| 1. | A stationary ray filtering device comprising two edge sealed transparent windows defining a cavity therebetween, at least one container for holding ray filtering liquid, a reversible pump communicating one portion of said cavity with one portion of said container and a first means communicating with another portion of said cavity with another portion of said container. |
| 2. | The ray filtering device of claim 1, wherein said first means include a hollow line and a valve. |
| 3. | The ray filtering device of claim 1, wherein said windows are spaced apart equidistantly. |
| 4. | The ray filtering device of claim 3, including spacer means positioned on said windows to maintain said windows in an equidistant spaced condition. |
| 5. | The ray filtering device of claim 1, including a second container for holding a different ray filtering liquid, a second reversible pump communicating said second container with said cavity and a second means communicating said first means and said second container. |
| 6. | The ray filtering device of claim 2 wherein said second means is a hollow line. |
| 7. | The ray filtering device of claim 1, wherein the volume of the cavity is equal to the volume of the container, first means and reversible pump. |
| 8. | The ray filtering device of claim 5, wherein said valve comprises an outer cylinder having an inside and outside and three cavities communicating the inside with the outside, an internal circumferential groove, and an interrupted circumferential groove, an inner cylinder having an inside and outside and two cavities communicating the inside with the outside, a handle positioned on the inner cylinder and sliding within the interrupted circumferential groove of the outer cylinder for rotation of the inner cylinder within the outer cylinder and an 0 ring fitting within the internal circumferential groove of the outer cylinder, said two cavities of said inner cylinder aligning with two cavities of said outer container when communicating said container and said cavity between said windows. |
| 9. | The device of claim 1 in the form of an office building window. |
| 10. | The device of claim 1 in the form of a canopy for an airplane. |
| 11. | The device of claim 1 in the form of a visor for a space suit. |
| 12. | A process for exchanging sun ray filtering liquid for transparent liquid in a sun ray filtering device comprising opening a valve controlling the flow of sun ray filtering liquid to a cavity containing transparent liquid, pumping said transparent liquid from said cavity into a container holding said sun ray filtering liquid until there has been a complete exchange of liquids between the cavity and container and closing the valve to maintain the liquids in their exchanged positions. |
| 13. | A sun ray filtering device capable of shielding a wearer's eyes from direct sunlight, comprising two edge sealed transparent windows defining a cavity therebetween, two containers for sun ray filtering liquids, each container mounted on an opposite side of said windows, two valves, each mounted between a container and said cavity to communicate a container with said cavity and a third valve mounted on a top of said windows and communicatable with said cavity and said containers separately. |
This invention relates to a device that will screen and filter rays from the sun and that can change from one degree of screening and filtering to another to effect
controlled transmission of solar radiation. The device may be a window in an office building, a window in an airplane, a canopy for a fighter plane, a window in a green house, a helmet for bicyclist, motorcyclist or a fighter pilot or an eye shield, such as ski goggles.
Background of the Invention
Many attempts have been made to provide windows, roofs, and skylights with devices having means between sheets or plates of transparent material that would
remove harmful or undesirable electromagnetic radiation from the sun, such as infrared rays, and the like. These devices employ a cavity or a series of cavities defined by spaced transparent plates and contain within the cavity liquid capable of
screening or filtering the undesirable or unwanted radiation from the sun passing through the liquid in the cavity. One of the principal difficulties in using such devices is the requirement for changing from one liquid to another in order to change the type of filtering of the sun's rays to make such a system practical. Heretofore, the systems have not been air-free and, thus, the problem of air bubbles occurred bringing about interphase mixing of the liquids. To eliminate the interphase problems between liquids, some prior art systems utilized double cavity arrangements having a different liquid in each cavity. This type of system is bulky and expensive
to build, operate and maintain.
A device is known which contemplates a hermetically sealed, substantially air-
free screening and filtering device for radiation from the sun by providing equally
spaced sheets or plates of transparent material with a gasket between them
positioned around their outer edge so as to form a thin, elongated cavity
therebetween through which the rays, are to be filtered. Suitable entry and exit
connections are provided between the cavity and a container to allow for flow of one
liquid from the cavity as the other flows in from the container, thus displacing an
immiscible liquid in the cavity with an immiscible liquid in the container. When this
has been completed, valve means are closed to seal off the cavity from the container,
thus retaining the desired liquid in the cavity.
It will be appreciated that, since each of the immiscible liquids has a different
specific gravity, one will gravitationally position itself below the other and present a
clearly delineated interphase between the liquids after any lighter liquid has
permeated into the heavier liquid space during movement. Since each liquid has a
different capability for the screening and filtering of the sun's rays, the type of
filtering will depend on which liquid is in the cavity. For example, there may be little
or no filtering when a transparent liquid is used, and there may be varying degrees
or different types of filtering accomplished when a dark liquid is used. The filtering,
however, will depend on the ability of the liquid to screen out the rays rather than
on its particular specific gravity, This device limits the exchange to only two liquids
and by gravity flow only. This device cannot be utilized in outer space where objects
are substantially weightless.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a device to eliminate the
difficulties of the prior art designs.
It also is an object of the invention to provide a device for filtering rays utilizing
more than two liquids.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device for use in outer space
such as a space suit with visor for use by astronauts.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a device for use as a canopy
for an airplane.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a device which during an
exchange of liquid filtering medium contacts only one liquid while displacing two
liquids.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a stationary device for
exchanging ray filtering liquid mediums.
Summary of the Invention
This invention contemplates a device which is not susceptible to gravity exchange of liquid alone and a device which utilizes more than two liquids.
The device of this invention is hermetically sealed with substantially all die air
excluded from the system to eliminate the formation of air bubbles within the system
when the liquids are being interchanged to effect different types of screening and
filtering. When a heavy liquid is in a cavity, a lighter liquid is in a container. The
volume of the cavity should be equal to the volume of the container and accessories,
such as pumps, valves and hollow lines. To change from a heavy liquid in the cavity
to a lighter one, a reversible pump is necessary which when in operation conveys the
heavy liquid from the bottom of the cavity through an opening or openings in the
cavity while the lighter liquid flows into the top of the cavity through a valve means
thus displacing the heavier liquid so that the lighter liquid enters the cavity as the
heavier liquid is displaced. When the displacement is completed the valve means are
closed and the pump is stopped to act as a valve, scaling the respective liquids from
each other, with a different liquid in the cavity to produce the desired change in shielding effect. The pump is connected to a source of energy and a switch.
In the case of windows in an office building, it is desirable that the liquid
screening out the rays have the lesser specific gravity of two liquids being exchanged by propulsion so that upon changing the liquid having the lower specific gravity in the
container for the liquid having the higher specific gravity in the cavity, the effect is
that of drawing a window shade. It is also possible that a complete exchange of
liquids in the cavity and the container is not necessary so that the two liquids are
both in the cavity as well as the container. In outer space where the effect of gravity
is reduced to substantially nothing, it is not necessary that the filtering liquid rather
than a non-filtering liquid be of the lesser specific gravity.
In the windows of office buildings, the relatively thin cavity is formed by using
two mating, equally spaced, planar transparent plates with a gasket around their
edges to maintain the plates at an equal distance from each other, and thus, form a
rigid structural member that is capable of providing a relatively large transparent
area. Depending upon the size of the transparent area, it may be necessary to
introduce spacer means to maintain the proper space between plates. The invention
also contemplates curved plates such as for helmets and goggles. Also, the space
between the transparent plates may be from about 1/32 inch to about 3/16 inch
depending on the type of liquids to be used, the viscosity of the liquids, the thickness
of the cavity for the type of filtering to be done, and the type of use for which the
device is designed.
It has been found that the liquids employed in this invention must be immiscible
to each other and have good surface wetting properties for glass, Lucite or other
types of transparent material. The liquids also must have good cleaning action that
leaves no residue and should have substantially the same viscosity. If infrared rays
are to be screened out, glycol (antifreeze) or liquid silicone may be used for the
filtering liquid, and when light is to be admitted substantially unfiltered, white
mineral oils (light oil) may be used. Exemplary of these light oils are the Penn-
Drake white mineral oils known as "Drakeol 6." Their "Drakeol 7" and "9" may be
used. These Penn-Drake oils are produced by the Pennsylvania Refining Company
and the properties of the oils are disclosed in their bulletin entitle "Product
Specifications Penn-Drake White Mineral Oils." It will be appreciated that the
filtering liquid may contain various colors in solution or a true suspension capable of
filtering different types of solar radiation, and that the density of the color in the
liquid may be such as to effect the required degree of filtering in relation to the
cavity.
Brief Description of the Drawings
These and other objects of my invention will become apparent from the
description of the following embodiments and the drawings thereof in which:
Figure 1 shows a front elevational view of a stationary window of the invention.
Figure 2 shows a top plan view of the window of Figure 1.
Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the window of Figure I taken along line
3-3.
Figure 4 shows a top plan view of the valve utilized in the invention.
Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the valve of Figure 4 taken along line
5-5.
Figure 6 shows a front elevational view of ski goggles of the present invention with a plurality of ray filtering liquid containers mounted thereon.
Figure 7 is a top plan view of the ski goggles of Figure 6 taken along line 7-7.
Figure 8 is a side elevational view of a canopy of an airplane mounted with the
ray filtering apparatus of the present invention.
Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 8 taken along line 9-9.
Figure 10 is a front elevational view of the head section of a space suite
incorporating the invention.
Figure 11 is a vertical sectional view of a spacer between the front and back
plates of Figure 1.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
In the drawings Figures 1-3, numeral 10 illustrates a window which may be
placed in an office building, a home or an airplane. The window 10 has a front plate
11 of transparent material, a back plate 12 of transparent material between which is
a cavity 16 (Figure 3) of 1/16 to 3/32 inches in thickness. The two plates 11 and 12
are spaced from each other by a circumferential spacer 13. On either end of plate
12 are containers 14 and 15 fixed thereto. Container 14 is in communication with
cavity 16 by means of a reversible pump valve 17 having pipe 18 opening into
container 14 and pipe 19 opening into cavity 16. Container 15 is in communication with cavity 16 by means of a reversible pump valve 20 having pipe 21 opening into
cavity 16 and pipe 22 opening into a container 15. The pump that is used may be a
down-sized version of the pump disclosed in U.S. Patent Number 3,238,883. Cavity
16 is also in communication with container 14 at its top by valve 23 and hollow line
25. Cavity 16 is also in communication with container 15 at its top by valve 23 and
hollow line 26. In order to have the different liquids in cavity 16 and container 14
exchange positions with an uninterrupted interface, the window has a peak at which
point the valve 23 is in communication. In Figures 4 and 5 valve 23 is composed of
an outer cylinder 27 having three cavities 28, 29 and 30; an inner cylinder 31 having
two cavities 32 and 33; a handle 24 fixed to inner cylinder 31 to turn inner cylinder
31 to align cavities 33 and 32 in inner cylinder 31 with cavities 28 and 29, respectively
in cylinder 27 or align cavities 32 and 33 in inner cylinder 31 with cavities 28 and 30
respectively of outer cylinder 27. Outer cylinder 27 has an internal circumferential
groove therein 34 into which is seated an O ring 35 to prevent leakage. To permit
pivoting of handle 24 while aligning cavities 32 and 33 with cavities 28 and 30 or 29
and 28 respectively, outer cylinder 27 has a circumferential groove 36 interrupted at
stop 37. If the handle is placed anywhere in the groove 36, except at either side of
the stop 37, the valve is in a shut off position and the two liquids will not flow.
In order to exchange the heavier transparent liquid in the cavity 16 for a lighter
darker liquid from container 14 it is necessary to open valve 23 by pivoting handle
24 to a position against one side of stop 37 which is a position between 6 and 7
o'clock on Figure 4. The pump 17 is started in a direction which will pump the
heavier transparent liquid from cavity 16 into container 14. At the same time, the
darker lighter liquid is being passed out of the top of container 14 through line 25
and valve 23 into the top of cavity 16 to replace the heavier transparent liquid being
pumped out of cavity 16. Once the exchange has been completed, the pump is
turned off and handle 24 is moved to a twelve o ' clock position in Figure 4. The
liquids are now held in their exchanged positions. The volumes of the two liquids
should be substantially the same and the volume of one liquid at least equal to the
volume of the cavity 16. There should be no air bubbles or void space in the capacity
of the cavity, pump, container, hollow line and valve. The pump should be run at a
speed which will preclude the formation of an emulsion of liquid within liquid.
When it is desired to change the transparent heavier liquid from container 14
back to cavity 16, the handle 24 of valve 23 is again placed against the stop 37 in the
six to seven o'clock position of Figure 4 and the pump 17 started in the reverse
direction until the heavier transparent liquid has completely replaced the lighter darker liquid in the cavity 16 at which time the pump 17 is stopped and handle 24
of valve 23 is moved to the twelve o'clock position in Figure 4, thus locking the two
liquids in their original positions.
If the two liquids which are desired to be exchanged are in cavity 16 and
container 15, then the handle 24 of valve 23 is moved to contact the other side of
stop 37, i.e., between five and six o'clock in Figure 4 to interconnect cavities 28, 32,
33 and 30. The pump is started in the direction where the heavier of the two liquids
is to be pumped. Once the liquids have been exchanged, the handle 24 of valve 23
is moved to the twelve o'clock position of Figure 4 and the pump stopped.
If the two liquids which are desired to be exchanged are in container 14 and 15,
then it is required that the liquid in cavity 16 be exchanged for one of the liquids in
container 14 or 15, after which the original liquids of containers 14 and 15 can be
exchanged following the aforestated procedure. The volumes of both containers and
accessories should be the same.
Gravity alone cannot be utilized to exchange liquids when the window is
stationary. The most exchange that could be effected would be for each liquid to
occupy one-half of the window. The heavier liquid would seek its own level half way
up the window. Only with movable objects can gravity alone be utilized.
Figures 6 and 7 illustrates a pair of ski goggles 10' in which 11' represents the
front face of the goggles, 12' the back face of the goggles and 16' (Figure 7) the
cavity between 11' and 12' for containing a transparent liquid. Containers for ray
filtering liquids are designated as 14' and 15' and positioned on the temples 40 and
40', respectively. Valve 23' is located along the top of the goggles 10' and
interconnects containers 14' and 15' with cavity 16' through hollow lines 25' and 26',
respectively. On the lower left and right side of the goggles 10' are respectively
valves 38 and 39 which permit flow of the liquid from 14' into 16' or permit flow of
the liquid from 15' into 16' or vice versa. A gasket 41 fits on the top of the goggles
10' to permit a snug fit of the goggles on the forehead of the wearer. On the lower
portion of the goggles 10' is a gasket 42 for snugly fitting the goggles 10' to the nose
and cheeks of the wearer. Gaskets 41 and 42 seal the edges of II' and 12' so that the
liquids do not escape.
The exchange of liquids from the containers to the cavity is done in the same
way as for the window 10, but with the difference that no pump is required and the
liquids are moved by gravity only. The goggles are turned on their right or left side
depending upon which ray filtering liquid is to be used. The valve 23' and 38 or 39
are opened to let the heavier liquid in the cavity to flow into one of containers 14'
or 15' while letting the ray filtering liquid to flow into the cavity 16'. Once the
liquids have been exchanged to the degree desired valves 38 or 39 and 23' are closed.
The goggles cannot be used in outer space without pumps replacing valves 38 and 39.
Figure 8 illustrates a canopy of an airplane. The canopy 43 is composed of a
curved exterior window 44, a curved interior window 45 and a cavity space 46 in
between windows 44 and 45. The bottom edges of the canopy 43 are sealed by a
gasket 56.
The forward end of the canopy is scaled by closure 57 while the rearward end
of the canopy is sealed by closure 58. Positioned within the canopy 43 are two
containers 47 and 48 (Figure 9) for containing two different ray filtering liquids, two
reversible pumps 49 and 50 in communication with containers 47 and 48, respectively
and a valve 51 communicating separately with container 47 through line 52 or
container 48, through line 53. The cavity 46 is filled with a clear liquid. Valve 51 is
in communication with cavity 46 by line 54. By moving handle 55 of valve 51 to the
left or right over the pilot's head the cavity 46 is made in communication with
container 47 or container 48. Valve 51 does not permit communication with both
containers 47 and 48 at the same time.
To introduce ray filtering liquid from container 47 into cavity 46, valve handle
55 is pivoted right over the pilots head which opens communication between the top
of container 47 and cavity 46. The reversible pump 49 is started in a direction which
will pump clear liquid from cavity 46 into container 47 while at the same time forcing
ray filtering liquid from container 47 into cavity 46. The pilot determines whether
just part or all of the cavity is filled with ray filtering liquid. Once the desired
exchange of liquids has been made, the valve handle 55 is returned to a vertical
position and the pump 49 turned off. To introduce ray filtering liquid from container
48 into cavity 46, handle 55 is pivoted to the left and the reversible pump 50 started in a direction to pump liquid from cavity 46 into container 48. Once again, when the
desired exchange of liquids has been made, the valve handle 55 is returned to a
vertical position and the reversible pump 50 turned off. To return the liquids to their
original positions the valve handle 55 is turned to the right or left depending upon
which ray filtering liquid is in the cavity and the corresponding pump started in a
direction reverse to its initial direction. Upon return of the liquids to their original
positions the valve handle is returned to a vertical position and the pump turned off.
Figure 10 shows a helmet portion of a space suit with a window make up similar
to Figure 1. The visor 100 has a front plate 111 similar to the front plate of the
window 11, a back plate not shown, between which is a cavity. On either end of the
back plate are containers 114 and 115 fixed thereto. Container 114 is in
communication with the cavity by means of a reversible pump valve 117 having pipe
118 opening into container 114 and pipe 119 opening into the cavity. Container 115
is in communication with the cavity by means of a reversible pump valve 120 having
a pipe 121 opening into the cavity and pipe 122 opening into container 115. The
cavity is also in communication with container 114 at its top by line 127, valve 123
and line 126. In order to have the different liquids in the cavity and container 114
exchange positions with an uninterrupted interface the window has a peak at which
point the line 127 is in communication. Valve 123 is identical to valve 23 except for
being smaller in size.
In order to exchange the heavier transparent liquid in the cavity to a lighter
darker liquid from container 114, it is necessary to open valve 123 by pivoting handle
124 to the right to open up communication between the top of container 114 and the
top of the cavity. The pump 117 is started in a direction to pump the heavier
transparent liquid from the cavity into container 144. Once the exchange has been
completed the pump 1 17 is turned off and the handle 124 is moved into a vertical
position. The two liquids are now held in their exchanged positions.
When exchanging the transparent heavier liquid in the cavity with the ray filtering liquid of container 155 the same procedure is followed except that handle
124 is pivoted to the left and pump 120 is used.
The two pumps 117 and 120 and valve 123 are accessible to the hands of the
astronaut.
In case the windows are of such an expanse that it would be difficult to maintain
the front and back plates equidistant in the center, spacers may be incorporated
therein which are comprised of rivets passing through both the forward and back
plates and an O ring positioned between the front and back plates. More than one
rivet combination may be necessary depending upon the expanse of the window.
Figure 11 illustrates a side elevation of a rivet 60 inserted between plates 11 and 12 along with 0 ring 61 to maintain plate 11 and 12 spaced equidistant. Rivets
also would be used on the canopy of Figure 8.
Various modifications ofthe specific embodiments described and shown may be
made, and it is understood that the specific embodiments are by way of illustration
of the invention and not limiting thereto.