IMPROVEMENTS IN ILLUMINATING COMBINATION-TILES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, ARTHUR WELLESLEY LAKE of Grosvenor House, 13 Colville Gardens Bays-
water in the County of Middlesex Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ILLUMINATING COMBINATION-TILES" (a coinmuni-
cation to ine from abroad by Thaddeus Hyatt of 81 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn,
New York, in the United States of America) to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the kind of combination-tiles made of fractional gratings,
in which the disposition of the light-holes is such that on the fractions being put
together, the light holes run crosswise to the tile on lines parallel with the junction
sides of the gratings.
The defect of the construction as hitherto made, is that the light holes that
border the junction sides of the fractional gratings bave no flare on the underside
where they impinge against the junction borders of the grating; and as the junction
lines that cross the under face of the combination-tile are in most cases but nine or
ten inches apart, the result is that nearly or quite one half of all the openings
when viewed from the under side of the construction, presents the disfigurement of
partially splayed lightholes; the unsightly appearance of which detracts from the
merit of the work and thereby lessens its value.
For a clear understanding of why this defect exists in combination-tiles made of
fractional gratings with the light holes so disposed therein as to run crosswise to
the tile, I must explain that in order to produce a light field in the combination-tile
that shall have the unitary appearance of the light field of the one casting tile, it
is necessary that the thickness of the line of dead material between the border
rows of glasses at the junction edges of the fractional gratings shall be the same as
that between the rows of light holes within the body of the gratings respectively.
Now then when the rows of light boles run crosswise to the combination tile made
up of pieces or fractions, it follows that they must run parallel with the junction
sides of these fractions, and consequently that the dividing line between the
fractions is at the same time a dividing line between two rows of light holes, and
that if this dividing line be an inflexible straight line running parallel with the
light holes as rows or lines of holes, but scant material will be left outside such
T
•

page_text: holes where they impinge against the junction line, and consequently there will be
no chance here for splayed light holes on the underside.
Such then being the defect of the combination tiles, which it is the design of my
present invention to correct :
The object of my improvement is to obtain for the light holes of the junction
borders of the gratings the same amount of flare or splay as that of the other light-
holes of the gratings without alteration of the thickness of the line, of dead material
between the border rows of glasses at the junction edges thereof relatively to that
of the lines of dead material between the rows of light holes within the body of
the gratings respectively.
My Invention consists in making fractional gratings of the character herein
above described with junction sides the bounding lines of which instead of being
inflexible and straight are sinuous; and which, in place of conforming to the light
holes as rows or lines; conform to them individually, following the curves or contour
of the light holes themselves, the sinuous junction seam formed thereby between
the fractions being made up either of curved or of a succession of short straight
lines; the curved lines forming a waved or serpentine seam, and the straight lines
forming a serrated or zig-zag seam: all which in my final specification will more
fully appear.

page_text: Improvements in Illuminating Combination Tiles.
I ARTHUR WELLESLEY LAKE of Grosvenor House, 13 Colville Gardens, Bays-
water, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention (a communication to me from abroad by Thaddeus Hyatt of
81 Columbia Heights Brooklyn New York in the United States of America) and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My present invention relates to the kind of combination tiles made of fractional
gratings in which the disposition of the light-holes is such that on the fractions
being put together the light-holeś run crosswise to the tile on lines parallel with
the junction sides of the gratings.
The defect of the construction as hitherto made is that the light holes bordering
the junction sides of the fractional gratings have no flare on the under side where
they impinge against the junction borders of the grating, and as the junction lines
that cross the under face of the combination tile are in most cases but nine or ten
inches apart the result is that nearly or quite one half of all the openings when
viewed from the underside of the construction present the disfigurement of partially
splayed light holes the unsightly appearance of which detracts from the merit of
the work and thereby lessens its value.
For a clear understanding of why this defect exists in combination tiles made of
fractional gratings with the light holes so disposed therein as to run crosswise to
the tile I must explain that in order to produce a light field in the combination tile
that shall have the unitary appearance of the light field of the one casting tile it is
necessary that the thickness of the line of dead material between the border rows
of glasses at the junction edges of the fractional gratings shall be the same as that
between the light holes within the body of the gratings respectively which matter
is fully set forth and illustrated in my former application No 4454 filed on the
10th day of April 1885 where the junction sides of the fractional gratings are
shown as running parallel with the rows of light holes. The result of this
parallelism of the junction sides of the gratings with the run of the light holes is
to produce straight inflexible sides that cut away nearly the whole of the dead
material from the outside of the light holes themselves where they impinge against
the junction edges along the line of light holes the consequence of which is that
no material and no room for splaying the holes properly on the underside is left.
The object of my present invention is to obtain for the light holes of the junction
borders of the gratings the same amount of flare or splay as that of the other light
holes of the gratings without alteration of the thickness of the line of dead material
between the border rows of glasses at the junction edges thereof relatively to that
of the lines of dead material between the rows; of light holes within the bodies of
the gratings respectively.
My invention consists in making fractional gratings of the character herein
above described made with junction sides the bounding lines of which instead of

