EP0660376B1 - Lampe sans électrode - Google Patents

Lampe sans électrode Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0660376B1
EP0660376B1 EP19940309544 EP94309544A EP0660376B1 EP 0660376 B1 EP0660376 B1 EP 0660376B1 EP 19940309544 EP19940309544 EP 19940309544 EP 94309544 A EP94309544 A EP 94309544A EP 0660376 B1 EP0660376 B1 EP 0660376B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
envelope
lamp
dielectric housing
metal turn
shorted metal
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19940309544
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0660376A3 (fr
EP0660376A2 (fr
Inventor
Victor David Roberts
Sayed-Amr Ahmes El-Hamamsy
Timothy Alan Taubert
James Dominic Mieskoski
Steven Everest
Basil Antonis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
General Electric Co
Original Assignee
General Electric Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB939326123A external-priority patent/GB9326123D0/en
Priority claimed from US08/220,862 external-priority patent/US5461284A/en
Application filed by General Electric Co filed Critical General Electric Co
Publication of EP0660376A2 publication Critical patent/EP0660376A2/fr
Publication of EP0660376A3 publication Critical patent/EP0660376A3/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0660376B1 publication Critical patent/EP0660376B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/30—Vessels; Containers
    • H01J61/35—Vessels; Containers provided with coatings on the walls thereof; Selection of materials for the coatings
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/04—Electrodes; Screens; Shields
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/30—Vessels; Containers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J65/00—Lamps without any electrode inside the vessel; Lamps with at least one main electrode outside the vessel
    • H01J65/04—Lamps in which a gas filling is excited to luminesce by an external electromagnetic field or by external corpuscular radiation, e.g. for indicating plasma display panels
    • H01J65/042—Lamps in which a gas filling is excited to luminesce by an external electromagnetic field or by external corpuscular radiation, e.g. for indicating plasma display panels by an external electromagnetic field
    • H01J65/048—Lamps in which a gas filling is excited to luminesce by an external electromagnetic field or by external corpuscular radiation, e.g. for indicating plasma display panels by an external electromagnetic field the field being produced by using an excitation coil
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/56—One or more circuit elements structurally associated with the lamp

