JP2007317401A - Fluorescent lamp and lighting device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp and an illuminating device that improve the total luminous flux by efficiently converting ultraviolet rays irradiated to a tube end portion into visible light.
An arc tube 4 having a phosphor film 3 formed on the inner surface; a support portion 8b for supporting an electrode 7, and a phosphor layer 8a is formed on the discharge space side of the support portion 8b. And a stem 8 for sealing the electrode in the arc tube 4 by sealing at both ends of the arc tube 4. Since the phosphor layer 8a is formed on the stem 8, the luminous flux at the end of the arc tube 4 is improved. Moreover, since the ultraviolet rays irradiated to the tube end can be efficiently converted into visible light, the total luminous flux is increased.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp formed by sealing a stem that supports an electrode at an end portion, and an illumination device using the fluorescent lamp.

  Generally, a fluorescent lamp is lit by discharge between electrodes sealed at both ends of the arc tube, but no discharge is formed in the region from the electrode to the sealed end surface of the arc tube, and the amount of ultraviolet radiation is small. The tube end of the arc tube becomes darker than near the center. A base made of a light-impermeable resin is attached between both ends of the arc tube of the annular fluorescent lamp, and this base is a dark part when the fluorescent lamp is lit.

To date, an annular fluorescent lamp having a base formed of a translucent member is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this annular fluorescent lamp, since the base is formed of a translucent member, visible light that has passed through the tube end of the arc tube can be emitted to the outside. For this reason, compared with the lamp | ramp which arrange | positioned the nozzle | cap | die formed with the member which interrupts | blocks visible light, the dark part formed in a lamp | ramp reduces and a total luminous flux improves.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-162722

  However, no special measures have been studied for the dark portion formed by the non-discharge region at the tube end of the arc tube. To further improve the light distribution characteristics and the total luminous flux, this dark portion at the tube end There was room for improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent lamp and an illuminating device that improve the light distribution characteristics and the total luminous flux by efficiently using ultraviolet rays irradiated to the tube end. .

  The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1 has an arc tube having a phosphor film formed on an inner surface thereof; a support portion that supports the electrode, and a phosphor layer is formed on the discharge space side of the support portion, A stem for sealing an electrode in the arc tube by sealing at both ends of the arc tube.

  In the present invention and each of the following inventions, the definitions and technical meanings of terms are as follows unless otherwise specified.

  The arc tube is made of a translucent material. As the light-transmitting material, it is preferable to use glass with low cost. In addition, as glass, soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, etc. can be selected suitably, and can be used.

  The phosphor film is a unit that is disposed on the inner surface side of the arc tube and converts the wavelength of ultraviolet rays emitted from the discharge medium into visible light when a discharge is formed. Note that the inner surface side of the arc tube refers to an embodiment in which the phosphor layer is directly formed on the inner surface of the arc tube and an embodiment in which the phosphor layer is indirectly formed on the inner surface of the light-transmitting bulb via a protective film or a reflective film. It is a meaning including any of these. In addition, a single phosphor or a mixture of a plurality of phosphors can be used. For example, it is possible to use a white light emitting three-wavelength light emitting phosphor obtained by mixing red, green, and blue light emitting phosphors.

  The stem includes a support portion that supports the electrode and a sealing portion that is sealed to the end portion of the arc tube, and a phosphor layer is formed on the surface of the support portion on the discharge space side. However, it is preferable not to form a phosphor layer in the sealing portion of the stem in order to ensure sealing properties. The phosphor of the phosphor layer formed on the stem may have the same or different configuration as the phosphor of the phosphor film formed on the inner surface side of the arc tube.

  The support portion is formed by melting a part of the stem in order to support the electrode. Further, an extended portion extending from the support portion may be provided between the support portion and the sealing portion.

  The ultraviolet rays generated between the electrodes are also applied to the tube end portion and the sealing end surface from the side surface of the arc tube facing the electrode to the sealing portion. Here, the sealing end surface is a virtual plane orthogonal to the central axis of the arc tube including the outermost part of the sealing portion. For this reason, in a conventional fluorescent lamp, a phosphor film is also formed on the discharge space side of the tube end so that the ultraviolet light applied to the tube end can be converted into visible light. However, the ultraviolet rays irradiated to the phosphor film formed at the tube end of the arc tube can be converted into visible light, but the ultraviolet rays irradiated toward the sealing end face are not used. It was. However, according to the stem of this configuration, the phosphor layer formed on the support portion of the stem can also convert ultraviolet rays irradiated toward the sealing end surface into visible light, so that the tube end portion is outward. The luminous flux emitted is improved. The stem may have any shape as long as a phosphor layer such as a flare stem or a button stem can be formed.

  In the fluorescent lamp according to claim 2, the arc tube is formed in an annular shape so that both ends thereof are close to each other, a base is provided between both ends of the arc tube, and at least a part of the support portion of the stem and the base Is translucent.

  The arc tube formed in an annular shape refers to an annular shape, a polygonal shape, and a double tube shape in which these are connected to form one discharge path.

  The entire base may be formed of a light-transmitting member such as glass or transparent resin, or may be provided with a hole for emitting light.

  The stem can be formed of translucent glass or the like. When the base is formed of a light-transmitting member, it is preferably formed by frost processing or the like. This is to prevent the tube end portion from being seen through and thereby improve the appearance and increase the merchantability.

  Since the support portion of the stem is translucent, visible light emitted from the phosphor layer is transmitted through the support portion and irradiated from the translucent portion of the base.

  In the fluorescent lamp according to claim 3, at least a part of the base to be irradiated is translucent, and a reflecting means is provided at a position inside the base facing the translucent portion. Features.

  As an example, the reflecting means may be a protrusion having a reflecting surface formed integrally with the base inside the base, or may be a protrusion disposed on the inner surface of the base as a separate body. Moreover, the vapor deposition film which consists of metals, such as aluminum formed in the inner surface side of a nozzle | cap | die, may be sufficient. Furthermore, it is good also as a structure which vapor-deposited the metal to the protrusion part and base inner surface side.

  A lighting device according to claim 4 is the fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3; a lighting fixture main body to which the fluorescent lamp is attached; and a lighting device provided on the fixture main body for lighting the fluorescent lamp. And an apparatus.

  According to the fluorescent lamp of claim 1, since the phosphor layer is formed on the stem, the light output at the end of the arc tube is improved, and the dark portion at the end of the arc tube is less noticeable, thereby improving the light distribution characteristics. it can. Moreover, since the ultraviolet rays irradiated to the tube end can be efficiently converted into visible light, the total luminous flux is improved.

  According to the fluorescent lamp of claim 2, since at least a part of the base is made translucent, visible light emitted from the end of the arc tube to the base can be radiated to the outside, and the total luminous flux is improved. To do.

  According to the fluorescent lamp of the third aspect, the irradiated surface side is translucent, and the reflecting means is provided at a position facing the translucent part. The irradiated visible light can be efficiently irradiated on the irradiated surface side, and the illuminance directly below is improved.

  According to the illumination device of the fourth aspect, it is possible to provide an illumination device having the characteristics of the fluorescent lamp according to the first to third aspects.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a fluorescent lamp showing a first embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG.

  The fluorescent lamp 1 has an arc tube 4 having a protective film 2 and a phosphor film 3 to be described later formed on the inner surface, and a base 6 having a pair of connection pins 5 and 5 at both ends of the arc tube 4. It is installed. Further, the electrode means 7 is sealed at both ends of the arc tube 4, and the sealed end face 4a of the arc tube 4 is closed. The electrode means 7 includes stems 8 and 8 sealed to the end of the arc tube 4, a pair of unillustrated outer wells connected to the connection pins 5, and support portions for the stems 8 and 8 connected to the outer wells. A pair of inner wells 9, 9 supported by 8b, 8b and a filament electrode 10 supported by the inner wells 9, 9 are provided. A phosphor layer 8 a is formed on the support portion 8 b of the stem 8. Further, the filament electrode 10 carries an electron radioactive substance made of barium oxide (BaO) or the like.

The phosphor used for the phosphor film 3 and the phosphor layer 8a may be any material as long as it absorbs ultraviolet rays and emits visible light. Examples of such phosphors include divalent europium activated alkaline earth halophosphate phosphors, cerium and terbium co-activated lanthanum phosphate phosphors (LaPO ₄ : Ce, Tb), and trivalent europim. A three-wavelength phosphor such as an activated yttrium oxide phosphor (Y ₂ O ₃ : Eu), or a white phosphor such as a halophosphate phosphor can be used. The phosphor can be appropriately selected and used depending on the application.

  The discharge medium is composed of mercury and a rare gas. Mercury can be encapsulated in the form of amalgam or liquid mercury.

  Amalgam is at least one selected from bismuth (Bi), indium (In), lead (Pb), tin (Sn), zinc (Zn), silver (Ag), etc., which are materials that form an alloy with mercury. And an alloy of mercury. For example, bismuth-indium-mercury, bismuth-indium-lead-mercury, bismuth-tin-mercury and the like are applicable. The amalgam may have any shape such as a pellet shape, a column shape, or a plate shape.

