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285,625 · Hyatt · "Combination Daylight-Reflector" · Page 1 Home  > Prism Glass  > Patent Index  > Page 1

285,625: 1 of 6

Patents: 156 of 530	UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THADDEUS HYATT, OF NEW YORK, N.Y.	Thaddeus Hyatt 53 of 67
COMBINATION DAYLIGHT-REFLECTOR. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,625, dated September 25, 1883. Application filed August 20, 1883. (No model.) Patented in England November 23, 1875, No. 4,063, and January 23, 1877, No. 289.

To all whom it may concern:     Be it known that I, THADDEUS HYATT, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vault or Combination Daylight-Reflector Roofs and Roof-Pavements, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.     The daylight-reflectors hitherto employed by me for making reflector-roof and roof-pavements have been made of opaque material, with the consequent defect of a shadow cast by it upon the space beneath.     The object of my improvement is to prevent this shadow, and I accomplish my purpose by using translucent glass as the reflector, my invention being based upon the following curious facts, viz: First, polish, not color, is the chief requisite for reflection of light, a black surface of equal polish reflecting the light rays as perfectly as a polished white one; second, opaque materials, polished however highly, have only one reflecting-face; third, but glass, because of its transparent body, possesses two distinct reflecting-faces, the light which falls upon, but does not penetrate, its substance being reflective from one-the external face of its front surface-and the light which fails upon and does enter its substance being reflected from the other-- to wit, from the internal face of its back surface; but although translucent daylight-reflectors answer an admirable purpose, my experiments do not warrant the assertion that the volume and brightness of the light reflected by them are equal to that from glass with a silvered back. The improvement which I claim to make by the invention herein set forth being in the nature of a compromise with respect to equally distributing the light over the whole apartment, but being translucent, these reflectors admit of being made of any size or shape desired, as they cast no shadow, and may be employed in the form of louvers, plates, or sheets at pleasure, or in any ornamental manner calculated to improve the appearance of the apartment where employed.     The drawings illustrating my invention contain nine figures, Figures 2, 6, and 7 being

reproduced from the drawings attached to my English patent, the other figures being to more completely illustrate the invention. Fig. 1, for example, gives a view of the building to which Fig. 2 belongs, this latter being an enlarged view of a skylight made in the ordinary manner of making a "double-pitch" skylight, but sunk or suspended within the apartment lighted by it, instead of being placed, as is commonly done, above it, the object of this (the reflection of light from the top surface of the glass) being readily understood by looking at Fig. 1, but not so easily comprehended by merely inspecting the skylight by itself, as shown in Fig. 2. Figs. 1, 2, 3 illustrate the use of translucent plates and sheets as they may be employed when the reflector is required to perform the additional service of a roof. Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the employment of the same glass to merely reflect light, the roof in this case forming an independent part of the structure. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9 represent pressed or molded glass made for producing special forms of reflector-roofs.     Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures, light rays being represented by broken lines.     Fig. 1 represents two buildings above and one at and below the ground floor or principal story. A B are the buildings above principal story; C C', ground floor or principal story; D D', basement; E, light-space between buildings; F, skylight; G, window above skylight, looking toward A; G', window above skylight, looking toward B; H, glass floor under skylight; J, area-light platform of building A; J', area-light platform of building B; K, daylight-reflector under area-light J; K', daylight-reflector under area-light J'; M, glass plate forming one slope of skylight F; M', glass plate forming the other slope of skylight F.     Fig. 2. a a, reflecting-face of the external or top surface of glass plates M M'; b b, internal reflecting-face of the bottom surface, b' b', of glass plates M M'.     Fig. 3. This figure is an enlarged view of that part of building A which contains the C portion of ground floor C C', with the M-half of skylight F and window G, the added rear