Patent Number: 047541466
Section: description

DESCRIPTION In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a housing 1 of the sun-tanning apparatus contains a plurality of low pressure UV-A tubes 2 that constitute a source of radiation. These tubes are arranged parallel to and at a distance from each other. in the illustrated embodiment, thirteen such low-pressure UV-A tubes 2 are used. The low-pressure UV-A tubes 2 are arranged in a trough-like reflector 3, the long sides 4 of which are angled upwards at either end. The low-pressure UV-A tubes 2 are covered by a supporting surface 5, the edges of which rest on the side walls of the housing 1. The housing 1 is supported at both ends on feet 6 that are of an approximate U-shaped cross-section. A plurality of stand-off bolts 7 are installed over the length and breadth of the apparatus between the low-pressure UV-A tubes, the supporting surface 5 resting on the upper end of these stand-off bolts and the lower end of the bolts 9 being secured in the base 10 of the reflector 3. The stand-off bolts 7 are arranged in rows in the longitudinal and the transverse directions of the apparatus. In the embodiment shown, there are a total of four rows of stand-off bolts 7, with one row of the stand-off bolts 7 being located behind the second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh low-pressure UV-A tubes 2. In the embodiment shown, the arrangement of the stand-off bolts 7 is symmetrical. The stand-off bolts 7 are secured by threaded nuts 11 that are welded to the base of the reflector 3, the stand-off bolts in the form of studs being screwed into these threaded nuts. Lock-nuts 12 are provided inside the reflector 3 and these are screwed onto the stand-off bolts 7. Using these lock-nuts 12 it is possible to adjust the height of the stand-off bolts very precisely, such that the supporting surface 5 lies evenly on one end 8 of the stand-off bolts 7. The low-pressure UV-A tubes that are used have the lower halves 13 of their cross-sections mirrored or silvered on the inside. By installing such internally mirrored low-pressure UV-A tubes one can use a trough-like reflector 3 so that the previously used individual reflectors can be dispensed with. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 the housing is represented at 21. Within this housing there are a plurality of low-pressure UV-A tubes 22 that are arranged parallel to and at a distance from each other. The low-pressure UV-A tubes 22 are arranged in a trough-like reflector 23, the long sides 24 of which are angled upwards at either side. The low-pressure UV-A tubes 22 are covered by a supporting surface 25, the edges of which rest on the side walls of the housing 21. An acrylic glass panel serves as the supporting surface 25. The housing itself is supported at both ends by feet 26 that are of approximate U-shaped cross-section. Spacer profiles 27 extend over the whole length of the apparatus 21 in between the low-pressure UV-A tubes. These spacer profiles are of T-section. The horizontal arms 28 of the T-profiles are secured to the base of the reflector 23, for example, by screws, rivets, cement, or the like, while the supporting surface 25 rests on the face ends of the vertical columns 29. In the embodiment shown, ten low pressure UV-A tubes 22 are arranged in the horizontal portion of the reflector, there being four spacer profiles 27 between which there are in each instance two or three low-pressure UV-A tubes 22. Since the spacer profiles are produced from material that permits the passage of UV-A radiation, the radiation can pass practically unhindered through the supporting surface 25 to the outside. The present invention results in a particularly simple solution to supporting the surface 25, which also ensures the largely unhindered passage of the radiation.