US2009211A - Gaseous electric discharge device - Google Patents

Gaseous electric discharge device Download PDF

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Publication number
US2009211A
US2009211A US724586A US72458634A US2009211A US 2009211 A US2009211 A US 2009211A US 724586 A US724586 A US 724586A US 72458634 A US72458634 A US 72458634A US 2009211 A US2009211 A US 2009211A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
envelope
wire
lamp
helix
electrode
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
US724586A
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English (en)
Inventor
Louis James A St
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 Vapor Lamp Co
Original Assignee
General Electric Vapor Lamp 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
Application filed by General Electric Vapor Lamp Co filed Critical General Electric Vapor Lamp Co
Priority to US724586A priority Critical patent/US2009211A/en
Priority to GB13447/35A priority patent/GB446860A/en
Priority to FR789727D priority patent/FR789727A/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US2009211A publication Critical patent/US2009211A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • 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
    • H01J61/06—Main electrodes
    • H01J61/073—Main electrodes for high-pressure discharge lamps
    • H01J61/0732—Main electrodes for high-pressure discharge lamps characterised by the construction of the electrode
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T24/00—Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
    • Y10T24/40—Buckles
    • Y10T24/4072—Pivoted lever
    • Y10T24/4077—Looped strap

Definitions

  • .(Cl. 176-122) of my invention is to provide an electrode useful" in the arts generally which will have a long useful life, particularly in a metal vapor arc lamp operating at a relatively high pressure, of the order of an atmosphere.
  • a further object of my invention is to provide a novel means for reducing the, flow of heat from the portions of said lamp which are adjacent to said electrodes.
  • Still another object of my invention is to'provide a novel mounting means within my new lamp whereby it may be shipped without danger of breakage.
  • the novel cathode by which this new result is produced consists of a refractory wire, such as tungsten or molybdenum, on which there is wound a helix of tungsten or the like. The turns of this helix are fairly close together, but said helix fits loosely on the supporting wire, leaving many cavities within the helix which are filled with a 65 good thermionic emitting substance such as usual manner.
  • a further problem encountered in this type of lamp is that of preventing mercury condensation about the leadsto the electrodes.
  • I have now solved this problem in a unique manner by using a heat absorbing glass about this seal, and have furthermore made this heat absorbing glass perform the additional function of facilitating the making of the seal.
  • I likewise have discovered that by using a novel supporting structure I can further raise the temperature of the envelope about the seal through the cooperation of this supporting structure.
  • spring fingers to this novel supporting structure I have also eliminated the hazard of breakage due to movement of the inner envelope during shipment, thus eliminating what has heretofore been a serious obstacle to the development of this new type of lamp.
  • FIG. 1 is an elevational view, in part'section, of a preferred form of my novel lamp
  • Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, V I
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective view, somewhat enlarged, of my novel cathode
  • Fig. 4 is a sectional view of this cathode
  • Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively side and end views of an alternative form'of cathode.
  • the preferred form of my novel lamp has a sealed tubular envelope I of any suitable vitreous materiaL'such as glass.
  • This envelope may be either transparent or translucent, as desired.
  • this envelope is conveniently made two inches in diameter and eleven inches long.
  • a pair of inleads 2 and 3 extend through a'reentrant pinch seal at one end of said envelope, said inleads being connected to the tip and-sleeve, respectively. of a conventional mogul base 4.
  • a support wire 5 is likewise fused into said pinch seal symmetri-' cally with the inlead 3.
  • Said inlead 3 and support wire 5 are each bent outwardly and carry at their outer ends the wires 6 and 1, respectively, which are of nickel, tungsten, or any other metal having the necessary rigidity.
  • Said wires 6 and I extend parallel to the axis of the envelope I to a point near the opposite end thereof.
  • Two spaced metal collars 8 and 9 are welded to the wires 6 and 1, these collars being conveniently formed of two similar halves of sheet nickel or the like which are bent and then welded together to form a short cylinder, as particularly shown in Fig. 2.
  • a sealed tubular envelope III of suitable heat resisting vitreous material such as a hard glass, fused silica or the like, has hemispherical ends which rest in said collars l and 9, whereby it is supported in a fixed longitudinal position within the envelope I.
  • Each of the collars 8 and 9 has a second collar II of larger diameter affixed thereto, and to each of the latter there are welded a pair of spring members I2 of molybdenum or the like. Each end of said spring members I2 bears upon the inner surface of the envelope I, so that a four point resilient support is provided for each end-of the envelope I to maintain it against lateral displacement.
  • the envelope I0 is preferably made about 7 inches long and 1% inches in diameter.
  • the walls of this envelope are preferably of the order of a millimeter thick, so that it has little heat capacity and thus warms up quickly without danger of strains.
  • Ill there is an inlead I3 which is conveniently made of tungsten. Since the thermal coeilicient of expansion of tungsten is slightly higher than that of the hard glass which is ordinarily used for the enevelope I0 I find it desirable to form the hemispherical ends I 4 of said envelope of a uranium borosillcate glass which is in common use in the lamp trade and which has a coefilcient of expansion which is intermediate that of the envelope and that of tungsten.
