JP2001273853A - Exhaust head for discharge bulb and mercury filling method into discharge bulb - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fill specific volume of mercury into a discharge bulb precisely, simply, quickly and reliably. SOLUTION: This exhaust head comprises an exhaust head body 2 which has an exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 enabling an exhaust pipe of a discharge bulb to be inserted in the horizontal direction in airtight and a rod hole 7 communicating with this exhaust pipe insertion hole in the horizontal direction, and rotates around a rotational shaft, a mercury pellet accommodation part 13 which is arranged on this exhaust head body and accommodates mercury pellets, and a mercury pellet sealing rod 8 which has a shaft hole 9 for flowing in the mercury pellets supplied by the mercury pellet accommodation part by rotating the exhaust head body into the discharge bulb 3 through the exhaust pipe 4 by means of sealing gas pressure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a horizontal exhaust head for exhausting air from inside a discharge bulb such as a fluorescent lamp and for filling a predetermined amount of a sealed gas and mercury into the discharge bulb.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of this type of a horizontal exhaust head, there is one described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2686404. In this type of horizontal exhaust head, for example, both the exhaust pipes at both ends of the fluorescent bulb are simultaneously exhausted, or one of the exhaust pipes is filled while the other exhaust pipe is filled with a sealing gas such as an argon (Ar) gas and mercury. As a result, the time required for the evacuation or sealing process can be reduced.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional horizontal exhaust head, since liquid mercury is sealed in the discharge bulb, the accuracy of sealing a predetermined amount of liquid mercury in the discharge bulb is low, and the sealing is not performed. There is a problem that the amount of the dispersion is large, and the yield of the discharge lamp is not always high. In addition, there is a problem that surplus mercury becomes an environmental problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an exhaust head for a discharge bulb that can easily, quickly, and reliably fill a predetermined amount of mercury into the discharge bulb with high accuracy. With the goal.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a discharge valve having an exhaust pipe insertion hole for hermetically inserting an exhaust pipe of a discharge bulb from a horizontal direction and a rod hole communicating with the exhaust pipe insertion hole. An exhaust head body rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the valve; a mercury pellet accommodating portion arranged in the exhaust head body for accommodating mercury pellets; and slidably accommodated inside the rod hole. When the mercury is filled, the mercury pellet has a shaft hole that communicates with the exhaust pipe and stores the mercury pellet that has been moved from the mercury pellet housing unit by rotation of the exhaust head main body. A mercury pellet enclosing rod capable of enclosing the mercury pellet moved into the shaft hole by being supplied into the discharge bulb through an exhaust pipe. A discharge exhaust head valve for.

According to the present invention, the mercury pellets which have been weighed in a predetermined amount and solidified in advance through the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod are sealed in the discharge bulb.
The accuracy of the amount of mercury sealed in the discharge bulb can be improved.

Further, since the mercury pellet is blown into the discharge bulb by the pressure of the sealing gas and sealed in the discharge bulb together with the sealing gas, the mercury pellet can be easily and quickly placed in the discharge bulb from the horizontal direction without using the weight of the mercury pellet. And it can be sealed securely. Furthermore, since the mercury pellet supplied into the mercury pellet storage unit by the rotation of the exhaust head body is rolled by its own weight and moved to the axial hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod and supplied, the mercury pellet is supplied to the mercury pellet enclosing rod. There is no need to separately provide a device for supplying the shaft with good timing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the discharge bulb is evacuated, the mercury pellet enclosing rod has a required gap between its tip and the tip of the exhaust pipe of the discharge bulb inserted into the exhaust pipe insertion hole. 2. The discharge valve according to claim 1, wherein the discharge valve is evacuated through a gap in the rod hole and an exhaust pipe of the discharge valve. Exhaust head for a discharge bulb.

According to the present invention, the inside of the discharge bulb passes through the gap between the tip of the exhaust pipe of the discharge bulb inserted into the exhaust pipe insertion hole and the tip of the mercury pellet sealing rod inserted into the rod hole. Since the air is exhausted, the gap can be used as an exhaust chamber to improve the exhaust efficiency.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the rod for enclosing mercury pellets is provided with a rotation preventing mechanism for preventing the mercury pellet from rotating concentrically with the exhaust pipe of the discharge bulb. It is an exhaust head for a discharge bulb.

According to the present invention, the rotation of the mercury pellet enclosing rod around the axis in the rod hole is prevented by the rotation preventing mechanism. From the mercury outlet of the mercury pellet storage portion in the circumferential direction can be prevented.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the mercury pellet-filling rod is provided with elastic biasing means for elastically contacting the tip of the rod body with the insertion tip of the discharge valve exhaust pipe when the mercury is filled. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

According to the present invention, when mercury is filled, the rod body of the mercury pellet filling rod abutting on the insertion end of the discharge valve exhaust pipe is elastically supported by the spring as the elastic urging means. Even if there is a variation in the insertion amount of the insertion end of the rod exhaust pipe into the exhaust pipe insertion hole, this variation can be absorbed by the spring, so that the adhesion between these two contact portions can be improved and the exhaust can be performed. It is possible to prevent the tip of the exhaust pipe made of, for example, glass from being damaged by the contact between the pipe and the tip of the rod body.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mercury pellet enclosing rod, wherein the mercury pellet enclosing rod is radially communicated with an axial hole of the mercury pellet enclosing portion when the rod body slides in the axial direction at the mercury pellet enclosing position. A vertical hole that communicates with the shaft and guides the mercury pellet into the shaft hole by its own weight; and a gas smaller in diameter than the mercury pellet that communicates with the shaft hole and blows the sealing gas into the shaft hole toward the discharge valve exhaust pipe. 5. The discharge valve exhaust head according to claim 1, further comprising: a supply hole. 6.

According to the present invention, when the rod body slides in the axial direction at the mercury filling position, the mercury pellet is filled by its own weight from the mercury outlet of the mercury pellet accommodating section through the vertical hole of the mercury pellet filling rod. Since the mercury pellet is supplied into the shaft hole of the rod for use, mercury pellets can be easily and reliably supplied into the shaft hole.

Further, since the mercury pellet supplied into the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod is blown toward the discharge valve exhaust pipe side by the sealing gas pressure and sealed in the discharge bulb, mercury is sealed in the discharge bulb from the horizontal direction. can do.

In addition, since the mercury and the gas are sealed almost simultaneously, the process can be shortened.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rod for enclosing mercury pellets, wherein after the gas is sealed in the discharge bulb and the mercury pellet is sealed, the tip-off residual exhaust pipe is pushed out from the exhaust pipe insertion hole to the outside by the rod body. The discharge head according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a mechanism.

According to the present invention, the mercury-filled rod has both the function of sealing the mercury pellet in the discharge bulb and the function of pushing out the residue of the discharge bulb exhaust pipe to the outside. , The number of parts can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where the above is performed by a separate member.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the mercury pellets are supplied into the mercury pellet storage section before the discharge bulb starts to be evacuated, and the discharge head is rotated around the rotation center axis while the discharge bulb is evacuated and the emitter is disassembled. During this process, the rotation of the exhaust head body causes the mercury pellet to move by its own weight, and to move into the vertical hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod at the gas charging and mercury charging positions. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

According to the present invention, the mercury pellets supplied into the mercury pellet storage section before the start of the evacuation step are supplied from the start of the evacuation step to the start of the gas filling and the mercury filling step through the decomposition step of the emitter. It moves by its own weight according to the rotation of the rotating exhaust header body, and immediately before the gas filling and mercury filling process starts, it moves into the vertical hole of the mercury pellet filling rod. The mercury pellet can be supplied into the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod, and the mercury sealing step can be reliably performed.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the mercury pellets in the mercury pellet accommodating section are being evacuated before the gas filling and mercury filling of the discharge bulb, and the same vacuum or sealing as in the discharge bulb is performed during the evacuation process. The discharge head according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the discharge head is configured to be in a gas atmosphere.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, after the gas filling and the mercury pellet filling of the discharge bulb, an openable and closable rubber that opens and closes the tip-off residual exhaust pipe elastically in the radial direction in the exhaust pipe insertion hole is opened. Before pushing out from the exhaust pipe insertion hole to the outside with the mercury pellet enclosing rod, an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen gas at atmospheric pressure or higher is injected into the exhaust pipe insertion hole, the shaft hole, the mercury pellet storage part and these communicating parts. It is configured to keep the inside of the exhaust pipe insertion hole, the shaft hole, the mercury pellet accommodating portion and the communicating portion thereof in an inert gas atmosphere even after sealing and opening the mouth rubber to release this inert gas to the outside. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that:

