Patent ID: 8053962

Claim:
A sleeve-protected fluorescent lamp comprising a mercury vapor discharge fluorescent lamp surrounded by a sleeve, the fluorescent lamp comprising a light-transmissive glass envelope having an inner surface, a pair of electrode structures mounted inside said envelope, a first base sealing a first end of the lamp, a second base sealing a second end of the lamp, a discharge-sustaining fill comprising inert gas sealed inside said envelope, and a phosphor layer inside said envelope and adjacent the inner surface of the envelope, the sleeve comprising a layer of polymeric material, the sleeve-protected lamp further comprising a UV-blocking layer between the polymeric material layer and the glass envelope, the UV-blocking layer comprising a UV-blocking component of Al 2 O 3 or ZnO or SiO 2 or TiO 2 or mixtures thereof, the inside diameter of the sleeve being at least 0.2 mm greater than the outside diameter of the lamp so that there is a gap between the lamp and the sleeve, wherein the UV-blocking layer comprises a mixture of Al 2 O 3 , ZnO and SiO 2 .