JPS62234897A - Lamp apparatus employing neon tube - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a lamp device used for signal lights, r-illuminations, etc., and is particularly useful as a lamp device for aircraft obstacle lights etc. installed at high places. It is related to the device.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

Conventionally, lamp devices containing incandescent light bulbs have been used for aviation obstacle lights for a long time, but incandescent light bulbs have a short lifespan, so replacement intervals are short, and because they are installed at high places, they are used annually. The replacement cost is much higher than the unit price of the lamp device.

Recently, lamp devices that use neon tubes (here, a general term for tubes filled with neon gas, mercury, argon gas, etc.) instead of incandescent light bulbs have begun to be commercialized, but because they operate at commercial frequencies of 5011z and 60Hz, ,weight,
Currently, it is difficult to install, replace, etc. due to its extremely large external size and the need to work at heights.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lamp device which can be made smaller, lighter, and more efficient, and which also has a safety function against high voltage when a neon tube malfunctions.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention improves the problems of the conventional device by applying a high frequency lighting method to lighting the neon tube as a first means for solving the above problems.

That is, by adopting the high frequency lighting method, the shape of the transformer becomes smaller and lighter in inverse proportion to the square root of the frequency, and the weight of the high frequency power source using the semiconductor oscillator becomes extremely small.

Furthermore, by high frequency lighting, the tube voltage of the neon tube is reduced compared to the conventional commercial frequency lighting voltage.

When a semiconductor oscillator is used, it is sensitive to temperature, but a temperature resistance element (thermistor) is used to detect the temperature of the semiconductor and control the current, as well as detecting the national body temperature to ensure the safety of the device. It is possible to easily ensure the quality of the product.

When using neon tubes, it was impossible to improve the uneven brightness caused by uneven manufacturing with conventional equipment, but by adopting a high-frequency lighting method, brightness can be easily adjusted using the volume. become.

In addition, when using commercial power, only a sine wave was used, but for high frequency oscillation, sine waves, square waves, etc.9 can be used, and by adding a pulse waveform superimposed on this, it is possible to start the neon light. The effective value voltage can be lowered by supplying a high voltage for each cycle and maintaining a low voltage for maintaining discharge thereafter.

Another advantage of high-frequency lighting is that the neon tube voltage is lower during high-frequency lighting than when lit at direct current or commercial frequencies, making it possible to reduce the neon tube voltage by about 20 to 30%.

This is because the cathode drop near the neon tube electrode decreases at high frequencies, and the fact that the voltage is lower when the same current is passed means that power efficiency can be increased, which also meets the purpose of power saving. I will do it.

The present invention provides a means for ensuring safety when replacing neon tubes by providing an oscillation stop circuit for the high frequency oscillation circuit so that no high frequency voltage remains at the terminals of the neon tube.

That is, in the first invention, the oscillation operation is stopped by detecting changes in the brightness of neon light, and in the second invention, the oscillation operation is stopped by detecting abnormalities in the high frequency voltage 2 current, power, etc. In this way, the high frequency output is reduced to zero.

〔Example〕

A few embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows an electric circuit diagram of the first embodiment, where T is a high frequency transformer in which a neon tube NL is connected to a secondary coil 12.

The high frequency transformer T has two primary coils 111゜1,z, transistors Tr, resistors R,, R, .
Together with R3 and capacitors C, , C, it constitutes a blocking oscillation circuit. Note 1 is a reverse blocking diode.

Frequency 1 intensity of blocking oscillation, waveform is resistance R,,R
, and the time constant of the capacitor C,,C,,
C2 relates to the duty factor during one cycle.

PTr is a phototransistor (non-lighting detection sensor) that detects the brightness of the neon tube NL, and when it is turned on, it turns on the transistor Tr2 of the oscillation operation stop circuit. Inside, the relay RY provided between the transistor Tr1 and the ground is placed in a non-operating state so that the lighting continues.

When the neon light does not light up due to disconnection, deterioration, damage, etc., the phototransistor PTr is turned off, which turns off the transistor Tr2, so a resistor R is connected to the relay RY.
Current flows through 4 and R, turning on relay RY and stopping oscillation.

That is, when the secondary side of the high-frequency transformer T is open or short-circuited, oscillation stops, so no voltage is generated on the secondary side, and safety can be ensured when replacing the neon tube.

In addition, since the input current of this device decreases to near zero, it is possible to display confirmation 1 at a remote location by reducing the input current without seeing the neon light.