According to this invention, by opening the mouth rubber,
Inert gas such as argon gas or nitrogen gas in the exhaust pipe insertion hole, shaft hole, mercury pellet storage part and their communication part is released from the rubber cap to the outside. Dust and the like adhering to the accommodating portions and the communicating portions can be blown to the outside to be purified.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of inserting an exhaust pipe of a discharge bulb from a horizontal direction into an exhaust pipe insertion hole of an exhaust head main body and holding the exhaust pipe in a horizontal direction; Making the shaft hole of the sealing rod air-tightly communicate with the exhaust pipe from the horizontal direction; and moving the exhaust head body provided with the mercury pellet accommodating section for accommodating the mercury pellet around the rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the discharge bulb. Rotating the mercury pellet to rotate and moving the mercury pellet from the mercury pellet storage section into the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod; and sealing the mercury pellet in the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod. The mercury pellet and the filling gas are sealed together in the discharge bulb through the exhaust pipe by spraying the gas from the horizontal direction to the exhaust pipe side. It is mercury method to the discharge bulb, characterized in that comprises a; step and.

According to the present invention, since the mercury pellets which have been measured and solidified in advance by the predetermined amount through the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod are sealed in the discharge bulb,
The accuracy of the amount of mercury sealed in the discharge bulb can be improved.

Also, since the mercury pellets are blown into the discharge bulb by the pressure of the sealing gas and sealed in the discharge bulb together with the sealing gas, the mercury pellets can be easily and quickly placed in the discharge bulb from the horizontal direction without using the weight of the mercury pellets. And it can be sealed securely. Furthermore, since the mercury pellet supplied into the mercury pellet storage unit by the rotation of the exhaust head body is rolled by its own weight and moved to the axial hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod and supplied, the mercury pellet is supplied to the mercury pellet enclosing rod. There is no need to separately provide a device for supplying the shaft with good timing.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, after the gas filling of the discharge bulb and the mercury pellet filling, the exhaust head body is evacuated before the tip-off residual exhaust pipe is pushed out of the exhaust pipe insertion hole by the mercury pellet filling rod. Filling the tube insertion hole, the shaft hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod, the mercury pellet housing portion, and the communication portion communicating therewith with an inert gas at atmospheric pressure or higher; and sealing the exhaust tube insertion hole to the outside. Releasing the inert gas filled in the exhaust pipe insertion hole, the shaft hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod, the mercury pellet accommodating portion, and the communicating portion thereof to the outside through the opening of the exhaust pipe insertion hole. 11. The method for charging gas and mercury in a discharge bulb according to claim 10, comprising:

According to the present invention, the opening of the exhaust pipe insertion hole allows the inert gas, such as argon gas or nitrogen gas, in the exhaust pipe insertion hole, the shaft hole, the mercury pellet accommodating section and the communicating section thereof to pass through the exhaust pipe insertion hole. The dust and the like adhering to the exhaust pipe insertion hole, the shaft hole, the mercury pellet accommodating portion, and the communicating portion thereof can be blown out to the outside to purify the exhaust gas.

[0030]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A description will be given based on FIG. In these figures, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference characters.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a horizontal exhaust head 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a state where the exhaust head 1 rotates about a rotation axis O parallel to the longitudinal direction of the discharge lamp. FIG. As shown in these figures, the exhaust head 1 is integrally provided on the exhaust head main body 2 at both axial ends of, for example, a straight tubular discharge bulb 3 such as a fluorescent lamp, a mercury lamp, or a germicidal lamp in a horizontal state. An exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 extending in the horizontal direction is inserted to allow the exhaust pipe 4 made of a thin tube to be inserted from the horizontal direction. Exhaust head 1
Are disposed at both axial ends of the discharge bulb 3, respectively.
Each exhaust pipe 4 at both ends of the discharge bulb 3 is inserted into each exhaust pipe insertion hole 5.
And discharge the gas from both ends of the discharge bulb 3.

