JP2005056803A - Electrodeless discharge lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrodeless discharge lamp having a light source section for starting whose structure is simple. <P>SOLUTION: The electrodeless discharge lamp is equipped with an arc tube having an electric discharge envelope in which mercury is sealed, a coil unit disposed near the arc tube with an excitation coil which excites the mercury in the arc tube, a high frequency drive circuit section which lets high frequency alternating current flow the excitation coil, and the light source section for starting 60 which emits primary electrons at the time of lighting start of the lamp. The light source section for starting 60 has a closed loop formation consisting of a conductor 61 and a light emitting element 62 which is connected with both ends of the conductor 61. The light source section for starting 60 is so disposed that magnetic field generated by the excitation coil interlinks the closed loop, and the light emitting element 62 emits light at the time of lighting start of the lamp by induced electric power generated in the closed loop by the magnetic field of the excitation coil. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes an arc tube in which mercury is enclosed in a discharge vessel, an excitation coil that discharges the arc tube to excite mercury in the arc tube, and a light source unit for starting having a light emitter for assisting in starting discharge. An electrodeless discharge lamp comprising:

  Usually, the discharge lamp uses the initial electrons in the discharge space at the start of lighting. For example, when light is inserted into the discharge lamp, or when not much time has passed since the last lighting, initial electrons are likely to be generated in the discharge space, and the current starts to flow through the excitation coil until it is lit. The time (hereinafter referred to as “start-up time”) is short, but no light is inserted into the lamp, and a considerable time has passed since the last lighting (this state is referred to as “dark In the “state”), initial electrons are unlikely to be generated in the discharge space, and the starting time of the lamp becomes long.

  In the electroded preheat start type discharge lamp, the thermoelectron emitting material is applied to the filament coil of the electrode. Therefore, the starter takes a long time to start because it emits thermionic electrons that can be used as initial electrons from the start of lighting. There is nothing. However, in an electrodeless discharge lamp having no electrode as described above (hereinafter also referred to as “electrodeless discharge lamp”), initial electrons cannot be obtained at the start of lighting, so that the startup time in a dark state is long. turn into.

  In view of this, an electrodeless discharge lamp has been proposed in which initial electrons necessary for starting the lamp are generated, that is, provided with a starting light source (Patent Document 1).

  The electrodeless discharge lamp includes an arc tube in which mercury is enclosed in a discharge vessel, an excitation coil that is arranged near the arc tube and excites mercury in the discharge vessel, and a part of the magnetic field of the excitation coil. The light source part for starting which emits light using is provided.

The starting light source unit is arranged so as to be linked to the magnetic field of the excitation coil and causes a loop-shaped conductor that generates induced power and a light emitting element that emits light by the induced power to emit light at the start of lighting. It connects through the circuit for.
JP 2000-182569 A

  However, the starting light source unit in the electrodeless discharge lamp described above includes a circuit for causing the light emitting element to emit light. Naturally, since this circuit is composed of a plurality of electronic components, there is a problem that the cost of the light source for starting is increased and the configuration becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electrodeless discharge lamp including a starting light source unit having a simple configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electrodeless discharge lamp according to the present invention includes an arc tube in which mercury is sealed in a discharge vessel, an excitation coil that discharges the arc tube and excites mercury in the arc tube, A light source for starting having a light emitter for assisting in starting the discharge, and the light source for starting forms a closed loop with the light emitter and the conductor, and a magnetic field generated by the excitation coil and the closed loop are chained together. The light emitters emit light directly by the electric power induced in the closed loop by the excitation coil at the start of discharge.

  The term “conductor” as used herein refers to a conductor that is arranged in a state interlinked with the magnetic field generated by the excitation coil and that generates induced power by the excitation coil at the start of discharge, and includes a resistance element, a switch element, a capacitor element, and the like. It refers to something that is not.

  In addition, the “light emitting body” here includes a light emitting element and a connection portion when the light emitting element is electrically connected to the conductor via the connection portion. Naturally, when the light emitting element is directly connected to the conductor, the light emitting element constitutes a light emitter.

  The light emitter may be a light emitting element, and the light emitting element may be an incandescent bulb. Meanwhile, the conductor is made of a stainless material. The starting light source unit constitutes a one-turn closed loop.

