Abstract: The light output of a high-pressure metal-halide lamp that employs a sodium-scandium discharge and has an efficacy of approximately 90 lumens per watt is selectively modified by a luminescent coating on the inner surface of the outer envelope to provide color rendering and a source-color that are similar to those of an incandescent type lamp. The luminescent coating comprises a blend of two selected phosphor materials, one of which absorbs and is excited by blue-violet radiations produced by the arc discharge and emits in the green portion of the spectrum, and the other of which absorbs and is excited by the violet to yellow band of radiations produced by the arc discharge and emits in the red portion of the spectrum.

Abstract: An electrical component, such as a photoflash lamp that is associated with a photographic camera, is energized by an electric current produced by a compact mechanically-driven electric generator that is located within the camera and coupled to the shutter-actuating mechanism. The generator employs a spring-driven keeper that changes the reluctance of a magnetic circuit and causes an associated wire coil to produce a voltage pulse that is synchronized relative to the opening of the camera aperture. The generator is compact enough to fit inside "Instamatic" type cameras and provides a simple, reliable and inexpensive substitute for the batteries now employed in such cameras. The small size and reliability of the generator adapt it for use in other types of devices and systems that require a passive easily-triggered electrical power source.

Abstract: The useful life of high-efficiency type bromine-tungsten cycle incandescent lamps, such as those used in TV-studio and theater lighting applications, is enhanced by dosing the lamps with a carefully controlled quantity of mercuric bromide (HgBr.sub.2) which dissociates when the filament of the finished lamp is energized and provides a predetermined amount of Br.sub.2 within the envelope during lamp operation. The quantity of HgBr.sub.2 dosed into the envelope is adjusted according to the design life and initial efficiency parameters of the specific lamp type so as to provide a concentration of Br.sub.2 within the envelope which is correlated with such parameters and prevents blackening of the envelope and premature failure of the filament at the particular "life-efficiency level" of operation for which the lamp is designed. For a 1000 watt 120 volt tubular incandescent lamp (DXW type) having a design life of 150 hours and an efficiency of 28 LPW, the HgBr.sub.2 dosage is such that it provides from about 2.

Abstract: The mercury-vapor pressure within a fluorescent lamp is controlled by a metal (indium or an alloy of indium and tin, for example) that wets glass, combines with the mercury within the lamp to form an amalgam and is divided into segments which are fused directly to one or both of the glass stems at spaced locations. The amalgamative-metal segments are of such shape and mass that they inherently remain in place on the stem when they are heat-softened and pressed onto the glass surface. Segments of larger size and mass are retained in place by an overlying porous layer of inert material that adheres to the glass or by an embedded wire mesh member and an exterior porous coating of inert material. The amalgamative metal can also be combined with a fusible binder to form a composite which is divided into small pellets that are pressed onto the glass stem and held in place by the adhesive action of the binder when the latter is fused during the bulb-lehring operation required to fabricate the lamp.

Abstract: The mercury-vapor pressure within an operating fluorescent lamp is regulated by several discrete bodies or bits of a suitable amalgamative metal (such as an indium-tin alloy in the form of pellets) that are anchored at fixed sites within the lamp during the manufacture thereof. Emplacement of the metal pellets is achieved by dropping them into the open upper end of the envelope while the circumferential seal of fused glass which joins the stem to the opposite end of the envelope is still hot and "tacky" as a result of the sealing-in operation. The metal pellets automatically fall toward and contact the newly-formed circumferential seal and remain fused and bonded to its surface after the glass cools and rigidifies.

Abstract: The ability of an open-ended corrugated-paperboard lamp wrapper to withstand compressive forces and retain an inserted frictionally-gripped lamp are both enhanced by orienting the corrugations so that they extend obliquely across the walls of the wrapper at an angle of from about 10.degree. to 35.degree. with respect to the transverse axis of the wrapper. The compressive strength of a single-lamp wrapper fabricated from single-face corrugated paperboard having corrugations offset by 20.degree. is increased by 19% and lamp-retention is increased by 20% compared to a conventional wrapper having corrugations that extend parallel to the transverse axis.

