JPS59121750A - Cold-cathode discharge lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a discharge lamp with low discharge starting voltage that can simplify a lighting circuit such as a power supply circuit by containing a lanthanum series metal or a composite metal consisting of the lanthanum series metal and nickel in a discharge electrode. CONSTITUTION:The inner wall of a transparent enclosure 1 is coated with a phosphor coat 3. The transparent enclosure 1 is exhausted and is filled with easy to discharge gases with specified pressure and mercury. Bases 4 and 4 are made to adhere to both ends of the transparent enclosure 1 and comprises the external terminal of a discharge electrode. The discharge electrode 2 sealed on both ends of the transparent enclosure 1 is comprised by mounting an electrode substrate 7 consisting of a composite metal of lanthanum and nickel in lead wires 6 and 6 imbedded in a stem 5 by a method such as welding. When voltage is applied to the bases 4 and 4, electrons are emitted from the electrode substrate 7 and discharge is started and then the phosphor coat 3 applied on the inner wall of the transparent enclosure 1 emits light. For example, the electrostatic charge is removed by irradiating the photoconductive drum of a copying machine.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to cold cathode discharge lamps, and more particularly to cold cathode discharge lamps having improved discharge electrodes.

[Technical background of the invention]

Cold cathode discharge lamps are used, for example, as light sources called quenching lamps for eliminating static electricity from photosensitive drums in copying machines. That is, in a copying machine such as a Xerox photocopier, a photosensitive drum is charged with static electricity, and then the photosensitive drum is irradiated with light via an original document. As a result of the above operation, the static charge of the image pattern according to the original document remains on the photosensitive drum surface, the static charge in other parts is discharged and erased, and the developer toner is attracted to the part where the static charge remains. This is then transferred to copy paper and fixed by heating.Then, the entire surface of the photosensitive drum is irradiated with light using the above-mentioned static eliminating light source to remove residual static charges on the photosensitive drum.

Prepare for the next copy. The cold cathode discharge lamp used as the light source for static elimination generally uses zirconium metal powder, or a composite metal powder of zirconium and nickel, as its discharge electrode, filled in a metal container such as stainless steel and crimped. .

[Problems with background technology]

The cold cathode discharge lamp used as a light source for static elimination in a copying machine described in the above technical background uses zirconium, nickel, or the like for its discharge electrode.

Since its work function is 4 eV to 5 eV or υ above, the discharge starting voltage of the cold cathode discharge lamp becomes high.
A relatively high voltage must be applied to the discharge lamp, resulting in a problem that the power supply circuit and the like become expensive and complicated.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the background art, and provides an improved cold cathode discharge lamp that has a low discharge starting voltage, and therefore has a simple lighting circuit such as a power supply circuit, and can be constructed at low cost. The purpose is to

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention is a cold cathode discharge lamp characterized in that the discharge electrode is mainly made of a lanthanum series metal or a composite metal of a lanthanum series metal and nickel.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The details of the invention will be explained with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cold cathode discharge lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. Discharge 11L poles are sealed at both ends of a transparent envelope (1) made of glass pulp. In Figure 1, the transparent envelope (
This figure shows a discharge electrode (2) with a part of the electrode (1) cut out and sealed to one end. A phosphor coating (3) is coated on the inner wall of the light-transmitting envelope (1). Translucent envelope (1)
The interior is evacuated and filled with an easily dischargeable electric body and mercury at a predetermined pressure.A base (J
, (4) are fixed to constitute the external terminal of the discharge electrode. The discharge electrodes sealed at both ends of the transparent envelope (1) are connected to lead wires (6), (6) implanted in the stem (5).
The electrode base is made of a composite metal of 1K lanthanum and nickel and is attached by a method such as welding.The structure of the electrode base will be described later.

When voltage is applied to the bases (4) and (4),
Electrode base (electron emission is made from the force, discharge is started, and the phosphor coating (which is coated on the inner wall of the transparent envelope (1)
3) emits light and, for example, a photosensitive drum of a copying machine is irradiated to remove static charges.

Next, the structure of the electrode base of the discharge electrode used in the cold cathode discharge lamp of the present invention will be described.

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the lead wire (6) implanted in the stem (inside) shown in Figure 1, and the electrode base (with force attached) to f61, and the electrode base (7) is a lantern. The composite metal of lanthanum and nickel is manufactured by, for example, drilling a hole in the center of a nickel round bar and filling the hole with lanthanum powder. When this round bar is heat-treated at 1200°C in a vacuum atmosphere for 1 hour, nickel diffuses into lanthanum, and a round bar made of a composite metal of nickel and lanthanum is finally obtained.This is wire-drawn to form the desired shape. The electrode substrate used in the present invention is manufactured by cutting a round bar with an outer diameter of about 1 m in a direction perpendicular to the axis to a thickness of about 1.5 mm.

The electrode base having the above shape can also be constructed from lanthanum alone, and exhibits the same effect as above.

