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Patents: 257 of 530	UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JACOB JACOBS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.	Jacob Jacobs 31 of 57
ILLUMINATING-TILE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 488,435, dated December 20, 1892. Application filed January 19, 1889. Serial No. 296,834. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:     Be it known that I, JACOB JACOBS, of New York city, in the county of New York, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminating-Tiles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which--     Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper side of the metal plate which forms the base of my tile; Fig. 2 is a like view of the lower side of the same; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper side of the tile as completed by the addition of glass lenses and a concrete filling around and between the same; Fig. 4 is a like view of the lower side of said completed tile, and, Fig. 5 is a section of the same upon lines x, x, of Figs. 3, and 4.     Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.     The object of my invention is to produce a strong tile which is capable of transmitting a relatively large amount of light, and such invention consists, in an illuminating tile which is composed of a metal body that is provided with light openings each of which has a kerb around its upper and its lower ends, glass lenses set into and secured within such light openings and cement, or other like material placed upon the upper side of such body and caused to fill the space around and between said lenses, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter shown and described.     It consists, further, in an illuminating tile which is provided with dodged or staggered rows of light openings, and each opening is surrounded by a kerb at each of its ends, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified.     In the carrying of my invention into practice, I construct my tile A of any desired size and shape, and within the same provide light openings a, and a, which are arranged in rows, and the openings of each row arranged with relation to those of the adjacent rows in what is commonly known as the dodged or staggered order. Around each opening a, upon the upper side of the tile A, is provided a kerb a' which, preferably, decreases in thickness upwardly and terminates in a flat edge,

while upon the lower side of said tile each opening is surrounded by a kerb a², that has several times the thickness of said upper kerb and has, preferably, a rounded lower edge. Said kerb a² extends inward so as to form with in the opening a shoulder a³ upon which is seated a glass lens B, that loosely fills said opening and extends to or slightly above the top of said kerb a', and is secured in place by means of a suitable cement that is placed between its periphery and the sides of said opening. Around the edges of the tile A, I, preferably, form a kerb a4, which extends upward to substantially the same height as the kerbs a' and a', and within the space thus inclosed, there is placed cement C, or other like plastic material, that forms a walking surface which is substantially flush with the upper ends of the lenses B and B, and, with said lenses, forms the walking surface of the tile. In consequence of the kerbs around the light openings at the lower side of the tile, the vertical rigidity and strength of said tile is greatly increased, so that it is practicable to place said light openings very near together without rendering the tile unable to sustain any usual weight, by which means a much greater light transmitting capacity is secured than would be possible with tiles having kerbs around the upper ends only of the light openings.     Having thus described my invention, what I claim is--     1. An illuminating tile which is composed of a metal body that is provided with light openings each of which has a kerb around its upper and its lower ends that extends respectively, above and below the upper and lower sides of the body, the latter being provided with lens-supporting seats, glass lenses set into and secured within such light openings so as to be entirely inclosed on their sides by the kerbs thereof, and cement, or other like material placed in cavities formed upon the upper sides of such metal body by the kerbs provided on said upper side and an upwardly extending kerb formed on the edges of such body, substantially as and for the purpose specified.     2. An illuminating tile which is composed of a metal body that is provided with dodged