US3303377A - High pressure electric discharge tube - Google Patents

High pressure electric discharge tube Download PDF

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Publication number
US3303377A
US3303377A US298651A US29865163A US3303377A US 3303377 A US3303377 A US 3303377A US 298651 A US298651 A US 298651A US 29865163 A US29865163 A US 29865163A US 3303377 A US3303377 A US 3303377A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
electrodes
electrode
tungsten
electric discharge
conical
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Expired - Lifetime
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US298651A
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English (en)
Inventor
Jansen Johannes Adria Cornelis
Ekkelboom Tjepke Hendrik
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US Philips Corp
North American Philips Co Inc
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US Philips Corp
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Publication date
Application filed by US Philips Corp filed Critical US Philips Corp
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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

Definitions

  • FIG.2 HIGH PRESSURE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBE Filed July 50, 1963 FIG.2
  • Our invention relates to a high-pressure electric discharge tube and more particularly to a compact source mercury vapor discharge lamp, i.e., a mercury vapor discharge lamp in which during operation the vapor pressure exceeds 25 atmospheres and in which the electrode distance is smaller than a fourth of the maximum diameter of the discharge space.
  • the invention further relates to an electrode for use in such a discharge lamp.
  • the electrodes of mercury-vapor discharge lamps of the aforementioned kind usually comprise two cones the tips of which are arranged opposite each other, the arc being struck between the said tips during the operation of the lamp.
  • Such lamps are disclosed, for example, in US. Patents 2,887,603 and 2,951,171.
  • electrodes consisting of a conical part and a part connected thereto of, for example, cylindrical form also will be referred to hereinafter as conical electrodes.
  • the electrodes are thermally heavily loaded during operation. Therefore, materials for these electrodes are employed which can withstand very high temperatures. Consequently, the conical electrodes usually consist of tungsten (if a cylindrical part should be present, this may consist of another material, for example, molybdenum).
  • an ignition gas for example, neon or argon or mixtures thereof has been tried. A considerable improvement is obtained, but this is still not suflicient. Consequently, it has been suggested to manufacture the electrodes from a mixture of tungsten and a material readily emitting electrons, in particular thorium oxide. With such electrodes, a low ignition voltage is indeed obtained; however, they suifer from the disadvantage in that during operation of the lamp, the arc burns very unstably. An are between two electrodes of pure tungsten burns much more stably.
  • conical electrodes In order to obtain both a low ignition volt-age and a steadily burning arc, conical electrodes have been manufactured which are provided with a cavity in which material readily emitting electrons, in particular thorium oxide is disposed. From 3,303,377 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 this cavity, one or more bores extend towards the surface of the electrode. Emitting material may emerge at this surface through these bores and may contribute there to a low ignition voltage.
  • the tip of the conical electrode consists of pure tungsten and so the arc can burn steadily at this tip during operation.
  • a principal object of our invention is to provide a high-pressure mercury discharge lamp which employs tungsten electrodes but which is provided with an improved igniter for initiating the discahrge.
  • our lamp comprises two conical tungsten electrodes arranged opposite each other, one electrode being provided at a distance from the tip of the cone which is smaller than four times and larger than twice the distance between the electrodes, with a bore which is filled with a thoriated tungsten wire.
  • the bore, in which the tungsten wire is disposed, need not be at right angles to the conical surface; the distance from the tip to the thoriated tungsten wire is measured along the conical surface to the axis of the bore.
  • the are which starts at the thoriated wire readily leaps to the tip of the cone.
  • the danger is reduced that a gray precipitate is formed on the wall of the discharge space during operation, since only a small amount of thorium oxide is present in the wire and the arc does not continue at the thoriated wire during operation of the lamp.
  • the diameter of the bore in which the thoriated tungsten wire is disposed is preferably chosen smaller than one-fifth the maximum diameter of the conical tungsten electrode. Rapid heating of this thoriated wire is thus ensured, as a result of which the ignition time is shortened.
  • the thoriated tungsten wire projects slightly, but by less than of the maximum cone diameter, from the conical surface of the electrode. The arc is thus struck more readily and always at the same place, i.e. on the projecting part.
  • FIG. 1 shows a discharge lamp in accordance with the invention
  • FIG. 2 shows enlarged and drawn to a scale 1:10 the electrodes used in the tube shown in FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 1 is a bulb of quartz glass in which the electrodes 2 and 3 are provided, the ends of which facing each other are conical.
  • the electrode 3 contains a tungsten wire provided in a bore in the conical end of this electrode. This appears more clearly from FIG. 2.
  • the electrode 3 has a conical end 4 in which a bore 5 is provided.
  • a thoriated tungsten wire is provided which projects slightly from the conical surface.
  • the distance b is smaller than four times the distance a and larger than twice this distance.
  • a high pressure electric discharge tube comprising a 3 7 4 light-transmissible envelope, a gas filling said envelope at References Cited by the Examiner a pressure of several atmospheres, a pair of axially aligned UN STATES PATENTS spaced conlcal tungsten electrodes Wlthln said envelope, the spacing of the electrodes being small compared with 2,087,735 6/1937 Plram 313" 184 the diameter of the envelope, and at least one of said elec- 5 2,194,652 3/1940 Fmedman- 2,459,579 1/1949 Noel 313184 trodes having a bore therein spaced from the apex of the electrode a distance which is smaller than four times and I FOREIGN PATENTS larger than twice the distance between the electrodes,