In the middle of the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5, the discharge bulb 3
Is provided with an expandable / contractible mouth rubber 6 for elastically holding the outer peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 4 from the diametrical direction. In addition to increasing the force, the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 is hermetically sealed, and the air inside the rubber cap 6 is contracted by exhausting the air to reduce the clamping force of the exhaust pipe 4 and open the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5. It has become.

In the exhaust head main body 2, a rod hole 7 integrally communicating with the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 is formed in a horizontal direction inside the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 (right side in FIG. 1). A mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is slidably inserted in the axial direction.

The mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 4, inward from the tip facing the exhaust pipe 4 (FIG.
(A), a shaft hole 9 extending in the required long axis direction to the right side in FIG.
Is formed at the axis.

The mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 has a smaller diameter than the shaft hole 9 and is substantially T-shaped at the shaft center of the hemispherical bottom wall (the right side wall in FIGS. 4A and 5) of the shaft hole 9. A T-shaped opening lower end 10a is opened as a gas inlet at the lower surface of the outer peripheral surface of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 in the figure in the figure.

Further, the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is
A vertical hole 11 is formed at the terminal end of the shaft hole 9 and communicates with the upper outer peripheral surface in the diameter direction in the figure, and the vertical hole 11 is formed in a truncated cone shape expanding upward in the figure.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 in the gas encapsulation and mercury encapsulation steps is positioned such that its tip (the left end in FIG. 5) abuts the insertion tip of the exhaust pipe 4 (gas encapsulation and mercury). A gas supply passage 12 communicating with the gas inlet 10a of the gas supply hole 10 is formed in the exhaust head main body 2 when sliding in the axial direction up to the sealing position), and a mercury pellet housing communicating with the vertical hole 11 is accommodated. A supply port 13 a, which is a cylindrical mercury outlet of the portion 13, is formed in the exhaust head main body 2.

The mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is configured to slide in the rod hole 7 by a driving device (not shown) and reciprocate in the axial direction. That is, the position of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 during the discharge step of the discharge bulb 3 shown in FIG. 4A, the position of the discharge bulb 3 during the gas and mercury encapsulation step shown in FIG. After the chip 4 is turned off, the exhaust pipe 4 is moved to three positions (not shown) when the exhaust pipe 4 is pushed out of the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear end (right end in FIG. 1) of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is axially elastically supported by, for example, a coil spring 14 as elastic urging means. The spring 14 elastically presses the mercury-pellet-filling rod 8 when the tip of the mercury-pellet-filling rod 8 contacts the insertion end of the exhaust pipe 4 as shown in FIG. Variations in the distance from the tube 4 are absorbed by the spring 14.

As shown in FIG. 4A, during the evacuation process, the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is set so that the gap 15 is set without contacting the tip of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 with the insertion end of the exhaust pipe 4. The driving of the rod 8 is controlled by the driving device. The gap 15 is openably and closably communicated with an exhaust pipe connected to an exhaust pump (not shown) and an enclosed gas supply pipe such as an argon (Ar) gas. And has a size and shape that can improve both the exhaust efficiency and the gas filling efficiency. The exhaust gas exhaust pipe and the gas supply pipe (not shown) are arranged in parallel with the mercury pellet charging rod 8 in the exhaust head main body 2 in front of and behind the mercury pellet charging rod 8 shown in FIG. I have.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a rotation preventing mechanism 16 for preventing rotation around the axis is provided at the rear end of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8. The anti-rotation mechanism 16 is formed with a rectangular notch 16b at the upper end in FIG. 3 of a vertically long flat plate-shaped main body 16a. As shown in FIG. 1, a square rod-shaped fixed square rod 17 fixed to the exhaust head main body 2 above the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is fitted into the notch 16b, as shown in FIG. Is fixed to the outer periphery of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mercury pellet accommodating section 13 accommodates a small spherical mercury (Hg) pellet 18 shown in FIGS. For example, a required amount of an alloy of mercury and zinc or the like is measured in advance with high precision to form a small spherical shape.

