EP0901685A2 - Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna - Google Patents

Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna

Info

Publication number
EP0901685A2
EP0901685A2 EP97937893A EP97937893A EP0901685A2 EP 0901685 A2 EP0901685 A2 EP 0901685A2 EP 97937893 A EP97937893 A EP 97937893A EP 97937893 A EP97937893 A EP 97937893A EP 0901685 A2 EP0901685 A2 EP 0901685A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
lighting unit
conductive element
gas discharge
lamp
electrically conductive
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Withdrawn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
EP97937893A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Wilhelmus Hermanus Iding
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.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
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 Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP0901685A2 publication Critical patent/EP0901685A2/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/54—Igniting arrangements, e.g. promoting ionisation for starting
    • H01J61/547—Igniting arrangements, e.g. promoting ionisation for starting using an auxiliary electrode outside the vessel
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/025—Associated optical elements
    • 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
    • H01J61/32—Special longitudinal shape, e.g. for advertising purposes
    • H01J61/327—"Compact"-lamps, i.e. lamps having a folded discharge path

Definitions

  • Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna is integrated.
  • the invention relates to a lighting unit in which the gasdischarge vessel consists of two or more adjacently situated tubular elements ("legs") connected by means of a so-called bridgeconstruction and where between these legs an electrically conductive element is being placed which is galvanicly connected with one of the electrodes (filaments) of the gasdischarge lamp, preferably via a high-ohmic electrical resistor, where this conductive element functions as an additional help for ignition of the lamp and can be used also for light reflection purposes.
  • the gasdischarge vessel consists of two or more adjacently situated tubular elements ("legs") connected by means of a so-called bridgeconstruction and where between these legs an electrically conductive element is being placed which is galvanicly connected with one of the electrodes (filaments) of the gasdischarge lamp, preferably via a high-ohmic electrical resistor, where this conductive element functions as an additional help for ignition of the lamp and can be used also for light reflection purposes.
  • An other variant relates to the electrically connecting of metal parts of lighting luminaries with one electrode of a fluorescent lamp in order to improve the ignition behaviour of these lamps .
  • This construction is only feasible in those cases where the luminarie is electrically grounded.
  • the maximum allowable distance between lamp and luminarie is determined at 0.5 inch.
  • the technological evolution of fluorescent lamps has made great progress in the past decade, particularly driven by needs of energy-saving in lighting applications where incandescent lamps where applied. This relates to those applications in the light output range of 150- 1500 lumens.
  • PL and PLC lamps Basically they consists of two (PL) or four (PLC) ad acent gasdischarge tubes, connected by a bridge-construction.
  • tubular fluorescent lamp can be shortened by a factor 2 for PL and a factor 4 for the PLC types.
  • a generally accepted terminology for this types of lamps is "compact- fluorescent- lamps" (CFL) . Manufacturers of these types of lamps use codes like PLC, BIAX, BB-2 and Double-Twin.
  • ballasting purposes of these compact-fluorescent lamps one can choose for the classical electromagnetic solution, consisting of an electromagnetic coil in combination with an ignitor (glow-switch or electronic) .
  • An other option for ballasting these lamps is an electronic ballast, offering a number of additional advantages, such as higher efficiency, smaller dimensions, lower weight, improved power-factor and a better control of the lamp current.
  • a major drawback is the fact that electronic ballast's are a few times more costly than the electromagnetic ballast's. Designing electronic ballast circuitry for compact fluorescent lamps one would prefer circuitry with the characteristics of a current source because of the specific impedance of the gas discharge lamp (negative impedance) .
  • An electrical circuit of the so-called "down-convertor" type is the most simple solution with respect to the number of required electrical components .
  • the lamp current is running from cathode to anode in only one direction (uni-directional current) .
  • the inner diameter of the glass tube should be chosen sufficiently large so that the recombination of charged particles in the gasmixture will not be disturbed. Practical experiments have shown that an inner diameter of the glass tube higher than 14.5 millimeters is adequate for compact fluorescent lamps in the lumen range from 150- 1500 lumens. An additional benefit of choosing this diameter is that depreciation of light output in
  • This element can be a metal plate or a plastic element with electrical conductive coating on one or both sides of 1 the plastic material.
  • This plastic material can be chosen as transparent or non-transparent.
  • the gasdischarge vessel is optically separated into two identical parts.
  • the non-transparent element can be used as part of 15 the optical system.
  • the area of the conductive element can be chosen relatively large by which the ignition behaviour of the lamp- ballast system can be improved substantially. In most applications no additional 20 electric circuitry is needed for reliable ignition which means an enormous advantage over state-of-the-art electronic ballast's.
  • the lamp- ballast system according to this invention can compete with the classical electromagnetic ballast's on a costprice-basis 2.7' and potentially can mean that a break-through is possible in those applications where energy saving lighting systems are hampered by costs.
  • Prototypes, where the area of the conductive element was up to six times higher than the physical dimensions of the lamp has proven to be very
  • the electrical capacitance of the element will have the right value to integrate the ignitionhelp function of the conductive element with the function of ignition-capacitor in the down-convertor circuit.
  • the element is electrically connected between the two electrodes of the lamp.
  • An other special feature of the invention is the encapsulation of the electronic circuitry by a potting compound, where because of superior thermal conductive properties with respect to air (>20 times) , the lifetime of 5 the electronic components can be extended by a factor of two or three.
  • a special execution of the invention relates to a combination of a compact fluorescent lamp with an electronic ballast from the down convertortype, where the electronic 0 components are encapsulated by a potting compound in which ilmenitesand is applied as one of the filler materials. Measurements have shown that this combination has a positive effect on the regulation characteristics of the autonomous nervous system of persons that are exposed to the radiation 3 of this lamp. In this respect optimal results are made, using the lamptype "Mitsubishi BB-2, FDL9 G and FDL18 G" .
  • the electrically conductive element "1" is pointed out as AA' .
  • the main function of the element in this situation is to improve ignition performance in the combination of compact fluorescent lamp and down convertor - ballast.
  • the optical function for light reflection purposes is relatively small and in case of a transparent conductive element does not exist.
  • the legs of the plural folded gas discharge vessel are indicated with "2" while the electrodes of the lamp are indicated by "E”.