  • a transverse wire ID of nickel or other suitable metal is welded to the inner end of each of the inleads I3.
  • Said wire I5 serves to support the electrode which consists of a tungsten wire I which rises from a welded union with one end of said wire I5 and then again descends to form a rather flat V in a vertical plane, after which it describes a horizontal circle about said V and terminates in a welded union with the other end of said wire I5, as best shown in Fig. 3.
  • Said wire I6 in practice has a diameter of It mils, and
  • a closely wound helix I! of six mil tungit as shown in Fig. 4.
  • the wires l6 and I! are coated with a substance, such as an alkaline earth oxide, which is a good thermionic emitter.
  • a coating 25 is conveniently produced, for example, by dipping the electrode assembly in a water suspension of a mixture of barium and strontium carbonates, 15 grams of each of these in 100 c. c. of water having been found to produce good results. Due to the many cavities produced between the wire I5 and the loosely fitting helix I1 considerable quantities of this activating material are retained by the electrode assembly, as illustrated in Fig. 4.
  • these electrodes When dry these electrodes are sealed into the envelope II), which is then evacuated and the carbonates then reduced by heating, as by means of a high frequency furnace, to the oxides of barium and strontium.
  • These electrodes are arranged quite close to the hemispherical ends of the envelope I0, in order to radiate as much heat to these ends as possible, and thus to avoid mercury condensation at this point. Since convection currents cause the upper end of the envelope III to be somewhat warmer than the lower end thereof, it is usually found desirable, however to mount the upper electrode I8 slightly farther away from the end than the lower electrode, as shown, in order to equalize the temperatures at the ends of the envelope.
  • the seal-off tip of said envelope is also preferably located at the upper end so that mercury condensation therein will be prevented as a result of this heating by convection currents. In a 400 watt lamp these electrodes are about six inches apart.
  • the upper inlead I3 is joined to the lead 2 by a flexible lead I8 which is conveniently formed of stranded soft nickel wire, whilethe lower inlead I3 is similarly connected by a soft stranded wire I9 to the support wire 6.
  • These stranded conductors I8 and I9 prevent the placing of any strain on the inleads I3, the envelope I0 in my novel construction being resiliently suprted entirely independently of said inleads.
  • strip 20 of rather coarse nickel gauze about an inch in width is closely wrapped around the envelope III at a point about a third of the way from the upper electrode I 6 toward the lower electrode, this wire being electrically connected to the wire 6 and thus to the lower electrode.
  • the inner envelope I0 has a filling of a rare gas, argon being preferably used, at a pressure of the order of 5 m. m. of mercury, which constitutes the ionizable medium when the lamp is first started.
  • a rare gas argon being preferably used
  • An accurately measured quantity of the vaporizable metal such as mercury, sodium, cadmium, or the like, is likewise sealed within this envelope.
  • the amount of this metal is so chosen that it will all be evaporated when the lamp is operated somewhat before a temperature equilib-. rium is attained.
  • a mercury vapor lamp it has been found that a vapor density corresponding to a temperature of the order of 360 C. is especially desirable for many purposes, hence the mercury is preferably so limited as to be completely vaporized when the coolest part of the envelope is at this temperature, 200 milligrams being ordinarily used in a lamp of the size described.
  • the outer envelope I would be evacuated in order to minimize the heat conduction from the inner envelope Ill, but in practice it is found to be impracticable to entirely degas the various metal parts therein, with the result that residual gas evolves during operation of the lamp and supports an undesired glow discharge between the leads 2 and 3. Accordingly, I prefer to fill the envelope I with a gas, such as nitrogen,
  • a 220 volt lamp I preferably use nitrogen at a pressure of approximately half an atmosphere.
  • My novel device when constructed as described. will start when an alternating current potential of 150 volts is applied thereto, this relatively low breakdown potential being due in part to the effect of the gauze 20, as set forth in my pending application, Serial No. 699,264, filed November 22, 1933, and in part to the active coating on the electrodes.
  • the geometry of these electrodes is likewise extremely important and enhances this result to a marked degree.
  • the turns of the helix l1 separate somewhat on the outside of the curves on the electrode wire l6, and likewise bear against the inside surface of said wire H at each curve.
  • the electrode shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is preferred, especially where an even greater storage capacity for the alkaline earth oxide is desired.
  • the electrode' is formed of a helix 2
  • has its axis arranged transverse to the path of the arc discharge, and the ends thereof are turned back parallel to said axis and then connected to the inleads 23 which extend through the end 14 of the envelope In, so that a relatively long connection is provided, as shown, in order to minimize heat transfer to the seal.
  • the two inleads 23 are preferably used in this case, as shown, in order to permit the passage of an electrical current through the helix during manufacture to reduce the alkaline earth carbonates to the oxides. In operation of the lamp these inleads are preferably connected together. It is to be understood, however, that a single inlead can be used, as in Fig. 1, if desired.
  • my novel lamp has a negative volt ampere characteristic.
  • my novel lamp is ordinarily operated in series with a suitable inductance 24 on 220 volts A. C.
  • the arc becomes more and more constricted and finally concentrates on a single point on the encircling helix H or 22 of each electrode 16 or 2
  • the electrode 16 With the electrode 16 the are usually takes off from the helix !1 near the apex of the V. After the mercury has all been vaporized there is, of course, no further increase in vapor density.
