JP2000048977A - Electronic starter for fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely mount a protection device without impairing its function. SOLUTION: An easy and sure hold is conducted using an insulative holder 20 formed to hold integrally a starter circuit 4 having a pulse generating circuit for generating a pulse at the time of starting a fluorescent lamp, and a protective device 5 due to a thermal fuse 10 for releasing connection to the fluorescent lamp when an over-current flows in the pulse generating circuit and a resistance 11 of a low resistance value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a fluorescent lamp lighting apparatus, a starting tube, which is a glow lamp having a base attached to a lighting tube socket, is used in order to generate a starting pulse through the inductance of a ballast when starting the lamp. A starter is used. However, since the lighting tube has disadvantages such as poor preheating efficiency of the fluorescent lamp, slow start-up, and a problem with the life of mechanical contacts, a pulse generating circuit has recently been provided without using a lighting tube. An electronic starter was developed,
It is being put to practical use. According to this electronic starter, for example, by controlling on / off of the switching element by a control circuit having an IC configuration, the fluorescent lamp can be started and lit, and the preheating property, the startability, and the life can be improved.

[0003]

By the way, in the case of such an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp, in order to ensure safety when a short circuit of a switching element or the like as a constituent element occurs, for example, connection of the fluorescent lamp is performed. A protection device including a thermal fuse connected to a terminal and a low-resistance resistor that generates heat when an overcurrent flows and blows the thermal fuse is required. However, in the related art, no consideration has been given to a countermeasure for simply and reliably mounting such a protection device without impairing its function, and there is much room for improvement.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp in which a protection device can be easily and reliably mounted without impairing its function.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A starter circuit having a pulse generation circuit for generating a pulse when the fluorescent lamp is started; a protection device connected to both ends of the fluorescent lamp to open a connection to the fluorescent lamp when an overcurrent flows through the pulse generation circuit; An insulating holder molded so as to integrally hold the starter circuit and the protection device.

In the present invention, the "fluorescent lamp" means a general lamp which requires a starting pulse for starting lighting, and its shape is not particularly limited. Is allowed to be used. The “starter circuit” is configured to include a “pulse generation circuit” that generates a pulse for starting lighting without using a lighting tube such as a glow lamp. As the “pulse generation circuit” for that purpose, for example,
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a configuration having a switching element for controlling a gate of a phase control element in parallel with the fluorescent lamp and an IC circuit for controlling on / off of the switching element is permitted. As the "phase control element", a bidirectional thyristor or the like is allowed in addition to the most common thyristor (SCR). The “protection device” may have any configuration as long as the connection of the pulse generation circuit to the fluorescent lamp can be opened when an overcurrent flows through the pulse generation circuit. It is allowed to have a configuration having a thermal fuse connected to each connection terminal and a low-resistance resistor that generates heat when an overcurrent flows and blows the thermal fuse. If the resistor has a low resistance, the function of the original electronic starter is not impaired even if the resistor exists, and the thermal fuse can be reliably blown when an overcurrent occurs. The "holder" may be molded so as to integrally hold the starter circuit and the protection device so as to be in a predetermined holding state. It is desirable to have an arrangement space for disposing them in a positional relationship that ensures sufficient mutual electrical insulation. Further, in relation to the starter circuit, for example, the starter circuit is disposed on the front side of the holder via the ceramic substrate, and the protection device is disposed on the rear side of the holder, as in the third aspect of the invention. Allow holder configuration.

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, with regard to the protective device required for the electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp, the insulating device required for exhibiting the original function only by attaching to the insulating holder is provided. It can be easily mounted while ensuring the distance and the like.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fluorescent lamp electronic starter according to the fourth aspect, the pulse generation circuit adjusts the fluorescent lamp by diverting a part of the lamp current to the phase control element when the fluorescent lamp is turned on. It has a step dimming function to emit light. In the present invention, the step dimming function refers to an all-light (100
%), It means that lighting can be performed in 75% and 50% states, which means dimming in several steps. in this case,
It is desirable that stepwise dimming can be performed cyclically, such as 100% → 75% → 50% → 100%.

According to the present invention, a lamp generating circuit including a phase control element, a switching element, an IC circuit, and the like originally provided for starting and lighting a fluorescent lamp is used even after the fluorescent lamp is turned on. Is diverted to the phase control element side according to the phase control, so that dimming lighting can be performed, and dimming lighting that is impossible with a starter using a lighting tube becomes possible.

