JPH0447424B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to compact fluorescent lamps. Conventional configurations and their problems In the age of energy conservation, the low efficiency of conventionally widely used incandescent light bulbs has become a problem, and recently there has been a demand for the development of high-efficiency compact discharge lamps that can replace incandescent light bulbs. ing. The inventors have already proposed, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-37105 and other documents, a new compact fluorescent lamp that can replace incandescent light bulbs and meets the above requirements. As shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the basic structure of this fluorescent lamp is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b. The light-emitting container 1 is constructed by inserting the container inner body 3 made of the same material into the inside of the container and overlapping each other. The openings 4 of the container outer body 2 and the container inner body 3 are hermetically sealed to each other, for example by a glass frit 5 or the like. Further, in the inner body 3 of the container, a groove 6 for forming a discharge path is provided in a meandering manner so as to form one continuous discharge path, and two electrodes 7 and 8 are provided at both ends of the groove 6. are held by internal lead wires 9, 10, and external conductors 11, 12 are connected to the internal lead wires 9, 10, respectively. A part or all of the inner surface of the container outer body 2 and the outer surface of the container inner body 3 are coated with a fluorescent material 13 .
Further, the inside of the luminous envelope 1 is evacuated to a vacuum through an exhaust pipe 14, and surplus mercury and rare gas are sealed inside. Next, regarding the above-mentioned basic structure, during the subsequent manufacturing process, a problem arose in which the container inner body 3 was damaged by atmospheric pressure, and the inventors filed a patent application in order to prevent this problem. 57-100871, etc., proposed an improved structure. An example is shown in FIG. In the figure, a lid 15 made of a metal material is sealed with a glass frit 5 along the periphery of the opening 4 of the container outer body 2. As shown in FIG. In place of the exhaust pipe 14 that was sealed to a part of the opening 4 in FIG. . Furthermore, unlike the structure shown in FIG. 1, the opening of the container inner body 3 is not hermetically sealed to the opening 4 of the container outer body 2, but is merely fixed. Therefore, the area surrounded by the container outer body 2 and the container inner body 3, the container inner body 3 and the lid 1
A spatial region 16 surrounded by 5 is in communication. Then, the entire area surrounded by the container outer body 2 and the lid 15 is evacuated through the exhaust pipe 14', and rare gas is sealed therein along with excess mercury.
With this structure, atmospheric pressure is not applied to the container inner body 3, so damage can be completely prevented. The inventors continued to study the commercialization of a compact fluorescent lamp based on the improved structure shown in FIG. At that stage, micro-cracks may occur in the fritted glass at the opening 4 of the luminous envelope 1, which is sealed around the periphery of the lid 15 made of a metal material that is easily mass-produced, leading to leakage. It has been found that cracks occur in the sealed portion of the container outer body 2 in some cases. Such leaks and cracks are an absolute failure of the lamp, and are a problem that must be solved. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable compact fluorescent lamp that can prevent leaks and cracks when the lid is sealed to the opening of the luminous envelope. It is about providing. Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the inventors conducted a detailed study on a highly reliable sealing method for the opening of a light emitting container. As a result, it was found that the leaks and cracks in the sealed portion are basically caused by the difference in thermal expansion between the lid made of a metal material and the light emitting envelope made of a glass material. In the heat treatment process such as the sealing process, in order to absorb this difference in thermal expansion and prevent leaks and cracks at the sealing part between the luminous envelope and the lid, it is necessary to avoid using a flat metal lid. It has become clear that a metal lid with a concave or convex portion can be used. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The inventors first used a planar lid 15 made of a metal material similar to the conventional example as shown in FIG. 3, and a lid 15' having a recess 16 in the center as shown in FIG. We conducted a comparative experiment on the occurrence of leaks and cracks when using in this case,
The metal material for the lids 15 and 15' is the same Fe50%-
50% Ni was used, and ordinary soda lime glass was used for the container outer body 2 and the container inner body 3. Further, as the glass frit 5, a commercially available glass frit having a coefficient of thermal expansion corresponding to that of soda lime glass was used. In the configuration according to the conventional example shown in FIG. 3, after the glass frit 5 is sealed, microcracks often occur along the periphery of the glass frit, and in extreme cases, the container outer body 2 may be damaged by the glass frit seal. I also experienced having trouble getting dressed. On the other hand, in the structure based on the present invention shown in FIG. 4, there were no leaks or cracks experienced in the conventional example. This is because the recess 16 provided in the center of the lid 15'
It can be said that it plays a role as a cushion that absorbs the difference in thermal expansion during the sealing process between the container outer body 2 and the lid 15'. The shape of the lid 15' is as follows:
As shown in FIG. 5, a similar effect was obtained even when a convex portion 17 was provided in the center. However, the fourth
Compared to the case where the recessed portion 16 shown in the figure is provided, the lamp efficiency is slightly lowered, and it can be said to be disadvantageous when integrated with a ballast. In other words, the recess 16 shown in FIG. 4 increases the efficiency of light reflection at the opening of the light emitting envelope 1, and is suitable for accommodating a ballast. Next, FIG. 6 shows the structure of a typical fluorescent lamp designed for mass production testing according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the lid 15' has a central recess 1.
In addition to 6, a convex portion 18 is provided around the periphery. In addition, in the figure, both electrode parts are integrated by a glass piece 19, and the lid 1
It is inserted into a recess 20 having two holes 21 at the periphery of the glass frit 5' and sealed with the same glass frit 5. The specifications and characteristics of such lamps are shown in the table below.

【table】

[Table] As you can see from the table above, this fluorescent lamp is
A luminous flux of approximately 920m is obtained with an input of 18W, making it an energy-saving lamp that can replace light bulbs. Furthermore, it was confirmed that throughout the life of this lamp, leaks and cracks were completely prevented from occurring at the sealing area between the metal lid and the light emitting envelope. Effects of the Invention As explained above, the present invention has the advantage that, by joining a metal lid having a concave or convex portion to the opening of a luminescent enclosure, the difference in thermal expansion caused by the heat treatment process between the luminescent enclosure and the metal lid can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to provide a fluorescent lamp that can prevent leaks and cracks at the joints.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1a and 1b are a partially cutaway vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional compact fluorescent lamp, and the same X-X
2 is a partially cutaway longitudinal sectional view of a compact fluorescent lamp with an improved structure; FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway longitudinal sectional view of a fluorescent lamp based on a conventional example;
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a fluorescent lamp which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main part of a fluorescent lamp which is another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of a fluorescent lamp according to another embodiment of the invention. 1... Luminous envelope, 2... Enclosure outer body, 3...
Container inner body, 4... Opening, 5... Glass frit, 6... Groove, 7... Electrode, 9... Internal lead wire, 11... Outer conductor, 13... Fluorescent material, 14'
...exhaust pipe, 15...lid, 16...recess, 17...
...Protrusion, 18...Protrusion, 19...Glass piece, 20
...Concavity.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light-emitting container is provided with a curved container outer body and a container inner body overlapping each other, and at least a meandering groove for forming a discharge path is provided in the container inner body, and the Electrodes are provided at both ends of the groove, and a phosphor is coated on a part or all of the inner surface of the outer container body or the outer surface of the inner container body, and a rare gas and a fluorophore are provided inside the groove. In a fluorescent lamp filled with mercury, a lid made of a metal material is provided with a concave portion or a convex portion that absorbs a difference in thermal expansion with the material of the light-emitting envelope, and the lid is inserted into the opening of the light-emitting envelope. A fluorescent lamp characterized by being joined.