As shown in FIG.
Are an inner case 13b located on the inner peripheral side with respect to the rotation center axis O of the exhaust head body 2, and an outer case 1 located on the outer peripheral side.
3c, and a communication port 13d of the outer case 13c is connected to the side surface of the middle part of the inner case 13b at, for example, a substantially right angle, so as to communicate with each other.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner case 13b
Are arranged at substantially right angles on the same plane of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8, and as shown in FIG.
The mercury supply port 13a communicates with the shaft hole 9 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 via the vertical hole 11, and the small spherical mercury pellet 1 is rotated by the rotation of the exhaust head body 2 around the rotation center axis O.
8 is supplied from the inner case 13b into the shaft hole 9 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the outer case 13c of the mercury pellet accommodating section 13 has a lid 19 for opening and closing the inlet 13e for the mercury pellet, and this lid 19 is a lid opening and closing provided with a toggle device or the like. The lid 19 is opened and closed by the apparatus 20 before the evacuation process, and the required number of, for example, one mercury pellet 1 is
8 is charged into the outer case 13c from the charging port 13e.

Next, the exhaust head 1 constructed as described above will be described.
The operation of will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the exhaust head 1 performs from the discharge of the discharge bulb 3 to the filling of the sealed gas and mercury during almost one rotation around the rotation center axis O. The exhaust head 1 approaches the exhaust pipe 4 of the discharge bulb 3 in a horizontal state from the horizontal direction. The exhaust pipe 4 is inserted into the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 of the exhaust head main body 2 to supply air to the rubber cap 6. The exhaust pipe 4 is elastically clamped in the diametrical direction, and the inside of the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 is hermetically sealed.

Next, at the rotational position shown in FIG.
Before the evacuation process, the lid 19 of the outer case 13c of the mercury pellet accommodating unit 13 is opened by the toggle lid opening / closing device 20, and a required number of mercury pellets 18, for example, one mercury pellet 18 is put into the outer case 13 through the inlet 13e by a mercury pet insertion device (not shown). 13c.

At this time, since the outer case 13c faces downward and to the right in FIG. 2 due to the rotation angle of the exhaust head body 2,
The charged mercury pellets 18 are rolling to the lower right corner of the outer case 13c.

Thereafter, the rotation of the exhaust head body 2 is started to start the exhaust process. That is, an exhaust device (not shown) is driven to drive an exhaust pump that communicates with the gap 15 shown in FIG.
The inside of the discharge bulb 3 is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 4 through the gap 15. At this time, the inside of the shaft hole 9 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 communicating with the gap 15 is also exhausted. During this evacuation step, the inside of the discharge bulb 3 may be cleaned by sequentially repeating evacuation and supply of argon gas.

During this evacuation step, the evacuation head body 2 continues to rotate, and the mercury pellet 18 in the outer case 13c rolls into the communication port 13d by its own weight at the position shown in FIG. Rolling into the case 13b,
In other words, the mercury pellet 18 rolls by its own weight to the mercury supply port 13a as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B at the position shown in FIG. Is stopped by being interrupted by the
The state shifts to a standby state, where the exhaust process ends.

The two exhaust pipes 4 at both ends of the discharge bulb 3
In the case of exhausting from the exhaust gas 4, the argon gas is supplied from one exhaust pipe 4 and the other exhaust pipe 4 is exhausted and the inside of the discharge bulb 3 is exhausted. Thereafter, the same operation as described above is performed. Later, the argon gas is sealed from one exhaust pipe 4, the mercury pellet 18 is sealed in the discharge bulb 3, and the other exhaust pipe 4 is sealed.

Next, at this position, the gas charging and mercury charging steps are started. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the mercury-pellet-filling rod 8 is pushed out toward the exhaust pipe 4 of the discharge bulb 3 by a driving device (not shown), and the tip of the mercury-pellet-filling rod 8 comes into contact with the insertion tip of the exhaust pipe 4. The mercury pellet sealing rod 8 at this time is elastically pressed toward the exhaust pipe 4 by the spring 14 shown in FIG.

