US2032622A

US2032622A - Reflector

Info

Publication number: US2032622A
Application number: US698175A
Authority: US
Inventors: Guillou Rene Jean Le
Original assignee: APPLIC GUILUX SOC D
Current assignee: APPLIC GUILUX SOC D; APPLICATIONS GUILUX Ste
Priority date: 1932-11-16
Filing date: 1933-11-15
Publication date: 1936-03-03
Anticipated expiration: 1953-03-03

Description

March 3, 1936. R. J. LE GUILLOU REFLECTOR Filed Nov. 15, 1935 [/7 l/P/7 for fin? f1? 1 6 60/7/00 Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Soclete Des Applications Guilux, Paris,

France, a limited company of France Application November 15, 1933, Serial No. 698,175 In France November 16, 1932 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to reflectors for wave-motion energy 1. e. for undulatory propagated luminous or thermal rays, its primary object being to provide a reflector wherein the refleeting surface or web is constituted by a high ly flexible material and is so constructed and arranged that its general curvilinear outline or profile can be readily modified at will within the wide limits allowed by the inherent high flexibility of said material, whereby the direction of the reflected beams can be varied quite independently of the location of the source of energy which may be stationary or displaceable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reflector wherein the modification of the general curvilinear outline of the reflecting surface can be performed very easily owing to the inherent high flexibility of its constitutive material by very simple means and without creating in said surface any salients that would otherwise break the continuity and homogeneity of the reflected beams.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a reflector wherein the reflecting surface or web can be gradually flexed at will to change the direction and concentration of the reflected beams very precisely so as to parallelize the reflected rays or to cause them to diverge or converge exactly to the desired extent with a view to scattering or concentrating the luminous and/or thermal effects of said rays to suit illumination and/or thermal requirements.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a reflector wherein the pressing means for flexing the reflecting web or surface to the required outline or profile are so associated with the holding means for supporting said web as to build a unitary self-contained structure of small volume.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide such a self-contained structure of troughlike or box-like shape capable of being used for miscellaneous purposes such for example as the illumination of showcases, shop windows or display rooms while concealing the source of light to the eyes of the onlookers, the structure being located for instance adjacent a cornice or a Wainscot.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a reflector composed of a minimum number of parts, of simple and rugged construction and capable of being cheaply manufactured and installed while ensuring a perfect operation and permitting easy adjustment of the reflective effeet.

With these and such other objects in view as will incidentally appear hereafter, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts that will now be described with reference to the accompanying dia- 5 grammatic drawing exemplifying the invention and forming a part of the present disclosure.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic edge view showing a reflector according to the invention, the portion AB being intended to be held stationarily while the portion BC is adapted to be flexed to modify the shape and direction of the reflected beams.

Figure 2 is a diagammatic edge view similar to Figure 1 showing another reflector according to the invention, the reflecting web AB of curvilinear outline or profile being merely held against motion at A while capable of being flexed throughout its outline from A to B.

Figure 3 is another diagrammatic edge view similar to Figures 1 and 2 showing a further reflector according to the invention, the reflecting web ABC of curvilinear outline being held at B while capable of being flexed from A to B and from B to C to variable extents.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a contructional embodiment of the reflector diagrammatically shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a constructional embodiment of the reflector diagrammatically shown in Figure 2.

Like references designate like parts throughout the several views.

Whatever the embodiment of the invention may be, the reflecting web of the improved reflector is made of an inherently highly flexible material capable of being flexed from a curvi linear outline or profile having a given reflective power to another curvilinear outline or profile having a different reflective power without creating any salients that is to say without giving rise to projecting or jutting edges that would create gaps or blanks in the reflected beam of rays. Such an inherently highly flexible material may be for example a sheet of metal or alloy possessing altogether the required flexibility or resiliency and a sufficient reflecting power by itself or when properly polished. Such a sheet of metal or alloy may be advantageously in the form of a continuously curved Web or plate of suitable thickness for not impairing its inherent flexibility, this metallic web having reflecting properties on one or both faces depending on requirements. The reflective power of this web may be due simply to proper polishing or may be enhanced if required for example by ribs, serrations, protuberances, undulations or similar means, provided that such reflection-augmenting means are easy to form in the course of manufacture on the web and are not capable of substantially lessening its flexibility.

