Lamp housing and ventilating system therefor

Abstract

A lamp housing and an integrated ventilating and cooling system for such housing directed to (1) providing a stable environment for the optimum operation of a mercury arc vapor lamp, (2) providing minimum heat transfer to precision instrumentation adjacent to the lamp housing and (3) overcoming problems resulting from possible failure of a mercury arc vapor lamp contained therein, particularly in the case of explosion. The housing has a double wall construction and contains an inner, sealed lamp chamber such that if the lamp explodes the poisonous mercury vapors, and pieces of the lamp that could damage an associated precision stepper mechanism, are contained inside the chamber; even if the inner chamber walls are breached the mercury vapors are carried away by a suitable vacuum arrangement; moreover, reduction in explosive and other failures is accomplished by preventing uneven heating and cooling of the lamp, the double wall housing including for the purpose a plurality of integrated, elongated, radial cooling fins for dissipating the heat generated by the lamp; additionally, the housing or lamp chamber assembly is very easily removed, being provided with a bayonet latch mechanism such that the entire lamp housing or assembly can be lifted out of place and a substitute quickly inserted.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.