  Further, an auxiliary amalgam may be enclosed in the discharge vessel in order to quickly stabilize the luminous flux immediately after lighting. The auxiliary amalgam is preferably disposed at a position close to the electrode 6.

  The rare gas is used for facilitating the start of discharge, and is generally not particularly limited as long as it does not pass through the discharge vessel. However, since neon (Ne) easily passes through quartz glass, When forming with quartz glass, argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), or xenon (Xe) is recommended. The rare gas may be a mixed rare gas. Note that the pressure of the rare gas is about 100 to 1000 Pa.

As the protective film, those composed of metal oxide fine particles are suitable. Known metal oxide fine particles include silica (SiO ₂ ) and titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) in addition to alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ). Can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stem 8 includes a support portion 8b and a sealing portion 8c sealed to the end of the arc tube. The support portion 8b is formed by melting a part of the small-diameter glass tube so as to seal and support the sealed portion of the inner wells 9, and extends from the weld portion 8d to the seal portion 8c. It consists of the extending part 8e which exists. A phosphor layer 8a is formed on the surface of the support portion 8b on the discharge space side. A thin tube 8f for exhausting the inside of the arc tube 4 is connected to the welded portion 8d.

  The fluorescent lamp converts ultraviolet rays generated in the discharge path into visible light by the phosphor film 3 formed on the inner surface of the arc tube 4. That is, since ultraviolet rays are not generated in the inner space of the tube end from the side surface of the arc tube facing the filament electrode 10 to the sealing portion 8c, the phosphor film 3 formed on the tube end of the arc tube 4 is discharged. Since the ultraviolet ray generated on the road is only slightly irradiated, it becomes darker than the central portion of the arc tube 4. However, with the configuration of the stem 8 of the present embodiment, the ultraviolet rays that have been conventionally irradiated in the direction of the sealing end face 4a and absorbed by the stem or transmitted as they are can be converted into visible light. For this reason, the luminous flux emitted outward from the tube end of the arc tube 4 can be improved, the conversion efficiency is increased, and the total luminous flux is also improved.

  The phosphor film is generally formed by preparing a phosphor suspension comprising a phosphor, a solvent, a binder, and an inorganic binder, applying it, and drying and firing. The firing step is necessary to remove the binder component contained in the phosphor suspension. However, since the inner wells 9 and 9 are welded to the stem 8 in advance, when the phosphor layer 8a is formed on the surface of the stem 8, the welded portion 8d that supports the inner wells 9 and 9 during the firing process. May be heated excessively, causing problems such as leakage. Therefore, the phosphor layer 8a may be formed on the surface of the stem 8 by electrostatic coating that does not require a firing step.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the stem 8 of this invention is demonstrated.

  First, the inner wells 9 are welded to the stem 8. At this time, the stem can be charged by heating. Next, the phosphor coating agent in which the phosphor and silica as the binder are mixed is sprayed from the nozzle while being charged with a polarity opposite to that of the stem 8 and applied to the stem 8. At this time, the phosphor layer 8a formed on the sealing portion 8c of the stem 8 is removed with a brush. Further, the filament electrode 10 is held by the inner wells 9, and carbonate 7 is carried on the filament electrode 10 to form the electrode 7. Since the exhaust tube 8f is connected to the electrode 7, the work can be performed while the tube 8b is fixed.

  When the stem 8 is formed in this way, no further heating process is required after the filament electrode 10 is welded to the stem 8, so that the welded portion 8d does not leak.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of a fluorescent lamp according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the electrode means 7 is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the description is omitted.

  The arc tube 4 is formed in an annular shape, and both ends thereof are covered with a hollow cylindrical base 6. The base 6 is formed by combining divided bodies that are divided into two along the central axis. Each of the divided bodies is made of a translucent member and the surface thereof is frosted. FIG. 3 shows a state in which only one divided body 6a is attached for convenience of explanation. The base 6 is provided with four base pins (not shown) electrically connected to the electrode 7 so as to incline from the outer surface toward the ring center side of the arc tube 4. The cap pins 5 are arranged on the outer surface of the cap 6 so as to form four rectangles.

  The base 6 can be made of resin or glass as long as it is a translucent member, but preferably has a configuration that absorbs ultraviolet rays. For example, an ultraviolet absorber may be added to the die 6, and an ultraviolet absorbing film may be formed on the die 6 or the tube end. Further, the frost processing of the surface of the base 6 is for preventing the end of the tube from being seen through, and the same effect can be obtained even if silicone resin is disposed on the inner surface side of the base 6.