Since the position of the mercury supply port 13a of the inner case 13b of the mercury pellet accommodating portion 13 coincides with the position of the vertical hole 11 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 by the movement of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8, this mercury The mercury pellet 18 waiting in the supply port 13a falls through the vertical hole 11 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 into the shaft hole 9 by its own weight and moves. At this time, the lower surface opening 10 a of the T-shaped gas supply hole 10 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 communicates with the gas supply passage 12 of the exhaust head main body 2.

Then, when a sealing gas such as Ar gas is supplied from the gas supply path 12 in this communication state, the sealing gas is introduced into the shaft hole 9 through the gas supply hole 10 of the mercury pellet sealing rod 8 and into the shaft hole 9. 18 is blown from behind.

For this purpose, the mercury pellets 18 are blown against the exhaust pipe 4 side of the discharge bulb 3 and roll, and roll into the exhaust pipe 4 and the sealed gas is blown into the discharge bulb 3 and the exhaust pipe 4 Is chipped off. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the gas supply passage 12 is provided with the gas supply hole 10, the shaft hole 9, the vertical hole 11 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8, and the mercury supply port 1.
3a, the inner and outer cases 1 of the mercury pellet storage unit 13
Since it communicates with the insides 3b and 13c, an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen gas having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure is supplied from the gas supply path 12 to be filled. Thereafter, the air of the mouth rubber 6 is released and the mouth rubber 6 is opened. Then, the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is further pushed out of the exhaust pipe 4 and discharged from the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 to the outside.

At the same time, the inert gas having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure filled in the mercury pellet accommodating section 13 and the like is released from the rubber opening 6 being opened to the atmosphere. Dust in the exhaust head body 2 such as the rubber cap 6 is released to the outside and purified.

Therefore, according to the discharge head 1 of the discharge bulb, the mercury pellet 18 sealed in the discharge bulb 3 through the shaft hole 9 of the mercury pellet sealing rod 8 is measured in advance to a predetermined amount and solidified. Since it is easy to handle, the accuracy of the amount of mercury sealed in the discharge bulb 3 can be improved.

Also, since the mercury pellets 18 are sealed in the discharge bulb 3 by blowing them into the discharge bulb 3 by the gas pressure, the mercury pellets can be easily placed in the discharge bulb 3 from the horizontal direction without using the weight of the mercury pellets. Quick and reliable encapsulation is possible.

Further, discharge is performed through a gap 15 between the end of the exhaust pipe 4 of the discharge bulb 3 inserted into the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 and the end of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 inserted into the rod hole 7. Since the inside of the valve 3 is exhausted, the exhaust efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the rotation of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 around the axis in the rod hole 7 is prevented by the rotation preventing mechanism 16, the vertical hole 1 of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is prevented.
1 can be prevented from being shifted in the circumferential direction from the mercury outlet 13d of the mercury pellet accommodating section 13.

Further, when mercury is charged, the discharge bulb 3
Since the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 is elastically supported by the spring 14 at the insertion end of the exhaust pipe 4, the insertion amount of the discharge rod exhaust pipe 4 into the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 varies temporarily. Even if there is, the variation can be absorbed by the spring 14, so that the adhesion between these two contact portions can be improved, and the contact of the tip of the mercury pellet enclosing rod 8 can make the exhaust pipe made of glass, for example. 4 can be prevented from being damaged.

When the mercury-pellet-filling rod 8 slides in the axial direction at the mercury-filling position, the mercury-pellet 18 moves from the communication port 13d of the mercury-pellet-accommodating section 13 into the vertical hole 11 of the mercury-pellet-filling rod 8 by its own weight. Thus, the mercury pellets 18 can be easily and reliably supplied into the shaft hole 9 because they are supplied into the shaft hole 9 of the rod 8 for enclosing the mercury pellet through the above.

Since the mercury pellet 18 supplied into the shaft hole 9 of the mercury pellet sealing rod 8 is blown toward the exhaust pipe 4 side of the discharge bulb 3 by the sealing gas pressure, the mercury pellet 18 is sealed in the discharge bulb 3. Thus, mercury can be sealed in the discharge bulb 3. In addition, since the mercury and the gas are filled almost simultaneously, the process can be shortened.

