US2898449A

US2898449A - Signal lamp

Info

Publication number: US2898449A
Application number: US650228A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vreugdenhil Adrianus
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-12-08
Filing date: 1957-04-02
Publication date: 1959-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 1976-08-04

Description

Aug. 4, 1959 A- VREUGDENHIL SIGNAL LAMP Filed April 2, 1957 FIE-3.2

The present invention relates to a signal lamp in general and for use in an optical system for signalling on board of a vessel in particular.

It is well known that collisions between vessels are rather frequent. The majority occurs in narrow waters and on crowded routes, not only at nighttime but also at daytime, and both during foggy and clear weather.

Quite a number of collisions have been caused, for instance, by the audible signals not being Well heard, or by their meaning being misinterpreted.

A special optical system of signalling, which can be understood without fail even by those who have in: sufiicient knowledge of the rules of the road, or of the regulations for navigation on inland waters has been proposed before.

The electric lamps by means of which the luminous signs may be produced should meet certain requirements. That is to say, the transparent housings of the electric bulbs should be designed as to prevent rays of the rising or setting sun, or of other sources of light, from being so reflected by the surfaces of said housing that, when the electric bulbs are extinguished,the look-outs on other vessels in the vicinity, might receive the impression of luminous signals. 7

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a relatively small lamp housing, which is adapted to accommodate ordinary, relatively small, substantially spherical electric bulbs and is made of glass or other -suit able transparent material.

With this and other objects in view which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a transparent lamp housing in accordance with the present invention, the electric bulb therein being shown in dash lines; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation along the lines 22 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to States Patent Fig. 2, the lamp housing, substantially in the form of a hexahedron, is secured to a vertical wall 5, which may be the front or the rear of the bridge of a vessel. As illustrated, the housing is open on the rear side and provided on said side with a flange 6 clamped to the 'Wall 5 by means of a metal section 7 secured to said wall by screws or other fastening means (not shown), gaskets 8 and 9 2,898,449 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 being provided intermediate said section and the lamp housing, and intermediate the lamp housing and the wall 5, respectively.

The fiat top wall 10 of the housing has a slight outward and downward incline, for instance, of about 5, so that no rain-Water can accumulate thereon.

The flat bottom wall 11 of the housing has a slight outward and upward incline, for instance of about 3, so that water of condensation that may be formed Within the housing may be drained through a passage 12, or a plurality of passages in the wall 5.

The flat front wall 13 ofthe lamp housing has an inward and downward incline of say 15.

The flat side walls 1 4, 15 (Fig. 1) converge in downward direction, and each of said walls encloses an angle of say 15 -20 with a vertical plane extending at right angles to the wall 5.

The substantially spherical bulb 16 is mounted in conventional manner to the Wall 5, and is spaced from the walls of the housing a distance of say 10 mm.

The walls of the housing may, if desired, be rimpled so as to difiuse the light radiated by the bulb 16 and to further suppress undesired reflexes of light when shined upon by the sun.

A plurality of said signal lamps are combined to form the signal system constituting horizontally and vertically disposed arrows, respectively.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the object and the claim.

I claim:

A signal lamp adapted to be mounted on a vessel, comprising a base having a recess therein, a transparent housing in the form of a hexahedron open at the rear and attached to said base, said housing having a flange portion at the rear thereof disposed adjacent said recess of the. base, a gasket disposed in said recess between said flange portion and said base and having an opening at the bottom thereof, said housing including a flat top wall having a slight outward and downward incline, so that no rain water can accumulate thereon, a front wall attached to said top wall having a substantially inward and downward inc-line, and side walls converging in downward direction, a flat bottom wall connected to said front wall and side walls, said flange portion of said housing adjacent said bottom wall defining with said recess in said base a water drain opening, said housing having a spherical lamp bulb therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 23, 1934