Glass coated metal arc director for compact fluorescent lamp

In a fluorescent lamp having an hermetically sealed outer envelope containing an arc generating and sustaining medium;

• an assembly positioned within said envelope, said assembly comprising a plurality of elongated glass tubes each having first and second ends, said tubes being coated on their interior surface with a phosphor, all of said interior surfaces being open to said medium;
• at least one arc directing means operatively associated with said first ends of said tubes, said arc directing means forming a part of the arc path through said tubes;
• an electrode at either end of said arc path;
• and means for making electrical connection to said electrodes, the improvement wherein:
• said arc directing means comprises a relatively thick, rigid, electrically conductive base member having a plurality of apertures therein, some of the apertures including means formed to receive said electrodes and other of said apertures including means formed to receive the first ends of tubes that do not contain electrodes;
• and an arc director associated with said other apertures, said arc director having an inside surface in communication with the arc when said lamp is operating, said inside surface having a layer of glass fused thereto.