The mercury-filled rod 8 has a function of sealing the mercury pellet 18 in the discharge bulb 3 and a function of pushing the exhaust pipe 4 to the outside. The number of parts can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified as compared with the configuration.

Further, the mercury pellet 18 supplied into the mercury pellet accommodating section 13 before the start of the evacuation step is rotated from the start of the evacuation step to the start of the gas filling and the mercury filling step through the emitter disassembly step. As the gas header and the mercury filling process start moving immediately before the gas filling and mercury filling process starts, the gas moves into the vertical hole 11 of the mercury pellet filling rod 8 at the start of the gas filling and mercury filling process. The mercury pellet 18 can always be supplied into the shaft hole 9 of the rod 8 for sealing the mercury pellet, and the mercury sealing step can be reliably performed.

When the rubber cap 6 is opened, an inert gas such as an argon gas or a nitrogen gas in the exhaust pipe insertion hole 5 or the like is discharged to the outside. Can be purified by blowing off dust and the like to the outside.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, the mercury pellets which have been measured and solidified in a predetermined amount through the shaft hole of the mercury pellet sealing rod are sealed in the discharge bulb. It is possible to improve the accuracy of the amount of mercury sealed in the container.

Also, since the mercury pellet is sealed in the discharge bulb by blowing it into the discharge bulb with the gas pressure, the simple and quick and reliable horizontal arrangement of the mercury pellet in the discharge bulb without using the weight of the mercury pellet. Can be encapsulated. Furthermore, since the mercury pellet supplied into the mercury pellet storage unit by the rotation of the exhaust head body is rolled by its own weight and moved to the axial hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod and supplied, the mercury pellet is supplied to the mercury pellet enclosing rod. There is no need to separately provide a device for supplying the shaft with good timing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an exhaust head of a discharge bulb according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between rotation of an exhaust head of the discharge bulb shown in FIG. 1 and each step.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a rotation preventing mechanism of the mercury pellet enclosing rod shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a tip of a mercury pellet sealing rod shown in FIG. 1 during an evacuation process, and FIG. 4B is a view of the same in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a peripheral portion of a tip of a mercury pellet filling rod in a gas and mercury filling step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Horizontal exhaust head 2 Exhaust head main body 3 Discharge valve 4 Exhaust pipe 5 Exhaust pipe insertion hole 6 Rubber rubber 7 Rod hole 8 Rod for mercury pellet filling 9 Rod hole for mercury pellet filling 10 Gas supply hole 11 Vertical hole 12 Gas supply Road 13 Mercury pellet storage section 13a Mercury supply port of mercury pellet storage section 13b Inner case of mercury pellet storage section 13c Outer case of mercury pellet storage section 14 Spring 16 Anti-rotation mechanism 16a Main body of anti-rotation mechanism 17 Square rod 18 Mercury pellet 19 Lid 20 Lid opening and closing device

Claims (11)

