JP2829296B2 - Fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp for general lighting, and more particularly to a fluorescent lamp suitable for realizing a high-output, small and thin hanging device suitable for a living room or a dining room. A lamp is provided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hanging apparatus used in a living room, a dining room, or the like has a plurality of ring-shaped fluorescent lamps of different sizes installed in two or three stages in order to meet the needs of customers for high output. Output was being planned. However, this method has a drawback that the size of the device becomes large and the degree of freedom in data design of the device is reduced. For example, 3
When using a plurality of ring-shaped fluorescent lamps, the thickness of the three-tiered lamp was as large as about 10 cm, and it was impossible to reduce the thickness of the device. Therefore, a more compact fluorescent lamp has been required.

A compact fluorescent lamp is disclosed in
A U-shaped fluorescent lamp as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 0-225346 has been developed and used.

[0004]

Since a conventional U-shaped fluorescent lamp has an elongated shape, the orientation characteristics of a hanging apparatus using one lamp are deteriorated. Further, even when a plurality of the appliances are used in parallel, the appliances are necessarily quadrangular, and if the angle between one side of the quadrangular and the wall surface of the room is not parallel, there is a disadvantage that the appearance is impaired. In any case, the U-shaped compact fluorescent lamp was not suitable for hanging equipment.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to realize a small, thin, and high-output hanging device that has been impossible in the past.

[0006]

An object of the present invention is to use a fluorescent discharge tube having two or more concentric discharge paths in the same plane, and to form a diameter of the two discharge tubes forming the two discharge paths. In the range of 5 mm to 25 mm, and the brightness of the discharge tube surface is 2
This is achieved by setting the range of × 10 ⁴ Cd / m ² to 6 × 10 ⁴ Cd / m ² .

By using a fluorescent discharge tube having two or more concentric discharge paths in the same plane, a high-output and thin fluorescent lamp can be realized, and the two discharge paths are formed. The diameter of the two discharge tubes is from 5 mm to 25 m
m, the input power per unit length can be increased, and the luminance of the discharge tube surface can be reduced to 2 × 10 ⁴ C
By setting d / m ² to 6 × 10 ⁴ Cd / m ² , a large light output can be obtained with a small light emitting area. As a result, a high-output thin fluorescent lamp can be realized.

The gap between the two discharge tubes is 3 m.
By setting the length to m or more and 15 mm or less, it is possible to realize a well-balanced and excellent-looking fluorescent lamp. Further, by setting the discharge voltage of the discharge tube to 80 V or more and 130 V or less, a discharge voltage suitable for an electronic lighting circuit using a semiconductor is obtained, and by using the electronic lighting circuit, high efficiency is achieved and the price of the electronic lighting circuit is reduced. Is wearing.

Further, by making the outer periphery of the fluorescent lamp 200 mm or more and 400 mm or less, it is possible to reduce the size of the device without deteriorating the quality of the device. Further, by setting the lamp current flowing through the discharge tube to 0.8 A or less, a reduction in lamp life is prevented, and a high output is enabled.

By using a rare earth phosphor as the phosphor applied to the inner wall of the discharge tube, high output can be achieved without impairing the luminous flux maintenance factor.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment. Two annular discharge tubes 10 and 20 are installed concentrically on the same plane. One end of each of the discharge tubes 10 and 20 has an electrode 1
1 and 21 are provided, and the other ends 13 and 23 of the discharge tubes are connected by a bridge 1. FIG. 2 shows bridge 1
FIG. The discharge spaces of the discharge tubes 10 and 20 are connected by a bridge 1. That is, the discharge path is composed of the electrode 11-discharge tube 10-bridge 1-discharge tube 20-
It looks like an electrode 21. As described above, when two discharge tubes are connected by the bridge 1, the discharge path length can be increased without increasing the size of the fluorescent lamp.
There is an advantage that the lamp efficiency can be higher.

The distance d (mm) between the discharge tubes 10, 20
Needs to be 3 mm or more and 15 mm or less on average. This is because, in order to make the average of the distance d less than 3 mm, the two discharge tubes must be machined in a perfect circular shape with high precision, so that the manufacturing cost becomes remarkably high. The two discharge tubes 10 and 20 appear to exist independently of each other, which is not preferable in design. When the average of the distance d is in the range of 3 mm or more and 10 mm or less, the bridge 1 heats and inflates a part of the tube wall glass of the discharge tubes 10 and 20, and directly wipes the protrusions generated on the tube wall glass. Since it can be formed by fusion bonding, there is an advantage that a new glass member for the bridge 1 is not required.