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to electrodeless lamps and, more particularly, to apparatus, i.e., a "virtual fixture", for reducing variations in performance of an electrodeless lamp when operating within or without an electrically conductive fixture.
  • an electrodeless lamp e.g., an electrodeless fluorescent lamp
  • a fixture with an electrically conductive outer shell results in significant variations in lamp performance, such as changes in lamp input power, output lumens, and ballast power loss. Changes in input power and output lumens are, to say the least, an inconvenience for the consumer, but changes in ballast power loss can significantly increase ballast temperature and shorten ballast life.
  • the changes in lamp performance upon installation in a fixture are caused by interaction between the electromagnetic fields produced by the excitation coil in the electrodeless fluorescent lamp and the conductive shell of the fixture. This interaction changes the impedance of the loaded drive coil as viewed from the ballast, and hence changes system performance.
  • a typical electrodeless fluorescent lamp ballast employs a resonant circuit.
  • One approach to maintaining nominal performance of a resonant circuit is to use a feedback circuit in which an output variable is measured and fed back to a controller.
  • the controller changes a control variable, such as input voltage or operating frequency, in such a manner that the circuit either runs with constant output power or operates at high efficiency.
  • a control variable such as input voltage or operating frequency
  • an electrodeless fluorescent lamp which allows the ballast to be adjusted for optimized performance outside of an electrically conductive fixture, while maintaining this performance even when the lamp is installed in a fixture that is electrically conductive.
  • an electrodeless discharge lamp in accordance with claim 1.
  • an electrodeless lamp (e.g., an electrodeless fluorescent lamp) comprises a dielectric housing shaped to conform to a portion of a lamp envelope, which housed portion is opposite to a portion through which light is emitted.
  • the dielectric housing includes a continuous conductor, i.e., a shorted turn, situated between the dielectric housing and the lamp envelope which conforms to at least a portion of the dielectric housing.
  • the configuration of the shorted turn in terms of its location and amount of surface area occupied thereby, is optimized to minimize interaction between the excitation coil and any electrically conductive fixture and to avoid interfering with lamp starting and light output.
  • Figure 1 illustrates a typical electrodeless fluorescent discharge lamp 10 having an envelope 12 containing an ionizable gaseous fill.
  • a suitable fill for example, for the electrodeless fluorescent lamp of Figure 1 comprises a mixture of a rare gas (e.g., krypton and/or argon) and mercury vapor and/or cadmium vapor.
  • An excitation coil 14 is situated within, and removable from, a re-entrant cavity 16 within envelope 12.
  • coil 14 is shown schematically as being wound about a magnetic core 15, i.e., having a permeability greater than one, which is situated about an exhaust tube 20 that is used for filling the lamp.
  • the coil may be wound about the exhaust tube itself, or may be spaced apart from the exhaust tube and wound about a core of insulating material, or may be free standing, as desired.
  • the interior surfaces of envelope 12 are coated in well-known manner with a suitable phosphor 18.
  • Envelope 12 fits into one end of a base assembly 17 containing a radio frequency power supply (not shown) with a standard (e.g., Edison type) lamp base 19 at the other end.
  • Lamp 10 is illustrated as being of a reflective type; that is, light emitted within envelope 12 is reflected by a reflector, illustrated as comprising a reflective coating 34 on a portion of the interior or exterior surface of the envelope, such that light is emitted through an opposing portion 36 of the envelope.
  • a reflector illustrated as comprising a reflective coating 34 on a portion of the interior or exterior surface of the envelope, such that light is emitted through an opposing portion 36 of the envelope.
  • An exemplary reflective coating is comprised of titania.
  • a dielectric housing, 32 e.g., comprised of plastic, is illustrated as being situated around the reflective portion of envelope 12.
  • an electrodeless fluorescent lamp comprises a shorted turn for minimizing interaction with any metallic lamp fixture of well-known type (not shown) for supporting lamps and directing the light emitted therefrom.
  • FIGS 2a and 2b illustrate an electrodeless fluorescent lamp 30 according to the present invention including a continuous conductor, or shorted turn, 40 which conforms to at least a portion of housing 32 and is situated between housing 32 and lamp envelope 12.
  • the shorted turn may be attached to housing 32 in any suitable manner; for example, it may be glued, snap fit, or injection molded to the housing. Alternatively, the shorted turn may be attached to envelope 12 or may be incorporated into the housing.
  • shorted turn 40 is an ever-present conductive wall that functions to carry current in the same manner as an electrically conductive fixture would if the lamp were installed in one; thus, the shorted turn acts as a "virtual fixture".
  • the lamp can be adjusted for optimized operation when not installed in an electrically conductive fixture, such that performance of the lamp will not change substantially when installed therein.
  • Shorted turn 40 is comprised of any suitable metal, e.g., copper, or combination of metals.
  • the configuration of the shorted turn, in terms of its location and amount of surface area occupied thereby, is optimized to minimize interaction with any electrically conductive fixture and to avoid interfering with lamp starting and light output.
  • the thickness of the metal comprising the shorted turn is at least the skin depth at the operating frequency of the lamp to ensure that substantially all the magnetic field generated by excitation coil 14 at the location of the shorted turn induces currents to flow therein.
  • the resistance around the shorted turn should be sufficiently low to minimize losses therein.
  • Dielectric housing 32 functions not only to support shorted turn 40, but also functions to protect a lamp user from potential electric shocks in case of contact with the shorted turn.
  • the width of the shorted turn is represented by w in Figures 2a and 2b.
  • the shorted turn substantially covers the underside of the dielectric housing such that w is substantially the width of dielectric housing 32.
  • the width is too great, then the shorted turn would interfere with stray electric fields used to start the lamp.
  • making the shorted turn extend beyond the reflective coating would interfere with light output. Therefore, the shorted turn should not extend beyond the portion of the envelope covered by the reflector.
  • Figures 3a and 3b illustrate an alternative embodiment of an electrodeless fluorescent lamp 30' according the present invention wherein a shorted turn 40' is significantly narrower ( w ' ⁇ w ) than that of Figures 2a and 2b.
  • the configuration of the shorted turn is optimized in terms of the location and amount of surface area occupied to minimize interaction with any metallic fixture and to avoid interfering with lamp starting and light output.
  • a shorted turn for an electrodeless lamp significantly reduces variations in lamp performance between operating in a conductive fixture and operating without a fixture.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Discharge Lamps And Accessories Thereof (AREA)
  • Circuit Arrangements For Discharge Lamps (AREA)
  • Fastening Of Light Sources Or Lamp Holders (AREA)

Claims (13)

