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United States Patent | 4,912,371 |
Hamilton | March 27, 1990 |
An improved non-lighting fluorescent lamp substitute to replace one lamp in a two-lamp series connected circuit so that the circuit is completed through the remaining lamp allowing it to light, whereas without the lamp substitute, the circuit is incomplete if one lamp is removed and then the other lamp is unable to light. In one form, the device is wired into a light fixture, while in another form, it looks like a conventional fluorescent lamp and fits into the sockets of the fixture. Either form cuts power consumption substantially in half with a corresponding reduction in light output. The improvement is a triac in the device that limits the magnitude of the effective arc current by phase angle control to the original design current of the lamp and ballast in order to achieve the normally expected life of the lamp and ballast. Electrical insulation is provided on the tips of the bi-pin terminals to reduce shock hazard to installers, and in one species, a twin-triac arrangement eliminates any possibility of shock to an installer.
Inventors: | Hamilton; William L. (Painesville, OH) |
Appl. No.: | 07/315,604 |
Filed: | February 27, 1989 |
Current U.S. Class: | 315/98 ; 315/121; 315/122; 315/227R; 315/228; 315/250; 315/312; 315/324; 315/363 |
Current International Class: | H05B 41/20 (20060101); H05B 41/39 (20060101); H05B 41/392 (20060101); H05B 41/232 (20060101); H05B 039/00 (); H05B 041/14 (); H05B 041/16 (); H05B 041/24 () |
Field of Search: | 315/224,312,95,363,250,71,75,88,94,119,121,122,125,126,187,227R,228,229,231 |
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4475064 | October 1984 | Burgess |
4736138 | April 1988 | Masaki |
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