[0010] The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claims 1 to 5.
The electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to any one of the above, further comprising a base attached to a lighting tube socket, wherein the protection is performed by incorporating the holder that integrally holds the starter circuit and the protection device. An ignition tube-shaped case is provided in which a lead wire of the device is electrically connected to the base. Claim 8
The invention described in the electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a base to be mounted on a lighting tube socket; and a lid for closing an opening of the base. There is provided a base-shaped case in which the holder holding the starter circuit and the protection device integrated with each other is incorporated, and a lead wire of the protection device is electrically connected to the base. In these inventions, the "base" mounted on the lighting tube socket is equivalent in shape to the base of a conventional lighting tube such as a glow lamp, and is mounted on the lighting tube socket instead of the lighting tube. Means to get.

According to these inventions, the circuit portion, the substrate, and the like of the electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp are housed in the luminous tube-shaped case having the base or in the base-shaped case. By simply mounting the glow-tube-type case or the base-type case on the glow-tube socket, the lighting device can have an electronic starter function without structural change. In particular, according to the die-shaped case of the invention described in claim 8, it can be mounted in a state in which it is buried in the lighting fixture without protruding, and the decorativeness and cleanability of the lighting device are improved.
Further, in the case of the lighting tube type case according to the invention of claim 6, for example, as in the invention of claim 7, a monitor display element built in the lighting tube type case is provided; It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the monitor display element is displayed on the monitor when the fluorescent lamp is not lit, and the non-lit display can be clearly specified with the existing lighting device structure.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
A description will be given with reference to FIG.

<Circuit Configuration and Operation> FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a lighting circuit including an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a fluorescent lamp 2 is connected to a commercial AC power supply via a ballast 1 having an inductance L component.
Is connected. A capacitor C ₀ is connected between both ends of the fluorescent lamp 2. Fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 is connected to this connection terminal TM ₁ at both ends of the fluorescent lamp 2, TM between _2. The electronic starter 3 for a fluorescent lamp is roughly composed of a starter circuit 4 and a protection device 5. The starter circuit 4 is a thyristor (SCR) 6 and a diode D ₁ which are phase control elements connected in parallel between the connection terminals TM ₁ and TM ₂ of the fluorescent lamp 2, and a switching element for controlling the gate of the thyristor 6. It mainly comprises a gate trigger circuit 7 combining certain transistors Q ₁ and Q ₂ , and an IC circuit 8 having a control function of controlling the on / off state of the gate trigger circuit 7. Here, the thyristor 6 is incorporated in a full-wave rectifier circuit 9 in which four diodes D ₂ , D ₃ , D ₄ and D ₅ are connected in a bridge. In addition, IC
Resistors R ₁ and R ₂ are connected to the circuit 8 to monitor the power supply voltage and determine the ON / OFF operation timing of the gate trigger circuit 7 at startup.

Further, the protection device 5, the temperature fuse 10 in its thermal influence by heat generation when the temperature fuse 10 connected to the connection terminal TM ₁ side of the fluorescent lamp 2 overcurrent flows
And a resistor 11 for fusing. Here, as the resistor 11, a resistor having a low resistance value R of about 0.1 to 0.5Ω is used.

In such a circuit configuration, when the fluorescent lamp 2 is started, the transistors Q ₁ and Q ₂ of the gate trigger circuit 7 are turned on, and the thyristor 6 is gate-triggered and turned on. Through the rectifier circuit 9 and the thyristor 6, a sufficient preheating current flows through the filament of the fluorescent lamp 2. In such preheating operation progresses, IC circuit 8 monitors the voltage of the resistor R _2, the transistor to Q ₁ gate trigger circuit 7 based on the voltage,
Q ₂ is for controlling the timing to turn off. When the gate trigger circuit 7 is turned off, the thyristor 6 is also turned off, and the thyristor 6 is opened. With this opening operation, a pulse voltage is generated between the ballast 1 and the inductance L. As a result, the fluorescent lamp 2 reaches the start lighting, and the lighting state is continued.
If the lighting has not been achieved, such start lighting operation is repeated several times. After the start-up lighting, the thyristor 6 basically keeps the off state (open state), which is equivalent to the state where the electronic starter 3 for the fluorescent lamp is disconnected.

Here, in the present embodiment, the thyristor 6 is included in the full-wave rectifier circuit 9, and a half-wave rectifier circuit is formed even if the transistors Q ₁ and Q ₂ are short-circuited for some reason. There is no trouble such as burning out the ballast 1.

If an element or operation in the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 is abnormal due to some cause, and an overcurrent flows, the overcurrent flows through the resistor 11. The resistor 11 generates heat. Under the thermal influence of this heat generation, the thermal fuse 10
Is melted, so that the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 side is equivalent to a state where it is separated from the power supply side and the fluorescent lamp 2 side. Thereby, safety can be ensured.