  In the electrodeless discharge lamp according to the present invention, since the light emitter is connected only to the conductor, the starting light source unit has a simple configuration and can be implemented at low cost.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, embodiments of an electrodeless fluorescent lamp according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1. FIG. 1 is a front view in which a part of an electrodeless fluorescent lamp in the embodiment is cut away, and FIG. 2 is a diagram in a state where an arc tube of the electrodeless fluorescent lamp in the embodiment is removed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state where an arc tube of the electrodeless fluorescent lamp in the embodiment is removed.

  An electrodeless fluorescent lamp (hereinafter simply referred to as a “lamp”) 1 utilizes a so-called electromagnetic inductively coupled discharge (H discharge). The lamp 1 described below is a 20 [W] product corresponding to a general incandescent lamp 100 [W].

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lamp 1 includes an arc tube 10 in which mercury is enclosed in a discharge vessel 11, a coil unit 20 including an excitation coil 21 that excites mercury in the arc tube 10, and the excitation coil. A high-frequency driving circuit unit 30 for causing a high-frequency alternating current to flow through 21, a base 50 for supplying power to the high-frequency driving circuit unit 30, and a starting light source unit for emitting initial electrons when the lamp 1 is turned on 60.

  The coil unit 20, the high-frequency drive circuit unit 30, and the starting light source unit 60 are accommodated in a cylindrical case 70 so as not to be seen from the outside, and the base 50 is an end of the case 70 opposite to the arc tube 10 (see FIG. 1 and the arc tube 10 is attached to the upper end of the case 70, respectively.

  The electrodeless fluorescent lamp 1 generates plasma by exciting the discharge gas sealed in the arc tube 10 by electromagnetic induction of the excitation coil 21, and from the fluorescent layer 12 on the inner surface of the discharge vessel 11 with the ultraviolet rays of the plasma. Visible light is emitted.

(A) Arc tube As shown in FIG. 1, the arc tube 10 includes a discharge vessel 11 made of, for example, translucent glass, and a fluorescent layer 12 is formed on the inner surface of the discharge vessel 11, and the discharge vessel 11 is filled with mercury (Hg) and an inert gas such as krypton (Kr) gas as a discharge substance.

  The discharge vessel 11 has a recessed portion 13 that is recessed inward (upward) on the wall surface. The recessed portion 13 is used to house the excitation coil 21 of the coil unit 20 and has a bottomed cylindrical shape. I am doing. In addition, an exhaust pipe 15 used when exhausting the inside of the discharge vessel 11 or sealing the above-described gas is provided on the bottom 14 of the recessed portion 13 so as to extend outward (downward). Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of flange portions 16 projecting in the radial direction are formed at the lower end portion of the arc tube 10, for example, four at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. In addition, although there are four collar portions, all use the code “16”.

  The collar portion 16 is engaged with an engaging portion of a coil unit 20 described later, and in this engaged state, for example, using an adhesive, specifically, silicon resin (not shown), the arc tube 10 is used. , The case 70 and the coil unit 20 are fixed to each other.

(B) Coil unit As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the coil unit 20 includes a disk-shaped base portion 22 and a direction substantially orthogonal to the base portion 22 from the approximate center of the base portion 22 (FIGS. 1 and 3). 2 is provided with a unit main body 24 comprising a cylindrical portion 23 extending upward.

  The unit body 24 is made of an insulator, for example, a synthetic resin material (in the embodiment, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is used), and as shown in FIG. The peripheral edge is engaged by the claw portion 71 on the inner peripheral surface of the case 70.

  An excitation coil 21 is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 23 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and a core 25 is inserted therein (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical portion 23 has an outer diameter set to a predetermined dimension so that it can be inserted into the recessed portion 13 of the arc tube 10. For example, ferrite is used for the core 25, and the shape thereof is, for example, a cylindrical shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, on the surface of the base portion 22 (upper surface in FIGS. 1 and 2), an engaging portion 26 that engages with the flange portion 16 at the lower end portion of the arc tube 10 is provided in the circumferential direction. For example, four pieces are formed at equal intervals (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the engaging portion 26 has a portion 26 a facing the cylindrical portion 23 and an end portion 26 b on one side in the circumferential direction (here, the clockwise side).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the engaging portions 26 are separated from each other in the circumferential direction, and the flange portion 16 at the end of the arc tube 10 enters from between the engaging portions 26 in this state. When the arc tube 10 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction around the tube axis, the collar portion 16 is moved from the opening of one end portion 26b of the engaging portion 26 to the engaging portion 26 as indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. It is designed to enter inside.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, connection terminals 27 a and 27 b connected to the ends 21 a and 21 b of the coil wire constituting the excitation coil 21 are provided on the surface of the base portion 22. One end portion 21 b of the coil wire is connected to the connection terminal 27 b through the through hole on the lower side of the cylindrical portion 23 via the inside of the cylindrical portion 23.