As another configuration of the electrode base of the discharge electrode used in the cold cathode discharge lamp of the present invention, a container with an outer diameter of 5 mm, an inner diameter of 2 mm, and a depth of about 1.511 m is manufactured from a material such as stainless steel, and the inside of the container is An electrode base as shown in the third figure may be used, which is made by filling and pressing a composite powder of lanthanum and nickel into the electrode base. That is, FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway enlarged front view of another example of the electrode base, in which the stainless steel container (8) is in the shape of a circular mound with a U-shaped cross section;
Composite metal powder (9) of lanthanum and nickel is filled into the groove and pressed. The electrode base body 00) is attached to the one-stem lead wire shown in FIG. 2 by a method such as welding. According to experiments conducted by the inventors, even if the composite metal powder of lanthanum and nickel to be filled in the U-shaped groove is a powder of only lanthanum, there is no significant difference in function and effect.

The present inventors have mixed lanthanum or its powder, a composite metal of lanthanum and nickel, or its powder with an alloy of mercury and other metals, such as an intermetallic compound of titanium and mercury that acts as a getter. A discharge electrode was produced, a phosphor coating was sealed on both ends of the light-transmitting envelope, and an easy discharge electric material was filled to produce a cold cathode discharge lamp. This discharge lamp started discharging at a relatively low voltage without adding mercury again, and showed good effects.

The above-mentioned discharge lamp has the special effect that the step of dropping mercury during the manufacturing process can be omitted.

Sarani, zirconium metal, composite metal of zirconium metal and aluminum, composite metal of zirconium and nickel, composite metal of zirconium, aluminum and nickel, and powders of each of the above, lanthanum, lanthanum powder , or a composite metal of lanthanum and nickel.

When mercury is dropped into a discharge lamp by mixing it with powder, and when an alloy of mercury and other metals such as titanium is mixed with these, zirconium or a composite metal of zirconium and aluminum can be used. The Getta effect is not diminished in the slightest.

A cold cathode discharge lamp with good characteristics could be obtained.

The present invention has been explained using lanthanum in the above embodiments, but instead of lanthanum, one or more of the lanthanum series metals, such as cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, etc., may be used. In particular, cerium shows preferable results. . Further, a composite metal of a lanthanum series metal and nickel is preferable because oxidation progresses more slowly in the discharge lamp manufacturing process than a lanthanum series metal alone.

It goes without saying that the present invention is applicable not only to the static elimination lamp for copying machines described in the previous embodiment, but also to other cold cathode discharge lamps. Even without it, the effects of the present invention can be fully exhibited.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, the present invention is a cold cathode discharge lamp characterized in that the discharge electrode is mainly made of a lanthanum series metal or a composite metal with a lanthanum series metal, which is used, for example, for neutralizing static in a copying machine. The discharge starting voltage of cold cathode discharge lamps, such as quench/clamp, which is conventionally about 350V can be lowered to about 300V, which means that if the applied voltage is the conventional value, The emission length can be increased.

This has the excellent effect of providing a cold cathode discharge lamp with improved discharge electrodes and innovative characteristics.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway enlarged view of a cold cathode discharge lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows the discharge shown in Fig. 1! FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the stem with the pole attached thereto, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged partially cutaway front view of another example of the electrode base. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Translucent envelope, 2... Discharge electrode, 7... Electrode base made of composite metal, 9... Composite metal powder. Agent Patent attorney Noriyuki Chika (and 1 other person) Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a device comprising a translucent envelope having a discharge electrode at both ends, and mercury and an easily dischargeable electric body sealed in the envelope, the discharge electrode is a lanthanum series metal or its powder. A cold cathode discharge lamp characterized by comprising a composite metal of a lanthanum series metal and nickel, or a powder thereof. (2) The discharge electrode is a lanthanum series metal or its powder. or a composite metal of lanthanum series metal and nickel or its powder; zirconium gold pA or its powder; or a composite metal of zirconium and aluminite or its powder; The cold cathode discharge lamp according to claim m1, characterized in that a powder thereof, or a composite metal of zirconium, aluminum, and nickel, or a powder thereof is crushed. (3) A translucent envelope having discharge electrodes at both ends, and an easily discharging electric body sealed in the envelope, wherein the discharge electrode is made of a lanthanum series metal or a powder thereof;
A cold cathode discharge lamp comprising a composite metal of a lanthanum series metal and nickel or a powder thereof, and an alloy of mercury and another metal. (4) The discharge electrode is a lanthanum series metal or its powder. or a composite metal of lanthanum series metal and nickel or its powder, zirconium metal or its powder,
or a composite metal of zirconium and aluminum or its powder, or a composite metal of zirconium and nickel or its powder, or a composite metal of zirconium, aluminum, and nickel or its powder, and an alloy of mercury and other metals. A cold cathode discharge lamp according to claim 3, characterized in that the cold cathode discharge lamp has: