JP2011187182A - Fluorescent lamp, and lighting fixture - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a fluorescent lamp capable of improving the adhesion strength of mercury pellets to a sealing end regardless of variations in dimensions of the sealing end of the bulb and the mercury pellet.
A fluorescent lamp includes a glass bulb, a spherical mercury pellet, a pair of lead wires, an electrode, and a rare gas. Glass bulb 2 is formed by sealing both ends of bulb 3 having phosphor layer 9 on the inner peripheral surface with stem 4. A rare gas is sealed in the valve. Between the end 3a of the bulb 3 positioned at one sealing end 2a of the glass bulb 2 and the flared portion 4a of the stem 4, an annular recess 6 that tapers toward the fused portion 5 is formed. To do. The mercury pellet 11 is sandwiched between the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a away from the fusion portion 5, and is fixed to each of the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a. The lead wire 13 penetrates the stem 4 and the electrode 15 is supported on the wire 13.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp in which mercury pellets are disposed inside a glass bulb, and a lighting fixture including the lamp.

  An annular and straight tube fluorescent lamp in which a mercury-releasing metal structure made of a zinc (Zn) -mercury (Hg) alloy enclosed in a glass bulb is fixed to a stem sealed at the end of the glass bulb. Is known as a prior art (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  That is, when the glass bulb is wound around a circular drum and bent into a ring shape, the annular fluorescent lamp shown in FIG. Forming a constricted portion to be gripped by a jig to be moved, and an annular projection continuous to the constricted portion, and forming an annular recess inside the projecting portion to form a mercury-releasing metal structure of a zinc-mercury alloy (Generally spherical) is accommodated in the recess, and this mercury-releasing metal structure is brought into contact with the inner surface of the irregularly curved glass wall with a large contact area. In this configuration, the residual heat of heating and the heating from the outside immediately after the exhaust process are welded and fixed to the inner surface of the recess.

  Further, in the straight tube fluorescent lamp shown in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, both ends of the glass bulb have a U-shape drawn from the straight tube portion of the glass bulb toward the stem in the radial cross section. In this way, a mercury-releasing metal structure of a zinc-mercury alloy is accommodated in an annular recess formed inside the glass wall, and the mercury-releasing metal structure is placed from the outside of the recess. It is the structure welded and fixed to the recessed part inner surface by heating.

  Further, the fluorescent lamp shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1 is a sealing part formed by crimping the end of a glass bulb, and a mercury-releasing metal of zinc-mercury alloy directly accommodated in the sealing part. The structure is a structure in which the structure is fixed, and the mercury-releasing metal structure is fixed to the upper surface of the pressure-bonding seal portion.

JP-A-8-17395

  The prior art described in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1 is a technology related to a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp, and has a configuration in which a recess is formed by providing a recessed portion on the outer periphery of a sealing portion of a glass bulb. On the other hand, since a straight tube fluorescent lamp, a compact lamp, or the like has a configuration in which there is no recess on the outer periphery of the sealing portion, the fluorescent lamp or the like whose end is a straight tube is described in FIG. It is difficult to apply the prior art. Further, in order to bring the mercury-emitting metal structure into contact with the inner surface of the glass wall forming the concave portion with a large contact area, the shape of the inner surface of the glass wall and the shape of the contact portion of the spherical mercury-emitting metal structure must be substantially matched.

  However, it is impossible to form a glass recess with accurate dimensional accuracy, and the dimensional variation is large. In addition, there are various diameters of mercury-releasing metal structures and variations. Therefore, in practice, it is difficult to contact the inner surface of the glass wall forming the recess and the mercury-releasing metal structure with a large contact area. Therefore, in the manufacturing process, the adhesion strength of the mercury-emitting metal structure is likely to vary. Therefore, if the adhesion strength of the mercury-emitting metal structure is low, the mercury-emitting metal structure is detached from the recess due to vibration applied during transportation, etc. There is a problem in that the phosphor layer attached to the inner surface of the glass bulb may be damaged.

  Similarly, in the prior art described in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to make the shape of the inner surface of the glass wall forming the recess substantially coincide with the shape of the contact portion of the spherical mercury-releasing metal structure. The adhesion strength of the released metal structure tends to vary. As a result, when the adhesion strength of the mercury-emitting metal structure is low, the mercury-emitting metal structure may move out of the recess due to vibrations applied during transportation, etc., and attached to the inner surface of the glass bulb accordingly. There exists a subject that the fluorescent substance layer currently made may be damaged.

