JPH01186544A - Amalgam-sealed type fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of a glow discharge by providing an amalgam near an electrode and fitting this amalgam to a member electrically insulated from the electrode. CONSTITUTION:The mercury vapor pressure in a discharge space is mainly controlled by a main amalgam 27 while a lamp 20 is turned on. An auxiliary amalgam 31 provided near an electrode 22 receives the heat of the electrode 22 and its temperature rises when the lamp is started, mercury is discharged in a relatively short time, the mercury vapor pressure in the discharge space rises, and the rising of the light output is accelerated. The auxiliary amalgam 31 is fitted with a support wire 30 electrically insulated from the electrode 22, the auxiliary amalgam 31 itself is electrically insulated from the electrode 22, the auxiliary amalgam 31 is prevented from becoming a discharge electrode, and no glow discharge occurs between the auxiliary amalgam 31 and other electrodes and an inner weld 24 installed on the other end side. Malfunctions of a high-frequency lighting circuit 11 are eliminated, the base material of the auxiliary amalgam 31 is prevented from being spattered.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp that uses amalgam as a luminescent metal and is lit by high-frequency power.

(Prior art) Conventional fluorescent lamps have pure mercury sealed in the arc tube bulb, and when the tube wall temperature is around 40°C, the mercury vapor pressure inside the tube is optimal and the luminous efficiency is highest. It is designed to be. Therefore, if the temperature exceeds this temperature, there is a problem that the luminous efficiency decreases and the initial output becomes low.

By the way, recently there has been a demand for higher output and smaller size of fluorescent lamps, and as a result, the temperature of the tube wall of fluorescent lamps has tended to rise. A problem has arisen in which the output decreases.

For this reason, fluorescent lamps with high tube wall temperatures use main amalgam instead of pure mercury, so that optimal mercury vapor pressure can be obtained even when operating under harsh temperature conditions. lamps have been developed.

This method utilizes the property that the mercury vapor pressure of amalgam is lower than that of pure mercury at the same temperature.For example, amalgam (In-Hg) made of an alloy with indium has mercury vapor pressure at room temperature. The pressure is approximately one order of magnitude lower than that of pure mercury.

For this reason, when a fluorescent lamp using such a main amalgam is started when the temperature of the main amalgam is low and the ambient temperature of the lamp is also low, electrons are not emitted from the electrodes immediately after starting, and this Therefore, it takes time for the main amalgam to reach its optimum temperature, and it takes time for the mercury vapor pressure inside the arc tube to reach a predetermined level.
Therefore, there is a drawback that the rise characteristic of the optical output is poor and the time required for stable lighting is long.

Therefore, in the past, apart from the main amalgam,
An auxiliary amalgam is installed near the electrode to improve the rise.
This amalgam for improving start-up was designed to easily receive the heat from the electrodes, and was designed to receive the heat from the electrodes at the time of startup, thereby promoting a temperature rise. In such conventional cases, the rise improvement amalgam was attached to one of the two inner wells connected to the electrode in order to easily receive the heat of the electrode.

Research is also underway to develop a fluorescent lamp that does not use the above-mentioned main amalgam but only uses an amalgam to improve start-up and can be operated in a low-temperature atmosphere.

Incidentally, recently, fluorescent lamps that are lit using high frequency power have been developed. This device uses a high-frequency lighting circuit instead of a choke-type ballast, and is intended for instant lighting. That is, this device is started by applying a high pulse voltage without sufficiently preheating the electrodes.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, as mentioned above, a fluorescent lamp in which amalgam for improving rise is fixed to the inner well connected to the electrode, and which is lit using high-frequency power, At the stage where the electrode is not sufficiently preheated and thermionic electrons are not sufficiently emitted from the electrode filament, the electrode filament is not discharged between electrodes, but is opposed to the amalgam for improving rise, which is electrically connected to the electrode through the inner well. Performing glow discharge for only half a cycle between electrodes,
Alternatively, glow discharge may occur in both cycles between this rise improving amalgam and the inner well on the counter electrode side.

If such glow discharge continues, the lamp current will be in an abnormal state that is not rated, and there is concern that problems such as a timing shift in the switching operation of the high-frequency lighting circuit or damage to the transistors of the high-frequency lighting circuit may occur.