  • the vapor is merely superheated and behaves as a fixed gas, with a substantially constant arc drop of volts and a substantially constant current of about 2.9 amperes.
  • my novel lamp is especially desirable for street and other outdoor lighting, where the extreme variations in temperature have made it impracticable to operate a merucury vapor arc heretofore. It likewise is of advantage where my novel lamp is combined in a single fixture with incandescent lamps, for the heat radiated by the latter have virtually no effect upon the operation of my novel vapor arc lamp.
  • my novel device When operated under the conditions described my novel device has a luminous efficiency of approximately 35 lumens per watt, and this efficiency is maintained without undue depreciation throughout a long useful life of thousands of hours.
  • An electric gaseous discharge device comprising a sealed envelope, a gaseous atmosphere therein, and a plurality of electrodes sealed within said envelope, at least one of said electrodes consisting of a body of a refractory metal having a closely wound helix of a refractory metal loosely mounted thereon, and a thermionically active substance on said body and helix and within the interstices therebetween.
  • An electric gaseous discharge device comprising a sealed envelope, a gaseous atmosphere therein, and a plurality of electrodes sealed within said envelope, at least one of said electrodes consisting of a wire of a refractory metal having a closely wound helix of a refractory metal loosely mounted thereon, and a thermionically active substance on said wire and helix and within the interstices therebetween.
  • An electric vapor discharge device comprising a sealed tubular envelope of vitreous material, an inlead sealed into each end thereof, an electrode mounted on each of said inleads close to the adjacent end of said envelope, said electrodes consisting of a tungsten wire of a desired configuration on which there is loosely mounted a closely wound tungsten helix, and a coating of a thermionically active substance on said wires and within the interstices therebetween, and a vaporizable material within said envelope in an amount which is less than that necessary to saturate the space within said envelope at the normal operating temperature of said device, but which is sufficient to support a constricted arc discharge between said electrodes.
  • a cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a body of refractory metal, a closely wound helix of a refractory metal loosely mounted on said body, and a thermionically active coating on said body and helix and within the interstices therebetween.
  • a uni-potential cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a wire of tungsten which has a desired configuration, a closely wound helix of tungsten wire loosely mounted on said first mentioned wire, and a thermionically active coating on said wires and within the interstices therebetween.
  • a uni-potential cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a wire of tungsten whose ends are electrically connected together, a portion of said wire being in the form of a projecting loop, a closely wound helix of tungsten wire loosely mounted on said first mentioned wire, and a thermionically active coating on said wire and within the interstices therebetween.
  • a uni-potential cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a tungsten wire which is coiled into a helix, a closely wound helix of smaller tungsten wire loosely mounted on said first mentioned helix, and a thermionically active coating on said wires and within the interstices therebetween.
  • An electric vapor discharge device comprising a sealed tubular envelope of vitreous material containing a vaporizable substance, an inlead sealed into each end of said envelope, and a thermionic cathode on each inlead close to the adjacent end of said envelope, the end portions of said envelope consisting of a heat absorbing glass whose coefficient of expansion is intermediate that of said envelope and that of said inleads.
  • An electric vapor discharge device comprising a scaled tubular envelope of vitreous material containing a vaporizable substance, an inlead sealed into each end of said envelope, a thermionic cathode on each inlead close to the adjacent end of said envelope, a sealed enclosing jacket for said envelope, and means to support said envelope in a fixed position within said jacket, said last mentioned means including a pair of metal collars of smaller diameter than that of said envelope abutting against opposite ends of said envelope.
  • An electric vapor discharge device comprising a sealed tubular envelope of vitreous material containing a vaporizable substance, an inlead sealed into each end of said envelope, a thermionic cathode on each inlead close to the adjacent end of said envelope, a sealed enclosing jacket of vitreous material for said envelope, and means independent of said inleads to resiliently support said envelope within said jacket, said means including a collar of smaller diameter than that of said envelope abutting against the end of said envelope and having springs affixed thereto which bear upon the inner surface of said jacket.
  • An electric vapor discharge device comprising a sealed tubular envelope of vitreous material containing a vaporizable substance, 2. thermionic cathode located at one end of said envelope, a sealed enclosing jacket for said envelope, and means to support said envelope in a fixed position within said jacket and to reduce the heat loss from the aforesaid end of said envelope, said means including a collar of smaller diameter than that of said envelope abutting against said end thereof.
  • An electric vapor discharge device comprising a sealed tubular envelope of vitreous material containing a vaporizable substance, a therdiameter than that of said envelope abutting mionic cathode located at one end of said enagainst said end thereof and cooperating with velope, a sealed enclosing jacket for said envelope, said envelope to form a pocket which reduces the a gas within said jacket, and means to support flow of convection currents across the aforesaid said envelope within said jacket and to reduce end of said envelope.
  • said means including a collar of smaller

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  • Vessels And Coating Films For Discharge Lamps (AREA)
  • Discharge Lamp (AREA)
US724586A 1934-05-08 1934-05-08 Gaseous electric discharge device Expired - Lifetime US2009211A (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US724586A US2009211A (en) 1934-05-08 1934-05-08 Gaseous electric discharge device
GB13447/35A GB446860A (en) 1934-05-08 1935-05-07 Improvements in and relating to gaseous electric discharge devices
FR789727D FR789727A (fr) 1934-05-08 1935-05-08 Perfectionnements aux tubes à décharge

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US724586A US2009211A (en) 1934-05-08 1934-05-08 Gaseous electric discharge device

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US2009211A true US2009211A (en) 1935-07-23

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US724586A Expired - Lifetime US2009211A (en) 1934-05-08 1934-05-08 Gaseous electric discharge device

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US (1) US2009211A (fr)
FR (1) FR789727A (fr)
GB (1) GB446860A (fr)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2671183A (en) * 1951-09-12 1954-03-02 Gen Electric Electric discharge lamp mount
US2733363A (en) * 1956-01-31 Arc tube mount
EP0017281A1 (fr) * 1979-04-03 1980-10-15 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Lampe à décharge sous haute pression
WO2018027181A1 (fr) 2016-08-05 2018-02-08 Kuehnle Agrosystems, Inc. Production et modification de produits de fermentation au moyen d'hydrolysats lignocellulosiques peu couramment utilisés

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2043331B (en) * 1978-12-26 1982-11-17 Gen Electric Electrode for high pressure metal-vapour lamp

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2733363A (en) * 1956-01-31 Arc tube mount
US2671183A (en) * 1951-09-12 1954-03-02 Gen Electric Electric discharge lamp mount
EP0017281A1 (fr) * 1979-04-03 1980-10-15 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Lampe à décharge sous haute pression
WO2018027181A1 (fr) 2016-08-05 2018-02-08 Kuehnle Agrosystems, Inc. Production et modification de produits de fermentation au moyen d'hydrolysats lignocellulosiques peu couramment utilisés

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Publication number Publication date
GB446860A (en) 1936-05-07
FR789727A (fr) 1935-11-05

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