WO2001056060A1 - Compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type - Google Patents

Compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001056060A1
WO2001056060A1 PCT/KR2001/000115 KR0100115W WO0156060A1 WO 2001056060 A1 WO2001056060 A1 WO 2001056060A1 KR 0100115 W KR0100115 W KR 0100115W WO 0156060 A1 WO0156060 A1 WO 0156060A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
contact rod
tube
contact
upper case
reception hole
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/KR2001/000115
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Keun Dai Choi
Original Assignee
Jungwoo International Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Jungwoo International Inc. filed Critical Jungwoo International Inc.
Priority to AU2001232366A priority Critical patent/AU2001232366A1/en
Publication of WO2001056060A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001056060A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/30—Vessels; Containers
    • H01J61/32—Special longitudinal shape, e.g. for advertising purposes
    • H01J61/327—"Compact"-lamps, i.e. lamps having a folded discharge path
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J5/00—Details relating to vessels or to leading-in conductors common to two or more basic types of discharge tubes or lamps
    • H01J5/50—Means forming part of the tube or lamps for the purpose of providing electrical connection to it
    • H01J5/54—Means forming part of the tube or lamps for the purpose of providing electrical connection to it supported by a separate part, e.g. base
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B20/00—Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps

Definitions

  • the present invention relates, in general, to compact fluorescent lamps of the double spiral tube type and, more particularly, to a compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type designed to have an improved appearance and to be less likely to be discolored at the lamp's upper case and to be improved in work efficiency during an assembling process of such lamps.
  • a conventional compact fluorescent lamp of the bent tube type comprises a specifically bent fluorescent tube and a support housing used for holding the fluorescent tube at an incandescent lamp socket.
  • the specifically bent fluorescent tube typically has a spiral shape, a U-shape, a multiple U-shape or a double spiral shape, with two contact rods individually having a discharge filament therein and being provided at the opposite ends of the tube.
  • the support housing typically consists of an upper case for holding the fluorescent tube thereon.
  • a lower case is assembled with the upper case into a single body and has an electric discharge circuit therein, with an
  • E-type base mounted to the lower end of the lower case and engaging with an incandescent lamp socket through a screw-type engagement.
  • Such a compact fluorescent lamp accomplishes the recent trend of compactness of appearance and effectively saves electric power by about 20 % in comparison with a conventional incandescent lamp having the same lightness, thus being so-called ''an energy saving lamp” and being widely and preferably used in recent days.
  • a variety of bent fluorescent tubes and a variety of housings both being designed to meet a desired appearance, desired operational efficiency, and an expected life span of such lamps, have been actively studied, proposed and marketed.
  • double spiral fluorescent tubes have a somewhat good appearance and effectively maximize the electric discharge effect of the lamps, and so they are recognized as one of the most effective fluorescent tubes.
  • the conventional compact fluorescent lamps of the double spiral tube type are problematic in that the upper cases and double spiral fluorescent tubes are limited in their shapes due to a defect in the operational performances, and so the lamps fail to accomplish a desired appearance and are regrettably discolored at their upper cases due to heat dissipated from the discharge filaments during an operation of the lamps.
  • Another problem experienced in the conventional compact fluorescent lamps of the double spiral tube type resides in their too low productivity.
  • Fig. 1 1 is a partially sectioned front view of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to an embodiment of the prior art.
  • Fig. 12 is a sectional view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube of Fig. 11 downwardly inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case of a housing.
  • Figs. 13 and 14 are views corresponding to Figs. 11 and 12, but show a rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to another embodiment of the prior art.
  • the conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 has a single structure, consisting of a double spirally coiled tube body 52 and two linear vertical contact rods 53 formed at opposite ends of the tube body 52. That is, the two contact rods 53 vertically and downwardly extend to a length from the opposite ends of the tube body 52, with both an electric discharge filament 54 being set within each of the two contact rods 53 and two electrode pins 55 being parallely led from the filament 54 of each contact rod 53 to the outside of the rod 53.
  • Such a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 is assembled with a housing as shown in Fig. 12, thus forming a compact fluorescent lamp 50. In such a case, the assemblage of the tube 51 with the housing is accomplished by a vertical insertion of the two linear contact rods 53 of the tube 51 into two vertical contact rod reception openings 58 formed on the top surface of the upper case 57 of the housing.
  • the conventional rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 61 has a single structure, consisting of a double spirally coiled tube body 62 and two arc-shaped contact rods 63 formed at opposite ends of the tube body 62 as shown in Fig. 13. That is, the two contact rods 63 extend to a length from the opposite ends of the tube body 62 to form a desired arc shape, with both an electric discharge filament 64 being set within each of the two contact rods 63 and two electrode pins 65 being parallely led from the filament 64 of each contact rod 63 to the outside of the rod 63.
  • Such a rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 61 is assembled with a housing as shown in Fig. 14, thus forming a compact fluorescent lamp 60.
  • the assemblage of the tube 61 with the housing is accomplished by an insertion of the two arc-shaped contact rods 63 of the tube 61 into the arc- shaped contact rod reception openings 68a, which are formed in two arc-shaped bosses 68 symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case
  • Each of the arc-shaped contact rod reception openings 68 has the same radius of curvature as that of each of the two arc-shaped contact rods 63, and so the tube 61 is firmly assembled with the housing when the tube 61 is fully rotated in a closed direction with the two contact rods 63 being aligned with the two contact rod reception openings 68a.
  • the above-mentioned two types of compact fluorescent lamps 50 and 60 accomplish the same lamp efficiency regardless of a difference in the shape of their tubes 51 and 61 when said tubes 51 and 61 have the same electric discharge field.
  • such conventional compact fluorescent lamps 50 and 60 are partially advantageous and partially problematic in their appearance, productivity and expected life span as follows: That is, the compact fluorescent lamp 50 having the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 is advantageous in that it is somewhat easily, simply and quickly assembled by vertically and downwardly inserting the two linear contact rods 53 of the double spiral fluorescent tube 51 into the two vertical contact rod reception openings 58 formed on the top surface of the upper case 57.
  • the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 of said compact fluorescent lamp 50 is designed to easily dissipate heat from the filaments 54 to the outside of the lamp 50, and so the lamp 50 accomplishes a desired expected life span of the lamp 50.
  • the contact rods 53 are designed to be positioned relative to the upper case 57 in a way such that the filaments 54 within the contact rods 53 are positioned at a height not lower than the top surface of the upper case 57.
