US1990170A

US1990170A - Gaseous electric discharge lamp device

Info

Publication number: US1990170A
Application number: US700007A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dellian Joseph
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1932-12-07
Filing date: 1933-11-27
Publication date: 1935-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 1952-02-05
Also published as: GB410700A

Description

Feb. 5, 1935. J. DELLIAN I GASEOUS ELECTRIC DISCHARGE LAMP DEVICE Filed NOV. 27, 1933 %& 4

lNVEN'i'OR RN EY e Patented Pet. 5, 1935 I i I 1,990,170

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Applicatiuliln. November 27, 1933, Serial No. 700,007

Germany December '1, 1932 4 Claims.- (01. 176-1) The present invention relates to gaseous eleclast named device can be made approximately the trio discharge lamp devices generally and to cirsame to avoid an electric discharge between the cuits for such devices. filament and the other elements of the device dur- Gaseous electric discharge lamp devices are oping the operation thereof.

erated successfully in parallel by connecting them In the drawing accompanying and forming 5 through series res stance h Object O the P t of this specification two embodiments of the present invention is to improve the luminous efinvention are shown, in which ficiency of such circuits. Another object of the Fig. 1 is a schematic view of two gaseous elecinvention is to facilitate .the starting of the gastric discharge devices connected in accordance eous electric discharge devices in such a circuit. with.v the present invention, and 10' Still u th Obj cts a d advantages at a Fig. 2 is a similar. view of a gaseous electric to the device and to its use and operation will be discharge device having two discharge paths conapparent to those skilled in the art from the folnected in accordance with the present invention. lowing particular description. Like numbers denote like partsin both the In accordance with these objects the invention figures, 15 comprises two or more gaseous electric ,discharge Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing the new and lamp devices connected in parallel through senovel circuit comprisesttwo gaseous electric disries resistances and the series connected resistance charge devices having similar structures. One of O each device is mounted in 0 n a v c Other said devices comprises a container 1, electfodes than the device to which said resistance is con- 2 a d 3 mount d on current supply leads 5 and 20 nected in series in the circuit. An auxiliary dis-- 7 aled i to the container 1 and a filament 4 charge takes place between the series resistance extending along and beyond the discharge path and One Of h electrodes o the device in 011 between said

electrodes

2 and 3. The electrodes which Sa es sta c is

unte w c d s e

2 and 3 are self-heating, thermionic electrodes of icniZeS the 88$e011$fi11in8 t0 aci ta the Starting the sintered, mixed metal and oxide type known 25 0f t main d sc in the device- The in'the art as Pirani electrodes and the filament sistance also serves to heat the container, thegas 4 i a tungsten filament. Said container 1 has a filling, the vaporizable material and the electrodes gaseous atmosphere therein comprising a rare 0f the ev in 011 which it is mounted quickly gas, such as neon, a metal vapor, such as mercury L to their operating temperature which also facilivapor or mixture f rare gases, h as neon 30 tates' the starting of such devices and increases and argon, or a mi ture of rare gas and metal. the efliciencythereof. While the series resistance vapor, h as i ture of argon and mercury can be in many forms, discussed later herein, I vapor, or neon and sodium vapor, or any 01' the Prefer filament adapted to be heated t starting gas-metal vapor mixtures known in the candescence mounted in the container of the dert, The respective similar parts of the other 35 V c The filament emits light to increase t gaseous electric discharge device are denoted by tensity and to supplement the c0101 01 the light the primes of the same numbers with the excepemitted y the gaseous electric discharge in the tion that the electrodes 2' and 3' are mounted on device and thus incr as s the l m us e i y current leads 6 and 8 respectively sealed into said 40 of the circuit. When a gaseous elect c discharge container 1'. Said filament 4 is connected to the 40 device is connected across lille the Series current supply lead 5 of said electrode 2 and to Sistehee in h e Of'e filament cannot be the current supply lead 6 of the electrode 2'. The mounted in the container or the device to which it filament 4' i connected to the current supply lead is electrically connected due to the great difler- 8 of the electrode 3' and to thecurrent supply nce in po n between said fil m and the lead '7 of the electrode 3. Said current leads 5 electrodes which results in a discharge between a d 3 r ected to the terminals of a 110 these tw elements f the dev durin he onor 220 volt source or current (not shown for pureretien thereof which quickly oys he filaposes of simplicity). 'The two gaseous electric ment. When two or more devices are connected discharge devices are thus connected in parallel in parallel in a circuit the arrangement of the and the filament 4 is a series resistance for the 0 incandescent filament in a container of a device discharge path in the device having container 1 other than the device to which the filament is and the filament 4' is a series resistance for the connectedinseries,inaccordance with the present discharge path in the device having the coninvention, is possible and practicable since the tainer 1. g filament voltage ahdthe discharge voltageinthe When potential is applied to the'above de- 55 scribed circuit glow discharges are formed between discharges ionize the gas in .the discharge path in the respective devices to facilitate the starting of the main gaseouselectric discharge therein. When the main discharge has been started in the respective devices the

