EP0661729A2 - Glühlampe hohen Wirkungsgrades - Google Patents

Glühlampe hohen Wirkungsgrades Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0661729A2
EP0661729A2 EP94309511A EP94309511A EP0661729A2 EP 0661729 A2 EP0661729 A2 EP 0661729A2 EP 94309511 A EP94309511 A EP 94309511A EP 94309511 A EP94309511 A EP 94309511A EP 0661729 A2 EP0661729 A2 EP 0661729A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
filament
lamp
switch
envelope
voltage
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.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP94309511A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0661729A3 (de
Inventor
Christopher F. Goad, Sr.
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.)
HIBASS INDUSTRIES Ltd
Original Assignee
HIBASS INDUSTRIES Ltd
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
Application filed by HIBASS INDUSTRIES Ltd filed Critical HIBASS INDUSTRIES Ltd
Publication of EP0661729A2 publication Critical patent/EP0661729A2/de
Publication of EP0661729A3 publication Critical patent/EP0661729A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01K—ELECTRIC INCANDESCENT LAMPS
    • H01K1/00—Details
    • H01K1/40—Leading-in conductors
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01K—ELECTRIC INCANDESCENT LAMPS
    • H01K1/00—Details
    • H01K1/50—Selection of substances for gas fillings; Specified pressure thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01K—ELECTRIC INCANDESCENT LAMPS
    • H01K1/00—Details
    • H01K1/62—One or more circuit elements structurally associated with the lamp
    • H01K1/64—One or more circuit elements structurally associated with the lamp with built-in switch

