JPS60208048A - Fluorescent lamp apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce a fluorescent lamp apparatus having high total efficiency and reduced weight and flickering by using the electrode side of a light emission tube provided with substance for forming amalgam as the anode and lighting through D.C. power while employing a bulb as the ballast. CONSTITUTION:The light emission tube 1 in fluorescent lamp apparatus is formed by containing amalgam 16 composed of indium for controlling the mercury vapor pressure in a thin tube provided at the rear of a stem for supporting one electrode then using the electrode at the amalgam containing side as the anode to perform D.C. lighting. While a filament coil bulb is employed as a ballast 17 and mounted in a globe 3 while separating from the lighting circuit parts 18,19, 20 contained in a case 4. Consequently, cataphoresis phenomenon can be prevented even for D.C. lighting to eliminate flickering while the bulb ballast 17 will enable weight reduction and the improvement of total efficiency.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp device.

Conventional Structures and Problems Recently, various compact fluorescent lamp devices have been proposed as energy-saving light sources to replace incandescent light bulbs, and some of them have already been put into practical use. FIG. 1 shows one typical lamp structure. An arc tube 1, which is an elongated glass tube bent into a double U shape, is held inside an outer bulb globe 2. A white diffusing substance 3 is applied to the inner surface of the outer globe 2, and the inside of the outer globe 2 is in communication with the outside atmosphere. Case 4 is used as a lamp device.
A cap 6 is provided, and a ballast 6 for lighting the arc tube and a glow star tough for starting are incorporated inside the case 4. As the stabilizer 6, a choke coil is usually used.

Now, the arc tube 1 basically conforms to the specifications of a normal fluorescent lamp. The only difference is the method of regulating mercury vapor pressure during lighting. In other words, in a compact fluorescent lamp, the arc tube 1 is made compact and lit under high load, and is further held inside the outer tube globe 2, so the temperature of the arc tube becomes abnormally high and the mercury vapor pressure increases. Optimal area in terms of lamp efficiency (6X10-5-10X10-5
Torr). As a result, lamp efficiency decreases. Therefore, in order to commercialize compact fluorescent lamps, particularly those of the high luminous flux type, some method of regulating the mercury vapor pressure is required, and in fact, various methods have already been reported for this purpose.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of an arc tube 1 employing an amalgam filling method. Double U-shaped arc tube 1'
Electrodes 8, 9 are held at both ends by lead wires 10.11 and stems 12, 13, and a phosphor 14 is coated on the inner surface of the arc tube 1'. Furthermore, the interior of the arc tube 1 is filled with a rare gas such as argon and mercury. Further, in order to regulate the mercury vapor pressure, In, B1In or B1Pb5n is added inside the thin tube 16 at the rear of at least one of the stimulus 12.
A metal substance 16 for forming an amalgam is held. When the lamp is turned on, the metal substance 16 forms an amalgam with mercury. Since the mercury vapor pressure of such amalgam is lower than that of mercury alone, even if the temperature of the arc tube increases, the mercury vapor pressure can be maintained in the optimum range.

By the way, the overall efficiency of the above-mentioned compact fluorescent lamp device is as high as about 40 IW, which is less than three times that of a light bulb, and the lamp also has the convenience of being able to be lit directly in a power socket. However, such compact fluorescent lamps also have various problems that must be resolved. The first problem is that it weighs about 400g, which is significantly heavier than a light bulb. This is because the choke coil of the ballast 9 has a large weight of approximately 2,609 kg. Another problem is that when the lamp is turned on, especially in an area where the ambient temperature is low, the light may flicker for several minutes immediately after starting, causing discomfort. This flickering phenomenon occurs significantly in lamps using such bent arc tubes. According to the analysis results of the present inventors, this is due to the fact that when the pipe is lit with alternating current, the time for the discharge arc to stabilize upon re-ignition varies from cycle to cycle, which causes the discharge current to vary. . Current lamps are designed with a low lamp voltage to prevent flickering, but this is not completely prevented.

