Venetian blind having prismatic reflective slats
First Claim
1. A shade mechanism for permitting the passage of indirect rays of sunlight into a space to be illuminated while reflecting direct rays of sunlight away from the space to be illuminated, said shade mechanism being adapted to minimize interference with vision through the shade mechanism for a person located within the illuminated space, said shade mechanism comprising in combination:
- (a) a plurality of slatted panels extending parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another, each of said plurality of slatted panels extending about a longitudinal axis thereof;
(b) support means for supporting said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another, said support means supporting each of said plurality of slatted panels for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof;
(c) tilt means cooperating with said support means for causing each of said plurality of slatted panels to rotate in unison about its longitudinal axis while maintaining said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another;
(d) each of said plurality of slatted panels being composed of a substantially clear, light transmissive material, each such panel having a front face for being directed at the sun and an opposing rear face, said rear face of each such panel having prisms formed thereon, said prisms causing rays of sunlight that strike the front face of each such panel in a predetermined band of angles relative to the normal to be internally reflected and emitted back out through the front face of each such panel, the predetermined band of angles extending substantially symmetrically about a central focal angle, said central focal angle extending within a range of about 20°
-40°
relative to the normal while said prisms permitting rays of sunlight that strike the front face of each such panel from an angle that lies outside said predetermined band of angles relative to the normal to be transmitted therethrough into the space to the illuminated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A venetian blind having prismatic reflective slatted panels permits the passage of indirect rays of sunlight into a space to be illuminated while reflecting direct rays of sunlight away from the space to be illuminated. The prismatic reflective slats are supported for rotation in unison to follow elevational movements of the sun. Each of the prismatic panels is made from a light transmissive material having a front face directed at the sun and an opposing rear face upon which reflective prisms are formed for internally reflecting rays of sunlight that strike the front face of each slatted panel at approximately a 30° angle from a line normal to the front face thereof. The orientation of the reflecting prisms in this manner maximizes overall visibility between adjacent slatted panels. A diffusion panel is secured to the rear face of each prismatic reflective slat for diffusing indirect rays of sunlight transmitted through the prismatic reflective slats. The prisms formed upon the rear face of each reflective slat may be linear prisms or triangular pyramidal prisms.
99 Citations
54 Claims
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1. A shade mechanism for permitting the passage of indirect rays of sunlight into a space to be illuminated while reflecting direct rays of sunlight away from the space to be illuminated, said shade mechanism being adapted to minimize interference with vision through the shade mechanism for a person located within the illuminated space, said shade mechanism comprising in combination:
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(a) a plurality of slatted panels extending parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another, each of said plurality of slatted panels extending about a longitudinal axis thereof; (b) support means for supporting said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another, said support means supporting each of said plurality of slatted panels for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof; (c) tilt means cooperating with said support means for causing each of said plurality of slatted panels to rotate in unison about its longitudinal axis while maintaining said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another; (d) each of said plurality of slatted panels being composed of a substantially clear, light transmissive material, each such panel having a front face for being directed at the sun and an opposing rear face, said rear face of each such panel having prisms formed thereon, said prisms causing rays of sunlight that strike the front face of each such panel in a predetermined band of angles relative to the normal to be internally reflected and emitted back out through the front face of each such panel, the predetermined band of angles extending substantially symmetrically about a central focal angle, said central focal angle extending within a range of about 20°
-40°
relative to the normal while said prisms permitting rays of sunlight that strike the front face of each such panel from an angle that lies outside said predetermined band of angles relative to the normal to be transmitted therethrough into the space to the illuminated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A shade mechanism for permitting the passage of indirect rays of sunlight into a space to be illuminated while reflecting direct rays of sunlight away from the space to be illuminated, said shade mechanism being adapted to minimize interference with vision through the shade mechanism for a person located within the illuminated space, said shade mechanism comprising in combination:
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(a) a plurality of slatted panels extending parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another, each of said plurality of slatted panels extending about a longitudinal axis thereof; (b) support means for supporting said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another, said support means supporting each of said plurality of slatted panels for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof; (c) tilt means cooperating with said support means for causing each of said plurality of slatted panels to rotate in unison about its longitudinal axis while maintaining said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another; and (d) each of said plurality of slatted panels being composed of a substantially clear, light transmissive material, each such panel having a front face for being directed at the sun and an opposing rear face, said rear face of each such panel having a series of 3-faced linear prisms formed thereon and extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of each slatted panel, each 3-faced linear prism having a first face and a second face of approximately equal width and having a common longitudinal edge and forming an internal angle of substantially 90°
therebetween, each 3-faced linear prism further including a third face extending between successive pairs of first and second faces, said third face lying substantially parallel to a plane which bisects the angle formed between said first and second faces, said first and second faces internally reflecting direct rays of sunlight striking the front face of each such panel in a predetermined band of angles and causing said internally reflected rays to be emitted back out through the front face of each such panel, the predetermined band of angles extending substantially symmetrically about a central focal angle, said central focal angle extending within a range of about 20°
-40°
to the normal relative to the front face of each such panel. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A shade mechanism for permitting the passage of indirect rays of sunlight into a space to be illuminated while reflecting direct rays of sunlight away from the space to be illuminated, said shade mechanism being adapted to minimize interference with vision through the shade mechanism for a person located within the illuminated space, said shade mechanism comprising in combination:
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(a) a plurality of slatted panels extending parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another, each of said plurality of slatted panels extending about a longitudinal axis thereof; (b) support means for supporting said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another, said support means supporting each of said plurality of slatted panels for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof; (c) tilt means cooperating with said support means for causing each of said plurality of slatted panels to rotate in unison about its longitudinal axis while maintaining said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another; (d) each of said plurality of slatted panels being composed of a substantially clear, light transmissive material, each such panel having a front face for being directed at the sun and an opposing rear face, said rear face of each such slatted panel having prisms formed thereon for causing direct rays of sunlight that strike the front face of each such panel within a predetermined range of angles to be internally reflected and emitted back out through the front face of each such panel, while permitting rays of sunlight outside of said predetermined range to be transmitted therethrough into the space to be illuminated; and (e) a plurality of diffusion panels, each diffusion panel being associated with a corresponding one of said slatted panels and being positioned adjacent the rear face of each such slatted panel substantially parallel thereto for diffusing light transmitted through each such slatted panel to more evenly illuminate the space to be illuminated. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A shade mechanism for permitting the passage of indirect rays of sunlight into a space to be illuminated while reflecting direct rays of sunlight away from the space to be illuminated, said shade mechanism being adapted to minimize interference with vision through the shade mechanism for a person located within the illuminated space, said shade mechanism comprising in combination:
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(a) a plurality of slatted panels extending parallel to one another and spaced apart from one another, each of said plurality of slatted panels extending about a longitudinal axis thereof; (b) support means for supporting said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another, said support means supporting each of said plurality of slatted panels for rotation about the longitudinal axis thereof; (c) tilt means cooperating with said support means for causing each of said plurality of slatted panels to rotate in unison about its longitudinal axis while maintaining said plurality of slatted panels parallel to one another; and (d) each of said plurality of slatted panels being composed of a substantially clear, light transmissive material, each such panel having a front face for being directed at the sun and an opposing rear face, said rear face including a plurality of first surfaces each extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of such slatted panel, said rear face further including a plurality of second surfaces each interposed between successive pairs of first surfaces, each first surface having formed thereupon at least one 2-faced linear prism extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of such slatted panel, each 2-faced linear prism having a first face and a second face of approximately equal width and having a common longitudinal edge and forming an internal angle of substantially 90°
therebetween, said plurality of second surfaces each lying substantially parallel to a plane which bisects the angle formed between said first and second faces, said first and second faces internally reflecting direct rays of sunlight striking the front face of each such slatted panel in a predetermined band of angles and causing said internally reflected rays to be emitted back out through the front face of each such slatted panel. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification