JPH0370336B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention comprises a continuous process of sealing a stem in a bulb of a straight fluorescent lamp, evacuating the inside of the bulb, and sealing off an exhaust pipe. The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp manufacturing apparatus.

[Technical background of the invention]

Straight tube fluorescent lamps are manufactured by sealing mounts with filaments at both ends of a straight tube bulb whose inner surface is coated with a phosphor. The following work steps are mainly required. In other words, there is a sealing process in which a valve and a mount are supplied to a sealing machine, and the open end of the valve is heated and welded to the outer circumference of the stem of the mount, and a product that has been sealed is supplied to an exhaust machine to perform the exhaust process. In the machine, there are two steps: heating the entire valve while exhausting it through the exhaust pipe, replacing the air inside the valve with nitrogen or inert gas during this evacuation, and energizing the filament through the lead wire of the mount during the evacuation. There are a lighting process in which the electrode coating material is decomposed and activated, a process in which argon gas and, if necessary, mercury are sealed in the evacuated bulb, and a further process in which the exhaust pipe is sealed. However, in the past, the sealing machine and the exhaust machine were constructed completely separately, so the product that had been sealed in the sealing machine was taken out from the sealing machine and transferred to the exhaust machine. As a result, the transfer means becomes extremely troublesome, making the entire device complex and increasing equipment costs.Also, since transfer time requires work time, manufacturing time becomes longer and work efficiency decreases, among other problems. It was hot.

For this reason, the applicant has developed a device that continuously performs a series of processes from sealing to exhaust pipe sealing and cutting without changing valves. The application has been filed as "Publication No. This device has a spider on the horizontal axis, and this spider has a through hole that holds the mount and connects the exhaust pipe, a sealing burner that heats the valve and stem, and a sealing cutter that seals and cuts the exhaust pipe. A head is provided with a lighting device that applies electricity to the filament through a lead wire during burner and exhaust to decompose and activate the electrode coating material,
The spider is provided with a valve holder that holds the valve in opposition to the mount, and the sealed burner is exhausted during the process in which the spider is rotated continuously or intermittently as the horizontal shaft rotates. The predetermined steps are performed continuously by sequentially operating the through hole, the lighting device, and the exhaust pipe sealing/cutting burner.

[Problems with background technology]

However, in the above-mentioned manufacturing equipment, the valve is heated entirely in the valve firing furnace and is held by a valve holder and the mount is sealed, but after this sealing is completed, the valve is removed during the exhaust process. Natural cooling creates a temperature difference in the circumferential direction, which causes bending in the axial direction. In this case, if the valve is supported by the valve holder, the valve tends to bend using the holder as a support point. However, the tip of the exhaust pipe is restrained by a tightening rubber, which causes stress to be generated at the base of the exhaust pipe on the stem side, and there is a fear that the exhaust pipe may break or cracks may easily occur due to heat shock.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a fluorescent lamp manufacturing device that does not have to worry about breaking or cracking the exhaust pipe even if the bulb tries to bend due to natural cooling. This is what we are trying to provide.

[Summary of the invention]

