This disclosure relates to deployment of illumination devices.

Illumination systems for indoor or outdoor use are very well known. Conventional arrangements involve a number of illumination devices, typically electric lights, coupled by electric wiring to a power source, typically mains electric power; and the resultant installations are intended to be at least semi-permanent. The system may be designed to provide illumination per se, as in domestic lighting, or to provide an indication to others, as in the case of beacons marking an aircraft runway.

Previous attempts to provide temporary illumination have generally been hampered by the portable equipment being bulky and heavy to transport, and by the limitations of the lengths of electric cabling connecting individual illumination devices to an external power source. Chemiluminescent devices which do not require an external power source have also been used for short term temporary illumination. Heretofore, such devices have needed to be individually armed by a user before or during deployment, resulting in time-consuming deployment.

In WO 2020/025916 BDZ Investments Ltd, we provide a method and apparatus for deploying self-contained illumination devices. Each illumination device has a first inoperative state, and a second operative state in which it provides illumination ranging from infrared to ultraviolet. A pair of pivotally coupled housing components are squeezed together by hand to move an illumination device from a housing storing one or more illumination devices to an exposed position outside the housing. The state of the illumination device is automatically changed from its first inoperative state to its second operative state as a direct result of movement of the illumination device from within the housing to the exposed position.

The present disclosure provides an alternative deployment apparatus which may be seen as an improvement or modification of the deployment apparatus we described in WO 2020/025916. As will be apparent, from the description below, our alternative deployment apparatus is simpler in construction and easier to operate than the deployment apparatus described in WO 2020/025916. The term “self-contained” is used throughout this disclosure to refer to illumination devices that incorporate their own power supply and so require no external wiring, or, as in the case of a chemiluminescent device, do not require any power supply.

According to a first aspect of this disclosure, we provide an illumination device deployment apparatus comprising: a housing adapted to store a plurality of identical self- contained illumination devices in a stack thereof; the housing being coupled to a dispensing head for dispensing successive illumination devices from the stack through a common passage to the exterior; the dispensing head including a slider adapted, against the bias of a return spring, to push a said illumination device from an end-most position of the stack through said common passage to the exterior; each illumination device having a first pre-operative state in which it is inoperative but ready for use and a second state in which it is operative to provide illumination at at least one frequency within the range from and including infrared to and including ultraviolet, the device being in said first state when within said stack; and the slider, when in contact with an illumination device to push it from the said end-most position through said passage to the exterior, being operative to change the state of the illumination device from its first to its second state.

In preferred embodiments, the illumination device deployment apparatus may have one or more of the following features: The slider includes a metal surface portion adapted to make an electrical connection between two exposed pins on a confronting surface of the illumination device, thereby switching the illumination device on, when the slider makes contact with the illumination device at said end-most position of the stack when pushing it through the passage to the exterior. The apparatus further comprises a bias spring within the housing adapted to urge illumination devices in said stack towards said end-most position in a direction at right angles to the direction of movement of the slider. The apparatus is sized and configured for use in one hand, with that hand grasping the housing about its length while the thumb of that same hand pushes the slider forwardly. The housing is provided with a slidable cover capable of being slid to an open condition to reveal the stack; the bias of the bias spring being transmitted to illumination devices in said stack via a carriage slidable within the housing and operable to engage with the stack it its end opposite said end-most position; the carriage including a projection positioned for contact by a portion of said cover to allow the bias of the bias spring to be disengaged from the stack by holding the slidable cover open, to thereby allow illumination devices to be added to or removed from the stack.

Reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate particular embodiments by way of example only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the front and to one side of a first embodiment of an illumination device deployment apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the deployment device of Fig. 1 from the rear and to one side;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing deployment of an illumination device;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the deployment device in the configuration of Fig. 3 deploying an illumination device;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the deployment device of Figs. 1 to 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the deployment device of Figs. 1 to 5 taken along the line A-A in Fig. 5 with the deployment device in the configuration of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig.7 is a sectional view of the deployment device of Figs. 1 to 5 also taken along the line A-A in Fig. 5, but with the deployment device in the configuration of Figs. 3 and 4; and

