US2744192A - Reflector lamp - Google Patents

Description

M y 1, 9.56 I w. ROSENTHAL 2,744,192

REFLECTOR LAMP Filed Jan. 21, 1953 INVENTOR. MLL 14M flase/vrllm.

REFLECTOR LAMP William Rosenthal, Culver City, Calif., 'assignor to Lynard of California, Incl, Culver-City, Caliii, a corporation of California 1 Application January 21, 1953, '-Serial No. 332,465

.5 Claims. (Cl. 240-.-81)

My invention relates generally to ,electric lamps, .-and more particularly to a reflector lamp for providing indirect lighting of high intensity.

The conventional floor or table lamp provides reflected and transmitted light from the lamp shade, and some direct lighting from the lamp bulb. ,Such lighting in a room tends to be uneven, with the light from each lamp falling in a small arc and the remainder of the room having only a low level of illumination. Additionally, at different angles to each lamp, the lamp bulb is directly exposed so asto cause a blinding glare.

On the other hand, conventional indirect lighting systems direct the light against the walls and ceilings, from whence it is reflected downwardly into the room. Such a system tends to provide a more uniform lighting level, but an excessive amount of light is absorbed by the walls and ceiling surfaces, and to secure a high level of illumination substantial wattage is required. systems are also quite expensive to install and cannot easily be moved.

In an embodiment of my invention, use is made of double reflecting surfaces so as to provide totally indirect lighting from a self-contained unit. The first of these reflecting surfaces is a light gathering and focusing tube which encloses the bulb and directs a beam of light upwardly. The second reflecting surface is an overhanging reflector shade which turns the light downwardly and into the room. Both of the reflecting surfaces have a high reflection efficiency, absorbing very little of the bulboutput. The light directed into the room is thus of high intensity and at the same time originates from a hidden source so as to avoid any blinding bulb glare.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a major object of my invention to provide a lamp having double reflecting surfaces to provide indirect lighting of high intensity.

Another object of my invention is to provide a lamp having a focusing and light gathering tube which encloses the lamp bulb and prevents its direct observation.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a reflects Shade desi ned to spreadth lig overa wi e re.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for adjusting the angular position of the reflecting shade whereby to direct the light from the lamp to any desired position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a lamp which is economically constructed, and is adapted to be easily modified to produce difierent styles and sizes of lamps.

Th s an her o jects and ad antages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred form thereof, and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the lamp;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partially in section of the preferred form of lamp;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail of the shade adjusting means, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

2,744,192 Patented May 1, 1956 ice . Fig. 4 is a cross-section through .the lamp taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2.

The lamp described herein is a table lamp of modern ornamentaldesign such as would be suitable for .use in the home or office. It is to be understood, however,'that the invention is not limited to use in a table lamp, nor isit restricted to any particular type of ornamental design.

Referring now to the drawings, a heavy and substantial blockltl forms the base of the'lamp. Extending upwardly from base 10 is a tubular standard 11 which has on its upper end a socket 12 adapted to receive a conventional electric bulb 14. A cord 15 extends through standard 11 Indirect lighting of support 18. Tube 19 is preferably ,of inverted frustoconical shape 'and'provides a light gathering and focusing tube or cone whichreflects substantially all of thelight from bulb 14 into an upwardly-directed beam.

In order to gather and ,focus the light from bulb l4, tube 19 is made of light opaque material having an interior reflecting surface. Preferably, tube 19 is formed of. sheet metal having an interior coatingof white enamel so that very little light is'lost through absorption. For simplicity ofmanufacture, tube 19 may beformed as a rolled sheet with the side edges broughttogether and secured to support 18. As is seen in Fig. 4, support 18 may have .a longitudinally extending channel 20 therein which receives edge lips 21 formed on tube 19. A suitable fastening screw 22 may then be extended through support 18 and lips 21-to holdtube 19 firmly in place.

As is-seen from the light ray arrows indicatedin Fig. 2, some of the light rays pass directly upwardly from bulb 14 through the openend of tube'19, while other rays strike the-interior surface of tube '19 and arereflected upwardly. Since the angle of incidence of the .rays striking the interior of tube 19 varies, the light is dispersed throughout the entire top of the tube and emerges as a wideangle beam. It should also be noted that bulb 14 lies a substantial distance below the top of tube 19 and cannot be directly seen from the side of the lamp.

In order to direct the light from tube 19 downwardly into the room I provide a second reflecting surface in the form of an upper reflecting shade 25. Mounted on the top of support 18 is a laterally projecting arm '26 which overhangs tube 19. Shade 25,is of shallow inverted dish or conical shape, and is secured to arm 26 in such a position that the apex of the shade lies approximately above bulb 14 and the bottom rim of the shade is spaced a substantial distance from the top of tube 19. Preferably, shade '25 is also formed as a simple sheet metal member having an interior white enamel coating toact as an eflicient reflector. The size and spacing of shade ZS'relaA tive to tube 19 is such that all of the light beam directed upwardlyfrom the tube impinges against :the interior sur face fthe shade and is treflected' downwardly therefrom.

As the light is reflected outwardly into the room from shade 25 it provides a high intensity illumination, since little or no light has been lost by absorption in the reflectors. Because of the large open angle of shade 25, the light is thrown out in a wide arc and isdispersed uniformly throughout the room. The light thus provided is indirect and there is no harsh glare such as results from the direct rays of an open bulb. Furthermore, all of the light has been confined to the lower level of the room for useful illumination, and none is lost by absorption in the walls and ceiling.