As mentioned above, at present, a lightweight fluorescent lamp device that completely prevents flickering has not been realized.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a fluorescent rung device that is lightweight and completely prevents flickering.

Structure of the Invention The present inventor has studied the structure of a fluorescent lamp device that satisfies the above objects. As a result, he first came up with the idea of basically lighting an arc tube with direct current. In other words, when a thin arc tube like the one shown in Figures 1 and 2 is lit with alternating current, the re-ignition voltage for each half cycle is not high and the flicker mentioned above occurs, so it is recommended to design the lamp voltage to be high. difficult,
This increases the voltage drop across the ballast. The result is essentially a large and heavy ballast with high losses. On the other hand, if the arc tube is lit with direct current, there is basically no restriking voltage, so the ratio of the lamp voltage to the power supply voltage can be increased, resulting in a compact and lightweight lamp with reduced losses. Ballasts can be used. Furthermore, DC lighting can completely prevent light flickering.

By the way, in order to realize the above basic idea, an arc tube that can be lit with direct current is required. By the way, when a normal fluorescent lamp is lit with direct current, a cataphoresis phenomenon based on so-called electrophoresis occurs, and mercury moves from the anode region to the cathode region, and the bright light emitting region due to mercury discharge moves to the positive column region near the cathode. It is well known that the region near the anode becomes dark. As a next step, the present inventor conducted various studies on arc tubes and lighting devices that do not cause the cataphoresis phenomenon even when lit with direct current. As a result, with respect to the arc tube shown in Fig. 2, a metal material for forming an amalgam is held near one of the ends of the arc tube, and the electrode on the side holding the metal material is used as an anode to operate under direct current. It has been discovered that the above-mentioned force taporesis phenomenon can be suppressed if desired.

Subsequently, the present inventor conducted a study to reduce the weight of the above-mentioned DC lighting system, and found that a light bulb would be optimal as the ballast. In addition to being lightweight, light bulbs are easy to manage for heat dissipation, and the light output from the bulb can contribute slightly to the lamp luminous flux. It also has excellent power supply voltage fluctuation characteristics.

In this way, by combining a direct current lighting method that suppresses the cataphoresis phenomenon with an amalgam-filled arc tube and a light bulb ballast, a fluorescent lamp device that does not cause light flicker during light meals and has improved overall efficiency was realized. .

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the arc tube used is basically the same as the one in Figure 2. When the arc tube 1' is lit with direct current, In and B1In form an amalgam with mercury.

Metallic materials for amalgam formation such as B1Pb5n16
If the electrode 8 on the end side where the lamp is held is used as a cathode to turn on the lamp, a cataphoresis phenomenon was observed to occur within a short period of time. In this case, it has been discovered that the cataphoresis phenomenon becomes more pronounced as the ambient temperature decreases, and that if the lamp is turned on, the above-mentioned cataphoresis phenomenon can be prevented. According to the observation results of the present inventor, even when the ambient temperature was as low as around 0° C., a uniform light emission state was obtained over the entire area of the arc tube 1'. The analysis results of this phenomenon show that mercury moves as ions from the anode to the cathode due to the cataphoresis phenomenon caused by electrophoresis, while the metal substance for amalgam formation is present on the anode side. Specifically, the mercury vapor pressure is lower on the anode side than on the cathode side, and there is a phenomenon of mercury diffusion from the cathode to the anode due to this mercury vapor pressure difference. As a result, it is thought that the movement of mercury from the anode to the cathode due to the electrophoresis described above is offset by the movement of mercury in the opposite direction due to the diffusion phenomenon described above. As mentioned in the conclusion, when the electrode 8 on the side where the metal substance is present is used as the cathode and lit, mercury moves from the anode region to the cathode region by both electrophoresis and diffusion phenomena. , it can be said that the cataphoresis phenomenon is further promoted.

