US2152985A - Electric gaseous discharge device - Google Patents

Electric gaseous discharge device Download PDF

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Publication number
US2152985A
US2152985A US238866A US23886638A US2152985A US 2152985 A US2152985 A US 2152985A US 238866 A US238866 A US 238866A US 23886638 A US23886638 A US 23886638A US 2152985 A US2152985 A US 2152985A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
electrode
electrodes
neon
discharge device
gaseous discharge
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
US238866A
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English (en)
Inventor
Alterthum Hans
Lompe Arved
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General Electric Co
Original Assignee
General Electric Co
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Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB3210337A external-priority patent/GB500390A/en
Application filed by General Electric Co filed Critical General Electric Co
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US2152985A publication Critical patent/US2152985A/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
    • H01J17/00—Gas-filled discharge tubes with solid cathode
    • 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
    • H01J61/067—Main electrodes for low-pressure discharge lamps
    • H01J61/0672—Main electrodes for low-pressure discharge lamps characterised by the construction of the electrode
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J2893/00—Discharge tubes and lamps
    • H01J2893/0064—Tubes with cold main electrodes (including cold cathodes)

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to electric gaseous discharge devices, and particularly to cathodes of the so-called cold type for use in these devices.
  • a particular object of the invention is to provide a discharge device containing a rare gas, such as neon, at low pressure which will have a long useful life. Another object of the invention is to provide a discharge device having a high 1o luminous eificiency. A further object of the invention is to provide an improved cathode of the so-called cold type. Still further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description or from an inspec- 5 tion of the accompanying drawing.
  • the form and length of the slits or slots can be as desired.
  • the electrodes are, for instance, made of hollow, sheet metal bodies in which slots of the above given width are stamped out, or alternatively the electrode consists of a wire wound into a helix, or of equally large wire rings arranged above each other with space between them, or of wire rods which are arranged beside each other in a circle like a grid and which run in the longitudinal direction of the discharge, while the distance between the helical windings or between the wire parts which run parallel in a longitudinal or transverse direction, all of which consist preferably of iron wire of 0.5 mm. thickness, expediently amounts to 0.5 mm.
  • the spattered particles which fly all all the electrode parts are also prevented from reaching the vessel wall, where desired, by means of a sheet metal mantle which is concentrically placed around the hollow electrode with space between them, but which is not electrically connected with the electrode, so that no blackening occurs on the vessel wall.
  • the appearance and the behavior of the electrodes during operation is practically the same as that of hollow cylindrical electrodes made of imperforate sheet metal, that is the cathode glow light afiixes itself inside of the hollow space and does not penetrate for instance through the individual slits or envelope them, as is the case with cathode glow light lamps having a wireshaped or net-shaped electrode. Therefore, only a cohesive glow-film is formed inside of the electrode, and the electrode therefore also has the same low cathode fall as an electrode of imperforate sheet metal.
  • the fact that the gas consumption is surprisingly so much smaller evidently is due to the fact that the rare gas ions, which are accelerated in the cathode fall and which therefore easily succumb to consumption, in part do not strike the metallic parts of the electrode but pass through the intermediate spaces of the latter, after they have been discharged in the glow layer.
  • the increase in the gas consumption which occurs upon enlargement of the intermediate spaces is due in all probability to the fact that, even though the glow-film is then still cohesively present to the eye, the electric field in the glow-film has a preferential direction toward the metallic parts of the electrode, so that also a larger part of the arriving rare gas ions again strike these metallic parts.
  • High voltage luminous tubes according to the invention are filled, for instance, with neon of 3 mm. pressure; they then have a larger light yield and burn more steadily than tubes with, for instance, neon of 6 mm. of the hitherto customary filling. With a neon pressure of 2 mm. a still further increase in the light yield with a more uniform filling-out of the tube cross section by the light of the positive column is achieved.
  • the electrodes of the above mentioned construction have a diameter of about 20 mm. and a length of about 90 mm. Thereby the current density in the cathode is reduced, which fact contributes to a further reduction of the gas consumption.
  • the electrode of a high voltage luminous tube according to the invention is shown schematically in front view in Fig. 1.
  • the pinch stem I oarries the three electrode supports 2, 2 and 2", of which only the middle one 2' is carried through the stem and serves for actual current feeding. All three electrode supports continue in the props 3, 3' and 3" which carry the helix 4 which is wound from 0.5 mm. thick wire with an intermediate space of 0.5 mm., and which props, for instance are welded to the helix at three places.
  • the uppermost winding 5 and the lowermost winding 6 of the wire helix 4 are thickened or consist of special rings of thicker wire.
  • Fig 2 an electrode is shown which is constructed like that of Fig. 1, except for the addition of a bottom plate 1 of insulating material which expediently consists of mica, quartz, glass or a ceramic material, in order to be able to withstand the temperatures which occur during degassing of the electrode.
  • This bottom plate of insulating material closes the end of the electrode and serves, according to the invention, to shield the lower metallic parts of the electrode which are otherwise especially exposed to spattering, that is the electrode supports 2, 2' and 2", from bombardment by the discharge.
  • an electrode for a mercury high voltage luminous tube with a neon filling which electrode, at its rear end, has a vessel which subsequently delivers mercury and which serves in the same manner as the plate I of Fig. 2 to close the electrode body.
  • the vessel consists of a sheet metal hollow body 8 which is closed on all sides except for an opening 9 toward the side of the discharge path, which opening is lengthened into the inside of the sheet metal hollow body 8 by means of a sheet metal capillary ID.
  • This sheet metal hollow body contains a small amount of mercury II which, upon heating of the sheet metal hollow body by means of the discharge, provides the mercury vapor which serves for subsequently feeding the tube filling.
  • An electrode for mercury luminous tubes with a low rare gas filling pressure which electrode according to the invention is constructed in this manner and does not consume gas, avoids discoloration at winter temperatures. That part of the sheet metal hollow body 8 which faces the electrode can moreover be covered, where desired, with an insulating plate 1, as in Fig. 2,
  • FIG. 4 there is shown an elevational view of a discharge device having our novel electrodes incorporated therein.
  • High voltage luminous tubes according to the aioaoas gon, krypton or xenon is added where desired to the neon filling, in order either to reduce the igni tion voltage of the tube, or in the co-presence of mercury vapor to prevent a red coloration of the tube at low outside temperatures. It is likewise to be understood that various other changes, omissions and substitutions, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the structure illustrated and described without departing from the spirit of our invention.
  • An electric gaseous discharge device comprising an elongated sealed envelope having an electrode at each end thereof, at least one of said electrodes consisting of a hollow metal body which is open in the direction of the discharge path to the other electrode and having uniformly distributed slits in the wall thereof of a width of from 0.3 to 0.7 mm., said slits in their entirety occupying -60% of the area of the inner surface which said electrode would have if imperforate, and a filling of neon at low pressure within said envelope.
  • An electric gaseous discharge device comprising an elongated sealed envelope having an electrode at each end thereof, at least one of said electrodes consisting of a hollow metal body which is open in the direction of the discharge path to the other electrode and having its surface uniformly perforated with slits 0.5 mm. wide separated by metal portions of the same width,
  • a cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a hollow metal body having an open end, said body having uniformly distributed slits in the wall thereof of a width of from 0.3 to 0.7 mm., said slits in their entirety occupying 40-60% of the area of the inner surface said electrode would have if imperforate.
  • a cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a hollow metal body having open ends, a second metal body having a capillary opening and containing a vaporizable material located adjacent one of said ends, said first mentioned metal body .,having uniformly distributed slits in the wall thereof of a width of from. 0.3 to 0.7 mm., said slits in their entirety occupying 40-60%of the area of the inner surface said electrode would have if imperforate.
  • a cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a hollow metal body having open ends, a second metal body having a capillary opening and containing mercury located adjacent one of said ends, said first mentioned metal body having uniformly distributed slits in the wall thereof of a width of from 0.3 to 0.7 mm., said slits in their entirety occupying 40-60% of the area of the inner surface said electrode would have if imperforate.
  • a cathode for an electric gaseous discharge device comprising a hollow metal body having open ends. one of said ends being closed by a sheet of insulating material, said body having uniformly distributed slits in the wall thereof of a width of from 0.3 to 0.7 mm., said slits in their entirety occupying 40-60% of the area of the inner surface said electrode would have if imperforate.
US238866A 1937-11-11 1938-11-04 Electric gaseous discharge device Expired - Lifetime US2152985A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DEP76219D DE678551C (de) 1937-11-11 1937-11-11 Elektrische Hochspannungslieuchtroehre mit Neonfuellung oder Neonquecksilberfuellung
GB3210337A GB500390A (en) 1937-11-22 1937-11-22 Improvements in electrode construction for electric discharge lamps
DEP76836D DE685852C (de) 1937-11-11 1938-02-24 Elektrische Hochspannungsleuchtroehre
DEP76848D DE684963C (de) 1937-11-11 1938-02-25 Elektrische Hochspannungsleuchtroehre mit Neon oder Neon-Quecksilberfuellung

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US2152985A true US2152985A (en) 1939-04-04

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US238866A Expired - Lifetime US2152985A (en) 1937-11-11 1938-11-04 Electric gaseous discharge device

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US (1) US2152985A (de)
DE (3) DE678551C (de)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE931970C (de) * 1950-10-21 1955-08-22 Max Boie Raumsparende Elektrode fuer Leuchtroehren

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Publication number Publication date
DE678551C (de) 1939-07-18
DE685852C (de) 1939-12-28
DE684963C (de) 1939-12-08

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