<Mounting Structure of Electronic Starter> FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a mounting structure of the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 in the lighting device. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a mounting structure of the starter circuit 4 and the protection device 5.

The electronic starter 3 for a fluorescent lamp according to the present embodiment has a lighting device as shown in FIG. 3 because the starter circuit 4 and the protection device 5 are incorporated in a lighting tube type case 12 as shown in FIG. It is provided detachably with respect to a lighting tube socket 15 provided in a part of a device main body 14 in the device 13. Here, the lighting tube type case 12 is formed in the same shape as a conventional general lighting tube such as a glow lamp.
6 and a plastic transparent cylindrical case portion 17 mounted on the opening side of the base 16. Here, the starter circuit 4 and the protection device 5 are circuit components 18 for the starter circuit 4 as schematically shown in FIG.
Is basically disposed on the front side of the ceramic substrate 19 and the protection device 5 is disposed on the rear side of the ceramic substrate 19. More specifically, as shown in FIG. It is arranged using. The holder 20 is insulative, has a substrate holding portion 21a for holding the ceramic substrate 19 on the front side, and has a groove structure for fitting and holding the temperature fuse 10 and the resistor 11 of the protection device 5 on the front side. The element holding portions 21b and 21c are integrally formed by molding. An arrangement space 21d is provided between the element holding portions 21b and 21c so as to be arranged in a positional relationship between the thermal fuse 10 and the resistor 11 so that electrical mutual insulation can be sufficiently ensured. Further, lead wire TM which is connected to the connection terminal TM ₁ is pulled out from the thermal fuse 10
₁ ′ is pulled out from the top of the base 16 and soldered. A lead line TM ₂ ′ drawn from the resistor 11 and connected to the connection terminal TM ₂ is mechanically held between the base 16 and the case 17. By doing so, it is electrically connected to the base 16 without using soldering.

According to the mounting structure of the electronic starter 3, the temperature fuse 10 and the resistor 11 are connected to the element holder 21.
In addition to being able to be easily mounted simply by being fitted and held in the b and 21c, sufficient electrical mutual insulation between the fuse 10 and the resistor 11 can be secured as it is, and the device can function normally. Incidentally, such a fuse 10 and a resistor 1
As shown in FIG. 13, it is conceivable that mounting is performed by bonding and fixing to the back side of the ceramic substrate 19 using an epoxy resin 22 or the like, as shown in FIG. There is a concern that the protection operation as 5 and the electrical mutual insulation between the fuse 10 and the resistor 11 may be insufficient. According to the present embodiment, such a concern is resolved. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the circuit component 18 is mounted on the ceramic substrate 19 having excellent heat dissipation, a structure that is thermally advantageous is obtained. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 is configured as a structure in which the starter circuit 4 and the protection device 5 are built in the luminous tube type case 12, it is shown in FIG. As described above, in the configuration of the conventional general lighting device 13, the function as the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 is achieved only by screwing the glow-tube-shaped case 12 into the glow-tube socket 15 instead of the glow tube. It can be used and can be applied to conventional products as it is.

The starter circuit 4 using the IC circuit 8
When electrical welding is performed in electrically connecting to the base 16, the element is destroyed, and assembling is poor according to the soldering connection, but in the present embodiment, the lead wire is connected to the base 16. Since the TM ₂ ′ is mechanically connected, there is no such a concern, and a highly reliable electrical connection can be secured.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted (the same applies to the following embodiments).

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a lighting circuit including the electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to the present embodiment, FIG. 6 is a time chart showing operation waveforms in all light, and FIG. 7 is an operation in 70% dimming. 5 is a time chart showing a waveform. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the starter circuit 4 is illustrated in a more simplified manner than in the case of FIG.

In this embodiment, for example, the operation function of the starter circuit 4 is improved to have a step dimming function under the above-described structure.

In FIG. 5, regarding the current i ₁ flowing from the ballast 1 to the secondary side, the lamp current flowing through the fluorescent lamp 2 is denoted by i _L , and the starter current flowing through the full-wave rectifier circuit 9 of the starter circuit 4 is denoted by i _S. , And the power supply voltage is V _S. Under these conditions, the original full light (100% lighting)
Since the thyristor 6 is in the open state, the starter current i _S does not flow as shown in FIG. 6B, and only the lamp current i _L flows as shown in FIG. 6A (i ₁ = i _L ).