  Further, since the prior art described in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which the bulb end is sealed by pressure bonding, the straight tube fluorescent lamp having a sealed portion without such a configuration is used. Not applicable. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, since the spherical mercury-releasing metal structure is fixed in contact with the pressure-bonding / sealing portion at one point, the fixing strength may be low. As a result, when the mercury releasing metal structure has low adhesion strength, the mercury releasing metal structure may move out of the recess and move inside the glass bulb due to vibration applied during transportation, etc. There is a problem that the mounted phosphor layer may be damaged.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp and a luminaire that can improve the adhesion strength of mercury pellets to the sealed end portion, regardless of variations in the dimensions of the sealed end portion and mercury pellet of the glass bulb. .

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the fluorescent lamp of the invention according to claim 1 is configured such that both ends of a bulb having a phosphor layer on the inner peripheral surface are sealed with a stem and positioned at one sealed end. A glass bulb in which an annular recess tapering toward the fused portion is formed between an end portion of the bulb and a flare portion of the stem; and an end portion of the bulb apart from the fused portion; Spherical mercury pellets sandwiched between the flare portions and fused and fixed to the end portions of the bulb and the flare portions; a pair of lead wires penetrating the stem; supported by the lead wires An electrode; and a rare gas sealed in the glass bulb.

  In the present invention, the flare portion of the stem is formed in advance in a shape suitable for forming a tapered annular recess between the end portion of the valve and the stem before being fused to the valve. The process may have a configuration that hardly causes deformation, or a tapered concave portion is formed between the end of the bulb by being deformed by the influence of the exhaust while being softened by the heat applied in the exhaust process of the glass bulb. Even if it is the structure which carried out, it does not interfere.

  In the present invention, as a configuration for forming the tapered annular recess, one of the end portion of the valve and the flare portion of the stem is substantially parallel to the tube axis of the straight pipe portion of the valve, and the other is an extended line Can be mentioned that the other side is provided in an oblique shape so as to cross obliquely with respect to the tube axis, or a line extending both the end portion of the valve and the flare portion of the stem is A configuration in which both of them are provided in an oblique shape with opposite inclinations so as to obliquely intersect the tube axis can be mentioned.

  In the present invention, an amalgam pellet for a fluorescent lamp made of a tin (Sn) -mercury (Hg) alloy can be suitably used as the mercury pellet, but is not limited thereto, for example, zinc (Zn) -mercury (Hg) It is also possible to use mercury pellets made of an alloy. In addition, the present invention is applicable to any fluorescent lamp in which both ends of the glass bulb are at least a straight tube. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to a straight tube fluorescent lamp. It can also be applied to other fluorescent lamps.

  In the invention of claim 1, the spherical mercury pellet is fused and fixed to each of the end portion of the bulb and the flare portion of the stem formed by the glass bulb, and the fixing portion. Is away from the fused end of the end of the bulb and the flare. Therefore, two mercury pellets are fixed to the sealed end of the glass bulb, regardless of variations in the spherical shape of the mercury pellets and the size of the sealed end of the glass bulb. it can.

  A fluorescent lamp according to a second aspect of the present invention is the fluorescent lamp according to the first aspect, wherein the mercury pellet is a tin-mercury alloy and is an amalgam pellet in which the weight of tin is equal to or more than the weight of the mercury. It is said.

  The melting point of the mercury pellet used in this invention is lower than the melting point of the mercury pellet made of zinc-mercury alloy. Therefore, it has the further advantage that the temperature when the mercury pellet made of this tin-mercury alloy is fused and fixed to the sealing end of the glass bulb may be low.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a lighting fixture according to a third aspect of the invention includes the fluorescent lamp according to the first or second aspect; and a fixture main body to which the fluorescent lamp is mounted. It is said.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to provide a luminaire including a fluorescent lamp capable of improving the adhesion strength of the mercury pellet to the sealed end regardless of the dimensional variation of the sealed end of the glass bulb and the mercury pellet.

  According to the fluorescent lamp of the invention of claim 1, there is an effect that the fixing strength of the mercury pellet to the sealing end can be improved regardless of the dimensional variation of the sealing end of the glass bulb and the mercury pellet.

  According to the fluorescent lamp of the second aspect of the invention, there is further an advantage that the mercury pellet can be fused and fixed to the sealing end portion of the glass bulb at a low temperature.

There is an effect.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illuminating device including a fluorescent lamp capable of improving the adhesion strength of the mercury pellet to the sealed end regardless of the dimensional variation of the sealed end of the glass bulb and the mercury pellet. There is an effect that can be done.

It is sectional drawing which shows the one end part of the straight tube | pipe type fluorescent lamp which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the lighting fixture which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a straight tube fluorescent lamp. The fluorescent lamp 1 includes a glass bulb 2, a mercury pellet 11, a lead wire 13, an electrode such as a filament electrode 15, and a rare gas. It has.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the glass bulb 2 is formed by sealing both ends of a bulb, for example, a straight pipe bulb 3 with stems 4. The end of the sealed glass bulb 2 is referred to as a sealed end 2a. The sealing end portion 2a includes an end portion 3a, a flare portion 4a, a fusion portion 5 and an annular recess 6 which will be described later. The straight pipe valve 3 is made of, for example, transparent lead-free glass, and has an outer diameter of 28 mm, an inner diameter of 26 mm, and a wall thickness of 1 mm. The stem 4 is, for example, flare glass formed using lead glass as a material.

  The glass bulb 2 is formed by fusing the flare portion 4a of the stem 4 to the end portion 3a of the straight tube bulb 3 having a reduced diameter. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 indicates a fused portion between the end portion 3 a of the straight pipe valve 3 and the flare portion 4 a, and the fused portion 5 is provided annularly continuously in the circumferential direction of the glass bulb 2. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 4 b indicates a pinch seal portion of the stem 4.

  At least the inner peripheral surface of the end portion 3a of the straight pipe valve 3 is slanted, whereby the inner diameter of the sealing end portion 2a is gradually reduced toward the front end of the sealing end portion 2a. The flare portion 4a of the stem 4 is integrally extended from the pinch seal portion 4b in a skirt shape. The two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 shows the shape of the flare portion 4a of the stem 4 before the glass bulb 2 is exhausted, and the solid line in FIG. The shape of the flare part 4a of the stem 4 is shown. The tip of the large-diameter end opposite to the pinch seal portion 4b of the flare portion 4a and the tip of the end 3a of the straight pipe valve 3 are fused. The outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the flare portion 4a opposite to the pinch seal portion 4b is slanted so that the outer diameter of the large-diameter end portion is gradually increased toward the tip of the large-diameter end portion. ing.

  Therefore, the sealing end 2 a has an annular recess 6. That is, an annular recess 6 that is continuous in the circumferential direction of the glass bulb 2 is formed between the end 3 a of the straight tube bulb 3 and the flare portion 4 a of the stem 4. The annular recess 6 is tapered toward the fusion part 5. In addition, the structure of the sealing end part 2a demonstrated above may be formed only in one sealing end part of the glass bulb 2, and may be formed in both sealing end parts.

  An exhaust pipe 7 made of lead glass or the like is connected to the stem 4. The exhaust pipe 7 is provided at the center position of the flare portion 4a so as to penetrate the flare portion 4a in the axial direction. The inside of the exhaust pipe 7 communicates with the internal space of the glass bulb 2 through the exhaust port 7a provided in the pinch seal part 4b, and the end of the exhaust pipe 7 protruding from the flare part 4a is sealed off. .

  A phosphor layer 9 is mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the straight tube bulb 3 via a protective layer 8. The protective layer 8 is made of a thin film such as alumina, silica, titanium, or zinc, and is laminated on the inner peripheral surface of the straight pipe valve 3. The phosphor layer 9 included in the straight tube bulb 3 is thicker than the protective layer 8 and is laminated on the inner surface of the protective layer 8. The phosphor layer 9 is made of, for example, a three-wavelength emission type rare earth oxide phosphor.

  The mercury pellet 11 is an amalgam pellet for a fluorescent lamp made of, for example, a tin (Sn) -mercury (Hg) alloy, and is formed in a substantially spherical shape before being sealed in a glass bulb.

  In the case where the mercury pellet 11 made of tin-mercury alloy formed so that the weight of tin is larger than the weight of mercury so that tin is a main component, it is made of a zinc (Zn) -mercury (Hg) alloy. This is preferable in that the melting point can be lowered as compared with amalgam pellets for fluorescent lamps. The melting point of a zinc-mercury alloy having a mercury weight of 50 wt% and a zinc weight of 50 wt% is about 300 ° C., but the melting point of a mercury-metal alloy having a mercury weight of 20 wt% and a tin weight of 80 wt%. Is as low as about 200 ° C. Therefore, the temperature when the mercury pellet 11 made of tin-mercury alloy is fused and fixed to the sealing end 2a of the glass bulb 2 may be low, which is advantageous in manufacturing the lamp.

  Note that the mercury pellet 11 made of tin-mercury alloy is configured so as not to substantially re-occlude the released mercury after the mercury is once released into the glass bulb 2 by heating. Thereby, the mercury vapor pressure in the glass bulb 2 can be kept constant.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mercury pellet 11 is fixed to the annular recess 6 of one sealing end 2 a of the glass bulb 2. That is, the mercury pellet 11 is sandwiched between the end portion 3a of the straight tube bulb 3 and the flare portion 4a of the stem 4 that form the sealing end portion 2a of the glass bulb 2, and the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a It is fused and fixed to each. The mercury pellet 11 is arranged away from the fusion part 5, and thereby a substantially triangular gap is formed between the mercury pellet 11 and the bottom of the annular recess 6.

  In the exhaust process in the manufacture of the fluorescent lamp 1, the inside of the glass bulb 2 is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 7 while being passed through a heating furnace in a state where the glass bulb 2 is set substantially vertically. The heating temperature at this time is preferably about 450 ° C.

  After this evacuation, the sealing end 2a located at the lower end of the glass bulb 2 that has passed through the heating furnace is heated by the heating means from below, from the side, or both. As the heating means, a line burner, a cup burner, an infrared heater, a hot jet (hot air) or the like can be used.

  By this heating means, the temperatures of the end 3a and flare 4a of the straight pipe valve 3 are not greatly lowered by natural cooling even when supplied to the glass bulb 2 at the next pellet supply position. The mercury pellet 11 sealed in the position is held at a predetermined temperature (about 200 ° C. or higher) suitable for fixing to the sealing end 2a.

  Further, as the flare portion 4a of the stem 4 is softened by the above heating, the glass bulb 2 has a negative pressure, so that the flare portion 4a is removed from the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It deform | transforms so that it may swell in a substantially hemispherical shape toward the inside (state shown as the continuous line in FIG. 1). As a result, a tapered annular recess 6 is formed between the large-diameter end portion of the flare portion 4 a and the end portion 3 a of the straight pipe valve 3.

  Immediately after this, the glass bulb 2 is removed from the heating means and moved to the pellet supply position. In this pellet supply position, the mercury pellet 11 is supplied to be dropped into the glass bulb 2 through an exhaust pipe at an upper sealing end (not shown) of the glass bulb 2. This supply is finished in an instant so that the degree of vacuum in the glass bulb 2 does not increase.

  The mercury pellet 11 falls freely and enters the tapered annular recess 6 that is maintained at a predetermined temperature without reaching the fusion part 5 that forms the bottom thereof. That is, they are arranged in a state separated from the fused portion 5 in contact with the end portion 3 a and the flare portion 4 a of the straight tube glass 3 at a position corresponding to the diameter of the mercury pellet 11. In this case, since the annular recess 6 is tapered, the mercury pellet 11 can be used regardless of the difference in the spherical diameter of the mercury pellet 11 and the variation in the spherical diameter and the size of the sealing end 2a of the glass bulb 2. 11 can be arranged as described above. Therefore, such an arrangement can be realized without landing in a state where the mercury pellet 11 is in contact with the fused portion 5 at one point even when the mercury pellet 11 having a smaller diameter is used.

  For this reason, the contact location of the mercury pellet 11 with respect to each of the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a of the straight tube glass 3 is the residual heat of the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a of the straight tube glass 3 (note that this residual heat is tin The melting point of the mercury pellet 11 made of silver alloy is higher than about 200 ° C.). And the mercury pellet 11 adheres to the large diameter end part of the edge part 3a of the straight tube glass 3, and the flare part 4a with the temperature fall of the sealing end part 2a after this, respectively.

  Thus, since two places of the mercury pellet 11 are each fixed to the sealing end part 2a, the fixing strength of the mercury pellet 11 with respect to the sealing end part 2a can be improved.

  The heating temperature by the heating means is preferably 550 ° C. or higher. According to the test results by the present inventor, at the heating temperature of 550 ° C. or 600 ° C., the flare portion 4a is deformed to form the tapered annular recess 6 and is allowed to stand for 10 seconds after the mercury pellet 11 is dropped. When the sticking confirmation was performed at the time, it was confirmed that the mercury pellet 11 was stuck. On the other hand, at the heating temperatures of 400 ° C., 450 ° C., and 500 ° C., it was confirmed that the flare portion 4a was not deformed, and the adhesion was confirmed when the mercury pellet 11 was allowed to stand for 10 seconds after dropping. As a result, it was confirmed that the mercury pellet 11 was not fixed.

  In addition, in the sticking confirmation at the time of leaving still for 60 seconds after dropping of the mercury pellet 11, it was confirmed that the mercury pellet 11 was stuck at any of the heating temperatures. Therefore, according to the test result, it was found that the time required for fixing the mercury pellet 11 is short, and the time required for manufacturing the fluorescent lamp 1 can be shortened.

  In addition, when the flare part 4a of the stem 4 maintains a shape suitable for forming the annular recess 6 in advance and is not thermally deformed in the exhaust process, the heating means for the sealing end part 2a The heating temperature may be 200 ° C. or higher and 500 ° C. or lower, preferably 350 ° C. or higher and 450 ° C. or lower. Even with such heating, since the melting point of the mercury pellet 11 made of tin-silver alloy is about 200 ° C., the two parts of the mercury pellet 11 dropped into the glass bulb 2 at the pellet supply position are connected to a straight pipe. It can be heated and melted by the residual heat of the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a of the glass 3, and can be fixed to the end portion 3a and the flare portion 4a of the straight tube glass 3, respectively.

  The pair of lead wires 13 are attached to the stems 4 so as to penetrate the pinch seal portions 4 b in the axial direction of the glass bulb 2. The filament electrode 15 is supported over the inner lead portion led out into the glass bulb 2 of the lead wire 13. The filament electrode 15 is disposed in the vicinity of the pinch seal portion 4 b of the stem 4.

  The glass bulb 2 is filled with a rare gas as a discharge medium. As the rare gas, for example, argon gas alone, a mixed gas of argon and neon, or a mixed gas obtained by mixing these gases with another rare gas such as krypton gas or xenon gas as necessary can be used.

  Further, reference numeral 17 in FIG. 1 denotes a base that is fitted to the outer periphery of the sealing end 2a and attached to both ends of the glass bulb 2 via an adhesive (not shown). The base 17 is provided so as to cover substantially the entire annular recess 6 so as to prevent the mercury pellet 11 from being visually recognized. The base 17 has a pair of base pins (not shown), and an outer lead portion led out of the glass bulb 2 of the lead wire 13 is connected to these pins.

  As described above, the fluorescent lamp 1 having the above-described structure has improved adhesion strength of the mercury pellet 11 to the sealed end 2a regardless of variations in the dimensions of the sealed end 2a and the mercury pellet 11 of the glass bulb 2. Therefore, it is possible to hold the mercury pellet 11 so that the mercury pellet 11 does not move from the annular recess 6 and move in the glass bulb 2 due to vibration applied when the fluorescent lamp 1 is transported. Therefore, the phosphor layer 9 of the glass bulb 2 can be prevented from being damaged by the mercury pellet 11.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a luminaire 21 including the fluorescent lamp 1 of FIG. The lighting fixture 21 includes a fixture body 22 that is installed directly on the ceiling of a building, for example. The appliance main body 22 incorporates an electronic ballast 23, a power terminal block (not shown) for power connection, and the like. Further, lamp sockets 24 are attached to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface of the lower surface of the fixture main body 22, and the fluorescent lamp 1 is removably supported between the lamp sockets 24. In this lighting fixture 21, power can be supplied to the fluorescent lamp 1 via the power terminal block, the ballast 23, and the lamp socket 24, whereby the fluorescent lamp 1 can be turned on.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fluorescent lamp, 2 ... Glass bulb, 2a ... Sealing end part, 3 ... Straight pipe valve (bulb), 3a ... End part of straight pipe valve, 4 ... Stem, 4a ... Flare part, 5 ... Fusion part, 6 ... annular recess, 9 ... phosphor layer, 11 ... mercury pellet, 13 ... lead wire, 15 ... filament electrode (electrode), 21 ... lighting fixture, 22 ... fixture body

Claims (3)

Both ends of the bulb having the phosphor layer on the inner peripheral surface are sealed with stems, and the fusion between these ends of the bulb positioned at one of the sealed ends and the flare portion of the stem. A glass bulb formed with an annular recess that tapers toward the landing;
A spherical mercury pellet that is sandwiched between the end of the bulb and the flare and is fused and fixed to each of the end and the flare of the bulb apart from the fused portion;
A pair of lead wires penetrated through the stem;
Electrodes supported by these lead wires;
A rare gas enclosed in the glass bulb;
A fluorescent lamp characterized by comprising:   2. The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein the mercury pellet is an amalgam pellet made of a tin-mercury alloy, and the weight of the tin is equal to or more than the weight of the mercury. A fluorescent lamp according to claim 1 or 2;
An instrument body equipped with this fluorescent lamp;
The lighting fixture characterized by comprising.

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