In addition, when the amalgam for improving start-up becomes a discharge electrode,
Sputtering of the amalgam base material, that is, indium In, occurs due to ion bombardment, leading to problems such as shortening the life of the amalgam and blackening of the tube wall in a short period of time.

The present invention aims to provide a fluorescent lamp using an amalgam for improving start-up, which eliminates the occurrence of discharge from the amalgam for start-up improvement, prevents damage to the high-frequency lighting circuit, and improves the lifespan. It is.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention uses amalgam as a member that is electrically insulated from the electrode, that is, a member that is not electrically connected to the electrode other than the inner well that supports the electrode. It is characterized by being attached to.

(Function) According to the present invention, since the amalgam is attached to a member that is electrically insulated from the electrode, no high frequency voltage is applied, and therefore the amalgam does not become a discharge electrode at the time of startup, so a glow discharge is generated. Never.

(Example) The present invention will be described below based on a first example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

In this embodiment, a compact fluorescent lamp device in which a high frequency lighting circuit component and a bent fluorescent lamp are integrated will be described.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure, where l is a cover made of synthetic resin. A cylindrical portion 2 projects from one end of the cover 1, and a cap 3 is attached to the cylindrical portion 2. The cap 3 is of a screw-in type, for example, an E26 type, and is fixed to the cylindrical portion 2 with an adhesive, caulking, or the like.

A closing member 4 made of, for example, synthetic resin is attached to the opening at the other end of the cover 1, and the opening of the cover 1 is closed with this closing member 4.

This closing member 4 is composed of a pair of disk-shaped partitions 5.8 spaced apart in the axial direction, and these partitions 5.6 are arranged in a predetermined manner by connecting ribs 7 interposed between them. They are facing each other with a distance between them. Therefore, a heat insulating air layer 8 is formed between the partition panels 5 and 8 which are spaced apart and facing each other. Note that the heat insulating air layer 8 is communicated with the outside over the entire circumference.

A fitting circumferential wall 9 is formed on one of the disc-shaped partitions 5 of the closing member 4, and the fitting circumferential wall 9 is fitted with the opening of the cover (2) covered with an adhesive or caulking. Alternatively, it is fixed by means such as engagement. Therefore, the inside of the cover 1 is separated from the outside by the closing member 4.
It consists of

A high frequency lighting circuit component 11 is housed in the chamber 10 inside the cover 1. As shown in FIG. 3, this high-frequency lighting circuit component 11 is composed of a starting circuit 12 and a stabilizing circuit 13 during lighting, and the starting circuit 12 is a positive characteristic thermistor whose detailed explanation is omitted since it is well known. The stabilizing circuit 13 also includes components such as a full-wave rectifier, a smoothing capacitor, a transistor, a resonant capacitor, and an oscillation coil, which are not shown because they are well known.

The starting circuit component 12 is fixed to the partition board 5 of the closing member 4.

Further, the stabilizing circuit component 13 is attached to a circuit board 14, and this circuit board 14 is attached to support ribs 15 formed on the inner surface of the fitting peripheral wall 9 at intervals in the circumferential direction. .

Therefore, the starting circuit component 12 and the stabilizing circuit component 13
are arranged at intervals in the axial direction within the cover 1.

Vent holes 1B are formed in the side wall of the cover 1 to communicate the room IO with outside air.

A bent fluorescent lamp 20 is attached to the other disc-shaped partition panel 6 of the closing member 4.

The bent fluorescent lamp 20 may be U-shaped, W-shaped, etc., but in this embodiment, two U-shaped glass bulbs 21 are used.
a and 21b (21b is omitted) are arranged side by side and their ends are fused and joined to each other, thereby forming a bent shape in which a substantially saddle-shaped discharge path is formed as a whole.

Electrodes 22 and 22 (only one is shown) are sealed to the other ends of these two U-shaped glass bulbs 21a and 21b, respectively.

The electrode sealed end of one U-shaped glass bulb 21a is
It is shown in the figure and will be explained.

That is, the end of the U-shaped glass bulb 21a is sealed with a flare stem 23, and an inner well 24, 24 is sealed to the flare stem 23. The electrode 22 is placed between these inner wells 24, 24.

Further, a thin tube 25 formed by sealing and cutting an exhaust pipe with a predetermined projecting length is connected to the flare stem 23.
communicates with the discharge space via the conduction hole 2B. A main amalgam 27 made of B1-ln-Hg or the like is housed within this thin tube 25, and this main amalgam 27 is held by a constricted portion 28 formed in the thin tube 25 so as not to fall from the conduction hole 2B into the discharge space. has been done.

Further, a support wire 30 is installed in the flare stem 23 separately from the inner wells 24, 24. This support wire 30 is the inner wells 2
4.24 and the electrode 22 and are electrically insulated. And this support wire 3
0, an auxiliary amalgam 31 is attached to the MO plate plated with In (to create an alloy of Hg during lighting) to improve the rise.
The inner wells 24, 24 and the electrodes 22 are spaced apart and electrically insulated from each other.

Note that 29 is a phosphor coating formed on the inner surface of the bulb 21a.

The electrode-sealed end of one U-shaped glass bulb 21a is configured as described above, whereas the electrode-sealed end of the other U-shaped glass bulb 21b is not provided with a main amalgam.

As shown in FIG. 2, such a bent fluorescent lamp 20 has both ends and a fused portion fixed to the other disc-shaped partition plate 6 of the closing member 4 via an adhesive 33. .

The adhesive points of both ends and the fused portion of the fluorescent lamp 20 are hidden from the bottom side by a cover plate 34 made of synthetic resin. It is fixed by means such as fitting.

Further, in the connecting rib 7 formed on the closing member 4, there is a recess 3 facing the electrode side end of the fluorescent lamp 20.
5 is formed and the thin tube 2 contains the main amalgam 27.
5 is accommodated.

The operation of the embodiment with such a configuration will be explained.

While the lamp 20 is lit, the main amalgam 27 mainly controls the mercury vapor pressure in the discharge space.

Furthermore, when starting the lamp, the auxiliary amalgam 31 installed near the electrode 22 receives heat from the electrode 22 and its temperature rises, releasing mercury within a relatively short period of time and reducing the mercury vapor pressure in the discharge space. Since the rise is promoted, the rise of the optical output becomes faster.

By the way, the purpose of such a fluorescent lamp 20 is to light it up in a short time using high frequency power supplied from the high frequency lighting circuit 11. Therefore, by applying a high pulse voltage without sufficiently heating the electrodes 22, the electric discharge material between the electrodes is dielectrically broken down, and discharge is started to promote starting.

However, when the auxiliary amalgam 81 or the ambient temperature is low, high-frequency power is applied before the electrode 22 is heated sufficiently, so thermionic emission from the electrode 22, which is the original discharge electrode, becomes insufficient, and the auxiliary amalgam 31 It may become a discharge electrode, resulting in so-called cold cathode discharge. In this case, due to the high cathode drop voltage, methacrylate In is scattered on the surface of the auxiliary amalgam 31, and the inner surface of the bulb near the electrode is significantly blackened. This phenomenon continues until the electrodes 22 are sufficiently heated by the discharge and the original discharge between the electrodes 22 begins.

However, since the auxiliary amalgam 31 of this embodiment is attached to the support wire 3o that is electrically insulated from the electrode 22, the auxiliary amalgam 31 itself is also electrically insulated from the electrode 22, and therefore the auxiliary amalgam 31 is discharged. It is prevented from becoming an electrode.

In other words, glow discharge will not occur between this auxiliary amalgam 31 and other electrodes installed at the other end of the discharge space or their inner wells.

Therefore, there is no occurrence of an abnormal lamp current that is not rated, and malfunction or damage to the high frequency lighting circuit 11 is eliminated. Also, sputtering of the base material of the auxiliary amalgam 31, such as indium In, due to ion bombardment is prevented, and the auxiliary amalgam 31 is prevented from sputtering due to ion bombardment. 31 is extended, and early blackening of the tube wall is also prevented.