[Claims] An exhaust pipe insertion hole for airtightly inserting an exhaust pipe of a discharge bulb from a horizontal direction and a rod hole communicating with the exhaust pipe insertion hole are provided at a center of a rotation axis parallel to a longitudinal direction of the discharge bulb. A rotatable exhaust head main body; a mercury pellet accommodating portion arranged in the exhaust head main body for accommodating a mercury pellet; slidably accommodated inside the rod hole and communicating with the exhaust pipe when mercury is filled. And a shaft hole for accommodating the mercury pellet that has been moved from the mercury pellet accommodating portion by rotation of the exhaust head body, and is moved into the shaft hole by supplying a sealing gas into the shaft hole. A mercury pellet enclosing rod capable of enclosing the formed mercury pellet in the discharge bulb via an exhaust pipe. 2. When exhausting the discharge bulb, the mercury pellet-filling rod is opposed to the distal end of the discharge bulb inserted into the exhaust pipe insertion hole with a required gap between the distal end of the rod and the exhaust pipe end of the discharge bulb inserted into the exhaust pipe insertion hole. 2. The exhaust for a discharge valve according to claim 1, wherein the discharge valve is configured to slide inside the rod hole and exhaust the inside of the discharge bulb through a gap in the rod hole and an exhaust pipe of the discharge bulb. head. 3. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to claim 1, wherein the mercury pellet sealing rod has a rotation preventing mechanism for preventing the mercury pellet from rotating concentrically with the exhaust pipe of the discharge bulb. . 4. The mercury pellet enclosing rod includes an elastic biasing means for elastically abutting the tip of the rod body to the insertion end of the discharge bulb exhaust pipe when mercury is sealed. 4. The exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The mercury-pellet-filling rod communicates with the shaft hole in the radial direction, and when the rod body slides in the axial direction at the mercury-pellet-filling position, communicates with the mercury outlet of the mercury-pellet storage unit. A vertical hole for guiding the pellets into the shaft hole by its own weight; and a gas supply hole having a diameter smaller than that of the mercury pellet for communicating the shaft hole with the mercury pellet in the shaft hole and blowing the sealing gas toward the discharge valve exhaust pipe. The exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: 6. The mercury pellet-filling rod has an extruding mechanism for pushing out the tip-off residual exhaust pipe from the exhaust pipe insertion hole to the outside by the rod body after gas filling and discharge of the mercury pellet into the discharge bulb. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: 7. The mercury pellet is supplied into the mercury-pellet receiving section before starting discharge of the discharge bulb, and while the discharge head main body rotates around the rotation axis while discharging the discharge bulb and disassembling the emitter, 2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the mercury pellet moves by its own weight by the rotation of the exhaust head body, and moves into the vertical hole of the mercury pellet filling rod at the gas filling and mercury filling positions.
7. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 6 to 6. 8. The mercury pellet in the mercury pellet accommodating section is being evacuated before the gas filling and mercury filling of the discharge bulb, and during the evacuating process, the mercury pellet is in the same vacuum or gas atmosphere as in the discharge bulb. The discharge head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the discharge head is configured as follows. 9. After the gas filling of the discharge bulb and the mercury pellet, the open / closeable rubber that opens and closes the tip-off residual exhaust pipe elastically in the radial direction in the exhaust pipe insertion hole is opened to fill the mercury pellet. Before pushing out from the exhaust pipe insertion hole to the outside with the rod for exhaust, fill the exhaust pipe insertion hole, shaft hole, mercury pellet storage part and these communicating parts with inert gas such as argon or nitrogen gas at atmospheric pressure or higher, The exhaust gas insertion hole, the shaft hole, the mercury pellet accommodating portion and the communicating portion thereof are maintained in an inert gas atmosphere even after the gas is released to release the inert gas to the outside. An exhaust head for a discharge bulb according to any one of claims 1 to 8. 10. A step of inserting an exhaust pipe of a discharge bulb from a horizontal direction into an exhaust pipe insertion hole of an exhaust head main body and holding the exhaust pipe in a horizontal direction; and a shaft of a mercury pellet sealing rod provided in the exhaust head main body. Allowing the hole to communicate with the exhaust pipe from the horizontal direction in a gas-tight manner; and rotating the exhaust head main body including the mercury pellet accommodating portion accommodating the mercury pellet around a rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the discharge bulb. Rolling the mercury pellet to move the mercury pellet from the mercury pellet storage section into the shaft hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod; And filling the mercury pellets and the filling gas together in the discharge bulb through the exhaust pipe by horizontally blowing the gas. A method for charging mercury into a discharge bulb. 11. After the gas filling of the discharge bulb and the mercury pellet, before the tip-off residual exhaust pipe is pushed out of the exhaust pipe insertion hole by the mercury pellet filling rod, the exhaust pipe insertion hole of the exhaust head main body, Filling the shaft hole of the pellet enclosing rod, the mercury pellet housing part and the communicating part communicating therewith with an inert gas of atmospheric pressure or higher, and sealing the same; Discharging the inert gas filled in the exhaust pipe insertion hole, the shaft hole of the mercury pellet enclosing rod, the mercury pellet accommodating part, and the communicating part thereof from the opening of the exhaust pipe insertion hole to the outside. The method for filling gas and mercury into a discharge bulb according to claim 10, characterized in that: