Lights and lighting provide artificial light sources for general illumination of interior and exterior spaces in homes and buildings. Lights and lamps are also used as ornamental and artistic treatments for decorative purposes. Lighting products include accent light, background light, blacklight, downlight, emergency light, flood light, safety lamp, sconce, searchlight, security lighting, step light, street light, strobe light, spotlight, torch lamp, landscape lighting, outdoor lighting, nightlight, and wallwasher. Lights and lamps may use different lighting sources such as incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, gas discharge lamps and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, fluorescent lamps, arc lamps, fiber optic lights, ultraviolet light, and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps.
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Wednesday, 17 January 2007 |
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The use of ultraviolet (UV) light or radiation for its purification, germicidal and bactericidal effect is well known. UV light is commonly used to control the growth of and kill impurities in septic, water and air systems. UV lamp systems may be either microwave power UV lamp systems or medium pressure mercury vapor arc lamp systems. A typical ultraviolet lamp system includes an irradiator to produce high intensity UV light, a power supply to provide electrical power to the irradiator, and an interconnecting high voltage cable. One type of common UV bulb includes a quartz or glass casing that holds a vaporizable material, such as mercury, and also holds a stabilizing gas such as argon, neon, or xenon. The microwave UV lamp system has an irradiator that is equipped with one or more magnetrons. |
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Friday, 12 January 2007 |
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Traffic lights are used to control traffic along roadways and intersections. The function of traffic signal lights is to project a beam of light at specific angles through an aperture of predetermined cross sectional area. Traditionally, traffic lights have used incandescent light bulbs to produce light. A colored filter was installed in front of each bulb for giving one of the three traffic lights common colors. Incandescent lights have drawbacks in that the bulbs power consumption is high, thus increasing the operation costs, the bulb lifetime is short and decreases with environmental conditions. An alternative to incandescent traffic signals are lights which use light emitting diodes. The primary advantages are that an LED traffic light is much more efficient than an incandescent bulb and requires little or no maintenance. |
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Thursday, 04 January 2007 |
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Neon lights are well known in providing a stable, reliable, and a wide variety source of high-intensity lighting. Neon lights are widely used in commercial applications as decorative enhancements, information communicators and back lights. Neon light displays comprise a plurality of neon tubes that have illuminating conductive gases within the tubes. A neon lamp is equipped with positive and negative electrodes sealed within a glass bulb containing neon at a low pressure. Neon light is produced by the electrical stimulation of the electrons in the low-pressure neon gas-filled glass tube. Neon lamps emit different colors of light, according to the composition of the gas. Neon signs comprise glass tubes which are bent into various configurations and have electrodes sealed into their opposite ends. |
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Monday, 18 December 2006 |
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A metal halide lamp is a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp including an arc tube having various metal halides sealed therein together with mercury and a rare gas for improving the light emitting efficiency and the color rendering properties of the lamp. A typical metal halide arc discharge lamp includes a quartz or fused silica arc tube that is hermetically sealed within a borosilicate glass outer envelope. Recently, ceramic material is getting attentions to replace the silica, since the silica-made arc tube has not yielded enough strength against the high temperature and high pressure resulting from the light emission. Operation of such metal vapor discharge lamps can be carried out with electronic ballast circuits employing either direct current or alternating current power sources. |
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Tuesday, 12 December 2006 |
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High intensity discharge (HID) lamps provide light by producing an arc between an anode and a cathode, instead of energizing a filament. An HID lamp is ignited through application of a high voltage pulse, nominally of several thousand volts, across the electrodes of the lamp. The function of an electronic ballast is to supply the power required for starting and then operating a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp, such as a metal halide lamp. A metal halide lamp is a high-pressure gas discharge lamp in which metal halides are enclosed in a quartz envelope. High intensity discharge (HID) lamps, such as mercury vapor, metal halide, high-pressure sodium and low-pressure sodium lamps, are employed in a wide variety of applications including sports lighting, industrial lighting, and street lighting. |
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Saturday, 09 December 2006 |