page_text: "
being inflexible and straight are sinuous and which in place of conforming to the
light holes collectively as rows or lines conform to them individually following the
curves or contour of the light holes themselves the sinuous junction seam formed
thereby between the fractions being made up either of curved or of a succession of
short straight lines the curved lines forming a waved or serpentine seam and the
straight lines forming a serrated or zig zag seam as will hereinafter more fully
appear.
B
47.9
α-a
Figure 1 represents a portion of a combination tile at the line of junction where
two fractional gratings meet. A indicates a portion of one fractional grating.
B indicates another. A. X indicate the border row of light holes in A at junction
line. X. B. indicate the border rows of light holes in B at junction lines
indicate the junction edge of fraction A. b, b indicate the junction edge of
fraction B. cc indicate the joint seam between junction sides a and b. C. D. E
are diagrams showing that the triangular grouping of the light holes in the gratings
is the same on the junction lines as elsewhere."
1
Figure 2 represents a portion of a combination tile at the line of junction where
two fractional gratings made with my improved or sinuous junction sides meet to
form the improved combination tile.
Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section of Figure 1 on the line x x and Figure 4 is an
enlarged cross section of Figure 1 on the line yy. Numbers 1 to 6 on the perpen-
dicular line xx Figure 1 indicate the order of succession in which dead material
and light holes follow each other crosswise of the fractional grating the purpose of
the numbers being to facilitate a comprehension of cross section Figure 3 and
numbers 7 to 12 on perpendicular line y y Figure 1 also indicate the order of
succession in which dead material and light holes follow each other crosswise of the
fraction the purpose of these numbers being to facilitate a comprehension of cross
section Figure 4.
▾
30
Figure 5 is an enlarged "cross section of Figure 2 on the line and Figure 6
is an enlarged cross section of Figure 2 on the line y y. The light holes of
Figures 3. 4. 5. 6 are represented as closed by the glasses needed to complete the
grating tile. Numbers 1 to 6 on perpendicular line xx Figure 2 indicate with
reference to Figure 5 in like manner as the same numbers in Figure 1 indicate with
respect to Figure 3 and numbers 7 to 12 on perpendicular line y y Figure 2
indicate with respect to Figure 6 in like manner as the same numbers in Fig. 1
indicate with respect to Fig. 4.
Figure 7 is an enlarged view of Figure 1 and Figure 8 is an enlarged view of
Figure 2.
dd on Figures 3. 4. 5 and 6 indicate perfectly splayed light holes and d¹¹ on
Figures 3 and 4 indicate imperfectly splayed light holes.
The hexagonal shapes shown on Figure 8 in broken lines are designed to make
apparent the honey comb arrangement of the light holes in groups of triangles and
to also indicate that the waved or serpentine form of the joint seams and junction
sides of the fractional gratings amounts practically to the same thing as the
geometrical lines inherent in the honey comb arrangement of the light holes the
removed angles and the softened lines being made for the sake of beauty and to
make seams less conspicuous to the eye and to secure junction sides better adapted
for being cemented together.
In Figure 3 A indicates top fraction A of Figure 1 and B. Figure 3 indicates the
the bottom fraction B of Figure 1. Looking at A. Figure 1 and running the eye
down the perpendicular line xx we have first the dead material number 1 seam
correspondingly in Figure 3 at the left hand where a like number 1 indicates it.-
Next we have light hole No 2 seen correspondingly in Figure 3 where a like number
indicates it. Then comes number 3 dead material again correspondingly 'shown in
Figure 3 by a like number. This brings us to the junction edge a of the fractional
grating A where the joint seam c is seen as a perpendicular crevice between A
and B.

