Enclosure for glow bulb starter used with gas discharge lamps
AssigneeMagneTek, Inc.
InventorsStuart E. Sanders, John L. Cox, David S. Stratton, Theodore Miller, Jr., Mark R. Opperthauser
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An one-piece plastic protective enclosure is provided for a glow bulb used as a starter for a fluorescent lamp. The enclosure has a latching hinged lid, a partition wall to isolate the glow bulb leads, and integral strain relief. The glow bulb enclosure is mounted inside a ballast assembly and the glow bulb leads are ultrasonically welded to the ballast power supply wires.
Claims20
A protective enclosure for a glow bulb used to start a gas discharge lamp, the glow bulb having a body and first and second wire leads to electrically connect the glow bulb to external power supply leads, comprising:
- a. a housing having first and second side walls, first and second end walls joined to the side walls, a bottom wall joined to the side walls and to the end walls, and a top opening, to define a space inside the housing to receive the glow bulb body, where the housing generally conforms to the glow bulb body;
- b. at least one wire opening in the housing, the wire opening having a size and shape to allow for mechanical connection of the glow bulb leads to the external power supply leads;
- and
- c. a lid having a size and shape which corresponds to the top opening of the housing whereby when the lid is placed on the housing, at least the body of the glow bulb is fully enclosed by the enclosure.
A protective enclosure for a glow bulb having a size and a shape, the glow bulb used to start a gas discharge lamp, the enclosure comprising:
- a. a housing having end walls, side walls, and a bottom wall which define a rectangular space inside the housing which will receive the glow bulb, where the housing generally conforms to the size and shape of the glow bulb;
- b. a lid movable between an open position and a closed position over the housing;
- c. a pair of slotted openings formed in one of the end walls of the housing to allow for entry into the enclosure of external power supply leads;
- and
- d. means to secure the lid into the closed position.
A ballast and glow bulb assembly for starting and operating a gas discharge lamp comprising:
- a. a magnetic ballast mounted inside a ballast enclosure;
- b. a glow bulb housing sized to conform to the glow bulb assembly and positioned inside the ballast enclosure, the glow bulb housing including a lid;
- c. a glow bulb placed inside the housing and underneath the lid;
- and
- d. the glow bulb having a pair of electrical leads which are electrically connected inside the glow bulb housing to a pair of glow bulb power supply leads which pass through a wire opening in the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.