Abstract: The peripheral edges of the metal eyelet that is embedded in the end of the insulator of an electric lamp base are recessed behind a notched portion of the insulator which prevents the eyelet from being accidentally snagged and "lifted" or otherwise deformed during subsequent bulk processing and shipment of the bases. The notched protective portion of the insulator is formed during the molding of the insulator by making the contactor portion of the eyelet smaller than the corresponding part of the die cavity and centrally positioning the eyelet within the cavity so that the insulating material is forced into the space between the peripheral edges of the contactor portion and the side walls of the molding die.Positioning and retention of the eyelet in the proper location within the cavity is automatically achieved by means of three spaced radially-extending lugs that are located at the bottom of the molding die and form a pocket which receives eyelets that are fed into the die.

Abstract: The protective plastic cover component of a compact multiflash unit that integrally-formed prisms on its side walls is fastened to the base component by overlying adhesive strips of clear plastic material. The cover and base components are thus securely locked in operative relationship with one another without the application of heat or ultrasonic energy which could distort the prismatic light-focusing side walls of the cover and alter their optical characteristics. In mechanically-ignitable type flash units the potential danger of accidentally firing the flashlamps by heating or vibrating the percussive ignition material on the anvils during the joining operation is also avoided.

Abstract: A compact multiflash unit that contains a plurality of flashlamps, which mounted on a base member along with reflector members, is provided with a protective plastic cover having light-controlling prisms molded into its side walls. The prisms are so oriented and profiled that they serve as integral optical elements which direct the light rays from the "fired" lamps toward the scene being photographed, thereby compensating for the lateral spreading of the light rays produced by the shortened reflector members.

Abstract: An electric lamp having a sealed-beam or single-ended domed type envelope that contains a tungsten filament and a halogen additive is provided with a specular coating of gold, palladium, platinum, or rhodium on a selected portion of its inner surface. The metal coating serves as a non-reactive interior reflector which does not getter the halogen additive or contaminate the lamp atmosphere and thus optically controls the light output of the lamp without interfering with the halogen-tungsten regenerative cycle. In an alternative embodiment, the outer surface of the envelope is properly contoured (to provide a parabolic surface, for example) and then coated with a thin layer of aluminum, silver, nickel or chromium which serves as an exterior reflector. The regenerative tungsten-halogen cycle is thus achieved in a reflector type lamp without the separate halogen lamp component heretofore required in such lamps.

Abstract: A fluorescent lamp or similary shaped fragile article is frictionally locked with a protective open-ended wrapper of tubular sleeve-like configuration by an inturned tab that constitutes a hinged part of the wrapper and is sandwiched between the inserted lamp and the wrapper wall. The wrapper is preferably fabricated from single-face corrugated paper and the tab is swingable about a hinge line such that the corrugations of the inturned tab extend transversely with respect to and thus do not nest with the corrugations of the wrapper, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the tab as an integral article-retaining means.

Abstract: Scrap glass is crushed and mixed with selected quantities of ball clay and wollastonite, the resulting raw-mix is press-molded into a green compact, and the latter is fired in air at a temperature above the softening point of the glass particles to provide a ceramic article that has a dense impervious structure and is electrically non-conductive. Selective amounts of bentonite and an inorganic pigment can also be included in the raw-mix formulation and talc, petalite or potter's flint can be substituted for the wollastonite. By properly correlating the molding pressure and firing schedule with the raw-mix formulation, the ceramic articles can be rapidly and economically mass-produced in various shapes and sizes.

Abstract: A single lamp bulb is retained within a collapsible open-ended tubular sleeve of stiff paperboard by an integral panel that extends within the interior of the sleeve and has a medial cut-out which interlockingly accommodates a protruding arcuate portion of the lamp bulb. The locking panel is slit, scored and secured to only one of the sleeve walls in such a manner that it automatically flexes and is pushed into locking position when the sleeve is set up for use. The central portion of the panel obliquely spans a corner of the erected sleeve and another portion of the panel frictionally engages and is wedged against one of the sleeve walls to provide a bracing action that inhibits the inherent tendency of the sleeve to return to collapsed condition.

Abstract: A selected part of the envelope of a fabricated electric lamp is made light-reflecting by spraying it with a coating composition that contains aluminum flakes of such minute size that they inherently arrange themselves in planar relationship and form a specular film as the composition dries. A protective coating of a suitable heat-resistant material, such as silicone plastic, is then sprayed over the reflective film and cured. The protective coating can also contain aluminum particles in order to fill voids that may be left in the thin specular film and to make the latter more opaque.