JPS61264654A - Fluorescent lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent drop of luminous quantity by providing a non-flash type getter within an exhaust pipe. CONSTITUTION:A non-flash type getter 4 is provided within an exhaust pipe 3. A silver-titanium alloy film 41 is formed at the front surface of a nickel substrate 40 and simultaneously a getter film 42 of zirconium-aluminum alloy is formed at the rear surface. The getter film 42 works as a non-flash getter material and absorbs impurity gas within the discharge space. A coil 51 connected with a high frequency power supply 50 is wound around an exhaust pipe 3 which is provided with a getter 4 and sealed at its opening. When a high frequency current is applied to the coil, the getter 4 is concentratedly heated and is heated quickly up to 800 deg.C or higher. Thereby, the getter film 42 is easily activated, maining the getter function for a long period of time. Thereby, a fluoresent lamp which assures high luminous intensity and longer operation life can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a fluorescent lamp with improved life and performance.

[Conventional technology]

As is well known, fluorescent lamps are made by applying a fluorescent substance to the inner wall of a glass vacuum container, and placing a pair of electrodes facing each other inside the container, and using a small amount of mercury (approximately Q when lit, Q Q 13 mmH).
g vapor pressure) and argon (several meters vapor pressure) to facilitate lighting.
mHg).

Fluorescent lamps are generally cylindrical or ring-shaped and are used for indoor lighting, but in recent years flat fluorescent lamps, which are suitable as backlights for liquid crystal display devices, have been attracting attention. (See Figure 1).

Furthermore, as electrodes for fluorescent lamps, there are known hot cathode type electrodes equipped with a heater and cold cathode type electrodes that emit secondary electrons.

[Problem to be solved]

However, in conventional fluorescent lamps, during use, a small amount of 02, N
Impurity gases such as 2 are gradually released, which shortens the life of the fluorescent lamp.

Conventionally, in electron tubes such as vacuum tubes and cathode ray tubes, in order to remove the above-mentioned impurity gases, a method has been adopted in which a so-called getter is provided in the tube and the molecules of the impurity gases are chemically adsorbed. There are two types of getters: Ba-based getters that form a getter film by flashing in a vacuum or inert gas (flash-type getters), and Zr-based getters that adsorb gas molecules without flashing (non-flood type getters). be.

Therefore, the inventors came up with the idea that the lifespan of fluorescent lamps could be extended by equipping them with the above-mentioned getter, but it was discovered that there were problems as described below.

(1) When a flash type getter is used, the getter film covers the surface of the fluorescent film, resulting in a decrease in the amount of emitted light.

(2) If a non-flash type getter is used, the above problems will not occur, but it must be used at high temperatures (e.g. 800°C).
above). However, there is no known method to effectively heat the getter in a fluorescent lamp.

[Means for solving problems]

The inventor conducted further research and solved the above problems at once by disposing a non-flash type getter (4) inside the exhaust pipe (3).

[For production]

The exhaust pipe (3) is useless after being used to exhaust the air inside the lamp during the manufacturing stage of the fluorescent lamp. Therefore, if a non-flash type getter is installed in the exhaust pipe, the electric field distribution in the discharge space will not be disturbed by the getter, and the ultraviolet rays excited by mercury will be effective without being hindered by the getter. irradiate with fluorescent film.

Furthermore, since the getter is of a non-flash type, the amount of light does not decrease due to the formation of a vapor deposited film of getter material on the surface of the fluorescent film.

In order to activate the non-flash type getter (4) in the exhaust pipe (3) during the manufacturing stage, for example, a coil connected to a high frequency power source is wrapped around the exhaust pipe (3), and the An effective method is to intensively heat the getter in the exhaust pipe using the generated electromagnetic energy. According to this method, the getter (4
) can be easily activated by instantaneously heating it to, for example, 800° C. or higher. This heating method becomes possible only by disposing a non-flash type getter (4) inside the exhaust pipe (3).

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the fluorescent lamp according to the present invention includes a non-flash type getter, high luminous performance is maintained over a long period of time.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a flat fluorescent lamp in which a fluorescent lamp according to the present invention is implemented. - As an example, the fluorescent lamp (1) consists of a flat substrate glass (1) and a dish-shaped face glass (11), an exhaust pipe (3), a pair of glue, and a plate (201) sandwiched between them. A pair of cold cathode type electrode plates (2) (2) connected to lead plates □□□)■ are disposed facing each other inside.

A non-fludge type getter (4) (manufactured by SAES Getters Japan Co., Ltd.) as shown in FIG. 2 is disposed inside the exhaust pipe (3). The getter (4) has a mercury-titanium alloy film (41) formed on the surface of a nickel substrate (40), and a getter film (42) made of zirconium-aluminum alloy on the back surface.
2 acts as a flame-free getter material that is stable and non-polluting at room temperature, and adsorbs impurity gas in the discharge space. Further, the mercury-titanium alloy film (41) liberates mercury at a high temperature of 800°C or higher and supplies it to the discharge space.

In conventional fluorescent lamps, mercury is supplied by dropping a liquid forest into the discharge space during the manufacturing stage, but with this method, mercury can be accurately measured and supplied. Because it was difficult to do so, more mercury than was necessary was used. When such fluorescent lamps are discarded after use, it has become a problem that they cause mercury pollution. On the other hand, the fluorescent lamp (1) using the above getter (4)
), the mercury is supplied from the alloy film (411) as described later, and the mercury content of the getter film can be controlled relatively easily, so the above pollution problem can be minimized. It is possible.

Furthermore, the working environment is not contaminated with mercury during the fluorescent lamp manufacturing process.

At the manufacturing stage of the fluorescent lamp (1), it is necessary to heat the lamp to 800° C. or higher in order to activate the flash getter (4). For this purpose, a heating means (5) as shown in FIG. 3 is used. A coil (511) connected to a high-frequency power source (2) is wound around the exhaust pipe (3) in which the getter (4) is arranged and the opening is sealed, and a high-frequency current is supplied to the coil. The getter (4) is heated intensively and rapidly raised to over 800°C. As a result, the getter @ Continues its action.

Also, when the getter (4) is heated to 800°C or higher,
As described above, the alloy film +411 liberates mercury and maintains an appropriate mercury vapor pressure in the discharge space.

The non-flash type getter (4) is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 2, and those using various getter materials can be used.

In addition, as shown in Figure 4, a getter (4) containing mercury
By equipping the exhaust pipe (3) in which the fluorescent lamp is disposed with a heater (6) that is energized when the fluorescent lamp is turned on, it is possible to improve the luminous performance of the fluorescent lamp as described later.

The luminance of a fluorescent lamp depends on the room temperature, that is, the temperature of the glass container of the fluorescent lamp during use. In Figure 9, the horizontal axis shows the temperature (°C).
The vertical axis shows the relative brightness (sound) at each temperature, with the brightness at 80° C. being 100%, showing the brightness characteristics of the flat wall light. As is clear from this figure, the brightness decreases as the temperature decreases, and for example, at 0° C., the brightness is only approximately % of that at room temperature. This is because the saturated vapor pressure of mercury, which emits ultraviolet light, depends on temperature.

Therefore, when a flat fluorescent lamp is used, for example, as a backlight for a liquid crystal display device, a problem arises in that displayed images become difficult to see in winter.

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 4, a non-flash type getter (4) containing mercury is arranged inside the exhaust pipe (3), and a heater consisting of a nichrome wire (611 and a power source) is connected to the exhaust pipe (3). Equip (6).

The heater (6) heats the getter (4) to, for example, 40°C. As a result, the saturated vapor pressure of mercury in the exhaust pipe where the getter χ4) is present changes, and mercury actively evaporates.
Sufficient luminance can be obtained even at low temperatures in winter. Incidentally, since the heating area at this time is local, the temperature of the entire fluorescent lamp does not rise, and therefore a large amount of electric power is not required.

The above-mentioned measures for improving the luminance of light emission were also made possible for the first time by arranging the getter (4) inside the exhaust pipe (3).

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment in which the non-flash type getter (4) is formed into a circular tube shape as shown in FIG. 6 and is installed inside the exhaust pipe (3). The getter (4) is a substrate (43) made by bending a rectangular metal plate into a circular tube shape, and a film (44) of a non-flash type getter material is formed on the inner surface of the substrate (mouth). Due to the expansion force, the exhaust pipe (3) is tightly attached and locked to the inner wall of the exhaust pipe (3).

Also, Figures 7 and 8 show a hot cathode type fluorescent lamp 07 for home use.
An example of implementing the present invention for J is shown.

The exhaust pipe (3) is provided with a cylindrical mercury-containing non-flash type getter (4) shown in FIG. 6 inside, and is equipped with a heater (6) around the exhaust pipe (3). This makes it possible to obtain a fluorescent lamp that has high luminance performance even in winter and has a long lifespan.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fluorescent lamp according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a non-flash type getter, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a getter activation method, and Fig. 4 is a fluorescent lamp equipped with a heater. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the lamp, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main parts showing another embodiment, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the non-flash type getter installed in the fluorescent lamp of FIG. 5, and FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing the main part of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a graph showing the brightness characteristics of the fluorescent lamp. (3)...exhaust pipe

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] [1] A fluorescent lamp comprising a non-flash type getter (4) disposed inside an exhaust pipe (3) communicating with a discharge space of the fluorescent lamp. [2] The fluorescent lamp according to claim 1, wherein the non-flash type getter (4) has a zirconium-aluminum alloy as a getter material. [3] The non-flash type getter (4) contains the getter material and mercury.
Fluorescent lamps as described in Section. [4] The fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the non-flash type getter (4) is formed in a flat plate shape. [5] The fluorescent lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the non-flash type getter (4) is formed in a cylindrical shape. [6] Claim 1, in which a flat discharge space is formed by bonding and fixing a flat glass substrate (10) and a plate-shaped face glass (11) to each other with the exhaust pipe (3) in between. 6. The fluorescent lamp according to any one of items 5 to 6.