On the other hand, when the fluorescent lamp 2 is turned on,
By performing the phase control of the thyristor 6 by the IC circuit 8, dimming lighting becomes possible. For example, 1 of the power supply cycle
If the phase is controlled so that the thyristor 6 is turned on for the latter 30% of the cycle, the first 70% of one cycle of the power supply cycle flows as the lamp current i _L as shown in FIG. As shown in b), the latter 30% of one cycle of the power supply cycle flows as the starter current i _S.
By diverting the current in accordance with the phase control of the thyristor 6 (i ₁ = i _L + i _S ), 70% dimming becomes possible. If the ratio is 50%, 50% dimming is possible.

More practically, a latching circuit function is provided in the IC circuit 8 so that every time the power is turned on, 100% →
It is preferable to provide a step dimming pattern that changes cyclically from 70% to 50% to 100%.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Starter circuit 4 for dimming that was not possible with a glow lamp
Can be easily realized only by the phase control of the thyristor 6 in the above. In particular, the structure of the lighting device 13 does not require any special modification. In the configuration of the conventional general lighting device 13, the lighting tube type case 12 is screwed into the lighting tube socket 15 instead of the lighting tube. It only needs to be mounted and mounted, and can be applied to conventional products as they are.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention.
It will be described based on.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a lighting circuit including the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a mounting structure of the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3.

[0032] In this embodiment, the output terminals of the full-wave rectifier circuit 9 monitor display device 25 according to the lamp for lighting display to that effect at the time of non-lighting of the fluorescent lamp 2 is the resistance R ₃ in the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 It is provided connected between them. Under the control of the IC circuit 8, the monitor display element 25 turns on the switching element 26 when the fluorescent lamp 2 is not turned on after repeating the starting operation of the fluorescent lamp 2 several times, thereby lighting and displaying. Such a monitor display element 25 is a circuit component 18 constituting the starter circuit 4.
As a part of FIG. 9, as shown in FIG.
Is housed in a transparent case portion 17 made of plastic.

In such a configuration, as described above,
When the start-up operation of the fluorescent lamp 2 is performed in accordance with the pulse generation by the starter circuit 4 and the start-up operation is not performed,
The start lighting operation is repeated several times in the same manner. If the fluorescent lamp 2 does not reach the start-up lighting and becomes unlit according to this result, the fact is recognized in the IC circuit 8. With this recognition, the IC circuit 8 switches the switching element 2
6 is turned on, and the monitor display element 25 is turned on. The lighting of the monitor display element 25 can be recognized by the user through the transparent case part 17 made of plastic.
For example, it is possible to monitor, for example, that the fluorescent lamp 2 does not light due to the lamp life. In particular, since the glow lamp can be used for monitor display by using the glow lamp case 12 instead of the conventional glow lamp, the present invention can be applied to conventional products as it is.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a mounting structure of the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 of the present embodiment, FIG. 11 is an external perspective view thereof, and FIG. 12 is a mounting structure of the fluorescent lamp electronic starter 3 in the lighting device. It is a schematic front view shown.

In this embodiment, as a case incorporating the starter circuit 4 and the like, a cap-shaped case 31 is used instead of the luminous tube-shaped case 12, and is configured as an FG1E-compatible electronic starter. That is, the base case 31
The case part 17 is formed by a base 32 mounted on the lighting tube socket 15 and a lid 33 closing an opening of the base 32.
And has a shorter configuration. Here, the holder 20 that holds the starter circuit 4 and the like has a structure in which the protrusion 34 formed on a part of the inner peripheral surface of the base 32 and the pressing portion 35 of the lid 33 are sandwiched. Further, with respect to a portion drawn from the resistor 11 and connected to the connection terminal TM ₂ , the terminal portion 3 is directly connected to the end face of the holder 20 instead of the lead wire TM ₂ ′.
6 is provided, and is electrically connected to the base 16 without contacting by soldering by contacting the inner peripheral surface of the base 16. In addition, a rotating groove 37 into which coins or the like can be inserted in order to perform attachment / detachment operation of the base case 31 with respect to the lighting tube socket 15 is formed at the top of the lid 33. After the starter circuit 4 and the like are built in the base 32, the cover 33 is attached to the base 32 and punched from the outer periphery as shown by reference numerals 38 and 39 in FIG. Be integrated.

In the case of this embodiment, basically,
This embodiment is the same as the above-described embodiment, but in particular, according to the present embodiment, since the base case 31 is used, when the lighting device 13 is incorporated in the lighting tube socket 15, As shown in FIG. 12, the base case 31 is buried and does not protrude from the appliance main body 14, so that the decorativeness of the appliance is improved and the cleaning becomes easy. The mounting of the base case 31 buried in such a manner can be achieved by using a coin or the like by using the rotating groove 37 formed on the top portion of the lid 33, without using a special tool. I can do it.

[0038]

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention,
With respect to the protection device required for the fluorescent lamp electronic starter, the protection device can be easily mounted in a state where the insulation distance and the like required for exerting the original function can be secured simply by attaching to the insulating holder.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a pulse generation circuit including a phase control element, a switching element, an IC circuit, and the like originally provided for starting and lighting the fluorescent lamp is used even after the fluorescent lamp is turned on. Dimming lighting is possible by diverting a part of the lamp current to the phase control element side in accordance with the phase control, enabling dimming lighting that was impossible with a starter using an ignition tube It can be.

According to the sixth and eighth aspects of the present invention, the circuit portion, the substrate, and the like of the electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp are housed in the luminous tube type case having the base or the base type case. By simply mounting a glow-tube-type case or a base-type case on the glow-tube socket instead of the glow tube, the lighting device can have an electronic starter function without structural change, particularly, According to the die-shaped case of the invention of claim 8, it can be mounted in a state in which it is buried in the lighting fixture without protruding, and the decorativeness and cleanability of the lighting device are improved. In the case of the lighting tube type case of the present invention, for example, as in the invention according to claim 7, a monitor display element incorporated in the lighting tube type case is provided; Monitor display element for monitor Configuration can be adopted that can be explicitly unlit display remains existing lighting apparatus structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a lighting circuit including an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting structure of the fluorescent lamp electronic starter.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a mounting structure of an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp in the lighting device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a mounting structure of a starter circuit and a protection device.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a lighting circuit including an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a time chart showing an operation waveform in all light.

FIG. 7 is a time chart showing operation waveforms at the time of 70% dimming.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing a lighting circuit including an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a mounting structure of an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a mounting structure of an electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of the same.

FIG. 12 is a schematic front view showing a mounting structure of a fluorescent lamp electronic starter in the lighting device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a reference example of a mounting structure of a starter circuit and a protection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

2: Fluorescent lamp 4: Starter circuit 5: Protector 6: Phase control element 7: Switching element 8: IC circuit 10: Thermal fuse 11: Resistance 12: Lighting tube type case 15: Lighting tube socket 16: Base 19: ceramic substrate 20: holder 21d: disposing space 25: monitoring for a display device 31: die-shaped case 32: cap 33: lid TM _1, TM _2: connection terminal TM ₁ ', TM _2': lead wire

Claims (8)

[Claims] A starter circuit having a pulse generating circuit for generating a pulse when the fluorescent lamp is started; and a starter circuit connected to both ends of the fluorescent lamp to connect to the fluorescent lamp when an overcurrent flows through the pulse generating circuit. An electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp, comprising: a protection device to be opened; and an insulating holder molded so as to integrally hold the starter circuit and the protection device. 2. The protection device according to claim 1, further comprising: a thermal fuse connected to each connection terminal of the fluorescent lamp; and a low-resistance resistor that generates heat when an overcurrent flows to blow the thermal fuse. 2. The electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein the holder has an arrangement space in which the thermal fuse and the resistor are arranged in a positional relationship that ensures sufficient mutual electrical insulation. 3. The electronic device for a fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein the starter circuit is disposed on a front side of the holder via a ceramic substrate, and the protection device is disposed on a rear side of the holder. Starter. 4. A switching element for controlling a gate of a phase control element parallel to the fluorescent lamp and an I / O for controlling on / off of the switching element.
The electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a C circuit. 5. The pulse generation circuit has a step dimming function for dimming the fluorescent lamp by diverting a part of the lamp current to the phase control element side when the fluorescent lamp is turned on; Electronic starter for fluorescent lamps. 6. A holder having a base attached to a light-emitting tube socket, wherein the holder for integrally holding the starter circuit and the protection device is incorporated, and a lead wire of the protection device is electrically connected to the base. An electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a lighting tube-shaped case that is electrically connected. 7. The monitor according to claim 6, further comprising a monitor display element incorporated in the lighting tube type case; wherein the pulse generating circuit causes the monitor display element to perform monitor display when the fluorescent lamp is not lit. Electronic starter for fluorescent lamps. 8. A holder having a base mounted on a lighting tube socket, and a lid for closing an opening of the base, wherein the holder for integrally holding the starter circuit and the protection device is provided. The electronic starter for a fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a base-shaped case in which a lead wire of the protection device is electrically connected to the base.