That is, in the present invention, spiders that rotate opposite to each other are arranged at both ends of a horizontal shaft that rotates continuously or intermittently, and the straight pipe valve is held in a horizontal position by facing each other around the circumference of these spiders. A plurality of valve holders are provided, each of which comprises a pair of chuck claws for releasably holding the valve; each of the spiders has a plurality of chuck claws each facing the valve holder and sealed to the open end of the valve; An exhaust head is provided to hold the exhaust pipe led out from the stem of the mount and connect it to the exhaust system, a sealing burner sealing the stem to the open end of the valve, and a chipping burner sealing and cutting the exhaust pipe. The exhaust head and the sealing head are rotated integrally with the valve holder as the spider rotates, thereby sealing and exhausting the valve without having to relocate the valve. The apparatus is a fluorescent lamp manufacturing device, in which the chuck claw is provided with a cam roller, and a cam rail for releasing the holder is provided over an area at least during the rotation of the spider from completion of sealing to just before completion of sealing and cutting the exhaust pipe. is provided, and the cam roller rolls along the holder release cam rail to open the valve holder and release the valve from holding the valve, and while the valve holder releases the valve, the exhaust head is It is characterized in that the valve is supported by the sandwiched exhaust pipes.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show the entire device.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a bed, and a fixed base 2 is provided on the left side of the figure, and a movable base 3 is attached on the right side.
The movable base 3 is guided so as to be movable in the direction of arrow A on rails 4, and is operated by a feed screw 5 and a feed handle 6. A drive motor 7 is attached to the fixed base 2,
This motor 7 includes a fixed base side drive shaft 8 and a connecting shaft 9.
The movable table side drive shaft 10 is rotationally driven through the movable table side drive shaft 10. The connecting shaft 9 has both ends flanged to the drive shafts 8 and 10, respectively.
These drive shafts 8 and 10 are removably connected, so that when manufacturing fluorescent lamp bulbs with different bulb lengths, the movable base 3 can be moved and adjusted and replaced with another connection shaft. Thus, each drive shaft 8 and 10 is a rotating shaft 11, 11, respectively.
However, since the following configuration is symmetrical, unless otherwise specified, the movable table side will be explained and the fixed table side will be omitted. That is, the drive shaft 10 is connected to a driven shaft 14 via bevel gears 12 and 13, and this driven shaft 14 rotates a worm 17 via other bevel gears 15 and 16. The worm 17 is engaged with a worm wheel 18 attached to the end of the rotating shaft 11. Therefore, the rotating shaft 11
receives the driving force from the motor 7 through the transmission means to rotate continuously at a constant speed. This rotating shaft 11 is located coaxially with the rotating shaft 11 on the fixed base 2 side and is arranged horizontally. A spider 19 is attached to the rotating shaft 11, and a total of 24 valve holders 20, for example, are attached to the spider 19 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. This valve holder 20 is for chucking a straight tubular valve in a horizontal position, and is constructed by attaching a pair of chuck claws 20a, 20b to a spider 19, as shown in FIG. The chuck claws 20a, 20b are gears 201, 2
02, they are rotated in opposite directions in synchronization with each other, and are always biased in the closing direction by a spring 203 connected to the chuck pawl 20a. This chuck pawl 20a has a cam roller 2.
04 is connected, and this cam roller 204 comes into sliding contact with a holder release cam rail 200 provided in a range described later. While the cam roller 204 is in sliding contact with the cam rail 200, the chuck pawl 20
a, 20b are opened to release valve 101.
Further, the spider 19 is provided with heads 21, which will be described later, corresponding to each of the valve holders 20. Further, the rotating shaft 11 has rotating plates 22a and 23 of the center valves 22 and 23, respectively.
One center valve 22 is for supplying combustion gas to the sealing burner and the exhaust pipe cutting (chipping) burner, and the other center valve 23 is for evacuation, gas replacement, and argon gas filling. This is for switching each piping for use. In addition, the fixing plate 2 of each center valve 22, 23
2b, 23b are supported by a support plate 24 fixed to the movable table 3, and 25...
. . . are gas communication pipes arranged and supported by this support plate 24. Further, rails 26 and 27 are disposed along the circumferential direction on this support plate 24, and these rails 26, 27 are disposed along the circumferential direction.
The cam surface ( (part of which is not shown) to connect the head 21 to the spider 1.
9, that is, in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

By the way, 24 positions P ₁ to _{P 24} are set on the spider 19, and these positions will be explained later, but here, as shown in FIG. 2, the mount supply mechanism and valve supply mechanism will be explained. Let me explain. i.e. spider 19
The _P1 position in is the mount loading position. The mount is conveyed by the conveyor 30 in a horizontal plane with the tube axis direction vertical, and is transferred to the loading conveyor 32 with the tube axis direction changed to the horizontal direction by the transfer mechanism 31.
This loading conveyor 32 is adapted to deliver the mount to the head 21 of the spider 19 at the _P1 position. Also, the position between P ₃ and P ₄ is the bulb loading position, where the chute 3 is loaded from the firing furnace 33 for firing the phosphor coating applied to the inner surface of the bulb.
4 to a turret 35, and this turret 35 is adapted to deliver the valve to the valve holders 20, 20 between _P3 and _P4 .

The aforementioned head 21 will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Although Figures 3 and 4 show different working conditions,
Since the cross sections of the head 21 are perpendicular to each other, both figures will be used to explain the structure in order to help understand the structure. First, the bulb 101 has a phosphor coating 1 on its inner surface.
02 and is supported by the valve holders 20, 20. Further, the mount 103 is such that the flare portion 105 of the stem glass 104 is connected to the bulb 1.
Lead wires 106, 106 are penetrated and sealed in this stem glass 104, and a filament 107 is installed at the tips of these lead wires 106, 106. It is known that an exhaust pipe 109 is connected to an exhaust hole 108 opened on the side surface and led out. The head 21 includes a sealing head 36 disposed on the side close to the valve 101 and a sealing head 36 disposed on the same horizontal plane as the sealing head 36 and the valve 101.
1 and an exhaust head 37 provided at a position apart from the exhaust head 37. Said sealing head 36
has a sealing head body 38 which is movable in the direction of arrow C (the same direction as arrow A in FIG. A sealed burner 39 is attached, and this sealed burner 39 has a flame hole 40 facing toward the front center. Note that this sealing burner 39 and the sealing head body 38 form a gas passage 41, and this gas passage 41 communicates with a gas supply pipe (or hose) 42. However,
A mount holder 43 is integrally attached through the center of the sealing head body 38, and the tip 43a of this mount holder 43 is connected to the flared portion 10.
The flare portion 105 is positioned by fitting into one side of the flare portion 5. Two lead wire insertion holes 44, 44 are formed through the mount holder 43 along the axial direction. Also, this mount holder 43 has a tip portion 4.
Outside air communication holes 45, 4 are provided on the side wall near 3a.
5 is left open. A recess 46 is provided between the mount holder 43 and the sealed burner 39.
is formed, and a batting plate 4 is formed in this recess 46.
7 is placed. This batting board 47
are connected to guide rods 49, 49 that are slidably inserted into guide holes 48, 48 formed in the sealing head main body 38 along the axial direction, and the rear end portions of these guide rods 49, 49 Coil spring 5 attached to
0 and 50, it is always attracted and biased in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow C. By pushing the pressing plate 5 provided at the rear end of the guide rods 49, 49 in the direction of arrow C, the butting plate 47 is moved from the recess 46 in the axial direction.
In other words, it moves in the direction of arrow C.
Note that the press plate 51 is formed with a through hole 51a through which the exhaust pipe 109 and the lead wires 106, 106 pass. Furthermore, the mount holder 43
A chipping burner 52 is fitted inside.
This chipping burner 52 has an exhaust pipe 10 in the center.
The loose insertion hole 53 has a through hole 53 through which the loose insertion hole 5 is inserted.
A flame hole 54 is opened on the inner surface of the front end portion of No. 3. Note that this flame hole 54... is the outside air communication hole 4.
It is formed at a position corresponding to numbers 5 and 45. And flame hole 54...chipping burner 52
It is connected to a gas supply pipe (or hose) 56 via a gas flow path 55 formed therein. Furthermore, an insulating support stand 57 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is fixed to the rear end surface of the sealing head main body 38, and this support stand 57 includes elastically deformable electric contact pieces 58, 59 is attached. These contact pieces 58, 59 are conductive wires 60, 6, respectively.
1 to the fixed clamps 62 and 63. Furthermore, movable clamps 64 and 65 are rotatably supported on the fixed clamps 62 and 63 in an electrically insulated manner.
The lead wires 106 and 106 are clamped between the terminals 3 and 65. And movable clamps 64 and 65
are connected to each other by an interlocking rod 66, and one of the movable clamps 64 is provided with a guide roller 67 at its tip. Note that 68 and 69 are torsion springs for return.

On the other hand, the exhaust head 37 is connected to the rail 26,
The exhaust head main body 70 is moved simultaneously with the sealing head 36 in the direction of arrow C by the guiding action of the exhaust head 27.
An exhaust pipe introduction hole 71 is formed in the exhaust pipe introduction hole 71, and a tightening rubber 72 is attached to this exhaust pipe introduction hole 71. The inside of this tightening rubber 72 is connected to a pressure and air supply pipe 73, and when pressurized air is supplied, this tightening rubber 72 airtightly tightens the tip of the exhaust pipe 109. Further, the introduction hole 71 communicates with a ventilation hole 74, which is connected to the rotary plate 23a of the center valve 23, and allows flow exhaust, gas replacement, and injection of mercury or inert gas through the exhaust pipe 108. I'm starting to do it.

Furthermore, a butting actuation mechanism 80 as shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the spider 19 so as to be slidable in the direction of arrow C. That is, 81 is a movable plate that is slidably attached to the spider 19, and this movable plate 81 has a guide sleeve 8 on the front side.
Pressing rods 84, 84, which are biased by coil springs 83, 83, are fitted into these guide sleeves 82, 82. These pressing rods 84, 84 are opposed to the pressing plate 51. Further, a guide roller 86 is attached to the rear surface of the movable plate 81 via a rod 85, and this guide roller 86 is adapted to be in rolling contact with the rail 28. The rail 28 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 87 spaced apart along the direction of rotation of the spider 19 at positions corresponding to the butting work.
The guide roller 86 is pushed by the projections 87 to move the moving plate 81 in the direction of arrow C.

Such a spider 19 is provided with the above-mentioned 24 positions P ₁ to P ₂₄ , and the operations at each position are shown in FIG. 6 and the explanation thereof will be omitted. Note that the guide rail 90 and the power supply rails 91, 92 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are arranged in the range P ₁₄ to P ₁₆ in FIG. 6, and the range P ₁₂ in FIG. The above-mentioned cam rail 200 for releasing the retainer is arranged in the range from P ₁₉ to just before the exhaust pipe sealing is completed, and a similar cam rail 300 is arranged in the counterclockwise direction from P ₂₁ to P ₃ . is provided.

Valve 102 using the device configured in this way
The work method from attaching the mount 103 to completing the exhaust will be explained.

The mount 103 sent to _{the P1} position via the conveyor 30, transfer mechanism 31 and loading conveyor 32 is delivered to the head 21 at the _P1 position. In this case, the sealing head 36 and the exhaust head 37 in the head 21 have been moved back from the position shown in _FIG . By being guided and proceeding one step in the direction of arrow C,
The mount 103 is received from the loading conveyor 32. That is, by moving both the sealing head 36 and the exhaust head 37 in the direction of arrow C, the exhaust pipe 109 is connected to the tip 43 of the mount holder 43.
a through the loose insertion hole 53 of the chipping burner 52 and introduced into the introduction hole 71 of the exhaust head 37,
At this time, the lead wires 106, 106 are passed through the lead wire insertion holes 44, 44. The flare part 105 of the mount 103 is attached to the mount holder 4.
When it hits and matches the tip 43a of No. 3, loading is completed. While the head 21 holding the mount 103 moves to the _P3 position as the spider 19 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the exhaust head 37
Pressure air is introduced from the pipe 73 to expand the fastening rubber 72 to reduce its inner diameter, and the fastening rubber 72 fastens and supports the exhaust pipe 109.

Next, when the head 21 moves between P ₃ and P ₄ , the still hot valve 101, which has been sent through the firing furnace 33, the chute 34, and the turret 35, is received by the valve holders 20, 20. passed and held horizontally. Valve holder 20, 20
When the cam roller 204 comes off the cam rail 300, the spring 203 shown in FIG.
The chuck claws 20a, 20b close due to the urging force of the valve 101, thereby supporting the valve 101. Then, while the head 21 moves from P ₄ to P ₅ , the sealing head 36 and the exhaust head 37 are moved to the rail 2, respectively.
6 and 27 further advance in the direction of arrow C, and the mount 103 held on these heads 36 and 37, that is, the head 21, is fitted into the open end of the valve 101. This fitting is stopped when the peripheral edge of the flared portion 105 hits the opening edge of the valve 101.

Next, when the head 21 moves to the _P6 position, the sealing burner 39 is ignited, and the gas flame injected from the flame hole 40 is directed toward the contact area between the valve 101 and the flare part 105, and the gas flame These abutting portions are heated and melted. The valve 101 and the mount 103 are sealed together with this melting, and this sealing operation is continuously performed from _P6 to _P12 .

This sealing work is performed on the valve 101 and the mount 103.
At the stage where the flare portion 105 of is slightly softened,
In other words, the batting operation is performed at the _P6 position. In other words, when the head 21 moves to the _P9 position, the guide roller 86 shown in FIG. Ru. For this reason, the pressing plate 51 is pressed by the pressing rods 84, 84, so the batting plate 47 moves forward against the coil springs 50, 50, and lightly presses the contact area between the softened valve 101 and the flare portion 105. This promotes the mutual compatibility of these glasses.

Sealing is done in this way, and the sealing between the valve 101 and the mount 103 is completed at _P12 , so the sealing burner 39 is stopped.

By the way, when the above sealing is completed, the valve 101
Exhaust the inside. That is, if the vent hole 74 connected to the exhaust pipe 109 is connected to a vacuum device through the center valve 23, the gas inside the valve 101 is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 109. Such evacuation work is performed continuously from P ₁₂ to P ₁₉ , but in the middle of this evacuation work, the filament 10 is removed between P ₁₄ and P ₁₆ .
7 is lit.

That is, while the head 21 passes from P ₁₄ to P ₁₆ ,
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a guide rail 90 and power supply rails 91, 92 are provided in this range, so the guide roller 67 is guided by the guide rail 90, and the movable clamp 64 At the same time as rotating and displacing this displacement, the interlocking rod 66
is transmitted to the other movable clamp 65 to cause this movable clamp 65 to also be rotationally displaced. For this purpose, the lead wires 106, 106 are clamped between the movable clamps 64, 65 and the fixed clamps 62, 63. Along with this, the electric contact pieces 58 and 59 are connected to the power supply rail 91,
92, the power supply rails 91, 92 connect the lead wires 106, 10 via these contact pieces 58, 59 conductive wires 60, 61 and fixed clamps 62, 63.
6 and thus the filament 10
7 is energized. As a result, filament 10
7 is heated, the electron radioactive substance coated on the filament 107 is decomposed and activated, and impurities occluded in the filament 107 are released.

Further, gas replacement within the bulb 101 is performed in the range from P ₁₄ to P ₁₇ during this filament lighting. That is, various means are possible for this gas replacement method, but in the case of this embodiment, the valve 10
A method is adopted in which an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon is supplied from one end of the valve 101 and air inside the valve 101 is sucked and drawn out from the other end. Therefore, in this gas replacement process, the connection system of the center valve 23 on the fixed base 2 side and the connection system of the center valve 23 on the movable base 3 side are different from each other, and one center valve 23 is connected to a supply source of replacement gas, and the other center valve 23 is connected to a suction device such as a vacuum pump. During this process, not only the air inside the bulb 101 but also impurities stored in the bulb 101 and the mount 103 and impurities released from the filament when the filament is lit are removed to the outside of the bulb.

In this way, the exhaust work is completed and the head 21
reaches the P ₂₀ position, the ventilation hole 74 and the exhaust pipe 1
Argon gas is filled through 09. At this time, mercury can be added at the same time, but if the mercury alloy is attached to the mount 103 in advance, it is not necessary to enclose mercury.

Next, while moving from P ₂₀ to P ₂₁ , the chipping burner 52 is ignited and a gas flame is ejected from the flame holes 54 . Then, the exhaust pipe 10 facing the gas flame
9 is heated and melted. When the exhaust head 37 is sufficiently heated, the exhaust pipe 1
09 is fastened to the fastening rubber 72, the melted portion expands to close the exhaust pipe 109, and is then burned out. For this reason, sealing cutting (chipping) is performed.

Then, between P ₂₁ and P ₂₂ , the sealing head 36 is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow C by the rail 26, and the lead wires 106, 106 are inserted into the insertion hole 4.
4, 44. When the valve holders 20, 20 are opened when the valve is located between P ₂₁ and P ₂₂ , the valve 101 is released and the valve 101 is transferred to the delivery conveyor 9 via the chute 95 in FIG.
6 and will be sent out.

Incidentally, while returning from _P22 to _P1 , the sealing head 36 and the exhaust head 37 are returned by the rails 26 and 27 in the opposite direction to the direction of arrow C to prepare for the next loading.

According to such an embodiment, the valve 10 is attached to the valve holders 20, 20 of the spider 19 that rotates continuously.
1, and a head 21 that moves integrally with the valve holders 20, 20 is provided at a position facing the valve 101.
Since the valve 101 is equipped with the necessary structure to perform the sealing function, exhaust function, batting function, filament lighting function, gas replacement function, inert gas filling function, and chipping function depending on the respective working position, it is not necessary to relocate the valve 101. The above work can be done without any need. Moreover, the exhaust work can be started immediately before the end of the sealing work, and during the exhaust work, the decomposition of the coating material can be activated (flushing) by lighting the filament, and the gas can be replaced. This improves work efficiency by eliminating the need for transfer. It will improve not only in terms of what you do, but also greatly.

