The invention concerns a lamp having a reflector, a glass lid and a filament which is supported by supply wires. The supply wires pass from the interior of the lamp to the outside through the connecting area between the reflector and the glass lid. The reflector is thus almost 100 percent effective because there is no space required for a material collection marking a passage of supply wires or a socket for receiving a bulb. The light performance of the lamp is thus an optimum.

The invention concerns a lamp for use in roofed or closed rooms comprising 
a reflector and a glass lid as well as a filament supported between two 
supply leads which are extending from the gas filled interior of the lamp 
to the outside. 
Similar lamps are commonly used for interior design, for furniture and 
built-in-furniture as fixtures. In addition to the use in roofed or closed 
rooms, as mentioned above, such lamps can also be used in carports, and in 
gardens and the like as long as there is a closed room around the lamp 
which may be encapsuled within a corresponding light structure. 
The smaller the lamps according to the invention are designed, the more 
important is the efficient use of the reflector surface, because with 
sockets, when bulbs are used, or with material collections for the 
penetration of the supply wires through the bulb body into the interior of 
the lamp, there is a certain requirement of space which can hardly be 
lowered. If now by miniaturization the reflector surface decreases, then 
the percentage of the useable reflector surface compared to the total 
surface will also drop sharply due to the constant surface requirements 
for sockets and/or the passages for the lead-in wires. 
It is an object of the invention to further develop a lamp of the initially 
mentioned kind in which despite miniaturization, the majority of the 
reflector is useable as a reflector surface. Independent from 
miniaturization, it is also an object of the invention to achieve an 
optimum as to the largest useable reflection surface on common reflectors. 
To meet this object the invention proposes that the reflector and the glass 
lid are glued, melted or sealed together and that each supply wire crosses 
the gluing, melting or sealing connection. 
The invention proposes for the first time to guide the supply wires or 
electrodes through the sealant, glue, cement, melt or seal zone into the 
interior of the lamp which is necessarily formed if the reflector and 
glass lid are connected to each other. The invention is thus limited to 
this two part design having a separate reflector and glass lid. Not only 
metallic reflectors but also coated glass reflectors may be used. With the 
latter it is unimportant whether the mirror surface is provided on the 
inside or on the outside of the reflector. In the latter case the 
reflector is commonly protected by a layer of lacquer or other protective 
coat. The lid is always made from glass in a preferred embodiment because 
of the reliability as to light permeability in connection with the high 
temperature resistance necessary, for instance, with halogen lamps. 
Due to the passage of the supply wires through the glue, melt or sealing 
section no material concentration, block or the like within the area of 
the reflector is necessary in order to direct the supply wires or the 
electrodes into the interior of the lamp. In this way almost the entire 
reflector surface can be used solely for reflection and the only loss 
zones are the shadows of the supply wires. Thus, almost a hundred percent 
use of the reflector is possible for reflection. As a consequence there is 
a higher yield of light and thus an improvement as to the light 
performance of the lamp. 
For facilitating the assembly of a lamp according to the invention, 
especially for the protection of the filament installed between the supply 
wires, it is preferable to support the supply wires outside of the 
interior of the lamp one against the other by a connecting element which 
is electrically isolating. In this way there is a unit consisting of the 
filament, the supply wires and the connecting element which can be easily 
handled manually or by robots. The stability of the connecting element 
makes sure that the supply wires keep their preset distance in the section 
where the filament is attached so that the latter cannot be destroyed. 
For the further facilitation of the assembly, and for shortening the free 
length of the supply wires from the last support point on the interior 
side of the reflector to the filament, each supply wire is formed like a 
clip around the reflector on both sides of the passage through the glue, 
melt or seal connection. 
The sealant, glue, cement or paste used to form a gas-tight connection 
between the main components, namely the reflector and the glass lid, must 
be chosen to have a coefficient of expansion matching that of the supply 
wires. The same is true for the case when the reflector and the lid are 
both made of glass and are molten together around their contact zone for 
closing the lamp. If matching materials are not used, the sealing material 
must have a residual elasticity for compensating for different expansions. 
Further, each supply wire can be formed in the section of the passage 
through the sealing or gluing connection in the shape of a screw, a loop 
or a zigzag line. Additionally, or alternatively, the cross section at 
this particular place can be weakened so that, when the sealing material 
is not elastic, the supply wire suffers a plastic deformation during 
temperature variations and the heat expansions going with it. There is 
enough room around the reflector rim to use a multitude of thin supply 
wires instead of one single supply wire, each of which suffers a plastic 
deformation during temperature variations. 
