Claims
- 1. A method of operating a high pressure metal vapor lamp of a kind having a filling of sodium within an envelope provided with spaced electrodes and proportioned to produce, at a rated power input, a sodium vapor pressure causing self-reversal and broadening of the sodium resonance D lines which method comprises:
- energizing said lamp by electrical pulses producing approximately said rated power input, said pulses having a rise rapid enough and a time-duration short enough to produce, in addition to the light resulting from the self-reversal and broadening of the sodium D lines, substantial light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the time-duration of the pulses is short enough that the light on the blue-green side of the spectrum which is emitted immediately following the start of a pulse is a substantial portion of the light produced by the lamp.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the pulses are so proportioned in time-duration and current-amplitude that the light emitted on the blue-green side of the spectrum immediately following the start of a pulse is a substantial portion of the light produced by the lamp and no appreciable rise in the red wing of the sodium D lines is produced.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial production of light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial production of light in the blue-green side of the spectrum accompanied by suppression of light in the yellow red side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial emission of lines by highly excited sodium atoms and a continuum in the blue-green.
- 7. The method of claim 1 in operating a lamp of the given kind containing mercury in addition to sodium wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial emission of lines by highly excited sodium atoms and by mercury atoms and a continuum in the blue-green.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the pulses are short enough in time-duration to produce sufficient light in the blue-green side of the spectrum to raise the color temperature to at least 2300.degree. K.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the pulses have a time-duration and a current amplitude achieving a rise in color temperature of at least 400.degree. K. over the color temperature of the lamp under conventional operation at said rated power, and an efficacy not substantially lower than 20% below said conventional operation.
- 10. A method of operating a high pressure metal vapor lamp of a kind having a filling of sodium within an envelope provided with spaced electrodes and proportioned to produce, at a rated power input, a sodium vapor pressure causing self-reversal and broadening of the sodium resonance D lines which method comprises:
- energizing said lamp by electrical pulses producing approximately said rated power input, said pulses having repetition rates of more than 500 Hz and a time-duration short enough to produce, in addition to the light resulting from the self-reversal and broadening of the sodium D lines, substantial light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the repetition rate is not over about 2000 Hz.
- 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the repetition rate is not over about 2000 Hz and the duty cycle is from 10 to 35%.
- 13. In combination, a high pressure metal vapor lamp of a kind having a filling of sodium within an envelope provided with spaced electrodes and proportioned to produce, at a rated power input, a sodium vapor pressure causing self-reversal and broadening of the sodium resonance D lines, and means for energizing said lamp comprising a generator of electrical pulses connected across said electrodes, said generator producing approximately said rated power input, said pulses having a rise rapid enough and a time-duration short enough to produce, in addition to the light resulting from the self-reversal and broadening of the sodium D lines, substantial light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 14. The combination of claim 13 wherein the time-duration of the pulses is short enough that the light on the blue-green side of the spectrum which is emitted immediately following the start of a pulse is a substantial portion of the light produced by the lamp.
- 15. The combination of claim 13 wherein the pulses are so proportioned in time-duration and current amplitude that the light emitted on the blue-green side of the spectrum immediately following the start of a pulse is a substantial portion of the light produced by the lamp and no appreciable rise in the red wing of the sodium D lines is produced.
- 16. The combination of claim 13 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial production of light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 17. The combination of claim 13 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial production of light in the blue-green side of the spectrum accompanied by suppression of light in the yellow-red side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 18. The combination of claim 13 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial emission of lines by highly excited sodium atoms and a continuum in the blue-green.
- 19. The combination of claim 13 wherein the lamp contains mercury in addition to sodium and wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial emission of lines by highly excited sodium atoms and by mercury atoms and a continuum in the blue-green.
- 20. The combination of claim 13 wherein the pulses are short enough in time-duration to produce sufficient light in the blue-green side of the spectrum to raise the color temperature to at least 2300.degree. K.
- 21. The combination of claim 13 wherein the pulses have a time-duration and a current-amplitude achieving a rise in color temperature of at least 400.degree. K. over the color temperature of the lamp under conventional operation at said rated power, and an efficacy not substantially lower than 20% below said conventional operation.
