Compact fluorescent lamp unit having integral circuit means for DC operation
First Claim
1. An electric lamp unit adapted for use in a lighting fixture that includes a lamp socket having terminals which are connected to an alternating-current power source when the fixture is energized, said lamp unit comprising, in combination;
- an electric discharge lamp of single-ended construction having an envelope which contains (a) a pair of electrodes that are located at the same end of the envelope and on opposite sides of a partition means which defines a tortuous discharge channel and (b) an ionizable medium comprising a material which is in a vaporous state during lamp operation and exhibits a cataphoretic effect when the lamp is operated on direct current that causes the vaporous material to migrate toward and accumulate at the cathode end of the discharge channel and thus extinguish the electric discharge under such direct-current operating conditions, the electrode-containing end of said envelope having external contact means that are connected to said electrodes by lead-in conductors and said envelope end also having an hermetically-sealed component through which the lamp is evacuated when it is being manufactured,a module coupled to said discharge lamp and enclosing circuit means that is connected to said electrodes and is adapted to convert an alternating-current input into a direct-current output which is applied to said electrodes when the circuit means is energized,a base component coupled to said circuit-module and having terminals that are connected to the input portion of said circuit means and are engageable by the lamp socket terminals of the lighting fixture when the lamp unit is placed therein, andmeans for allowing the vaporous ionizable material, during operation of the lamp in a direct-current mode, to circumvent the partition means at the electrode-containing end of the envelope and thus migrate from the cathode end to the anode end of the discharge channel without permitting the electric discharge to bypass the partition means comprising a transversely-extending diaphragm assembly that is in engagement with said partition means and the walls of the envelope and includes a porous component which is permeable to the vaporous ionizable material but constitutes an impenetrable barrier to the electric discharge,said porous component being so disposed that it also provides a passageway from the hermetically-sealed component of the electrode-containing end of said envelope into the envelope interior which permits water vapor and gaseous impurities to be evacuated from the envelope through said diaphragm assembly during lamp manufacture prior to the closure of said hermetically-sealed component.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A single-ended fluorescent lamp having a partitioned envelope is coupled to a threaded screw-in type base and a module that contains a miniaturized electronic circuit which permits the lamp to be started and operated on direct current from an AC power source. The resulting compact fluorescent lamp unit can thus be used as a direct replacement for incandescent lamps in fixtures that are designed for residential and commercial lighting. Cataphoretic pumping and accumulation of the mercury vapor in the vicinity of the cathode during DC operation and short-circuiting of the partition by the arc discharge are both prevented by a diaphragm assembly at the electrode-end of the envelope which includes a porous gasket of fibrous material that is permeable to mercury vapor but constitutes an impenetrable barrier to the arc. The porous gasket also provides a manufacturing advantage since it establishes a connecting passageway between the tubulated sealed end of the envelope and the envelope proper which permits vapor and gaseous impurities to be quickly evacuated from the envelope before it is charged with fill gas, dosed with mercury and tipped-off.
65 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An electric lamp unit adapted for use in a lighting fixture that includes a lamp socket having terminals which are connected to an alternating-current power source when the fixture is energized, said lamp unit comprising, in combination;
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an electric discharge lamp of single-ended construction having an envelope which contains (a) a pair of electrodes that are located at the same end of the envelope and on opposite sides of a partition means which defines a tortuous discharge channel and (b) an ionizable medium comprising a material which is in a vaporous state during lamp operation and exhibits a cataphoretic effect when the lamp is operated on direct current that causes the vaporous material to migrate toward and accumulate at the cathode end of the discharge channel and thus extinguish the electric discharge under such direct-current operating conditions, the electrode-containing end of said envelope having external contact means that are connected to said electrodes by lead-in conductors and said envelope end also having an hermetically-sealed component through which the lamp is evacuated when it is being manufactured, a module coupled to said discharge lamp and enclosing circuit means that is connected to said electrodes and is adapted to convert an alternating-current input into a direct-current output which is applied to said electrodes when the circuit means is energized, a base component coupled to said circuit-module and having terminals that are connected to the input portion of said circuit means and are engageable by the lamp socket terminals of the lighting fixture when the lamp unit is placed therein, and means for allowing the vaporous ionizable material, during operation of the lamp in a direct-current mode, to circumvent the partition means at the electrode-containing end of the envelope and thus migrate from the cathode end to the anode end of the discharge channel without permitting the electric discharge to bypass the partition means comprising a transversely-extending diaphragm assembly that is in engagement with said partition means and the walls of the envelope and includes a porous component which is permeable to the vaporous ionizable material but constitutes an impenetrable barrier to the electric discharge, said porous component being so disposed that it also provides a passageway from the hermetically-sealed component of the electrode-containing end of said envelope into the envelope interior which permits water vapor and gaseous impurities to be evacuated from the envelope through said diaphragm assembly during lamp manufacture prior to the closure of said hermetically-sealed component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification