US586214A

US586214A - Vault-light

Info

Publication number: US586214A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1897-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 1914-07-13

Description

O. H. BASQUIN. V LLLLLLLL T.

No. 586,214. Patented July 13, 1897.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-811813132 O.H,B A SQU1N.

VAULT LIGHT.

Patented July 13,1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIN II. BASQUIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO TI-IE LUXFER PRISM PATENTS COMPANY, OF TEST VIRGINIA.

VAU LT-LIG HT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 586,214, dated July 13, 1897.

Application filed January 23,1897. Serial No. 620,458. (No model.)

To cl/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, OLIN I-I. BAsQUIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vault-Lights, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to vault-lights for diffusing and distributing the light, and has for ro its object to provide the new and improved prism-lights for this purpose illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a section through a lens or vaultlight embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section through a modified form of my device. Fig. 3 is a section through a further modified form of my device. Fig. il. is a section through a pavement composed of my prism-lights.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout zo the several ngures.

The object of my invention is to form a prism-light which will throw the light as near to the edge of the prism next in advance as practicable and still allow it to pass by the 2 5 prisms without being obstructed thereby, thus avoiding the loss of light ordinarily occurring. I have found that the prism-light herein illustrated approaches this result as near as it is practicable to do so. The several construcgoitions herein shown all approximate this result.

Referring now to Eig. l, which shows a body portion A, provided with the projecting parts or prisms B, I have found that if the reflecting-surface C is curved in a manner similar to that shown-that is, if it is a convex curvethe rays of light falling on the receiving-surface D and passing through the prism will be reflected by that surface and subsequently be 4o by the other prism-surface retracted so as to clear the prism next adjoining, as shown, the rays of light, after leaving the prism, being thrown in as nearly horizontal lines as is practicable. The curve given to this surface deponds, of course, upon the several conditions, and I therefore do not wish to limit myself to any particular curve, the only limitation being that it shall be curved so as, in conjunction with the other surface of the prism,

5o whether that be curved or not, to converge, substantially all the light falling upon the receiving-surface associated with said prism on a line just below the lower line of the next preceding prism.

Referring now to Fig. 2, Ihave shown a construction for obtaining the same result when the reflecting-surface C is straight. Iii-this case the refracting-surface E is curved, such surface being given a convex curve, as shown.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a construction where- 6o in two curved surfaces are used, the reflecting-surface C and the refracting-surface E both being curved. In this construction both curves act to change the direction of the rays of light, so as to make them leave the prisms in as nearly horizontal lines as is practicable and still lhave them pass below the adjoining prism or lens.

I do not of course presume to have shown in these drawings all the possible forms by 7o which the result sought can be attained, and indeed I have designed other forms than those shown. The ideal device along the lines of my invention would be one in which all of the rays of light entering are received 7 5 and directed forwardly, so as to most nearly approach without impinging upon the prism in front. Cf course this would be most desirable in such lights as are called vaultlights.7 8o

Referring to Eig. i, Gis the vault beneath the pavement; H, the retaining-wall; J, a column support-ing the building; K, astorefront, and the pavement-light is composed, as indicated, of a set of my prisms.

' I have described my improvement as being a body of glass with a series of prisms. Of course my invention is realized in a body of glass with a single prism, or in a body of glass with a series of prisms, or in a struc- 9o ture made up of bodies of glass having one or more prisms, provided that the relation of the prisms to the body of the glass is such as to bring about the result which I have described. 9 5