page_text: We now come to the border light hole 4 in fraction B Figure 1 situate at the
junction edge b of fraction B. shown with great clearness in Figure 3 where a like
number 4 indicates the same.
By comparing light hole 4 Figure 3 in fractional grating B with light hole 2
Figure 3 in fractional grating A we perceive that whereas light hole has perfectly
splayed sides light hole 4 is imperfect the side d' next to joint seam c being almost
perpendicular a circumstance entirely due to the straight inflexible line of the
junction seam c c as shown in Figure 1 where light hole 4 is almost upon the very
edge of the grating illustrated more clearly in the enlarged section Figure 3 where
scarce any dead material is seen to exist between glass 4 and b the junction side of
the fraction. Clearly there is no chance for splaying the light hole here and what
is true of this one hole is true of every other light hole along the line from X to B
in fraction B and from A. to X in fraction A Figure 1, Light hole 4 in Figure 1
as seen enlarged in cross section Figure 3 illustrates the condition of the whole
line of light holes from X to B. in fractional plate B Figure 1 and light hole 9 in
Figure 1 as seen enlarged in Figure illustrates the condition of the whole line of
light holes from A to X in fractional plate Figure 1 the imperfectly splayed light 9
in fraction A Figure 4 corresponding on one side of the junction line in plate A
with the imperfectly splayed light hole 4 in fraction B Figure 3 on the other side
of the junction line the two taken together illustrating the character condition and
imperfection of all the border light holes of fractional gratings in combination tiles
where the dividing line between the fractions is an inflexible straight line as
represented at cc Figure 1 and in the enlarged view Figure 7.
But when in place of conforming the junction sides of the fractional gratings to
the light holes as lines or rows of holes the junction sides are made to conform
to the light holes individually as herein explained and as illustrated at c c Figure 2
(seen to better advantage in Figure 8) we have junction sides no more difficult to
cement together than when made perfectly straight and with the additional advan-
tage of joint seams less apparent to the eye when the work is finished together
with the more important advantage of an equality of dead material around every
light hole of the border rows precisely the same with every other light hole of the
grating wherever located and with consequently the same splay on the underside as
clearly illustrated by light hole 4 in Figure 5 in comparison with light hole 2 saine
Figure and as illustrated by light hole 9 Figure 6 in comparison with light hole 11
same Figure the reason for which becomes apparent when the thickness of dead
material shown in Figure 8 between the waved dotted lines that touch and corre-
spond to the contour of the individual light holes of the gratings is compared with
the thickness of dead material shown in Figure 7 between the inflexible straight
dotted lines that touch but do not correspond to the contour of the individual light
holes of the gratings,
When the lines are straight as in Figure 7 all the advantage for splaying the light
holes offered by the dead material between the light holes immediately on the line
is lost but where the lines are waved as in Figure 8 this opportunity is taken advan-
tage of and turned to account as fully set forth herein aud explained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
•
1. A fractional grating wherein the light holes are disposed on the honey comb
plan in groups of triangles in combination with junction sides formed on a waved or
serpentine outline in harmony with the geometrical disposition of the holes
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and illustrated,
2. In illuminating tile constructors fractional gratings having their light holes
arranged in lines parallel with the dividing lines of the fractions and having their
junction edges formed in a waved or sinuous outline substantially as herein shown
and described.

page_text: 3. In combination tiles made of fractional openings wherein the light holes are
grouped in obtuse angled triangles and so disposed as to run crosswise to the tile on
the fractions being united forming the junction sides of the fractions with a sinuous
or waved outline substantially corresponding to the contour of the individual light
holes along the junction edges of the gratings substantially as as herein shown and
described.
4. Illuminating constructions or surfaces made of combination tiles formed of
fractional gratings wherein the light boles are grouped in triangles and in which
they are also so disposed as to run crosswise to the tile on the fractions being united
when the junction sides of such fractions are made to conform to the honey comb
arrangement of the light holes therein in a waved or serpentine outline substantially
as and for the purposes herein set forth and illustrated.