  • a generally triangular space 59 is formed between the top surface of the upper case 57 and the lower portion of the tube 51, thus somewhat spoiling the appearance of the lamp 50.
  • said upper case 57 which is a plastic injection molded body typically having a white or ivory color, may be easily thermally hardened and discolored by heat dissipated from the filaments 54 during an operation of the lamp 50. This finally spoils the appearance of the lamps 50 typically used as interior decoration goods.
  • a compact fluorescent lamp 60 having the rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 61 has been proposed to improve the appearance of the lamp by removing the space 59 from the lamp different from the compact fluorescent lamp 50 having the downward insert-type tube 51.
  • said compact fluorescent lamp 60 is assembled by rotating the tube 61 relative to the upper case 67 of the housing so as to fully insert the two contact rods 63 of the tube 61 into the contact rod reception openings 68a, which are formed in the two bosses 68 symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case 67 at diametrically opposite positions. Therefore, this lamp 60 does not have such an undesirable space 59 between the top surface of the upper case 67 and the lower portion of the tube 61, thus having an improved appearance.
  • the lamp 60 since the lamp 60 has to be assembled by rotating the tube 61 relative to the upper case 67 in a closed direction with the two contact rods 63 being aligned with the two contact rod reception openings 68a of the case 67, the assembling process of the lamp 60 is complicated to finally reduce productivity of the lamp 60.
  • the upper case 67 of this lamp 60 which is a plastic injection molded body typically having a white or ivory color, may be easily thermally hardened and discolored by heat dissipated from the filaments 64 during an operation of the lamp 60 with the filaments 64 positioned around the top surface of the upper case 67. This finally spoils the appearance of the lamps 60 typically used as interior decoration goods.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type, which is designed to have an improved appearance and to be less likely to be discolored at the lamp's upper case, and to be improved in work efficiency and productivity during an assembling process of such lamps.
  • the present invention provides a compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type, comprising a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube having two linear vertical contact rods at its opposite ends, and a housing for holding the fluorescent tube thereon.
  • the housing is comprised of upper and lower cases assembled into a single body.
  • the upper case comprises two contact rod reception openings formed on the top surface of the upper case, a contact rod reception hole extending from each of the openings downwardly and receiving one contact rod of the tube therein.
  • the contact rod reception hole has an inner diameter slightly larger than an outer diameter of the contact rod of the tube and a length shorter than that of the contact rod, with a contact rod support ring part integrally formed at the lower end of the reception hole and having a diameter capable of firmly clamping the contact rod, and two arc-shaped slope surfaces symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case at positions outside an intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as a spiral angle of the double spiral fluorescent tube.
  • the two contact rods of the double spiral tube are inserted into the reception holes of the upper case through the reception openings and are fixed to the reception holes by an application of adhesive silicone while leaving an annular gap between each reception hole and each contact rod. Due to the annular gap, high temperature heat of each filament of the tube is effectively and quickly dissipated into the atmosphere outside the upper case through the gap. Therefore, it is possible to accomplish a desired heat dissipation effect of the lamp and to lengthen the expected life span of the lamp, and to allow the heat of the filaments to be less likely to discolor the upper case.
  • the two contact rods of the tube are completely inserted into the reception holes of the upper case so as to be positioned under the top surface of the upper case, and so the lamp only leaves a small space between the tube and the top surface of the upper case different from the conventional compact fluorescent lamps. Furthermore, the small space left between the tube and the top surface of the upper case is also almost completely covered by the two slope surfaces, which are symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case at positions outside the intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the double spiral tube. Therefore, the compact appearance of the lamp is further improved.
  • each contact rod reception hole has a contact rod clamp means for primarily and concentrically holding each contact rod of the fluorescent tube within the contact rod reception hole when the two contact rods are vertically and approximately inserted into the contact rod reception holes.
  • the contact rod clamp means When the upper case has the contact rod clamp means, it is possible to simplify the process of assembling the double spiral fluorescent tube with the upper case into a single body since it is not necessary to perform a step of separately clamping the upper case and the tube or to use a separate clamping machine or a clamping jig for holding both the upper case and the tube during an application of silicone. Work efficiency and productivity while assembling the double spiral fluorescent tubes with the upper cases are thus improved.
  • the contact rod clamp means also forms a uniform annular gap between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes, thus more effectively dissipating heat from the filaments into the atmosphere. This improves the quality of resulting compact fluorescent lamps.
  • Fig. 1 is a front view of a compact fluorescent lamp in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention
  • Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned front view of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube included in the compact fluorescent lamp according to the primary embodiment of this invention
  • Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an upper case of the housing included in the compact fluorescent lamp according to the primary embodiment of this invention.
  • Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the upper case of the housing, showing two contact rod reception openings formed on the top surface of the upper case according to the primary embodiment of this invention
  • Fig. 5 is a sectional view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case according to the primary embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, showing one contact rod of the double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of the upper case in accordance with the primary embodiment of this invention
  • Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view, showing one contact rod of a double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;
  • Fig. 8 is a sectional view, showing one contact rod of a double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with another embodiment of this invention
  • Fig. 9 is an exploded sectional view, showing one contact rod of a double spiral fluorescent tube and an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention.
  • Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view, showing the contact rod of the double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into the contact rod reception opening of the upper case of Fig. 9;
  • Fig. 11 is a partially sectioned front view of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to an embodiment of the prior art;
  • Fig. 12 is a sectional view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube of Fig. 1 1 downwardly inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case;
  • Fig. 13 is a partially sectioned front view of a rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to another embodiment of the prior art;
  • Fig. 14 is a front view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube of Fig. 13 that is rotation-inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case.
  • FIGs. 1 to 6 are views, showing a compact fluorescent lamp 20 in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention.
  • the compact fluorescent lamp 20 of this invention comprises a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 and a support housing 31 having a specifically designed structure.
  • the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 has a single structure, consisting of a double spirally coiled tube body 22 and two linear vertical contact rods 23 formed at opposite ends of the tube body 22.
  • the two contact rods 23 vertically and downwardly extend to a length from the opposite ends of the tube body 22, with both an electric discharge filament 24 being set within each of the two contact rods 23 and two electrode pins 25 being parallely led from the filament 24 of each contact rod 23 to the outside of the rod 23.
  • the support housing 31 of this invention consists of an upper case 32 for holding the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube
  • a lower case 38 is assembled with the upper case 32 into a single body and has an electric discharge circuit board 40 therein, with an E-type base mounted to the lower end of the lower case 38 and engaging with an incandescent lamp socket through a screw-type engagement.