Definitions

  • This invention relates to incandescent lamps of the type commonly used in lighting fixtures of houses and other buildings. More particularly, it relates to improvements in such lamps for providing extended lamp life and greater operating efficiency.
  • the conventional lamp used for home lighting is commonly known as the A-line gas filled lamp and has a wattage between about 40 and 150 watts.
  • the construction parameters for such lamps are substantially uniform among different manufacturers, the lamps being designed for operation from a nominal voltage of 240 volts, 50 cycle a.c. with standard power ratings of all wattages to 150 watts.
  • Such lamps are rated for average operating life, and for standard lamps a rated life of 1,000 hours or less is typical. For convenience, these may be termed short-life lamps as compared with known lamps having extended life ranging upward from 1,000 hours to several years.
  • the primary cause of lamp failure is cohesive failure of the tungsten filament, said filament failure generally being caused by evaporation of tungsten, said evaporation being a temperature-dependent phenomenon.
  • One way of increasing the life of a given lamp is by operating the tungsten filament at a reduced temperature, as may be achieved by changing the design of the filament.
  • a typical 100 watt lamp has a coiled tungsten wire filament of 0.635 mm in diameter and an uncoiled length of 577 mm. It has an operating temperature of 2577 degrees C. and an average operating life of 750 hours. The life of this lamp could be increased while retaining the same wattage rating by changing the filament configuration so that it operates at a lower temperature; however, the efficiency in terms of lumens per watt would be decreased.
  • Another way of extending the operating life of an incandescent lamp is to reduce the effective voltage across the filament. This has been done in the prior art by connecting a rectifying diode in series with the filament so that only alternate half cycles of the supply voltage are applied to the filament. This has the effect of reducing the time average value of voltage to about 0.7 of that produced by the unrectified supply voltage. Consequently, the filament is operated at a substantially lower temperature and also at a lower efficiency in terms of lumens per watt.
  • One difficulty encountered in the use of a diode for extending lamp life is that in use with a 50 cycle current, there is a noticeable flickering effect.
  • the presently preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an incandescent lamp comprising a glass envelope, a filament supported within the envelope, electrical contacts on the outside of the envelope for applying a sinusoidal a.c. voltage to the filament, and a bidirectional switch in series between one of the contacts and the filament, the switch being operable to conduct current during a part of each of the positive and negative half cycles of the sinusoidal waveform.
  • the use of the switching device has the effect of narrowing both the positive and negative portions of the a.c. cycle during which the filament conducts current. However, because the switching device conducts during both half cycles, the "off" time is less than that obtained with a diode and hence no visible flickering occurs.
  • the envelope is filled with a gas mixture containing 75-85% of heavy gas, preferably krypton and the remainder nitrogen.
  • krypton has been found to increase the brightness of the filament.
  • the invention is applicable to all normally available incandescent light bulbs e.g. A-line lamps comprising a bulb portion and a neck portion. However, the invention is also applicable to flood lights and high wattage lamps.
  • the switch used in the present invention is preferably a voltage triggered switch.
  • a switch of this type may be triggered to conduct when the positive or negative voltage across its terminals exceeds a certain threshold.
  • the switch continues to conduct for the remainder of the instant half cycle.
  • the switch operates to "chop" the front of every half cycle, and hence reduce the average voltage applied to the filament.
  • the switch With an operating voltage of 240 volts a.c., the switch preferably conducts when a voltage greater than 180 volts is applied. This enables the average current flowing in the filament to be reduced by at least 25% of the current which would be present without the bidirectional switch. In fact the current can be reduced to between 50% and 75% whilst still achieving the advantages of longer life and no visible flicker.
  • One suitable voltage triggered switch for use in the invention is a SIDAC, which will be described in more detail below.
  • the preferred form of lamp according to the invention includes a sleeve, usually metal, surrounding a portion of the glass envelope.
  • the sleeve is often received in a socket in the lamp supply fitting.
  • the switch may advantageously be located within the sleeve.
  • FIG. 1 there is shown an embodiment of incandescent lamp according to the invention of the so-called A-line type which is commonly used for home lighting.
  • the lamp comprises a glass envelope 10 including a bulb portion 11 and a neck portion 12.
  • the envelope is completed by the conventional stem press glass mount, referred to herein as the stem 13, the flare 14 of which joins the neck portion 12.
  • the lamp includes a pair of lead-in wires 15 and 16 which extend through stem 13.
  • a coiled tungsten filament 17 is within the envelope 10 supported by the extremities of the lead-in wires.
  • the filament is of such wire size and configuration that the lamp operates at its rated wattage with a filament operating temperature less than about 2250 degrees C. At this temperature, the lamp has an extended operating life with good efficiency in terms of lumens per watt.
  • the lamp is provided with a conventional screw base or a double pin base 18 attached to the neck portion of the envelope.
  • the base comprises a threaded metal cup 19 and an electrical insulator plug 20 that encapsulates and thereby anchors the lead-in wire 15, which may be considered a centre wire.
  • the exterior face 21 of plug 20 is flat and is oriented perpendicularly to the cylindrical axis of the lamp at a location below cup 19.
  • Lead in wire 15 extends through the plug 20 to central termination 22.
  • the base is adapted to be received in a conventional lamp or double pin socket having a centred contact spring and through which a supply voltage, normally 240 volts, 50 cycle, is applied across centre wire 15 and cup 19.
  • Lead-in wire 16 is connected directly to the cup.
  • the portion of the wire 16 within the cup is preferably insulated with a length of sleeving 16a.
  • the lamp is filled with a gaseous mixture comprising 75%-85% krypton and the balance nitrogen. It has been found that, at less than a 75% krypton concentration, there is a significant loss of lumens of light per watt of energy consumed. At krypton levels above 85%, undesired arcing of the filament to the glass enclosure occurs.
  • a silicon bidirectional voltage triggered switch 24 is installed in the lamp in series with the filament 17.
  • the switch is positioned in the threaded sleeve 19 in the space between the plug 20 and the glass envelope 10, in series with the lead-in wire 15. It could alternatively be in series with wire 16.
  • the operation of the switch is as follows: Upon application of a voltage exceeding a certain breakover voltage, the switch switches on and conducts current until the current is interrupted or drops below the minimum holding current of the device.
  • the bilateral switch is available in a compact two terminal form known as a SIDAC, from Teccor Corporation, of Texas, USA.
  • Figure 2(a) shows a typical sine waveform
  • Figure 2(b) shows the output waveform from the SIDAC in response to an input sine waveform.
  • Points X and Y on the voltage scale indicate the breakover voltage.
  • the SIDAC can reduce the current applied to the filament by about 25% as opposed to the 50% achieved by a diode which achieves half wave rectification.
  • the bilateral switch conducts in both directions.
  • the switch may suitably conduct at +90 and -90 volts.
  • a bidirectional switch such as a SIDAC in series with a standard incandescent lamp will achieve a significant increase in the length of the life of the lamp. Also, since the filament is conducting for a larger portion of the cycle, there is no visible flicker at 50 cycles per second, as there would be with a conventional diode. However, using a SIDAC or diode the lamp is also correspondingly dimmer.
  • the overall life of the lamp can be further increased by using a so-called "long-life” filament which is made from thicker wire and designed to withstand higher voltages.
  • FIG 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention which is similar to the embodiment of Figure 1 except that the lamp has a so-called "bayonet" fitting.
  • the lamp of Figure 3 has a base 28 comprising a metal cup 29 from which two pins 30 extend at diametrically opposite locations. In use, the pins are received in corresponding slots in the light fitting.
  • the lead-in wires are terminated at contacts 31,32 which protrude from the base plug 20 and engage corresponding contacts on the fitting in use.
  • the SIDAC 20 can be installed in series with either of the lead-in wires 15 or 16.
  • the SIDAC is electrically in series with the filament, it may even be possible to locate it elsewhere on the lamp, such as on the outside of the metal sleeve.