A lamp according to the invention is, when assembled, a unitary structure 
formed by the glass lid, the reflector and the filament including the 
supply wires and possibly the connecting element between the supply wires. 
The lamp can be snapped, squeezed or inserted into a housing and secured 
within the housing by an open ring spring such as used on shafts. The free 
ends of the supply wires may form contact pins which can be plugged into a 
socket so that, by inserting the lamp into a certain receiving part, the 
electrical contact is already made. The receiving body may also have, for 
instance, resilient contact tongues or the wall panel into which the lamp 
may be inserted may have a contact rail which crosses the opening for 
receiving the lamp. The free ends of the supply wires will contact the 
correct tongues or contact rails when positioned in a preset orientation 
into the respective opening. Of course, the free ends of the supply wires 
may have a predetermined distance to each other and be arranged parallel 
to each other so that a standardized plug, which is connected with a lead 
from a transformer, can be pushed over them. 
It is especially easy to create the reflector in that a glass body of the 
wanted form is mirrored on its outside and covered by a protective cover 
or layer. In this way powerful paraboloid mirrors can be produced in a 
very simple way and at low costs. By arranging the filament in the focus, 
before the focus, or behind the focus the direction of the light emitted 
can be adjusted from parallel to spread. Of course, the reflector can be a 
stepped reflector if a big light emitting surface is requested.

The lamp 1 shown in FIG. 1 consists substantially of a glass lid 2 and a 
reflector 3. Both parts are connected along the respective edge sections 
with the aid of a sealant 7 which also provides a gas-tight seal. Passing 
through the glue or sealing section are two supply wires or leads 4 which 
are kept spaced at a distance to each other and which carry at their inner 
ends a filament 5. The outer, free ends of the supply wires 4 form contact 
pins for plugs, sockets, solder connections and the like. 
The two supply wires 4 and the filament 5 form a separate unit with the aid 
of a plate-like connecting element 6. The whole unit is so formed that it 
rides on the rim of the reflector 3 like a clip and passes through the 
glue or seal section, i.e. through the sealant 7. The form of the 
platelike connecting element 6 can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2. 
During the assembly of a lamp according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1 
to 3, first the reflector 3 is made from glass to be a paraboloid, then 
this glass reflector receives a mirrorsurface on the outside which is 
covered by a protective layer, for instance by a lacquer. Then the 
connecting unit shown in FIG. 2 is placed over the rim of the reflector 3 
at any place around the circumference where the reflector carries a recess 
8 for receiving the supply wires 4. The supply wires 4 are so formed that 
the filament 5 is positioned exactly in the focus of the paraboloid of the 
reflector 3 when the connecting unit shown in FIG. 2 is correctly placed 
onto the reflector rim. In the next step, the glass lid 2 is placed onto 
the structure consisting of the connecting unit and the reflector 3. The 
glass lid 2 may also incorporate a profiled lense which is not shown in 
the drawing. The pre-assembly is then evacuated and filled with gas 
comprising a halogen and a rare gas. In this state the sealant 7 is then 
applied and hardened. Afterwards, the lamp 1 is ready for use. 
Instead of using the sealant 7 as a connecting means between the reflector 
3 and the lid 2 (FIG. 1), a direct melting of both parts can also be used 
as a sealant and connecting means between these two parts as is shown in 
FIG. 3. This kind of connection and sealing is especially suitable for 
high performance lamps since high temperatures are reached which 
transgress the usual temperature resistance of common sealant materials. 
The latter can be used up to a temperature of 220.degree. C. If the 
sealing section is warmed higher than this value the embodiment shown in 
FIG. 3 is preferred in which the two glass parts are molted together. 
The supply wires 4 may pass through the connection area without previous 
treatment. The unit shown in FIG. 2 is placed over the rim of the 
reflector 3'. After the evacuation and the filling with a halogen and a 
rare gas, the faces to be welded together by melting are warmed such that 
the supply wires 4 sink into the reflector rim and/or the glass lid. A 
gas-tight, complete welding of the two parts is thus achieved. If the 
materials for the glass parts and the supply wires 4 are correctly chosen 
not even quartz glass is necessary in order to obtain a troublefree 
passage of the supply wires 4 into the interior of the lamp 1. 