To determine the character and relations of the two faces of the prism I proceed as follows: Knowing the direction from which the light is to be received and the direction of the receiving-surface, I arbitrarily deterroo mine the width of the prism and place on a diagram upon which the line indicating the direction from which the light is to come and the line indicating the direction of the surface of the prism have been placed two dots in a line parallel to the direction of the receiving-surface an d separated from each other by a distance equal to the arbitrarily determined width of the prism. In the case of this invention the object is to throw all of the light received from the predetermined direction upon the receiving-surface opposite a given prism, forward and as nearly as possible upon the line just below the next preceding prism. I therefore may lay off a line indicating one surface of such prism arbitrarily. I draw lines to indicate a large number of rays of light both entering and leaving the prism, those leaving` the prism being converged upon the line immediately below the next preceding prism and those entering the prism being parallel to the determined direction. The undetermined face of the prism may now obviously be determined by laying down a number of short lines across these rays, which short lines are so positioned that the rays falling upon each are turned in the direction of the rays leaving such line, and by connecting these short surfaces in the proper manner to form a continuous surface the previously undetermined surface of the prism is established, and all the rays received upon the receiving-surface from the predetermined direction will by such a prism so formed be converged upon the line j ust below the next preceding prism, and will neither strike such preceding prism nor be directed appreciably below the same, and no two of such rays will be parallel to each other.

I have spoken of my invention as a vaultlight. It is more correctly described, however, asa prism-tile,7 and I prefer to use that term.

I claiml. Avault-lightcomprisingareceiving-surface adapted to be placed in an approximately horizontal plane, one or more projecting ribs or prisms on the opposite sides thereof, each prism having two converging surfaces, one for reflecting, the other for refracti ng the light, and one of. said surfaces curved in such manner that substantially all of the light falling upon the surface of the vault-light will pass thereinto and be successively treated by the two surfaces of the prism, so that it is converged upon a line a little farther from the rcceivingsurface than is the lower edge of such prism and in advance of the lower edge of such prism by a distance substantially equal to the greatest width of such prism measured in the direction toward which the light is to be thrown.

2. A vault-light comprising a recei\v'ing-sur face adapted to be placed in an approximately horizontal plane, one or more projecting ribs or prisms on the opposite sides thereof, each prism having two converging surfaces, one for reflecting, the other for refract-ing the light, and both of said surfaces curved in such manner that substantially all of the light falling upon the surface of the vault-light will pass thereinto and be successively treated by the two surfaces of the prism so that it is converged upon aline a little farther from the receiving-surface than is the lower edge of such prism, and in advance of the lower edge of such prism by a distance substantially equal to the greatest width of such prism measured in the direction toward which the light is to be thrown.

3. A prism-light comprising a substantially flatbody of glass with a receivin g-surfaee on one side, and one or more prisms on the other side, said prisms forwardly projecting at their lower extremities and having two converging surfaces, one of which is curved, the lower extremity of each of said prisms projecting in front of a line drawn through the forward upper extremity of said prism and substantially perpendicular to the receiving-surface, so that substantially all of the light falling upon the surface of the vault-light will pass thereinto and be successively treated by the two surfaces of the prism so that it is converged upon a line a little farther from the receiving-surface than is the lower edge of such prism and in advance of the lower edge of such prism by a distance substantially equal to the greatest width of such prism measured in the direction toward which the light is to be thrown.

t. A vault-light comprisingareceiving-surface adapted to be )laced in an approximately horizontal plane and provided with project.- ing ribs or prisms having each two conver ging surfaces, one for reflecting the light received, and the other for refracting the reflected light, the reflecting surface being curved and the lower edge of such prism pro jecting forward of a line through the upper forward surface of such prism and substantially perpendicular to the receiving-surface, and the refracting-surface of such prism substantially parallel to the direction from which the light to be treated is to be received, so that substantially all of the li ght fallin g upon the surface of the vault-light vwill pass thereint-o and be successively treated by the two surfaces of the prism so that it is converged upon a line a little farther from the receiving-surface than is the lower edge of such prism and in advance of the lower edge of such prism by a distance substantially equal to the greatest width of such prism measured in the direction toward which the light is to be thrown.

OLIN ll. lASQUlN. lVitnesses:

DONALD M. (tritium, Fnaxcis W. PARKER.

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