Combined Prism Pavement and Side Prism Plate for Illuminating Basements.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 13th July, 1897-Accepted, 21st Aug., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Combined Prism Pavement and Side Prism Plate for Illuminating
Basements.
I, JOHN MEIGGS EWEN, of No. 1129 The Rookery, Chicago, County of Cook,
State of Illinois, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to a device for Lighting Basements and the Like, and has
for its object to provide a new and improved device for this purpose, of which the
following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,
wherein
Figure 1 is a view of a basement showing one form of my device.
Figure 2 is a view of my device as seen above, and with parts broken away.
Figures 3 and 4 are views similar to Figure 2, showing modified constructions.
Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several figures.
A is the basement, B the vault in front of the same; CC are prism tiles placed
so as to throw the light to one side; D D are prism tiles placed so as to throw the
light forward; G is a prism plate hung or suspended in any convenient manner
to one side of the prism tiles.
•
I have shown this prism plate as suspended in various manners, and
as acting in some instances as a reflector, and in other instances allowing
the light to pass therethrough and changing the direction of such light by
refraction. As shown at H in Figure 2, the prism plate acts as a reflector,
and as shown at H¹ it acts by refraction. The prism plates in Figure 3
both act by refraction, but are placed at different angles, as shown..
In Figure 4 the prism tiles Jare so positioned as to throw the light diagonally
forward. This construction is particularly adapted to be used when the pier K or
the like is located in front of the prism tiles so as to obstruct the light when it
is thrown straight forward.
I have spoken of basements, but of course any other room to be illuminated can
be operated upon in the same way where the conditions are appropriate. It is
often desirable to secure in a room like the basement A a much greater degree of
illumination than can be secured by simply using the prism tiles which throw
the light forward into the room, as indicated at 1 in Figure 1, while at the same
time it is not desirable to suspend a vertical prism plate, which would thus
separate, as it were, the basement and the vault from each other. I therefore, in
the case illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, place two deflectors, one at each side, and
I place the prism tiles C so that a portion will throw the light toward one
deflector H and a portion toward the other deflector H¹. These deflectors are
preferably the well known prism plates, consisting each of a series of prism lights
built up in a series of prism plates, preferably by electro-glazing. A single prism
plate may be used, or any number, the number and construction depending of
course upon the conditions to be met.
The prism tiles may be made to throw the light in any given direction, and

page_text: some of them may throw the light directly forward, as indicated in the drawings.
I have not, however, on this small scale attempted to accurately figure out or
illustrate the angles of the prisms so as to get any given result. I am simply
attempting to illustrate the matter diagrammatically, as it were, in order to make
my invention clear.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A device for lighting basements and the like comprising a series of prism
tiles arranged in a pavement-like body substantially at right angles to the
buiding, said tiles arranged in groups, one group adapted to throw the light into
the room
to be illuminated, the other groups adapted to throw the light on
opposite sides, in combination with reflectors placed at the sides and adapted to
receive the light from such side-throwing prism tiles and to direct it forward
into the room to be lighted.
2. A device for lighting basements and the like comprising a series of prism
tiles arranged in a pavement-like body substantially at right angles to the
building, said tiles arranged in groups, one group adapted to throw the light into
the room to be illuminated, the other groups to throw the light on opposite sides
in combination with transparent prism reflectors placed at the sides and adapted
to receive the light from such side-throwing prism tiles and to direct it forward
into the room to be lighted.
3. A device for lighting basements and the like comprising a series of prism
tiles arranged in a pavement-like body substantially at right angles to the
building, said tiles arranged in groups, one group adapted to throw the light into
the room to be illuminated, the other groups adapted to throw the light on opposite
sides, in combination with transparent prism plates placed at the sides and adapted
to receive light from such side-throwing prism tiles and to direct it forward into
the room to be lighted.
4. A device for lighting basements comprising a series of prism tiles arranged
in a pavement-like body substantially at right angles to the building, said tiles
provided with prisms set so as to direct the light to one side of the vault beneath
the pavement-like body in combination with a transparent prism plate placed at
the side of such vault so as to receive the light from the pavement tiles and direct
it back out of the vault into the room to be lighted, the light preferably passing
through such transparent prism plate.
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