# US 5,703,720 A · Light collection and distribution apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,703,720 A - Document ID: US5703720A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 08/699,256 - Filed: 1996-08-19 - Granted: 1997-12-30 - Earliest claimed: 1996-08-19 - Inventors: Frank J. Fulco; Frank J. Fulco, Jr. - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5703720A ## CPC - E04F 17/06: Light shafts, e.g. for cellars - E04F: FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS (windows, doors E06B) ## Abstract A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well comprising a window well liner having at least one primary surface which is reflective and faces the window to reflect light rays in the direction of the window, a reflective panel mounted on the building wall above the window, and other mechanisms for increasing light passage through the building wall including a transom disposed in the building wall above the window, reflective surfaces disposed on the bottom sill of the window and on the side jamb. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising: a. a window well liner having at least one primary surface that is reflective, said at least one primary surface facing generally toward the window to reflect light rays in the direction of said window, said liner being at least partially disposed in the window well and having a bottom edge that extends below grade, said at least one primary surface being skewed from a vertical plane; b. a reflective panel being mounted on the building wall above the window to reflect light rays away from the building wall, at least a portion of said first reflective panel being skewed relative to said building wall; c. at least one pad arranged proximate to the bottom edge of the liner having at least one generally upwardly facing reflective surface; d. a reflective framework mounted on the building wall around at least a portion of the window to reflect light rays away from the building wall; and e. means for increasing light passage through the building wall comprising at least one of: (1) a transom disposed in the building wall above the window, said transom being supported by a crossbar secured to the building wall which separates the transom from the window; (2) at least one of a first reflective surface disposed on a bottom exterior sill of the window and a second reflective surface disposed on a bottom interior sill of the window, said at least one of a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface being arranged to reflect light rays through the window; and (3) a plurality of reflectors disposed on at least a side portion of the frame, said reflectors being arranged to reflect light rays through the window. ### Claim 2 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising a window well liner at least partially disposed in the window well and having a bottom edge that extends below grade, said window well liner having at least one primary surface that is reflective, and said at least one primary surface facing generally toward the window to reflect light rays in the direction of said window. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein said at least one primary surface is skewed relative to said building wall. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein the mean horizontal distance between the at least one primary surface and the building wall decreases from a top edge of the liner to the bottom edge of the liner. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least one primary surface has a plurality of steps, each of said steps having an included angle of incidence relative to a vertical plane that increases from a top edge of the liner to a bottom edge of the liner. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least one primary surface has a plurality of adjacent generally horizontal band sets, each of said band sets comprises a downwardly reflecting band having an upper edge and a lower edge, and an upwardly reflecting band having an upper edge and a lower edge, and the lower edge of each of the bands of a band set being in contact with the upper edge of an adjacent band. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 6 wherein each of the bands has a constant pitch angle relative to a vertical plane. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 7 wherein the pitch angle is in the range of 0 to 45 degrees. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 8 wherein the pitch angle is approximately 28 degrees. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a reflective panel being mounted on the building wall adjacent to the window to reflect light rays away from the building wall. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a reflective panel being mounted on the building wall above the window to reflect light rays away from the building wall. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 10 wherein said first reflective panel is skewed relative to said building wall. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 12 wherein the relative angle between said first reflective panel and said building wall is in the range of 0 to 90 degrees. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 12 wherein the relative angle between said first reflective panel and said building wall is approximately 45 degrees. ### Claim 15 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein the liner has the shape of a portion of cylinder. ### Claim 16 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 further comprising at least one pad arranged proximate to the bottom edge of the liner having at least one generally upwardly facing reflective surface. ### Claim 17 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein said at least one pad comprises a first pad and a second pad, each of said first pad and said second pad having a first edge and an oppositely disposed second edge, said first edge of the first pad arranged proximate to the bottom edge of the liner, the second edge of the first pad arranged proximate to the first edge of the second pad, and the second edge of the second pad arranged proximate to the bottom edge of the frame. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 17 wherein each of said at least one pad is sloped relative to a horizontal plane passing through the bottom edge of the frame. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 18 wherein the slope of the at least one pad relative to the horizontal plane passing through the bottom edge of the frame is in the range of 0 to 40 degrees. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 18 wherein the slope of the first pad relative to the horizontal plane passing through the bottom edge of the frame is approximately 35 degrees and the slope of the second pad relative to the horizontal plane passing through the bottom edge of the frame is approximately 28 degrees. ### Claim 21 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 further comprising a reflective framework mounted on the building wall around at least a portion of the window to reflect light rays away from the building wall. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 21 wherein the reflective framework is skewed relative to the building wall. ### Claim 23 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 further comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 23 wherein the means for increasing light comprises a transom that is supported by a crossbar that is secured to the building wall which separates the transom from the window is disposed in the building wall above the window. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 24 wherein the means for increasing light further comprises a reflective panel being mounted on the building wall adjacent to the transom to reflect light rays away from the building wall. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 25 wherein the reflective panel is skewed relative to the building wall to reflect light rays downwardly away from the building wall to which it is mounted. ### Claim 27 (depends on 23) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 23 wherein the means for increasing light comprises at least one of a first reflective surface disposed on a bottom exterior sill of the window and a second reflective surface disposed on a bottom interior sill of the window, whereby light rays are reflected through the window. ### Claim 28 (depends on 23) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 23 wherein the means for increasing light comprises a plurality of reflectors disposed on at least a side portion of the frame, said reflectors being arranged to reflect light rays through the window. ### Claim 29 (depends on 2) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least one primary surface is corrugated with alternating downwardly and upwardly reflecting bands. ### Claim 30 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall having a transom supported by a crossbar that is secured to the building wall above the frame separating the transom from the window. ### Claim 31 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall having at least one of a first reflective surface disposed on a bottom exterior sill of the window and a second reflective surface disposed on a bottom interior sill of the window, whereby light rays are reflected through the window. ### Claim 32 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall having a plurality of reflectors disposed along at least a side portion of the frame, said reflectors being arranged to reflect light rays through the window. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) The light collection and distribution apparatus of claim 32 wherein each of said reflectors lies in one of a series of parallel reflector planes, each of said reflector planes is offset relative to a window plane in which the window is disposed, said window plane lying along the x-y axes in a rectangular coordinate system with the z axis perpendicular to said window plane; each of said reflector planes having a line perpendicular to said reflector plane that is skewed relative to each of the x, y, and z axes of the rectangular coordinate system. ### Claim 34 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall comprising: (1) a transom disposed in the building wall above the window, said transom being supported by a crossbar secured to the building wall which separates the transom from the window; (2) at least one of a first reflective surface disposed on a bottom exterior sill of the window and a second reflective surface disposed on a bottom interior sill of the window, said at least one of a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface being arranged to reflect light rays through the window; and (3) a plurality of reflectors disposed on at least a side portion of the frame, said reflectors being arranged to reflect light rays through the window. ### Claim 35 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall comprising: (1) a transom disposed in the building wall above the window, said transom being supported by a crossbar secured to the building wall which separates the transom from the window; and (2) at least one of a first reflective surface disposed on a bottom exterior sill of the window and a second reflective surface disposed on a bottom interior sill of the window, said at least one of a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface being arranged to reflect light rays through the window. ### Claim 36 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall comprising: (1) a transom disposed in the building wall above the window, said transom being supported by a crossbar secured to the building wall which separates the transom from the window; and (2) a plurality of reflectors disposed on at least a side portion of the frame, said reflectors being arranged to reflect light rays through the window. ### Claim 37 A light collection and distribution apparatus for use with an exterior window well disposed in operative association with a building wall that has an opening with a window extending below grade supported by a frame comprising means for increasing light passage through the building wall comprising: (1) at least one of a first reflective surface disposed on a bottom exterior sill of the window and a second reflective surface disposed on a bottom interior sill of the window, said at least one of a first reflective surface and a second reflective surface being arranged to reflect light rays through the window; and (2) a plurality of reflectors disposed on at least a side portion of the frame, said reflectors being arranged to reflect light rays through the window.