Landscapes

  • Vessels And Coating Films For Discharge Lamps (AREA)
  • Discharge Lamps And Accessories Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to a lighting unit in which the gas discharge vessel consists of two or more adjacently situated tubular elements (legs) connected by means of a bridge-construction and where between these legs an electrically conductive element is being placed which is galvanicly connected with one of the electrodes (filaments) of the gas discharge lamp, preferably via a high-ohmic electrical resistor, where this conductive element functions as an additional help for ignition of the lamp and can be used also for light reflection purposes.

Description

Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna.
The invention relates to a lighting unit in which the gasdischarge vessel consists of two or more adjacently situated tubular elements ("legs") connected by means of a so-called bridgeconstruction and where between these legs an electrically conductive element is being placed which is galvanicly connected with one of the electrodes (filaments) of the gasdischarge lamp, preferably via a high-ohmic electrical resistor, where this conductive element functions as an additional help for ignition of the lamp and can be used also for light reflection purposes.
Similar arrangements are generally known in fluorescent lamps and are being applied as an additional help for ignition purposes. In those special tubular fluorescent lamps an electrically conductive strip is fixed to the inner side of the glass wall of the discharge tube and is electrically connected with one of the electrodes of the lamp.
An other variant relates to the electrically connecting of metal parts of lighting luminaries with one electrode of a fluorescent lamp in order to improve the ignition behaviour of these lamps . This construction is only feasible in those cases where the luminarie is electrically grounded. The maximum allowable distance between lamp and luminarie is determined at 0.5 inch. The technological evolution of fluorescent lamps has made great progress in the past decade, particularly driven by needs of energy-saving in lighting applications where incandescent lamps where applied. This relates to those applications in the light output range of 150- 1500 lumens.
Successful examples of this development in energy-saving alternatives in this low lumen range from 150- 1500 lumens are the so-called PL and PLC lamps. Basically they consists of two (PL) or four (PLC) ad acent gasdischarge tubes, connected by a bridge-construction.
It is self-evident that the total physical length of the tubular fluorescent lamp can be shortened by a factor 2 for PL and a factor 4 for the PLC types. A generally accepted terminology for this types of lamps is "compact- fluorescent- lamps" (CFL) . Manufacturers of these types of lamps use codes like PLC, BIAX, BB-2 and Double-Twin.
For ballasting purposes of these compact-fluorescent lamps one can choose for the classical electromagnetic solution, consisting of an electromagnetic coil in combination with an ignitor (glow-switch or electronic) . An other option for ballasting these lamps is an electronic ballast, offering a number of additional advantages, such as higher efficiency, smaller dimensions, lower weight, improved power-factor and a better control of the lamp current. A major drawback is the fact that electronic ballast's are a few times more costly than the electromagnetic ballast's. Designing electronic ballast circuitry for compact fluorescent lamps one would prefer circuitry with the characteristics of a current source because of the specific impedance of the gas discharge lamp (negative impedance) . An electrical circuit of the so-called "down-convertor" type is the most simple solution with respect to the number of required electrical components . In the combination of a compact fluorescent lamp and a down-convertor ballast type the lamp current is running from cathode to anode in only one direction (uni-directional current) . The inner diameter of the glass tube should be chosen sufficiently large so that the recombination of charged particles in the gasmixture will not be disturbed. Practical experiments have shown that an inner diameter of the glass tube higher than 14.5 millimeters is adequate for compact fluorescent lamps in the lumen range from 150- 1500 lumens. An additional benefit of choosing this diameter is that depreciation of light output in
"over-powering" conditions, due to excessive heating of the glass, is less than with commonly used 10 millimeter glass tube diameters.