According to the invention, the limit of elasticity or flexibility of the sheet of metal or alloy used as a reflecting web or surface must never be reached during the operation or adjustment of the reflector, so that said web can be flexed or distorted at will to assume the required curvilinear outline depending on the reflecting effect which is sought.

Flexion and distortion of the reflecting web which is single or multiple can be combined to obtain the desired effects. They may be obtained by holding, abutting or supporting said web in any approved way at one or more end or intermediate positions throughout its area and flexing it for example by means of brackets, cams, bufiers, rockers or other suitable pressing or flexing means capable of conveniently changing the outline or profile of said web within the limits of its flexibility or resiliency.

Such a reflector utilizes a source of wavemotion energy, for example one or more electric lamps located either stationarily or adjustably. The adjustability of the source of energy may be co-ordinated with the flexion of the reflecting web for instance owing to a mechanical or other known construction, for instance for correctly focusing the source of luminous or thermal rays regardless of the changing curvature of the reflecting web.

If the source of energy is for example mainly a source of light, it may be constituted by one or more incandescent or are lamps or luminescent gas filled tubes. If the source of energy is mainly a source of heat, it may be constituted for instance by a tube of linear or other form through which a heated fluid is caused to flow. Lastly, if the source of vibratory energy is a cooling source, it may be formed by a tube through which a refrigerating medium circulates. All such variations are intended to be involved by the expression wave-motion energy.

Reference being now had specifically to Figure 1, this shows diagrammatically a curvilinear reflector ABC generated by a straight describent or generatrix according to well-known geometrical laws. In this embodiment of the invention, the portion AB of the reflector is maintained stationary by any known or approved holding means (not shown in this diagrammatic view but illustrated in Figure 4) while the remaining portion BC may be flexed owing to the inherent high flexibility of the material of which the reflector is made. By thus flexing the portion BC, this portion may assume such positions of different profiles as BC or BC without reaching the limit of flexibility of the material. Therefore there is no risk of the latter forming salients or jutting out. The source of wave-motion energy is shown at S, and the rays are shown at SBM, SCN, SC N SC N The distance between the lines ON and C N clearly illustrates in a diagrammatic way the modification of the reflecting efiect of the portion BC of the reflector after it has been flexed from the position C to the position C In Figure 2 is similarly shown a flexible reflector having a curvilinear outline AB described by a straight generatrlx. In this embodiment, the reflector is held stationary merely along its end A so that it can be flexed throughout its area. The source of energy is stationarily located at S at an invariable distance from A. When flexing the reflector as shown diagrammatically by the dotted lines, its end may resiliently move for instance from the position 18 to the position B the outline of the reflector becoming AB and AB respectively. The rays are shown at SBN, SB N SB N Figure 3 shows a reflector ABC having a curvilinear outline described by a straight generatrix. In this embodiment, the point B is stationary while the points A and C can be moved for instance from A to A and from C to C respectively by suitably flexing the reflecting web on either side of the point B. The rays from the source S are shown diagrammatically at SAM, SA M SA M and SCN, SC N SC N Reflectors having reflecting webs as abovedescribed can be manufactured in a variety of ways of which two are illustrated by way of examples in Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4 shows diagrammatically a constructional form of the reflector according to Figure 1. The stationary curvilinear portion AB is constituted in this embodiment by an elongated trough lo the outline of which is in the form of a cylindrical segment whose inner face is polished or made reflecting in any approved way. This trough I0 is secured against motion for example by rivets to a pair of supporting plates ll having lugs l2 by means of which it can be secured to a wall, a Wainscot, a cornice or another architectural or structural part, for instance adjacent the ceiling or the floor of a shop window or in a showcase. Each plate ll carries a check plate l3 to which may be secured a lamp socket of usual construction or another support for a conventional source of energy (not shown). The trough Ill extends on one side in the shape of a skirt M of highly flexible metal whose inner face is polished or conveniently made reflecting. This skirt l4 terminates in a bead I5 through the end portions of which engage a pair of rods I6 attached to the cheek plates l3 and screwthreaded at their free ends to receive nuts ll or equivalent knurled or roughened manipulators which bear against the outer face of the bead I5. The material of which the skirt M is made (a metal or alloy inherently having qualities of high flexibility) is so selected as to permit this skirt to be flexed, without creating any salients, from the position C to the position C (shown in dotted lines) by screwing the nuts or manipulators l1 so as to resiliently push ofl the bead l5 and change the curvature of the skirt M. The general curvature of the skirt I4 is that of a scotia which merges into the cylindrical segment curvature of the trough II]. A reflector thus constructed may be arranged for directing the reflected rays upwards, downwards, horizontally or obliquely depending on practical requirements. By more or less flexing the skirt I4, which is rendered possible with a sufiicient amount of precision by the engagement of the nuts I1 and screw-threaded rods IS, the reflected beam may be more or less dispersed or concentrated to suit illumination or thermal requirements.

