US3654451A - Floodlight - Google Patents

Abstract

A floodlight for providing a high efficiency rectangular beam of light having a narrow beam in the vertical dimension. The floodlight includes a vertically elongated light source, a reflector spaced behind and to the opposite sides of the light source, and a sleevelike refractor or Fresnel lens around the light source for refracting the rays of light from the light source into horizontal rays of light to provide the substantially rectangular beam of light. In a modified arrangement, there is provided an auxiliary reflector for reflecting the upwardly and downwardly emitted rays from the light source into substantially horizontally extending rays of light. Also, there is included an alternate embodiment in which the glass envelope of the lamp of which the light source is a part is formed into a condensing lens instead of having a separate Fresnel lens. In addition, there is included another embodiment in which the refractor is provided in the interior thereof with a plurality of vertical prisms, with a part of the prisms refracting the light rearwardly onto a reflector for reflection into a center portion of the beam pattern and with the remaining part of the prisms refracting the light to either side of the center portion of the beam pattern.

Description

United States Patent Starr [451 Apr. 4, 1972 F LOODLIGHT Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews [72] inventor. George N. Starr, Memphis, Tenn. Assistant Examiner kichard M. Sheet [73] Assignee: American Electric Manufacturing Cor- Attorney-John walker, III

poration, Southaven, Miss.

57 AB TRACT [22] Filed: Sept. 18, 1969 I s A floodlight for providing a high efficiency rectangular beam [21] APP! 865,227 of light having a narrow beam in the vertical dimension. The

floodlight includes a vertically elongated light source, a reflec- Remed Application Data tor spaced behind and to the opposite sides of the light source, [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 693,220, Dec. 18, and a sleevelike refractor or Fresnel lens around the light 1967, abandoned. source for refracting the rays of light from the light source into horizontal rays of light to provide the substantially rectangular [52] US. Cl. ..240/3, 240/413, 240/4135, beam of light. in a modified arrangement, there is provided an 240/106, 313/1 10 auxiliary reflector for reflecting the upwardly and downwardly [51] int. Cl ..F2lp 5/00 emitted rays from the light source into substantially horizon- [58] Field of Search ..240/3,4l.3,41.35,93, 106, tally extending rays of light. Also, there is included an al- 240/106. 1 22, 7.5; 313/1 10, 1 13 temate embodiment in which the glass envelope of the lamp of which the light source is a part is formed into a condensing [56] References Cited lens instead of having a separate Fresnel lens. in addition, there is included another embodiment in which the refractor is UNITED STATES PATENTS provided in the interior thereof with a plurality of vertical 2 344 221 H1944 Trauma 240/106 1 X prisms, with a part of the prisms refracting the light rearwardly 27757l8 12/1956 Dubmer 313/, onto a reflector for reflection into a center portion of the beam pattern and with the remaining part of the prisms 2,907,870 10/1959 Calmes ..240/3 remains the light to either side of the center portion of the FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS beam P 698,755 1 1/ 1965 Italy ..240/41.35 11 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures la 4/ 23 L2 2/ L4 uL5 59 L6 L3 9 4 33 L2 55 25 L6 PATENTEDAPR '4 I972 SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR. GEORGE N. STARR yrv f 4/ ,E

PRIOR ART PATENTEDAPR 4 m2 SHEET 2 BF 2 Re R v IN TOR. GEORGE N. RR

BY 9 ,/dweyzz;

FIG. 7

FLOODLIGHT CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application, Ser. No. 693,220, filed Dec. 18, 1967, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to lighting and particularly to floodlights.

