Discharge lamp and lighting system having a discharge lamp

• US 6,153,982 A
• Filed: 08/23/1999
• Issued: 11/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft Fuer Elektrische Gluehlampen MbH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft Fuer Elektrische Gluehlampen MbH (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Reiners, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Trinh Vo
• Application Number:
  US09/379,427
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 315/248, 315/56, 315/344, 315/59, 313/51, 313/112, 313/113, 313/255, 313/595, 313/596, 313/621, 313/491, 313/492, 362/255
• US Class Current: 315/248
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/35 provided with coatings on the walls thereof; Selection of materials for the coatings using coloured coatings H01J61/40; using luminescent coatings H01J61/42

Abstract

The invention relates to a discharge lamp whose discharge vessel (1) is pided with a light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) in order to improve the electromagnetic compatibility of the lamp when it is operated from an electronic operating unit. The light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) is advantageously connected to the circuitry-internal ground potential of the operating unit.

Claims

1. A lighting system having a discharge lamp with at least one light-transmitting lamp vessel (1) enclosing a discharge space (3) in the discharge lamp, a luminous means and electrical terminals (2a) for supplying voltage to the discharge lamp, wherein the at least one lamp vessel (1) has a light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) extending at least across the entire discharge space (3) of the discharge lamp wherein the lighting system has an operating unit for the discharge lamp, and has a reflector (5) with a metallic or metallized reflecting surface (5a) and the at least one lamp vessel (1) has wall regions (10a) facing the reflector and wall regions (10b) remote from the reflector (5), the layer thickness of the light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) on the wall regions (10a) facing the reflector (5) being less than the layer thickness of the light-transmitting electrically conductive layer (4) on the wall regions (10b) remote from the reflector (5).

2. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one lamp vessel (1) has at least one sealed end (1a) with a sealing-in region (1aa) for an electrode system (2), and wherein the light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) extends as far as the sealing-in region (1aa).

3. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) is arranged on the outer surface of the at least one lamp vessel (1).

4. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface resistivity of the layer (4) is less than 100 ohms per square.

5. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layer (4) is an ITO layer, that is to say an indium tin oxide layer.

6. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lamp is a neon gas discharge lamp.

7. The lighting system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the transmission coefficient of the at least one lamp vessel (1) in the wavelength range of from 550 nm to 700 nm is greater than 0.8.

8. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the discharge lamp is a high-pressure discharge lamp.

9. The lighting system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the high-pressure discharge lamp has an outer bulb enclosing the discharge vessel and the light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer is arranged on the outer bulb of the high-pressure discharge lamp.

10. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) is connected to a predetermined electrical reference-ground potential.

11. The lighting system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the predetermined electrical reference-ground potential is the circuitry-internal ground potential of the operating unit, or the ground potential.

12. The lighting system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the reflector (5) is connected to the predetermined electrical reference-ground potential.

13. The lighting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the layer thickness of the light-transmitting, electrically conductive layer (4) on the wall regions (10b) of the at least one lamp vessel which are remote from the reflector (5) is 300 nm.