Patent ID: 6169362
Filing Date: 2001-01-02
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
In a mercury vapor discharge lamp having an envelope of light-transmitting vitreous material containing an inert starting gas and a quantity of elemental mercury at least in part convertible to soluble mercury, and first and second electrodes located within said envelope for an arc discharge therebetween, the improvement comprising an effective amount of a soluble non-metallic copper-containing compound in combination with an effective amount of a selected one of a group of materials consisting of a soluble chloride, a soluble bromide, a soluble nonmetallic iron-containing compound, and a soluble nonmetallic manganese-containing compound, wherein said copper-containing compound and said material in combination, when the lamp is particulated into granules and subjected to a suitable aqueous acid extraction solution, dissolve in said aqueous acid solution, resulting in a concentration of extracted mercury less than about 0.2 mg/l of the extraction solution, and wherein said effective amount of said copper-containing compound is substantially smaller than is required to produce said concentration of extracted mercury without said materials present, and wherein said effective amount of said selected material is smaller than is required to produce said concentration of extracted mercury without said copper-containing compound present.