General Electric Company

Paul T Cote

William P Kornrumpf

Lewis J Schupp

Richard Blount

Edward C Zukowski

Douglas M Rutan

Joseph W Magalotti

Joseph F Schiciano

Lance G Kaczorowski

A reflector lamp assembly having an integral photo-sensor and sensing circuit arrangement associated therewith provides for sensing the ambient light conditions at a point adjacent the top surface of the lamp envelope. The photo-sensor element is disposed within a sensor housing member mounted along an edge portion of the top surface of the lamp. A channel pathway is integrally formed with the sensor housing member and extends along the side lamp envelope to protect the sensor lead wires extending from the photo-sensor device to the sensing circuitry contained in the threaded screw base. The sensing circuitry is disposed vertically within a cavity formed in the bottom of the screw base so as to achieve optimum thermal dissipation properties for the sensing circuit. A collimator tube can be inserted into an opening formed at the top of the sensor housing member so as to control the field of view for sensing the ambient light conditions occurring near the top surface of the lamp assembly.

PAR lamp having an integral photoelectric circuit arrangement

A three (3)-way lamp having a tungsten halogen-cycle inner envelope and an operating circuit for the inner envelope is disclosed. The operating circuit comprises a ballast element and two diodes lodged within the confines of the base of the lamp. The operating circuit allows the inner envelope to provide three different levels of illumination for the lamp while still maintaining the desired operation of the halogen additive within the inner envelope.

Three (3)-way lamp having a tungsten halogen inner envelope

An improved general service incandescent lamp having an improved capacitive ballast circuit for operating a low voltage filament of the lamp is disclosed. Various embodiments of an improved capacitive ballast circuit that substantially eliminates unwanted stored energy and unwanted resistive dissipation are disclosed.

Higher efficiency incandescent lighting unit having an improved ballast

A capacitively ballasted low voltage lamp utilizing a main capacitor connected electrically in series with the lamp, across an alternating current source, and one or more auxiliary capacitors that can be connected electrically across the main capacitor by switching means for one or more source waveform cycles. Each switching means comprises a unidirectional conductive device electrically connected in parallel with an active switching device. The minimum lamp current is established by the main capacitor, with additional lamp current flowing through one or more auxiliary capacitors during a source waveform cycle or integral multiples thereof.

Capacitively ballasted low voltage incandescent lamp

A power supply providing power to a low voltage lamp utilizing a main capacitor connected electrically in series with the lamp, across an alternating current source, and an auxiliary capacitor connected electrically across the main capacitor by a switching device during selected portions of the source waveform cycle. The minimum lamp current is established by the main capacitor, with additional lamp current flowing through the auxiliary capacitor during portions of the source waveform cycle when the auxiliary capacitor is electrically connected across the main capacitor. The load current is adjusted over a desired range established by the magnitude of the main and auxiliary capacitors.

Power supply for low voltage incandescent lamp

A power supply, operating at line frequencies, for energizing a low-voltage lamp and like loads, utilizes a main capacitor in series with the load across the A.C. line source, and an auxiliary capacitor connected across the main capacitor by a switching device during a selected portion of the source waveform cycle. The minimum load current is established by the main capacitor, with additional load current flowing through the auxiliary capacitor during those portions of the source waveform cycle when connected, whereby the load current may be adjusted over a range established by the magnitude of the main and auxiliary capacitors. An open-loop circuit is disclosed for controlling the portion of the cycle during which the auxiliary capacitor is connected.

Power supply for low-voltage incandescent lamp and like load

A dual voltage power supply, for example operable from 120 and 240 volts a-c and having three voltage input terminals, is provided with an input filter having three windings on a core and inductively coupled together, the three windings being connected respectively to the three input terminals. Filter capacitors are connected to the windings.

Dual voltage power supply with input filter

A sequencing flash array having flash lamps which are short-circuited across their lead-in wires after flashing. The lamps contain primer material at the bases of their bulbs and bridging across the inner ends of the lead-in wires. The primer material is a type having a low impedance after flashing, and the inner end regions of the lead-in wires are shaped to hold the flashed primer residue in place.

Flash lamp array having shorting lamps

A multiple lamp photoflash array of the FlipFlash type having flash-sequencing circuitry for causing the lamps to flash one at a time in response to firing pulses applied to the array. A radiation switch associated with the last lamp to be flashed causes a short circuit across the array's electrical terminals when the last lamp is flashed and actuates a last-flash indicator in the camera.

Last-flash indicator for photoflash array

A photoflash lamp having a pair of lead-in wires arranged within the lamp so that one wire extends laterally above the other and is of a size and material so as to deform due to heat of the flashing lamp and make contact with the other wire.

Photoflash lamp providing after-flash shorting

A photoflash lamp array having electrical terminals adapted to be connected to a camera socket. Means are provided for shorting the terminals when the array is out of a socket. This reduces the possibility of accidental flashing of lamps in the array when a connector terminal is touched by a person or object having an electrical potential such as an electrostatic voltage charge.

Photoflash array having electrical shorting means

A multiple flash lamp unit having a group of electrical connector terminals connected via circuitry to lamps in the unit in a manner so that one terminal and its associated circuitry has relatively more stray capacitance to ground than any of the other terminals and their circuitry. This one terminal is shaped and arranged to be more readily touched than the other terminals when the unit is handled, thus reducing the likelihood of lamps being accidentally flashed by electrostatic charges. Preferably, a large-area shield member is connected to the more readily touchable terminal to increase its stray capacitance to ground.

Multiple flash lamp unit

A multiple flash lamp array having a plastic housing provided with one or more openings through the housing wall adjacent to an electrical ground part of circuitry contained in the array, to provide a discharge path for an electrostatically charged person or object touching the array. This reduces the possibility of accidental flashing of lamps by electrostatic charges.

Photoflash array with discharge path for electrostatically charged person

A multiple flash lamp unit having a group of electrical connector terminals adapted to be plugged into a socket. The unit is provided with a transverse protective terminal which momentarily electrically shorts across the socket contacts while the unit is being plugged into the socket, so as to discharge any residual voltage in the firing pulse source, such as a piezoelectric element, before the lamp connector terminals engage the socket contacts. The transverse protective terminal may be integral with a lamp connector terminal, and preferably is integral with a terminal connected electrically so as to have a relatively large stray capacitance to ground.

Protective terminal for multiple flash lamp unit

A multiple flash lamp array contains a sequentially switching lamp flashing circuit in the form of a printed circuit on a surface of a circuit board. A metal shield is provided over the other surface of the circuit board to reduce the possibility of accidental flashing of lamps by electrostatic voltage, which flashing tends to occur particularly when high voltage types of lamps are used in the array. Preferably, the shield is connected electrically to a lead-in wire of each lamp in the array, and also is connected electrically to a conductive reflector member positioned near the other side of the circuit board from the shield.

Growing community of inventors

Cleveland Heights, OH, United States of America

Paul T Cote