- 22. In combination, a high pressure metal vapor lamp of a kind having a filling of sodium within an envelope provided with spaced electrodes and proportioned to produce, at a rated power input, a sodium vapor pressure causing self-reversal and broadening of the sodium resonance D lines, and means for energizing said lamp comprising a generator of electrical pulses connected across said electrodes, said generator producing approximately said rated power input, said pulses having repetition rates of more than 500 Hz and a time-duration short enough to produce, in addition to the light resulting from the self-reversal and broadening of the sodium D lines, substantial light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 23. The combination of claim 22 wherein the repetition rate is not over about 2000 Hz.
- 24. The combination of claim 22 wherein the repetition rate is not over about 2000 Hz and the duty cycle is from 10 to 35%.
- 25. A circuit for operating a high pressure metal vapor lamp of a kind having a filling of sodium within an envelope provided with spaced electrodes and proportioned to produce, at a rated power input, a sodium vapor pressure causing self-reversal and broadening of the sodium resonance D lines, comprising connector means for making connections to the electrodes of said lamp, and means for energizing said lamp comprising a generator of electrical pulses connected across said connector means, said generator providing approximately said rated power input, said pulses having a rise rapid enough and a time-duration short enough to produce, in addition to the light resulting from the self-reversal and broadening of the sodium D lines, substantial light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature of said lamp is increased.
- 26. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the time-duration of the pulses is short enough that the light on the blue-green side of the spectrum which is emitted immediately following the start of a pulse is a substantial portion of the light produced by the lamp.
- 27. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the pulses are so proportioned in time-duration and current amplitude that the light emitted on the blue-green side of the spectrum immediately following the start of a pulse is a substantial portion of the light produced by the lamp and no appreciable rise in the red wing of the sodium D lines is produced.
- 28. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial production of light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 29. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial production of light in the blue-green side of the spectrum accompanied by suppression of light in the yellow-red side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature is increased.
- 30. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial emission of lines by highly excited sodium atoms and a continuum in the blue-green.
- 31. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the lamp contains mercury in addition to sodium and wherein the current-amplitude of the pulses is large enough to cause substantial emission of lines by highly excited sodium atoms and by mercury atoms and a continuum in the blue-green.
- 32. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the pulses are short enough in time-duration to produce sufficient light in the blue-green side of the spectrum to raise the color temperature to at least 2300.degree. K.
- 33. The circuit of claim 25 wherein the pulses have a time-duration and a current-amplitude achieving a rise in color temperature of at least 400.degree. K. over the color temperature of the lamp under conventional operation at said rated power, and an efficacy not substantially lower than 20% under said conventional operation.
- 34. A circuit for operating a high pressure metal vapor lamp of a kind having a filling of sodium within an envelope provided with spaced electrodes and proportioned to produce, at a rated power input, a sodium vapor pressure causing self-reversal and broadening of the sodium resonance D lines, comprising connector means for making connections to the electrodes of said lamp, and means for energizing said lamp comprising a generator of electrical pulses connected across said connector means, said generator providing approximately said rated power input, said pulses having repetition rates of more than 500 Hz and a time-duration short enough to produce, in addition to the light resulting from the self-reversal and broadening of the sodium D lines, substantial light in the blue-green side of the spectrum whereby the color temperature of said lamp is increased.
- 35. The circuit of claim 34 wherein the repetition rate is not over about 2000 Hz.
- 36. The circuit of claim 34 wherein the repetition rate is not over about 2000 Hz and the duty cycle is from 10 to 35%.
- 37. The method of claim 10 wherein substantially no keep-alive current is supplied to the lamp between pulses.
- 38. The combination of claim 22 wherein said generator provides substantially no keep-alive current to the lamp between pulses.
- 39. The circuit of claim 34 wherein said generator provides substantially no keep-alive current to the lamp between pulses.
Parent Case Info
The present application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 649,900, filed Jan. 16, 1976 and now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
649900 |
Jan 1976 |
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