Figure 5 shows in a similar way a constructional form of the reflector according to Figure 2. The reflecting web 20 having an internal smooth, undulated or goffered polished surface is in the aosaeaa shape'qf a widely opened trough attached by any conventional securing means along its longitudinal edge A which forms a fulcrum for the application of the flexing stresses. This trough 20 can be submitted along its opposite longitudinal edge B to the gradually adjusted pressure of cams or rockers 2| fixedly secured to a tie rod 22 engaged revolubly through the cheek plates of a casing 23 having reinforcing strips 24. By rotating the rod 22 in the required direction, the cams or rockers 2| gradually push the adjacent edge of the web 23 oil the inner wall oi the casing 23 from the position B to the position B so as to correspondingly modify the reflective eflect of the web 23 on the rays emitted by the source of energy 8 (not shown) which may be constituted by electric lamps mounted in sockets of known shape diagrammatically represented at 23. By rotating the rod 22 in the reverse direction, the cams or rockers 2| gradually allow the web 20 to flexibly resume its original position inside the casing 23, its adjacent longitudinal edge passing from the position B of maximum curvature to a position B of less curvature. Evidently, the size and shape of the cams or rockers 2| are arranged for flexing the reflecting web 20 to the desired extent depending on the deviation to be imparted to the reflected beam of rays.

The constructional details of the reflectors shown in Figures 4 and 5 might of course vary within the scope of the subjoined claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A reflector for a source of wave-motion energy comprising a unitary continuous reflecting web of curvilinear profile devoid of salients partly enclosing the source of energy, said web being made of an inherently highly resilient material, holders located laterally of the web for supporting said source of energy, means permanently holding against flexion a fulcrum portion oi said web, means carried by said holders for gradually pressing said web so as to flexibly modify its curvilinear profile within wide limits and to change its reflecting eflect, and means coordinated with the last-named means for holding said web in the adjusted flexed position.

2. A reflector for a source of wave-motion energy comprising a unitary continuous reflecting web of curvilinear profile devoid of salients partly enclosing the source of energy, said web being made of an inherently highly resilient material, holders located on either side or the web for supporting said source of energy, a trough permanently holding against flexion a fulcrum portion of said web from one of its longitudinal edges, rods fastened to said holders and carrying adjustable pressing members for engaging the opposite longitudinal edge of the web and for gradually flexing it and modifying its curvilinear proflle and its reflecting eflect within wide limits.

3. A reflector for a source of wave-motion energy comprising a unitary continuous reflecting web of curvilinear profile tree of salients partly enclosing the source of energy, said web being made of an inherently highly resilient material, cheek plate holders located on either sides of the web for supporting said source of energy, a trough attached to said holders and permanently holding against flexion a fulcrum portion of said web from one of its longitudinal edges, rods fastened to said holders and engaging through the web, and adjustable nut-like pressing members carried by said rods and engaging the region of said web adjacent its opposite longitudinal edge, adjustment of such pressing members permitting to gradually flex the web and to modify its curvilinear profile and its reflecting eflect within wide limits.

4. A reflector for a source of wave-motion energy comprising a unitary continuous reflecting web of curvilinear profile free of salients partly enclosing the source of energy, said web being made of an inherently highly resilient material and being held against flexion along a longitudinal edge fulcrum portion, cheek plate holders located laterally oi the web for supporting said source of energy, a tie rod revolubly engaged through said holders, and presser members carried by said rod and engaging the region of said web adjacent its opposite longitudinal edge, rotary adjustment of such presser members permitting to gradually flex the web and to modify within wide limits its curvilinear profile and its reflecting eflect on the rays emitted from the source of energy.

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