Landscapes

  • Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)
EP94309511A 1993-12-30 1994-12-19 Glühlampe hohen Wirkungsgrades. Withdrawn EP0661729A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9326544A GB9326544D0 (en) 1993-12-30 1993-12-30 High efficiency incandescent lamp
GB9326544 1993-12-30

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0661729A2 true EP0661729A2 (de) 1995-07-05
EP0661729A3 EP0661729A3 (de) 1997-01-29

Family

ID=10747294

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94309511A Withdrawn EP0661729A3 (de) 1993-12-30 1994-12-19 Glühlampe hohen Wirkungsgrades.

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0661729A3 (de)
GB (1) GB9326544D0 (de)

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3573543A (en) * 1969-02-10 1971-04-06 Melvyn B Grindstaff Variable light intensity lamp socket having semiconductor mounted on heat sink thermally isolated from lamp base
GB2073510A (en) * 1980-03-28 1981-10-14 Lutron Electronics Co Control of discharge lamps
US4461973A (en) * 1982-03-19 1984-07-24 Duro-Test Corporation Energy-efficient incandescent lamp with improved filament characteristics
US4629943A (en) * 1984-06-01 1986-12-16 Ponce Jr Emiliano Long life traffic control lamp and socket insert
US5083255A (en) * 1983-04-22 1992-01-21 Nilssen Ole K Inverter with electrically controllable output
US5319283A (en) * 1991-08-05 1994-06-07 Novitas, Inc. Dimmer switch with gradual reduction in light intensity
DE4311678A1 (de) * 1993-04-08 1994-10-13 Jenoe Dr Tihanyi Vorrichtung zur Verbesserung der Lebensdauer von Glühlampen

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3573543A (en) * 1969-02-10 1971-04-06 Melvyn B Grindstaff Variable light intensity lamp socket having semiconductor mounted on heat sink thermally isolated from lamp base
GB2073510A (en) * 1980-03-28 1981-10-14 Lutron Electronics Co Control of discharge lamps
US4461973A (en) * 1982-03-19 1984-07-24 Duro-Test Corporation Energy-efficient incandescent lamp with improved filament characteristics
US5083255A (en) * 1983-04-22 1992-01-21 Nilssen Ole K Inverter with electrically controllable output
US4629943A (en) * 1984-06-01 1986-12-16 Ponce Jr Emiliano Long life traffic control lamp and socket insert
US5319283A (en) * 1991-08-05 1994-06-07 Novitas, Inc. Dimmer switch with gradual reduction in light intensity
DE4311678A1 (de) * 1993-04-08 1994-10-13 Jenoe Dr Tihanyi Vorrichtung zur Verbesserung der Lebensdauer von Glühlampen

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0661729A3 (de) 1997-01-29
GB9326544D0 (en) 1994-03-02

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