Now, based on the above-mentioned new phenomenon, a light-weight and flicker-free fluorescent lamp device, which is the object of the present invention, was studied. FIG. 3 shows the structure of a fluorescent lamp device which is an embodiment of the present invention. Moreover, the circuit diagram is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, a filament coil bulb 17 is used as a ballast instead of a conventional choke coil. Furthermore, 18 and 19 are a rectifying bridge and a smoothing capacitor, and 20 is a device for starting the arc tube. As the arc tube starting device 2o, an electronic starter combining a pulse transformer 21 and a thyristor 22 as shown in FIG. 6, for example, was used. When using such an electronic starter, it is preferable to insert a diode 23 as shown in FIG. 6 so that the starting pulse energy is absorbed as much as possible by the arc tube.

In the above device, there are the following four advantages of combining the filament coil light bulb 17 and the arc tube 1' as a ballast.

(1) It is lightweight.

(2) Heat dissipation of the entire device is easy to handle. Tsumashi,
In the case of a light bulb, the ballast input energy is dissipated from the outer globe 2 as visible and infrared radiation. As a result, the temperature rise when using the resistance ballast of the device is reduced.

(3) The light output from the bulb also contributes slightly to the total luminous flux of the rung, thus improving the overall efficiency of its distribution.

(4) The fluctuation rate of lamp input and current due to power supply voltage fluctuations is small.

Next, the specifications and characteristics of the above implemented lamp device are compared with the conventional device and are shown in the table below.

What should be noted here is that although a resistor with large heat loss is used as a ballast, an overall efficiency of about 4 otm/W, which is close to that of conventional devices, has been achieved. One of the reasons for this is, as mentioned above, that the light bulb 1
It can be mentioned that there is a luminous flux contribution of 7 to about 60 Am. Another reason is that the lamp efficiency of the arc tube according to the present invention itself is about 20% higher than that of the conventional one. This is due to the fact that the fluorescent lamp is lit using direct current and low lamp current. As described above, the fluorescent lamp device according to the present invention has the features of being lightweight, free of light flickering, and having relatively high overall efficiency.

The cataphoresis-preventing DC lighting method of the present invention is not only applicable to the convex-type arc tube shown in Figure 2, but is basically applicable to all types of fluorescent lamps that form a series of discharge paths. Applicable to For example, it can be applied to ordinary straight-tube and annular fluorescent lamps, and even double-tube structure lamps in which the light emitting part is built into a vacuum-tight outer tube.

Furthermore, in FIG. 2, the location where the metal substance 16 for amalgam formation is held does not necessarily have to be behind the electrode, but may just be in the vicinity of the electrode that operates as an anode. Furthermore, in the case of a compact fluorescent lamp device related to Fig. 3, it is not necessary to integrate the luminous tube part and the lighting circuit part, but to hold them separately in a lighting fixture, for example. It may be a device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As described in detail, the present invention provides an arc tube in which an amalgam-forming substance is provided near one of the end electrodes, by lighting the arc tube with direct current using the electrode close to the amalgam-forming substance as an anode. As a result of preventing the cataphoresis phenomenon and further combining a light bulb as a ballast, it is possible to realize a fluorescent lamp device that is basically lightweight, has no light flicker, and has a relatively high overall efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 3 is a front view of a fluorescent lamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is its circuit diagram, and FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a fluorescent lamp using an electronic starter. It is a circuit diagram. 1'... Arc tube, 2... Outer bulb globe, 3... White diffuser, 4... Case, 6... Base , 6... Stabilizer, 7...
...Glow starter, 8,9... Electrode, 1
0.11...Lead wire, 12.13...
Stem, 16... Thin tube, 16... Metal substance,
1... Light bulb, 18... Rectifier bridge, 1
9: Smoothing capacitor, 2o: Arc tube starting device, 21: Pulse transformer, 22: Cyrisk, 23: Diode. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person 2nd
Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] The arc tube has electrodes at both ends, a rare gas and mercury are sealed inside, and a phosphor is coated on the inner surface of the arc tube. A fluorescent lamp device characterized in that a material is provided therein, the luminous tube is lit with direct current using an electrode near a location where the amalgam-forming material is present as an anode, and a light bulb is used as a ballast.