The Kinyun caplamp integrates a highly compact 2.4Ah Lithium-ion rechargeable battery and nine highly efficient white LEDs into a small IP67 headlight case, which means the traditional belt-worn battery pack and electrical cable become redundant.
Compact rechargeable batteries have developed significantly in the last decade, thanks to the development of cellular phones, mobile computers and other mobile devices. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries have high energy density and other advanced features, while LED has become more and more efficient.
Combining these new battery and LED technologies, the world’s first cordless mining caplamp was developed at Kinyun Science and Technology Development in 2004, and after becoming popular in other mining areas around the world, Kinyun Australia is now bringing the caplamp to Australia and New Zealand.
“It weighs only 160g, even lighter than the headpiece of the majority of traditional caplamps. The adjustable light angle requested by the Germany standard is first seen in Australia and its intrinsically safe [IS] rating is Ex ia I/IIC T4 for both coal mining and oil and gas industries,” the company said.
The recommended lifetime of the caplamp is two years and its operating times are 14 hours for main light and 120 hours for auxiliary light. Different from traditional caplamps, it maintains the luminous intensity in a high level throughout the whole operating period with comfortable sunlight-style light.
“The removal of battery pack and electrical cable not only increases the work efficiency but also enhances the safety, and the easy recharge and negligible maintenance reduces the lamp room staff,” the company said.
Kinyun’s standard model is expected to be released in September 2006, certified by TestSafe IECEx. The strobe model and warning model will be tested and certified soon after.
Kinyun Australia said it was continuously developing cordless caplamps with new features and functions, including a gas detection model, tracking tag model, super light model (only 100g) and a super bright model for opencut mines.
