US2032945A - 115 volt ultra-violet lamp - Google Patents

Description

March 3, 1936. J. w. MARDEN 115 VOLT ULTRA-VIOLET LAMP 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1932 INVENTOR .7. M MHRZJE/V ATTORNEY March 3, 1936. J. w. MARDEN 115 VOLT ULTRA-VIOLET LAMP Filed April 21, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 1 11 MflRDE/V BY 71 5 2 ATTORNEY March 3, 1936. w MARDEN 115 VOLT ULTRA-VIOLET LAMP Filed April 21, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES 115 VOLT ULTRA-VIOLET LAMP John W. Marden, East Orange, N. 1., assignor to Westinghouse Lamp Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 21, 1932, Serial No. 606,554

11 Claims.

This invention relates to an ultra-violet lamp and relates more particularly to a lamp wherein a source oi ultra-violet radiations and'a source of illumination are combined in a unitary struc- 5 ure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combined ultra-violet and illuminative lamp for use on commercial line voltages.

Another object of the invention is to provide 10 a source of illumination and a source of ultraviolet light in a common envelope and wherein the separate sources cooperate with each other to accomplish the result desired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 15 will be apparent from the following description together with the accompanying drawings in which:v

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view oLa device constructed in accordance with the present inven- 20 tion, the bulb and portions 01' the structure being broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed view showing a portion of the bulb shown in Fig. 1 partly in cross section;

25 Fig. 3 is a side elevational view 01' a modified form of. the device with the bulb broken away to show the internal structure;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the bulb and structure shown in Fig. 3;

30 Fig. 5 is a side elevational view 01' another modi fication or the present construction with the bulb broken away to show the internal elements; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing a modification oi the elements for producing a glow 35 discharge.

Inasmuch as the usual commercial line voltage is about 115 volts the following description of the selected practical embodiment of the invention is considered as when used on such voltage. It is 4 to be understood, however, that the device may be so constructed and proportioned as to be operable on other voltages either greater or less to meet different conditions.

The invention may comprise a sealed container 4 such as a glass lampbulb having the usual screw base for connection to a source of electrical energy. As distinguished from the ordinary incandescent lamp bulb, however, the present container may comprise a relatively large chamber 50 and a relatively small chamber. These chambers may be in communication and separated by a battle or by a dividing wall.

,The relatively large chamber may contain a tungsten filament which may be termed the il- 55 luminant and in the smaller chamber may be disposed a pair of electrodes, a heater filament and a quantity of mercury.

As more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a practical example of the one iorm oi. the invention may comprise a bulb ll having 5 a screw base ll and a flare tube l2 sealed to'the bulb neck at I. The usual exhaust tube ll may be provided and lead wires-Ii and It may extend through a press i1 and connect with the base in the usual manner. The bulb in may comprise a 10 relatively large chamber l8 and a relatively small chamber It. The lead wire I 6 may extend from the press I1 and into the chamber is and a disk 2| oi mica or other suitable material may be disposed in the orifice 22 between chambers I B and I9.

The disk may be provided with an eyelet 23 through which the lead it extends and the lead may be bent at 24 to provide a shoulder to support the disk. The lead wire I! may have an end 25 extended from the press l1 and one end of a coiled filament 26 may be secured to the said lead end. The opposite end of the filament may be connected'to a conductor 21 which extends through an eyelet 28 in the disk II and may be 25 bent at 29 to provide a construction symmetrical with the lead It. For the purpose of insulating the lead I 6 from the filament 26 when their space relation is close, the said lead is provided with a sleeve 3| preferably of glass and support mem- 30 bers 3'! may be secured to the sleeve and may extend therefrom to retain the filament from excessive movement when the lamp is subjected to impact.

The lead wire it and the conductor 21 extend into the chamber is and their free ends 33 and 34 are spaced a suitable distance apart and are provided with electrodes 35 and 38. The electrodes may consistof tungsten points or beads at the ends of arms and each arm is electrically connected with one end of a filament or heater element 31 so arranged as to be in close proximity to a pool ct mercury 38 at the bottom of the chamber l9.

When constructing a device as above described, the bulb l8 may be of the same proportions as used for a 200 watt filament lamp. The glass of the bulb may be of such character as to transmit ultra-violet light. when constructing the device for 2 amperes the chamber It may have a volume 01' 1.2 cubic inches and ii cylindrical as shown should be about I to 1%" diameter depending onthe length of the chamber. The disk or baflle 2| does not tightly fit the orifice so that communication is had between the chambers and ii 'lindricalandshouldbeabmltsomflslmmd about liimilsindiameten 'lhefilamentorheater I! will give suillcient heat while drawing current at30to60voltstostartanarc,thefilament8l being heated sufilciently to give emission.

An appreciable amount of mercury may be placedin thechamber It; for example,anamount -may be supplied sufiicient to leave from one to three cubic millimeters oi mercury after sealing ofi. Thechamber llmaycontainaninertgas such asargon,neonorheliumatasubstantial pressuresayoi'about locm. I when the device is operated. the filament 81 is heated and radiates heat to raise the temperature of the mercury pool producing vapor at a pressure sufiicient to support an are between the electrodes 15 and 38 which is started by ionisation due to the electron emission of the filament 31. Since the chamber is is large with respect to the chamber is and the temperature of the large chamber is appreciably lower than the temperature of the small chamber is that the mercury vapor pressure in the large chamber does not become high enough to permit an are or glow discharge to take place in the presenceci the argon at the pressure used.

When an arc starts, the V l between electrodes It and it drops to about 16 volts so that the voltage across the filament 26 becomes 100 volts at which voltage it may operate at a temperature consistent with good life of the tungsten filament.

The filament 28 which serves as a ballast to steady the arc gives a small amount of ultraviolet light, the arc, however, under good working conditions, gives about five times as much vital region ultra-violet radiations as found to be possible with a two hundred watt tungsten filament in a Corex bulb.

It is well known that a tungsten filament it run at the proper temperature in a bulb perviousto ultra-violet radiations will give an appreciable amount of such radiations. The filament employed, however, consumes such an amount of energy as to make the cost of operation relatively costly compared to the amount of ultra-violet light produced. The present device which has a relatively low operation cost gives a relatively large amount of ultra-violent light and at the same time serves i'orgcneral illumination.

The present lamp can be operated without an are forming between the leads in the large cham-. ber; first, because the pressure oi mercury is too low; second, the leads are spaced a relatively great distance apart; and third, the argon presn and u. niese electrodes are in the form of arelativelylargehelicalcoilandendsthereoi are connected with terminal conductors ll and ll.

The opposite ends of the electrodesconnectwith the ends of a heater element 41 supported. by a hookmemberusecuredtoaspudllextending irom an arbor ll integral with the press II. The spud ll serves to support an 'insulative disk Ilpreierablyoimlca; earslibeingprovidedon thespudtohold'the'diskinplaceinthe orifice- It to substantially close the entrance between the compartments II and II. The terminal conductors ll and ll extend through the dish I! andaresecuredtoarmsllandflwhichextend from an enlargement II on the arbor ll. Terminals or filaments I. and I. are secured to the terminal conductors ll and 40 and the opposite terminals of the said filaments are connected to conductors ll and 4!. The container ll may be filled with an inert gas such as argon at spreasure 10 cm. and a quantity oi'mercury ll may be provided in the chamber ll. with the construction shown in Figs. 8 and 4. the operating current of the lamp serves to elevate the tem- Derature oi the filament or heater element ll suificiently to vaporize the mercury ti and promote a discharge between the electrodes 0 and 44. When such discharge occurs which is in the form oi-an arc, the voltage drops between the electrodes.

While the filaments it and I. operate at a voltage sufficient to render them incandescent and capable of serving asan illuminant they also serve as a ballast resistance ior the arc discharge.

In the constructions above described, the relatively large chamber was divided from the relatively small chamber by a disk which served to wherein the chambers by reason of the space between the disk and the wall of the container were in communication. In such a construction, the vaporized mercury which escaped into the larger chamber would, by reason of the lower tempera-. ture of the large chamber, be condensed and fiow back into the small chamber.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the large and small chambers are hermetically sealed from each other. The light giving filaments. however, are in the same operative relation to the are producing elements and serve as a ballast re sistance therefor. In Fig. 5 the bulb ll includes a relatively large chamber II and a relatively small chamber l9.

tors O3 and M extend. The lower ends of the said conductors terminate in the chamber ii and are connected with electrodes Cl and II respectively.

A heater element 01 in the form of a tungsten The small chamber II is provided with a press 62 through which conduccoil is provided with its terminals connected to the electrodes l5 and O8 and a quantity or mercury II is disposed in the lower end of the chamber ls inasmuch as the chamber II is hermetically sealed from the chamber II, the said chamber I! may be exhausted by a tubulating operation at IO. with n the chamber II are disposed a pair of light giving elements in the form of helical coils II and 12 havingends connected tcconductors C8 and M respectively. The opposite ends of the coils are connected with lead wires "II and II.

A device constructed in accm'dsnce with the showinginl 'lgJi operatesthesameasthe devices previously described and the compartment ll may be filled with a suitable inert gas or may be evacuated.

- Fig. 8 is substantially the same as the construc- -tion shown in Fig. 5 but instead oi the are producing electrodes, a pair of uni-potential cathodes l5 and 16 are provided. These cathodes, which may be termed cathode assemblies, are of similar construction and may each include a sleeve 11 having thereon an electron emissive coating 18.

Within the sleeves are disposed heater elements 18 having terminals connected with conductors 8| and 82 extending through the press 82. The sleeves 11 are electrically connected to the conductors 8| and 82 and opposite ends of the heater elements'are secured to a conductor 83 which is supported by member 84 extending from the press 62. Thus, the heater elements are connected in series. Within the chamber l8 are dis-.

posed coil filaments 85 and 85 having ends connected with the conductors 8| and 82 and other produce a glow discharge. Ordinarily, such discharge would be unstable by reason of the voltage drop, the filaments 85 and 86, however, serve as a current limiting or stabilizing means making the device a practical combination illuminating and ultra-violet lamp.

The construction shown as the glow discharge portion of the device illustrated in Fig. 6 is substantially the same as shown in co-pending application Serial No. 437,459 filed March 21, 1930 and assigned to the same assignee as is the present invention.

It is to be understood that in constructing lamps in accordance with the present invention that the entire container may be of a glass which is permeable to ultra-violet emanating from the incandescent filaments in the large container in addition to the ultra-violet produced by the glow or are discharge. On the other hand, it is contemplated to make only the relatively small container or pocket of a glass such as Corex or the like which passes ultra-violet rays in which case the lower portion of the container may be united to the upper portion by suitable means such as a graded seal well known in the lamp making art. It will be noted that in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a single filament is employed disposed adjacent to the insulative lead to avoid any discharge occurring therebetween. In Figs. 3 and 4, however, two filaments are employed and so spaced that the possibility of a discharge is removed particularly in view of the environment employed. I

A device constructed in accordance with the present invention provides an efiective and economic means of producing ultra-violet light with artificial lighting and at the same time such a lamp used at ten feet should give eight-hour-aday users from one to two erythema quantities of ultra-violet per week.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein, it is to be understood that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric discharge device comprising a sealed envelope having a relatively large compartment and a relatively small compartment in communication, a pair of electrodes in said small compartment, terminal conductors for said electrodes, a heater element bridging said electrodes, a quantity of mercury disposed in said small compartment for vaporization when heated by said element to promote a glow discharge between said electrodes, and means substantially closing one compartment from the other to restrict the glow to said small compartment.

2. An electric discharge device comprising a sealed envelope having a relatively large compartment and a relatively small compartment in communication, a pair of electrodes in said small compartment, terminal conductors for said electrodes, a heater element bridging said electrodes, a quantity of mercury disposed in said small compartment for vaporization when heated by said element to promote a discharge between said electrodes, means for partially closing one compartment from the other for restricting the discharge to said small compartment and means in said large compartment for stabilizing said discharge.