filaments

4 and 4" are heated to incandescence by the discharge cur- .rent and emit light to supplement the light emitted by the gaseousIelec-tric discharge in the devices. The heat from the

incandescent filaments

4 and 4 maintains the containers 1 and 1', the gas filling, and the vaporizable material, if. any, at an elevated temperature during the operation of the devices which is of particular importance when a diflicultly vaporizable material, such as an alkali metal vapor, forms the gaseous atmosphere or is a component of the gaseous atmosphere in order to obtain an eflfective metal vapor pressure.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. In this embodimerit two discharge paths are in parallel positions in a single container 9 and the

electrodes

2 and 3, 2' and 3' and the filaments 4 and 4' are connected as described in conjunction with Fig. 1 and the gaseous atmosphere is similar to those described in conjunction with Fig. 1. The container 9 is provided with a conventional screwbase 10 having two contacts to which the current leads'for the electrodes 2 and 3' are connected. The interior of said container 9 is divided by a partition 13 which separates the two discharge paths. When-the gaseous atmosphere in the

chambers

11 and 12 of the container 9 is ofa'difierent kind, or at difierent pressures the partition 10 is gas tight. When the pressure and the gas filling is the same in all parts of the container 9 the partition is made of metal gauze or net having a suitable potential applied thereto. The vaporizable material, such as mercury, sodium, cadmium or the like is indicated by

pools

14 and 15. When three phase operation is desired three chambers similar to 1-1 and 12 are arranged symmetrically in a container, and the device is connected in such-manner that on each phase of the 3 phase current the discharge path in one chamber and the series connected filament there- 'of mounted in an adjacent chamber gives light. A very steady light is thus made available for use in the arts generally. a

While I have shown and described and have .pointed out in the annexed claims certain novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its use and operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention, for example, the electrodes of the above described devices are cold, sheet-metal electrodes or thermionic, indirectly heated, oxide coated, metal shell electrodes known in the art as Hull cathodes, when desired; the end parts of the incandescent filament are insulated from and passthrough or surround the thermionic electrodes to indirectly heat said electrodes, when desired; the known gases, vapors, or gas mixtures, or gas-vapor'mixtures which emit light similar to daylight is used in the devices, when desired; the container is made of light difiusing glass to blend the light emitted by the difierent light sources therein, when desired; the lamp devices are enclosed in transparent heat conservators, when desired, and the series resistance is of sumcient thickness so that it does not emit light during the operation of the device or is a strip of material mounted in the interior or onthe exterior of the device, when desired.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:-;-

1. An electrical circuit comprising in combinati n, a plurality of gaseous electric discharge dev-i es connected inparallelto the terminals of a current source, a series resistance for each of said devices, said series resistance being mounted in a device other than that device to which said resistance is connected in series to facilitate-the starting of the device in which said filament is mounted.

2. An electrical circuit comprising in combination, a plurality of gaseous electric discharge devices connected in parallel to the terminals of a source of current, a series resistance for each of said devices, said seriesresistance being an incandescent filament mounted in the container of a device other than that to which said filament is connected in series to facilitate the starting of the device in which said filament is mounted and to supplement the light emitted thereby.

3. An electric discharge device comprising a container, electrodes sealed therein, a gaseous atmosphere therein, a partition in saidicontainer dividing said container into chambers electrically insulated from each other, a pair of said electrodes in each of said chambers, the gaseous electric discharges in said device being connected in parallel, a series resistance for each of said discharges, said resistance being mounted in a chamber other than that containing the gaseous electric discharge to which said resistance is connected in series to facilitate the starting of the discharge in the chamber in which said resistance I is mounted.

4. An electric discharge device comprising a container, electrodes sealed therein, a gaseous atmosphere therein, a partition in said container dividing said container into chambers electrically insulated from each other, a pair of said electrodes in each of said chambers, the gaseous electric discharges in'said device being connected in parallel, a series resistance for each of said discharges, each of said resistances being an incandescent filament and being mounted in a chamber other than that containing the gaseous electric discharge to which said filament is connected in series to facilitate the starting of the discharge in the chamber in which said filament is mounted and to supplement the light emitted thereby.

- JOSEPH DELLIAN.