When the maximum outer ring diameter of the fluorescent lamp is D, in this embodiment, when the outer ring diameter D (mm) of the discharge tube disposed outside, that is, the discharge tube 10 is less than 200 mm, an electrode having poor light emission efficiency is used. And the tube ends 13 and 23 occupy an increased proportion, resulting in a decrease in lamp efficiency. On the other hand, if D exceeds 400 mm, the lighting equipment becomes large in size, and the degree of freedom in the design of the lighting equipment is reduced, and the lighting equipment cannot be practically used in a normal living room or dining room. That is, the maximum ring outer diameter D of the fluorescent lamp is optimally 200 mm or more and 400 mm or less.

In order to arrange two or more discharge tubes concentrically within the same plane within a distance of 3 mm or less between the discharge tubes, the discharge tubes must be accurately machined into a perfect annular shape. . If the tube diameter of the discharge tube exceeds 25 mm, the processing of this perfect annular glass becomes extremely difficult, resulting in a disadvantage that the processing cost increases. The discharge tube diameter is 10 m.
If it is less than m, the mechanical strength of the glass is reduced, and disadvantages such as troublesome handling when attaching the fluorescent lamp to the fixture occur. Therefore, the diameter of the discharge tube is optimally 10 mm or more and 25 mm or less. Further, in consideration of further thinning of the appliance, the diameter of the discharge tube is more preferably 20 mm or less.

As shown in FIG. 2, it is desirable to provide a thin film 3 of a metal oxide such as alumina, silica or cerium oxide on the inner surface of the glass of the discharge tube in order to prevent light collection deterioration. Then, the rare earth phosphor 2 is provided on the thin film 3.
The discharge tube is bent after the phosphor has been applied, but in order to accurately shape the discharge tube into a true circular shape, the glass must be heated to a higher temperature than in the case of a normal ring fluorescent lamp. Since a plurality of discharge tubes lit by the tube wall load are provided close to each other, the temperature of the phosphor during lighting becomes considerably high, so it is essential to use a rare earth phosphor excellent in heat resistance. is there.

In order to start the discharge, a high voltage is required. However, considering the use of inexpensive electrical insulators and safety for humans, the optimal voltage for starting discharge is 650 V or less. According to our experiments, the lamp voltage and the discharge starting voltage are in a proportional relationship, and the starting voltage is five times the lamp voltage. Therefore, the optimum lamp voltage expressed by the effective value is 130 V or less. Further, when the lamp voltage becomes 80 V or less, a disadvantage arises in that the ratio of electrode loss increases and the efficiency decreases. That is, the lamp voltage represented by the effective value is 8
The optimal range is 0 V to 130 V. In order to maintain a stable discharge of the fluorescent lamp, the lamp voltage must be about 1.
A power supply voltage five times or more is required. Therefore, the above-mentioned fluorescent lamp having a lamp voltage of 80 to 130 V cannot be directly lit by a power supply of a commercial frequency of 100 V, and requires some boosting means. When the voltage is boosted using a normal transformer, the lighting circuit becomes large, which prevents one of the objects of the present invention from being downsized. Therefore, the effect of the fluorescent lamp of the present invention is further increased by lighting it using a small and lightweight high-frequency electronic circuit or by using a power supply having a commercial frequency of 200 V.

The electrodes 11 and 21 are hot electrodes in which a tungsten coil is coated with an electron-emitting substance mainly composed of oxides of Ba, Sr and Ca. When the lamp current exceeds 0.8 A, there is a disadvantage that the scattering of the electron-emitting substance becomes remarkable and the blackening of the tube end becomes remarkable. As in the fluorescent lamp of the present invention, when a plurality of discharge tubes are concentrically installed on the same plane and a plurality of electrodes are provided in close proximity, blackening near the electrodes is performed. Has a much worse appearance than conventional fluorescent lamps. Therefore, the lamp current is optimally 0.8 A or less.

In FIG. 1 and FIG.
The tube diameter of 0 is 20 mm, and the outer diameter D of the discharge tube 10 is 212 m.
m, the average distance d between the discharge tubes 10 and 20 is 3 mm, alumina is used as the metal oxide film 3, and Y ₂ O ₃ : Eu, MgAl ₁₁ O ₁₉ : Tb, Ce, 3Sr is used as the rare earth phosphor 2.
A mixture of ₂ (PO ₄ ) ₂ .CaCl ₂ : Eu was used, and argon and mercury were sealed as discharge gases. The fluorescent lamp is electrically and mechanically connected to a lighting fixture by a resin base 4. The base 4 is the pipe end 12, 22, 13, 2
Because it is connected with 3 mechanically with sufficient strength,
Since the fixing of the fluorescent lamp to the fixture is mainly performed by the base 4, a more sophisticated fixture design is possible without using a large number of fixtures unlike the conventional ring-shaped fluorescent lamp.

When the above fluorescent lamp was lit at a lamp current of 0.6 A using a 30 kHz high frequency electronic lighting circuit, the lamp voltage was 107 V, the lamp power was 64 W, and the average luminance was 2.7 × 10 ⁴ Cdm ^−2. was gotten. The total luminous flux of this fluorescent lamp is equal to that of the conventional 30 W and 40 W ring-shaped fluorescent lamps 2.
The fluorescent lamp of the present invention is 10% more than the case of using a book, and the thickness of the fixture using two conventional annular fluorescent lamps is 7 mm.
Lighting was possible with 0% of thin appliances. That is, the fluorescent lamp of the present invention has an advantage that, compared to the case of using two conventional ring-shaped fluorescent lamps, a lighting fixture having a high efficiency and a thin and sophisticated design can be used.

FIG. 3 shows a fluorescent lamp according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which one power supply tube 30 provided with electrodes 31 and 32 at both ends is formed in a spiral shape. In this embodiment, there is an advantage that an operation for connecting two discharge tubes is not required.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which discharge tubes 40 and 50 each having a pair of electrodes at both ends are connected to a base 4.
Are concentrically bundled in the same plane. The fluorescent lamp of this embodiment has an advantage that the manufacturing method is simple. In each of the discharge tubes 40 and 50, the lamp current is 0.8A or less, and the lamp voltage is 80V.
Obviously, the requirement of the present invention of 130 V or less must be satisfied.

As in the case of a normal ring-shaped fluorescent lamp, the discharge tube 40
And 50, each of which is provided with an independent base and fixed concentrically in the same plane in the apparatus, the discharge tube is annular, the diameter of the discharge tube is as small as 10 to 25 mm, and the interval between the discharge tubes is 3 mm. It was impossible because it was as small as ~ 15 mm.
That is, in order to form a concentric circle in the same plane, it is essential to bundle two discharge tubes in advance.

Since the fluorescent lamp of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 has a relatively high tube wall load, an amalgam such as Bi-In-Hg or In-Hg is used to optimize the vapor pressure of mercury. It is desirable to use

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the discharge tubes 40 and 50 are bundled by the base 4,
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the discharge tubes 40 and 50 are bundled using the disk 5. The fluorescent lamp is electrically and mechanically attached to the fixture by a base 6 attached to the disk 5. The discharge tubes 40 and 50 are fixed to the disk 5 by a silicon-based adhesive or a mechanical spring. When the material of the disk 5 is made of plastic or metal having good thermal conductivity, the disk 5 functions as a heat radiating plate and has an advantage that an optimum mercury vapor pressure can be obtained without using amalgam.
The disk 5 may be made of a material that reflects visible light, or may be surface-processed so as to reflect visible light.
Also acts as a visible light reflector.

[0026]

As described above, according to the configuration described in detail, a compact,
In addition, it has a thin, well-balanced and beautiful shape, and can realize a high-output, high-efficiency, and long-life fluorescent lamp.
This makes it possible to realize a small, thin, and high-output hanging device having a sense of quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20 ... two annular discharge tubes arranged on the same plane, 11, 21 ... a pair of electrodes, 2 ... rare earth phosphor, d ...
Distance between the two discharge tubes, D: maximum ring outer diameter of the discharge tube.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuro Ono 1-280 Higashi Koikekubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. Central Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Taisuke Seki 1-280 Higashi Koikekubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. Inside the Design Laboratory (72) Inventor Atsushi Koyama 6-7-1, Higashi Narashino, Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture Inside Hitachi Lighting Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadayoshi Kodama 888 Fujibashi, Ome City, Tokyo Inside the Ome Plant of Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeshi Kobayashi 4-6 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-60-20448 (JP, A) JP-A-57-197741 (JP, A) JP-A Sho56 JP-A-73855 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97840 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97841 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97842 (JP, A) P, A) JP-A-10-116586 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97844 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97845 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97846 (JP, A) JP JP-A-10-97847 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97848 (JP, A) JP-A-10-97849 (JP, A) JP-A-55-9842 (JP, U) JP-A-59-86656 (JP) , U) JP-A 63-164158 (JP, U) Patent 2776840 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01J 61/32 H01J 61/72

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. First and second annular discharge tubes having different diameters of the rings are concentrically located on the same plane, and the diameter of the first and second annular discharge tubes is 10 mm or more.
25 mm or less, first and second electrodes are provided on one end side of the first and second annular discharge tubes, and the first and second electrodes are formed so that a discharge is generated between the first and second electrodes. A fluorescent lamp comprising a bridge for communicating a discharge space of a second annular discharge tube. 2. The bridge is located at a position apart from an end of the first and second annular discharge tubes opposite to a side on which the first and second electrodes are formed. The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein a rare earth phosphor film is provided on an inner surface of the discharge tube. 4. The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein amalgam is used.