3. An electric discharge device comprising a sealed envelope having a relatively large compartment and a relatively small compartment in communication, a pair of electrodes in said small compartment, terminal conductors for said electrodes, a heater element bridging said electrodes, a quantity of mercury disposed in said small compartment to promote a glow discharge between said electrodes, a partition partially closing one compartment from the other for restricting the glow to said small compartment, an incandescent filament in said large compartment and means connecting said filament to one of said terminal conductors.

4. A combined ultra-violet'and illuminating device comprising a sealed container having a pocket, a pair of electrodes in said pock'et, said container and pocket being connected by a constricted opening, a quantity of mercury in said pocket, a heater element having its terminals connected to said electrodes and disposed to vaporize said mercury to produce a glow discharge between said electrodes, a light source in said container and an inert gaseous environment in said container at a pressure appreciably greater than the pressure of the mercury vapor sufilcient to support said glow discharge.

5. A combined ultra-violet and illuminating device comprising a sealed container having a pocket connected thereto by a passageway, a pair of electrodes in said pocket, means for substantially closing said passageway, a quantity of mercury in said pocket, a heater element having its terminals connected to said electrodes and disposed to vaporize said mercury to produce a glow discharge between said electrodes, a light source in said container and an inert gaseous environment at a pressure appreciably greater than the pressure of the mercury vapor sumcient to support said discharge and means in said container for stabilizing said discharge.

6. A combined ultra-violet and illuminating device comprising a sealed container having a pocket, a communicating passage between said container and pocket, a pair of electrodes in said appreciably greater than the pressure at the mercury vapor suihcient to support said discharge andanincandescentillamentinsaidcontainer inserieswithsaidelectrodestostabilisesalddischarge and give visible light.

'LAn electric discharge lamp comprising a sealed envelope having a relatively large compartment and a relatively small compartment in communication by means oi a constricted passage, tungsten electrodes in said small compartment, terminal conductors for said electrodes,

a vaporizable material in said small compartment to impart lumination to the discharge between the electrodes, an incandescent filament in said large compartment and a gaseous environment inert with respect to said iilament and electrodes and at a pressure appreciably higher than the vapor of said vaporizable material whereby the said vapor is substantially confined in said small compartment.

8. An electric discharge device comprising a sealed container including two communicating compartments, electrodes disposed in spaced relation and a light source 01 tungsten operating at incandescence in one compartment, cooperating electrode terminal conductors for said electrodes, a quantity oi mercury suiilcient in amount to provide mercury vapor about said electrodes at the operating temperature 0! the lamp and at a pressure high enough to give a discharge between the electrodes and a filament in the other compartment for stabilizing said discharge and operating in an atmosphereoi inert gas. means between said compartments whereby communication is provided through a restricted passage.

9. An electric discharge device comprising a sealed container including two communicating compartments, electrodes disposed in spaced relation and a light source 01' tungsten operating at incandescence in one compartment, cooperating electrode terminal conductors for said electrodes, a quantity 0! mercury sufllcient in amount to provide mercury vapor about said electrodes at the operating temperature or the lamp and at a pressure high enough to give a discharge between the electrodes 'and a filament in the other compartment in series with said electrode and an atmosphere of an inert gas in said other compartment and a partition between said compartments arranged to provide a restricted opening between said compartments.

10. An electric incandescent and discharge lamp comprising a. sealed envelope having a gas chamber and a vapor chamber in communication, means providing an opening of a predetermined area between said chambers, electrodes disposed in spaced relation in said vapor chamber, terminal conductors for said electrodes, an amount of mercury in said vapor chamber, a heater element connected to said conductors to vaporize said mercury at the operating temperature oi the device to initiate a discharge between said electrodes and means in said gas chamber for stabilizing said discharge.

11. An electric incandescent and discharge lamp comprising a sealed envelope having a gas chamber anda vapor chamber in communication, a partition between saidchambers so proportioned as to provide an opening of a predetermined area, electrodes disposed in spaced relation in said vapor chamber, terminal conductors for said electrodes, an amount 01 mercury in said vapor chamber, a heater element connected to said conductors to vaporize said mercury at the operating temperature of the device to initiate a discharge between said electrodes and a filament in said gas chamber and in series with said electrodes during the discharge.

JOHN W. MARDEN.

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