Tensioner reflector sheet with press forms

Claim 2

A reflector of radiation comprising a flexible sheet having a reflecting surface, a frame member providing opposed abutments spaced apart a fixed distance less than the distance between opposite edges of said sheet when unflexed, said opposite edges of said sheet being secured to said opposed abutments to arch said sheet between said abutments, a press form having a convex edge engaged with the concave surface of the sheet, and means connecting said frame and said press form and urging said press form against said sheet with force sufficient to place said sheet in tension between said opposed abutments and to conform the sheet to the contour of the press form thereby to determine the contour of the reflective surface of the sheet.

Claim 3

The reflector of claim 1, in which the flexible sheet is metal and the tensile stress induced therein by the press form is maintained within the elastic limit of the said metal.

Claim 4

The reflector of claim 1, in which the flexible sheet is metal, and in which the press form and the sheet have substantially the same coefficient of thermal expansion.

Claim 5

The reflector of claim 1, in which the flexible sheet is a light-colored ductile metal and has on its concave surface a specular finish, said reflector including a second press form of the same contour as the first and spaced from the first but likewise so engaged with the sheet that said two press forms determine the optical character of said reflective sheet between the two press forms, and in which said press forms have substantially the same coefficient of thermal expansion as sAid sheet.

Claim 6

In a luminaire having a reflector for projecting light from an essentially linear light source, a frame providing abutments fixed relative to one another and in flanking relation to the axis of the light source, a sheet of metal arched between and secured to said abutments and having on its concave surface a light-reflective finish, a pair of press-forms engaged with the concave surface of the sheet at opposite ends of the light source, screws connecting said press forms and said frame to urge said forms against said sheet with force sufficient to place said sheet in tension between said abutments and to conform the sheet to the contour of the press forms thereby to determine the optical contour of the light-reflective surface of the sheet.

Claim 7

In a luminaire having a reflector for projecting light from an essentially linear light source, a frame providing abutments fixed relative to one another and in flanking relation to the axis of the light source, a sheet of metal arched between and secured to said abutments and having on its concave surface a light-reflective finish, a pair of press-forms engaged with the concave surface of the sheet at opposite ends of the light source, screws connecting said press forms and said frame to urge said forms against said sheet with force sufficient to place said sheet in tension between said abutments and to conform the sheet to the contour of the press forms thereby to determine the optical contour of the light-reflective surface of the sheet.

Claim 8

In a luminaire according to claim 5, the frame including a case enclosing the reflector and having a lens through which the light emitted from the source is projected.