Patent ID: 7098597

Claim:
A xenon lamp which is adapted for operation in a horizontal orientation comprising: an arc tube provided with a side tube portion at each end; xenon gas within the arc tube; an anode and an opposed cathode located within the arc tube spaced a predetermined distance from each other, the anode and cathode being differently configured; and an electrode rod connected to a back end of the anode and extending to an adjacent side tube portion and another electrode rod connected to a back end of the cathode and extending to an adjacent side tube portion, wherein the anode comprises: a flattened or rounded anode tip that is free of protrusions directed toward the cathode; a rounded or flattened back end; a portion with a gradually increasing diameter in which the gradual increasing diameter gradually increases in diameter from the anode tip toward the back end; a portion with a gradually decreasing diameter extending toward the back end of the anode in which the gradually decreasing diameter gradually decreases in the direction toward the back end and a length, in an axial direction of the portion with a gradually decreasing diameter, which is greater than the length in the axial direction of the portion with an increasing diameter; and a portion with a maximum outside diameter which is located in a transition area between the portion with the increasing diameter and the portion with a decreasing diameter, and wherein the transition area between the portion with the increasing diameter and the portion with the decreasing diameter is of a continuous profile.