2. Description of the Prior Art The typical floodlight presently available that is used in applications requiring beams of rectangular proportions is shown in FIG. 4. In this FIG., L represents the light source and A the reflector in vertical cross section. It will be seen that the reflector has a somewhat parabolic shape at the rearward portion thereof in order to achieve the desired narrow vertical spread (all reflected rays coming out more or less parallel). It is the non-reflected rays of light shown as at R which cause the undesirable characteristics of glare and inefficiency to be present in this fixture. Thus, in FIG. 4 it can be seen that rays R are radiating in directions other than the desired narrow vertical limits and thus contribute to glare and inefficiency. It will be understood that the horizontal cross-sectional shape of reflector A is any suitable shape that will give the desired beam characteristics in the horizontal plane.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towards overcoming the heretofore-mentioned and other disadvantages of prior reflectors. Thus, the floodlight of the present invention provides a high efficiency rectangular beam of light, with a minimum of glare and yet with a reduction in the cost of the manufacture of the reflector. The present invention accomplishes these results by controlling the light rays so that they give a narrow beam in the vertical dimension with the use of an annular refractor including a condensing lens around the light source which redirects the rays of light into substantially horizontal rays of light and by providing reflector means, spaced behind and to the sides of the light source, that has substantially straight walls in vertical section for reflecting a portion of the substantially horizontal rays of light to produce with the unreflected rays a high efficiency rectangular beam. Although the reflector is straight or perfectly flat in the vertical cross section, the beam spread coming off the reflector will not exceed that of the lens. This is a unique feature of this invention in that it permits close vertical control without the use of a complicated and necessarily expensive reflector. It can be seen that a fixture of this type places virtually all the light available from the source in the desired beam pattern, thus making it efficient beyond anything now being used. It can be appreciated that the fact that the reflector has straight walls makes it much more economical to manufacture than the reflectors of the type shown in FIG. 4 which have the walls formed of a compound curve such as a paraboloid of revolution.

Another feature of the present invention in a modified arrangement is the use of auxiliary reflector means for reflecting the upwardly and downwardly emitted rays from the light source into substantially horizontally extending rays of light. The use of these auxiliary reflector means causes a gain in control, which would otherwise be unavailable, and an increase in utilization, all of which will be brought out in more detail in the description of the preferred embodiment. In addition, there is included an alternate embodiment in which the glass envelope, which is a part of the lamp, is formed into a condensing lens.

Still another feature of the present invention in another modified embodiment is the use of vertical prisms on the inside of the annular refractor which permits the use of a reflector of a much reduced size and therefore a substantial savings in manufacturing cost. The vertical prisms in the inner forward part of the refractor redirect the light into a portion of the rectangular light pattern and the vertical prisms in the inner rearward part of the refractor redirect the light onto the reduced reflector which in turn reflects the light to fill in the remaining portions of the rectangular light pattern.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional view taken as on a horizontal plane through the floodlight of the present invention, showing the reflection of some of the rays of light.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same taken as on the line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of an alternate embodiment of the present invention, showing the reflection of some of the rays of light.

FIG. 4 is somewhat of a diagrammatic view of a prior device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the same taken as on the line VI-VI of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of the same taken as on the line VII-VII of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view showing the rays of light emanating from the floodlight of FIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the beam pattern on a vertical surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 the floodlight 11 of the present invention includes in general areflector 13, sleevelike refractor orcondensing lens 15, and alight source 17. Also, ahousing 18 is preferably provided for the components of the floodlight 11.

It should be noted that when the term condensing lens is used herein, it will be deemed to include not only the planoconvex lens but also Fresnel lens and prismatic refractors which yield essentially the same type of control.

Thelight source 17 is preferably any suitable elongated source such as the mercury arc tube 19, which is part of thelamp 21 that also includes the usualouter glass envelope 23,base 25 and suitable lead wires, not shown. Thebase 25 oflamp 21 is received in the usual socket ofsupport 27 which in turn is preferably mounted on the upper surface of thebottom 29 ofhousing 18 so that thelamp 21 is arranged vertically and theelongated light source 17 is arranged along a vertical axis. In addition tobottom 29,housing 18 preferably includes atop 31, aback 33, andsides 35, 37 which diverge forwardly fromback 33. Thehousing 18 is open at the front or the right as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 for the passage of light therethrough. Also, it will be noted thatbottom 29 and top.31 preferably diverge fromback 33, as best seen in FIG. 2. If desired, a glass, not shown, is mounted across the front ofhousing 18.Reflector 13 has substantially straightvertical walls 39. In other words, thereflecting surfaces 41 of the reflector in vertical section are substantially straight or flat, as best seen in FIG. 2. Stated another way, a vertical section taken through thewall 39 anywhere along thereflector 13 would show that the wall is straight vertically, and thereflecting surfaces 41 thereof are vertically straight or flat. However, if desired, a pattern such as facets or the like, not shown, may be embossed in a well known manner on thesurfaces 41 of thereflector 13 to smooth out the light, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. This could mean no more than variations in surface finishes, such as satin or semi-specular.Reflector 13, in the horizontal cross section (FIG. 1), is shaped to give the desired beam characteristics in the horizontal plane. In the particular example shown, thereflector 13 comprises a pair of similarparabolic segments 43, 45 which are symmetrically arranged with respect tolight source 17 with the segments preferably, though not necessarily, integrally formed and meeting along anedge 47 directly behindlight source 17 and providing reflecting curved surfaces in thearea 49, 51 to cause the rays of light L to miss thelight source 17 andlens 15.

