Westinghouse Electric Corporation

North American Philips Electric Corp.

North American Philips Corporation

Henry Skwirut

Robert G Young

Edward W Morton

Thomas E Dooley

George S Evans

Robert C Young

A fluorescent lamp having a multi-U-bent tubular envelope of convoluted configuration is combined with circuit means, a translucent protective cover and a base module to provide an efficient lamp unit of high brightness and long life that is compact enough to be used as a replacement for incandescent lamps in fixtures designed for residential and commerical lighting installations. Various spatial arrangements for including the ballast and starter components of the energizing circuit as integral parts of the compact lamp unit, despite the stringent space limitations, and also venting the cover and base module to provide convection cooling of the convoluted fluorescent lamp and the other electrical components are also disclosed. Tubulations provided on U-bent portions of the lamp envelope serve as phosphor-drainage means during lamp manufacture and are subsequently tipped off to form mercury-condensation chambers within the finished lamp that regulate the mercury-vapor pressure during lamp operation. The vapor-pressure regulating tubulations are so located relative to the vent openings in the lamp unit that they are exposed in the cool air which circulates through the lamp unit when the latter is energized and in use.

Compact lighting unit having a convoluted fluorescent lamp with integral

Compact fluorescent lamp unit

For fluorescent lamps which use a double layer of phosphor with manganese-activated zinc silicate phosphor in the overlying layer, a small predetermined amount of finely-divided antimony oxide is added to the first phosphor layer coating paint which, after application, is lehred at a temperature which is sufficient to volatilize the organic binder but which is insufficient to volatilize more than a minor proportion of the antimony oxide. Thereafter, the second phosphor layer coating paint which includes the zinc silicate is applied over the first-applied layer and the applied second layer coating paint is then lehred at a temperature which is sufficient to volatilize an appreciable portion of the residual antimony oxide in the first-applied layer to cause the volatilized antimony oxide to contact the zinc silicate.

Method for effectively contacting manganese-activated zinc silicate

Fluorescent lamps have a predetermined correlated color temperature and a combined efficiency and good color rendition of illuminated objects. The lamps utilize a two-layer phosphor coating comprising a layer coated onto the envelope interior surface and formed of a very high performance three-component blend which includes a blue-emitting phosphor, a green-emitting manganese-activated zinc silicate phosphor, and a red-orange emitting phosphor, all mixed in predetermined amounts and relative proportions to provide an emission of approximate predetermined x-y coordinates. Under some conditions, the phosphor blend when used as a single layer is subject to depreciation of the light output of the green component, particularly in the vicinity of the lamp electrodes which results in color shifts which are objectionable from an aesthetic standpoint. To protect the green-emitting component of the high performance blend, there is provided over the phosphor blend layer a very thin layer of finely divided phosphor which is very stable and which has an emission of approximately the same x-y coordinates as the high performance phosphor blend layer. The resulting lamp has overall improved performance from an aesthetic standpoint.

Fluorescent lamp using high performance phosphor blend which is

A fluorescent lamp having a triple-U-bent tubular envelope is combined with circuit means, a translucent protective cover and a threaded base member to provide an efficient screw-in type lamp unit of high brightness and long life that is compact enough to be used as a direct replacement for incandescent type lamps in fixtures designed for residential and commercial lighting. Various structural arrangements for including the ballast and starter components of the energizing circuit as integral parts of the compact lamp unit, despite the stringent space limitations, and also venting the cover and base structures to provide convection cooling of the compacted electrical components are also disclosed. Additional cost-saving advantages are afforded by making the triple-U-bent fluorescent lamp a plug-in type component that can be readily removed from the lamp unit and replaced with a new fluorescent lamp, thus permitting the lamp unit to be retained as a permanent part of the lighting fixture and be periodically relamped at minimal expense as required to maintain the optimum amount of illumination from the electrical energy which is consumed.

Screw-in type lighting unit having a convoluted tridimensional

A compact fluorescent lamp of high brightness is provided by a partition structure within the lamp that divides the tubular envelope into a plurality of interconnected sectors and also defines a core chamber that is not traversed by the discharge and is of predetermined size relative to the envelope. The core chamber serves both as a conduit or passageway for the lead-in conductors of one of the electrodes and as a means for enhancing the efficacy of the lamp by displacing the discharge outwardly toward the envelope walls and thus minimizing the 'light entrapment' effect deep within the envelope and the corner portions of the partition structure. The use of the core chamber as a lead wire conduit permits the electrodes to be located at the same end or opposite ends of the envelope--thereby providing 'odd-pass' discharge lamps of single-ended construction or 'even-pass' discharge lamps of double-ended construction that can be readily fabricated.

Compact fluorescent lamp having a partitioned envelope

The mercury-vapor pressure within an operating fluorescent lamp is regulated by several discrete bodies or bits of a suitable amalgamative metal (such as indium or an indium alloy) that are placed into the lamp envelope before it is sealed. The metal bodies are not secured to any of the structural parts of the lamp and are thus free to move about within the envelope. When they subsequently combine with the dosed mercury in the finished lamp, they form a plurality of mobile amalgam bodies that are distributed at random locations within the lamp and release controlled amounts of mercury vapor when the lamp is energized and the amalgam bodies are heated. The amalgamative metal is preferably dispensed into the envelope in the form of spherical pellets that are provided with a porous non-stick coating to prevent them from becoming accidentally attached to each other or to the lamp electrodes. The amalgamative metal pellets may also be combined with the mercury outside the lamp to form pellets of preformed amalgam which, when dispensed into the envelope, simultaneously doses the lamp with predetermined amounts of both mercury and amalgamative metal. The introduction of a measured amount of an amalgamative metal into the lamp, either separately or in combination with a predetermined dosage of mercury, can thus be achieved in a very simple and economical manner during the normal sequence of operations required to manufacture the lamp.

Fluorescent lamp having integral mercury-vapor pressure control means

The mercury-vapor pressure within an operating fluorescent lamp is regulated by several discrete bodies or bits of a suitable amalgamative metal (such as an indium-tin alloy in the form of pellets) that are anchored at fixed sites within the lamp during the manufacture thereof. Emplacement of the metal pellets is achieved by dropping them into the open upper end of the envelope while the circumferential seal of fused glass which joins the stem to the opposite end of the envelope is still hot and 'tacky' as a result of the sealing-in operation. The metal pellets automatically fall toward and contact the newly-formed circumferential seal and remain fused and bonded to its surface after the glass cools and rigidifies. The introduction of a controlled amount of an amalgamative metal into the lamp and its emplacement in a strategic but inconspicuous location at one or both ends of the sealed envelope are thus achieved in a very simple and economical manner during the normal sequence of operations required to manufacture the lamp.

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Verona, NJ, United States of America

Henry Skwirut