Halogen Lamps

Abstract

The invention relates to lamps, and particularly to incandescent electric lamps. incandescent electric lamps operating at mains voltage are known for decades and are widespread throughout the world. However, this type of lamp is not power efficient. It is suggested to provide a halogen lamp with a burner surrounded by an outer envelope for an incandescent electric lamp. The appearance of this lamp is identical to known incandescent lamps, but the lamp is more power efficient as it uses the well-known technology of a 12 V halogen lamp.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a principal sketch of the lamp according to the invention,

FIG. 2 a shows a photograph of the lamp with the adapter,

FIG. 2 b shows a photograph of the lamp with the adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an halogen lamp with an outer envelope having an upper part 1 made of a milky glass. The upper part is transparent for light radiated from the 12 V halogen burner 3. The bottom part 2 is made of plastic and houses the ballast 4 in its interior close to the Edison cap 9. The solid state electronic ballast is incorporated into potting 12 and includes a transformer 6 to transform the mains voltage to a value of 12 V.

The adapter 5 has openings (not shown) which surround the seal of the burner 3. The burner 3 is cemented into the adapter 5 which is made of a ceramic. In this embodiment the adapter 5 is spaced apart from the inner surface of the outer envelope 1, 2 and has electric contacts 7 which are connected to a power supply (not shown).

FIG. 2 a and FIG. 2b show the case in which the adapter 5 has a cavity to house the seal 10 of the burner 3. This improves the thermal contact between the burner 3 and the adapter 5, which in turn leads to an increased lifetime of burner 3. The upper surface of the adapter 5 has the form of a circular plate extending to the inner surface of the bottom part 2 of the outer envelope. Filament 11 of burner 3 is connected to the ballast 4 by means of the wire 8. Ballast 4 is connected to line voltage by means of Edison cap 9 and contact 7. The ballast 4 includes a transformer 6 to provide the burner 3 with a voltage of 12 V.

Claims

1. Halogen lamp, comprising: a) an outer envelope (1,2) for an incandescent electric lamp, the outer envelope comprising a transparent upper part (1) and a bottom part (2),b) a low voltage halogen burner (3) arranged within the upper part (1).

2. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby a ballast (4) is arranged within the bottom part (2) of the outer envelope (1,2).

3. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby an adapter (5) is arranged between the ballast (4) and the burner (3).

4. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the bottom part (2) of the outer envelope (1,2) is made of plastic.

5. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the upper part (1) is made of a transparent glass.

6. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the adapter (5) is adapted to fixedly arrange the burner (3).

7. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the burner (3) has a seal (10) which is surrounded by adapter (5) such that the temperature of the seal is lowered during operation of the lamp.

8. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the adapter (5) provides electrical contacts for the burner (3).

9. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the adapter (5) is adapted to shield heat away from the ballast (5).

10. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the adapter (5) is made of a ceramic.

11. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the adapter (5) spaced apart from the inner surface of the outer envelope (1, 2).

12. Halogen lamp according to claim 1, whereby the ballast includes a voltage transformer (6) to transform the input voltage of the halogen lamp to a value of 12 V.

13. Process for providing light for ambient lighting including the following steps: a) generating light in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum by means of a low voltage halogen burner (3),b) transmitting the generated light through an outer envelope for an incandescent electric lamp.