Condensinglens 15 preferably is in the form of a so-called Fresnel" lens. This well-known type of lens is briefly described as follows: The Fresnel lens is annular and is a solid of revolution. For example, the section shown in FIG. 2 is the same throughout the lens and is revolved about an imaginary vertical axis indicated as at 57 in FIG. 1. Thecenter portion 59 of the Fresnel lens is rounded and the upper andlower portions 61, 63 are respectively stepped, as best seen in FIG. 2. The Fresnel lens is a condensing lens and the characteristic thereof is that rays of light emanating from the center shown as at 65, when they pass through the lens, are redirected into horizontal rays of light. Rays of light, such as the ray L coming from the center of the elongated tube 19 striking thelens 15 at any point will come out horizontal. Light coming from the ends of the arc tube 19, such as the rays L and L will not come out quite horizontal but substantially so and will be restricted to a spread dependent on the size relationship between the tube 19 and thelens 15. As a practical matter, this spread should be limited to approximately 20 with available sizes of lamps and lenses. It will be noted that since thereflector walls 39 are perfectly flat in the vertical cross section, the spread of light rays coming off the reflector will not exceed that of the lens. Thus, a highly efficient rectangular beam pattern is provided that has a narrow vertical spread.

The unreflected rays of light such as the rays L L and L pass through the front part of the lens and with the other rays that are reflected make up the horizontal beam having a narrow vertical spread. It will be noted that thelens 15 completely surrounds thelight source 17 with the light source and the lens being concentric, and with thelens 15 being supported in such a position by suitable means as thebrackets 67. It will also be noted that the axes oflight source 17 and condensinglens 15 are parallel withwalls 39 andreflector surface 41.

As is known, the radiation pattern of a vertically arrangedlamp 21 is in the form of a toroidal pattern extending 360 around thelight source 17 and principally between limits of about 60 upwardly from the horizontal plane to about 60 below the horizontal plane so that little light is radiated upwardly and downwardly from thelight source 17. However, if it is desired to utilize this light that is radiated upwardly and downwardly, beyond the 45 limit which the Fresnel lens is capable of controlling, auxiliary reflectors as the upperauxiliary reflector 69 and lowerauxiliary reflector 71 may be provided adjacent the upper and lower portions of the light source, as seen in FIG. 3. Thereflectors 69, 71 are preferably paraboloids of revolution and so arranged that the upwardly and downwardly emitted rays of light such as those shown as at L in FIG. 3 will strike thereflectors 69, 71 and be reflected substantially horizontally therefrom, with some of the rays being again reflected fromreflector 13 and some extending forwardly without being reflected byreflector 13. It will be understood that the rays reflected fromreflector 13 will missreflectors 69, 71 because of theareas 49, 51, heretofore described.Reflectors 69, 71 are respectively attached to top 31 and bottom 29 by suitable means, asrivets 72, andreflector 71 is truncated to provide anopening 73 for the lower part oflamp 74. In FIG. 3,lamp 74 is shown as an alternate embodiment, wherein it will be seen that instead of having a separate condensing lens as in FIGS. 1 and 2, the condensinglens 75 is made an integral part of the othertransparent envelope 77 of thelamp 74. Thelamp 74 also includes the usual vertically elongated light source such as the elongatedmercury arc tube 79, base, lead wires, etc., not shown, which are the usual parts of a lamp necessary to provide illumination. The remaining parts of the modifiedflood lamp 81 shown in FIG. 3 are substantially like those of the principal embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 and corresponding parts are shown by the same numbers. Although thereflectors 69, 71 are shown with a different embodiment in FIG. 3, that is, with a modified lamp and lens it will be understood that these reflectors may be provided with the floodlights of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-9, the modifiedfloodlight 83 includes in general areflector 85, asleevelike refractor 87, and alight source 89. Also, ahousing 91 is preferably provided for the components of thefloodlight 83.Refractor 87 includes a condensinglens 93 on the exterior thereof which is similar to condensinglens 15. As previously mentioned relative to the previous embodiments described, the term condensing lens as used herein will be deemed to include not only the planeconvex lens but also Fresnel lens and prismatic refractors which yield essentially the same type of control. Condensinglens 93 preferably is in the form of a so-called Fresnel" lens and is constructed substantially like the Fresnel lens illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, except, if desired, rather than being of the same diameter from the top to the bottom thereof, it might be slightly tapered as shown in FIG. 6. Thus, the only substantial difference betweenrefractor 87 and condensinglens 15 is thatrefractor 87 includes in addition to condensing lens 93 a plurality ofvertical prisms 95, 95', 95", and 95" on the interior ofrefractor 87, the purpose of which will be described in more detail later in the specification.

Thelight source 89 is similar tolight source 17 and is preferably any elongated source such as themercury arc tube 99, which is part of thelamp 101 that also includes the usualouter glass envelope 103,base 105 and suitable lead wires, not shown. Thebase 105 oflamp 101 is received in the usual socket orsupport 107 which in turn is preferably mounted in thedepressed part 109 of the bottom 111 ofhousing 91. In addition to bottom 111,housing 91 preferably includes a top 113, a back 115, andsides 117, 119 which diverge forwardly from back 115. A pair ofglass panes 121, 123 respectively angle outwardly and rearwardly fromrefractor 87 on opposite sides thereof and together with the forward part ofrefractor 87 form the front offloodlight 83. Preferably, the glass of therefractor 87 is formed to establishvertical grooves 125, 127 to receive respectively the inner edges of theglass panes 121, 123, as best seen in FIG. 7. Also, the forward edges ofsides 117, 119 are respectively formed withvertical grooves 129, 131 to receive the outer edges ofpanes 121, 123. In addition, the portions of bottom 111 and top 113 that engage the bottom and upper edges ofglasses 121, 123 are preferably also formed with grooves, not shown, which receive the lower and upper edges of the glass in the same manner that the side edges are received. In addition, gaskets, not shown, are preferably provided to seal the edges of theglasses 121, 123. If desired,glass panes 121, 123 may be omitted without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Gasket 133 is also preferably provided betweentop 113 and the upper edges of back 115,refractor 87, andsides 117, 119. The top 113 is removably held in place by suitable means, not shown, so that the top can be removed for access to the interior of thehousing 91. The back andsides 117, 119 are preferably integrally formed.

As will be noted from FIG. 7, the light source emits rays of light therefrom in substantially all directions including substantially a 360 are as considered relative to horizontal planes throughfloodlight 83.Reflector 85 is disposed in a minor sector of the above mentioned are (that is, in an arc less than 180). Thereflector 85 has substantially straightvertical walls 135. In other words, the reflectingsurfaces 137 of the reflector in vertical section are substantially straight or flat, as best seen in FIG. 6 and in fact in vertical section are substantially like that ofreflector 13 of the preferred embodiment. Also, relative to the vertical control of the light beam,reflector 85 and condensinglens 93 function in the same manner asreflector 13 and condensinglens 15 to provide a beam having a narrow vertical spread. Although in vertical control of the beams thefloodlights 83 and 11 are similar, the two embodiments are different in their direction or control of the light as considered in horizontal planes. In the floodlight 11 the distribution in this respect was achieved principally by thereflector 13, whereas with thefloodlight 83 the desired pattern is achieved partially by means of a part of thevertical prisms 95, 95', 95", 95" and partially by thesmaller reflector 85 working in conjunction with the remainder of thevertical prisms 95, as will be better understood in the description to follow:

For purposes of clarity in description, the rays of light emanating from thelight source 89, as viewed in plan, as in FIG. 7, will be broken up into the various sectors shown, that is, the left front sector, LP, the right front sector, RF, the left rear sector, LR, the right rear sector, RR. It will be understood that the two front sectors, LF and RF, comprise a major sector, Le, a sector greater than, 180 and the part of therefractor 87 in this sector extends around the front of the floodlight betweenglass panes 121, 123; and the rearward sectors LR and RR together are in a minor section, i.e., a sector less than 180, and extend in the interior of the floodlight betweenglasses 121, 123. The vertical prisms 95' in the part ofrefractor 87 in section LF are arranged to direct the rays of light into the left lateral portion or the portion LL of the total rectangular beam R as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. It will be understood that F IG. 9 shows the beam pattern of beam R as would appear on a vertical surface upon which thefloodlight 83 was shining. Thevertical prisms 95 in the part ofrefractor 87 in sector RF are arranged so that the light rays fromlight source 89 are directed to the right lateral portion RL of beam R as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. Thevertical prisms 95" in the part ofrefractor 87 in sector LR are arranged to direct the rays of light fromlight source 89 onto thesegment 139 ofreflector 85 which in turn is preferably configured to reflect the rays of light into the left center portion, LC of beam R. Thevertical prisms 95 in the part ofrefractor 87 in sector RR are arranged to direct the rays of light onto thesegment 141 ofreflector 85 which preferably is configured to reflect the rays of light into the right center portion RC of the beam R. Thus, the completed beam R is made up of the portions LC and RC which form the center part of the beam and the portions LL and RL which form the lateral portions thereof. It will be noted that in the particular example shown, thesegments 139, 141 are essentially parabolic and are symmetrically arranged with respect tolight source 89 with the segments preferably, though not necessarily, integrally formed and meeting along anedge 143 directly behind thelight source 89. Also, it should be pointed out that, if desired, thevertical prisms 95, 95, 95 95" andreflector 85 could be arranged to give the reverse of the above-described filling out of the beam R. In other words, thevertical prisms 95 95 in the part ofrefractor 87 in sectors LF and RF may be arranged to direct the light into the center portions, LC and RC of the beam R, and thevertical prisms 95", 95" in the part ofrefractor 87 in the sectors LR and RR with thereflector 85 may be arranged to direct and reflect the rays of light into the lateral portions LL and RL of the beam R.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be understood that various modifications in the disclosed structures may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Iclaim:

l. A floodlight for providing a substantially rectangular beam comprising a reflector means spaced behind said light source and having substantially straight walls in vertical section, and condensing lens means disposed in a 360 ARC around said light source in concentric relationship therewith and interposed between said light source and said reflector means with said light source being disposed medially of said condensing lens means for causing the rays from said light source passing through said lens means to be refracted substantially perpendicular to said vertically elongated light source and substantially parallel with one another as considered along vertical planes through said floodlight and to be reflected from said reflector means in a substantially rectangular beam wider than said reflector means.

2. The floodlight of claim 1 in which upper and lower auxiliary reflector means are provided for reflecting the upwardly and downwardly emitted rays from said light source into substantially horizontally extending rays of light.

3. The floodlight of claim 1 in which said lamp includes an outer transparent envelope and in which said lens means is integrally provided as a part of said envelope.

4. The floodlight of claim 1 in which said reflector means comprises a pair of similar segments symmetrically arranged with respect to said source of light and with the segments meeting along an edge directly behind said light source and providing reflecting curved surfaces to cause the rays of light from said lens means that are reflected by said reflector means to miss said light source and said lens means.

5. A floodlight for providing a substantially rectangular beam comprising a lamp including an elongated light source emitting rays of light therefrom, lens means revolved around an imaginary axis and concentrically disposed 360 around said light source for refracting said rays of light from said light source into rays of light substantially perpendicular to said axis, said light source being disposed medially of said condensing lens means, reflector means substantially parallel with said light source and disposed in spaced relationship to said lens means and around a portion thereof for reflecting a portion of the refracted rays of light to provide with the unreflected ones of the refracted rays a substantially rectangular beam wider than said reflector means.

6. The floodlight of claim 5 in which upper and lower auxiliary reflector means are provided for reflecting the upper and downwardly emitted rays from said light source into substantially horizontally extending rays of light.

7. The floodlight of claim 5 which said lamp includes an outer transparent envelope and in which said lens means is integrally provided as a part of said envelope.

8. A floodlight for providing a substantially rectangular light beam pattern as considered relative to a vertical plane spaced in front of said floodlight, said floodlight comprising a light source emitting rays of light therefrom in substantially all directions including substantially a 360 arc as considered relative to horizontal planes through said floodlight, reflector means spaced behind said light source and having substantially straight walls in vertical section, and refractor means disposed around said light source in substantially a 360 arc including a major sector and a minor sector, said reflector being positioned with respect to said refractor so that only rays of light from said source passing through said minor sector strike said reflector, said refractor means including condensing lens means in said major and minor sectors, said condensing lens means in said minor sector being interposed between said light source and said reflector means for causing the rays of light from said light source passing through said condensing lens means in said minor sector to be reflected by said reflector means substantially parallel with one another and substantially parallel with the unreflected rays passing through said condensing lens means in said major sector as considered in vertical planes through said floodlight and to establish with the unreflected rays a beam having a narrow vertical spread.

9. The floodlight of claim 8 in which said refractor means includes vertical prisms in at least a portion of the interior thereof and said reflector means includes curved portions when considered relative to horizontal planes through said floodlight for reflecting the rays of light passing through said vertical prisms into at least a portion of said rectangular light beam pattern.

10. The floodlight of claim 9 in which said refractor means includes vertical prisms in substantially the remaining portions of the interior thereof for refracting the unreflected rays of light from said light source passing therethrough into the remaining portions of said rectangular light beam pattern.

11. The floodlight of claim 8 in which said refractor means includes vertical prisms in said minor sector and said reflector means includes curved portions when considered relative to horizontal planes passing through said floodlight for reflecting the rays of light passing through said vertical prisms in said minor sector to either side of said refractor means and into the central portion of said rectangular light beam pattern, and said refractor means includes vertical prisms in said major sector for refracting the unreflected rays of light from said light source passing therethrough into lateral portions of said rectangular light beam pattern.

Claims (11)

1. A floodlight for providing a substantially rectangular beam comprising a reflector means spaced behind said light source and having substantially straight walls in vertical section, and condensing lens means disposed in a 360* ARC around said light source in concentric relationship therewith and interposed between said light source and said reflector means with said light source being disposed medially of said condensing lens means for causing the rays from said light source passing through said lens means to be refracted substantially perpendicular to said vertically elongated light source and substantially parallel with one another as considered along vertical planes through said floodlight and to be reflected from said reflector means in a substantially rectangular beam wider than said reflector means.

2. The floodlight of claim 1 in which upper and lower auxiliary reflector means are provided for reflecting the upwardly and downwardly emitted rays from said light source into substantially horizontally extending rays of light.

3. The floodlight of claim 1 in which said lamp includes an outer transparent envelope and in which said lens means is integrally provided as a part of said envelope.

4. The floodlight of claim 1 in which said reflector means comprises a pair of similar segments symmetrically arranged with respect to said source of light and with the segments meeting along an edge directly behind said light source and providing reflecting curved surfaces to cause the rays of light from said lens means that are reflected by said reflector means to miss said light source and said lens means.

5. A floodlight for providing a substantially rectangular beam cOmprising a lamp including an elongated light source emitting rays of light therefrom, lens means revolved around an imaginary axis and concentrically disposed 360* around said light source for refracting said rays of light from said light source into rays of light substantially perpendicular to said axis, said light source being disposed medially of said condensing lens means, reflector means substantially parallel with said light source and disposed in spaced relationship to said lens means and around a portion thereof for reflecting a portion of the refracted rays of light to provide with the unreflected ones of the refracted rays a substantially rectangular beam wider than said reflector means.

6. The floodlight of claim 5 in which upper and lower auxiliary reflector means are provided for reflecting the upper and downwardly emitted rays from said light source into substantially horizontally extending rays of light.

7. The floodlight of claim 5 which said lamp includes an outer transparent envelope and in which said lens means is integrally provided as a part of said envelope.

8. A floodlight for providing a substantially rectangular light beam pattern as considered relative to a vertical plane spaced in front of said floodlight, said floodlight comprising a light source emitting rays of light therefrom in substantially all directions including substantially a 360* arc as considered relative to horizontal planes through said floodlight, reflector means spaced behind said light source and having substantially straight walls in vertical section, and refractor means disposed around said light source in substantially a 360* arc including a major sector and a minor sector, said reflector being positioned with respect to said refractor so that only rays of light from said source passing through said minor sector strike said reflector, said refractor means including condensing lens means in said major and minor sectors, said condensing lens means in said minor sector being interposed between said light source and said reflector means for causing the rays of light from said light source passing through said condensing lens means in said minor sector to be reflected by said reflector means substantially parallel with one another and substantially parallel with the unreflected rays passing through said condensing lens means in said major sector as considered in vertical planes through said floodlight and to establish with the unreflected rays a beam having a narrow vertical spread.

9. The floodlight of claim 8 in which said refractor means includes vertical prisms in at least a portion of the interior thereof and said reflector means includes curved portions when considered relative to horizontal planes through said floodlight for reflecting the rays of light passing through said vertical prisms into at least a portion of said rectangular light beam pattern.

10. The floodlight of claim 9 in which said refractor means includes vertical prisms in substantially the remaining portions of the interior thereof for refracting the unreflected rays of light from said light source passing therethrough into the remaining portions of said rectangular light beam pattern.

11. The floodlight of claim 8 in which said refractor means includes vertical prisms in said minor sector and said reflector means includes curved portions when considered relative to horizontal planes passing through said floodlight for reflecting the rays of light passing through said vertical prisms in said minor sector to either side of said refractor means and into the central portion of said rectangular light beam pattern, and said refractor means includes vertical prisms in said major sector for refracting the unreflected rays of light from said light source passing therethrough into lateral portions of said rectangular light beam pattern.

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