Further, according to the above embodiment, even if the bent fluorescent lamp 20 generates heat while it is lit, the bent fluorescent lamp 20 is directly exposed to the outside, so the heat is radiated to the outside air, and the heat is radiated to the closing member 4. Since the formed heat insulating air layer 8 acts as a heat shield, heat conduction to the cover 1 side is reduced. Therefore, the temperature rise inside the cover 1 is suppressed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

That is, in the above embodiment, the bent fluorescent lamp 20 is used as it is exposed, but a fluorescent lamp device having a structure in which the bent fluorescent lamp 20 is covered with a translucent or semi-transparent glove may be used. It is possible to implement even if there is.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a compact fluorescent lamp device that integrally incorporates the bent fluorescent lamp 20 and the high-frequency lighting circuit component ll, and the lamp may be a straight tube fluorescent lamp. Alternatively, the fluorescent lamp 20 and the high-frequency lighting circuit component 11 may have separate structures.

Furthermore, the present invention may be implemented as a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

This one connects the open end of the valve 40 to the button stem 41.
An electrode 43 is attached to this button stem 41 via inner wells 42 and 42. Support wires 44, 44 are implanted in this button stem 41 at positions electrically insulated and separated from these inner wells 42, 42, and auxiliary amalgam 45 is attached to these support wires 44, 44. It is being The auxiliary amalgam 45 is made of Mo foil plated with In and bent into a ring shape, and this ring-shaped auxiliary amalgam 45 surrounds the electrode 43 except for the discharge space side. ing.

The main amalgam 4B made of B1-ln-Hg or the like is housed in a thin tube 47 that projects from the button stem 41.

In such a configuration, since the auxiliary amalgam 45 is electrically insulated and separated from the electrode 43 and the inner wells 42, 42, generation of electric discharge in the auxiliary amalgam 45 is prevented as in the first embodiment. At the same time, since the auxiliary amalgam 45 has a ring shape, its surface area becomes large and the adsorption of mercury is improved when the lights are turned off.
Furthermore, since the electrode 43 is surrounded, heat from the electrode 43 is easily received. Furthermore, the auxiliary amalgam 45 is connected to the electrode 43
Since it surrounds the electrode material, it prevents the electrode material and electrode coating material from scattering, prevents them from adhering to the tube wall, and is effective in preventing blackening.

Furthermore, the present invention may be implemented as a third embodiment shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary amalgam 50 surrounds the electrode 43 and has a trumpet shape, that is, a conical shape, with the discharge space side wide open, and the other structure is the same as that of the second embodiment.

This provides the same effects as the second embodiment, and further improves the mercury adsorption ability of the auxiliary amalgam 50.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, a main amalgam and an auxiliary amalgam were used, and the auxiliary amalgam was installed near the electrode. However, as explained earlier, the present invention does not use the main amalgam and is a method for improving rise. It may be possible to use only amalgam, and in short, any fluorescent lamp that has amalgam disposed near the electrode and is lit at a high frequency may be sufficient.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, since the amalgam is attached to a member that is electrically insulated from the electrode, no high frequency voltage is applied, and therefore the amalgam becomes a discharge electrode at the time of startup. There is no glow discharge. This eliminates the occurrence of abnormal lamp currents that are not rated, eliminates malfunctions and damage to the high-frequency lighting circuit, prevents sputtering of the amalgam base material due to ion bombardment, extends the life of the amalgam, and improves the tube wall. Prevents early darkening.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the electrode sealing part, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the entire fluorescent lamp device, and FIG. 3 is the circuit configuration. Figures 4 and 5
The figures show a second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the electrode sealing part, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mount, and FIG. 6 is a mount showing a third embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 cover, 3... cap, 4... closing member, 5.8.
...Partition board, 11...High frequency lighting circuit parts, 12.
・Starting circuit components, 13 ・Stabilization circuit components, 20・
...Bent fluorescent lamp, 21a...Bulb, 22.
...electrode, 23...flare stem, 24...inner wells, 25...tubule, 27...main amalgam, 30...support wire, 31...auxiliary amalgam, 41...button Stem, 42... Inner wells, 43... Electrode, 44... Support wire, 4
5.50... Auxiliary amalgam. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 11 Highlights Figure 3 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] An amalgam-filled fluorescent lamp provided with an amalgam near the electrode and lit by high-frequency power, wherein the amalgam is attached to a member electrically insulated from the electrode. light lamp.