JP4561593B2 - Lighting device, lighting fixture using the same, and signboard lamp - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting device in which an inverter lighting device for lighting a discharge lamp is stored in a cylindrical storage case, a lighting fixture using the lighting device, and a signboard lamp.

  Conventionally, various lighting devices having waterproof performance have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-7130 discloses a lighting device as shown in FIG. In the lighting device of FIG. 15, the inverter lighting device 1 in which the external connection lead wires 6 are arranged on both sides is housed in a metal cylindrical case 2, and the inverter lighting device 1 is in a cylindrical case by a steel plate spring 8. 2 is fixed. Further, side plates 4 made of rubber containing an iron plate are attached to both ends of the cylindrical case 2, and further, a waterproof resin 3 ′ for satisfying waterproof performance is filled on the outside of the side plate 4. A lighting device having waterproof performance is provided.

Until now, as a use of the waterproof lighting device, it is often used mainly as a lighting device of a general waterproof lighting fixture, and the ambient temperature of these lighting fixtures is about 5 ° C to 35 ° C. At normal temperature, the humidity is usually used under normal humidity of about 35 to 85%.
JP 2003-7130 A

  Since the lighting device described above has waterproof performance, it can be applied in fields other than lighting equipment. However, when this lighting device is used in a field other than the lighting fixture, the usage environment may be greatly different from the conventional one. For example, when the lighting device described above is used as a lighting device for a signboard lamp, the signboard lamp is usually used outdoors, on the side of a house, or indoors, but particularly when used on the outside or on the side of a house. It is known that the ambient temperature in summer rises up to close to 60 ° C.

  However, the inverter lighting device built in the storage case has been designed on the assumption that it will be used in lighting fixtures, so it has not been designed to be used at high temperatures so far. . Usually, an inverter lighting device built in a cylindrical storage case is composed of a printed circuit board and many other electronic components, and the maximum use temperature is defined for each component. If used above this temperature, there is a risk of shifting to an abnormal mode that is unlikely to occur in normal operating conditions such as failure, overheating, or damage to the inverter lighting device. It must be used so that the temperature of the parts is below the maximum operating temperature.

  FIG. 16 shows a printed circuit board of an inverter lighting device from above. From FIG. 16, it can be seen that the inverter lighting device is composed of many electronic components, but in particular, the inverter lighting device is often provided with an electrolytic capacitor which is a life component. For this reason, in general, the life of the inverter lighting device is often replaced with the life of the electrolytic capacitor. Here, the lifetime of an electrolytic capacitor is highly temperature dependent, and this dependency is known to extend approximately twice as long as the ambient temperature decreases by 10 ° C. according to the Arrhenius law. Is expressed by the following equation.

L = Lo × 2 (Tmax−Ta) / 10 (1) where, in the above equation, L: life in actual use (hours), Lo: life at maximum use temperature (hours), Tmax: maximum use Temperature (° C.), Ta: ambient temperature (° C.).

  When using an inverter lighting device in a very harsh environment such as a sign light, the life of the lighting device may be shorter than the expected life, especially when the ambient temperature rises. There is. In this way, when the operating life of the lighting device is shortened depending on the operating temperature, if the user can be informed in advance of the estimated life of the inverter lighting device with respect to the ambient temperature, the user can take measures against the short life. Therefore, an extremely short life can be avoided.

  However, at present, only the estimated life under a certain condition is described in the catalog, so that the user can check the life of the inverter lighting device when the lighting device is used in various environments. There was no. For this reason, it is impossible to recognize when the built-in inverter lighting device reaches the end of its life under the conditions actually used.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lighting device in which an inverter lighting device is stored in a cylindrical storage case. It is to be able to determine whether or not it can be used. Furthermore, it is to enable the user to recognize the estimated life of the inverter lighting device in the actual use environment.

In order to solve the above problems, according to the invention of claim 1, as shown in FIG. 1, an inverter lighting device 1 for lighting a discharge lamp is housed in a cylindrical housing case 2 having waterproof performance. In the lighting device, as shown in FIG. 3, the temperature measurement point for measuring the surface temperature of the storage case 2 is displayed on the surface of the storage case 2, and the storage case 2 measured at the temperature measurement point is displayed. An indication that the surface temperature of the storage case 2 should be lower than or equal to a predetermined temperature is provided on the surface of the storage case 2, and the predetermined temperature indicates that the temperature of all the electronic components in the storage case 2 is lower than the maximum use temperature of each electronic component. The temperature is determined so as to be .

Further, a means for notifying the estimated life of the inverter lighting device 1 stored in the cylindrical storage case 2 from the result of measuring the temperature at the temperature measurement point may be provided.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the estimated life of the inverter lighting device 1 stored in the cylindrical storage case 2 may be displayed on the surface of the cylindrical storage case 2 (claim 3 ).

  According to the present invention, in preparation for the case where the lighting device is used at a high temperature, the location where the temperature is to be controlled and the maximum use temperature at the location are displayed on the storage case, so that the user can increase the temperature in advance. There is an effect that it is possible to determine whether or not the lighting device can be used. In addition, by displaying the relationship between the temperature at the temperature measurement point and the estimated lifetime of the lighting device for the lifetime of the lighting device, the lifetime of the lighting device in the actual usage environment can be determined by the user himself. There is an effect that can be estimated.

( Assumption 1 )
A configuration 1 as a premise of the present invention will be described with reference to a perspective view of FIG. In the figure, 1 is an inverter lighting device, 2 is a cylindrical storage case, 3 is a waterproof packing, 4 is a side plate, 5 is a screw, 6 is an external connection lead wire, and 7 is a product label.

  The inverter lighting device 1 includes a large number of electronic components and is equipped with external connection lead wires 6 for connecting to a discharge lamp and a power source. The cylindrical storage case 2 in which the inverter lighting device 1 is stored is a case with a rectangular cross section having waterproof performance, the inside is hollow, and has openings at both ends thereof, such as aluminum. It is made of an extruded material (may be another metal material or a synthetic resin material). A waterproof packing 3 made of, for example, silicon is pressed against both ends of the cylindrical storage case 2 with a side plate 4 made of aluminum die cast to satisfy waterproof performance. It has a structure attached to the storage case 2. Further, the side plate 4 is provided with a through-hole for allowing the external connection lead wire 6 to pass therethrough, and a lighting device for waterproof use is provided by these.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the product label 7 attached to the surface of the cylindrical storage case 2 in FIG. In general, commodity labels are attached to general electric devices, and items to be displayed are determined by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law. In FIG. 2, the part number of Q2 which is a semiconductor switching element and 101 ° C. which is the maximum use temperature of the part are entered as temperature measurement points separately from the product label 7 here.
This will be described in more detail with reference to Table 1.

  Table 1 shows the measurement results of the temperature of the electronic parts and the waterproof case surface temperature of the built-in inverter lighting device when the ambient temperature is changed from 30 ° C to 60 ° C for a certain waterproofing lighting device. is there. In Table 1, the alphabet indicates the type of part, and the number indicates the part number of each part. Here, C is a capacitor, D is a diode, Q is a semiconductor switching element, T is a winding such as a transformer or inductance, R is a resistor, PTH is a thermistor, ZD is a Zener diode, IC is a semiconductor integrated circuit, and Tc is a built-in inverter. The case surface temperature Tb of the lighting device 1 indicates the surface temperature of the cylindrical storage case 2.

  Looking at Table 1, a standard value that is the maximum operating temperature is determined for each part, and this value varies depending on the part. Of course, as the ambient temperature increases, the temperature of each part also rises, but there are some where the temperature rises rapidly here, while others rise slowly, and how the temperature rises. There are also various parts.

  Next, based on the results in Table 1, FIG. 4 is a graph in which the horizontal axis represents the ambient temperature and the vertical axis represents the temperature of each electronic component with respect to the number of parts having no margin for the maximum operating temperature. . As can be seen from FIG. 4, as the ambient temperature increases, the semiconductor switching element Q2 reaches the maximum operating temperature earliest. That is, if the temperature of the semiconductor switching element Q2 is 101 ° C. or lower, it can be seen that the temperature of other electronic components is lower than the maximum operating temperature. From the above results, if there is a description “Q2 temperature ≦ 101 ° C.” on the surface of the waterproof case, the user determines whether the inverter lighting device can be used by measuring the temperature of the semiconductor switching element Q2. Will be able to.

(Embodiment 1 )
FIG. 3 shows the main configuration of the first embodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of displaying the temperature measurement point in FIG. 2 described above with the part number of the internal electronic component, the measurement location is displayed directly on the surface of the cylindrical storage case 2. To do. In FIG. 3, the black mark portion is a temperature measurement point, and the user may measure the temperature of the black mark portion. If the temperature at this location is 72.2 ° C. or lower, which is indicated on the side, it means that the temperature of the semiconductor switching element Q2 in the presupposed configuration 1 is 101 ° C. or lower.

  This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows the temperature of the semiconductor storage element Q2 and the temperature of the cylindrical storage case, where the horizontal axis is the cylindrical storage case surface temperature Tb and the vertical axis is the measured temperature of the semiconductor switching element Q2. This is a graph of the relationship of Tb. In this way, if the surface temperature of the cylindrical storage case is measured based on the result by taking the correlation between the temperature of the electronic components in the inverter lighting device and the surface temperature of the cylindrical storage case in advance, The temperature of the internal electronic components can be estimated.

  As shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, as the temperature of the semiconductor switching element Q2 rises, the cylindrical storage case surface temperature Tb also rises, and the temperature of the semiconductor switching element Q2 is 101 ° C., that is, the highest use in this lighting device. It can be seen that when the temperature is reached, the surface temperature of the cylindrical storage case is 72.2 ° C. That is, if the surface temperature Tb of the cylindrical storage case is 72.2 ° C. or lower, all the electronic components inside are at the maximum operating temperature or lower, so that the “case measurement point” and “measurement point If there is a description that “the temperature is 72.2 ° C. or lower”, the user can determine whether or not the inverter lighting device can be used by measuring the temperature of the surface of the storage case.

In the case of the presupposed configuration 1, the user needs to measure the temperature of the switching element Q2 of the inverter lighting device stored in the cylindrical storage case, so the temperature of the cylindrical storage case is once opened. In order to measure the temperature of the switching element Q2 or to measure the temperature of the switching element Q2, it is necessary to wire the thermocouple to the outside from the switching element Q2 in advance. However, in this embodiment, since the maximum use temperature of the electronic component of the inverter lighting device can be recognized by measuring the temperature of the cylindrical storage case main body, it is possible to more easily determine whether or not it can be used.

(Embodiment 2 )
A second embodiment according to the present invention, FIG. 6, will be described with reference to FIG. 6 is a perspective view of FIG. 15, and shows another waterproof structure by means different from that of FIG. 6, the structure of the cylindrical storage case 2 and the means for satisfying the waterproof performance are the same as those in the conventional example (FIG. 15), and thus the description thereof is omitted. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the label portion in the second embodiment. Each display item determined by the Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law is the same as in the other embodiments, but in this embodiment, the estimated lifetime of the lighting device is additionally described. This will be described with reference to Table 1, FIG. 8, and FIG.

  Usually, an inverter lighting device is provided with many electronic components, but it is general that an electrolytic capacitor as a life component is also provided therein. Therefore, the life of the inverter lighting device is often considered as the life of the electrolytic capacitor. The life of the electrolytic capacitor is greatly dependent on the temperature as shown in the above formula (1), and as the temperature increases, the life of the electrolytic capacitor becomes extremely short due to the evaporation phenomenon of the electrolyte called dry-up. It is known. For this reason, when using an electrolytic capacitor, special attention must be paid to the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor.

  FIG. 8 is a graph in which the temperature measurement result of the electrolytic capacitor C3 newly obtained from Table 1 is added to the graph of FIG. From the result of FIG. 8, in this case, the maximum operating temperature of the lighting device is defined by the temperature of the switching element Q2 because the switching element Q2 first reaches the maximum operating temperature of the component, but the switching element Q2 It can be seen that the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor C3 is about 80 ° C. when the temperature is 101 ° C. It can also be seen that when the temperature of the switching element Q2 is about 93 ° C., the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor C3 is about 70 ° C. For this reason, even if the lighting device is used at a temperature below the maximum operating temperature, the life of the electrolytic capacitor C3 differs greatly between 80 ° C. and 70 ° C. That is, the lifetime of the lighting device varies depending on the surface temperature of the cylindrical storage case.

  FIG. 9 is a graph showing the temperature of the storage case on the vertical axis and the estimated life of the lighting device on the horizontal axis from the calculation results of Table 1 and Equation (1). This shows the relationship with life. From this result, if the user measures the temperature of the temperature measurement point displayed on the surface of the storage case, in addition to the maximum operating temperature of the lighting device, the estimated life can be recognized to some extent from the measurement result.

  Thus, if the correlation between the temperature measurement point and the temperature of the electrolytic capacitor is taken, the life of the inverter lighting device can be estimated from the temperature measurement result at the temperature measurement point. Therefore, means for informing the estimated life of the inverter lighting device stored in the cylindrical storage case from the result of measuring the temperature at the temperature measurement point is provided. For example, by integrating a value obtained by multiplying a temperature measurement result every predetermined time by a weighting coefficient according to the degree of influence on the life, and when the integrated value exceeds a predetermined value, to inform the arrival of the life of the inverter lighting device, A built-in or external device for turning off, dimming, or blinking the lamp can be used. The informing means for informing the arrival of the life is not particularly limited as long as it has a function of informing, and may be informed by voice or buzzer.

