Electric discharge lamp

Claim 1

AN ARC-DISCHARGE DEVICE COMPRISING: (A) A SEALED ELONGATED RADIATION-TRANSMITTING ENVELOPE CONTAINING A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT OF SELECTED DISCHARGE-SUSTAINING FILLING AND HAVING TWO SPACED ELECTRODES OPERATIVELY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID ENVELOPE, SAID ELECTRODES DEFINING THEREBETWEEN AN ARC-DISCHARGE PATH THROUGH WHICH THE ARC-DISCHARGE CURRENT FLOWS DURING OPERATION OF SAID DEVICE; (B) A DOUBLE-ENDED HEATING ELEMENT ADAPTED TO BE SELF-RESISTANCE HEATED AND POSITIONED WITHIN SAID ENVELOPE PROXIMATE AN ELECTRODE OF SAID DEVICE, AND SAID HEATING ELEMENT HAVING ONE END PERMANENTLY ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID ELECTRODES; (C) A DOUBLE-ENDED SWITCHING MEANS POSITIONED EXTERIOR TO SAID ENVELOPE AND ADAPTED TO BE SELF-RESISTANCE HEATED, SAID SWITCHING MEANS HAVING ONE MOVABLE END PERMANENTLY ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER ELECTRODE OF SAID DEVICE, SAID ONE MOVABLE END OF SAID SWITCHING MEANS OPERABLE TO MOVE FROM AN UNHEATED REST POSITION TO A HEATED OPERATING POSITION, SAID ONE MOVABLE END OF SAID SWITCHING MEANS WHEN IN SAID REST POSITION ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID HEATING ELEMENT, AND SAID ONE MOVABLE END OF SAID SWITCHING MEANS WHEN IN OPERATING POSITION ELECTRICALLY DISCONNECTED FROM THE OTHER END OF SAID HEATING ELEMENT; AND (D) THE OTHER END OF SAID SWITCHING MEANS AND SAID ONE ELECTRODE ADAPTED TO HAVE AN ENERGIZING POTENTIAL APPLIED THEREACROSS TO PLACE SAID SWITCHING MEANS, WHEN IN HEATED OPERATING POSITION, IN SERIES RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID ARC-DISCHARGING PATH DEFINED BY SAID ELECTRODES TO CONTINUOUSLY SELF-RESISTANCE-HEAT SAID SWITCHING MEANS DURING OPERATION OF SAID DEVICE.