  • two contact rod reception openings 33 are formed on the top surface of the upper case 32 and firmly receive the two contact rods 23 of the double spiral tube 21 therein as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4.
  • two arc-shaped slope surfaces 34 are symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case 32 at positions outside the intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings 33 while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the double spiral tube 21 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
  • the two contact rod reception openings 33 of the housing 31 have a circular shape, with the central axis of each opening 33 being precisely aligned with the central axis of each contact rod 23.
  • the inner diameter of each contact rod reception opening 33 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of each contact rod 23 of the tube 21 , thus forming an annular gap between each contact rod 23 and each contact rod reception opening 33.
  • a contact rod reception hole 35 having the same diameter as that of each contact rod reception opening 33, integrally extends downwardly from the edge of each contact rod reception opening 33 to a length that is somewhat shorter than that of each contact rod 23 as shown in Fig. 4.
  • a contact rod support ring part 36 having a predetermined height, integrally extends from the lower end of the contact rod reception hole 35. This contact rod support ring part 36 has a diameter almost equal to that of each contact rod 23.
  • the tube 21 is primarily assembled with the upper case 32. Thereafter, the upper case 32 having the tube 21 is assembled with the lower case 38.
  • the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 as follows:
  • the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 by vertical inserting the two linear contact rods 23 of the tube 21 into the two contact rod reception holes 35 through the contact rod reception openings 33 from the top surface of the upper case 32 until the lower portions of the two linear contact rods 23 are completely seated in the contact rod support ring parts 36 formed at the lower ends of the contact rod reception holes 35.
  • the contact rods 23 are fixed to the contact rod reception holes 35 by applying an appropriate amount of adhesive silicone 41 to an area around the contact rods 23 from the bottom of the upper case 32 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
  • the fixing of the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 to the upper case 32 may be accomplished by applying the adhesive silicone 41 into the gap between the internal surfaces of the contact rod reception holes 35 and the external surfaces of the lower portions of the contact rods 23 through the openings 33 from the top of the upper case 32.
  • the four electrode pins 25 of the contact rods 23 are completely separated from each other to accomplish an electric insulation effect between them prior to being connected to the electric discharge circuit of the circuit board 40 set within the lower case 38.
  • the filaments 24 of the tube 21 are positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35.
  • the external surfaces of the contact rods 23 having the filaments 24 are spaced apart from the internal surfaces of the contact rod reception holes 35 while leaving an annular gap between them, high temperature heat dissipated from the filaments 24 during an operation of the lamp 20 is primarily transferred to the contact rod reception holes 35 and is secondarily reflected into the annular gap between the contact rods 23 and the contact rod reception holes 35, and is finally removed into the atmosphere through the contact rod reception openings 33.
  • the compact fluorescent lamp 20 preferably reduces its entire height and removes the undesirable space 59 from the lamp, and accomplishes the recent trend of compactness of the lamp even though it uses a conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 having the linear vertical contact rods 23. That is, the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 according to this embodiment are almost completely positioned under the top surface of the upper case 32 without reducing the desired life span of the lamp 20, and so it is not necessary to expose the contact rods outside the top surface of the upper case for heat dissipation from the filaments. This finally reduces the entire height of the lamp 20 and accomplishes the recent trend of compactness of the lamp 20.
  • the filaments 24 of the tube 21 are positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35 of the upper case 32, and so it is possible to prevent the upper case 32, which is a plastic injection molded body typically having a white or ivory color, from being thermally hardened or discolored by heat dissipated from the filaments 24 during an operation of the lamp 20. Therefore, the original colors of the upper case 32 are kept without being discolored for a lengthy period of time, thus being prevented from spoiling the appearance of the lamps 20 typically used as interior decoration items. This finally improves the quality and market competitiveness of the lamps 20.
  • the space left between the lower portion of the tube 21 and the top surface of the upper case 32 is minimized. Furthermore, the minimized space left between the lower portion of the tube 21 and the top surface of the upper case 32 is also almost completely covered by the two slope surfaces 34, which are symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case 32 at positions outside the intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings 33 while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the double spiral tube 21. Therefore, the appearance of the lamp 20 is further improved.
  • the lamp 20 uses a conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21.
  • a conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
  • the cross-section of both the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 and the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32 may be changed from the circular cross-section into an oval or rectangular cross-section without affecting the functioning of this invention.
  • the contact rod reception holes 35 of the upper case 32 may be inclinedly positioned in place of being vertical positioned.
  • the upper case 32 of this invention has a contact rod clamp means for primarily and concentrically holding the contact rods 23 within the contact rod reception holes when the contact rods 23 are vertically and approximately inserted into the contact rod reception holes.
  • Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view, showing one contact rod 23 of a double spiral fluorescent tube 21 downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening 33 of an upper case 32 having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with an embodiment of this invention.
  • the upper case 32 has two contact rod reception holes 35 a, with a contact rod support ring part 36a integrally extending from the lower end of each contact rod reception hole 35a in the same manner as that described for the primary embodiment.
  • the contact rod support ring part 36a also has an inner diameter capable of closely receiving each contact rod 23 of the tube 21 and is inclined radially inwardly at its upper surface.
  • a support base 37 is formed at the lower end of each contact rod support ring part 36a so as to support the lower end of an associated contact rod 23.
  • a pin guide opening 40 is formed at the center of the support base 37 so as to guide the electrode pins 25 of the tube 21 to the outside of the bottom of the upper case 32.
  • each contact rod 23 of the tube 21 is approximately inserted into the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32.
  • the rounded lower end of each contact rod 23 is primarily brought into contact with the inclined upper surface of the contact rod support ring part 36a within the contact rod reception hole 35a and is secondarily biased inwardly in a radial direction of the ring part 36a due to insert force, thus being finally inserted into the ring part 36a until the lower end of the contact rod 23 is completely seated on the support base 37. Therefore, the two contact rods
  • Fig. 8 is a sectional view, showing one contact rod 23 of a double spiral fluorescent tube 21 downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case 32 having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with another embodiment of this invention.
  • each contact rod reception hole 35b of this embodiment has a plurality of vertical support ribs 36b in place of the support ring part 36a.
  • the vertical support ribs 36b are regularly and vertically formed on the internal surface of each contact rod reception hole 35b while extending upwardly from the support base 37 to a height lower than the position of the filament 24 of the tube 21.
  • the inner diameter, formed by the regularly spaced support ribs 36b, is determined to closely receive each contact rod 23 of the tube 21.
  • Each of the support ribs 36b is inclined radially inwardly at its upper end.
  • the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are approximately inserted into the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32.
