JP2010251334A - Discharge lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of cracks at a sealing part or degradation of lamp characteristics without bringing forth an increase of an arc tube dimension or arc tube material cost in case an output of a discharge lamp is increased, in a discharge lamp using a ceramic tube as the arc tube. <P>SOLUTION: A heat dissipation member is provided at both ends of the arc tube. Further, the heat dissipation member is provided at a sealing part, then the heat dissipation member is connected to a support frame to fix an arc tube to the support frame by the heat dissipation member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a discharge lamp using a ceramic tube.

In recent years, metal halide lamps using translucent alumina tubes, which are one of ceramic tubes, as arc tubes encapsulating metal halides have been commercialized with a power consumption of 150 W or less.

The advantage of using an alumina tube as the arc tube of a metal halide lamp is that it is scientifically and thermally stable with respect to the metal halide that is the encapsulated material compared to the quartz glass tube generally used in the conventional metal halide lamp. It is possible to suppress the decrease in lamp life that has occurred due to the chemical reaction between the encapsulated material and quartz glass, and to expect improvement in life characteristics, and also to take advantage of the feature that the use limit temperature is higher than that of quartz glass. This means that it is possible to encapsulate alkali metals that could not be encapsulated because quartz glass arc tubes have high reactivity.

When a ceramic tube is used as the arc tube, the sealing is performed by connecting an end disk connected to the electrode core 4 and the molybdenum wire 3 and the niobium wire 1 connected by welding or the like as shown in FIG. As an electrical introduction body, a structure in which this is sealed and fixed to the arc tube 5 by the glass frit 2 or a conductive cermet end disk 6 connected to the electrode core 4 as shown in FIG. It is done by adopting the structure that was. As the glass frit used here, for example, a glass frit containing alumina, silicon oxide or dysprosium as a main component or a glass frit containing alumina or calcium oxide as a main component is used.

In such a metal halide lamp, as shown in FIG. 6, the wire 10 and the plate 7 made of a material such as nickel are connected to the electrical introduction bodies at both ends of the arc tube 8, and this is connected to the outer bulb frame 13 or the like to emit light. The tube 8 has a structure fixed in the outer sphere 9.

When a medium / high watt lamp larger than 150 W is manufactured with the conventional structure as described above, cracks in the arc tube sealing portion and deterioration of the lamp characteristics, which did not occur with a low watt lamp of 150 W or less, are caused. It was found that such a problem occurred. This is thought to be due to the fact that the temperature of the sealing part increases because of the large amount of heat generated during lamp operation compared to the low wattage lamp. It is considered that the frit causes a chemical reaction with the encapsulated material and causes deterioration of the lamp characteristics.

Therefore, as a means for lowering the temperature of the sealing portion so that such a problem does not occur, a method of moving the sealing portion away from the arc discharge region, a method of increasing the heat capacity by increasing the thickness of the arc tube, etc. are considered. It is done.

However, when such a method is used, new problems such as an increase in the size of the arc tube and an increase in the material cost of the arc tube arise.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a discharge lamp using a ceramic tube as an arc tube, and does not cause an increase in arc tube dimensions or an increase in arc tube material cost even when the output of the discharge lamp is increased. It is an object of the present invention to provide a discharge lamp structure that does not cause cracks in the sealing portion or deteriorate lamp characteristics.

In the discharge lamp of the present invention, at least a metal halide, mercury, and an inert gas are sealed inside the ceramic tube, and sealing portions in which a sealing material is filled in a gap between the ceramic tube and the conducting wire are provided at both ends of the ceramic tube. A discharge lamp in which an arc tube is incorporated in an outer sphere by a support frame, and a heat radiation member is provided at a sealing portion at both ends of the arc tube.

By providing the heat dissipating members at the sealing portions at both ends of the arc tube, the heat at both ends of the arc tube is dissipated through the heat dissipating member, and the temperature rise of the sealing portion is suppressed. The heat radiation from the heat radiating member may be by heat conduction or heat radiation, and the material of the heat radiating member is appropriately selected according to the heat radiating method.

In particular, when transferring heat from both ends of the arc tube to the heat radiating member by heat conduction and dissipating it from the heat radiating member, a heat radiating member made of a metal plate or metal wire is brought into close contact with the end of the arc tube. It is good to make it adhere as much as possible by a method such as winding. At this time, it is preferable to use a material having a thermal expansion coefficient as close as possible to that of the ceramic tube.

When attaching a heat radiating member, for the purpose of suppressing the temperature rise of the sealing portion, the mounting position is preferably the sealing portion at the end of the arc tube or a position close to this, and particularly attached to the sealing portion. It is good to do. Thus, in order to effectively dissipate the heat of the sealing portion, it is preferable that the heat dissipation member is provided in the sealing portion filled with the sealing material.

When heat radiation from the heat radiating member is performed by heat conduction, it is preferable to connect the heat radiating member to the arc tube support frame that also serves to supply power to the arc tube, and thus the discharge lamp travels along the support frame. Heat is dissipated to the outside.

In addition, it is preferable to fix the arc tube to the support frame by the heat dissipation member by attaching the heat dissipation member to the end of the arc tube and connecting the heat dissipation member to the support frame. The vibration strength at the end can be increased. In particular, such a fixing structure is suitable as an arc tube fixing structure in which the arc tube has narrow diameter portions at both ends and a sealing portion is provided at the narrow diameter portion. With respect to the vibration, the damage at the root of the narrow diameter portion, particularly the narrow diameter portion is suppressed. In this case, since the heat radiating member is attached to the small diameter part which becomes the end of the arc tube, and it is necessary to fix it, the connection of the discharge member is fixed strength than the case where only heat radiation is performed. Increase

According to the present invention, by providing the heat dissipating member, the sealing portion temperature can be lowered, and the generation of the sealing portion crack and the chemical reaction between the encapsulated material and the glass frit are suppressed. As a result, there is no deterioration in lamp characteristics, and even when the output of the discharge lamp is increased to obtain a medium / high watt discharge lamp, the arc tube dimensions and the arc tube material cost are increased. This makes it possible to manufacture a discharge lamp at a low cost.

1 is a schematic view of a discharge lamp according to a first embodiment. The discharge lamp schematic of 2nd Embodiment. The discharge lamp schematic of 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the sealing structure of an arc_tube | light_emitting_tube. The figure which shows the sealing structure of an arc_tube | light_emitting_tube. Schematic diagram of a conventional discharge lamp.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments.

A schematic diagram of a discharge lamp according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The arc tube 8 main body is made of a translucent alumina tube, the maximum outer diameter of the central portion is 18 mm, and the outer diameters of the thin tube portions at both ends are 4 mm. The central part length is 30 mm and the narrow tube part length is 15 mm. The arc tube 8 is filled with 12 mg of dysprosium iodide, holmium iodide, and thulium iodide, 2 mg of thallium iodide, 2 mg of sodium iodide, 14 mg of mercury, and 13.3 kPa of argon gas. . Both ends of the arc tube 8 are connected to niobium wires having a wire diameter of 0.75 mm for supplying power to the two electrodes. A gap between the narrow diameter portion of the alumina tube and the niobium wire is melt-filled with a sealing material made of glass frit mainly composed of alumina, silicon oxide, and dysprosium oxide. A niobium plate 11 having a width of 2 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm is tightly wound around the sealing portions at both ends of the arc tube 8, and the niobium plate 11 is fixed to a support frame 13 of an outer sphere. The atmosphere in the outer sphere 9 can be replaced with a rare gas such as nitrogen, but is evacuated in this embodiment.

The heat generated by the arc discharge during lamp operation is conducted from the electrode core and at the same time is conducted from the tube wall of the arc tube to raise the temperature of the sealing portion. In the assembly method according to the present invention, the heat conducted to the sealing portion is conducted to the outer sphere frame through the metal plate wound around the sealing portion. Therefore, an increase in the sealing portion temperature is suppressed, and a sealing portion crack due to thermal stress can be prevented. Since the sealing portion temperature can be controlled by the material, width, and thickness of the metal plate, the optimum sealing portion temperature can be obtained by arbitrarily adjusting the metal plate with the power of the lamp.

A schematic diagram of a discharge lamp according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the lengths of the thin tube portions of the arc tube 8 are different, one being 10 mm and the other being 15 mm. A niobium plate 11 ′ having a width of 3 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm is attached to the sealing portion having a thin tube portion length of 1 mm, and a niobium plate 11 having a width of 2 mm and a thickness of 0.2 mm is closely attached to the sealing portion having a thin tube portion length of 15 mm. It is fixed to the outer ball frame 13. The rest is the same as the first embodiment. As described above, when the lengths of the thin tube portions are different on the left and right, the temperature of the left and right sealing portions can be made substantially equal by changing the dimensions of the metal plate wound around the sealing portion. This method is effective for reducing the size of the lamp.

The lamp thus produced was tested for lighting at a rated power of 400W. As a result, it was possible to light stably even after 6000 hours had elapsed, and no abnormality such as a crack was observed in the sealed portion. Further, the luminous flux of the lamp was 80% or more of the initial value. From this, it was determined that no chemical reaction between the encapsulated material and the brazing material occurred.

In the first and second embodiments, since the arc tube is fixed to the support frame by the heat dissipation member by connecting the heat dissipation member to the support frame, the vibration strength at the end of the arc tube is high. As a result, there was less damage at the root of the narrow-diameter portion than the conventional one against vibration of the discharge lamp.

A schematic diagram of a discharge lamp according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The lamp of this embodiment is different from the lamp of the first embodiment in that the niobium plate 12 that is a heat radiating member is not fixed to the support frame. In the present embodiment, heat dissipation from the niobium plate 12 is mainly performed by radiation. In the above embodiment, a niobium plate is used as a heat dissipating member provided at both ends of the arc tube. However, as the material, niobium or tantalum having a thermal expansion coefficient approximate to that of a ceramic arc tube, such as an alumina tube, is most preferable. Other materials can also be used. For example, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, and stainless steel are suitable as other materials. Moreover, the shape and form can also use various shapes and forms.

Moreover, although the thing using an alumina was shown as a ceramic pipe material in the said embodiment, various things, such as aluminum nitride and an yttrium oxide, can be used besides this. As the sealing material, various materials such as a ceramic frit can be used in addition to the glass frit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Niobium wire 2 Glass frit 3 Molybdenum wire 4 Electrode core 5 Arc tube 6 Cermet end disk 8 Arc tube 9 Outer sphere 11, 11 ', 12 Niobium plate

Claims (2)

An arc tube having a sealing portion in which at least a metal halide, mercury, and an inert gas are sealed inside the ceramic tube, and a sealing material in which a sealing material is filled in a gap between the ceramic tube and the conducting wire at both ends of the ceramic tube is supported by a support frame. A discharge lamp built in an outer sphere, wherein a heat radiating member is provided at the sealing portions at both ends of the arc tube. An arc tube having a sealing portion in which at least a metal halide, mercury, and an inert gas are sealed inside the ceramic tube, and a sealing material in which a sealing material is filled in a gap between the ceramic tube and the conducting wire at both ends of the ceramic tube is supported by a support frame. A discharge lamp built in an outer sphere, wherein heat radiation members are provided at both ends of the arc tube, the heat radiation member is connected to a support frame, and the arc tube is fixed to the support frame by the heat radiation member. A discharge lamp characterized by being.