Therefore, the valve holder 20 allows the valve 10 to
1, when the exhaust process is performed with the valve 101 maintained at 1, the temperature difference in the circumferential direction of the valve 101 occurs due to natural cooling, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. is curved upward. If the valve 101 is held in this state by the valve holder 20, the end of the valve 101 will be displaced downward as shown in the imaginary line. On the other hand, the tip of the exhaust pipe 109 is attached to the fastening rubber 7 on the head 21 side.
2, the axis of the exhaust pipe 109 is inclined relative to the axis of the valve 101.
Such an inclination is caused by the valve 101 and the stem 103 being relatively displaced when the sealing portion is still in a molten state during the sealing operation.
The bending of the exhaust pipe 109 does not cause cracks or breakage at the base of the exhaust pipe 109. However, stem 10
3 and the valve 101 are cooled and fixed, a large stress is generated at the base of the exhaust pipe 109, and the degree of bending of the valve 101 changes every moment depending on the position and direction of the spider 19.

Therefore, in the present invention, the valve support by the valve holder 20 is released from the exhaust process start point, that is, the sealing process completion point _P12 . In other words, when the cam roller 204 rides on and slides on the cam rail 200 for releasing the holder, the chuck claws 20a, 20
b is opened. Therefore, the valve 101
is supported only by the fastening rubber 72 on the head 21 side via the exhaust pipe 109. Therefore, valve 101
Since the valve 101 is not restrained, the valve 101 can be displaced as shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, and the stress generated at the base of the exhaust pipe 109 can be significantly reduced, and breakage of the exhaust pipe 109 can be prevented.

Further, by opening the valve 101 at least until just before the completion of sealing off the exhaust pipe, the exhaust pipe 109 will not crack due to the heat shock caused by the exhaust pipe sealing burner 54.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the present invention, the valve support by the valve holder is released at least between the completion of sealing and the time immediately before the completion of sealing of the exhaust pipe, so that the valve is supported by the head via the exhaust pipe. Therefore, even if the valve bends due to natural cooling, the valve is not restrained, so excessive stress is not generated at the base of the exhaust pipe, and the advantage is that breakage and cracks of the exhaust pipe can be prevented. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a side view of the entire device, FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line - in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the head during the batting process. , Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the head during the filament lighting process, Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line V-V in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is an explanation showing the relationship between each position and work in the spider. 7 are perspective views showing the relationship between the valve holder and the cam rail,
FIG. 8 is a state diagram explaining the operation. 11...Rotation axis (horizontal axis), 19...Spider,
20...Valve holder, 20a, 20b...Chuck claw, 200...Cam rail for releasing the holder, 2
04...Cam roller, 21...Head, 36...
Sealing head, 37...Exhaust head, 72...Tightening rubber, 101...Valve, 103...Mount,
109...Exhaust pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 Spiders that rotate facing each other are arranged at both ends of a horizontal shaft that rotates continuously or intermittently, and the straight pipe valves are placed in a horizontal position with spiders facing each other around the periphery of these spiders. A plurality of valve holders are provided to hold the valve, and each of the valve holders includes a pair of chuck claws for releasably holding the valve. An exhaust head is provided that holds the exhaust pipe led out from the stem of the mount to be sealed and connects it to the exhaust system, and a sealing burner that seals the stem to the open end of the valve and a seal cutter for the exhaust pipe are provided. A sealing head having a tipping burner is provided, and as the spider rotates, the exhaust head and sealing head are rotated integrally with the valve holder to seal and exhaust the valve without transferring the valve. The apparatus for manufacturing fluorescent lamps is provided with a cam roller on the chuck claw, and the holder is released over an area at least during the rotation of the spider from completion of sealing to just before completion of sealing and cutting of the exhaust pipe. The cam roller rolls along the holder releasing cam rail to open the valve holder and release the valve from holding the valve, and while the valve holder releases the valve, the exhaust gas is released. A fluorescent lamp manufacturing apparatus characterized in that a bulb is supported by the exhaust pipe held by the head.