  • the rounded lower end of each contact rod 23 is primarily brought into contact with the inclined upper ends of the support ribs 36b within the contact rod reception hole 35b and is secondarily biased inwardly in a radial direction of the hole 35b due to insert force, thus being finally inserted into the hole 35b until the lower end of the contact rod 23 is completely seated on the support base 37. Therefore, the two contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are closely fitted and seated in the support ribs 36b, thus being concentrically positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35b while forming uniform annular gaps between the rods 23 and the holes 35b.
  • Figs. 9 and 10 are views, showing one contact rod 23 of a double spiral fluorescent tube 21 and an associated contact rod reception opening 33 of an upper case 32 having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention.
  • the upper case 32 has two insert rings 36c, which are separately formed from the contact rod reception holes 35c and are closely fitted into the holes 35c along with the two contact rods 23 of the tube 21 when assembling the tube 21 with the upper case 32.
  • Each of the contact rod reception holes 35c has both a support base 37 and a pin guide opening 40 in the same manner as that described for the embodiments of Figs. 7 and 8.
  • Each of the insert rings 36c has an outer diameter, allowing the ring 36c to be closely fitted into each contact rod reception hole 35c, and an inner diameter determined to closely receive each contact rod 23 of the tube 21.
  • the lower end of each insert ring 36c is bent inwardly, thus forming a stop flange seating the rounded lower end of each contact rod 23 thereon.
  • the outside edge of the stop flange of the insert ring 36c is rounded.
  • the height of each insert ring 36c is determined to be lower than the position of the filament 24 when the insert ring 36c is fully seated in the contact rod reception hole 35c along with a contact rod 23 of the tube 21.
  • the upper case 32 of this invention When the upper case 32 of this invention is provided with the above- mentioned contact rod clamp means, it is possible to primarily and concentrically hold and seat the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 within the contact rod reception holes of the upper case 32 before the position of the contact rods 23 within the contact rod reception holes is fixed by an application of silicone.
  • the contact rod clamp means it is possible to form a uniform annular gap between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes and to more effectively dissipate heat from the filaments 24 into the atmosphere, thus improving the quality of resulting compact fluorescent lamps.
  • the present invention provides a compact fluorescent lamp of the downward insert- type double spiral tube type.
  • This compact fluorescent lamp has an improved and compact appearance and is less likely to be discolored at the lamp's upper case, and is improved in work efficiency and productivity during an assembling process of such lamps.
  • this compact fluorescent lamp has the same operational performance as that expected from conventional compact fluorescent lamps having either downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tubes or rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tubes.
  • the upper case included in the lamp of this invention may be provided with a contact rod clamp means capable of primarily and concentrically holding the contact rods of the fluorescent tube within the contact rod reception holes of the upper case before the position of the contact rods within the contact rod reception holes is fixed by an application of silicone.
  • a contact rod clamp means capable of primarily and concentrically holding the contact rods of the fluorescent tube within the contact rod reception holes of the upper case before the position of the contact rods within the contact rod reception holes is fixed by an application of silicone.
  • the contact rod clamp means also allows a uniform annular gap to be formed between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes, and so heat from the filaments of the tube is more effectively dissipated into the atmosphere, thus improving the quality of the resulting compact fluorescent lamps.

Abstract

A compact fluorescent lamp (20) of the double spiral tube type is disclosed. This lamp (20) is composed of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube (21) and a housing (31) for holding the tube (21) thereon. In the lamp (20), two openings (33) are formed on the top surface of the upper case (32) of the housing (31), with two arc-shaped slope surfaces (34) symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the case (32) at positions outside the intermediate area between the two openings (33) while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the tube (21). A contact rod reception hole (35) integrally extends from the lower end of each opening (33). This upper case (32) also has a contact rod clamp means within each hole (35) for holding the contact rod (21) before an application of silicone.

Description

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMP OF THE DOUBLE SPIRAL TUBE TYPE
Technical Field
The present invention relates, in general, to compact fluorescent lamps of the double spiral tube type and, more particularly, to a compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type designed to have an improved appearance and to be less likely to be discolored at the lamp's upper case and to be improved in work efficiency during an assembling process of such lamps.
Background Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, a conventional compact fluorescent lamp of the bent tube type comprises a specifically bent fluorescent tube and a support housing used for holding the fluorescent tube at an incandescent lamp socket.
In such a conventional compact fluorescent lamp, the specifically bent fluorescent tube typically has a spiral shape, a U-shape, a multiple U-shape or a double spiral shape, with two contact rods individually having a discharge filament therein and being provided at the opposite ends of the tube.
On the other hand, the support housing typically consists of an upper case for holding the fluorescent tube thereon. A lower case is assembled with the upper case into a single body and has an electric discharge circuit therein, with an
E-type base mounted to the lower end of the lower case and engaging with an incandescent lamp socket through a screw-type engagement.
Such a compact fluorescent lamp accomplishes the recent trend of compactness of appearance and effectively saves electric power by about 20 % in comparison with a conventional incandescent lamp having the same lightness, thus being so-called ''an energy saving lamp" and being widely and preferably used in recent days. In accordance with a rapidly increased consumption of such compact fluorescent lamps as interior decoration goods, a variety of bent fluorescent tubes and a variety of housings, both being designed to meet a desired appearance, desired operational efficiency, and an expected life span of such lamps, have been actively studied, proposed and marketed. Of the conventional fluorescent tubes for such compact fluorescent lamps, double spiral fluorescent tubes have a somewhat good appearance and effectively maximize the electric discharge effect of the lamps, and so they are recognized as one of the most effective fluorescent tubes.
However, the conventional compact fluorescent lamps of the double spiral tube type are problematic in that the upper cases and double spiral fluorescent tubes are limited in their shapes due to a defect in the operational performances, and so the lamps fail to accomplish a desired appearance and are regrettably discolored at their upper cases due to heat dissipated from the discharge filaments during an operation of the lamps. Another problem experienced in the conventional compact fluorescent lamps of the double spiral tube type resides in their too low productivity.
Fig. 1 1 is a partially sectioned front view of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to an embodiment of the prior art. Fig. 12 is a sectional view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube of Fig. 11 downwardly inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case of a housing. Figs. 13 and 14 are views corresponding to Figs. 11 and 12, but show a rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to another embodiment of the prior art.
As shown in Fig. 11, the conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 has a single structure, consisting of a double spirally coiled tube body 52 and two linear vertical contact rods 53 formed at opposite ends of the tube body 52. That is, the two contact rods 53 vertically and downwardly extend to a length from the opposite ends of the tube body 52, with both an electric discharge filament 54 being set within each of the two contact rods 53 and two electrode pins 55 being parallely led from the filament 54 of each contact rod 53 to the outside of the rod 53. Such a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 is assembled with a housing as shown in Fig. 12, thus forming a compact fluorescent lamp 50. In such a case, the assemblage of the tube 51 with the housing is accomplished by a vertical insertion of the two linear contact rods 53 of the tube 51 into two vertical contact rod reception openings 58 formed on the top surface of the upper case 57 of the housing.
On the other hand, the conventional rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 61 has a single structure, consisting of a double spirally coiled tube body 62 and two arc-shaped contact rods 63 formed at opposite ends of the tube body 62 as shown in Fig. 13. That is, the two contact rods 63 extend to a length from the opposite ends of the tube body 62 to form a desired arc shape, with both an electric discharge filament 64 being set within each of the two contact rods 63 and two electrode pins 65 being parallely led from the filament 64 of each contact rod 63 to the outside of the rod 63. Such a rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 61 is assembled with a housing as shown in Fig. 14, thus forming a compact fluorescent lamp 60. In such a case, the assemblage of the tube 61 with the housing is accomplished by an insertion of the two arc-shaped contact rods 63 of the tube 61 into the arc- shaped contact rod reception openings 68a, which are formed in two arc-shaped bosses 68 symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case
67 of said housing at diametrically opposite positions. Each of the arc-shaped contact rod reception openings 68 has the same radius of curvature as that of each of the two arc-shaped contact rods 63, and so the tube 61 is firmly assembled with the housing when the tube 61 is fully rotated in a closed direction with the two contact rods 63 being aligned with the two contact rod reception openings 68a.
The above-mentioned two types of compact fluorescent lamps 50 and 60 accomplish the same lamp efficiency regardless of a difference in the shape of their tubes 51 and 61 when said tubes 51 and 61 have the same electric discharge field. However, such conventional compact fluorescent lamps 50 and 60 are partially advantageous and partially problematic in their appearance, productivity and expected life span as follows: That is, the compact fluorescent lamp 50 having the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 is advantageous in that it is somewhat easily, simply and quickly assembled by vertically and downwardly inserting the two linear contact rods 53 of the double spiral fluorescent tube 51 into the two vertical contact rod reception openings 58 formed on the top surface of the upper case 57.
In addition, the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 51 of said compact fluorescent lamp 50 is designed to easily dissipate heat from the filaments 54 to the outside of the lamp 50, and so the lamp 50 accomplishes a desired expected life span of the lamp 50. In order to prevent the upper case 57 from being discolored due to heat dissipated from the filaments 54 during an operation of the lamp 50, the contact rods 53 are designed to be positioned relative to the upper case 57 in a way such that the filaments 54 within the contact rods 53 are positioned at a height not lower than the top surface of the upper case 57.
However, in the compact fluorescent lamp 50, a generally triangular space 59 is formed between the top surface of the upper case 57 and the lower portion of the tube 51, thus somewhat spoiling the appearance of the lamp 50. In addition, when the filaments 54 within the contact rods 53 are positioned around the top surface of the upper case 57, said upper case 57, which is a plastic injection molded body typically having a white or ivory color, may be easily thermally hardened and discolored by heat dissipated from the filaments 54 during an operation of the lamp 50. This finally spoils the appearance of the lamps 50 typically used as interior decoration goods.
On the other hand, a compact fluorescent lamp 60 having the rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 61 has been proposed to improve the appearance of the lamp by removing the space 59 from the lamp different from the compact fluorescent lamp 50 having the downward insert-type tube 51.
That is, said compact fluorescent lamp 60 is assembled by rotating the tube 61 relative to the upper case 67 of the housing so as to fully insert the two contact rods 63 of the tube 61 into the contact rod reception openings 68a, which are formed in the two bosses 68 symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case 67 at diametrically opposite positions. Therefore, this lamp 60 does not have such an undesirable space 59 between the top surface of the upper case 67 and the lower portion of the tube 61, thus having an improved appearance.
However, since the lamp 60 has to be assembled by rotating the tube 61 relative to the upper case 67 in a closed direction with the two contact rods 63 being aligned with the two contact rod reception openings 68a of the case 67, the assembling process of the lamp 60 is complicated to finally reduce productivity of the lamp 60. In the same manner as that described for the lamp 50 having the downward insert-type tube 51, the upper case 67 of this lamp 60, which is a plastic injection molded body typically having a white or ivory color, may be easily thermally hardened and discolored by heat dissipated from the filaments 64 during an operation of the lamp 60 with the filaments 64 positioned around the top surface of the upper case 67. This finally spoils the appearance of the lamps 60 typically used as interior decoration goods.
Disclosure of the Invention
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type, which is designed to have an improved appearance and to be less likely to be discolored at the lamp's upper case, and to be improved in work efficiency and productivity during an assembling process of such lamps.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type, comprising a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube having two linear vertical contact rods at its opposite ends, and a housing for holding the fluorescent tube thereon. The housing is comprised of upper and lower cases assembled into a single body. The upper case comprises two contact rod reception openings formed on the top surface of the upper case, a contact rod reception hole extending from each of the openings downwardly and receiving one contact rod of the tube therein. The contact rod reception hole has an inner diameter slightly larger than an outer diameter of the contact rod of the tube and a length shorter than that of the contact rod, with a contact rod support ring part integrally formed at the lower end of the reception hole and having a diameter capable of firmly clamping the contact rod, and two arc-shaped slope surfaces symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case at positions outside an intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as a spiral angle of the double spiral fluorescent tube.
In the lamp of this invention, the two contact rods of the double spiral tube are inserted into the reception holes of the upper case through the reception openings and are fixed to the reception holes by an application of adhesive silicone while leaving an annular gap between each reception hole and each contact rod. Due to the annular gap, high temperature heat of each filament of the tube is effectively and quickly dissipated into the atmosphere outside the upper case through the gap. Therefore, it is possible to accomplish a desired heat dissipation effect of the lamp and to lengthen the expected life span of the lamp, and to allow the heat of the filaments to be less likely to discolor the upper case.
In the lamp of this invention, the two contact rods of the tube are completely inserted into the reception holes of the upper case so as to be positioned under the top surface of the upper case, and so the lamp only leaves a small space between the tube and the top surface of the upper case different from the conventional compact fluorescent lamps. Furthermore, the small space left between the tube and the top surface of the upper case is also almost completely covered by the two slope surfaces, which are symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case at positions outside the intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the double spiral tube. Therefore, the compact appearance of the lamp is further improved.
In the compact fluorescent lamp, each contact rod reception hole has a contact rod clamp means for primarily and concentrically holding each contact rod of the fluorescent tube within the contact rod reception hole when the two contact rods are vertically and approximately inserted into the contact rod reception holes.
When the upper case has the contact rod clamp means, it is possible to simplify the process of assembling the double spiral fluorescent tube with the upper case into a single body since it is not necessary to perform a step of separately clamping the upper case and the tube or to use a separate clamping machine or a clamping jig for holding both the upper case and the tube during an application of silicone. Work efficiency and productivity while assembling the double spiral fluorescent tubes with the upper cases are thus improved. In addition, the contact rod clamp means also forms a uniform annular gap between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes, thus more effectively dissipating heat from the filaments into the atmosphere. This improves the quality of resulting compact fluorescent lamps.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a front view of a compact fluorescent lamp in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a partially sectioned front view of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube included in the compact fluorescent lamp according to the primary embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an upper case of the housing included in the compact fluorescent lamp according to the primary embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the upper case of the housing, showing two contact rod reception openings formed on the top surface of the upper case according to the primary embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 5 is a sectional view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case according to the primary embodiment of the invention; Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view, showing one contact rod of the double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of the upper case in accordance with the primary embodiment of this invention; Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view, showing one contact rod of a double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view, showing one contact rod of a double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with another embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 9 is an exploded sectional view, showing one contact rod of a double spiral fluorescent tube and an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view, showing the contact rod of the double spiral fluorescent tube downwardly inserted into the contact rod reception opening of the upper case of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a partially sectioned front view of a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to an embodiment of the prior art;
Fig. 12 is a sectional view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube of Fig. 1 1 downwardly inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case; Fig. 13 is a partially sectioned front view of a rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube according to another embodiment of the prior art; and
Fig. 14 is a front view, showing the double spiral fluorescent tube of Fig. 13 that is rotation-inserted at its contact rods into the contact rod reception openings of the upper case.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Figs. 1 to 6 are views, showing a compact fluorescent lamp 20 in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the drawings, the compact fluorescent lamp 20 of this invention comprises a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 and a support housing 31 having a specifically designed structure.
In the compact fluorescent lamp 20 of this invention, the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 has a single structure, consisting of a double spirally coiled tube body 22 and two linear vertical contact rods 23 formed at opposite ends of the tube body 22. The two contact rods 23 vertically and downwardly extend to a length from the opposite ends of the tube body 22, with both an electric discharge filament 24 being set within each of the two contact rods 23 and two electrode pins 25 being parallely led from the filament 24 of each contact rod 23 to the outside of the rod 23.
On the other hand, the support housing 31 of this invention consists of an upper case 32 for holding the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube
21 thereon. A lower case 38 is assembled with the upper case 32 into a single body and has an electric discharge circuit board 40 therein, with an E-type base mounted to the lower end of the lower case 38 and engaging with an incandescent lamp socket through a screw-type engagement. In the support housing 31, two contact rod reception openings 33 are formed on the top surface of the upper case 32 and firmly receive the two contact rods 23 of the double spiral tube 21 therein as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4.
In addition, two arc-shaped slope surfaces 34 are symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case 32 at positions outside the intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings 33 while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the double spiral tube 21 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
The two contact rod reception openings 33 of the housing 31 have a circular shape, with the central axis of each opening 33 being precisely aligned with the central axis of each contact rod 23. In such a case, the inner diameter of each contact rod reception opening 33 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of each contact rod 23 of the tube 21 , thus forming an annular gap between each contact rod 23 and each contact rod reception opening 33.
A contact rod reception hole 35, having the same diameter as that of each contact rod reception opening 33, integrally extends downwardly from the edge of each contact rod reception opening 33 to a length that is somewhat shorter than that of each contact rod 23 as shown in Fig. 4. A contact rod support ring part 36, having a predetermined height, integrally extends from the lower end of the contact rod reception hole 35. This contact rod support ring part 36 has a diameter almost equal to that of each contact rod 23.
In order to assemble the compact fluorescent lamp 20, the tube 21 is primarily assembled with the upper case 32. Thereafter, the upper case 32 having the tube 21 is assembled with the lower case 38.
The downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 as follows:
That is, the downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 by vertical inserting the two linear contact rods 23 of the tube 21 into the two contact rod reception holes 35 through the contact rod reception openings 33 from the top surface of the upper case 32 until the lower portions of the two linear contact rods 23 are completely seated in the contact rod support ring parts 36 formed at the lower ends of the contact rod reception holes 35.
In such a case, after the two electrode pins 25, parallely led from the filament 24 of each contact rod 23 to the outside of the rod 23, are inserted into the lower portion of an associated contact rod reception hole 35, the two contact rods
23 are concentrically positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35 at a predetermined depth using an appropriate jig.
Thereafter, the contact rods 23 are fixed to the contact rod reception holes 35 by applying an appropriate amount of adhesive silicone 41 to an area around the contact rods 23 from the bottom of the upper case 32 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
In the present invention, the fixing of the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 to the upper case 32 may be accomplished by applying the adhesive silicone 41 into the gap between the internal surfaces of the contact rod reception holes 35 and the external surfaces of the lower portions of the contact rods 23 through the openings 33 from the top of the upper case 32. In such a case, it is necessary to prevent the adhesive silicone 41 from being filled in the gap up to a height equal to the position of the filaments 24.
After assembling the tube 21 with the upper case 32, the four electrode pins 25 of the contact rods 23 are completely separated from each other to accomplish an electric insulation effect between them prior to being connected to the electric discharge circuit of the circuit board 40 set within the lower case 38.
Thereafter, the lower end portion of the upper case 32 engages with the upper end portion of the lower case 38, thus forming a desired compact fluorescent lamp as shown Figs. 1 and 5.
In the compact fluorescent lamp 20, the filaments 24 of the tube 21 are positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35. However, since the external surfaces of the contact rods 23 having the filaments 24 are spaced apart from the internal surfaces of the contact rod reception holes 35 while leaving an annular gap between them, high temperature heat dissipated from the filaments 24 during an operation of the lamp 20 is primarily transferred to the contact rod reception holes 35 and is secondarily reflected into the annular gap between the contact rods 23 and the contact rod reception holes 35, and is finally removed into the atmosphere through the contact rod reception openings 33.
The compact fluorescent lamp 20 according to the primary embodiment preferably reduces its entire height and removes the undesirable space 59 from the lamp, and accomplishes the recent trend of compactness of the lamp even though it uses a conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 having the linear vertical contact rods 23. That is, the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 according to this embodiment are almost completely positioned under the top surface of the upper case 32 without reducing the desired life span of the lamp 20, and so it is not necessary to expose the contact rods outside the top surface of the upper case for heat dissipation from the filaments. This finally reduces the entire height of the lamp 20 and accomplishes the recent trend of compactness of the lamp 20.
In addition, the filaments 24 of the tube 21 are positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35 of the upper case 32, and so it is possible to prevent the upper case 32, which is a plastic injection molded body typically having a white or ivory color, from being thermally hardened or discolored by heat dissipated from the filaments 24 during an operation of the lamp 20. Therefore, the original colors of the upper case 32 are kept without being discolored for a lengthy period of time, thus being prevented from spoiling the appearance of the lamps 20 typically used as interior decoration items. This finally improves the quality and market competitiveness of the lamps 20.
Since the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are almost completely received into the upper case 32, the space left between the lower portion of the tube 21 and the top surface of the upper case 32 is minimized. Furthermore, the minimized space left between the lower portion of the tube 21 and the top surface of the upper case 32 is also almost completely covered by the two slope surfaces 34, which are symmetrically formed along the edge of the top surface of the upper case 32 at positions outside the intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings 33 while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as the spiral angle of the double spiral tube 21. Therefore, the appearance of the lamp 20 is further improved.
In the above description for the primary embodiment, the lamp 20 uses a conventional downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21. However, it should be understood that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention
For example, the cross-section of both the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 and the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32 may be changed from the circular cross-section into an oval or rectangular cross-section without affecting the functioning of this invention. In addition, in accordance with the position of the contact rods 23 of the tube 21, the contact rod reception holes 35 of the upper case 32 may be inclinedly positioned in place of being vertical positioned.
On the other hand, when the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are primarily and concentrically held and seated in the contact rod reception holes of the upper case 32 before the position of the contact rods 23 within the contact rod reception holes is fixed by an application of silicone, it is possible to form a uniform annular gap between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes and to more effectively dissipate heat from the filaments 24 into the atmosphere. In an effort to accomplish the above object, the upper case 32 of this invention has a contact rod clamp means for primarily and concentrically holding the contact rods 23 within the contact rod reception holes when the contact rods 23 are vertically and approximately inserted into the contact rod reception holes.
Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view, showing one contact rod 23 of a double spiral fluorescent tube 21 downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening 33 of an upper case 32 having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with an embodiment of this invention.
In this embodiment, the upper case 32 has two contact rod reception holes 35 a, with a contact rod support ring part 36a integrally extending from the lower end of each contact rod reception hole 35a in the same manner as that described for the primary embodiment. However, the lengths of both the contact rod reception hole 35a and the support ring part 36a according to this embodiment are larger than those of the primary embodiment. The contact rod support ring part 36a also has an inner diameter capable of closely receiving each contact rod 23 of the tube 21 and is inclined radially inwardly at its upper surface. In addition, a support base 37 is formed at the lower end of each contact rod support ring part 36a so as to support the lower end of an associated contact rod 23. A pin guide opening 40 is formed at the center of the support base 37 so as to guide the electrode pins 25 of the tube 21 to the outside of the bottom of the upper case 32.
When a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 of this embodiment, the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are approximately inserted into the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32. In such a case, the rounded lower end of each contact rod 23 is primarily brought into contact with the inclined upper surface of the contact rod support ring part 36a within the contact rod reception hole 35a and is secondarily biased inwardly in a radial direction of the ring part 36a due to insert force, thus being finally inserted into the ring part 36a until the lower end of the contact rod 23 is completely seated on the support base 37. Therefore, the two contact rods
23 of the tube 21 are closely fitted and seated in the support ring parts 36a, thus being concentrically positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35a while forming uniform annular gaps between the rods 23 and the holes 35a.
Fig. 8 is a sectional view, showing one contact rod 23 of a double spiral fluorescent tube 21 downwardly inserted into an associated contact rod reception opening of an upper case 32 having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with another embodiment of this invention.
In this embodiment, the upper case 32 has two contact rod reception holes 35b, with a support base 37 formed at the lower end of each contact rod reception hole 35b so as to support the lower end of an associated contact rod 23 in the same manner as that described for the embodiment of Fig. 7. However, each contact rod reception hole 35b of this embodiment has a plurality of vertical support ribs 36b in place of the support ring part 36a. The vertical support ribs 36b are regularly and vertically formed on the internal surface of each contact rod reception hole 35b while extending upwardly from the support base 37 to a height lower than the position of the filament 24 of the tube 21. The inner diameter, formed by the regularly spaced support ribs 36b, is determined to closely receive each contact rod 23 of the tube 21. Each of the support ribs 36b is inclined radially inwardly at its upper end. When a downward insert -type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 of this embodiment, the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are approximately inserted into the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32. In such a case, the rounded lower end of each contact rod 23 is primarily brought into contact with the inclined upper ends of the support ribs 36b within the contact rod reception hole 35b and is secondarily biased inwardly in a radial direction of the hole 35b due to insert force, thus being finally inserted into the hole 35b until the lower end of the contact rod 23 is completely seated on the support base 37. Therefore, the two contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are closely fitted and seated in the support ribs 36b, thus being concentrically positioned within the contact rod reception holes 35b while forming uniform annular gaps between the rods 23 and the holes 35b.
Figs. 9 and 10 are views, showing one contact rod 23 of a double spiral fluorescent tube 21 and an associated contact rod reception opening 33 of an upper case 32 having a contact rod clamp means in accordance with a further embodiment of this invention. In this embodiment, the upper case 32 has two insert rings 36c, which are separately formed from the contact rod reception holes 35c and are closely fitted into the holes 35c along with the two contact rods 23 of the tube 21 when assembling the tube 21 with the upper case 32. Each of the contact rod reception holes 35c has both a support base 37 and a pin guide opening 40 in the same manner as that described for the embodiments of Figs. 7 and 8.