As will be remembered, it is also an important object of the invention to provide means for angular adjustability of shade 25. Under normal conditions, the shade extends horizontally and the arc of illumination is thrown out to all sides of thelamp. However, when it is desired to use the lamp for reading or in particular room arrangements, it may be advantageous to offset the illumination are so that it is directed away from the back of the lamp, and extends to higher level in the front.

To accomplish the aforementioned purpose, the shade supporting arm 26 is pivotally mounted to support 18 and is movable in a vertical plane so as to tilt or incline the axis of shade 25. In the preferred construction, a recessed slot 28 is cut vertically into the top of support 18. Arm 26 is made just equal to the thickness of slot 28 and is mounted therein on a horizontally extending pivot bolt 29. As is best seen in Fig. 3, bolt 29 extends completely through support 18 and is threaded to take a wing nut 30. By loosening wing nut 30, arm 26 may be pivoted upwardly so that shade 25 lies at an angle to the horizontal as indicated in phantom outline. When the desired position is reached, nut 30 is tightened so that arm 26 is clamped tightly in place relative to support 18.

While I have thus described a preferred embodiment of the invention which is fully capable of carrying out the objects of the invention, it is to be understood that modifications of design and construction will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, I do not wish to be restricted to the details of the foregoing, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reflector lamp comprising: a base; a socket adapted to receive an electric bulb projecting upwardly from said base; a support extending upwardly from said base a substantial distance above said bulb and offset to the side thereof; a light gathering and focusing tube having a highly reflective interior surface and a generally conical upwardly divergent shape mounted on said support and enclosing said bulb, said tube extending above said bulb to cover said bulb from view and reflecting substantially all of said light rays from said bulb into an upwardly directed beam; an upper shade mounted on said support in spaced overhanging relationship to said tube and having a highly reflective interior surface, said shade being of shallow conical shape to direct substantially all of said beam outwardly in a wide arc; and an adjustable clamp connecting said shade to said support for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and about an edge of said shade to shift the arc of light from said shade laterally relative to said base.

2. A reflector lamp comprising: a base; a standard mounted on said base and projecting upwardly therefrom; a socket adapted to receive an electric bulb mounted on the top of said standard; a support mounted on said base to the side of said standard and projecting upwardly a substantial distance above said bulb; an arm pivotally mounted on the top of said support for movement in a vertical plane; an adjustable clamp for holding said arm in a fixed position relative to said support; a light gathering and focusing tube having a highly reflective interior surface and a generally conical upwardly divergent shape mounted on said support and enclosing said bulb, said tube extending above said bulb to cover said bulb from view and reflecting substantially all of said light rays from said bulb into an upwardly directed beam; and an upper shade mounted on said arm for pivotal movement with said arm about an edge of said shape and positioned in spaced overhanging relationship to said tube, said shade having a highly reflective interior surface and being of shallow conical shape to direct substantially all of said beam outwardly in a wide arc.

3. A reflector lamp comprising: a base; a socket adapted to receive an electric bulb projecting upwardly from said base; a support extending upwardly from said base asubstantial distance above said bulb and offset to the side thereof; a light reflecting tube having an open upper end mounted on said support and enclosing said bulb, said tube extending above said bulb to cover said bulb from view and being upwardly divergent to reflect substantially all of the light rays from said bulb into an upwardly directed beam; an upper reflector shade mounted on said support in spaced overhanging relationship to said tube to direct substantially all of the light from said tube outwardly; and adjustable means connecting said shade to said support for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and about an edge of said shade.

4. A reflector lamp comprising: a base; a socket adapted to receive an electric bulb projecting upwardly from said base; a support extending upwardly from said base a substantial distance above said bulb and offset to the side thereof; a light reflecting tube having an open upper end mounted on said support and enclosing said bulb, said tube extending above said bulb to cover said bulb from view and being upwardly divergent to reflect substantially all of the light rays from said bulb into an upwardly directed beam; an upper reflector shade mount ed on said support in spaced overhanging relationship to said tube, said shade being of shallow conical shape to direct substantially all of said light from said tube outwardly in a wide arc; and adjustable means connecting said shade to said support for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and about an edge of said shade to shift the arc of said light from said shade laterally relative to said base.

5. A reflector lamp comprising: support means; a socket adapted to receive an electric bulb projecting upwardly from a portion of said support means; a lightreflecting tube having an open upper end mounted on said support means and enclosing said bulb, said tube extending above said bulb to cover said bulb from view and being upwardly divergent to reflect substantially all of the light rays from said bulb into an upwardly directed beam; an upper reflector shade mounted on said support means in a position offset to the side of said tube and in spaced overhanging relationship to the upper end of said tube, said shade being of inverted dished shape to direct substantially all of the light from said tube outwardlyand downwardly; and adjustable means connecting said shade to said support means for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and about an edge of said shade.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 963,912 Lyhne July 12, 1910 1,616,227 Oliver Feb. 1, 1927 1,883,803 Martin Oct. 18, 1932 2,340,310 Dewey Feb. 1, 1944 2,484,091 Hirshfield Oct. 11, 1949 2,521,448 Corcoran Sept. 5, 1950 2,592,962 Secrist Apr. 15, 1952

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