JPH08124525A - Annular fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an annular fluorescent lamp capable of giving the required lamp characteristic in a short time after lighting. CONSTITUTION: An annular tube 1 and another annular tube 2 with a diameter different from the diameter of the tube 1 are arranged on the same plane coaxially or concentrically, and connected to each other via a connection tube 3. Each one end of the tubes 1 and 2 is sealed with a glass stem 5 having an electrode 4, while the other end 7 or the end at the non-electrode side is sealed with a glass stem 6 having no electrode 4. Thus, an inward projection 7a is formed on the edge of the end 7 out of a part of the stem 6. Furthermore, the tubes 1 and 2 have one electric discharge passage between the electrodes 4 via a joint tube 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ring fluorescent lamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a growing demand for energy saving, and there has been a demand for higher efficiency as a lighting light source. Ring fluorescent lamps are smaller than straight tube fluorescent lamps, so
It is widely used in general houses and is usually used by arranging a plurality of ring-shaped fluorescent lamps coaxially or concentrically.

Generally, a fluorescent lamp has a high luminous efficiency in proportion to the arc tube length, but a circular fluorescent lamp has a large size as the arc tube length increases, and the miniaturization is impaired. Therefore, there is a limit to increasing the arc tube length. It was Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, an electrode 4 is provided at one end, and the end face of the other end 12 on the non-electrode side is flat so that the length of the arc tube can be increased and the size can be reduced. There is a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp having a structure in which the formed two annular tubes 1 and 2 are connected to each other at the other end, that is, on the non-electrode side by a connecting tube 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-61956 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-1956). 20379
No. 8).

[0004]

However, in such a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp, the end portion on the non-electrode side, that is, the end portion on the side having no electrode is the coldest portion, and the mercury particles enclosed inside are the end portions. The structure is such that the desired mercury vapor pressure can be obtained by gathering in the section. However, the mercury particles in the lamp immediately after completion or in the lamp to which vibration has been applied are present at unspecified positions in the lamp. It takes time to gather in the club. That is, the desired lamp characteristics could not be obtained within that time.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp which can obtain desired lamp characteristics in a short time after lighting the lamp.

[0006]

In the ring-shaped fluorescent lamp of the present invention, a plurality of ring-shaped tubes having different ring diameters are coaxially provided,
By connecting the plurality of annular tubes, one discharge path from the electrode provided at one end of the outermost annular tube to the electrode provided at one end of the innermost annular tube is formed,
Among the plurality of annular pipes, at least one of the annular pipes has a configuration in which a convex portion protruding inward is provided on the end surface of the end portion on the non-electrode side.

[0007]

With this structure, the temperature of the inwardly projecting convex portion provided on the end surface of the end portion of the annular tube on the non-electrode side can be increased, and the mercury particles are further collected in the coldest portion around the convex portion. You can collect quickly.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a first annular tube 1 and a second annular tube 1 having a different ring diameter. The annular pipe 2 and the annular pipe 2 are arranged on the same plane and coaxially, that is, concentrically, and the annular pipe 1 and the annular pipe 2 are connected by a connecting pipe 3. The two annular tubes 1 and 2 each have an outer diameter of 20.0 mm, and the inner surfaces of the annular tubes 1 and 2 are coated with a phosphor of three-wavelength band emission type. Argon gas of 330 Pa and 10 m inside the annular tubes 1 and 2
Each g of mercury is enclosed. One end of each of the annular tubes 1 and 2 is sealed by a glass stem 5 having an electrode 4 coated with an electron emitting substance, and the other end 7, that is, a non-electrode side end thereof, is the electrode 4. It is sealed by the glass stem 6 which does not have. As a result, a convex portion 7a protruding inward is formed on a part of the stem 6 on the end surface of the other end portion 7, and a concave portion 7b is formed on a part of the stem 6 on the outer side of the end surface of the other end portion 7. It Annular pipe 1,
A discharge path is formed in electrode 2 between electrodes 4 via connecting tube 3. The length of the discharge path is about 720 mm. Each end of the annular pipes 1 and 2 is surrounded by a base 8.

As a result, as compared with the case of the conventional structure, the convex portion 7a protruding inwardly on the non-electrode side end surface of the annular tubes 1 and 2.
It is possible to raise the temperature of the central portion, that is, the tip portion of the convex portion 7a, and it is possible to collect mercury particles faster around the convex portion 7b which is the coldest portion.

After the ring-shaped fluorescent lamp of this embodiment described above (hereinafter referred to as the product A of the present invention) is manufactured, the fluorescent lamp FL is used.
When the light was turned on by the lighting circuit of 40, the time required for stabilizing the characteristics, particularly the light output characteristics, was about 6 hours.

On the other hand, in order to compare with the product A of the present invention, a conventional ring-shaped fluorescent lamp as shown in FIG. When the time required for stabilizing the light output characteristics was examined in the same manner as above, the time was about 10 hours.

Therefore, it was found that the product A of the present invention can obtain desired characteristics in a shorter time than the conventional product.

Further, in the product A of the present invention, since the stem 6 having no electrode is provided at the end portions of the annular pipes 1 and 2 on the non-electrode side, the strength of the end faces of the annular pipes 1 and 2 on the non-electrode side is enhanced. And can be easily manufactured. In addition, such a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp can make the lamp itself thin and can increase the luminous intensity in the direction perpendicular to the plane of each annular tube. Further, although the stem 6 is used in the above embodiment, a convex portion protruding inward of the annular pipe may be formed by pressing the end face of the annular pipe on the non-electrode side when the annular pipe is processed. At this time, a recess is formed on the outer side of the end surface of the annular tube on the non-electrode side.

Next, a ring type fluorescent lamp which is another embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the present embodiment, the annular pipes 1 and 2 have different ring diameters, and the planes 9 and 10 formed by the annular pipes 1 and 2 are separated from each other. In addition, in FIG. 4, the respective planes orthogonal to the central axis 11 of the annular pipes 1 and 2 are planes formed by the annular pipes, but the reference planes may be unified among the annular pipes.

In this embodiment, the outer diameters of the annular pipes 1 and 2 are 20.0 mm, and the outer diameter of the outer annular pipe 2 is about 190 mm. The outer diameter of the inner annular tube 1 and the inner diameter of the outer annular tube 2 adjacent to the inner annular tube 1 are the same. The plane 10 formed by the annular tube 1 is a distance of 1/2 of the outer diameter of the tube from the plane 9 formed by the annular tube 2, that is, 1
0.0 mm apart. A phosphor of a three-wavelength band emission type is applied to the inner surfaces of the annular tubes 1 and 2, and 330 Pa of argon gas and 10 mg of mercury are enclosed therein. The length of the discharge path is about 720 mm. Annular tube 1,2
Each end of the is surrounded by a base 8.

The annular fluorescent lamp of the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the present invention product B) uses a lighting circuit for the fluorescent lamp FL40, the plane formed by the annular tube is horizontal, and the inner annular tube 1 is on the lower side. It was placed in the room and turned on, and the luminosity in the main direction was examined. Further, the product A of the present invention in which the annular pipe 1 and the annular pipe 2 were arranged on the same plane was used and compared with the product B of the present invention.

As a result, the luminous intensity of the product B of the present invention did not differ from the value of the product A of the present invention in the value in the plane downward direction, that is, in the vertical direction, but in the plane direction, that is, in the horizontal direction, 1. A value of 5 times was shown.

As described above, since the respective annular pipes are provided so as to be displaced from each other, the light from the inner annular pipe 1 is radiated in the horizontal direction without being blocked by the outer annular pipe 2, so that the horizontal direction The luminous intensity can be improved.

Further, the distance between the respective planes 9 and 10 formed by the annular pipe 1 and the annular pipe 2 is equal to the outer diameter of the pipe 20.0.
mm ring fluorescent lamp (hereinafter referred to as the present invention product C)
In the case of, the luminous intensity in the horizontal direction was twice that of the product A of the present invention. However, when the distance between the planes is long, the luminous intensity in the horizontal direction is improved, but the connecting tube 3 becomes long, which hinders the reduction in thickness. Therefore, it is necessary to select an appropriate value.

When the product C of the present invention was turned on by using a high frequency power source having a frequency of 45 kHz instead of the above-mentioned lighting circuit for FL40, the horizontal luminous intensity was 1.
Values between 5 and 2 times were obtained.

In order to keep the luminous intensity in the vertical direction high, as shown in FIG. 3 or 5, the outer diameter of the annular tube 1 and the inner diameter of the annular tube 2 are substantially the same, or Similarly, it is desirable to provide them substantially the same and close to each other.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where there are two annular pipes has been described, but two or more annular pipes may be used.

[0023]

As described above, the ring-shaped fluorescent lamp of the present invention obtains the desired characteristics in a shorter time than the conventional structure, even if the lamp has just been completed or is subjected to vibration. In addition, the luminous intensity in the plane direction can be improved while keeping the luminous intensity in the direction perpendicular to the plane formed by each annular tube high.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is also a front view

[FIG. 3] Similarly, a side view of a cutout

FIG. 4 is a front view of a ring-shaped fluorescent lamp which is another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway side view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional ring-shaped fluorescent lamp.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Annular tube 3 Connection tube 4 Electrode 5 Stem with electrode 6 Stem without electrode 8 Base

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of annular pipes having different ring diameters are coaxially provided, and by connecting the plurality of annular pipes, an innermost annular pipe is provided from an electrode provided at one end of the outermost annular pipe. One discharge path reaching an electrode provided at one end of the tube is formed, and at least one of the plurality of annular tubes is formed.
A ring-shaped fluorescent lamp, characterized in that a convex portion projecting inward is provided on an end face of a non-electrode side end of the circular tube of the book. 2. The ring-shaped fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is formed by a part of the stem having no electrode. 3. The ring fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of annular tubes are provided on the same plane. 4. The ring-shaped fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of annular tubes are provided on different planes. 5. The ring inner diameter of a ring tube having a large ring outer diameter and the ring outer diameter of a ring tube having a small ring outer diameter are substantially the same among a plurality of adjacent ring tubes. Claims 1-4
The ring-shaped fluorescent lamp according to any one of 1. 6. The ring inner diameter of a ring tube having a large ring outer diameter and the ring outer diameter of a ring tube having a small ring outer diameter are substantially the same among a plurality of adjacent ring tubes, and 5. The annular pipes according to claim 1 are provided close to each other.
The ring-shaped fluorescent lamp according to any one of 1.