Each of the insert rings 36c has an outer diameter, allowing the ring 36c to be closely fitted into each contact rod reception hole 35c, and an inner diameter determined to closely receive each contact rod 23 of the tube 21. The lower end of each insert ring 36c is bent inwardly, thus forming a stop flange seating the rounded lower end of each contact rod 23 thereon. The outside edge of the stop flange of the insert ring 36c is rounded. The height of each insert ring 36c is determined to be lower than the position of the filament 24 when the insert ring 36c is fully seated in the contact rod reception hole 35c along with a contact rod 23 of the tube 21. When a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube 21 is assembled with the upper case 32 of this embodiment, two insert rings 36c are fitted over the lower ends of the two contact rods 23 of the tube 21 prior to fully inserting the contact rods 23 into the contact rod reception openings 33 of the upper case 32 along with the insert rings 36c. Therefore, the two contact rods 23 of the tube 21 are concentrically positioned within the contact rod reception holes
35c while being stably seated in the insert rings 36c at their lower portions and forming uniform annular gaps between the rods 23 and the holes 35c.
When the upper case 32 of this invention is provided with the above- mentioned contact rod clamp means, it is possible to primarily and concentrically hold and seat the contact rods 23 of the tube 21 within the contact rod reception holes of the upper case 32 before the position of the contact rods 23 within the contact rod reception holes is fixed by an application of silicone. This simplifies the process of assembling the double spiral fluorescent tube 21 with the upper case 32 into a single body since it is not necessary to perform a step of separately clamping the upper case 32 and the tube 21 or to use a separate clamping machine or a clamping jig for holding both the upper case 32 and the tube 21 during an application of silicone. Therefore, work efficiency and productivity while assembling the double spiral fluorescent tubes 21 with the upper cases 32 to produce desired compact fluorescent lamps are improved. In addition, due to the contact rod clamp means, it is possible to form a uniform annular gap between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes and to more effectively dissipate heat from the filaments 24 into the atmosphere, thus improving the quality of resulting compact fluorescent lamps.
Industrial Applicability
As described above, the present invention provides a compact fluorescent lamp of the downward insert- type double spiral tube type. This compact fluorescent lamp has an improved and compact appearance and is less likely to be discolored at the lamp's upper case, and is improved in work efficiency and productivity during an assembling process of such lamps.
Furthermore, this compact fluorescent lamp has the same operational performance as that expected from conventional compact fluorescent lamps having either downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tubes or rotation insert-type double spiral fluorescent tubes.
In addition, the upper case included in the lamp of this invention may be provided with a contact rod clamp means capable of primarily and concentrically holding the contact rods of the fluorescent tube within the contact rod reception holes of the upper case before the position of the contact rods within the contact rod reception holes is fixed by an application of silicone. In such a case, it is possible to simplify the process of assembling the double spiral fluorescent tube with the upper case into a single body, and so work efficiency and productivity while assembling the fluorescent tubes with the upper cases to produce desired compact fluorescent lamps are improved. The contact rod clamp means also allows a uniform annular gap to be formed between the contact rods and the contact rod reception holes, and so heat from the filaments of the tube is more effectively dissipated into the atmosphere, thus improving the quality of the resulting compact fluorescent lamps.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims:
1. A compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type, comprising: a downward insert-type double spiral fluorescent tube having two linear vertical contact rods at its opposite ends; and a housing for holding said fluorescent tube thereon, said housing being comprised of upper and lower cases assembled into a single body, said upper case having: two contact rod reception openings formed on a top surface of the upper case; a contact rod reception hole extending from each of said openings downwardly and receiving one contact rod of the tube therein, said contact rod reception hole having an inner diameter slightly larger than an outer diameter of the contact rod of the tube and a length shorter than that of the contact rod, with a contact rod support ring part integrally formed at a lower end of the reception hole and having a diameter capable of firmly clamping the contact rod; and two arc-shaped slope surfaces symmetrically formed along an edge of the top surface of said upper case at positions outside an intermediate area between the two contact rod reception openings while being smoothly inclined at the same angle as a spiral angle of said double spiral fluorescent tube.
2. The compact fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein said two contact rod reception openings have a circular shape, with a central axis of each of the openings being aligned with a central axis of each of the two contact rods, each of the contact rod reception openings also having a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of each contact rod of the tube.
3. The compact fluorescent lamp according to claim 1 , wherein said contact rod reception hole has contact rod clamp means for primarily and concentrically holding one contact rod of the fluorescent tube within the contact rod reception hole when the two contact rods are vertically and approximately inserted into the contact rod reception holes.
4. The compact fluorescent lamp according to claim 3, wherein said contact rod clamp means comprises: the contact rod reception hole having a depth capable of completely receiving the contact rod; the contact rod support ring part formed at a lower portion of the contact rod reception hole, said contact rod support ring part having a predetermined height and an inner diameter capable of closely receiving the contact rod; a support base formed at a lower end of said contact rod support ring part so as to support a lower end of each contact rod; and a pin guide opening formed at a center of said support base so as to guide electrode pins of a filament of the tube to the outside of a bottom of said upper case.
5. The compact fluorescent lamp according to claim 3, wherein said contact rod clamp means comprises: the contact rod reception hole having a depth capable of completely receiving an associated contact rod; a plurality of vertical support ribs regularly and vertically formed on an internal surface of a lower end portion of the contact rod reception hole, said support ribs having a height lower than a position of a filament of the tube and forming an inner diameter capable of closely receiving the contact rod of the tube, each of said support ribs being also inclined radially inwardly at its upper end; a support base formed at a lower end of said contact rod reception hole so as to support a lower end of the contact rod; and a pin guide opening formed at a center of said support base so as to guide electrode pins of the filament to the outside of a bottom of said upper case.
6. The compact fluorescent lamp according to claim 3, wherein said contact rod clamp means comprises: the contact rod reception hole having a depth capable of completely receiving the contact rod, with both a support base formed at a lower end of said contact rod reception hole so as to support a lower end of the contact rod and a pin guide opening formed at a center of said support base so as to guide electrode pins of a filament of the tube to the outside of a bottom of said upper case; and an insert ring separately formed from the contact rod reception hole and closely fitted into the reception hole along with the contact rod of the tube, said insert ring having an outer diameter allowing the insert ring to be closely fitted into the contact rod reception hole and an inner diameter determined to closely receive the contact rod in the insert ring, said insert ring being bent inwardly at its lower end, thus forming a stop flange seating the lower end of the contact rod thereon, with an outside edge of said stop flange of the insert ring being rounded, said insert ring also having a height lower than a position of the filament of the tube.
PCT/KR2001/000115 2000-01-27 2001-01-27 Compact fluorescent lamp of the double spiral tube type WO2001056060A1 (en)

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KR2000/3975 2000-01-27
KR1020000003975A KR20000024183A (en) 2000-01-27 2000-01-27 compact fluorescent lamp of double spiral bulb-type

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