(C) Starting Light Source Unit FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the starting light source unit in the embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the starting light source unit 60 includes a conductor 61 and light emitting elements 62 connected to both ends of the conductor 61, and these constitute a closed loop. The starting light source unit 60 is arranged so that the magnetic field generated by the excitation coil 21 passes through the closed loop, and the light emitting element 62 emits light by the induced power generated in the closed loop by the magnetic field of the excitation coil 21 when the lamp 1 is turned on. It is like that.

  The starting light source unit 60 is sized to be accommodated in the case 70, and is sized such that the lower end portion (including the collar portion) of the arc tube 10 enters the closed loop formed by the conductor 61 and the light emitting element 62. I am doing.

  The conductor 61 has, for example, a C shape. Lead wires 62 a and 62 b led out from the light emitting element 62 are electrically connected to the end of the conductor 61 by, for example, welding. The starting light source unit 60 is disposed outside the arc tube 10 and near the arc tube 10. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the conductor 61 is placed on the engaging portion 26 so that the light emitting element 62 is positioned between the engaging portions 26 of the coil unit 20.

  For example, an incandescent bulb is used as the light emitting element 62, and the rated voltage is approximately the same as the value of the induced voltage generated by the magnetic field of the excitation coil 21 when the lamp is started.

(D) High-frequency drive circuit unit The high-frequency drive circuit unit 30 is composed of a plurality of electrical components mounted on a substrate 31, as shown in FIG. In a state where the substrate 31 is held by the holding unit 80, the holding unit 80 is attached to the coil unit 20 and incorporated in the case 70.

  FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a high-frequency driving circuit unit incorporated in the electrodeless fluorescent lamp.

  The high frequency drive circuit unit 30 includes a rectifier circuit 32 and a high frequency circuit 33.

  The rectifier circuit 32 includes a noise filter capacitor 321, a full-wave rectifier 322, a smoothing capacitor (electrolytic capacitor) 323, and the like, and rectifies a commercial AC voltage and outputs a DC voltage.

  The high-frequency oscillation circuit 33 includes a pair of switching elements 331 and 332 made of MOS transistors, a coil 335, a choke coil 336, and the like, and has a resonance circuit 34 on the output side.

  When a current in a predetermined direction flows through the primary side of the choke coil 336, an electromotive force is generated in the secondary coil 336 according to the direction of the current, and this is the gate of the switching elements 331 and 332 connected to the point Q as an inverted voltage. To be applied.

  The switching elements 331 and 332 are composed of NMOS for the former and PMOS for the latter, and are turned on alternately depending on the polarity of the inverted voltage applied to the gate thereof, whereby an alternating voltage having a predetermined frequency is supplied to the excitation coil 21. Here, the lamp described in the embodiment is 20 [W] as an alternative to the incandescent lamp 100 [W], and the frequency of the AC voltage is 480 [KHz].

  In the figure, reference numerals 333 and 334 denote Zener diodes, which prevent the voltage applied to the gates of the switching elements 331 and 332 from being excessive and protect the switching elements 331 and 332. The output-side resonance circuit 34 includes the excitation coil 21 and capacitors 341 and 342.

(E) Others As shown in FIG. 1, a heat radiating portion 90 is provided between the coil unit 20 and the holding portion 80 to prevent the temperature of the core 25 from rising when an alternating current is passed through the excitation coil 21. It has been. The heat dissipating part 90 has a cylindrical part 91 inserted into the through-hole of the cylindrical core 25 and a disk part 92 attached to the lower end of the cylindrical part 91. Heat is radiated from the disc portion 92.

  The base 50 is, for example, a screw-in type E26 type that is the same standard as a general incandescent bulb, and is electrically connected to the high-frequency drive circuit unit 30 by a lead wire (not shown). As a result, power is supplied to the high-frequency drive circuit unit 30 and the arc tube 10 emits light.

2. Specific Configuration (a) Conductor The conductor 61 is made of stainless steel wire. This is because, when a single wire is bent and curved into a C-shape, it is easy to process, and the shape retainability is excellent even after processing. In addition, the lead wires 62a and 62b of the light emitting element 62 can be easily connected by welding. Further, the reason why the wire is C-shaped is that it constitutes a one-turn closed loop with the light emitting element 62, and in this way, contact between conductors is taken into account (for example, insulation treatment is performed on the conductors). This is because there is no need to do so.

