Lamp life extender

Abstract

A thin disc-like device for attachment to the base end of an incandescent light bulb to provide an auxiliary voltage reducing circuit interfaced between the central base contacts of the light bulb and its cooperating lampholder for purposes of extending the rated life of the light bulb. The device is made up of a generally annular insulator base, which protectively houses, locates and mounts a laminated contact assembly made up of a pair of registeringly disposed brass or copper foil electrical conductor contact plates separated by an intervening sheet insulator; the conductor plates having interfacial soldered connections with an interposed flat leaderless silicon rectifier chip. A compressible annular mounting gasket is adhesively secured to the upper side of the contact assembly, its base housing and the base of the light bulb. The uppermost contact plate is engageably exposed to the base contact of the light bulb while the lowermost contact plate is likewise exposed to the base contact of the lampholder in operation. Axial separation of the bulb and lampholder base contacts is limited to the thin laminated thickness of the contact plates and separating insulator so as to normally maintain the conductor base shell of the light bulb within the upper limits or outer end of the lampholder in operation. An auxiliary insulator shield is optionally provided to further protect the user from contacting 'live' metal of the bulb's base shell, due to inconsistency of bulb manufacture resulting in variations in the length or extent of the bulb bases.