Ultraviolet fluorescent lamp with unique drive circuit

Abstract

A unique drive circuit for a fluorescent lamp, as well as a housing for such lamp and drive circuit, designed for mineral museum displays, are disclosed herein. The drive circuit comprises a ballast subcircuit, a separate filament transformer subcircuit for pre-heating the lamp cathodes, and a relay between the subcircuits. The separate filament transformer subcircuit obviates the need for a conventional starter circuit for the fluorescent lamp. This way of pre-heating the cathodes prolongs the useful life of the lamp by making it possible for the lamp to undergo thousands of “on-off” cycles without the heretofore usual deterioration of the cathodes. The relay prevents the high voltage of the ballast from “hitting” the lamp cathodes before the cathodes have been pre-heated by the transformer subcircuit. Also disclosed is a method for using such a lamp, drive circuit, and housing to irradiate fluorescent minerals in a display case.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.