In most cases the electrical properties of an electrical circuit from the down convertor type are not sufficient to guarantee reliable ignition of the lamp. It is a general object of this invention to provide an electrically conductive element that is placed between the legs of a plural folded gasdischarge lamp i.e. a compact fluorescent lamp, and is galvanicly connected with one of the 3 electrodes of the lamp, by which the ignition behaviour of the lamp is substantially improved without the need for additional electronic circuitry.
This element can be a metal plate or a plastic element with electrical conductive coating on one or both sides of 1 the plastic material. This plastic material can be chosen as transparent or non-transparent. In case of a non-transparent element the gasdischarge vessel is optically separated into two identical parts. For purposes of light reflection of a luminarie the non-transparent element can be used as part of 15 the optical system.
It is an object of the invention that the area of the conductive element can be chosen relatively large by which the ignition behaviour of the lamp- ballast system can be improved substantially. In most applications no additional 20 electric circuitry is needed for reliable ignition which means an enormous advantage over state-of-the-art electronic ballast's. This means that the lamp- ballast system according to this invention can compete with the classical electromagnetic ballast's on a costprice-basis 2.7' and potentially can mean that a break-through is possible in those applications where energy saving lighting systems are hampered by costs. Prototypes, where the area of the conductive element was up to six times higher than the physical dimensions of the lamp has proven to be very
•j successful .
It is another object of the invention to use a printed-circuit-board laminate as the conductive element. By choosing sufficient area the electrical capacitance of the element will have the right value to integrate the ignitionhelp function of the conductive element with the function of ignition-capacitor in the down-convertor circuit. In this case the element is electrically connected between the two electrodes of the lamp. An other special feature of the invention is the encapsulation of the electronic circuitry by a potting compound, where because of superior thermal conductive properties with respect to air (>20 times) , the lifetime of 5 the electronic components can be extended by a factor of two or three.
A special execution of the invention relates to a combination of a compact fluorescent lamp with an electronic ballast from the down convertortype, where the electronic 0 components are encapsulated by a potting compound in which ilmenitesand is applied as one of the filler materials. Measurements have shown that this combination has a positive effect on the regulation characteristics of the autonomous nervous system of persons that are exposed to the radiation 3 of this lamp. In this respect optimal results are made, using the lamptype "Mitsubishi BB-2, FDL9 G and FDL18 G" .
The invention will be illustrated with figures that shows the dimensional placing of the conductive element in the front view of the gas discharge vessel of compact 0 fluorescent lamps:
In figure 1 the electrically conductive element "1" is pointed out as AA' . The main function of the element in this situation is to improve ignition performance in the combination of compact fluorescent lamp and down convertor - ballast. The optical function for light reflection purposes is relatively small and in case of a transparent conductive element does not exist. The legs of the plural folded gas discharge vessel are indicated with "2" while the electrodes of the lamp are indicated by "E".
;n In figure 2 the electrically conductive element "1" is pointed out by BB' . In this case the element will function as an effective ignition antenna because of the relatively large area, but in the second place functions as part of the optical system. The lamp is split up in two identical parts where each part can be handled separately for light reflection purposes. The legs are indicated by "2" and the lampelectrodes by "E". In the figures 3 and 4 the invention is illustrated for two-legs lampconstructions (PL) . The meaning of the indices are equivalent as in figures 1 and 2.
In figure 5 a special construction of the conductive element "1" , where the optical part of the functions is minor , but the hollow inner side "H" of the element "1' can be used as an injection-nozzle for the encapsulation of the electronic components by a compound. It is obvious that the room inside "H" can also be used to position one or more electronic components of the electronic ballast circuitry.

Claims

1. Lighting unit, provided with an electrically conductive element 1 that is positioned between the legs 2 of a plural folded gas discharge vessel and is galvanicly
~ connected with one of the electrodes E of this discharge vessel .
2. Lighting unit of claim 1, wherein the physical dimensions of the electrically conductive element with respect to surfacearea are larger by a factor between 1 and 0 10 than the physical dimensions of the gas discharge vessel.
3. Lighting unit of claim 1 and 2, wherein the electrically conductive element is part of the optical system of a lighting device in which the lighting unit according to the invention is part of. 5
4. Lighting unit of claim 1 wherein the the gas discharge vessel is ballasted by an electrical circuit of the down convertor type, providing a lampcurrent with a unidirectional orientation.
5. Lighting unit of claim 1 wherein the inner diameter of the gasdischarge vessel is at least 15 millimeters.
6. Lighting unit of claim 1 wherein the gas discharge lamp generates only the color green.
7. Lighting unit of claim 4 wherein the electrical components of the electronic ballast are encapsulated by a - compound wherein ilmenitesand is used as part of the filler materials to ensure a positive effect on the autonomous nervous system of persons that are exposed to the radiation of the lighting unit of this invention.
EP97937893A 1997-01-30 1997-08-28 Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna Withdrawn EP0901685A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL1005130 1997-01-30
NL1005130 1997-01-30
PCT/NL1997/000489 WO1998036439A2 (en) 1997-01-30 1997-08-28 Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0901685A2 true EP0901685A2 (en) 1999-03-17

Family

ID=19764306

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP97937893A Withdrawn EP0901685A2 (en) 1997-01-30 1997-08-28 Lighting unit with integrated reflector-antenna

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0901685A2 (en)
WO (1) WO1998036439A2 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP1169728B1 (en) * 2000-02-11 2008-08-27 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Unit comprising a high-pressure discharge lamp and an ignition antenna
DE102011081749B4 (en) * 2011-04-29 2016-04-14 Von Ardenne Gmbh Substrate treatment plant

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2825795A (en) * 1953-11-25 1958-03-04 Andrew F Henninger Flashtube mounting structure
US3993922A (en) * 1976-01-05 1976-11-23 Gte Sylvania Incorporated Arc discharge lamp with integral trigger electrode
US4321502A (en) * 1979-12-03 1982-03-23 General Electric Company U-Shaped discharge lamp with starting strip
JPS57182905A (en) * 1981-04-13 1982-11-11 Gen Electric U-shaped discharge lamp
US4523126A (en) * 1982-04-15 1985-06-11 General Electric Company Shaped discharge lamp with starting aid
DE3221439A1 (en) * 1982-06-07 1983-12-08 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft für elektrische Glühlampen mbH, 8000 München Electrical discharge lamp
DE3301395C1 (en) * 1983-01-18 1984-01-26 Jürgen 5650 Solingen Rensch Signal light for water craft
FR2590725B1 (en) * 1985-06-27 1988-06-17 Elf Aquitaine FLUORESCENT TUBE LAMP
US5526244A (en) * 1993-05-24 1996-06-11 Bishop; Vernon R. Overhead luminaire

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO9836439A3 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO1998036439A3 (en) 1999-01-14
WO1998036439A2 (en) 1998-08-20

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8941304B2 (en) Fast start dimmable induction RF fluorescent light bulb
US9245734B2 (en) Fast start induction RF fluorescent lamp with burst-mode dimming
US9209008B2 (en) Fast start induction RF fluorescent light bulb
EP0827184B1 (en) Compact electrodeless fluorescent a-line lamp
US9129792B2 (en) Fast start induction RF fluorescent lamp with reduced electromagnetic interference
US10128101B2 (en) Dimmable induction RF fluorescent lamp with reduced electromagnetic interference
US9305765B2 (en) High frequency induction lighting
US9524861B2 (en) Fast start RF induction lamp
US9460907B2 (en) Induction RF fluorescent lamp with load control for external dimming device
US20140145607A1 (en) Dimmable high frequency induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140145637A1 (en) Induction rf fluorescent light bulb with synchronized burst-mode dimming
US20140145601A1 (en) Dimmable induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140145606A1 (en) High frequency induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140145608A1 (en) Fast start high frequency induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140145598A1 (en) High frequency induction rf fluorescent lamp with burst-mode dimming
US20140145618A1 (en) Dimmable induction rf fluorescent light bulb
WO2014082039A1 (en) Induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140320008A1 (en) Processor-based fast start induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140145604A1 (en) Induction rf fluorescent lamp
US20140145603A1 (en) Induction rf fluorescent lamp with reduced electromagnetic interference
US20140145602A1 (en) Induction rf fluorescent lamp with burst-mode dimming
US20140145605A1 (en) High frequency induction rf fluorescent lamp with reduced electromagnetic interference
CA2059209C (en) Rf fluorescent lighting
US20140145597A1 (en) Processor-based induction rf fluorescent lamp
JPH06508955A (en) Solar energy lamp using cold cathode fluorescent lighting and method of operating the lamp

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): DE DK NL PT

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19990212

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20000301