(Embodiment 3 )
A third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the entire waterproof luminaire incorporating a lighting device having waterproof performance, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure of the lighting device. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, first, the inverter lighting device 1 for lighting the discharge lamp is stored in the cylindrical storage case 2 as in the configuration 1 (FIG. 1) which is a prerequisite for the lighting device. At both ends of the storage case 2, there are provided a rubber packing 3 and an aluminum die-cast side plate 4 that presses the packing 3 and attaches it to the storage case 2.

  Further, here, as a configuration for satisfying the grounding structure of the lighting device, the side plate 4 is provided with a mounting piece 14 and a screw mounting portion 15. Since the storage case 2 and the side plate 4 are attached by the screw 5 using the screw attachment portion 15, conduction between the inverter lighting device 1 and the side plate 4 is possible. Furthermore, since the side plate 4 is attached to the appliance main body 10 by means of screws and nuts 17 using the holes provided in the attachment piece 14, this enables conduction between the inverter lighting device 1 and the appliance main body 10.

  The instrument body 10 is fixed to the ceiling by an anchor bolt and a washer / nut 11 for attaching the instrument. The instrument body 10 is equipped with a reflector 12 and a fluorescent lamp 13 as a discharge lamp. Further, the external connection lead wire 6 led out from the inverter lighting device 1 is connected to a lamp and a power source through a wire hole 16 provided in the packing 3 and the side plate 4, and a luminaire having a built-in waterproof lighting device by these. Is provided.

  In this example, one lighting device is built in one lighting fixture, but a plurality of lighting devices may be built in one lighting fixture.

(Embodiment 4 )
A fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 12, FIG. 13, and FIG. The present embodiment is characterized in that the information on the temperature measurement point and the maximum operating temperature is displayed in a portion that is difficult to be seen by the eyes of a normal user, such as the inside of the signboard lamp or the lower surface or side surface of the signboard lamp.

  12 is an exploded perspective view of a signboard lamp incorporating a lighting device having waterproof performance, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the signboard lamp of FIG. A structure relating to a sign lamp is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-82679. FIG. 14 is a simplified illustration of the signboard lamp of FIG. In FIG. 14, the dotted line indicates a portion that cannot be seen from the outside.

  In FIG. 12, reference numeral 21 denotes a base, which is generally a metal flat base. The shape of the base 21 is generally a quadrangle, but may be any shape such as a circle, an oval, or a polygon. Moreover, if a caster is attached to the lower part of the base 21, the movement becomes easy. Reference numeral 22 denotes a structural support, and a strong structural material such as a substantially C-shaped cross section is used. Two columns 22 are erected on the base 21 at a predetermined interval.

  For example, in FIG. 13, a support 22 is mounted on a base 21 with a nut 23 welded to the lower end thereof, and a bolt is inserted into the nut 23 from below the base 21, whereby the support 22 and the base 21 are moved. It is fixed. Reference numeral 24 denotes a mounting plate material, which is a long plate made of a metal such as aluminum. The mounting plate member 24 is wider than the support column 22, and a fitting portion 25 is provided along both side edges. The fitting part 25 should just be a shape which can be detachably fitted with the fitting part 27 of the decorative cover 26 mentioned later, for example, in the case of FIG. 13, it is set as the bending board piece which has a fitting recessed part. Reference numeral 28 denotes a screw mounting portion.

  The mounting plate 24 is brought into contact with the opposing surfaces of the columns 22 along the length direction thereof, and the screw 20 is inserted into the screw mounting portion 28 from below the base 21 to fix the lower end thereof. It is bolted to the column 22 together with the sign body 30. Further, the mounting plate member 24 is mounted such that the fitting portion 25 is positioned on the front and rear sides of the column 22 as shown in FIG.

  Here, the signboard body 30 is an assembly type that incorporates a discharge lamp and a lighting device having waterproof performance. The signboard body 30 is provided between the support posts 22 and is bolted to the support posts 22 with the mounting plate member 24 sandwiched between the support posts 22. Yes. For example, in the case of FIGS. 12 and 13, the signboard body 30 is a milky-colored acrylic resin plate in which a discharge lamp is mounted in a rectangular filler frame 31 and the front and rear openings of the filler frame 31 are closed. 32, a face material 33 of color corton or transparent acrylic resin sheet is sequentially stacked, and the face material pressing edge 34 is screwed to the filler frame 31. In this signboard body 30, a filler frame 31 is attached to the column 22 together with the attachment plate member 24 by bolts 35 as shown in FIG. 13.

  Further, the decorative cover 26 has a long shape with a cross-sectional groove shape made of a metal such as aluminum. The cross-sectional shape of the decorative cover 26 may be a round shape, a square shape, or other appropriate groove shape, and the surface may be appropriately colored or patterned. Fitting portions 27 are provided along both side edges of the decorative cover 26, that is, along the groove-shaped opening edges. The fitting part 27 should just be a shape which can be detachably fitted to the fitting part 25 of the mounting plate material 24. For example, in the case of FIG. 13, it is a bent plate piece having a fitting convex part. Reference numeral 29 denotes a screw mounting portion.

  The decorative cover 26 is provided so as to cover the support column 22, and the fitting portions 27 on both side edges are fitted with the fitting portions 25 of the mounting plate member 24 as shown in FIG. 13. Further, the lower end portion of the decorative cover 26 is placed on the base 21, and the screw 20 is inserted into the screw mounting portion 29 from below the base 21 to be attached to the base 21, and the cap 36 is covered on the upper end portion. Screwed. The cap 36 also covers the support 22 and the upper end portion of the mounting plate member 24, and is also screwed to the mounting plate member 24. Thus, a signboard lamp incorporating a lighting device is provided.

  FIG. 14 is a simplified perspective view of the signboard lamp shown above. As described above, a signboard lamp usually has a lighting device and a discharge lamp inside, and by irradiating a decorative cover from the inside, characters and pictures are conspicuous and visibility at night is improved. In particular, the most severe part of the sign lamp is the internal lighting device. Therefore, if the heat dissipation structure of the lighting device is not improved, the deterioration and failure of parts due to temperature rise may be caused, and in the worst case, the lighting device may be damaged.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 14, if the temperature measurement point of the lighting device and its maximum use temperature are written on a portion that is difficult to see from the outside, such as the bottom (A) or the side inside (B), a signboard The user can be alerted without compromising the appearance of the light letters and pictures. In addition, the user can determine whether or not the signboard lamp can be used in the actual environment by measuring the temperature at the temperature measurement point. Furthermore, if the estimated lifetime with respect to the temperature at the temperature measurement point is displayed, it can also be a guide for the lifetime in the actual use environment, so that the usability of the signboard lamp is further improved.

  In this example, one lighting device is built in one billboard lamp, but a plurality of lighting devices may be built in one billboard light.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the whole structure of the structure 1 used as the premise of this invention. It is a front view which shows the principal part structure of the structure 1 used as the premise of this invention. It is a front view which shows the principal part structure of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the ambient temperature of the storage case of the structure 1 used as the premise of this invention, and electronic component temperature. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the surface temperature of the storage case of Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the temperature of a switching element. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the storage case of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a front view which shows the principal part structure of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a characteristic view for operation | movement description of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a characteristic view for operation | movement description of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the waterproof lighting fixture of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the attachment structure of the lighting device in Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the signboard lamp of Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is sectional drawing when it sees from the upper surface of the signboard lamp of Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is the simplified perspective view of the signboard lamp of Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the conventional waterproof type lighting device. It is a front view of the conventional inverter lighting device.

Explanation of symbols

1 Inverter lighting device 2 Storage case 7 Product label

Claims (5)

In a lighting device in which an inverter lighting device for lighting a discharge lamp is housed in a cylindrical storage case having waterproof performance, a temperature measurement point for measuring the surface temperature of the storage case is displayed on the surface of the storage case. In addition, an indication that the surface temperature of the storage case measured at the temperature measurement point should be equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature is provided on the surface of the storage case, and the predetermined temperature is applied to all electronic components inside the storage case. A lighting device, characterized in that the temperature is set to be equal to or lower than a maximum use temperature of each electronic component . 2. The lighting device according to claim 1 , further comprising means for notifying an estimated life of the inverter lighting device stored in the cylindrical storage case based on the result of measuring the temperature at the temperature measurement point. 3. The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the estimated life of the inverter lighting device stored in the cylindrical storage case is displayed on the surface of the cylindrical storage case. The lighting fixture which incorporated the lighting device in any one of Claims 1-3 . A signboard lamp incorporating the lighting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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