US2029183A - Advertising sign of electric lights - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 28, 1936.

E. MUKASA ADVERTISING SIGN OF ELECTRIC LIGHTS Original Filed Dec. 29, 1933 Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADVERTISING SIGN OF ELECTRIC LIGHTS Eizo Mukasa, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan ber 31, 1932 i 2 Claims.

My invention relates to an electric lighting sign which is constructed with liquid pipes overlapped on an electric lamp or gas discharge tube, and in which two or more kinds of liquids having dif- 5 ferent specific gravities, and different colours, flow alternately in said liquid pipes in such a manner that said flowing liquids may produce various colours.

My invention consists in the novel construction and combination of elements for the purpose described and claimed.

My invention will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a front view of an example of my invention shown partly in cross-section.

Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views of a luminous lamp or tube and liquid pipes in various arrangements.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of an example of liquid controlling device.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of other example of controlling valve through which three kinds of liquids flow out alternately.

Referring to the characters and numerals on the drawing, in Fig. 2, l is a luminous lamp such as tubular electric lamp or neon tube which is shown in cross-section. 2 is a liquid pipe which is overlapped on the said luminous lamp or tube and preferably made of glass. If necessary, said luminous lamp is provided with a reflecting surface 3 of U-shaped plate on its rear surface, thus the light of aluminous lamp or tube is reflected on the liquid pipe 2. The liquid pipe 2 and luminous lamp or tube may be formed in various shapes or letters and in Figure 1, these pipes show as an example a frame.

The liquid pipe 2 is connected to pumps 8 and 9 through the branch pipe 1 and suction pipes 5 and 6. These pumps are to be operated alternately by a lever ll pivoted at H]. A liquid tank I2 is arranged under these pumps, and said tank contains two kinds of liquids which have different specific gravities and will not mix with each other,

for example, water l3 and oil I l. The suction compression stroke of said pump 9, the pump 8 is operated onthe suction stroke. Therefore, the branch pipe 1 conveys water and oil alternately to the liquid pipe 2 through the pipes 5 and 6, thus water l3 and oil M in said liquid pipe 2 are moved alternately by the pumping action and are returned to the tank l2 through a pipe ll the water goes to the bottom in the tank and the oil rises to the surface owing to the difference in specific gravities so that Water and oil form divided layers in the tank. In the above described apparatus, if the water is coloured, said coloured water and transparent oil produce a two coloured sign and when black or opaque or semi-transparent colours are applied to the water, a running sign having alternate light and dark portions may be displayed.

In the above described apparatus, special pumps are used but in'my invention, any other hydraulic machines or controlling valve devices may be used. For example, the valve as shown in Figure 9 may be employed. In this Figure 9, I8 is a shaft rotated at low speed by the proper driving means and I9 is a cam fixed to the shaft l8. 2!] is a valve, 2| is an arm, 22 is a spring, 23 is a pivot of the valve, 24 is a pipe communicated with the pump or the liquid pipe 2; 25 is a suction or feeding pipe for light liquid and 26 is a suction or feeding pipe for weighty liquid. The cam is rotated by the shaft I8 and operated in such a manner that the pipes 25 and 26 are alternately opened or closed as shown by the solid line and the dotted line in Figure 9 and thus heavy and light liquids fiow alternately in the pipe 24, and then these liquids are fed to the liquid pipe 2.

In above description, the tank contains two kinds of liquids but three or more kinds of liquids which have different specific gravities so that they can not be mixed with each other, may be used. For example, when water, mineral oil and caster oil are used, three layers of liquids are produced in the tank. In this case, three kinds of liquids are controlled by the valve device as shown in Figure 10 in such a manner that three kinds of liquids may flow alternately in the liquid pipe 2 through the pipes 25, 26 and 2?, and thus a particularly attractive sign may be displayed by applying difierent colours to said liquids.

If the period of the oscillating motion of the valve 20 is comparatively long in the case of two or three colours running sign, one coloured light may be changed along letters or figures of the sign from one end to the other end gradually.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section of a luminous lamp or tube l and a liquid pipe 2 which is formed as a fiat tube and is attached to said luminous lamp or tube. Figure 4 shows a luminous lamp or tube I inserted concentrically in the liquid pipe 2. Figure 5 shows a modification of two liquid pipes 2 and 2' arranged on both sides of a separating luminous lamp or tube I in such a manner'that the sign can be seen from the both sides. Figure 6 shows another modification con: sisting of one glass tube in which the luminous lamp or tube l and liquid pipe 2 are formed by a separating partition. Figures '7 and 8 show other modifications in which the luminous lamp or tube l and a plurality of liquid pipes 2, 2', 2", 2" are provided and other liquids, besides water and oil, may be employed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by containing a plurality of liquids of different colors and different specific gravities, and means for o'ausingthe liquids of the layers in the tank to alternately flow through said liquid pipe.

2. An advertising 'electric light sign comprising a liquid pipe overlapped on an electric luminous member and a liquid tank connected to said liquid. pipe, said liquid tank containing a plurality of liquids of different colors and different specific gravities, with means for causing the liquids of the layers in the tank to alternately flow through said liquid pipe, said means comprising a hy draul'ic pumping machine and leading pipes, and said liquid pipe. being arranged in front of the luminous member with one end of said pipe in communication with the liquid of each layer in the tank through a branch pipe, suction pipes and pumps and the other end of the liquid pipe in communication with the tank through a common delivery pipe.

EIZO MUKASA.

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