Electroluminescent lighting device and lamp systems equipped therewith

Claim 1

AN ELECTROLUMINESCENT LIGHTING DEVICE EMBODYING AT LEAST ONE TIGHTLY SEALED ELECTRIC MULTIPLE-DISCHARGE LAMP OF THE LOW-PRESSURE MERCURY-VAPOR TYPE, COMPRISING A TRANSPARENT, ELONGATED, SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL, TUBULAR, CLOSED ENVELOPE THE INNER WALL OF WHICH IS COATED WITH FLUORESCENT MATERIALS HAVING MAXIMUM EXCITATION PHOTOSENSITIVITY SUBSTANTIALLY CORRESPONDING TO THE 2537 A. WAVE-LENGTH OF ULTRAVIOLET RESONANCE RADIATION, AN EQUAL NUMBER OF AT LEAST THREE INWARDLY PROJECTING ELECTRODES PROVIDED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID ENVELOPE AND SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED BY PAIRS OF CONFRONTING OPPOSITE REGISTERING ELECTRODES, CONDUCTING MEANS ELECTRICALLY INTERCONNECTING SAID ELECTRODES BY SEPARATE PAIRS AT EACH ENVELOPE END, WHILE LEAVING TWO OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELECTRODES ELECTRICALLY DISCONNECTED FROM THE REMAINING ELECTRIDES, TWO INPUT LEAD-IN WIRES ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO SAID TWO DISCONNECTED ELECTRODES RESPECTIVELY AND BROUGHT OUT OF SAID ENVELOPE FOR CONNECTION WITH A SOURCE OF ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY, WHEREBY SAID ELECTRODES ARE SO INTERCONNECTED THAT THEY PRODUCE A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL ARC STREAMS CONNECTED IN SERIES THROUGH SAID ELECTRODES AND SAID CONDUCTING MEANS, AT LEAST ONE ARC-STREAM SEPARATOR MEMBER OF INSULATING MATERIAL TRANSPARENT TO SAID RADIATION, LOCATED INSIDE AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID ENVELOPE, SAID SEPARATOR MEMBER BEING COATED ON ALL SIDES WITH A LAYER OF SAID FLUORESCENT MATERIALS AND FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF CONTINUOUS, RADIALLY OUTWARDLY EXTENDING, LONGITUDINAL PARTITION FINS PROVIDING SAID SEPARATOR MEMBER WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY STAR-SHAPED CROSS-SECTIONAL CONTOUR AND DIVIDING THE INTERIOR OF SAID ENVELOPE INTO SEPARATE LONGITUDINAL, SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL AND ADJACENT COMPARTEMENTS ENCLOSING EACH A PAIR OF SAID REGISTERING ELECTRODES TOGETHER WITH THE ARC STRUCK THEREBETWEEN SO AS TO INSULATE SAID ARC STREAMS FROM EACH OTHER, SAID PARTITION FINS HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL PERIPHERAL EDGES CONFORMING IN SHAPE TO AND FREELY ENGAGING IN ABUTTING RELATIONSHIP SAID INNER ENVELOPE WELL ALONG FLUID-PERVIOUS JOINTS LEAVING SOME INTERCOMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID COMPARTMENTS TO PROMOTE PRESSURE BALANCE THEREBETWEEN.