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AssigneeGTE Products Corporation
InventorsEmery G. Audesse, Donald W. Hartman, John W. Shaffer
Estimating the term…
A photoflash unit comprising a linear array of flashlamps mounted on a printed circuit board disposed within the longitudinal channel of an elongated housing member having an enclosing cover panel of light-transmitting material. The lamp-firing circuitry includes a common circuit conductor run connected to one lead-in wire of each of the lamps. The housing member includes reflector cavities adjacent to the lamps, and a continuous coating of electrically conductive reflective material covers the surfaces of the channel and reflector cavities for providing both reflective surfaces for flashing lamps and, by virtue of a connection between the common run and conductive coating, a shield to reduce the likelihood of accidental flashing of lamps by electrostatic charges. Additional protection against electrostatic charges is provided by a plurality of tapered holes in the wall of the housing channel through which the continuous conductive coating extends to the exterior surface of the housing, thereby extending electrical ground to the exterior of the unit.
A multilamp photoflash unit comprising, in combination, a circuit board having lamp firing circuitry on a surface thereof, an array of electrically ignitable flashlamps disposed on said circuit board, each of said flashlamps having a pair of lead-in wires connected to said circuitry, said circuitry including a common circuit conductor run connected electrically to one lead-in wire of said lamps, a housing member having a channel within which said circuit board is located and having reflective surfaces adjacent to said flashlamps, a continuous coating of electrically conductive reflective material covering the interior walls of said channel for providing said reflective surfaces, means electrically connecting said reflective surfaces to said common circuit conductor run, and one or more openings through the wall of said housing channel, said continuous conductive coating extending through each of said openings to the exterior surface of said housing member, whereby electrostatic protection is provided by extending electrical ground to the exterior of the unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.