Gas discharge fluorescent device

A gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one fluorescent lamp;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• a housing for the driver;
• and
• a light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp, said container connected to the housing forming a chamber to house the at least one lamp, each of said housing and said container defining a hole therein in communication with the chamber to allow air circulation through the chamber and the environment in order to dissipate heat generated by the at least one lamp.

A cold cathode gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one cold cathode fluorescent lamp;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• a light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp;
• an electrical connector;
• and
• a housing for the driver, said housing connecting the container and the connector, said housing having a first portion adjacent to the container and a second portion adjacent to the connector, said first portion having larger dimensions than the second portion.

A cold cathode gas discharge device comprising:

• at least cold cathode fluorescent lamp, said at least one lamp in the shape of several rounds of a spiral;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• a housing for the driver, said at least cold cathode fluorescent lamp attached to the housing and electrically connected to the driver;
• and
• means for attaching at least two adjacent rounds of the at least one lamp to one another to increase mechanical strength of the device.

A cold cathode gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one cold cathode fluorescent lamp;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• an open ended light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp;
• and
• a housing for the driver connected to the container.

A cold cathode gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one cold cathode fluorescent lamp;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• a light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp;
• a housing for the driver connected to the container, said at least one lamp having a cylindrical envelope substantially in the shape of a spiral, said container comprising a first section adjacent to the housing and a second section away from the housing larger than the first section to enable holding a spiral lamp of larger diameter, so that said device has a light emitting window that is larger than 50% of the area enclosed by the spiral.

A cold cathode gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one cold cathode fluorescent lamp, said at least one lamp having an envelope and one or more electrodes and mercury in the envelope;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• a light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp;
• a holder for at least one electrode in the envelope, said holder catching sputtered material that includes mercury from the at least one electrode during operation of the device.

A cold cathode gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one cold cathode fluorescent lamp, said at least one lamp having an envelope and one or more electrodes and mercury in the envelope, wherein at least one of the electrodes is substantially cylindrical in shape and has a portion in the envelope with a diameter substantially the same as an internal dimension of the envelope;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• and
• a light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp.

A gas discharge device comprising:

• at least one fluorescent lamp;
• a driver supplying power to the at least one lamp to cause the at least one lamp to emit light;
• a housing for the driver;
• and
• a light transmitting container containing said at least one lamp, said container separated from the housing by a gap.

A cold cathode gas discharge system, comprising:

• at least two electrode structures, each structure including at least two sub-electrodes, said sub-electrodes in each structure adapted to be connected in parallel to a driver;
• a housing containing at least a portion of said sub-electrodes;
• and
• a plurality of current limiting devices adapted to be connected between the sub-electrodes and the driver.