Additionally, as shown in FIG. 1, the cross section of the supply wires at 
the connection area can be reduced or weakened so that, when the sealing 
material is not elastic, the supply wire suffers a plastic deformation 
during temperature variations and the heat expansions going with it. 
In connection with FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 it is shown in which way a lamp 1 
according to the invention can be inserted into a frame 11 made of plastic 
or tin and in which way the whole unit can be installed in a chip board 10 
of, for instance, 19 mm thickness. 
In the embodiments shown in the FIGS. 1 to 6, the glass lid 2 carries a 
thickened rim 9 which either has a circumferencial protrusion 29 (FIGS. 1 
and 3) or a circumferencial groove 30 (FIGS. 4 to 6) with the aid of which 
the fixing of the lamp 1 within the frame 11 or in a different light frame 
(not shown) is carried out. The rim 9 serves to protect the lamp 1 from 
breakage, little cracks or splitting-offs are generally unimportant and 
negligible. 
There is an automatic contacting, in the embodiment according to FIG. 4, 
between the supply wires 4 and two contact tongues 25 which are arranged 
one beside the other in the frame 11. With lamp 1 inserted in frame 11, 
contact tongues 25 elastically meet the supply wires 4. A recess 16 in the 
rim 9 which cooperates with a corresponding protrusion (not shown) in the 
frame 11 ensures the orientation of the lamp 1 such that the supply wires 
4 meet the contact tongues 25. It is clearly shown that there is 
sufficient room for a cable 19 within the thickness of the chip board 10 
to supply electric power to the lamp 1. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the supply wires 4 are slightly bent so 
that they run substantially parallel to the surface of the reflector 3 
(FIG. 1). In this way it is possible to push a plug 31 or a standard 
socket over the free ends of the supply wires 4 without leaving the 
silhouette of the chip board 10 which is also shown in this FIG. 5. Also 
in this embodiment the cable 19 connected to the plug 31 can still be 
placed within the height of the chip board 10. Otherwise, it is clearly 
shown that the frame 11 is mounted into an opening of the chip board 10 
with the aid of hooks 39 which carry at their inner side a total of three 
snap protrusions 13 which are received in the groove 30 of the rim 9. In 
this way the lamp 1 is fixed and positioned. 
The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is provided for an electrical connection 
with a current rail 14. The supply wires 4 are so formed that they extend 
perpendicular to the middle plane of the lamp 1. They cooperate with 
contact strips 15 within the current rail 14. After the snapping-in of the 
whole lamp 1 into the snap protrusions 13 (not shown in FIG. 6, but 
compare to FIG. 5) to obtain the correct orientation as to the current 
rail 14, the installation is completed, i.e. the lamp 1 is not only fixed 
and positioned but also electrically connected with the current rail 14. 
The bedding-in of the current rail 14 into the chip board 10 causes no 
problems since a corresponding channel can be cut into the chip board from 
the backside. 
In the shown embodiments, the glass lid 2 carries a nipple 18 which is used 
for handling the lamp during the mounting and demounting into the frame 11 
or the like. In a modified version the nipple 18 may be removable so that 
it is, during use, hooked under the rim 9, under the protrusion 29, or 
into the groove 30 until the removal of the lamp 1 out of a frame 11 or 
the like is necessary. 
The embodiments according to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show, as an example, the 
electrical connection to the supply wires 4 of the lamp 1 with the aid of 
a plug 16, a current rail 14 and automatically according to FIG. 4. Of 
course, other modifications can be made, not only to the electrical 
connection but to all other features of the lamp 1. A colored reflective 
gloss film may be applied to the reflector 3, a colored lens in the glass 
lid 2 may be used and/or a colored deposit may be placed onto the lens. Of 
course, colored glass can also be used and the rim 9 may be used for 
decoration by coating, depositing or the like, such as incorporating a 
certain pattern or structure. The reflector may be a cold light reflector, 
i.e. may be provided with a coating which is permeable for heat radiation 
but reflective for light radiation. This kind of lamp 1 is used where the 
heat radiation is unwanted, for instance when valuable art objects are 
illuminated. 
Alternatively, the reflector 3 can also be a stepped reflector if a big 
light emitting surface is requested.