Protection lamp safety interconnect apparatus and method

Abstract

A removable lamp module (14) employs a male (26) and female (22) electrical connector (24) pair that serves multiple functions including connecting a lamp power supply (72) and high-voltage lamp igniter circuit (74) to an arc lamp (39), acting as a safety interlock switch, and mechanically latching the lamp module within a projector cavity (13). The lamp module safely encloses the arc lamp, provides an airflow pathway for cooling the arc lamp, and slidably secures (50) the male half of the connector pair. The lamp module slides in a first direction into the cavity, and the male half of the connector pair slides in a second direction, transverse to the first direction, into engagement with the female half of the connector pair to latch the lamp module within the projector cavity. Replacing the arc lamp entails sliding the connector pair out of engagement, removing the lamp module from a projector enclosure (12), and replacing the lamp. Disengaging the connector pair mechanically unlatches the lamp module from the projector enclosure and concurrently opens a safety interlock circuit that electrically disconnects power from the lamp power supply and the lamp igniter circuit, and electrically disconnects the arc lamp from the lamp power supply and the lamp igniter circuit.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.