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  • Discharge Lamp (AREA)
US298651A 1962-08-17 1963-07-30 High pressure electric discharge tube Expired - Lifetime US3303377A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL282235 1962-08-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3303377A true US3303377A (en) 1967-02-07

Family

ID=19754051

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US298651A Expired - Lifetime US3303377A (en) 1962-08-17 1963-07-30 High pressure electric discharge tube

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3303377A (de)
AT (1) AT239919B (de)
BE (1) BE636192A (de)
DE (1) DE1275686B (de)
DK (1) DK103899C (de)
GB (1) GB981666A (de)
NL (1) NL282235A (de)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3548242A (en) * 1967-05-16 1970-12-15 Sylvania Electric Prod High pressure electric discharge device and cathode
US3650593A (en) * 1968-11-22 1972-03-21 Egyesuelt Izzolampa Process of filling discharge tubes constructed without exhaust tube
EP0917179A3 (de) * 1997-11-11 1999-05-26 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft für elektrische Glühlampen mbH Elektrodenbauteil für Entladungslampen
DE19757152A1 (de) * 1997-12-20 1999-07-01 Thomas Eggers Elektrode für Entladungslampen
EP1047109A1 (de) * 1999-04-21 2000-10-25 Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha Kurzbogen-Entladungslampe
US20060208635A1 (en) * 2005-03-15 2006-09-21 Lenef Alan L Slotted electrode for high intensity discharge lamp
US20110140601A1 (en) * 2009-12-15 2011-06-16 Osram Gesellschaft Mit Beschraenkter Haftung Electrode structures for discharge lamps
CN101329981B (zh) * 2007-06-22 2011-10-05 株式会社Orc制作所 放电灯

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2087735A (en) * 1935-10-09 1937-07-20 Gen Electric Gaseous electric discharge lamp device
US2194652A (en) * 1936-12-01 1940-03-26 Crompton Parkinson Ltd Metallic vapor discharge lamp
US2459579A (en) * 1947-08-06 1949-01-18 Gen Electric Electrode structure
GB677551A (en) * 1949-10-17 1952-08-20 Gen Electric Co Ltd Improvements in or relating to electric discharge lamps

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE733986C (de) * 1940-07-20 1943-04-07 Patra Patent Treuhand Elektrische UEberdruckentladungslampe
DE761839C (de) * 1941-08-09 1954-10-11 Patra Patent Treuhand Elektrische Gleichrichterroehre, insbesondere fuer hohe Spannungen
DE1828465U (de) * 1959-07-08 1961-03-23 Patra Patent Treuhand Elektrode fuer elektrische hochdruckentladungslampen.

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2087735A (en) * 1935-10-09 1937-07-20 Gen Electric Gaseous electric discharge lamp device
US2194652A (en) * 1936-12-01 1940-03-26 Crompton Parkinson Ltd Metallic vapor discharge lamp
US2459579A (en) * 1947-08-06 1949-01-18 Gen Electric Electrode structure
GB677551A (en) * 1949-10-17 1952-08-20 Gen Electric Co Ltd Improvements in or relating to electric discharge lamps

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3548242A (en) * 1967-05-16 1970-12-15 Sylvania Electric Prod High pressure electric discharge device and cathode
US3650593A (en) * 1968-11-22 1972-03-21 Egyesuelt Izzolampa Process of filling discharge tubes constructed without exhaust tube
EP0917179A3 (de) * 1997-11-11 1999-05-26 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft für elektrische Glühlampen mbH Elektrodenbauteil für Entladungslampen
US6211615B1 (en) 1997-11-11 2001-04-03 Patent-Truehand-Gesellshaft Fuer Elektrische Gluelampen Mbh Powder metal electrode component for discharge lamps
US6437509B1 (en) 1997-12-20 2002-08-20 Thomas Eggers Electrode for discharge lamps
DE19757152A1 (de) * 1997-12-20 1999-07-01 Thomas Eggers Elektrode für Entladungslampen
DE19757152C2 (de) * 1997-12-20 2002-10-31 Thomas Eggers Elektrode für Entladungslampen
EP1047109A1 (de) * 1999-04-21 2000-10-25 Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha Kurzbogen-Entladungslampe
US6437508B1 (en) 1999-04-21 2002-08-20 Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha Short-arc discharge lamp
US20060208635A1 (en) * 2005-03-15 2006-09-21 Lenef Alan L Slotted electrode for high intensity discharge lamp
EP1724810A2 (de) * 2005-03-15 2006-11-22 Osram-Sylvania Inc. Geschlitzte Elektrode für Hochdruckentladungslampe
US7176632B2 (en) 2005-03-15 2007-02-13 Osram Sylvania Inc. Slotted electrode for high intensity discharge lamp
EP1724810A3 (de) * 2005-03-15 2007-05-30 Osram-Sylvania Inc. Geschlitzte Elektrode für Hochdruckentladungslampe
CN101329981B (zh) * 2007-06-22 2011-10-05 株式会社Orc制作所 放电灯
US20110140601A1 (en) * 2009-12-15 2011-06-16 Osram Gesellschaft Mit Beschraenkter Haftung Electrode structures for discharge lamps
US8610350B2 (en) 2009-12-15 2013-12-17 Osram Gesellschaft Mit Beschraenkter Haftung Electrode structures for discharge lamps

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE1275686B (de) 1968-08-22
NL282235A (de)
AT239919B (de) 1965-05-10
GB981666A (en) 1965-01-27
BE636192A (de)
DK103899C (da) 1966-03-07

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