ETC Licenses Patented Technology to GE

[STEVETERRY]

ETC Licenses Patented Technology to GE

6/28/2011

Middleton, WI – Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc. (ETC), a global entertainment and architectural lighting company, announced today that it has licensed patented technology to the Appliance & Lighting business unit of the General Electric Company (GE), a global leader in lighting products. This license covers ETC technology described by US Patent 6,932,491 (and foreign counterparts) utilized by GE in their SHOWBIZ® range of entertainment lamps.

 

[MNicolai]

For those curious, that specific patent is the one that covers the lamp/socket setup used in the Revolution fixtures, where the lamp can be inserted and removed without having to open up the fixture at all.

A theatrical luminaire for entertainment and architectural applications includes a lamp socket accessible from the exterior of the luminaire housing. A lamp includes a base, a bulb on one side of the base and a handle on the other side. The handle is grasped to insert the lamp into the socket. When the base is mounted in the socket, the bulb extends through the socket into the luminaire and the handle remains accessible at the exterior of the luminaire. The lamp is mounted with a one-handed push and turn motion, and contacts on wings of the base engage socket contacts as the lamp is turned to its final position. The socket is mounted on a support that is adjustable relative to the luminaire housing to preserve the correct lamp positioning when the lamp is replaced.

Earlier this year the same patent was also licensed to Phillips for their FastFit range of lamps.