The high-frequency transformer T is extremely small compared to commercial power transformers, and if a frequency of 50 times the commercial frequency is used, 1
It becomes smaller and lighter by about 150=-.

Since the other components are also small and lightweight, the entire device can be extremely lightweight and compact.

Note that THM is a temperature compensation thermistor.

This section describes the operation of this device at startup.

At the time of startup, the neon tube NL is just before lighting up, so the phototransistor PTr has not yet started operating, and the transistor T
Since r is not turned on, relay RY is connected to resistor R.
a, Rs, and the transistor Tr,
To prevent this, capacitor C3 is added to increase the time constants of R3, C3, and R'4, and the time it takes for transistor Tr1 to oscillate is determined by the relay RY. After delaying the operation and completing the lighting of the neon tube, the phototransistor PT4 and the transistor Tr
t is activated to hold relay RY inoperative.

When the neon tube NL goes out, Tde, →T? ,→RY
and stops oscillation. If you replace the neon tube, it will work normally.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows an electric circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is a further improvement of the circuit shown in FIG. 1.

That is, instead of directly controlling the relay RY with the transistor Tr, a diac DIAC and a thyristor THYR are used, and when the neon light is not lit, the thyristor THYR turns on and operates the relay RY to stop the oscillation, and the neon tube NL The circuit starts oscillating only when the input power to the device is turned on again after the replacement, further improving the reliability and stability of operation.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention, which differs from the embodiments shown in FIGS. This device detects changes in high-frequency voltage and stops the oscillation operation.

That is, when the neon tube is lit, the oscillator transistor Tr,
The collector voltage of is divided by the resistor R, , Rt capacitor and C1 and applied to the Zener diode ZD, but the resistor R1
The voltage across the transistor Tr is set lower than the Zener operating voltage, and the subsequent transistor Tr is made inoperative.

With this configuration, when the neon tube is not lit, the frequency of the oscillator consisting of the high-frequency transformer T, capacitor C2, and transistor Tr is approximately halved, and as the oscillation voltage increases and the frequency decreases, the impedance of the capacitor C3 decreases. increases, and the terminal voltage of resistor R3, which is divided by the parallel impedance of resistor R2 and capacitor C3 + resistor R3, rises, and in order to break through the Zener voltage, transistor Trz is turned on, and the base voltage of transistor TrI is increased. This is to lower the voltage and stop the oscillation.

Therefore, it can function satisfactorily as a safety circuit when the light is not lit.

Further, even when the collector waveform of the transistor Tr becomes large when the neon tube is not lit, the same function is exhibited, so it is effective as a safety circuit.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention can be applied to aircraft obstruction lights, signal lights, guide lights, etc., but since neon tubes have a lifespan of more than 10 times that of conventional incandescent light bulbs, the number of replacements can be reduced to one-tenth.
Therefore, the aviation obstacle lights installed at a height of 20 m or more above the ground have the advantage of requiring extremely low maintenance costs.

In addition, when installing on a transmission line tower, especially in mountainous areas,
The device of the present invention is extremely suitable for remote locations and other inconvenient situations.

In areas where it is difficult to wire the power supplied to this device from a distance, the device of the present invention operates on a low-voltage DC power source, so it can be used to generate power during the day using solar cells and store it in a storage battery. It can be lit, and its industrial value is extremely large.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are electrical circuit diagrams of embodiments of the present invention, respectively. S...Start switch NL...Neon tube T...High frequency transformer Tr,, Trz...Transistor RY...Relay R1-R1...Resistor CI~C4...Capacitor THM...Thermistor Figure 1 Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A high frequency transformer that connects a neon tube to the secondary side,
A high-frequency power supply comprising a high-frequency oscillation circuit connected to the primary side thereof, a lighting sensor for the neon tube, and an oscillation operation stop circuit that stops the oscillation operation of the high-frequency oscillation circuit based on the output signal of the lighting sensor. A lamp device that uses a distinctive neon tube. (2) A high frequency transformer that connects the neon tube to the secondary side,
It is characterized by comprising a high-frequency power supply consisting of a high-frequency oscillation circuit connected to the primary side thereof, and an oscillation operation stop circuit for the high-frequency oscillation circuit that operates by detecting an abnormality in the oscillation voltage, current, power, etc. of the high-frequency oscillation circuit. A lamp device using neon tubes.