JP2009289524A - Lamp and lighting system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the breakage of an outer tube due to the scatter of fragments including a chip-off part even if an inner pipe is broken by the breakage of an arc tube in a lamp having the inner tube formed particularly with the chip-off part. <P>SOLUTION: The lamp 1 comprises the outer tube 2, the inner tube 3 enclosed in the outer tube 2 and formed with the chip-off part 9 at the end, and the arc tube 4 arranged in the inner tube 3. A coil-like spring 11 elastically deformed from the chip-off part 9 toward a facing part 10, facing the chip-off part 9, out of the inner surface of the outer tube 2 is provided between the chip-off part 9 and the facing part 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lamp and a lighting device using the lamp.

  Recently, for example, metal halide lamps are used as light sources for spotlight illumination used in stores and the like. When such a metal halide lamp is used for a spotlight in a store or the like, the compactness is particularly emphasized as compared with that for a downlight, and has the following configuration, for example.

  A substantially straight tubular outer tube (excluding the tip-off portion and the pinch seal portion) having a tip off portion at one end and a pinch seal portion (sealing portion) at the other end, and disposed in the outer tube The arc tube and a G-shaped base attached to the end of the pinch seal portion of the outer tube via cement (adhesive) are provided.

  Such metal halide lamps are often used by being housed in a luminaire in which a front glass is attached to the light extraction port so that even if the arc tube breaks, the fragments are not scattered.

  On the other hand, lighting fixtures for spotlights include a lighting fixture with an open bottom surface (no front glass). In such an open bottom type lighting fixture, it has been proposed to adopt a triple tube structure so that even if the arc tube breaks, the outermost outer tube is not damaged (for example, (See Patent Documents 1 and 2).

As shown in FIG. 6, the specific structure of this type of triple-metal-structured metal halide lamp includes an outer tube 2 made of hard glass, and a tip-off portion 9 housed in the outer tube 2 at one end. Are formed, and the inner tube 3 made of quartz glass, the inside of which is an airtight space, the arc tube 4 disposed inside the inner tube 3, the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3 through an adhesive or the like. And a base 5 bonded to each other.
International Publication No. 2006/001166 Pamphlet JP 2007-179959 A

  By adopting the triple tube structure as described above, even if the arc tube breaks due to the design and the fragments are scattered, the inner tube is damaged only by the broken pieces, and until the outer tube is damaged. It is not reached.

  Incidentally, the inside of the inner tube is an airtight space of a vacuum atmosphere or a nitrogen gas atmosphere. Therefore, a tip-off portion that is the remaining portion of the exhaust pipe for performing vacuum exhaustion in the exhaust process of the manufacturing process is formed at the end of the inner pipe. As a result, the inner tube is also damaged along with the breakage of the arc tube, and particularly when the fragments including the tip-off portion are scattered and directly collide with the inner surface of the outer tube, the impact of the fragments on the outer tube is large. It has been found that there is a case where it is damaged.

  The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and particularly in a lamp having an inner tube in which a chip-off portion is formed, even if the inner tube is damaged due to damage of the arc tube, It is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp capable of preventing the outer tube from being damaged due to scattering of fragments including the tip-off portion, and an illumination device using the lamp.

  The lamp according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an outer tube, an inner tube housed in the outer tube and having a tip-off portion formed at an end thereof, and an arc tube arranged inside the inner tube. A coiled spring that is elastically deformed in a direction from the tip-off portion toward the facing portion between the tip-off portion and a portion of the inner surface of the outer tube facing the tip-off portion. It is provided.

  The lamp according to claim 2 of the present invention is the lamp according to claim 1 of the present invention, wherein the coiled spring is sandwiched and held between the outer tube and the inner tube. It is characterized by.

  The lamp according to claim 3 of the present invention is the lamp according to claim 1 or claim 2 of the present invention, wherein a part of the coiled spring has a small diameter. .

