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US4855879A
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US
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High-luminance radioluminescent lamp
Assignee: GIMMEL GERALD K PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF ESTATE OF JOSEPH LINDMAYER
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Filing: 1988-08-05
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Granted: 1989-08-08
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Expires: 2008-08-05
Abstract
Abstract In a preferred embodiment, a radioluminescent lamp having a glass face plate with a plurality of parallel planar light guides, each preferably having a transparent glass, sapphire or quartz base member, disposed perpendicularly with respect to the glass face plate and coated on both sides with a thin film of radioluminescent phosphor material. The plates are mounted in a sealed envelope filled with tritium gas, the radioactive decay of the tritium causing the phosphor to luminesce. The phosphor material and all but one of the edges of each light guide are overcoated with a reflective material, such as aluminum, to guide the generated light to a single edge of the light guide, which edge is adjacent the glass face plate. The phosphor is preferably a calcium sulfide-based material forming a continuous, binder-free layer on the transparent base member. The resulting structure has a high phosphor-surface-area to tritium-gas-volume ratio and directional light guiding, yielding a substantially higher output light density than conventional radioluminescent lamps.
Inventors
- 👤 Peter K. Soltani
- 👤 Charles Y. Wrigley
- 👤 George M. Storti
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 22:22
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J65/00; H01J65/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
85 words
A radioluminescent lamp, comprising: (a) a containment envelope filled with radioactive gas and having a face plate; and (b) a plurality of light guides disposed within said containment envelope, each said light guide being optically coupled to said face plate; wherein each of said light guides comprises: (a) a substrate; (b) a thin vapor-deposited layer of phosphor material disposed on said substrate; and (c) a reflective overlayer disposed so as to guide light produced by said phosphor material through said substrate to said face plate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
85 words
A radioluminescent lamp, comprising: (a) a containment envelope filled with radioactive gas and having a face plate; and (b) a plurality of light guides disposed within said containment envelope, each said light guide being optically coupled to said face plate; wherein each of said light guides comprises: (a) a substrate; (b) a thin vapor-deposited layer of phosphor material disposed on said substrate; and (c) a reflective overlayer disposed so as to guide light produced by said phosphor material through said substrate to said face plate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 1, wherein said containment envelope is filled with a radioactive gas.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
12 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 2 wherein said radioactive gas is tritium.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
100 words
A radioluminescent lamp comprising: (a) a containment envelope filled with radioactive gas and having a face plate; and (b) a plurality of light guides disposed within said containment envelope, each said light guide being optically coupled to said face plate; wherein each of said light guides comprises: (a) a planar substrate with a first edge of said substrate adjacent said face plate; (b) a layer of phosphor material disposed on at least each major face of said substrate; and (c) a reflective a material disposed over each said layer of phosphor material and over the remaining edges of said substrate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
100 words
A radioluminescent lamp comprising: (a) a containment envelope filled with radioactive gas and having a face plate; and (b) a plurality of light guides disposed within said containment envelope, each said light guide being optically coupled to said face plate; wherein each of said light guides comprises: (a) a planar substrate with a first edge of said substrate adjacent said face plate; (b) a layer of phosphor material disposed on at least each major face of said substrate; and (c) a reflective a material disposed over each said layer of phosphor material and over the remaining edges of said substrate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 4, further comprising an antireflective coating on said first edge of said substrate.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 4, wherein said substrate is a material selected from the group consisting of quartz, glasses and sapphire.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 4, wherein said phosphor material comprises calcium sulfide activated with rare earth compounds.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 4, wherein said reflective material comprises aluminum or other low atomic number, high reflectance material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 6, wherein the thickness of said substrate is on the order of about 0.5
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 7, wherein the thickness of said phosphor material is on the order of about 4 microns.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 8, wherein the thickness of said aluminum layer is on the order of about 500 Angstroms.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
13 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 4, wherein said containment envelope is generally rectilinear.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 12, further comprising: (a) four generally rectangular sides adjacent said face plate; (b) a generally rectangular back adjacent said four sides; and (c) a plurality of inward facing grooves formed in two oppositely disposed sides, each corresponding pair of said grooves sized to hold therein one of said light guides.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 12, wherein said light guides are parallelly disposed, with the plane of each said light guide essentially orthogonal to the plane of said face plate.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
29 words
The radioluminescent lamp of claim 14, wherein each said light guide is spaced apart from each adjacent said light guide a distance on the order of about 3 millimeters.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-08-07 | 1993-02-06 | 1993-08-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-08-07 | 1997-02-06 | 1997-08-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-08-07 | 2001-02-06 | 2001-08-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |