US 8,299,709 B2Granted

Lamp having axially and radially graded structure

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorsBernard Patrick Bewlay, Dennis Joseph Dalpe, Bruce Alan Knudsen, Mohamed Rahmane, Svetlana Selezneva, James Scott Vartuli, James Anthony Brewer

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Abstract

A lamp is provided with an axially and radially graded structure to reduce the possibility of thermal stresses, cracks, and other defects in the lamp. In one embodiment, a system includes a ceramic lamp having a ceramic arc envelope and an end structure coupled to the ceramic arc envelope, wherein the end structure is graded both axially and radially into a plurality of regions. In another embodiment, a system includes a lamp having a layered end structure with a plurality of layers disposed one over another and that extend in both axial and radial directions relative to an axis of the lamp, wherein the plurality of layers include different materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion, Poisson's ratios, or elastic moduli, or a combination thereof.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A system, comprising:

a ceramic lamp, comprising:
a ceramic arc envelope;
an end structure graded both axially and radially into a plurality of regions comprising a first ceramic region, a second cermet region, and a third cermet region extending about one another in both axial and radial directions relative to an axis and are generally diffused with one another at interfaces between the plurality of regions;
the first ceramic layer diffusion bonded to the ceramic arc envelope;
a lead wire extending entirely through the third cermet region and diffusion bonded to the second cermet region;
and
an arc electrode extending entirely through the first ceramic region and diffusion bonded to the second cermet region, wherein
the lead wire and the arc electrodes penetrate the end structure without extending entirely through the end structure;
and
at least two of the plurality of regions have non-uniform thicknesses.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.