  The thickness of the conductor 61 (diameter of the wire) is approximately 1 [mm]. The reason is that the wire can be easily processed into a C shape, has excellent shape retention after processing, and is easy to handle when the starting light source unit 60 is incorporated into the case 70.

(B) Light-emitting element The incandescent bulb used as the light-emitting element 62 has a diameter of 3 mm, a length of 6 mm, and a rated voltage of 9 V. . The current at the start of lighting is 0.1 [A], and the emitted light flux is 3 [lm]. This color temperature is 2100 [K].

  On the other hand, the incandescent lamp when the lamp 1 is steadily lit is lit with a luminous flux of 0.6 [lm] and its power consumption is about 0.1 [W]. The power consumption of the incandescent bulb is 0.5% with respect to the power consumption (20 [W]) of the lamp 1, which is considered to be negligible. This is because the lamp usually has a high starting voltage, and the voltage decreases when the lamp is steadily lit. When the lamp 1 described in the embodiment is also steadily lit, the magnetic field generated by the induction coil 21 is weakened. Because.

  Further, the time from when the induced power is applied to the light emitting element 62 until it emits light is about 0.1 second or less. In addition, the starting time until the lamp 1 is lit is also about 0.1 seconds or less. For reference, when a lamp not equipped with a starting light source unit was started to light up in a dark state, the starting time was a maximum of 3 seconds.

(C) Starting light source unit The starting light source unit 60 connects the conductor 61 and the light emitter 62 in a closed loop shape. Furthermore, since the rated voltage of the light emitting element 62 and the induced voltage generated in the conductor 61 are substantially the same, it is not necessary to adjust the voltage applied to the light emitting element 62, and the configuration of the starting light source unit 60 is simplified. Can be.

  In order to make the rated voltage of the light emitting element 62 and the induced voltage generated in the conductor 61 substantially the same, for example, the number of turns of the filament coil in the light emitting element 62, that is, the incandescent bulb, the thickness of the strand, etc. Can be designed appropriately. In other words, when an incandescent bulb is used as the light emitting element 62, the rated voltage can be easily adjusted.

  The light emitting element 62 of the starting light source 60 is disposed between the engaging portions 26. Thereby, even when the arc tube 10 is fixed to the case 70 side, the light emitting element 62 does not get in the way, and a slightly larger light emitting element can be used.

<Modification>
Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiments, the content of the present invention is not limited to the specific examples shown in the above embodiments, and for example, the following modifications are implemented. can do.

1. Regarding the shape and size of the conductor In the above-described embodiment, stainless steel is used as the material of the conductor 61. However, other materials such as iron, brass, etc. can be used as long as they have conductivity.

  Further, the thickness of the conductor 61 is set to 1 [mm] in the embodiment. However, the thickness of the conductor 61 is preferably in the range of 0.8 [mm] to 1.5 [mm]. This is because if the thickness is smaller than 0.8 [mm], the conductor is easily bent and the shape is not maintained. Further, if the conductor does not have a certain degree of rigidity, work efficiency when the starting light source unit is incorporated in the case is lowered. On the other hand, if it is thicker than 1.5 [mm], the conductor is difficult to bend and processed, contrary to the case where it is thin, and a problem arises in the storage property of the conductor. If a material other than stainless steel is used, the thickness of the conductor may be changed because the mechanical properties are different from stainless steel.

  Furthermore, the shape of the conductor 61 is an arc-shaped C-shape in the embodiment, but may be a C-shape having a polygonal shape such as a hexagon. Further, if the starting light source unit is housed in the case 70 and the arc tube 10 is fixed to the case 70 in that state, for example, an elliptical C-shape may be used.

2. Regarding Light-Emitting Element (a) Regarding Light Beam The light beam emitted from the light-emitting element 62 at the start of lighting is about 3 [lm] in the embodiment, but this light beam is in the range of 1 [lm] to 10 [lm]. Is preferred.

  The reason for this is that if it is less than 1 [lm], the lamp start time exceeds 0.5 seconds, causing inconvenience in actual use, and if it is greater than 10 [lm], the lamp is in steady lighting. This is because the luminous flux of the light emitting element is about 2 [lm] and is transmitted through the light emitting tube. For example, inconvenience occurs when the light emitting color of the phosphor applied to the light emitting tube is different from the light emitting color of the light emitting element.

(B) Time until light emission In the above embodiment, the time until the light emitting element 62 emits light is about 0.1 seconds or less. The following is acceptable. This is because the starting time of the lamp is substantially the same as the time until the light emitting element emits light, and the inventors have conducted various investigations. As a result, if the starting time of the lamp is 0.3 seconds or less, the lighting of the lamp is slow. This is because there were few people who felt that.

(C) Color temperature Although the color temperature of the light emitted from the light emitting element 62 is about 2100 [K] in the embodiment, the color temperature is preferably 2000 [K] or more. This is because the higher the color temperature, the higher the probability of initial electron generation, and the lower the color temperature of 2000 [K], the lower the initial electron generation probability.

(D) About rated voltage and induced voltage In the said embodiment, the rated voltage of an incandescent lamp is made substantially the same as an induced voltage. This is to prevent the filament coil of the incandescent bulb from breaking even if the lamp is frequently turned on and off.

  However, even if an incandescent lamp with a low rated voltage is used, for example, even if the lamp is turned on every day, the filament coil may not be disconnected because it has a short lighting time of about 0.1 seconds. On the contrary, even when an incandescent lamp having a high rated voltage is used, the lamp can be lit in a short time if a luminous flux of 1 [lm] or more is emitted at the time of starting the lamp.

(E) Element types In the above embodiment, an incandescent lamp is used as the light emitting element 62, but other light emitting elements may be used. Examples of such a light emitting element include a micro gap and a micro cavity radiator.

3. In the present embodiment, one light emitting element 62 is provided on the C-shaped conductor 61, but a plurality of (for example, two) arcuate conductors and a plurality of light emitting elements (for example, two) are provided. ) May be used to form a closed loop.

  Further, the conductor may have a plurality of turns. However, in this case, since there is a possibility that the conductors come into contact with each other, it is necessary to take insulation measures such as performing an insulation treatment on the outer periphery of the conductor.

4). Electrodeless discharge lamp The electrodeless fluorescent lamp 1 described in the present embodiment has been described with respect to an incandescent lamp 100 [W] equivalent, but may be equivalent to another incandescent lamp.

  On the other hand, the frequency of the alternating current supplied to the excitation coil 21 was 480 [KHz]. As a result of experimentally producing a lamp up to 3 [MHz] for the alternating current frequency, It has been confirmed that even when a similar starting light source unit is used, initial electrons can be obtained at the time of starting the lamp.

  Moreover, although the electrodeless discharge lamp according to the present invention has been described with respect to the bulb-type discharge lamp 1 in the above embodiment, other lamps, for example, a high-frequency drive circuit section are not provided, and the base type is screwed. For example, a compact fluorescent lamp using a single-piece base (such as GX10q) may be used. Even in such a lamp, the configuration of the starting light source unit is not substantially different from the content described in the embodiment.

  The electrodeless discharge lamp according to the present invention can be used for a lamp having a starting light source unit that generates initial electrons when the lamp is started.

It is the front view which notched some electrodeless fluorescent lamps in embodiment. It is a perspective view of the state where the arc tube of the electrodeless fluorescent lamp in an embodiment was removed. It is a top view of the state which removed the arc tube of the electrodeless fluorescent lamp in embodiment. It is a perspective view of the light source part for start in an embodiment. It is a circuit diagram of the high frequency drive circuit unit incorporated in the electrodeless fluorescent lamp.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrodeless fluorescent lamp 10 Arc tube 20 Coil unit 21 Excitation coil 30 High frequency drive circuit part 60 Light source part for starting 61 Conductor 62 Light emitting element

Claims (5)

An electrodeless device comprising: an arc tube in which mercury is enclosed in a discharge vessel; an excitation coil for discharging the arc tube to excite mercury in the arc tube; and a starting light source unit having a light emitter for assisting in starting discharge A discharge lamp,
The starting light source unit forms a closed loop with the light emitter and the conductor, and is arranged in a state where the magnetic field generated by the excitation coil and the closed loop are interlinked, and the excitation coil causes the excitation coil to enter the closed loop. An electrodeless discharge lamp, wherein the light emitter emits light directly by induced electric power.   The electrodeless discharge lamp according to claim 1, wherein the light emitter is a light emitting element.   The electrodeless discharge lamp according to claim 2, wherein the light emitting element is an incandescent lamp.   The electrodeless discharge lamp according to claim 1, wherein the conductor is a stainless material.   The electrodeless discharge lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the starting light source unit constitutes a one-turn closed loop.

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