the unit comprising a frontal mounting plate, a lamp for supplying the emergency light, means for mechanically mounting the lamp so that its light emanates from the front of the frontal mounting plate, means for mounting the frontal mounting plate to the wall box, electrical circuit means housed within the wall box, means for connecting the electrical circuit means to the main power supply of the building in which the unit is installed, emergency power supply means mounted in the wall box, means associated with the electrical circuit means for sensing a power failure in the main power supply of the building, and for supplying electrical power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp, thereby energizing the lamp, when a power failure is sensed, switch means mounted within the wall box and actuatable from the front of the unit, the switch means being actuated by axial movement of a spring biased rod, the rod being reciprocally mounted in the frontal plate with one end exposed at the front of the unit and the other end contacting the switch means for actuation thereof as the rod is moved rearwardly, means associated with the electrical circuit means and responsive to actuation of the switch means for testing the operability of the unit, and means for mounting the electrical wall box in the wall of the room.

Claim 3

The emergency light unit of claim 1 including photosensitive means mounted in the frontal mounting plate for detecting the ambient light level in the immediate area in front of the unit, and means associated with the electrical circuit means and responsive to the photosensitive means for supplying power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp only when the light in the room is below a prescribed level.

Claim 4

The emergency light of claim 1 wherein the emergency power supply means includes rechargeable batteries, and including means associated with the electrical circuit means for charging the batteries whenever the main power is on.

Claim 5

The emergency light of claim 1 including an electrical receptacle accessible from the front of the frontal plate, and means connecting the electrical receptacle to the main power supply for use of the receptacle when the main power is on.

Claim 6

The emergency light of claim 1 wherein the actuation of the switch means simulates a power failure, thereby causing the lamp to light if the unit is operational.

Claim 7

A self contained emergency light unit for mounting in a standard electrical wall box of the type commonly used for housing electrical wall receptacles comprising a casing having a frontal portion defining a wall mounting plate, a lamp for supplying emergency light, means for mechanically mounting the lamp such that its light emanates from the front of the unit, the casing also having a rectangular box portion extending rearwardly from the frontal portion of a size that will fit into the standard electrical wall box, electrical circuit means housed within the casing, means for electrically connecting the electrical circuit means to the main power supply of the building in which the unit is installed, emergency power supply means mounted in the casing, means associated with the electrical circuit means for sensing a power failure in the main power supply, and for supplying electrical power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp when a power failure occurs, thereby energizing the lamp, test switch means in the electrical circuit means which when actuated simulates a power failure for testing the operability of the unit, a spring biased rod reciprocally mounted to the front wall of the unit with one end exposed at the front of the unit and the other end contacting the switch means for actuation thereof as the rod is moved rearwardly, and means for mounting the unit in the electrical wall box.

Claim 8

A self contained emergency light unit for mounting in a standard electrical wall box of the type commonly used for housing electrical wall receptacles comprising a casing having a frontal portion defining a wall mounting plate, a lamp for supplying emergency light, means for mechanically mounting the lamp such that its light emanates from the front of the unit, the casing also having a rectangular box portion extending rearwardly from the frontal portion of a size that will fit into the standard electrical wall box, electrical circuit means housed within the casing, means for electrically connecting the electrical circuit means to the main power supply of the building in which the unit is installed, emergency power supply means mounted in the casing, means associated with the electrical circuit means for sensing a power failure in the main power supply, and for supplying electrical power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp when a power failure occurs, thereby energizing the lamp, test switch means in the electrical circuit means which when actuated simulates a power failure for testing the operability of the unit, a spring biased rod reciprocally mounted to the front wall of the unit with one end exposed at the front of the unit and the other end contacting the switch means for actuation thereof as the rod is moved rearwardly, and means for mounting the unit in the electrical wall box.

Claim 9

The emergency light unit of claim 6 including an electrical receptacle accessible from the front of the unit, and means connecting the electrical receptacle to the main power supply of the building for use when the main power is on.

Claim 10

The emergency light of claim 7 wherein the entire casing including the frontal portion defining the wall mounting plate, the electrical receptacle, and the rearwardly extending portion is of unitary, molded one-piece, construction.

Claim 11

The emergency light unit of claim 6 including photosensitive means for detecting the ambient light level of the immediate area in front of the unit, and means associated with the electrical circuit means and responsive to the photosensitive means for supplying power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp only when the ambient light is below a prescribed level.

Claim 12

The emergency light unit of claim 6 wherein the emergency power supply means includes rechargeable batteries, and including means associated with the electrical circuit means for charging the batteries whenever the main power is on.

Claim 13

The emergency light unit of claim 9 including an electrical receptacle accessible from the front of the unit, and means connecting the electrical receptacle to the main power supply for use of the receptacle when the main power is on.

Claim 14

The emergency light unit of claim 11 wherein the rectangular box portion extending rearwardly from the frontal plate is approximately 2 1/2 inches long, 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/4 inches deep.

Claim 15

The emergency light unit of claim 10 wherein excePt when the lamp is energized, the maximum current drain on the emergency power supply batteries is only approximately 1 milliamp.

Claim 16

The emergency light unit of claim 13 wherein when the main power is on, all but approximately 1 milliamp of charging current produced from the main power supply is delivered to charge the emergency power supply batteries, the circuit means offering a relatively high impedance path for the charging current except through the emergency power supply battery.

Claim 17

The emergency light unit of claim 14 wherein the main power is approximately 110 volts, AC, 60 hertz, and including means for converting the main power to rectified power of a maximum current capacity of approximately 60 milliamps, whereby approximately 59 milliamps are delivered to charge the batteries, and only approximately 1 milliamp is lost in operating the remainder of the electrical circuit means.

Claim 18

A self-contained emergency light unit for mounting in a standard electrical wall box of the type commonly used for housing electrical wall receptacles, and the like, and is particularly adapted for installation by simple substitution of the unit for an electrical receptacle comprising a casing having a frontal portion defining a wall mounting plate, a lamp for supplying emergency light, means for mechanically mounting the lamp in the casing such that its light emanates from the front of the unit, the casing also having a rectangular box portion extending rearwardly from the frontal portion of a size that will fit into the standard electrical wall box, electrical circuit means housed within the casing, means for electrically connecting the electrical circuit means to the main power supply of the building in which the unit is installed, emergency power supply means mounted in the casing, an electrical receptacle accessible from the front of the unit, means connecting the electrical receptacle to the main power supply of the building for use when the main power is on, photosensitive means mounted in the mounting plate for detecting the ambient light level in front of the unit, means associated with the electricl circuit means for sensing a power failure in the main power supply and responsive to the photosensitive means for supplying power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp only when a main power failure occurs and the ambient light is below a prescribed level, thereby energizing the lamp, and means for mounting the unit in the electrical wall box with the back side of the frontal plate flush with the wall, whereby the unit can be installed in even old buildings by simple substitution of the unit for an electrical receptacle without the need for special wiring or other special mounting preparation.

Claim 19

A self-contained emergency light unit for mounting in a standard electrical wall box of the type commonly used for housing electrical wall receptacles, and the like, and is particularly adapted for installation by simple substitution of the unit for an electrical receptacle comprising a casing having a frontal portion defining a wall mounting plate, a lamp for supplying emergency light, means for mechanically mounting the lamp in the casing such that its light emanates from the front of the unit, the casing also having a rectangular box portion extending rearwardly from the frontal portion of a size that will fit into the standard electrical wall box, electrical circuit means housed within the casing, means for electrically connecting the electrical circuit means to the main power supply of the building in which the unit is installed, emergency power supply means mounted in the casing, an electrical receptacle accessible from the front of the unit, means connecting the electrical receptacle to the main power supply of the building for use when the main power is on, photosensitive means mounted in the mounting plate for detecting the ambient light level in front of the unit, means associated with the electricl circuit means for sensing a power failure in the main power supply and responsive to the photosensitive means for supplying power from the emergency power supply means to the lamp only when a main power failure occurs and the ambient light is below a prescribed level, thereby energizing the lamp, and means for mounting the unit in the electrical wall box with the back side of the frontal plate flush with the wall, whereby the unit can be installed in even old buildings by simple substitution of the unit for an electrical receptacle without the need for special wiring or other special mounting preparation.

Claim 20

The emergency light unit of claim 16 wherein the entire casing including the frontal portion defining the wall mounting plate, the electrical receptacle, and the rearwardly extending portion is of a unitary, molded one-piece, construction.

Claim 21

The emergency light unit of claim 9 wherein the self-contained unit is hermetically sealed.