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An electronic ballast is used to start gas discharge lamps, such as fluorescent lamps and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, and regulates electrical current used by the lamp. Gas discharge lamps are driven by alternating current (AC) drive signals. The circuits used to produce the drive signals are referred to as ballasts. Ballasts are an integral component of the lighting industry and are either magnetic or electronic. A magnetic ballast uses electromagnetic principles to generate operating and starting voltages for fluorescent lamps. Electronic ballasts are constructed with active electronic components such as transistors that allow functional electrical control. The employment of electronic ballasts leads to significant energy savings due to reduced ballast losses and improved lamp efficiency. |
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Wednesday, 06 December 2006 |
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Floor lamps, desk lamps and table lamps are all very well known in the lighting industry. There are a massive number of stand-alone floor lamps being manufactured and distributed through our market. Many types and configurations of floor lamps and more specifically those which are referred to as tree lamps are presently in use. Floor lamps are generally designed with an upper horizontally extending illuminator assembly, a floor base assembly and an upright supporting tube assembly extending therebetween. The illuminator assembly is positioned above the base assembly at different extensible heights and rotational orientations. The lamp support is generally made of tubes. The tube or either of the tubes has a round hole for inserting the revolving haft of the rotary dimmer switch. |
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Wednesday, 22 November 2006 |
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Halogen light bulbs have been used for several years in a variety of types of lighting fixtures. Halogen lights are brighter and whiter than light produced by standard light bulbs. The intensity of the illumination from halogen lamps remains virtually constant throughout the life of the lamp. Tungsten halogen lamps comprise a hermetically sealed vitreous, light transmissive envelope enclosing a tungsten filament and containing a fill comprising a halide or halogen gas. Halogen incandescent lamps utilize a tungsten filament which is supported and connected to electrical lead wires which supply the filament with current and cause the filament to produce incandescent light. Halogen incandescent lamps have a bulb or envelope of quartz glass, within which a coiled incandescent filament is located. |
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Tuesday, 14 November 2006 |
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Light emitting diode (LED) light bulbs have been developed to replace incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps in many applications. Incandescent light bulbs are commonly used for general lighting, indicator lamps, task lamps, decorative lamps, warning lamps, traffic lamps and the like. Significant savings can be made by the use of LED light bulbs. LEDs consume a fraction of the energy used to illuminate incandescent bulbs and last much longer. Incandescent light bulbs, or lamps, are also disadvantageous because they are fragile and have a short life. In addition to their short life, incandescent lamps are susceptible to damage from mechanical shock and/or vibration. Light emitting diode bulbs have recently been developed for use as a light source in automotive vehicle lamps. |
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Sunday, 05 November 2006 |
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Typical lamps comprise a lamp housing and a lamp shade secured to the housing by fasteners. Lamp shades are devices that partially block the radiation of light from illumination means which are defined as any structure that includes a source of light. Lampshades are mounted on lamps to protect and decorate them, and to dim the direct light coming from the source of light that has over the centuries evolved from candle to bulb. Lampshades are made of many different materials supported by a frame. Lampshades are typically manufactured of relatively stiff material that is stretched around a rigid metal frame. Tiffany-type lampshades generally comprise a plurality of small pieces of stained glass secured to one another by copper foil or lead came to form a desired shape and design. |
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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
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Car headlights project a light beam forward of a vehicle to illuminate the roadway for a driver. Headlights are activated in dusk or night hours to illuminate the road directly ahead of the vehicle. A car headlight comprises a reflector and a lamp projecting through an opening into the interior of the reflector. Car headlights typically employ filament-based light sources such as halogen lamps, or high-intensity discharge lamps. A typical halogen lamp headlight system includes a reflector and a lamp capsule placed with its filament at or near the focal point of the reflector. Automobile headlights are designed to emit a low or high beam by causing light from a light source bulb to be reflected forward by a reflector. All cars include a control for switching between high beam and low beam operation of the headlights. |
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Monday, 16 October 2006 |
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Night lights are used for providing small amounts of illumination so individuals can safely traverse the inner areas of a house at night. Night lights are also used dimly illuminate corridors and rooms in order to ease a child's fear of darkness, or to aid a person walking around at night in a dark environment. There are generally two types of nightlights, namely nightlights that emit a scattered, diffused pattern of light and nightlights that emit a narrow beam of light. Nightlights that emit a scattered, diffused pattern of light are designed to illuminate large areas such as restrooms or hallways. A night light normally uses a low wattage lamp which provides low level illumination. These lights employ incandescent or fluorescent tubes to provide a reduced level of illumination as compared with daytime lighting. |
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Friday, 06 October 2006 |
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Lighting fixtures provide for controlled lighting of a subject in a wide variety of situations. There are many types of light fixtures. These include recessed fixtures, surface mounted fixtures, track-light fixtures and the like. They may utilize incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, metal halide lamps and others. Lighting fixtures generally can be grouped into two different categories, an indirect lighting fixture and a direct lighting fixture. Indirect lighting is widely recognized as the best type of lighting as it provides even illumination without the glare of direct illumination from the light source. Fluorescent light fixtures, sometimes termed "luminaires", are widely used in industrial, commercial, retail, institutional and office applications. Overhead lighting is often used in commercial and residential environments. |
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Tuesday, 19 September 2006 |
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Outdoor landscape and edge lighting has becoming increasingly popular through recent years. In order to enhance the appearance of residential and commercial properties, decorative lighting arrangements are commonly used to outline and illuminate the walkways, flower gardens, sidewalks and driveways of the properties. Various types of outdoor landscape lighting fixtures are known. They include fixtures with lamps having wide beams of light, narrow accent lights, flood lights, and spot lights. Such fixtures typically serve both utilitarian and decorative purposes. Most lighting fixtures are located at or near ground level employing attractive fixtures which blend into the landscape. Outdoor lighting systems generally use of low-voltage lighting having a transformer that supplies electric current. |
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Friday, 08 September 2006 |
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Fluorescent lamps are low-pressure gas discharge lamps. A compact self-ballasted fluorescent lamp is composed of one integrated fluorescent arc tube and a housing for supporting the fluorescent arc tube. A typical fluorescent lamp generates light by energizing a pair of spaced-apart electrodes positioned within a phosphor-coated sealed tube of a vapor containing mercury. The light output of fluorescent lamps is critically dependent upon mercury vapor pressure (vapor density) within the lamp envelope. The luminous efficacy of a fluorescent lamp changes according to the mercury-vapor pressure ratio of the lamp. A cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) is used for back lighting or edge lighting of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). A fluorescent lamp requires a ballast to provide current to the electrodes. |
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Saturday, 12 August 2006 |
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A projector is a type of image display apparatus that projects and displays an image, which is formed on a display device. Presentations using multimedia projection systems have become popular for conducting sales demonstrations, business meetings, and classroom instruction. An image projector comprises a lamp unit to project light and an image projection unit to project the images formed by the image forming unit, using the light from the lamp unit. Image projectors use light emitted from a lamp to form an image by means of an image-forming element on the basis of image data from a personal computer and video camera, and projecting and displaying that image on a screen or display. Many projection systems frequently employ high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, such as a metal halide lamp, a xenon lamp, an extra-high voltage mercury lamp, or devices. |
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Saturday, 12 August 2006 |
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Outdoor lighting is typically used to provide illumination for practical as well as aesthetic purposes around residences, including highlighting landscaping and various architectural features of various improvements. Various forms of outdoor lighting are presently used to illuminate private and other public areas. Outdoor lighting fixtures typically employ a light source, various types of electrical circuitry to effect intermittent illumination and/or some form of mechanical drive to effect movement of one or more objects relative to the light source to create the desired effects. Many outdoor ground lighting systems are timer controlled (mechanical or electronic timer) to be on for variously adjustable selected periods of time during hours of darkness. Many outdoor luminaries, particularly street lights, are automatically turned on and off by a light sensitive device responsive to the level of natural light in the immediate area. |
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Lightings and Lamps