  1. Lampe (30, 30') à décharge sans électrode, comprenant :
    une enveloppe (12) transmettant la lumière, contenant une charge gazeuse ionisable destinée à entretenir une décharge d'arc (23) sous l'action d'un champ magnétique alternatif et à émettre de la lumière, ladite enveloppe (12) comportant une partie centrale et comportant de plus un culot de lampe (17) à l'une de ses extrémités, ledit culot étant adapté pour une installation dans un support de lampe (25) comprenant un matériau conduisant l'électricité; et
    une bobine d'excitation (14) située à proximité de ladite enveloppe et destinée à fournir ledit champ magnétique alternatif lorsqu'elle est excitée par une source d'énergie à courant alternatif;
       caractérisée par
       un élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') comprenant un conducteur continu situé entre ladite enveloppe (12) et ledit support (25), ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit couvrant une partie de ladite enveloppe, et ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit minimisant l'interaction électromagnétique entre ladite bobine d'excitation et ledit support.
  2. Lampe selon la revendication 1, comprenant de plus un logement diélectrique (32) situé autour d'une partie de ladite enveloppe, ledit logement diélectrique comportant une face inférieure faisant face à ladite enveloppe, ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') étant maintenu en position entre ladite enveloppe et ledit support.
  3. Lampe selon la revendication 1, dans laquelle ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') couvre une portion de ladite enveloppe vers la partie centrale de celle-ci.
  4. Lampe selon la revendication 1, comprenant une lampe fluorescente sans électrode, ladite décharge d'arc émettant un rayonnement ultraviolet lorsqu'elle est soumise audit champ magnétique alternatif, ladite enveloppe comportant un revêtement interne luminophore (18) destiné à émettre un rayonnement visible lorsqu'il est excité par ledit rayonnement ultraviolet, ladite enveloppe comportant de plus à l'intérieur une cavité rentrante (16), ladite bobine d'excitation étant contenue à l'intérieur de ladite cavité rentrante, ladite lampe comprenant de plus un logement diélectrique (32) situé autour d'une partie de ladite enveloppe.
  5. Lampe selon la revendication 4, comprenant de plus un réflecteur (34) situé autour d'une partie réflectrice de ladite enveloppe et servant à réfléchir la lumière à travers une partie (36) émettrice de lumière de ladite enveloppe située à l'opposé de ladite partie réflectrice.
  6. Lampe selon la revendication 5, dans laquelle ledit réflecteur (34) comprend un revêtement réfléchissant sur ladite enveloppe.
  7. Lampe selon la revendication 5, dans laquelle ledit logement diélectrique (32) couvre ladite partie réflectrice de ladite enveloppe, et ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') couvre la face inférieure dudit logement diélectrique.
  8. Lampe selon la revendication 5, dans laquelle ledit logement diélectrique (32) couvre ladite partie réflectrice de ladite enveloppe, et ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') couvre une partie de ladite partie réflectrice de ladite enveloppe vers la partie centrale de celle-ci.
  9. Lampe selon la revendication 2 ou 4, dans laquelle ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') est fixé audit logement diélectrique (32).
  10. Lampe selon la revendication 2 ou 4, dans laquelle ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') est fixé à ladite enveloppe (12).
  11. Lampe selon la revendication 2 ou 4, dans laquelle ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') est incorporé audit logement diélectrique (32).
  12. Lampe selon la revendication 2 ou 4, dans laquelle ledit logement diélectrique (32) s'étend sur ladite enveloppe (12) au-delà dudit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40').
  13. Lampe selon la revendication 2 ou 4, dans laquelle ledit logement diélectrique (32) comprend une matière plastique, et ledit élément métallique formant spire en court-circuit (40, 40') comprend du cuivre.
EP19940309544 1993-12-22 1994-12-20 Lampe sans électrode Expired - Lifetime EP0660376B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB939326123A GB9326123D0 (en) 1993-12-22 1993-12-22 Electrodeless fluorescent lamp
GB9326123 1993-12-22
US220862 1994-03-31
US08/220,862 US5461284A (en) 1994-03-31 1994-03-31 Virtual fixture for reducing electromagnetic interaction between an electrodeless lamp and a metallic fixture

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0660376A2 EP0660376A2 (fr) 1995-06-28
EP0660376A3 EP0660376A3 (fr) 1996-11-27
EP0660376B1 true EP0660376B1 (fr) 1999-03-24

Family

ID=26304063

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19940309544 Expired - Lifetime EP0660376B1 (fr) 1993-12-22 1994-12-20 Lampe sans électrode

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0660376B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPH07262972A (fr)
DE (1) DE69417379T2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE29519182U1 (de) * 1995-12-04 1996-01-25 Hahn, Walter, 95349 Thurnau Beleuchtungseinrichtung mit einer Induktions-Reflektorlampe
US5959405A (en) * 1996-11-08 1999-09-28 General Electric Company Electrodeless fluorescent lamp
TW550624B (en) * 2001-04-26 2003-09-01 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Self-ballasted electrodeless discharge lamp and electrodeless discharge lamp
JP2003109548A (ja) * 2001-09-28 2003-04-11 Matsushita Electric Works Ltd 無電極放電灯点灯装置
WO2006001091A1 (fr) * 2004-06-25 2006-01-05 Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. Lampe à décharge sans électrode
KR100805850B1 (ko) * 2006-06-26 2008-02-21 김창식 무전극 램프의 결착장치

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS60115144A (ja) * 1984-11-16 1985-06-21 Hitachi Ltd 反射形高圧金属蒸気放電灯
GB2249825B (en) * 1990-10-15 1994-06-22 Koito Mfg Co Ltd Vehicular headlamp
US5343370A (en) * 1990-10-23 1994-08-30 Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Motor vehicle headlamp

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH07262972A (ja) 1995-10-13
EP0660376A3 (fr) 1996-11-27
DE69417379D1 (de) 1999-04-29
DE69417379T2 (de) 1999-10-14
EP0660376A2 (fr) 1995-06-28

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