  Further, the lamp according to claim 4 of the present invention is the lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3 of the present invention, wherein the coiled spring includes the inner surface of the outer tube and the inner tube. The coil spring is in contact with the outer surface of the tube, and compressive stress is applied to the coiled spring in a direction from the tip-off portion toward the facing portion.

  The lamp according to claim 5 of the present invention is the lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 4 of the present invention, wherein the coiled spring is made of stainless steel and has a wire diameter. It is set within the range of 0.2 [mm] or more and 1.0 [mm] or less.

  A lighting device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes the lamp according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and a lighting fixture to which the lamp is attached.

  In particular, in the lamp having the inner tube in which the tip-off portion is formed, even if the inner tube is broken due to the breakage of the arc tube, the outer tube is scattered by the scattering of the fragments including the tip-off portion. It can be prevented from being damaged.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a metal halide lamp 1 with a rated power of 100 [W] according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an outer tube 2, an inner tube 3 accommodated in the outer tube 2, An arc tube 4 disposed in an airtight space inside the inner tube 3 and an E-shaped base 5 attached to the end of the outer tube 2 are provided.

  The central axis X in the longitudinal direction of the outer tube 2, the central axis Y in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube 3, and the central axis Z in the longitudinal direction of the arc tube 4 are located on substantially the same axis. However, “substantially on the same axis” means that the members 2, 3, and 4 are assembled together, for example, except when the central axis X, the central axis Y, and the central axis Z are completely located on the same axis. This includes the case where the central axis X, the central axis Y, and the central axis Z are shifted due to variations occurring at the time.

The outer tube 2 is made of, for example, hard glass, has a closed portion 6 having a substantially hemispherical shape at one end, and has an opening 7 at the other end, and a portion other than the one end is substantially cylindrical. Is. As an example, the substantially cylindrical portion of the outer tube 2 has an outer diameter R ₁ (see FIG. 1) in a range of 20 [mm] to 30 [mm], for example, 26 [mm], and a wall thickness t _1. (See FIG. 1) is in the range of 1.0 [mm] to 1.8 [mm], for example, 1.5 [mm]. Since the closed portion 6 has one opening portion of the glass tube opened at both ends closed by mold processing or manual processing, the thickness thereof is difficult to be uniform, and particularly in the case of manual processing, the thickness varies considerably. In some cases, it is in the range of approximately 1.0 [mm] to 2.5 [mm]. The inside of the outer tube 2 (excluding the inside of the inner tube 3 and the inside of the arc tube 4) is an atmospheric atmosphere.

  The outer tube is not limited to a substantially cylindrical straight tube except for one end portion as described above, and the outer tube has a shape in which only the central portion bulges or the central portion bulges most. Also, it may be of various known shapes such as an outer tube having a shape that continuously decreases in diameter as it approaches the end.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 8 denotes a white film formed at the end of the outer tube 2 on the opening 7 side.

The inner tube 3 is made of, for example, quartz glass or the like, and has one end portion that is substantially flat, has a tip-off portion 9 that is the remaining portion of an exhaust pipe (not shown), and the other end portion. Have a sealing portion (not shown) that is crushed and sealed by a known pinch sealing method, and the portions excluding these both end portions are substantially cylindrical. As an example, the substantially cylindrical portion of the inner tube 3 has an outer diameter R ₂ (see FIG. 1) in the range of 13 [mm] to 20 [mm], for example, 17.5 [mm]. t ₂ (see FIG. 1) is in the range of 1.0 [mm] to 1.6 [mm], for example, 1.25 [mm]. The inside of the inner tube 3 is an airtight space in a vacuum atmosphere, for example. However, a nitrogen gas atmosphere may be used instead of the vacuum atmosphere as necessary.

  Note that the outer shape of the inner tube is not limited to a substantially cylindrical straight tube, except for the above-described both ends, and a shape in which only the center portion bulges, or the center portion bulges most and ends. Various known shapes, such as a shape that continuously decreases in diameter as it approaches, may be used.

Here, between the tip-off portion 9 and the inner surface of the outer tube 2 between the tip-off portion 9 and the portion 10 facing the tip-off portion 9 (hereinafter simply referred to as “the facing portion 10”), the tip-off portion 9 to the facing portion 10 A coiled spring 11 is provided which is elastically deformed in the direction toward. Specifically, the coiled spring 11 is attached so that one end portion thereof covers a side surface portion in the vicinity of the tip-off portion 9 side of the inner tube 3, and the other end portion is a facing portion of the outer tube 2 from the tip-off portion 9. The other end is in contact with the facing portion 10. However, the distance L ₁ (see FIG. 1) between the inner surface of the outer tube 2 and the inner surface of the outer tube 2 intersecting with a straight line extending straight from the tip of the tip-off portion 9 in the longitudinal direction of the inner tube 3 is 3 [mm] or more and 6 [mm] or less. For example, 4 [mm].

  At this time, one end of the coiled spring 11 is in contact with the outer surface of the inner tube 3, and the other end is in contact with the inner surface of the outer tube 2, and is sandwiched between the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3. Is retained. By adopting this configuration, the coiled spring 11 can be held without requiring a special holding mechanism when the coiled spring 11 is held in the space between the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3. 11 is inexpensive and can be realized by a simple process.

  Further, in this state where one end of the coiled spring 11 is in contact with the outer surface of the inner tube 3 and the other end is in contact with the inner surface of the outer tube 2, the coiled spring 11 is chipped off. It is preferable that compressive stress is working in a direction from the portion toward the facing portion 10. That is, by arranging the coiled spring 11 so as to be in contact with each other between the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3 in a compressed state, the coiled spring 11 is restored by the restoring force of the coiled spring 11. One end can be pressed against the outer surface of the inner tube 3, and the other end of the coiled spring 11 can be pressed against the inner surface of the outer tube 2, while the coiled spring 11 is securely held between them. Can be made. In addition, as will be described later, even if the inner tube 3 is damaged due to the breakage of the arc tube 4 and the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 try to scatter violently, the restoring force of the coiled spring 11 is reduced. Acts on the direction opposite to the outer tube 2 to weaken the scattering force of the fragments including the tip-off portion 9, and the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 directly directly with the momentum at the time of breakage. It is possible to avoid collision with the inner surface of the outer tube 2 and to reliably prevent the outer tube 2 from being damaged.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the coiled spring 11 does not have the same coil diameter for each turn, but has a small diameter. Specifically, the coiled spring 11 has a diameter of each turn on the other end side from the center smaller than a diameter of each turn on the opposite end side. Each turn on the one end side has substantially the same diameter although there are variations in manufacturing. Also, each turn on the other end side has substantially the same diameter, although there are variations in manufacturing. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the probability that fragments when the arc tube 4 or the inner tube 3 is broken pass through the inside of the coiled spring 11 and collide with the inner surface of the outer tube 2. It is possible to reliably prevent the tube 2 from being damaged. In particular, one end of the coiled spring 11 is attached so as to cover the side surface of the inner tube 3 in the vicinity of the tip-off portion 9, and is in contact with a substantially planar portion at one end of the inner tube 3. When there is no portion, the debris including the tip-off portion 9 is likely to be scattered toward the inside of the coiled spring 11, which is effective in preventing the passage. Further, when the coiled spring 11 is attached so that one end portion side of the coiled spring 11 covers the side surface portion in the vicinity of the tip-off portion 9 side of the inner tube 3, a part of the coiled spring 11 is appropriately reduced in diameter. By doing so, the small-diameter portion of the coiled spring 11 abuts on and engages with the substantially planar portion of the one end portion of the inner tube 3, thereby ensuring stable holding of the coiled spring 11. Can do.

  In order to reduce the diameter of a part of the coiled spring 11, the coil diameter is not limited to a stepwise change as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. You may change so that it may become small in diameter.

  Furthermore, the coiled spring 11 is preferably made of stainless steel and has a wire diameter set in a range of 0.2 [mm] to 1.0 [mm] for reasons described later.

  The arc tube 4 is made of a translucent ceramic made of polycrystalline alumina, for example, and has a main tube portion 12 and narrow tube portions 13 formed at both ends of the main tube portion 12. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the main pipe portion 12 and the thin tube portion 13 are formed by integral molding, but the shape and structure are not limited to those shown in FIG. Those integrated by fitting may be used, and arc tubes having various known shapes and structures can be used.

  A pair of electrodes (not shown) are disposed in the main pipe section 12, and a predetermined amount of metal halide, rare gas, and mercury are sealed therein. As the metal halide, sodium iodide, dysprosium iodide and the like are used. The distance between the electrodes is within a range of, for example, 4.0 [mm] or more and 10.0 [mm] or less.

  In the narrow tube portion 13, a power supply body 14 having an electrode attached to the tip portion is inserted, and sealed at the end opposite to the main tube portion 12 by a sealing material 15 made of frit. A part of the sealing material 15 is interposed between the thin tube portion 13 and the power feeding body 14, and the remaining portion is present in a convex shape on the end surface of the thin tube portion 13.

  Note that a gap (not shown) exists between the narrow tube portion 13 and the power feeder 14 except for a portion sealed by the sealing material 15.

  Of the ends of the power feeder 14, the end opposite to the electrode is led out from the end of the narrow tube portion 13 and is electrically connected to the power supply line 16. The power supply line 16 is electrically connected to an external lead wire (not shown) through a metal foil (not shown) sealed in a sealing portion. Each external lead wire is electrically connected to the shell portion 17 or the eyelet portion 18 of the base 5.

  The base 5 is made of, for example, ceramic such as steatite, and the base insulating part 19 that holds the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3 via, for example, an adhesive (not shown), and a socket (not shown) on the lighting fixture side. And E-shaped base connection part 20 which is inserted and electrically connected. The base connection part 20 has the shell part 17 and the eyelet part 18 described above.

  In addition, as a nozzle | cap | die connection part, not only E type shown in FIG. 1 but well-known various shapes, for example, pin-shaped swan types, G type (not shown), etc. can be used.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the metal halide lamp 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, even if the inner tube 3 is broken due to the breakage of the arc tube 4, a chip that gives a strong impact to the outer tube 2 in particular. The coil-shaped spring 11 can prevent the fragments including the off portion 9 from directly colliding with the inner surface of the outer tube 2 with a severe impact at the time of the breakage. At this time, the kinetic energy of the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 can be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the coil-shaped spring 11, so that not only the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 but also the coil-shaped springs can be absorbed. The impact force of the collision with the outer tube 2 of 11 itself can be weakened. That is, if the coiled spring 11 is not elastically deformed, the kinetic energy possessed by the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 is transmitted almost directly as collision energy to the outer tube 2 via the coiled spring 11, and the outer tube 2. Will lead to damage.

  In this case, as described above, the coiled spring 11 is preferably made of stainless steel and has a wire diameter set in a range of 0.2 [mm] to 1.0 [mm]. When the coil-like spring 11 elastically deforms and absorbs the kinetic energy possessed by the fragments including the tip-off portion 9, appropriate elastic deformation can be obtained. However, if the wire diameter is less than 0.2 [mm], the coiled spring 11 is plastically deformed by the debris including the tip-off portion 9 from which the coiled spring 11 scatters. There is a possibility that the outer tube 2 may be damaged by violently colliding with the tube 2. On the other hand, when the wire diameter exceeds 1.0 [mm], the rigidity of the coiled spring 11 becomes too high, and it becomes difficult to elastically deform. As a result, as in the case described above, the kinetic energy possessed by the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 is transmitted as it is as collision energy against the outer tube 2 via the coiled spring 11, and the outer tube 2 is damaged. There is a risk that.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a metal halide lamp 21 with a rated power of 100 [W], which is the second embodiment of the present invention, is a coiled spring, mainly its shape, and the outer tube 2 and the inner tube. 3 has the same configuration as that of the metal halide lamp 1 with a rated power of 100 [W], which is the first embodiment of the present invention described above, except that the positional relationship with FIG. Hereinafter, the different points will be described, and other points will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a coiled spring 22 that is elastically deformed in a direction from the tip-off part 9 toward the facing part 10 is provided between the tip-off part 9 and the facing part 10 of the outer tube 2. . Specifically, the coiled spring 22 is attached so that one end portion thereof is placed on a substantially planar portion 23 in the vicinity of the tip-off portion 9 side of the inner tube 3, and the other end portion is removed from the tip-off portion 9. The tube 2 extends toward the facing portion 10, and the other end abuts against the facing portion 10.

  At this time, one end of the coiled spring 22 is in contact with the outer surface (substantially flat portion 23) of the inner tube 3, and the other end is in contact with the inner surface of the outer tube 2, and the outer tube 2 and the inner tube are in contact with each other. 3 and is held between them. By adopting this configuration, the coiled spring 22 can be held without requiring a special holding mechanism when the coiled spring 22 is held in the space between the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3. It is cheap to provide 22 and can be realized by a simple process.

  Further, in this state where one end of the coiled spring 22 is in contact with the outer surface of the inner tube 3 and the other end is in contact with the inner surface of the outer tube 2, the coiled spring 22 is chipped off. It is preferable that compressive stress is working in a direction from the portion toward the facing portion 10. That is, by arranging the coiled spring 22 so as to be in contact with each other between the outer tube 2 and the inner tube 3 in a compressed state, the restoring force of the coiled spring 22 causes the coiled spring 22 to move. One end can be pressed against the outer surface of the inner tube 3, and at the same time, the other end of the coiled spring 22 can be pressed against the inner surface of the outer tube 2, and the coiled spring 22 can be securely held therebetween. Can be made. In addition, as will be described later, even if the inner tube 3 is broken due to the breakage of the arc tube 4, and the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 try to scatter violently, the restoring force of the coiled spring 22 is reduced. Acts on the direction opposite to the outer tube 2 to weaken the scattering force of the fragments including the tip-off portion 9, and the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 directly directly with the momentum at the time of breakage. It is possible to avoid collision with the inner surface of the outer tube 2 and to reliably prevent the outer tube 2 from being damaged.

  Further, a part of the coiled spring 22 has a small diameter. Specifically, the coiled spring 22 gradually decreases in diameter toward the facing portion 10 side. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the probability that a broken piece of the arc tube 4 or the inner tube 3 passes through the inside of the coiled spring 22 and collides with the inner surface of the outer tube 2. It is possible to reliably prevent the tube 2 from being damaged.

  In order to reduce the diameter of a part of the coiled spring 22, as described above, the diameter is not limited to gradually decreasing toward the facing portion 10 side, but only one turn may be reduced in diameter. The diameter may be continuously reduced toward the facing portion 10 side.

  Furthermore, the coiled spring 22 is also preferably made of stainless steel and has a wire diameter set in a range of 0.2 [mm] to 1.0 [mm].

  As described above, according to the configuration of the metal halide lamp 21 of the second embodiment of the present invention, the arc tube 4 is broken in the same way as the configuration of the metal halide lamp 1 of the first embodiment of the present invention described above. Even if the inner tube 3 is damaged due to this, it is a coil shape that a fragment including the tip-off portion 9 that gives a particularly strong impact to the outer tube 2 directly collides with the inner surface of the outer tube 2 with a severe shock at the time of the damage. It can be blocked by the spring 22. At this time, since the coil-shaped spring 22 can absorb the kinetic energy possessed by the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 by elastic deformation, not only the fragments including the tip-off portion 9 but also the coil-shaped spring. The impact force of the collision of the 22 itself against the outer tube 2 can be weakened.

  In this case, as described above, the coiled spring 22 is preferably made of stainless steel and has a wire diameter set in a range of 0.2 [mm] to 1.0 [mm]. When the coiled spring 22 elastically deforms and absorbs the kinetic energy possessed by the fragments including the tip-off portion 9, appropriate elastic deformation can be obtained.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the illumination device 24 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is used as, for example, a spotlight attached to a ceiling. An open type (without front glass) lighting fixture 25 to which a metal halide lamp 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “Lamp 1”) having a rated power of 100 [W] according to the embodiment is attached, and the lamp 1 to be lit And a known electronic ballast (not shown).

  Electronic ballasts are mounted on the ceiling or embedded in the ceiling. However, a copper iron ballast may be used instead of the electronic ballast depending on the lamp specifications.

  According to the configuration of the lighting device 24 of the third embodiment of the present invention, even when the lamp 1 having the inner tube in which the tip-off portion is formed is used as the light source, It is possible to realize a lighting device that is hard to break and has excellent safety.

  In the third embodiment, the case where a bottom-open type lighting fixture for spotlights is used as the lighting fixture has been described. However, various other known lighting fixtures such as for downlights are used. Even in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  Moreover, although the said 3rd Embodiment demonstrated the case where the metal halide lamp 1 of the rated electric power 100 [W] which is the 1st embodiment of this invention was used as a lamp, in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, it is. Even when a metal halide lamp 21 with a rated power of 100 [W] is used, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  In each of the above embodiments, the metal halide lamp 1 with a rated power of 100 [W] has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a metal halide lamp with a rated power of 20 [W] to 150 [W]. Can also be applied. Of course, the present invention can be applied to a high-pressure discharge lamp other than the exemplified metal halide lamp.

  Further, the shape (winding method) of the coiled spring is not limited to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and any shape can be appropriately adopted within the range in which the above-described effects can be obtained.

  In particular, in the lamp having the inner tube in which the tip-off portion is formed, even if the inner tube is broken due to the breakage of the arc tube, the outer tube is scattered by the scattering of the fragments including the tip-off portion. It can also be applied to applications where it is necessary to prevent breakage.

The partially cutaway front view of the metal halide lamp which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention A perspective view of a coiled spring that is also used in a metal halide lamp A perspective view of another coiled spring also used in metal halide lamps The partially cutaway front view of the metal halide lamp which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention The front view of the illuminating device which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Partial cutaway front view of a conventional metal halide lamp

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,21 Metal halide lamp 2 Outer tube 3 Inner tube 4 Light emitting tube 5 Base 6 Closure part 7 Opening part 9 Tip-off part 10 Face-to-face part 11, 22 Coiled spring 12 Main pipe part 13 Narrow pipe part 14 Feeder 15 Sealing material 16 Power supply line 17 Shell portion 18 Eyelet portion 19 Base insulating portion 20 Base connection portion 23 Substantially planar portion 24 Lighting device 25 Lighting fixture

Claims (6)

An outer tube,
An inner tube housed in the outer tube and having a tip-off portion formed at the end;
With an arc tube arranged inside the inner tube,
A coiled spring that is elastically deformed in a direction from the tip-off portion toward the facing portion is provided between the tip-off portion and the inner surface of the outer tube between the portion facing the tip-off portion. A lamp characterized by being. The lamp according to claim 1, wherein the coiled spring is sandwiched and held between the outer tube and the inner tube. The lamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a part of the coiled spring has a small diameter. The coiled springs are in contact with the inner surface of the outer tube and the outer surface of the inner tube,
The lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a compressive stress is applied to the coiled spring in a direction from the tip-off portion toward the facing portion. The coiled spring is made of stainless steel and has a wire diameter set in a range of 0.2 [mm] to 1.0 [mm]. The lamp according to any one of claims. An illumination device comprising: the lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5; and a lighting fixture to which the lamp is attached.

Images