US2141683A - Reflecting traffic signal - Google Patents

Description

1938- c. A. COSTANZO 'REFLECTING TRAFFIC SIGNAL 4 Filed July 29, 1937 Carmen, a, 6 0 aZ'a-rzzo Patented Dec. 27, 1938 films STATES PATENT OFE REFLECTING TRAFFIC SIGNAL Canada Application July 29, 1937, Serial No. 156,415

2 Claims.

This invention is in relation to improvements in traffic signals, more especially that type in use at street intersections towarn traffic approaching the signal of the proximity of other trafilc approaching at right angles to the warning light.

My invention is a self-indicating trafiic signal that functions through being illuminated by the headlights of an approaching vehicle to indicate to traific on an intersecting street the approach of cross traflic.

I amaware that several patents have been granted upon such type of signals to indicate to traffic approaching at right angles the proximity of other traflic, such as United States Patents Numbers 1,249,795; 1,267,682; 1,497,709; 1,515,939; 1,610,948 and 1,966,880, all of which are of the reflecting type but having a very limited range or field for picking up the rays of light of an approaching cars headlights, with the conse- 20 quence that such signals are only useful when placed more or less directly in the path of approaching trafiic and will not function to traffic approaching at a wide angle of incidence thereto, which my signal is adapted to do.

Such signals as disclosed in the aforesaid patents are generally adapted for installation in the center of an intersection and would not function particularly well if placed upon street corners or out of the path of the rays of lights of approach- 30 ing trafiic.

It is one of the principal objects of myinvention to improve upon such signals and provide one capable of indicating, over a very wide range of incidence, the approach of traflic.

A further object of my invention has been to provide a more efficient and powerful signal than any in general use.

Still further objects have been to provide an improved and simplified construction, economical to build, maintain and service.

With these and other objects in view, I have invented the trafi'ic signal that is the subject matter of this application, and which is further described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming part of this application, and in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of the signal entrance light lenses surrounded by narrow, angularly positioned mirrors set in parallelism to each other.

Figure 2 is: a rear view of Figure 1 showing the entrance door to the mirror chamber and bayonet locks for the lens tubes.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the signal taken on the line 3'3 of Figure 2, but drawn to a larger scale than Figure 2. This view illustrates the central mirror chamber and the mounting of biconvex and plane-concave lenses in the end lens tubes.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a 5- street intersection, illustrating the mounting of the signals upon a street corner.

In thev drawing like numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawing, and the numeral I indicates a central rectangular casing compris- 10' ing a mirror chamber, in one side or wall of which is mounted a pair of round or square plano-convex lenses 2,

The lenses 2 are separated from each other by the partition strip 3 and are recessed in the sur- 1'5 rounding walls 4 to a depth sufiicient to permit of the mounting of the pairs of surrounding mirrors 5' and 6 which are set in parallelism to each other.

The mirrors 5 and 6 completely surround the lenses 2 and are mounted at an approximate angle of 45 degrees thereto, and the reflecting faces of the mirrors are positioned oppositely to each other so that any light rays striking the faces of the mirrors 5 are reflected upon the adjacent faces of the mirrors 6 and thence through the plano-convex lenses 2.

Upon the inside of the central mirror chamber I are mounted a pair of reflecting mirrors i set at an angle of 45 degrees to the ends of the mirror chamber I and at an angle of 90 degrees to each other.

At the rear of the mirrors I is provided an entrance door 8 to the mirror chamber to provide easy access to the chamber I for the purpose of cleaning or replacing of the mirrors or lenses.

Upon the ends of the mirror chamber 5 are formed round flanged openings I5 in which are mounted tapering lens tubes 9.

The tubes 9 have mounted in the outerends red plano-convex lenses I0 and, mounted intermediately of the angularly positioned mirrors I and red lenses It at correct focal points, are the bi-convex lenses II and the plano-concave lenses I2.

The lens tubes. 9 are preferably silvered upon the inside walls I3 to provide the maximum of reflecting surface for the lenses positioned therein.

The tubes 9 are secured into the flanged openings I5 by a simple type of bayonet joint It or other suitable means, so that the tubes 9 may be readily dismounted for cleaning purposes or replacing of lenses.

All of the lenses are held or retained in position by a simple form of spring ring I4.

The signals are primarily intended for installation upon street corners as, by reason of the mounting of the angular outer mirrors 5 and 6 surrounding the entrance lenses 2, the signals are capable of flashing a warning light from a very wide range of incidence of an approaching cars headlights and, therefore, the signals do not necessarily have to bedirectly in the path of the headlights of an approaching car, and this is diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 4 in V which it will be seen that cars travelling in a north or south direction will indicate through the signals positioned upon the south-east and north-west corners their approach to cars travelling in an east or west directionland, vice versa,

cars travelling east and west will indicate to cars surrounding angle mirrors, and its ability to project a more powerful light ray through the use of convex and concave lenses positioned at correct focal points.

Having now described my invention and the nature of same, what I claim and desire to be protected in, by Letters Patent, is: a,

1. A reflecting signal of the kind described, comprising a central mirror chamber, a pair of piano-convex lenses mounted in recesses formed in one side Wall of said chamber, a set of outwardly inclined reflecting mirrors located in front of each of said plano-convex lenses and adjacent the margins thereof, a second set of similarly inclined reflecting mirrors located in front of each of said plano-convex lenses, and within the confines'of said first mentioned set and spaced therefrom, said first sets of reflecting mirrors being positioned to reflect light upon the second sets of reflecting mirrors respectively and said second sets of reflecting mirrors being positioned to reflect the light through the plano-convex lenses, a pair of mirrors located in said mirror chamber disposed inlangular relation to each other with their reflecting surfaces facing the lenses, and located one at either side of a plane to receive light reflected from said mirrors located in said chamber, a plano-convex lens mounted adjacent the end of each of said tubes and a biconvex lens mounted in each of said tubes intermediate of said outer plane-convex lens and the adjacent mirror that is located in said chamber for collecting the rays reflected by said mirror and directing them to the plano-convex lens, whereby light rays received through the planoconvex lenses mounted in the side wall of said chamber are received by and reflected from the surfaces of the said angularly positioned mirrors in said mirror chamber through the lenses mounted in said lens tubes to be projected through the outer lenses of said tubes.

2. A reflecting signal of the kind described, comprising a central mirror chamber, a pair of plano-convex lenses mounted in recesses formed in one side Wall of said chamber, a set of outwardly inclined reflecting mirrors located in front of each of said piano-convex lenses and adjacent the margins thereof, a second set of similarly inclined reflecting mirrors located in front of each of said lano-convex lenses, and Within the confines of said first mentioned set and spaced therefrom, said first sets of reflecting mirrors being positioned to reflect light upon the second sets of reflecting mirrors respectively and said second sets of reflecting mirrors being positioned to reflect the light through the plano-convex lenses, a pair of mirrors located in said mirror chamber disposed in angular relation to each other with their reflecting surfaces facing the lenses, and located one at either side of aplane normal'to and between said lenses, a pair of lens tubes mounted on said mirror chamber with their axes located normal to said plane and positioned to receive light reflected from said mirrors located in said chamber, a plano-convex lens mounted adjacent the end of each of said tubes and a bi-convex lens mounted in each of said tubes intermediate of said outer plane-convex lens and the adjacent mirror that is located in said chamber for collecting therays reflected by said mirror in said mirror chamber through the lenses mounted in said lens tubes to be projected through the outer lenses of said tubes, said mirror chamber having flanged openings, said lens tubes being tted in the flanges of said openings and means to detachably secure said tubes to said chamber.

CARMEN ANTHONY CQSTANZO.

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