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the deployment device of Figs. 1 to 7 from the rear and to one side as in Fig. 2 but with a rear portion of a housing of the device slid to an open position.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 8, a deployment apparatus comprises a housing 100 surmounted by a dispensing head 101. A slider 102 is disposed in the head 101 , and comprises flat top 103 with a pair of depending rails 104 that pass through L-shaped slots 105 that are the mirror-image of each other in front face 106 of dispensing head 101. Front face 106 also has a slot 107 through which successive illumination devices 108 are arranged to be dispensed from a store 109 within housing 100. Front face 106 is solid with side pieces 110 of head 101. Slider 102 includes a body 1 11 that provides rear face 112 of the head 101; and is adapted to slide forwardly of the head 101 between side pieces 110 against the bias of a helical spring 113 (Fig.14), which is mounted between body 111 and the rear of front face 106, when slider 102 is pushed at rear face 112. Housing 100 is sized to fit comfortably in the grasp of a user’s hand so that slider 102 can be pushed forwardly by the thumb of that hand. A shallow detent 114 is provided on front face 115 of housing 100 for locating the index finger of the user’s hand. When thumb pressure against rear face 112 of the slider is released, spring 113 returns the slider 102 to its original position.

As can be seen from the sectional views of Figs. 6 and 7, illumination devices 108 are stacked on top of each other within store 109 and urged towards the dispensing head

101 by a carriage 116 slidably positioned within housing 100. Carriage 116 is biased by a helical spring 117 mounted about a depending cylinder 118 on underside 119 of the carriage 116 between that underside 119 and base 120 of housing 100. The rear of housing 101 is provided with a cover 121 slidable away from the head 101 as shown in Fig. 8 to allow access to the interior of the housing. Carriage 116 has a projection 122 to the rear which is engageable by an internal surface 123 of the cover 121 when the cover is fully slid down as shown in Fig. 8. Thus, while the cover 121 is held at its lowermost position, the carriage is prevented from sliding towards the head 101 , thereby enabling illumination devices 108 to be inserted into or withdrawn from the store 109.

Forward end 124 of each illumination device 108 includes a slot 125 with respective pins 126 extending from sidewalls 127 into the slot. Rear end 128 of each illumination device 108 has two pins 129 extending to the rear. When slider 102 is biased to its rearmost position in the head 101 by spring 113 a metal surface portion 130 on forward face 131 of body 110 is held out of contact with pins 129.

As slider 102 is pushed forwardly metal surface portion 130 makes electrical contact with both of the rearwardly extending pins 129 of the confronting illumination device 108, completing a circuit within that illumination device 108 to change it from a first pre-operative state in which it is inoperative but ready for use to a second state in which it provides illumination. Thus, the illumination device 108 is moved from the store 109 inside housing 100 through a passage from the top of the store and through slot 107 in front face 106 of head 101 to emerge from slot 107 in its illumination condition. As slider

102 retreats towards its original position as pressure against it is released and the bias of spring 113 within the head 101 operates, the remaining illumination devices 108 in store 109 move upwardly by one iteration as a column pushed by carriage 116 under the influence of spring 117. The above procedure is repeated for successive illumination devices 108 each time slider 102 is operated.

Making an electrical connection in a deployed illumination device between pins 126, otherwise physically shielded by location within slot 125, switches off that illumination device.

As an alternative, illumination devices used in this embodiment may provide illumination by chemical, and specifically by chemi-luminescent means as opposed to electrical means. In this form of device, arming as the device is deployed may be achieved by breaking a partition separating two chemical reagents which produce light from a chemical reaction between them. The variety of illuminating systems that can be employed in an illumination device in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure mean that a broad range of devices can be manufactured to meet the needs of customers, with differing light intensities and differing time periods, up to as long as 120 hours, during which they remain operable.

Alternative arming devices will readily occur to persons skilled in this field in the light of the present teachings, and include an ultraviolet light beam switch, reed switches, pressure switches, the use of visible light and a photo resistor switch, an infrared sensor or a Hall effect magnet sensor.

We contemplate that illumination devices may simply be dropped on to the ground, or may include an adhesive pad on a rear surface or exposed by removing a cover to allow the device to be stuck to a surface such as a wall or a tree.

Illumination devices as described herein are particularly useful for search and/or rescue organisations or for use by the military, but they may be used for a variety of different marking or illumination purposes, including, but not limited to illuminating a walkway, a garden or particular features within a garden; use as a directional aid; marking a trail for rescuers in an underground cave system or smoke-filled building; marking a temporary runway, helicopter pad, or drop-zone; or marking a hazard to be avoided such as a minefield or an improvised explosive device; or a safe route through a minefield. Because the illumination need not be in the visible spectrum, the devices can also serve a covert purpose, for example by only being visible to personnel with appropriate nightvision or ultra-violet sights.