Illuminating display for simulating a fire

Claim 1

A simulated fire assembly comprising, in combination, a stationery shell having substantially opaque portions simulating combustible fuel and having other portions which are translucent for the transmission of light therethrough, a light source disposed beneath said stationery shell behind one of said opaque portions to illuminate said shell steadily from below to simulate a glowing fire, an elongate, generally horizontally disposed light reflecting device disposed behind said light source beneath said shell, means for rotating said light reflecting device about a centrally disposed generally horizontal axis thereof, said light reflecting device comprising a series of longitudinally extending vane assemblies projecting outwardly of said axis and disposed in circumferentially spaced relation to each other, each vane assembly presenting a series of discrete, geometrically symmetrical and series-wise geometrically similar longitudinally spaced triangular reflecting portions, the said series of triangular portions defining a series of V-shaped gaps between members thereof, the reflecting surfaces of said portions being smooth and specularly reflecting, the triangular reflecting portions of successive vane assemblies being staggered with respect to each other and the included angle between successive vane assemblies being less than 90*, whereby light may be reflected simultaneously onto the interior of the shell by anyone vane assembly and by the preceding vane assembly by the passage of light through the gaps between the reflecting portions of said any one vane assembly, said other portions of the shell through which light may be transmitted being at varying angular orientations with respect to said light source, whereby movement of reflected light thereacross due to rotation of said reflecting device is different for different one of said other portions, and said reflecting device including a shaft defining said axis, at least one sleeve on said shaft and having at least one line of radially projecting pins thereon, a generally triangular blade held by said line of pins having a base approximately twice as long as said sleeve and overlapping in both directions the sides of said sleeve.