  According to this structure, since the ultraviolet rays conventionally irradiated to the base can be converted into visible light by the phosphor layer 8a formed on the stems 8 and 8, the total luminous flux is improved. Further, since the entire base 6 is translucent, visible light irradiated from the tube end can be emitted to the outside, the total luminous flux can be further improved, and the entire fluorescent lamp 1 can emit light. Further, since the surface is frosted, the tube end portion is not transparent, so that the appearance is improved and the commercial property can be improved. For this reason, when this fluorescent lamp 1 is used indoors, the dark part formed in the tube end part becomes inconspicuous. Furthermore, even when the base 6 is formed of a member that transmits ultraviolet rays, the amount of ultraviolet rays radiated to the outside by the phosphor layer 8a is reduced, and deterioration of the instrument due to ultraviolet rays can be suppressed.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of a fluorescent lamp according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

  The third embodiment is a configuration in which the reflection means 6b is provided on the base 6 of the second embodiment, and the other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  One split body 6a of the base 6 has a protrusion 6c that integrally protrudes from the inner surface of the split body 6a to the joint surface to be joined to the other split body, and light deposited on the entire inner surface including the protrusion 6c. Reflecting means 6b made of a reflective layer 6d is provided. The protrusion 6c has a continuous planar shape on the surfaces facing the sealing end surfaces 4a and 4a, and the surface is smoothly formed, and is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the base 6. That is, the visible light irradiated on the protrusion 6c is emitted to the irradiated surface side of the fluorescent lamp 1 without being scattered on the reflecting surface. With this configuration, visible light radiated into the base 6 can be efficiently radiated to the outside, and the illuminance directly below is improved. The protrusion 6c may have a continuous convex shape or a concave shape on the surface in order to efficiently reflect the visible light irradiated to the protrusion toward the irradiated surface. A configuration that substantially divides the space may be used. The other divided body (not shown) is entirely translucent and has a frosted surface.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an outline of a ceiling-mounted illumination device. L is a ceiling-mounted lighting device. Reference numeral 11 denotes an instrument body, and the instrument body 11 has a circular appearance and a thin shape. A storage part 12 having a storage space is formed in the center of the instrument body 11, and a high-frequency lighting device 13 including an inverter lighting circuit is disposed in the storage part 12. Around the storage unit 12, a fluorescent lamp 1 and a fluorescent lamp 21 having a smaller diameter than the fluorescent lamp 1 are arranged concentrically. The small-diameter fluorescent lamp 21 is different from the fluorescent lamp 1 only in the ring diameter, and the other configurations are the same. The appliance main body 11 is provided with a socket holder (not shown) that supplies and holds the fluorescent lamp 1 and the small-diameter fluorescent lamp 21.

  A shade 14 is attached to the instrument body 11 so as to cover the lower side and the side of the instrument body 11. The shade 14 is made of a translucent milky white material, and is formed in a thin shape with a large arcuate surface projecting gently downward, and an attachment portion (not shown) attached to the instrument main body 11 is formed at the peripheral portion. ing.

  When the fluorescent lamp 1 and the small-diameter fluorescent lamp 21 are turned on, the light emitted from the fluorescent lamp 1 and the small-diameter fluorescent lamp 21 is illuminated through the shade 14.

It is a partially cutaway front view of the fluorescent lamp showing the first embodiment according to the present invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the fluorescent lamp of 2nd Embodiment by this invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the fluorescent lamp of 3rd Embodiment by this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the illuminating device L of the ceiling direct attachment type by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fluorescent lamp 4 Arc tube 6b Reflecting means 8 Stem 8a Fluorescent substance layer 8b Support part
L Illumination device 11 Appliance body 13 Lighting device

Claims (4)

An arc tube having a phosphor film formed on its inner surface;
A stem having a support portion for supporting the electrode, a phosphor layer is formed on the discharge space side of the support portion, and sealing the electrode in the arc tube by sealing at both ends of the arc tube;
A fluorescent lamp characterized by comprising:   The arc tube is formed in a ring shape so that both ends thereof are close to each other, a hollow base is provided between both ends of the arc tube, and at least a part of the stem support portion and the base is translucent. The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1.   3. The base according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the irradiated surface side is translucent and a reflecting means is provided at a position inside the base facing the translucent part. Fluorescent lamp. A fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
An instrument body to which the fluorescent lamp is attached;
A lighting device provided in the instrument body for lighting the fluorescent lamp;
An illumination device comprising:

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